Renowned radio astronomer Govind Swarup died in Pune last night following a brief illness at an age of 91.
Govind Swarup is credited with conceptualising and leading the team which set up the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT) and Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT).
He was the founder-director of TIFR – National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) in Pune.
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Govind Swarup was born in Thakurwada in Uttar Pradesh in 1929. He completed his master’s degree from Allahabad University in 1950 and went on pursue his doctoral studies at the Stanford University in 1961.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the death of Govind Swarup by tweeting, “Professor Govind Swarup was an exceptional scientist. His pioneering works in radio astronomy have attained global commendation. Anguished by his passing away. My thoughts are with his near and dear ones. This thread gives a glimpse of Professor Swarup’s brilliance. Do read.”
PM Modi had tagged the tweet by Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India which said, “Thread. With Professor Govind Swarup’s demise, the world of astronomy has lost a great scientist, institution-, and telescope- builder. Ever-smiling, not one to take a no for anything he wanted to be done, he took on many impossible tasks, inspired colleagues to accomplish them.”
There were a series of tweets from the Principal Scientific Adviser for Govind Swarup.
Professor Govind Swarup was an exceptional scientist. His pioneering works in radio astronomy have attained global commendation. Anguished by his passing away. My thoughts are with his near and dear ones. This thread gives a glimpse of Professor Swarup’s brilliance. Do read. https://t.co/S0PAsdWp8A
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 8, 2020
A recipient of the Padma Shri, Swarup had also won several other coveted awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and the Grote Reber Medal.
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