Top 10 Famous Indian Scientists and Their Inventions

It is now an accepted fact worldwide that India has no dearth of talent and achievers. Indian inventors and scientists have always made a mark in the global landscape and are remembered to this day for their contributions in various fields which includes physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, amongst others.

From APJ Abul kalam to CV Raman, the contributions made by each Indian scientist have been immense and have actually made life a lot simpler that w could have ever imagined. Here is a list of top 10 Indian scientists and their inventions.

List of Greatest Scientists of India

10. S.S Abhyankar

Born in July 1930, Abhyankar was an Indian-American mathematician who made very useful contributions in the field of algebraic geometry.Born in Ujjain, the scientist has a number of awards and accolades to his name. Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, Chauvenet Prize from the Mathematical Association of America, Editorial board member of the Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, are just a few positions that he held for his widespread contributions.

His most renowned and widespread contribution has been in the field of algebraic geometry and various algorithms related to the same.

9. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

This Indian-American scientist was one of the most renowned physicists of his time. The Brownian motion and the illumination theory which science students are so widely taught today are based on the research and discoveries made by this great scientist.His various theories on the white dwarf, the structure of the stellar, and the dynamics of the stellar were some of the most important inventions that made him win a number of awards and fellowships. The Bruce medal, the Copley Medal of the Royal Society, the Gordon J. Laing Award, the Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Henry Draper Medal of the National Academy of Sciences are just a few of his major awards. He even won the second highest civilian award in India-the Padma Vibhushan.

The scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in the year 1983, for his contribution and various physical processes that determined the structure of the stars. It was his studies that paved the way to the studies of different stages of the so called black holes and those of the various stars.

8. Satyendra Nath Bose

He was an Indian scientist who specialized in the field of theoretical physics. Not only in physics, but this Bengal born scientist excelled in Mathematics, statistics, biology, chemistry, arts, literature, as well as in the field of music. The scientist was also nominated for nobel prize in his field. He, in fact, coordinated with Einstein- the greatest scientists of all times, and helped in the development of a theory that was related to different electromagnetic radiations.

The scientist is most famous for his Bose-Einstein theory which made him won accolades not only in India but in different parts of the globe.  His contribution to the field earned him the Padma Vibhushan which is known to be the second highest civilian award ion the country, in the year 1954

7. Har Gobind Khorana

An American-Indian biochemist, har Gobind Khorana is widely acclaimed for his contributions to the field of science and even won the prestigious Nobel Prize for his work. He was born in India at the time when India was under the British Raj. He believed in sharing his knowledge and as a result was faculty in prestigious universities in Northern America. He has received a number of awards and accolades such as the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from the university of Columbia, the Nobel Prize, and the likes.

His major contribution was in the widespread interpretation of the genetic code and also in the field of protein synthesis.

6. Srinivasa Ramanujan

The great Indian mathematician had no training, yet his contributions to the field of mathematics are widespread and well-known in the international forum too. He is, in fact, known to be the greatest mathematician who lived during the 20^th century. He is known for his inventions and innovations. It was his major contributions in his field that made him the youngest member of the Fellows of the Royal Society. In fact, he was only the second Indian member to become the fellow of such a reputed society.

Some of his major contributions include those in the field of mathematics such as the Ramanujan prime, the Ramanujan theta function, the mock theta function, amongst others. Some of his works and research has been on geometry and topics such as the infinite series, the elliptic function, the continued fractions, and the likes.

5. A.P.J Abul Kalam Azad

Most people know him as one of the greatest presidents that India has ever produced. He served as the 11^th President of the country from the year 2002 to the year 2007. However, not many people are aware of the fact that this great man was also one of the greatest scientists that our country has ever known to produce. Born in Tamil Nadu, the Indian scientist spent his career in DRDO or the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He made major contributions to the efforts made by the Indian government in the missile programme of the nation. It is for this reason that APJ Abul kalam is fondly remembered as the “Missile Man of India.”Not only that, the Indian president played a pivotal role in the Pokhran-II tests that was conducted in the year 1998. He is still honoured and respected nt only by the Indians but people all across the globe. There are many scientific institutions that have been set up in his honour. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial Travancore Institute of Digestive Diseases, A new science centre and planetarium in Lawspet, Puducherry, A new academic complex at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala are just a few examples.

He is most fondly remembered for his contributions in the field of ballistic missile and vehicle technology.

4. M Visvesvaraya

Born in the year 1861, M Visvesvaraya was one of the most revered scientists that the nation has ever produced. Not only was he a renowned scientist, but he was also an engineer, a scholar, as well as a statesman. The great scientist played an important role in helping to build theKrishnarajasagar Dam. He was also the one who actually pioneered the development and maintenance of doors made of steel in the dams so that there would be no wastage of water whatsoever. His major contributions made him win a number of awards and accolades. He was, in fact, awarded with the Bharat Ratna in the year 1918.

3. Prafulla Chandra Ray

Born under British India, Prafulla Chandra Ray was one of the most-revered Indian scientists. He was a chemist, a historian, and also a philanthropist. The first ever research school in the field of Chemistry that India has was actually founded by this scientist. Some of his renowned fellowships include Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Foundation Fellow of the National Institute of Sciences of India, Honorary Fellow of the Chemical Society .His major contribution remains in the finding of the first ever pharmaceutical company in India.

2. Homi J. Bhabha

The founding director of the prestigious Tata Institute of fundamental Research sure makes it to the list of the top 10 Scientists that India has ever produced. Such were his contributions to the field of nuclear programme in India that he is also known as the “Father of the Indian nuclear programme.” It was he who convinced the early leaders of independent India to focus and initiate a nuclear programme in the country. He was the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

The scientist played an important role in quantum theory. The development of the nuclear weapons in India was pioneered by Homi Bhabha through the Atomic Energy Establishment and the Tata Institute of fundamental Research.

1. C.V. Raman

Born on 7^th of November,1888, CV Raman was one of the most renowned scientists that India has ever produced. He died due to natural causes in the year 1970. He is known to have been the first Non-white who was awarded the prestigious Nobel prize in the field of science.

He won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on light scattering in the year 1930.This phenomenon also came to be known as the Raman effect. It explains how light changes its wavelength when it has to pass through a material that is transparent in nature. In fact, he also got the highest recognition in India-the Bharat Ratna in the year 1954.

Thus, the above is a list of the most revered Indian scientists. However, the above is not an exhaustive list and there are many inventions and accomplishments made by Indian scientists that are still remembered by one and all.