'A Tireless Academic': Theoretical Physicist R. Rajaraman Was a Lifelong Advocate For Nuclear Disarmament
New Delhi: Theoretical physicist and advocate for nuclear disarmament Ramamurti Rajaraman passed away earlier this month on July 12. He was 86.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of Physical Sciences (SPS), which he joined in 1994 and where he became professor emeritus of theoretical physics ten years later upon retirement, will host a meeting in hybrid mode today (July 18) to honour his memory.
Born on March 11, 1939, Rajaraman earned a BSc (Hons) in physics from Delhi University in 1958 and a PhD in 1963 from Cornell University, where his adviser was the Nobel physics prize laureate Hans Bethe.
Over his career – where he held visiting appointments at places as distinguished as the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, Stanford University, Harvard University and MIT – Rajaraman made pioneering contributions to a swathe of areas in theoretical physics, but in the last few decades of his life he was focussed on nuclear disarmament and safety, that other field he is known for, SPS dean Sobhan Sen recalled in a tribute.
Prominently Rajaraman was co-chair of the International Panel on Fissile Materials working group between 2008 and 2014. The panel's objective, in Rajaraman's words, was to do “scientific work towards the protection, safety and ultimately getting rid of the materials that go into making nuclear weapons”.
Asked by Gauhar Raza – his host at the Rajya Sabha TV programme Eureka – if nuclear weapons bothered him as a human being, Rajaraman had said: “Oh, very much so. Nuclear weapons bother me as a human being very much.”
Rajaraman had also written articles for The Wire, in one of which published in January 2017 he made a case for India to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibits “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” with the aim of halting the development of new nuclear weapons as part of efforts towards nuclear disarmament.
He was the recipient of a number of awards in his lifetime, including the American Physical Society's Leo Szilard Award (2014), the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Physics (1983) and the Indian National Science Academy's S.N. Bose Medal (1995). He also served as vice president of the latter institute between 2010 and 2012.
A “tireless academic” known for the “clarity and pedagogy of his teaching” and who has left behind an “extraordinary legacy”, Rajaraman will be remembered as an “intellectual stalwart and a cherished member of our community”, the SPS's Sen wrote in his tribute.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
