About Us

Dr. Suri Bhagavantam and his wife, Sita Mahalaxmi, had four sons and one daughter. Three of their sons became scientists: Dr. Balakrishna, Dr. Radhakrishna, and Dr. Ramakrishna. Dr. Suri Balakrishna, for example, served as Assistant Director of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI).

While Dr. Suri Bhagavantam’s public life was centered around scientific research, administration, and defense, his family life reflected deeply held values common in traditional Indian households, combined with a strong emphasis on education and service.

 Dr. Bhagavantam’s own brilliance in science clearly inspired his children, with three of his four sons becoming scientists.

His commitment to building scientific infrastructure and fostering research in India, as highlighted by his role at DRDO and other institutions, likely extended to encouraging a love for inquiry and learning within his family.

Prof. Bhagavantam began his career as a scientist working with Sir C.V. Raman, the Nobel laureate. In fact, he was the one who received the phone call from Stockholm, Sweden, announcing Sir Raman’s Nobel Prize, and then conveyed the news to Sir Raman.

Later, Prof. Bhagavantam became Principal, Science College, Andhra University, then Vice Chancellor, Osmania University, Director, Indian Institute of Science.

Throughout this period, he continued his research work, initially in Raman Spectroscopy. His work on the Raman spectrum  of diamond was mentioned by the famous Max Born, in his letters to Albert Einstein.

Specifically, in one of these letters dated February 7, 1931, Born mentions the Raman spectrum of diamond. Max Born writes to Einstein about the recent developments in spectroscopy, particularly mentioning how the Raman effect had been observed in diamond by Suri Bhagavantam, an Indian physicist.

The observation of the Raman spectrum of diamond by Bhagavantam was significant in advancing the understanding of molecular vibrations and crystal lattices.

Suri Bhagavantam’s book on the Raman Effect, The Scattering of Light and the Raman Effect (published in 1936), is often regarded as one of the early significant monographs on the topic.

Prof. Bhagavantam’s scientific research resulted in several books on spectroscopy, group theory and symmetry of crystals, authored by him.

After his tenure as Director, Indian Institute of Science, Prof. Bhagavantam took the job of Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister of India, and he held this position till his retirement.

During this period, he was responsible for establishing several National Defense Laboratories.

As the Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defense and later as the Director-General of DRDO, Bhagavantam was a key figure in transforming India’s defense research landscape.

His vision was to make India self-reliant in defense technologies, which led to the establishment of various defense research institutions and labs.

His work not only influenced missile development and electronics but also laid the foundation for India’s long-term defense research capabilities.

We, his family, know him as a loving father and grandfather, who inculcated in us a sense of family values, respect towards scholarship, and righteousness.