Profiles In Scientific Research Contributions Of The Fellows- An Old Book (Set Of 5 Volumes)

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The Indian National Science Academy is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee during 1994-1995. To mark this occasion, a series of seminars, symposia and special lectures on subjects of great concern to Indian scientists have been organized at INSA premises as well as in Local Chapters all over the country. In addition, status reports on specialized topics of great relevance have been brought out. In this connection, 14 special volumes have been published by the Academy. It was thought desirable to have documents of great value presenting contributions of the Fellowship. A two-volume Compendium brought out in January, 1994 gives a brief account of the biographical matters, career profiles, major contributions in keyword form, honours and awards received by the Fellows. The present five-volume set of Profiles is devoted entirely to the highlights of research contributions of the Fellows.

I am very glad that the Fellowship has responded enthusiastically to our invitation to provide the necessary inputs. More than 80% of the Fellows have contributed. As a result, the Profiles now comprise of five volumes rather than the two volumes brought out by the Academy at the time of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations 10 years ago. The first three volumes cover Physical Sciences whereas the other two cover Biological Sciences. Eventhough the volumes are limited to the contributions of Fellows of the Academy, they represent, in a way, national contributions to all branches of science and technology. These are meant to serve as reference material for researchers interested in study of development of science in India.

I have great pleasure in recording my admiration of the untiring efforts of the editors, Dr Krishan Lal and Prof RN Kapil, who have taken great pains in editing the Profiles. I appreciate the contributions of Shri SK Salmi, Executive Secretary and Dr Alok Moitra, Officer on Special Duty, Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, who meticulously coordinated the entire work and ensured that the schedule of publication was maintained as planned. Aakriti Graphics, the printing press has acted as a part of the team showing high level of cooperation and concern for quality. There are several other devoted individuals whose efforts have been considerable but it is not possible to thank them individually. I hope this series of Profiles will be valuable to the scientific community.

It gives me great pleasure to present volume I-III of the Profiles of the Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy as a part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. The response of the Fellowship to our request was very encouraging. Nearly 80% of all Fellows have either contributed fresh write-ups or allowed us to use profiles available in the series brought out at the time of Golden Jubilee with required modifications. As a result, Physical Sciences (Sectional Committees I-V) are spread over three volumes. The first volume has profiles of Fellows specialising in Mathematics and Physics; the second volume is devoted to Chemical Sciences and the contributions of Fellows with Engineering, Technology and Earth Sciences as specialisation are covered in the third volume.

The editorial work of manuscripts was not a simple task as anticipated. Each of the Fellows is an eminent personality in his own right and has his own characteristic style and perception for his profile. However, an attempt has been made to ensure a broad uniformity. Therefore, at times, information, though important, on biographical details, honours, awards, citations etc. had to be left out, keeping in view the fact that this series is complementary to the Compendium of Fellows of the Academy. Nevertheless, the style of presentation of the original manuscripts has been retained. Most of the Fellows, including the seniormost, accepted our request gracefully to restrict the number of references to their published work to 15 only. However, in very few cases, this had to be done editorially. Attempt has been made to ensure that no important publication is left out.

I enjoyed thoroughly the task of processing the manuscripts. It is indeed inspiring to go through the high level of research attainments of the elite of the Indian science. I am confident that the Profiles will stand out as a landmark publication giving valuable information to all concerned with Indian science during the last 50 years or so.

It is with great warmth and pleasure that I record my appreciation of the untiring efforts of Shri SK Sahni, Executive Secretary and Dr Alok Moitra, Officer on Special Duty, who have been on their toes to ensure the timely publication by the press. The technical support received from Shri Tarun Banerjee and Shri Javed Khan has been of great value. This publication was not a usual volume and we were trying to accommodate as many profiles as possible. The last one being just a week before printing started. Aakriti Graphics (press) had to accept such and other difficult requests at short notices causing considerable deviations in the course of their work. I appreciate the spirit with which they have completed this work. It is my hope and wish that this series of volume will be widely used and act as a reference material.

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