T. R. Seshadri

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T. R. Seshadri
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Awards
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Robert Robinson

Thiruvengadam Rajendram Seshadri

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.[2] Besides several articles, he also published two books, Chemistry of Vitamins and Hormones[3] and Advancement of Scientific and Religious Culture in India.[4] The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1963, for his contributions to Science.[5]

Biography

Money and materials alone do not secure good research, they are only adjuncts and it is the human element behind them that matters, said T. R. Seshadri.[6]

Seshadri was born on 3 February 1900 at

anti-malarial drugs and synthesis of compounds.[6] Before returning to India in 1930, he had short training stints in Austria on organic microanalysis with Fritz Pregl, a Nobel laureate, and in Edinburgh on alkaloid Retrorsine with George Barger, a Royal Society fellow.[8]

Back in India, he continued his work on plant chemistry as a research scholar of the

flavanoids, while continuing his own researches. He also established two new departments in the university, viz. Department of Chemical Technology and Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.[6] The onset of World War II in 1941 affected his work as the chemicals were short in supply and the department of chemistry at the university was taken over by the British Army, which forced him to move first to Guntur in 1942 and then to Madras in 1943. It was only in 1946, after the war ended, he could return to Waltair, when the laboratories, which suffered damages during the war, were rebuilt.[6]

After the

alkaloids and quinonoids.[8] The school is known to have attracted research students from India and abroad where he guided a research team, composed of post-doctoral research scholars from England, France and Germany, besides India. He worked at the university till his superannuation in 1965, upon which he was made the first Professor Emeritus of the university.[7] In between, he was offered the post of the Chairman of the University Grants Commission but he did not accept it. He served as Provost of the Jubilee Hall, University of Delhi from 1952 to 1956. He continued his researches for seven more years, till 1972, when ill health, among other issues such as stoppage of research grants, forced an end to his active career.[6] He lived for three more years, mostly battling ill health, reportedly in poverty, and died, at the age of 75, on 27 September 1975.[7] The story of life has been published by Resonance, a journal of the Indian Academy of Sciences, under the title, Professor T R Seshadri — An Acharaya par excellence.[9]

Legacy

Some of the notable contributions of Seshadri are on the academic administration front. As the head of the Chemistry department at Andhra University, he was instrumental in the establishment of several laboratories, two new departments and a research school. He founded another research school at

allylation, prenylation, among other topics.[10] His researches and work experiences have been documented by way of over 1000 articles[6][11] and two books, Chemistry of Vitamins and Hormones[3] and Advancement of Scientific and Religious Culture in India.[4] He mentored 160 students in their doctoral studies and, on his retirement, donated all the books in his personal library to the Chemistry department of the Delhi University.[6]

Seshadri, who was a member of the scientific advisory committee to the Government of India and UNESCO, served as an expert advisor to several government agencies such as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Department of Atomic Energy and chaired many expert committees related to education, health and science.[6] He was the president of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) (1967–68) and the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS)[12] and was a member of the editorial boards of the Indian Journal of Chemistry and two international journals, Tetrahedron and Phytochemistry.[6] He also served as the president of organizations such as the Indian Chemical Society, Indian Pharmaceutical Association, Oil Technology Association, the North India chapter of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, London, Indian Pharmaceutical Congress and Indian Science Congress Association (1966–67).[10]

Awards and honours

Seshadri received doctorates (

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina elected him as their member in 1961.[2] The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1963.[5] He was also a recipient of Meghnad Saha Medal of the Indian National Science Academy and two awards from the Indian Chemical Society viz. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray Medal and Acharya Gnanendra Ghosh Medal.[10] INSA has instituted Professor Tiruvenkata Rajendra Seshadri Seventieth Birthday Commemoration Medal[10] and Delhi University conducts Prof. T. R. Seshadri Memorial Lecture, an annual oration, in his honour.[14]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 73378233
    .
  2. ^ a b "Member - German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina". German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. ^
    OCLC 14654195
    .
  4. ^
    OCLC 1582447
    .
  5. ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "T. R. Seshadri on Bright Sparks Watermarks" (PDF). Bright Sparks Watermarks. 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Always a scientist". The Hindu. 30 January 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2016.[dead link]
  8. ^ a b c N Rangarajan (July 2008). "A life devoted to Science: T R Seshadri". Chemcos, the Journal of the Chemical Society, IIT Delhi (II).
  9. S2CID 122829951
    .
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Deceased Fellow". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Seshadri on WorldCat". WorldCat. 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Past Presidents of INSA". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Deceased Fellows of Indian Academy of Sciences". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  14. ^ "41st IUPAC Council Meeting". International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. 1 May 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2016.

Further reading

  • N. R. Krishnaswamy (February 2004). "Professor T R Seshadri — An Acharaya par excellence". Resonance. 9 (2): 3–5.
    S2CID 122829951
    .
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