M. G. K. Menon

Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon
Born	28 August 1928 Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality	Indian
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Indian Space Research Organization Department of Science & Technology, Government of India
Alma mater	University of Mumbai University of Bristol
Doctoral advisor	Cecil F. Powell
Known for	KGF Experiments
Notable awards	Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (1960), Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS)(1970) Abdus Salam Medal (1996)

Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon, FRS (born 28 August 1928), also known as M. G. K. Menon, is a physicist and policy maker from India. He has had a prominent role in the development of science and technology in India during the past four decades. One of his most important contributions was nurturing the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, which his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.

He undertook experiments with cosmic rays to explore the properties of fundamental particles. He was actively involved in setting up balloon flight experiments, as well as deep underground experiments with cosmic ray neutrinos in the mines at Kolar Gold Fields. He is currently the President of the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute^[1] and the Vikram Sarabhai Fellow of the Indian Space Research Organisation . In the past, he has been President of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (1966–1975), Chairman Board Of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Chairman Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad. He has won the Abdus Salam Award, and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He is one of the most prominent scientists from the state of Kerala. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1970.^[2] The asteroid 7564 Gokumenon was named in his honour in late 2008.†

Early life

Education

M. G. K. Menon was educated at Jaswant College, Jodhpur, and the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay, before he moved to the University of Bristol for his Ph.D in elementary particle physics under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Cecil F. Powell in 1953.

Association with TIFR

He joined TIFR in 1955 "essentially because of Bhabha", and the association lasted nearly five decades. He became the director of the institute in 1966, at the age of 38, following Bhabha's untimely death. In fact, M. G. K. Menon began handling the affairs of the institute ever since he was 33, because of Bhabha's increasing involvement with the country's nascent atomic energy programme.

Special Awards: He won the Padmabhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1985.

References

1. "Council Of The Indian Statistical Institute". Retrieved 14 December 2011.
2. "Lists of Royal Society Fellows". London: The Royal Society. Retrieved 18 November 2011.

External links

• Article by Menon: Impact of Advances in science and new technologies on society
• Article on Menon
• Interview about India's nuclear program for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
• Activists Condemn Gujarat Violence, Screen New Documentary