1938 - 2025
Professor Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (JVN as we fondly refer to) left us peacefully in his sleep at his residence in Pune on May 20, 2025. This marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in Indian science. During his long, decorated research career, he inspired an uncountable number of young minds to take up science, shaped the careers of a large number of young scientists who went on to become world leaders in various aspects of Astrophysics and Cosmology. .
As a researcher, he made unique and groundbreaking contributions to cosmology, challenged prevailing scientific orthodoxy, and took it as a mission to spread science and scientific temper to the broader public. He is best known for co-developing the Hoyle–Narlikar theory of gravity and for championing the steady-state theory in the initial days and quasi-steady-state theory of the universe in the later years. These theories challenged the widely accepted Big Bang model.
He was the founding director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, which hew built as a “role model” institute to promote the nucleation and growth of active groups in astronomy and astrophysics at Indian universities. He was also a loving husband and inspiring father and is survived by his three daughters Geeta, Girija and Leelavati and their families, who have our deepest condolences.
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