TRIBUTE PAID TO J.C BHATTACHARYYA, EX- DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE OF ASTROPHYSICS

TRIBUTE PAID TO J.C BHATTACHARYYA, EX- DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE OF ASTROPHYSICS

The former Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), J.C. Bhattacharyya, passed away in New Delhi on Monday4th June,2012, after prolonged illness. He was 81. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.He headed the institute from 1982 and retired in 1990. Later, he served as the Emeritus Professor of the institute. In 1997, he became a member of the institute's governing council and remained so till 2006.According to his colleagues at the institute, Professor Bhattacharyya was well known for his contributions to experimental astrophysics. “From the ground based telescopes at Kavalur, he discovered in 1971 a thin atmosphere around Ganymede, a satellite of Jupiter. In 1977, he discovered through the lunar occultation technique an extended ring system around Uranus. The discovery was subsequently confirmed by the Voyager Mission,” recalled a colleague, who served under him for several years.

“Professor Bhattacharyya steered the 234-cm telescope project to successful completion in 1986, which was the biggest optical telescope at that time in Asia and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, at Kavalur on Javadi Hills, near Vellore in Tamil Nadu,” said another colleague.Professor Bhattacharyya was elected Fellow of the major science and engineering academies. He was recipient of several national and international awards.He has extensively written in Bengali and English and delivered several technical and popular lectures on astronomical topics.

Prof. John Kurakar