A former professor of the University of Madras has appealed that the Guindy campus be renamed as Prof. G.N. Ramachandran Campus for Basic Sciences.
G. Shanmugam, former head of the Department of Biophysics at the University, who was also the scientist’s student, has sought the name change since during GNR’s tenure as many as 20 Nobel laureates visited the department and westerners nicknamed it ‘Ramachandran lab/The Madras School of Biophysics.’
“A student of Nobel laureate C.V. Raman, GNR had narrowly missed the Nobel prize. But his internationally acclaimed work ‘Determination of Triple Helix Structure of Collagen’ and ‘Ramachandran plot’ are included in all modern text and reference books,” Mr. Shanmugam said.
“The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) had named its auditorium ‘Triple Helix’ and recently named a park ‘GNR Circle’ in his honour, whereas the university where the outstanding scientist served for 33 years had not paid any suitable tribute to him,” he said.
There was only a bust of the scientist in the department and a block named after him. More than 90% of the contribution to the Prof. G.N. Ramachandran Endowment Lectures was made by the scientist’s family, Mr. Shanmugam noted.
The Guindy campus was named “Tholkappiar Campus” and later renamed Dr. A.L. Mudaliar Basic Sciences Campus. The professor added that since the Taramani campus is named Dr. A.L. Mudaliar PG Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, the Guindy campus could be renamed after GNR.
