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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research

The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) is a multidisciplinary research institute located at Jakkur, Bangalore, India. JNCASR was established by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India as a centre for advanced scientific research in India, to mark the birth centenary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. In 2019, JNCASR was ranked #7 among the world's top ten research institutes and universities by Nature journal in a normalised ranking of research institutes and universities with high quality output.

History

The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) is an autonomous institution established in 1989 by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru. Under the visionary leadership of Bharat Ratna Prof. C. N. R. Rao, FRS, as the founding president and with Indian nuclear physicist Dr. Raja Ramanna as its first Chairman, JNCASR was initially registered as a society. The institution began its journey on the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bengaluru before moving to its own campus at Jakkur, Bengaluru, inaugurated on March 4, 1995, by then Vice President of India, Shri K. R. Narayanan. Originally spread over 15.55 acres, the Jakkur campus now spans 27.35 acres and houses comprehensive infrastructure, including specialized laboratories for Surface Science and Solid State Chemistry, advanced instruments like the Transmission Electron Microscope, and facilities such as an administration block, academic and outreach buildings, a dining hall, a health centre, a daycare, and residential quarters for students and staff. The JNCASR campus and its iconic Buckyball structure were designed by the famous Indian architect Charles Correa. Additionally, JNCASR has expanded to include the 10-acre Chamundi campus in Chokkanahalli, serving as the academic hub, and the Sahyadri campus in Jakkur, which provides accommodations for post-doctoral researchers and visiting students. Furthering its mission to integrate science with societal development, the foundation stone for the Innovation & Development Centre at the Arkavathi Campus in Shivanapura was laid in 2021 by Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu.

The prime minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Prof. C.N.R. Rao during the inauguration of International Centre for Materials Science at JNCASR, Bangalore

Academics

Researchers at the centre are divided into seven units: Chemistry and Physics of Materials, Engineering Mechanics, Evolutionary and Organismal Biology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Neuroscience, New Chemistry, Theoretical Sciences, Education Technology and Geodynamics. There are two off-campus units: Chemical Biology and Condensed Matter Theory in JVH, Indian Institute of Science (IISc). JNCASR has a faculty-to-student ratio of about 1:4 and state-of-the-art experimental, computational and infrastructural facilities. It offers Ph.D. programmes, Integrated Ph.D. (post-bachelor's degree) and M.Sc. programmes in various disciplines. The small size of the institute (currently about 53 faculty members and ~300 students) fosters interdisciplinary collaborations. It is a "deemed university", i.e., it awards its own degrees. Apart from training its own students through a wide spectrum of courses, the centre's Summer Research Fellowship programme (SRFP) hosts some of the brightest undergraduates in the country; the Educational Technology Unit produces teaching aids and educational material, the centre organises and teaches short-term courses at universities across India, and trains promising young chemists and biologists as part of the programmes of Project-Oriented-Chemical-Education (POCE) and Project-Oriented-Biological-Education (POBE).

Buckyball designed by the famous Indian architect Charles Correa at the Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit (MBGU) building, JNCASR

Elected Honorary Fellows of JNCASR

The following is a list of Honorary Fellows of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR).

Notable faculty members

References

  1. ^ "Overview | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research".
  2. ^ India, Press Trust of (21 June 2019). "Bengaluru's JNCASR ranks seventh in Nature's top 10 scientific institutions".
  3. ^ "Leading academic institutions (Normalized) | Nature Index 2019 Annual Tables | Annual Tables | Nature Index".
  4. ^ "Overview | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research".
  5. ^ "Campus Information | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research".
  6. ^ "Campus Information | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research".
  7. ^ https://dst.gov.in/vice-president-unveils-innovation-development-centre-jncasr
  8. ^ "JNCASR made huge impact on science: Rao". Indian Express. Bangalore, India. 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Honorary Fellows | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research".
  10. ^ "Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010" (PDF).