Science, superstition can’t go hand in hand: V Ramakrishnan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 5

Despite significant scientific achievements, a large number of Indians are still superstitious, resulting in poor decision making. This was stated by Nobel Laureate Prof Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, a structural biologist and physicist, while addressing science students and teachers of Punjab and adjoining states during the Har Gobind Khorana lecture at the third DST Inspire Internship Camp in Panjab University today.

Referring to the launch of the Mangalyaan by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Professor Venkatraman said he was surprised to know that it was launched on Tuesday as it was an auspicious day and the Chairman of the ISRO paid a visit to a temple to seek blessings of the god. The scientist said if he was holding that post, he would not have gone anywhere 24 hours before the launch.

Prof Ramakrishnan is the president of the Royal Society and currently working at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge. In his talk “Nobody’s World: Evidence and Modern Science”, he said science was fact-based and to enable students to comprehend it with ease, he explained it through several interesting examples.

He emphasised the need to inculcate scientific temper among students for the development of a science-based society. Thereafter, the students interacted with the Nobel Laureate.

The lecture was organised by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology in collaboration with the Institute of Nano Science & Technology and Panjab University as part of the Har Gobind Khorana (HGK) Lecture Series. The objective of the lecture series is to provide a unique opportunity to students and teachers to interact with renowned scientists of the Indian origin.

Prof Ashok K Ganguli, Director, INST, gave information about the cutting-edge research of the institute. Arun Kumar Grover, VC, Panjab University, UT Advisor Vijay Kumar Dev and Prof RV Hosur from the TIFR, Mumbai, also graced the occasion.

Dr Anurag Kuhad, programme coordinator, DST Inspire Internship Camp, said a total number of 721 students from 87 schools of six states had registered for the camp.

The Nobel Laureate also visited the PGI and an overview it was presented to him. Dr Ramakrishnan appreciated the outreach programmes of the PGI. He said the PGI-like outreach programme would help patients from rural and far distant areas. Prof Ramakrishnan also interacted with the PGI faculty, resident doctors and PhD students. He said clinical residents might get immediate satisfaction by treating patients but PhD students had to struggle for results.

“However, a link between these two groups is essential for conducting a good research and helping in the patient management,” he added. The Nobel Laureate highlighted shortcomings in research. “Though India has best researchers of the world, we need leaders in every field,” he said.

He urged the students to be innovative to resolve any problem and the faculty to act as good mentors for researchers. He added that the collaborative research was a very important step in solving big problems and appreciated the PGI’s initiative in collaborative research.

The lecture was shown throughout the world through the National Knowledge Network (NKN).