https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Girjesh_GovilGirjesh Govil - Revision history2026-07-31T02:46:40ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Girjesh_Govil&diff=408253&oldid=prevCleanupBot II at 23:32, 13 August 20232023-08-13T23:32:03Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian molecular biophysicist}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}<br />
{{Infobox scientist<br />
| name = Girjesh Govil<br />
| image = <br />
| alt = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1940|9|25}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Uttar Pradesh]], India<br />
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|10|12|1940|9|25|df=y}}<br />
| death_place = <br />
| residence = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India<br />
| nationality = [[Indian nationality|Indian]]<br />
| fields = {{ublist | [[Molecular biophysics]] }}<br />
| workplaces = {{ublist | [[National Institutes of Health]] | [[Kobe University]] | [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]] }}<br />
| alma_mater = {{ublist | [[Lucknow University]] | [[Allahabad University]] | [[Bhabha Atomic Research Centre]] | [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]] | [[University of Mumbai]] | [[National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)|National Physical Laboratory]] | [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]] }}<br />
| doctoral_advisor = <br />
| doctoral_students = <br />
| known_for = Studies on semi-empirical quantum chemical theories<br />
| awards = {{ublist | 1978&nbsp;[[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] | [[Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry|FICCI]] Award | Goyal Award | P. C. Ray Memorial Award | N. R. Dhar Award | J. C. Ghosh Memorial Award | [[Indian Science Congress Association|ISCA]] Lifetime Achievement Award | [[Indian Chemical Society|ICS]] Lifetime Achievement Award }}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Girjesh Govil''' (25 September 1940 – 12 October 2021) was an Indian molecular biophysicist and a Raja Ramanna professor at the [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]].<ref name="Raja Ramanna fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://cbsraipur.ac.in/AdminCBS/Upload_Data/Resume/govil.pdf |title=Raja Ramanna fellow |date=2016 |publisher=CBS Raipur}}</ref> He was known for his researches on semi-empirical quantum chemical theories.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{Cite web |url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=469 |title=Brief Profile of the Awardee |date=2016 |publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> He was an elected fellow of [[The World Academy of Sciences]],<ref name="TWAS fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://twas.org/member/govil-girjesh |title=TWAS fellow |date=2016 |publisher=The World Academy of Sciences}}</ref> and all the three major Indian science academies viz. the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]],<ref name="NASI Fellows">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasi.org.in/fellows.asp?RsFilter=G |title=NASI Fellows |date=2016 |publisher=National Academy of Sciences, India |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021102942/http://www.nasi.org.in/fellows.asp?RsFilter=G |archive-date=2014-10-21 }}</ref> [[Indian National Science Academy]]<ref name="Indian fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://insaindia.res.in/detail.php?id=N83-0290 |title=Indian fellow |date=2016 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy}}</ref> and the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]].<ref name="Fellow profile">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Govil,_Prof._Girjesh |title=Fellow profile |date=2016 |publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences |access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1978, for his contributions to chemical sciences.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref><br />
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== Biography ==<br />
Girjesh Govil, born to Mangalsen - Dharamdevi couple on 25 September 1940 at [[Khurja]], a town in [[Bulandshahr district]] of the Indian state of [[Uttar Pradesh]], known for traditional ceramics products, did his graduate studies in chemistry at [[Lucknow University]] in 1956 and completed his master's degree at [[Allahabad University]] in 1958.<ref name="Indian fellow" /> His career started at [[Bhabha Atomic Research Centre]] in 1959 but after a short while, he joined [[Tata Institute of Fundamental Research]] (TIFR) and while serving the institute, he did his doctoral studies simultaneously to secure a PhD from [[Mumbai University]] in 1963. Subsequently, he went abroad and did his post-doctoral studies at [[National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)]] and [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]]. Returning to Tata Institute of Fundamental Research as a senior professor, he served as an [[Indian National Science Academy|INSA]] Golden Jubilee Research Professor there. In between, he had short stints at NRC, [[National Institutes of Health]] and [[Kobe University]] as a visiting scientist.<ref name="Indian fellow" /><br />
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Govil was married to Anuradha Mithal and the couple has a son, Anurag and two daughters, Shalini and Shivani. He lived in Mumbai.<ref name="Fellow profile" /><br />
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== Legacy ==<br />
Govil got attracted to the then new field of [[nuclear magnetic resonance]] towards the beginning of his research career and most of his activities were focused on it.<ref name="Indian fellow" /> Working on the conformational aspects of biological molecules such as [[peptides]], [[nucleotides]], [[saccharides]] and [[lipids]], he developed applications of semi-empirical [[Quantum chemistry|quantum chemical theories]] and elucidated the structure of nucleotides using conformational energy maps and rotational energy states.<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999 | access-date=5 October 2016 | pages=34 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043957/http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | archive-date=4 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> His calculations of non-bonded and hydrogen-bonded interactions of bimolecules are reported to have been precise and he also made contributions on stacking and base pairing in ordered nucleic acids, lipid structures in biomembranes and their structural flexibility and transport properties. His researches are documented in over 250 articles published in peer-reviewed journals<ref name="Girjesh Govil on ResearchGate">{{Cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Girjesh_Govil |title=Girjesh Govil on ResearchGate |date=2016 }}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|Please see ''Selected bibliography'' section}} and five books which included ''NMR in Biological Systems: From Molecules to Human''<ref name="CharyGovil2008">{{cite book|author1=K.V.R. Chary|author2=Girjesh Govil|title=NMR in Biological Systems: From Molecules to Human|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPSjZ1tha4EC|date=8 April 2008|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4020-6679-5}}</ref> and ''NMR'';<ref name="GovilHosur1981">{{cite book|author1=Girjesh Govil|author2=Ramakrishna V. Hosur|title=NMR.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=abvfrQEACAAJ|year=1981|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=978-0-387-10769-1}}</ref> he also contributed chapters to ''India in the World of Physics: Then and Now'', authored by [[Asoke Nath Mitra]]<ref name="Mitra2009">{{cite book|author=Asoke Nath Mitra|title=India in the World of Physics: Then and Now|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRLPM6s7hWAC&pg=PA289|year=2009|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1579-6|pages=289–}}</ref> and ''Science and Modern India: An Institutional History'', edited by Das Gupta.<ref name="Gupta2011">{{cite book|author=Das Gupta|title=Science and Modern India: An Institutional History, c.1784-1947: Project of History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pks7BAAAQBAJ&pg=PR63|year=2011|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=978-81-317-5375-0|pages=63–}}</ref><br />
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Govil has guided several doctoral scholars in their researches and has served as a TWAS professor at [[Kathmandu University]].<ref name="Indian fellow" /> He has presided over the International Council for NMR in Biological Systems, the Indian Biophysical Society,<ref name="Indian Biophysical Society">{{Cite web |url=http://indianbiophysicalsociety.org/home.html |title=Indian Biophysical Society |date=2016 |publisher=Indian Biophysical Society}}</ref> the [[Indian Chemical Society]] and has served as the vice president of the [[International Union of Pure and Applied Physics]]. He has been associated with the [[Indian National Science Academy]] as the secretary of its council from 1989 to 1991 and as an additional member in 2002.<ref name="Indian fellow" /><br />
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== Awards and honors ==<br />
The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] awarded Govil the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1978.<ref name="Chemical Sciences">{{cite web | url=http://www.csir.res.in/External/Heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm | title=Chemical Sciences | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=2016 | access-date=7 November 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912012851/http://www.csir.res.in/external/heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm | archive-date=12 September 2012 }}</ref> A Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Visiting Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and a Raja Ramanna fellow at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,<ref name="Raja Ramanna fellow" /> he has received several other awards and the list includes FICCI Award, Goyal Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Awards of the Indian Science Congress Association and the Indian Chemical Society. Besides being an elected fellow of [[The World Academy of Sciences]],<ref name="TWAS fellow" /> he was also an elected fellow of Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences<ref name="Fellow profile" /> and the National Academy of Sciences, India.<ref name="NASI Fellows" /><br />
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== Selected bibliography ==<br />
=== Books ===<br />
* {{cite book|author1=Girjesh Govil|author2=Ramakrishna V. Hosur|title=NMR.|year=1981|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=978-0-387-10769-1}}<br />
* {{cite book|author1=K.V.R. Chary|author2=Girjesh Govil|title=NMR in Biological Systems: From Molecules to Human|date=8 April 2008|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4020-6679-5}}<br />
* {{cite book|author=Asoke Nath Mitra (author), Girjesh Govil (contributor)|title=India in the World of Physics: Then and Now|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRLPM6s7hWAC&pg=PA289|year=2009|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1579-6|pages=289–}}<br />
* {{cite book|author=Das Gupta (editor), Girjesh Govil (contributor)|title=Science and Modern India: An Institutional History, c.1784-1947: Project of History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 4|year=2011|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=978-81-317-5375-0|pages=63–}}<br />
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=== Articles ===<br />
* {{Cite journal |last=Girjesh Govil |title=Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in India: A Historical Sketch |journal=EMagRes |date=March 2007 |doi=10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp0067}}<br />
* {{Cite journal |author1=E. Neu |author2=M. C. Michailov |author3=U. Welscher |author4=J. Foltinova |author5=Viktor Foltin |author6=Dugble Martin |author7=Erich Gornik |author8=Girjesh Govil |author9=S. Gupta |author10=M. Sharma-Kaune |author11=S. Kuznetsov |author12=Dieter G. Weiss |title=On education and research in neurology Part I: necessity of regular implication of physiology |journal=European Journal of Neurology |date=June 2015 |volume=22|page=489|doi=10.1111/ene.12808|doi-access=free }}<br />
* {{Cite journal |author1=E. Neu |author2=M. C. Michailov |author3=U. Welscher |author4=G. Werner |author5=A. Werner-Srivastava |author6=Girjesh Govil |author7=S. Gupta |author8=M. Sharma-Kaune |author9=S. Kuznetsov |author10=G. -R. Stainov |author11=Dieter G. Weiss |title=On education and research in neurology Part II: regular congress reports on example of physiology |journal=European Journal of Neurology |date=June 2015 |volume=22|page=490|doi=10.1111/ene.12808|doi-access=free }}<br />
* {{Cite journal |last=Ragini Sinha, Girjesh Govil |title=NMR studies of model biological membranes and whole cellls |journal=Journal- Indian Chemical Society |date=July 2016 |volume=93 |issue=7 |pages=689–692}}<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Asoke Nath Mitra]]<br />
* [[Quantum chemistry]]<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{Reflist|group=note}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{SSBPST recipients in Chemical Science}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Govil, Girjesh}}<br />
[[Category:1940 births]]<br />
[[Category:2021 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Chemical Science]]<br />
[[Category:Scientists from Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Indian biophysicists]]<br />
[[Category:Indian scientific authors]]<br />
[[Category:Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India]]<br />
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]<br />
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]<br />
[[Category:TWAS fellows]]</div>CleanupBot II