Prof. Ram Rao, nanotechnology expert - winner of the Dan David Prize in a conversation with "Hidan": international cooperation in essential science
Prof. Ram Rao (the real first name consists of three long words) from the Jawaharlal Nehru Center in India, serves as an important spokesperson for his country - India. In an exclusive conversation with the science website, Rao said that India today invests a lot of money in basic science and that it can no longer be thought of as a third world country or at best as an outsourcing country. At the end of the interview you can discover another difference between India and Israel. India has 200 times more inhabitants than the State of Israel, but the President of India and its Prime Minister found it appropriate to call Prof. Rao and congratulate him on receiving the Dan David Award. Katsav and Ariel Sharon took longer to congratulate the first Israeli scientific Nobel Prize winners.
Prof. Rao is one of the three winners of the Future Time Dimension Award of the Dan David Prize, this time dedicated to pioneers in the field of materials science. "I studied my first and second degree in India and my third degree in America. For the last 46 years I have been working in India as a professor. I have taught a lot of students so far - over 130 people studied PhD with me. When I started working in the field of chemistry of materials and the solid state, the subject was unknown. I was one of the few researchers in the field. It has become a very important field of chemistry and material sciences and I am glad that the Dan David Prize committee recognized the importance of the field. I owe a lot to India for supporting me during difficult times in my career. I worked for many firms and wrote over a thousand research articles and 35 books. I have been involved in many aspects of this field from the beginning. Everyone who works in the field knows me. I grew up with the subject or you could also say that the subject grew up with me."
There are two aspects to the award. I am personally very proud, but this is also a recognition of science in India, and also that the subject has received recognition - the first time that the field of materials research has received such an award. From a prestigious point of view it is like a Nobel Prize. There is no Nobel Prize in materials except through physics or chemistry. It's like a Nobel Prize."
What was your contribution to the field?
The biggest work was in the field of Transition Metal Oxides. These materials show a variety of properties and phenomena, for example superconductivity, unique magnetic properties, and they also include a wide variety of architectures and structures. One of the things I was interested in - there are some materials that show two extreme properties in different directions. If I add a magnetic field to them they become electrically active or if I add an electric current they become magnetically active - multifunctional materials. Another aspect - in recent years I have been working on hybrid materials. Most materials are either organic or inorganic. I combined them together into hybrid materials with new properties and structures. Another important field - nanomaterials - yesterday I lectured on it at the Weizmann Institute.
There are lots of materials I've worked with that have important industrial applications. For example some of the metals I researched - commercial companies continued methodologies developed in our laboratory. Many things I started opened up new areas of research. People can work for many years on some of these subjects. I myself will continue to work in the laboratory until my last day. My government thought it was important to have a laboratory like mine and invested in it over the years. Although I competed with the best experts from the world's leading universities, but if you want to succeed in science and technology, you have to compete in all countries. You can't get new ideas for free. The Israelis are very good at this.
What do you do besides research?
I am 71 years old, a researcher for over 50 years and I don't want any other life. I am not interested in doing anything other than research and tutoring students. But I also want to encourage others to choose a scientific career. I also encourage the children to go to university. Together with my wife, I made multimedia kits and printed materials for children. I also give a one-hour lecture accompanied by a film all over India to encourage children to go into science. Every year I speak to over ten thousand children. In recent years, I have been asked to serve as an advisor in the field of science to the Prime Minister - not a full-time position, but chairman of the Science Advisory Committee, which advises on policy-making, science funding, etc.
India has become a high-tech country, at least that's how it looks from the outside?
It seems that we are running fast but in my opinion the rate of progress is too slow. We are a democracy and therefore it takes more time compared to China which ran very quickly. We need to hold discussions, bring it to parliament. There are different opinions. But we are making progress in the field.
What is the focus now in India?
We concentrate on several areas - biology, biotechnology, materials and all aspects of basic research. We give importance to basic science. In the field of applications, our space program is making good progress. We are doing a good job in the field of satellites. The future field we will focus on is the energy field, especially due to the ongoing crisis. We are looking for replacements for the current fuel. We are also researchers in the field of atomic energy - new types of reactors. for energy. We have a 500 megawatt reactor of the type known as the Fast Breeder Reactor - unusual technology. If it will work. We will not have to use materials such as uranium but materials that are more stable and convenient to handle. The world will be much safer with these reactors. It is also impossible to use it for other things (hint - for atomic bombs).
Is it correct to say that the current century is the century of the East?
"I feel that Asia will be an important force in the coming century. I hope Israel will be with us. Israel is after all part of Asia. Look at the software sector - India has become an important factor in the software sector. This is not outsourcing. The new medical industry in India is also strong and based on Indian innovation. The field of biotechnology is also based on developments made in India.
Has India increased investment in science?
We are about to establish a national research fund with a very large budget. This year - only in the field of nano sciences, the government allocated 70 million dollars. Other areas of basic research will also be funded. They also invest a lot of money in higher education - in universities and research institutes.
What is new in the field of nanotechnology?
I also research different aspects of materials in the field of nanotechnology. Applications in the field of medical diagnostics and sensors are already on the market. But applications such as nanoelectronics or nanocomputers are still far away. Meanwhile, nanostructured materials could be used for many things such as metallurgical, polymeric applications.
For the common man, the nanotechnology will be applicable when 10,000 CDs fit into a wristwatch. It will take time.
What needs to be done to get there? There is a difference between making individual items in a lab and mass production. You can build one circuit but not connect millions of circuits together. To build an integrated system with nanocircuits takes a lot of time. Anyway - you see monitors with a lot of nanotubes. You have to produce them in large quantities to enjoy them. In a lecture yesterday at the Weizmann Institute, my friend Reshef Tana made an important discovery - he discovered nanometer particles of organic materials that can be used as lubricants. It is not yet possible to produce this material in commercial quantities.
Not at the rate of a kilogram per year, but tons. Enel will make progress in these areas in the coming years.
What was the reaction to the win in India?
The President of India was the first to call and then the Prime Minister.
I believe that not only / that I think we must continue research but we need more international cooperation in science. For example in this area, I feel that India and Israel can work together in many areas of mutual interest for the benefit of both countries.
