2409:4072:6D99:A219:0:0:490B:970E at 15:58, 19 May 2022

2022-05-19T15:58:02Z

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{{short description|Indian physicist (1922–2001)}}
{{for multi|the Indian squash administrator|Narayana Ramachandran|other people |G. Ramachandran (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2012}}
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix = [[Dr.]]
| name = G.N. Ramachandran 
| image = G N Ramachandran.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = [[Dr.]] G.N. Ramachandran
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1922|10|8}}
| birth_place = [[Ernakulam]], [[Kingdom of Cochin]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2001|04|7|1922|10|8}}
| death_place = [[Chennai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| nationality = Indian
| fields = [[Biophysics]]
| workplaces = [[St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli]] [[Madras University]] [[Indian Institute of Science]] [[Cavendish Laboratory]]
| alma_mater = [[Madras University]] ([[BSc]], [[MSc]], [[D.Sc]]) [[University of Cambridge]] ([[PhD]])
| doctoral_advisor = [[C V Raman]]
| known_for = [[Ramachandran plot]]
| religion =
}}
'''Gopalasamudram Narayanan Ramachandran''', or '''G.N. Ramachandran''', [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (8 October 1922 – 7 April 2001)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=(IUCr) G. N. Ramachandran|url=https://www.iucr.org/people/crystallographers/g.-n.-ramachandran|access-date=2020-10-21|website=www.iucr.org}}</ref> was an Indian [[physicist]] who was known for his work that led to his creation of the [[Ramachandran plot]] for understanding [[peptide]] structure. He was the first to propose a triple-helical model for the structure of [[collagen]].<ref name=":0" /> He subsequently went on to make other major contributions in [[biology]] and [[physics]].

== Early life and education ==
Ramachandran was born in the town of [[Ernakulam]], [[Kingdom of Cochin]], [[India]] to a [[Tamil Brahmin]] family.<ref name=vij>{{Cite journal | last1 = Vijayan | first1 = M. | author-link1 = M Vijayan| last2 = Johnson | first2 = L. N. | author-link2 = Louise Johnson| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2005.0024 | title = Gopalasamudram Narayana Ramachandran. 8 October 1922 – 7 April 2001: Elected FRS 1977 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 51 | pages = 367 | year = 2005 | s2cid = 70784146 }}</ref> He completed his BSc honours in Physics from [[St Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli]] in 1939.<ref>{{cite news|title=The prize that missed the master|url=http://hindu.com/2001/04/26/stories/08260006.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030506150213/http://www.hindu.com/2001/04/26/stories/08260006.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 May 2003|access-date=7 October 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=26 April 2001|author=D. Balasubramanian}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Vijayan|first=M.|date=May 2001|title=G. N. Ramachandran (1922–2001)|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/35079236|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=411|issue=6837|pages=544|doi=10.1038/35079236|pmid=11385557|s2cid=21453587|issn=1476-4687}}</ref> He joined the [[Indian Institute of Science]], [[Bangalore]] in 1942 in the Electrical Engineering Department. Quickly realising his interest in physics, he switched to the Department of Physics to complete his master's and doctoral thesis under the supervision of Nobel laureate [[Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman|Sir C. V. Raman]]. In 1942, he received a master's degree in [[physics]] from [[Madras University]] with his thesis submitted from Bangalore (he did not attend any Madras college at that time). He subsequently received his [[D.Sc.]] degree in 1947.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Balaram|first=P|author2=Ramaseshan, S.|date=21 April 2001|title=G.N. Ramachandran|journal=Current Science|publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences|volume=80|issue=8|pages=908–910|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/apr252001/909.pdf|access-date=21 February 2009}}</ref> Here he mostly studied [[crystallography|crystal physics]] and [[crystal optics]]. During his studies he created an X-ray focusing mirror for the [[X-ray microscope]]. The resulting field of crystal topography is used extensively in studies involving [[crystal growth]] and [[Solid-state physics|solid-state]] [[reactivity (chemistry)|reactivity]].

Ramachandran then spent two years (1947–1949) at the [[Cavendish Laboratory]] in [[Cambridge]],<ref name=":0" /> where he earned his PhD for 'studies on [[X-ray crystallography|X-ray diffuse scattering]] and its application to determination of elastic constants' under the direction of Professor William Alfred Wooster, popularly known as W.A. Wooster, a leading crystallography expert in the world.

== Research Works ==
After completing his PhD, he returned to the [[Indian Institute of Science]], [[Bangalore]], [[India]] in 1949 as an assistant professor of physics.<ref name=":1" /> In 1952, he moved to [[Madras University]] as professor and head of the Department of Physics where he continued his work on crystal physics.<ref name=":1" /> His interest, however, shifted to the structure of biological [[macromolecules]]. Using [[X-ray diffraction]] Ramachandran along with [[Gopinath Kartha]] proposed and published the triple [[Helix|helical structure]] of [[collagen]] in 1954 in the journal [[Nature (journal)|Nature]], drawing worldwide scientific attention to the "Madras group".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Venkatraman|first1=Vijaysree|title=The world has nearly forgotten the Indian scientist who cracked the structure of collagen|url=https://qz.com/983439/madras-triple-helix-the-world-has-nearly-forgotten-the-indian-scientist-who-cracked-the-structure-of-collagen/|access-date=15 May 2017|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]|date=15 May 2017}}</ref>

At Madras University, Professor Ramachandran was the favourite of the famous vice-chancellor and celebrated doctor and medical scientist, Sir Arcot Laksmanaswamy Mudaliar. Wanting to tackle problems at a more fundamental level, Ramachandran decided to use this information to examine the various [[polypeptide]] [[Chemical conformation|conformations]] then known and also to develop a good 'yardstick' that could be used for examining and assessing any structure in general, but peptides in particular. The result which emerged from these calculations in 1962, – now commonly known as the [[Ramachandran plot]] – was published in the [[Journal of Molecular Biology]] in 1963 and has become an essential tool in the field of [[protein]] conformation.<ref>{{cite journal |pages=95–9 |doi=10.1016/S0022-2836(63)80023-6 |title=Stereochemistry of polypeptide chain configurations |year=1963 |last1=Ramachandran |first1=G.N. |last2=Ramakrishnan |first2=C. |last3=Sasisekharan |first3=V. |journal=Journal of Molecular Biology |volume=7 |pmid=13990617}}</ref> When it was first calculated, crystal structures had barely been obtained for any protein. From the mid-1960s onward, Ramachandran studied many topics relating to the conformation of peptides including types of [[β-turns]], conformation of prolyl residues, cis-peptide units, occurrence and need for non-planarity of the peptides, [[Nuclear magnetic resonance|NMR]] [[coupling constant]]s, peptides containing L and D [[Amino acid|residues]] and many others.

He was awarded the prestigious [[Jawarharlal Nehru Fellowship]] in 1968 for research on ''Protein and Polypeptide Conformation'', he was one of its first recipients.<ref>{{cite web| title = Official list of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows (1969–present)|work = [[Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund]] | url = http://www.jnmf.in/flist.html }}</ref> Ramachandran can be credited for bringing together into the one field of [[molecular biophysics]] the then disparate fields of [[X-ray crystallography]], [[peptide synthesis]], NMR and other optical studies, and physico-chemical experimentation. In 1970, he founded the Molecular Biophysics Unit at the [[Indian Institute of Science]] which was later known as the '''Centre of Advanced Study in Biophysics'''.<ref name=":0" />

Ramachandran and A.V. Lakshminarayanan developed convolution-backprojection algorithms which greatly improved the quality and practicality of results obtainable by x-ray tomography. Compared to previously used methods, their algorithms considerably reduced computer processing time for image reconstruction, as well as providing more numerically accurate images. As a result, commercial manufacturers of x-ray tomographic scanners started building systems capable of reconstructing high resolution images that were almost photographically perfect. In 1971, they published their research in [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]].<ref>Three-dimensional reconstructions from radiographs and electron micrographs: Application of convolution instead of Fourier Transforms, [http://www.pnas.org/content/68/9/2236 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., vol. 68, pp. 2236–2240, 1971]</ref>

In 1981, Ramachandran became a founding member of the [[World Cultural Council]].<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[World Cultural Council]] | url = http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/about-us/ | access-date = 8 November 2016}}</ref>

Notable awards that Ramachandran received include the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award]] for Physics in India (1961) and the Fellowship of the [[Royal Society]] of London. In 1999, the [[International Union of Crystallography]] honoured him with the Ewald Prize for his 'outstanding contributions to crystallography'. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize as well for his fundamental contributions in protein structure and function.

== Later years ==
Ramachandran was devastated by the death of his wife Rajalakshmi in 1998, and a gradual deterioration in health occurred.<ref name=":0" /> During the last few years of his life he suffered a stroke and was affected by [[Parkinson's disease]].<ref name=":0" /> Ramachandran died in 2001 at age 78. Leading scientists from Europe including Professor [[Linus Pauling]] and Professor [[Francis Crick]] regarded Professor Ramchandran as a Nobel Prize calibre scientist of great reputation.

== Legacy ==
Each year, the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] (CSIR) awards the "G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology" in his memory for work in Biological Sciences & Technology.<ref>{{cite web|title= G N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology|url=http://csirhrdg.res.in/gnr.htm|work=CSIR}}</ref>

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book| last = Sarma| first = Raghupathy| title = Ramachandran: A Biography of Gopalasamudram Narayana Ramachandran, the Famous Indian Biophysicist | publisher = Adenine Pr| year = 1999| isbn = 0-940030-78-0}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927173344/http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/GNRamachandran%20.htm G. N. Ramachandran – A Jewel in the Crown of the Indian Science]

{{SSBPST recipients in Physical Science}}
{{Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Laureates of Tamil Nadu}}
{{Founding members of the World Cultural Council}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramachandran, Gopalasamudram Narayana Iyer}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Indian biophysicists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian physicists]]
[[Category:Tamil scientists]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:People of British India]]
[[Category:St Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli alumni]]
[[Category:Scientists from Kochi]]
[[Category:Scientists from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian Institute of Science alumni]]
[[Category:TWAS fellows]]
[[Category:Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]
[[Category:Founding members of the World Cultural Council]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]

G. N. Ramachandran - Revision history

2409:4072:6D99:A219:0:0:490B:970E at 15:58, 19 May 2022