Govind Swarup Govind Swarup Was a Pioneer in the Feld of Radio Astronomy and the Driving Force Behind Two Innovative Indian Radio Telescopes
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obituary Govind Swarup Govind Swarup was a pioneer in the feld of radio astronomy and the driving force behind two innovative Indian radio telescopes. He contributed signifcantly to building up research institutions and promoting science education and training programs in the country. ith the passing of Govind Swarup meant to fill an important global niche on 7 September 2020 at the age for a high-sensitivity low-frequency radio Wof 91, India lost a true scientific interferometer. Building such a large pioneer whose single-minded dedication telescope at a modest cost was a significant and effort established the country as one of challenge, particularly since at that time the leaders in radio astronomy. the country was going through a major Govind, as he was almost universally financial crisis. In Govind’s breakthrough called by all who knew him, is perhaps design, which made optimum use of the best remembered as the person responsible fact that the GMRT is a low-frequency for the construction of two large radio telescope, the parabolic reflecting surface telescopes in India, the Ooty Radio was a stretched wire mesh pulled into the Telescope (ORT) and the Giant Metrewave desired shape using suitably tensed wires. Radio Telescope (GMRT). Both telescopes In conventional designs, developed for were constructed on shoe-string budgets, higher frequencies, the reflecting surface but made significant contributions to our is made up of panels fixed onto a parabolic understanding of the Universe. That these shaped backup structure. The result of his unique facilities could be constructed is a innovation was an extremely lightweight testament to Govind’s ability to come up Govind Swarup (1929–2020). Credit: NCRA structure, with minimal wind loading, with radically out-of-the-box designs, as which could be constructed at a fraction of well as to his courage and persistence in the cost of a conventional radio telescope. successfully taking on large engineering Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) The project was innovative in many other projects in an environment that provided in Mumbai. Govind joined TIFR in 1963, ways, for example in using fibre-optic scant support compared to what his and started the process of setting up a radio signal transmission. The GMRT, which contemporaries in the West took for granted. astronomy group. has recently been significantly upgraded, Born in 1929 in pre-independence After building a small but useful array remains one of the most sensitive metre India, to a rich land-owning family, Govind near Mumbai for solar studies, Govind wavelength radio interferometers in Swarup was attracted to science from an initiated an extremely ambitious project the world7. early age. He obtained a masters degree to build a large radio telescope, the idea Although Govind worked mainly in from the University of Allahabad, after being to use lunar occultations to look for India, large collaborative international which he joined the National Physical evolution in the size of radio sources and projects remained part of his vision for Laboratory (NPL) in Delhi, where the then thus distinguish between the competing radio astronomy. He was one of the first to director K. S. Krishnan was trying to put cosmological models of the time. His propose a large international radio telescope, together a group to work in the nascent ingenious idea was to construct a cylindrical with a collecting area several times larger field of radio astronomy. Unfortunately, telescope on a north–south hill slope than the GMRT, aimed at detecting this effort did not come to fruition. Govind parallel to the rotation axis of the earth. hydrogen gas in distant galaxies. This idea, moved on to work with well-known radio This would allow sources to be tracked by carried forward by others (including the astronomy groups in Australia and the just rotating about a single axis. The large National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, United States, and eventually did a Ph.D. — 530 m long and 30 m wide — ORT2, founded by Govind), has now taken shape as at Stanford, working with Ron Bracewell. built in the late 1960s following this design, the international Square Kilometre Pioneering work that he did during this played an important role in determining Array project. period includes the discovery of solar ‘U’ the evolution of the size of radio sources, Govind’s influence on science in India bursts and the invention (along with K. as well as in studies of the Galactic ionized was much larger than just building radio Yang) of the now widely used Swarup–Yang interstellar medium and space weather3–5. telescopes. For him, science was always technique for providing phase stability for It also served as the training ground for about training people and contributing to large radio arrays1. Following his Ph.D. he generations of Indian radio astronomers. nation building. Govind never lost track took up a position as assistant professor at Indeed, to this day, Govind’s students and of the importance of grooming the next Stanford in 1961, but the dream of building their students form the bulk of the Indian generation of trained scientists, and many up radio astronomy in India remained radio astronomy community. of the students attending the summer alive. Along with contemporaries from the Govind’s next big project was the schools that he organized are now senior by then defunct radio astronomy group at GMRT, an array of 30 dishes, each 45 m in figures in the Indian astronomy scene. NPL, he sent a proposal to set up a radio diameter, located near Pune6. Conceived in Later, he played an important role in astronomy group to several Indian research the mid-1980s, with construction starting starting the Joint Astronomy Programme, institutions. The most encouraging in the early 1990s and becoming fully a shared doctoral programme run by response was from Homi Bhaba at the Tata operational in early 2002, the GMRT was several research institutes in Bangalore. 1120 NATURE ASTRONOMY | VOL 4 | DECEMBER 2020 | 1120–1121 | www.nature.com/natureastronomy obituary This programme is still going strong, and Achievement Award from the prime community, but by all those who had the has produced generations of outstanding minister of India, the John Howard good fortune to interact with him. ❐ astronomers. Concerns about the lack of Dellinger Gold Medal of the International adequately trained manpower in science and Union of Radio Sciences, and the Grote Jayaram N. Chengalur ✉ and engineering remained important to Govind Reber Medal. He was also elected fellow of a Yashwant Gupta ✉ even after he had retired from TIFR. He was number of science academies, including the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune one of the main drivers behind a proposal Royal Society. University Campus, Pune, India. ✉e-mail: to establish new institutes for undergraduate Although Govind was easily one of the [email protected]; [email protected] training in science and engineering. This most accomplished scientists in India, he concept eventually metamorphosed into the remained down to earth, and always eager Published online: 9 November 2020 Indian Institutes of Science Education and to communicate with scientists, engineers https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01259-y Research (IISERs). The seven IISERs that and students. He was a meticulous mentor, have been established by the government of quick to identify and encourage talent, References India have already made their mark in the maintaining contact and encouraging his 1. Swarup, G. & Yang, K. S. IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag. Ap-9, 75–81 (1961). training of the next generation of Indian extended family of protégés long after their 2. Swarup, G. et al. Nat. Phys. Sci. 230, 185–188 (1971). scientists across a whole range of disciplines. formal association with him had ended. To 3. Swarup, G. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 172, 501–512 (1975). Over his lifetime Govind won many the end he retained his curiosity about all 4. Anantharamaiah, K. R. J. Astrophys. Astron. 6, 177–201 (1985). recognitions and awards, including the things scientific as well as his characteristic, 5. Manoharan, P. K. & Ananthakrishnan, S. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 244, 691–695 (1990). Padma Shri (one of India’s highest civilian infectious enthusiasm. His absence will 6. Swarup, G. et al. Current Sci. 60, 95–105 (1991). awards), the Homi Bhabha Lifetime be sorely felt not just by the scientific 7. Gupta, Y. et al. Current Sci. 113, 707–714 (2017). NATURE ASTRONOMY | VOL 4 | DECEMBER 2020 | 1120–1121 | www.nature.com/natureastronomy 1121.