Some Pioneers of Mathematics - Biographical Accounts for the General Audience

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Dr. Subodh Mahanti did his B.Sc. (Honours) from Burdwan University (1976) and M.Sc. from Banaras Hindu University (BHU, 1978). He was awarded National Scholarship for studying his M.Sc. He was awarded BHU Medal for standing first in order of merit in M.Sc. He did his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (1982) from the Department of Chemistry, BHU and subsequently worked in Molecular Biology (1984-1988) at the Unit of Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU. He worked in the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR). For the last 14 years he has been working in Vigyan Prasar. Besides his research papers, he has written more than 300 popular science articles. He has edited/authored/co-authored more than 20 books. Dr. Mahanti has been awarded FIE Foundation National Award (2000), NCSTC National Award (2003), Delhi Hindi Academy Award (2006), Dr. Meghnad Saha Award (2005) and Atmaram Puraskar (2007) for his contributions in the field of Science Popularisation. Dr. Mahanti is a Fellow of the NCSTC Network.

"How can it be that mathematics, a product of human thought independent of experience, is so admirably adapted to the objects of reality?"

Albert Einstein

"To do mathematics is to engage in an act of discovery and conjecture, intuition and inspiration; to be in a state of confusion-not because it makes no sense to you, but because you gave it sense and you still don't understand what your creation is up to."

Paul Lockhart

The word "mathematics" is derived from the Greek word "mathema", which encompasses knowledge, study and learning. Mathematics is a system of knowledge which is exact, precise, systematic and logical. Mathematics is one of the greatest intellectual attainments of humankind. The origins of mathematics can be traced to antiquity. In fact the history of mathematics is nearly as old as humanity itself. Mathematics has played a key role in the development of civilisation. Prehistoric humans probably learned to count at least up to ten on their fingers. Ancient Indians, Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians and others devised methods of counting and measuring that were of practical importance in their everyday lives. With the passage of time surveyors, clock and calendar makers, masons, machine makers and merchants developed the methods of counting and measuring.

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