Tuesday, February 07, 2017

For the love of science- 18 Year old Tanmay Chopra who published his first book recently,tell us why it is so important to respect science and ,above all, indian scientist

Author's take
I was 16 when I started writing my book Black Holes, Big Bang and A Load of Salt: Profiles of Contemporary Indian Scientists. It took me around one and half years to finish the book. I spent a lot of time getting in touch with the scientists and receiving their responses, as they have extremely busy schedules. And to manage things with my regular academics, it took a bit longer. My interaction with these scientists, which was mostly over the phone, was extremely humbling. These are big names in the world of science and they are respected worldwide, but in spite of this, they were so encouraging and down-to-earth. All the scientists were so humble. It was an incredible learning experience. I learnt the process of editing. I have been the editor of my school magazine for a year, so I had a faint idea, but working on the book was different. With the publishers, I learnt so much, and I now realise what it takes to work on a draft to make it in to a book. I have always been extremely passionate about science. I diligently study Physics, Chemistry and Biology along with Mathematics in Cathedral and John Connon School, where I'm finishing my Class XII. While studying these subjects academically, somewhere along the line, I realised that there was a huge gap in communication of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with the public. In the West, there are several popular scientists and researchers who bring science to the masses, engaging people who are interested in the world of STEM. In India we don't have any such platform, or idols to look up to due to lack of awareness. I sincerely believe that STEM is a very good way in creating a large-term impact, especially in a country like India where there is so much scope. If I have to summarise what the book is all about, it would be trying to explain the lives of scientists in India. This book is for anyone who wants to learn about the science scenario in India. It's explained in an extremely lucid manner so a person of any age can pick the book and read. The main goal of the book was to popularise Indian science and specifically break the myth that Indian scientists are inferior. I experienced this trend when I read about several scientists who have been doing remarkable work, but people are not even aware of it. For example, theoretical physicist Ashoke Sen is a luminary in his field but very few science aspirants may know of him. In a science class, students would mostly idolise Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison, which is not wrong, but this may have been a result of the fact that the work of the Indian scientists is not much talked about or discussed in classrooms, or even in the media. While Indian scientists might not have access to the best resources as their Western counterparts, in no way are they inferior. In fact, I feel they may be better as they pursue their field overcoming all the obstacles in our country and still manage to produce cutting-edge work. Sanjeev Dhurandhar, who is part of the Discovery of the Gravitational Waves, or P Balaram who left lucrative opportunities abroad and decided to stay back and changed the scene of biology in our country and set the way for hundreds of biologists who follow his path, are some such examples. I feel that India has not been able to create an environment where our scientists are respected and looked up to. ISRO's Mars Mission is a wonderful example of how good Indian scientists are. Our scientists proved that we can do what the scientists across the world can do, and, in fact, do it for much cheaper.

    The book also engages people in various subjects. To have in-depth knowledge is not possible but knowing what the black hole is, or dark matter is, or what's nanotechnology - are the kind of things that we should be at least aware of. I am hoping that by introducing these and other topics in my book, a spark of interest among the young and old alike is created. Science, STEM and development is all about collaboration and getting people involved. This is my aim and my book in a nutshell.

Source: DNA-1st February,2017