75th Anniversary of Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru

The Raman Research Institute (RRI) is a premier research institution in India, pursuing cutting-edge fundamental research in select frontier areas of Physics under contemporary research themes. Founded by Indian Science Nobel Laureate Sir C V Raman in 1948, the Institute was established on a plot of land gifted by the then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Raman served as the Institute’s Director, carrying on his personal research until his demise in 1970.

In 1971, RRI became the first autonomous institution to be funded by the then newly formed Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The Institute has, since then, carried forward the legacy of its founder and embarked on several research activities of national importance.

Currently RRI’s thrust research areas cover Astronomy & Astrophysics, Light & Matter Physics, Soft Condensed Matter and Theoretical Physics – an impressive breadth of research starting from the very large – on the scale of the Universe to the very small – on the scale of atoms. The Institute, with its unique history, has seasoned over time; the profiles of both the Scientific and Technical staff have evolved organically, thereby sealing for itself a credible space in the national and international arena of sciences.

Among the Institute’s many scientific achievements, of which three highly noteworthy have been highlighted –

(1) The prediction and discovery of Discotic Liquid Crystals. In 1993, Fuji Films recognized this discovery as a solution to the problem of Wide Viewing screens. Today, the Discotic Liquid Crystals are used in most commercial LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens as WV films to provide wide angle viewing.

(2) The prediction of the precise form of the “chirp” signals emerging from the merger of black holes and the “ring-down” signal at the end of this event. Both these were validated by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) in September 2015, which, for the first time, confirmed gravitational waves from a coalescing black hole binary.

(3) Executing successful radio telescope projects in India and overseas, as well as playing significant roles in building and doing science with precursor radio telescopes in the lead up to the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the proposed world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

On November 7, 2022, the Institute entered its 75th year. Over the course of the ongoing Platinum Jubilee year, RRI will host multiple national and international conferences, prestigious lecture series and have enhanced science outreach activities. Several distinguished Indian citizens including dignitaries from the Government of India, eminent scientists from within India and across the world, are on the guest list for the various events lined up this year. Notably, the Platinum Jubilee year is being celebrated under the hugely successful Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav banner. This year also marks the celebration of the achievements of the Institute’s faculty, scientists and students, who have contributed towards nation building during the past 75 years. As the inheritors of an ancient culture, that has valued science and technology, this Institute’s founder, Sir C V Raman, is undoubtedly a modern-day example!

At the threshold of its 75th year, the Institute is now ideally poised to take-on newer challenges in the pursuit of path-breaking research. For instance, the Institute plans to leverage from the substantial fundamental research knowledge output, produced by RRI cluster of Quantum Laboratories, in developing Quantum-Enabled technologies aligning with the National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications. RRI envisions to further strengthen its collaborations with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), particularly in the areas of Quantum Communication, X-Ray and Radio Astronomy.

The Institute is exploring opportunities to collaborate with the space agency on emerging research areas. These include developing Terahertz detector technology and starting millimeter to sub-millimeter band Astronomy in India from both the ground and space. RRI also supports well-planned, promising, and challenging initiatives with groundbreaking scientific goals. Examples of these initiatives are experimental efforts to detect subtle global signals from the Cosmic Dawn, also known as the Epoch of Reionization, and long-term projects focused on the cosmic recombination lines of hydrogen from the early Universe.

Along with knowledge creation, RRI has trained, readied and instilled courage in the country’s next generation to take on challenging problems in Science via its vibrant PhD, Postdoctoral, Research Assistant and Visiting Students Program. Upholding the Institute’s academic traditions, by regularly hosting both national and international conferences, workshops and prestigious lectures. RRI has taken sustained efforts to open its doors and allow science from inside its labs to reach the general public, at large.

“RRI strive to make useful contributions towards mega science projects like the SKA in radio astronomy alongside being ambitious to assume leadership roles, both in the current and upcoming mega science projects, such as LIGO-India, the third of the LIGO detectors, being built on Indian soil.

The Institute maintain its tradition of actively promoting individual research excellence, coupled with technological capabilities that are developed in-house, thus aligning to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of becoming self-reliant towards enabling frontier research in all the above-mentioned fields.