Acclaimed high energy particle physicist and an institution builder of Indian science Prof. M G K Menon passed away. He was 88.
He was Scientist, Science & Technology policy-maker, scholar, parliamentarian, Cabinet Minister. He has been described as one of India’s most eminent "statesmen of science".
About M.G.K. Menon
Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon was born on 28 August 1928 in Mangalore, Karnataka.
He was famously known as MGK or Goku. He was awarded a Ph.D. at a relatively young age of 25 by University of Bristol, UK in 1953.
He had joined TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) in 1955 at invitation of Homi Bhabha.
In 1966, he was appointed Director of TIFR after death of Homi Bhabha. In 1971, he was appointed Secretary in the Department of Electronics.
Since then for two decades plus, he played important role in India’s science and technology policy-making.
In 1971, after death of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, he was given additional charge as Chairman of ISRO and the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. Subsequently in 1974 he was appointed Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and concurrently looked after the DRDO.
In 1978 he was appointed Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and Director-General of the CSIR. He had served as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from January 1972 and September 1972.
He had served as member of the Planning Commission (1982-1989), Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister (1986-1989), Vice President, CSIR (1989-1990).
He had served as a Minister of State (MoS) in the short-lived V.P. Singh Cabinet; and a Rajya Sabha member from 1990 to 1996.
Awards and Honours: Padmabhushan (1968), Padma Vibhushan (1985). The asteroid 7564 Gokumenon was named in his honour in late 2008. In May 1970, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
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