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M. V. George

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M. V. George
Born(1928-10-03)3 October 1928
Ashtamudi, Kollam district, Travancore, British India
(present-day Kerala, India)[1]
Died9 December 2019(2019-12-09) (aged 91)[1]
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
Known forStudies on mechanism of organic reactions
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisor
Doctoral studentsK. George Thomas
In this Indian name, the name Manapurathu Verghese is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, George.

Manapurathu Verghese George (3 October 1928 - 9 December 2019) was an Indian photochemist and an emeritus professor of the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST).[2] He was known for establishing the Photochemistry Research Unit at NIIST and his studies on the mechanism of organic reactions.[3] He is a recipient of the 1992 TWAS Award[4] and an elected fellow of The World Academy of Sciences,[5] the Indian National Science Academy[6] and the Indian Academy of Sciences.[7] The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1973, for his contributions to chemical sciences.[8]

Biography

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St. John's College, Agra

M. V. George, born on 3 October 1928 in the south Indian state of Kerala, graduated in chemistry from Madras University in 1948 and moved to the Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University (then known as Agra University) from where he secured his master's degree in 1951.[6] He did his doctoral studies at St. John's College, Agra of Agra University under the guidance of P. I. Ittyerah, a former principal of the college, and after securing PhD in 1954, he did his post-doctoral studies at various colleges in the US, UK, Germany and Canada.[citation needed]

He returned to India in 1963 and started his career as a member of faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.[citation needed] He stayed at the institution for quarter of a century until 1988 during which period he headed the Department of Chemistry from 1966 to 1969, succeeding C. N. R. Rao.[9] Returning to his home state of Kerala in 1988, he joined the Regional Research Laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (present-day National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology) as an emeritus professor and served the institution until his superannuation from service. In between, he had various stints at the University of Notre Dame as a visiting professor during 1978–2001.[6]

Legacy

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The main focus of George's research was centered on the mechanical implications of the thermal and photochemical organic reactions.[10] His studies covered different areas of organometallic chemistry and he worked on electron transfer processes, organic reactions and functional group transformations. Thus he studied the organic reactions and functional group transformations, heterohexa-1, 3, 5-triene systems with regard to its electrocyclic reactions and the synthetic utility and phototransformations of dibenzobarrelenes. He also studied the picosecond laser flash photolysis techniques and the transient intermediates involved in photoreactions.[6] He was noted for the original approach in his studies of hetero-aromatic systems.[10]

George published his research through over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals[11][note 1] and guided a number of doctoral and post-doctoral scholars in their researches. He has contributed chapters to the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics,[12] edited by C. N. R. Rao[13] and his works have been cited by various authors in their publications.[14][15] He pioneered photochemistry research at the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology and established the Photochemistry Research Unit at the institution.[2] He was a collaborator of C. N. R. Rao in popularizing science education at academic levels and is associated, as the executive director, with the Foundation for Capacity Building in Science (FCBS) initiative which promotes science education among Indian students through seminars and workshops.[16] He also served as a member of the council of the Indian National Science Academy from 1989 to 1991.[6]

Awards and honors

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The Indian Academy of Sciences elected George as a fellow in 1973 before he became an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1975.[7] The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1973.[17] He received the C. V. Raman Award in 1985 and the Professor T. R. Seshadri 70th Birthday Commemoration Medal of the Indian National Science Academy in 1990.[18] The World Academy of Sciences awarded him the TWAS Prize in 1992[4] and two years later, elected him as their fellow.[5] He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Chemical Research Society of India and a life member of the society.[19]

Selected bibliography

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Books

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  • M. V., George (1971). Rao, C. N. R. (ed.). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Van Nostrand Reinhold Inc. p. 367. ISBN 978-0442068202.

Articles

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Please see Selected bibliography section

References

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  1. ^ a b Das, Suresh (2020). "M. V. George (1928–2019)" (PDF). Current Science. 118 (2): 309–311.
  2. ^ a b "History". National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology. 2016.
  3. ^ "Brief Profile of the Awardee". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b "TWAS Award". The World Academy of Sciences. 2016.
  5. ^ a b "TWAS fellow". The World Academy of Sciences. 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Indian fellow- Manapurathu Verghese George". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Fellow profile". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  8. ^ "View Bhatnagar Awardees". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Past and present Heads of the Department". Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners" (PDF). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 1999. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Browse by Fellow". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2016.
  12. ^ "List of Books (authored or edited)". Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. 2016.
  13. ^ M. V., George (1971). Rao, C. N. R. (ed.). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Van Nostrand Reinhold Inc. p. 367. ISBN 978-0442068202.
  14. ^ D. Bryce-Smith; A. Gilbert (1993). Photochemistry. Royal Society of Chemistry. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-0-85186-225-5.
  15. ^ Science of Synthesis: Houben-Weyl Methods of Molecular Transformations Vol. 18: Four Carbon-Heteroatom Bonds. Georg Thieme Verlag. 14 May 2014. pp. 307–. ISBN 978-3-13-171911-9.
  16. ^ "Executive Director". Foundation for Capacity Building in Science. 2016.
  17. ^ "Chemical Sciences". Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Professor T. R. Seshadri 70th Birthday Commemoration Medal". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Chemical Research Society of India Life Member". Chemical Research Society of India. 2016.
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