Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao Quotes

Since I set up the Unit, the area of solid state chemistry is no longer called so but is called chemistry of materials.This subject has become important. I set up this Unit in Bangalore much before the subject became important in the world. Now chemistry has two major directions:chemical biology and materials chemistry.

Build a strong base. The journey to peaks of excellence requires a strong base camp.

The Berkeley campus was academically overpowering. In the Tuesday evening colloquia, one would see a galaxy of chemists in the front row, with many Nobel Laureates and members of the National Academy of Science amongst them. It was a daunting task to give talks at these meetings. I managed to survive those occasions.

Since there was no infrared spectrometer, I managed to record routine infrared spectra of certain compounds here and there, in order to categorize group frequencies. One of these papers became a citation classic.

Even metals offer some resistance for the passage of electricity. Some materials conduct electricity without any resistance. Such materials are called superconductors.

Our society has created a bunch of icons and role models who are distorting not just the future of this city [Bangalore] but of all India, and of our sense of values. Our people have lost respect for scholarship. Money and commerce has taken over. If IT is going to take away our basic values, then you can burn Bangalore and burn IT.

I am also working on materials never worked on in the world, completely new type of materials on the planet. I am worried not so much for myself, I will go on working. But I am worried for others.

Also, we need to give importance to value systems to promote innovation. We need to develop an ecosystem of innovation and technology will arrive soon. Of the 140 nations rated for innovation, India stood at a lowly 66. We need new ways of doing things and new ways of thinking. We cannot be doing the same things. Jugaad (a temporary solution) is one of them. The atmosphere itself should encourage innovation.

Observe leaders closely, learn as much as you can from their leadership styles.

Atoms were originally proposed as an idea. Although their presence was proved by various means, people did not think that they could see them directly. This was so until recently. We are now able to directly see atoms by employing powerful microscopic techniques.

Music for me is therapeutic.

My monograph on ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy|visible spectroscopy using molecular orbital notations eventually resulted into a book in 1960.

An element is a substance which cannot be further reduced to a simpler substance by ordinary processes, and is made up of particles of one kind only.

Never stop learning. The thirst to gain more knowledge should never come to an end.

My hero is Nobel Laureate Neville Mott who published four papers at the age of 92 when he died.