Gravitational waves discovery: Indian scientists' role hailed

Pune, Feb 12: Former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar on Thursday congratulated the team of Indian scientists who contributed to the research on gravitational waves calling it a "great day".

Reacting to the announcement at a gathering of scientists of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) here, he said, "I wish the Indian detector was already in place."

Eminent astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar described the event as "a remarkable discovery saying this is the time to recall the contribution of the pioneers", who started the quest for discovering gravitational waves.

One of the IUCAA founder members Sanjeev Dhurandhar had discussed the topic of starting research in this field at nascent stage and later it was taken up and intensified, Narlikar who started IUCAA in 1988, said drawing a loud cheer from the assemblage.

Noted scientist C V Vishweswairya, who was also present on the occasion, described the discovery as a "historic moment", which is "overwhelming".

The IUCAA is part of the 'IndiGO-LSC' group, which carries out research on gravitational waves with participation of different scientists from all over the country.

Former director of IUCAA, Ajit Kembhavi, said the Indian scientific community contributed greatly in developing methods for analysing the data received from the two detectors in America. He also added that the IUCAA is seeking to set up a high performance computer for its further analysis.

PTI