The Vice-President said science should be used for cancer cure and betterment of people when he inaugurated the new state-of-the –art Facility for Research in Experimental Nuclear Astro-physics (FRENA) at Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) at a ceremony held at Kolkata on June 28.

Applauding the scientific community for working towards the betterment of people, the Vice President said, scientists along with  soldiers and farmers provide the greatest service to the nation. Speaking on the occasion, he urged scientists who go overseas to “learn, earn and then return” back to India for contributing towards nation. Mr Naidu said, “I am pleased to be with all of you today in an institution that was founded by Professor Meghnad Saha – a great astrophysicist, visionary and science reformer of India and the founder director of this institute. I have gained immensely from the interaction with all of you and have learnt more about the work you are doing and the inspiration you derive from the founder’s work.”

Prof Saha was the first person in the country to initiate courses in nuclear physics in 1938, he said. The Vice President said following the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939, Prof Saha had foreseen an immense potential of nuclear physics in the country. His visionary genius is evident in the reorganization of the physics syllabus of the university and plans to build a cyclotron. He accomplished this path-breaking task with a generous grant from the Dorabji Tata Trust, Mr Naidu said.

He said it is truly remarkable that the construction of the cyclotron began in 1941, long before the foundation of the Department of Atomic Energy by the Central Government in 1954. The Vice President said after 1940, the rapid growth of nuclear physics in the world
inspired Prof Saha to propose an independent institute with close link to the university.

That is the genesis of this Institute. Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) was formed in 1949, which was later renamed as Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) after the untimely death of Prof Saha in 1956. “I am privileged to visit this historical institute which was formally inaugurated by Madame Irene Joliot Curie, a Nobel Prize winner and daughter of the famous scientist and Nobel laureate Marie Curie, on January 11, 1950,” he said.

“I am glad to learn about the pioneering work done by Prof. Saha. His introduction of innovative initiatives like the pre-PhD course, the first of its kind in the country to train M.Sc students for PhD is truly impressive,” Mr Naidu said. He said it is really noteworthy that only recently the UGC has realized the importance of such a bridging course and made it mandatory for all universities.

“You have today given me an excellent glimpse into how young scientists are being encouraged by your institute to take up scientific research and how this has been done over the past 67 years. With about 40 students being inducted into the research and teaching program through a nation-wide selection test, it is heartening that scientists are being mentored and many of them are participating in large international collaborations in CERN, Geneva, the Vice President said.