Quick Info
| Profession | Theoretical Astrophysicist |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Date of Birth | 19/10/1910 |
| Age | 84 years (died on 21, Aug, 1995) |
| Birthplace | Lahore |
| Date of Death | 21/08/1995 |
Do you like Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar?
You can vote only once.
Bio/Wiki
| Summary | One of the foremost astrophysicists of the twentieth century, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was a major contributor to theories of white dwarfs and black holes. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his theoretical studies of the physical processes important to the structure and evolution of stars. |
|---|
Educational Qualification(s)
| B.Sc. Physics | Presidency College, Madras (1925-1930) |
|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Cambridge University, under R.H. Fowler (1930-1933) |
Personal Life
| Marriage | Married Lalitha Doraiswamy on September 1936 |
|---|
Family
| Parents | Sita Balakrishnan and Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar |
|---|---|
| Uncle | C.V. Raman (Nobel laureate) |
Career
| Key Positions | Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago (from January 1937) |
|---|---|
| Editor | Editor of the Astrophysical Journal (1952-1971) |
| Research Areas | White dwarf stars, stellar dynamics, radiative transfer, mathematical theory of black holes, hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic stability, general relativity |
| Publications | Ten books covering different topics including relationship between art and science; The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes (1983) |
| Teaching | Guided over fifty students to their Ph.D.s |
| Major Award | Nobel Prize in Physics (1983) |
| Other Honors | Copley Medal (1984) |
Some Lesser Known Facts
| 1. Served as editor of the Astrophysical Journal for 19 years, turning it into a world-class publication | |
| 2. Published a book on the relationship between art and science | |
| 3. Had a notable confrontation with Eddington at the Royal Astronomical Society on January 11, 1935 | |
| 4. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched in 1999, was named in his honor | |
| 5. Discovered the Chandrasekhar limit, which states that a white dwarf star cannot exceed approximately 1.44 times the mass of the Sun | |
| 6. Shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics with William A. Fowler |