CV Raman

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist who was the first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in any branch of science. He won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the scattering of light, known as the "Raman Effect," which has applications in chemistry, biology, and materials science. Born in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, Raman studied at Presidency College, Madras, where he was influenced by his physics teacher. He joined the Indian Finance Service as an accountant but continued his physics research in his spare time. In 1917, he joined the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Calcutta, where he conducted his most important research. In 1928, Raman and his student K.S. Krishnan discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon, known as the Raman Effect, became a powerful tool for molecular analysis. In 1930, Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery. Raman was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954 along with Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and C. Rajagopalachari. He established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore and continued research until his death in 1970. February 28 is celebrated as National Science Day in India in honor of his discovery of the Raman Effect.