Cambridge scientist appointed inaugural Jubilee Professor of the Indian Academy of Sciences

The Indian Academy of Sciences, founded in 1934 by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir C.V. Raman, celebrated its platinum jubilee in 2009.

The Council of the Academy has instituted the Jubilee Professorship in connection with this event.

The distinguishing feature of the Professorship will be to offer the holder an opportunity for interactions and exchanges with students, researchers and teachers in several parts of India, and not just in the major metropolises.

This is in light of Academy’s aims of promoting the progress and upholding the cause of science throughout the country.

Professor Venkitaraman holds the Ursula Zoellner Professorship of Cancer Research in the University of Cambridge and is the Director of the Medical Research Council’s Cancer Cell Unit there. He is known for his research on the causes and treatment of cancer.

Prof. Ajay Sood, President, Indian Academy of Sciences said: “I am delighted to have Prof. Ashok Venkitaraman as the first occupant of Jubilee Chair of the Academy.  As envisaged in this professorship, I am sure that students, teachers and researchers will be inspired by their close interaction with Professor Venkitaraman at the different universities and colleges he will visit.”

Professor Venkitaraman said: "I am honoured to have been appointed the first Jubilee Professor of the Indian Academy of Sciences, and thank the Academy for this award. It has been very exciting for me to witness personally over the past few years the excellence of research in the biomedical sciences at several Indian institutions, and I look forward to extending my interactions with colleagues and students in India during the Jubilee Professorship."