Dr. Vikram Sarabhai

Trivia

• Vikram Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad on November 11, 1947. He was only 28 at that time. Sarabhai was a creator and cultivator of institutions and PRL was the first step in that direction
• The International Astronomical Union named a crater in the moon (in the Sea of Serenity) after him, in honour of his contributions to science
• He was the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1966, Vice-President and Chairman of the UN Conference on peaceful uses of outer space in 1968, and President of the 14th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency
• He was the recipient of the Bhatnagar Memorial Award for Physics in 1962, the Padma Bhushan in 1966, and was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan
• His deep cultural interests led him, along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, to establish Darpana Academy, an institution devoted to performing arts and propagation of ancient culture of India
• In 1965, he established the Community Science Centre in Ahmedabad with a view to popularise science among children
• India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in 1975, was one of the many projects planned by him
• Sarabhai pioneered India’s space age by expanding the Indian Space Research Organization
• He helped build and direct the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad from 1962-1965
• He established the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in 1948