Path to Nobel for India
Three action items for India to break its 90 years of ‘Nobel silence’.
The last Nobel prize in Science for India was in 1930 to Dr. CV Raman for discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’.
Nobel prize is awarded for ‘a discovery that would have a benefit to humankind, so our criteria is very narrow. We’re looking for a discovery that has either opened doors and helped us think about a problem in a new way or the discovery has changed the way we think about a problem — it’s paradigm shifting. The height of that discovery should really be quite great. It can’t be an invention or an improvement. It has to be a discovery, it has to be of a high distinction, and it has to be a benefit to humankind. In the science prize-awarding bodies, this has been interpreted to mean that fundamental discoveries that extend the horizon of human knowledge in profound ways are always of “benefit to humankind.”
Similar criteria are applied for Chemistry and Physics Nobel prizes too. Every year each Nobel committee receives hundreds of nominations of scientific work that deserves a Nobel prize. There could be thousands in the race year after year for this prize. Not all of them will not get the award, but their Research is of great importance and benefit to humankind!
The 1993 Nobel prize was awarded to Dr. Kary B. Mullis in recognition of his role in the invention of the polymerase chain reaction technique. Besides the benefit to mankind in research, health, and forensics, it must have earned a trillion dollars or more, so far, for all the companies that use PCR globally. The research of others on the path but did not receive the prize also contribute significantly to global well-being and the economy. Therefore there is a need for countries to encourage their scientists to be in the pursuit of Nobel prize.
Readers of my previous article - ‘ Noble Prize: So Near Yet So Far’, published in Parvasi Indians 2022 October issue, asked me for specific action items that India can take to be on the path to the Nobel prize, to break the ‘Nobel silence’ by India since 1930 prize to Dr. CV Raman.
I am presenting three action items India can take up without much effort.
- Nobel Advice
Every year, a few thousand bright young students join Research to obtain a Ph.D. They are selected based on a test, and the score and an interview will give them access to a lab to research under a supervisor. All these bright students get trained while toeing the line of thought of their supervisor or their seniors in the lab. Rarely they get any advice, exposure, stimulation, or inspiration to think originally. The practice of training young officers in the Military or IAS can be an example.
Therefore every year, the Ph.D. students in each subject area should give at least one month of exposure to new ideas and advice from those who received a Nobel. Some 5–10 Nobel laureates can be invited to advise and spend time with the most deserving, motivated students ready to pursue a career in Research. The cost is negligible compared to the benefits it can reap over the years. Relevant industries can help the program with its corporate social responsibility contribution. Government can facilitate the program by clearing any administrative hurdles that the students may have.
2. Young Scientists to Indian Villages
Indian National Science Academy( INSA) gives every year 40 Young Scientist Awards with the aim of distinguishing young scientists of extraordinary promise and creativity who have made notable research contributions in Science and Technology in India. Till 2021, 925 young scientists have been thus recognized. If these bright, creative scientists are asked to spend a month in a village of their choice in India, they will be exposed to new problems and opportunities to think and find solutions that benefit mankind.
3. How we missed Nobel Review
In the area of every Nobel prize awarded, there are several hundred if not thousands of scientists working around the world. India also may have several of them actively working. After the award is announced, India must review the work of all those in the area and find out how we missed the award.
Once the reasons for missing the prize are identified, measures to correct them can be implemented to make India ready for Nobel prize again.
Thats expcervise will solve the puzzle — When will India get the next Nobel Prize !
