Varadaraja V. Raman
| Varadaraja V. Raman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 28, 1932 Calcutta, India |
| Citizenship | Indian, USA |
| Institutions | Rochester Institute of Technology |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta, Theoretical Physics, 1958 |
| Known for | Religion/Science dialogues, champion of science and enlightened values, bridge-building efforts between cultures, and a sense of humor |
| Notable awards | Metanexus Fellow, Raja Rao Award, Acharya Vidyasagar, IRAS Academic Fellow Award, Nazareth College Interfaith Partnership Award, RITirees Award |
Varadaraja V. Raman (born May 28, 1932) is Emeritus Professor of Physics and Humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has lectured and written Indian heritage and culture and authored numerous books, book reviews and articles on science and religion. He is considered expert in the Hindu religion, espectially as how it relates to modern science. In 2005 he was elected Senior Fellow of the Metanexus Institute. In 2006 he was the recipient of the Raja Rao Award which recognizes writers who have made outstanding contributions to the literature of the South Asian Diaspora. On May 18, 2007, Navya Shastra, a reformist Hindu organization, conferred on him the title Acharya Vidyasagar in recognition of his contributions to Hinduism.
He has guided our endeavors as an advisor and friend. His sagacious interpretations of Hindu culture are profoundly attuned to a timeless spiritual sensibility. At the same time, he unapologetically rejects outmoded practices that have no place in the modern world (…) In ancient India , a man like Professor Raman was called an acharya, a teacher of profound truths, a guide on the spiritual path, and someone an entire community looked up to. We at Navya Shastra are honored to proclaim Professor Raman – Acharya Vidyasagar- an embodiment of the ocean of wisdom.
Varadaraja V. Raman (called V V by his friends) is a multifaceted personality. He is an eminent philosopher, physicist, writer and author of original work in each of those categories. He was the recipient of the 2006 Raja Rao Award.
To those who know him from close, Raman is also an intelligent and inspired prankster. This unusual but charming facet of his that arises from his great sense of humor reminds one of Krishna. Listening to Raman is always an educational experience. Conversing with him is always a pleasant event. It is impossible to come in contact with this person without coming away awed, inspired, and warmed. The enormous work that Raman has done even in his 'retired' years is definitely deserving of the Raja Rao award. - Prof. Nitant Kenkre
Raman was born to a Tamil family which had settled down in Bengal. Blends of opposites, as of the North and the South in the case of his upbringing as a child, characterize him and may explain the keen insights he always displays into the nature of his surroundings. As a small boy, he learned to recite Vedic hymns in Sanskrit and Pater Noster in Latin. He read the Koran and the Torah. He has an impressive facility in French, German and Spanish, in handling equations of theoretical physics and in constructing verses, in pragmatic practice and historical scholarship, in science and art. His undergraduate work was in physics, his first postgraduate degree in mathematics. His doctoral work in Paris, carried out in the medium of the French language under the supervision of the Nobel laureate Louis de Broglie, was in theoretical physics, specifically on the mathematical underpinning of quantum mechanics.
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