Eminent scientist G.N. Ramachandran remembered

Former Director General of CSIR, Shekhar C. Mande, praises biophysicist G.N. Ramachandran's contributions and suggests he deserved the Nobel Prize.

G.N. Ramachandran, the eminent biophysicist whose contributions included the discovery of the triple helical structure of collagen and the development of the ‘Ramachandran Plot,’ truly deserved the Nobel Prize, former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Shekhar C. Mande said here on Friday.

The contributions of Dr. Ramachandran are as profound as that of Nobel laureate C.V. Raman, if not more, Dr. Mande said, delivering the Dr. G. N. Ramachandran Memorial Lecture at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB). He observed that the younger generation was not really aware of the outstanding scientific output of Dr. Ramachandran.

Dr. Ramachandran, who passed away in 2001, was one of the leading figures in structural sciences in the previous generation, he said. Noting that Dr. Ramachandran was one of the “illustrious students” of C.V. Raman, Dr. Mande said; “If you look at the breadth of GNR’s contributions to biophysics, it is probably more than that of his mentor.”

Dr. Ramachandran is also known for his work that led to the development of the ‘Ramachandran Plot’ for understanding peptide structure, he added.

K.P. Sudheer, Executive Vice President, Kerala State Council For Science, technology and Environment (KSCSTE), said Dr. Ramachandran was the pioneer of biological research in its various facets.

The scientific community considered it a case of sheer discrimination that Dr. Ramachandran missed the Nobel Prize despite his significant contributions to science, RGCB Director Chandrabhas Narayana said.

The gifted physicist had discovered triple-helix exactly around the same time when the DNA was discovered and alpha-helix was discovered by Linus Pauling, who was his friend and mentor, he said.