New Delhi, January 01: Indian science witnessed its crowning moment in 2009 when its maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-I revealed to the world the existence of water on moon and nuclear scientists designed a new atomic reactor that uses little uranium per unit of energy.
Tamil Nadu-born and Baroda-educated Venkataraman Ramakrishnan brought cheers as he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year.
The scientific establishment had its share of controversies as the government’s ambitious scheme to woo Indian scientists back to their country got off to a false start. Another scientist had to forfeit his prized scholarship following allegations of scientific misconduct.
The year also saw a change in guard in two key institutions – the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
–PTI