Remembering Vasant Gowarikar, the man behind Indian monsoon model
Dr Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar was a noted scientist and also the man behind the Indian monsoon model.
Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar was secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology (DST) from 1986 to 1991 and also functioned as the scientific advisor to the prime minister from 1991 to 1993.
One of the noteworthy contributions is the development of the first indigenous weather forecasting model for predicting monsoon precisely. This was operationalised under his leadership.
Facts about Gowarikar
1. VR Gowarikar was born in Pune on March 25, 1933. After his graduation in India, Gowarikar did his master's and doctoral degrees from Birmingham University, England.
2. He along with senior scientist Vikram Sarabhai, laid the foundation stone for India's space technology and space programmes, culminating in many important milestones.
3. India’s first launch vehicle, SLV3, made its triumphant success during Gowarikar's tenure as director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
4. ISRO’s Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant’ was set up over 5,500 acres of land under his leadership.
5. Gowarikar had to his name many honours and accolades from around the globe, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan. He is also the recipient of the Aryabhat award by the Astronautical Society of India.
- Gowarikar was the first scientist to develop the first indigenous weather forecasting model that predicted monsoon correctly
- He was a part of the band of scientists who initiated India's satellite research programme with other scientists APJ Abdul Kalam, EV Chitnis, Pramod Kale, UR Rao among others
- He collaborated with Dr. FH Garner to create Garner-Gowarikar theory, a novel analysis of heat and mass transfer between solids and fluid
- In 2008, Gowarikar along with his associates also compiled the Fertilizer Encyclopedia (2008) that featured 4,500 entries detailing the chemical composition of fertilizers
Gowarikar passed away on January 2, 2015, at the age of 81.
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