Prof Thanu Padmanabhan no more

Extraordinary scientist, scholar and science communicator Prof Thanu Padmanabhan passed away on Friday.

Hailing from Kerala and recipient of the coveted Padma Shree, Prof Padmanabhan, a theoretical physicist and cosmologist, was the Dean of the Academic Department at Pune Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA).

He was 64.

He is survived by his wife Vasanthi Padmanabhan and daughter Hamsa Padmanabhan.

Prof Padmanabhan suffered a heart attack at his residence and passed away.

IUCAA director Somak Raychaudhury informed about his death. “This is one of the saddest days in the history of the IUCAA and the Indian scientific community today. Prof Thanu Padmanabhan passed away this morning as a result of a cardiac arrest,” he said.

K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, tweeted: “Shocked to hear of the passing of Prof Thanu Padmanabhan. His research linking general relativity and thermodynamics in new ways, and in other areas, has been widely recognized. Scholar, communicator, extraordinary scientist, friend to many. He will be much missed.”

Born on 10 March 1957, Prof Padmanabhan was known for his research on dark energy and gravity. He completed primary education at Karamana High School.

He joined the Government Arts College for pre-degree. He did his undergraduate and post-graduate in Physics from the University College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Later, he joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) for his PhD in Quantum Cosmology. He also spent a year in the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.

Prof Padmanabhan has authored over 300 research papers and several books.

Prof Padmanabhan served also as Adjunct Faculty of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai), the Harish-Chandra Research Institute(Allahabad), the Raman Research Institute (Bangalore) and the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER, Pune) at different periods in his career. He was an adjunct faculty of IISER, Mohali.

Prof Padmanabhan served as the Chairman (2006–09) of the Time Allocation Committee of the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope of NCRA. He was the Chairman (2008–11) of the Indian National Science Academy's National Committee which interfaces with the activities of the International Astronomical Union.

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