    
Tuntari
Bewarse
Username: Tuntari
Post Number: 1189
Registered: 09-2004
Posted From: 192.127.94.7
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 28, 2005 - 7:39 pm: |    |
This article is posted in another email list by a guy named "Sai". Posting it here for BTians.
I read the entire article.. its really nice and given an indepth view of people moving back to home for research.  We shld appriciate their attitude and efforts in making India the future of home of Research 
Here you go
I was most excited when I was forwarded this article by my mother (who lives
with me).
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?conten t_id=65362&spf=true
In brief, it is a story about how TIFR is turning into one of the most (if not
the most) interesting places to work in the field of String Theory. This rather
esoteric corner of Physics is turning out to be the foundation of Cosmology -
how did the universe begin and what will be its ultimate destiny.
This article talks about how physicists are leaving universities in the US and
returning to TIFR to research this question.
VERY fascinating - very interesting!
To give some background: As a child I had a dream of the ideal place for me to
live in. It was a tall tower, on a beach/adjacent to the sea. The tall tower
would have two things in it - an unlimited number of books and an inexhaustible
supply of food. Mind you, this was a childhood fantasy while I was still in
school and reading books at the rate of about one every four or five days
(calendar days).
When I graduated with my B.Sc and was doing my M.Sc. in Mathematics at Kalina
(Bombay University), I got friendly with a couple of co-students that were doing
the same thing - wandering through life without too much aim. One of those
friends had a brother who was aiming to get into the IAS. I had only heard of
the IAS peripherally - Bombay and its private sector made me look down upon all
things governmental. While he was studying for the IAS, he also go a fellowship
to study mathematics at TIFR. Now he never actually wanted to be a Mathematician
- but the money paid the bills and the atmosphere was conducive for studies. He
invited us to TIFR a couple of times. One of my fellow students' father was also
a Professor at TIFR. From both sources we heard about the draconian measures
that were used at TIFR - publish or perish - tenure is renewed every five years
based on your publications and performance over the past five years. How
horrible! How could one do one's work under such pressure? Or so I was led to
think.
However when I visited TIFR for the first time, I realised that my childhood
dream was a reality! This was the place I had dreamed of. A cafeteria
(subsidised) was the unlimited food supply. And the number of books there was
virtually unlimited. Being a student, with no aim in life, for about 4-5
nanoseconds I even entertained the idea of trying to become a student there.
Then reality intervened and I came back to earth - and now I am in the US.
Sai
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