The community of defence scientists in Kerala lost an elderly and distinguished member with the passing away of A. Balakrishnan, a former scientist with the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) at Thrikkakara — the only establishment under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Kerala.
Mr. Balakrishnan died on Thursday, aged 84. The body was cremated at Ravipuram crematorium on Friday.
Part of the first batch of scientists to join the Indian Naval Physical Laboratory (INPL), the former avatar of NPOL, in 1952, he excelled in naval research and secured the first Indian patent in Oceanography, then a fledgling field, in the late 1970s.
“Oceanographic research was in the nascent stages then, but he planned several monsoon experiments and developed an oceanographic current meter and patented it. It was rather primitive by today’s standards that remained as the only Indian patent in the area for quite sometime.
He developed several sensors and instruments indigenously, including some to study wave properties,” recalls P.V. Nair, senior scientist at NPOL who had worked with Mr. Balakrishnan.
Mr. Nair remembers hearing about the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the U.S. extending an offer of employment and research to Mr. Balakrishnan which he refused to accept. “He was a physicist who focused more on equipment design and meticulously documented everything he had done.
“In the late 1980s, he was busy collaborating with India Meteorological Department (IMD) to design a weather data buoy, which underwent trials at Idukki lake. The project, however, didn’t take off,” says Mr. Nair, who remembers Mr. Balakrishnan as an affable person who was very close to the family. “Both of us are from Paravur and on weekends, I would hitch a ride on his scooter home.”
He had a stint in FACT
Mr. Balakrishnan had worked for sometime at FACT before joining the naval research laboratory. He was staying in Ernakulam after retirement in 1993.
His wife predeceased him. He is survived by four daughters.
