Vishnu Vasudeva Narlikar obtained his MA (1946) from University of Cambridge, UK specializing in mathematics, relativity and cosmology. He served as the Professor and Head, Department of Mathematics (1932-60); Pro-Vice-Chancellor (1950-55), Principal, Central Hindu College (1958-60), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; Lokmanya Tilak Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Poona (1966-73), Pune; Emeritus Professor, Banaras Hindu University (1963) and University of Poona (1973).

Academic and Research Achievements:Narlikar specialized in relativity and cosmology. His significant research achievements include: a generalization of Bode’s law; derivation of the highest atomic number in Eddington’s fundamental theory; derivation of world trajectories in Milne’s kinematical relativity; studies of the gravitational space-time matrices, their fourteen differential invariants, exact solutions and equations of fit; developments in the Einstein-Infeld-Toffman equations of motion; and solution of Einstein – Schrodinger type of unified field theory equations.

Other Contributions:Narlikar served as Chairman, Rajasthan Public Service Commission and Member, INSA Council (1942-44).

Awards and Honours:Narlikar was the recipient of Releign Prize (University of Cambridge) (1932). He was a Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad and Royal Astronomical Society (London); President, Calcutta Mathematical Society (1957-59), Indian Association of General Relativity and Gravitation (1970), and Indian Mathematical Society (1982) and served as the President, Mathematics Section, Indian Science Congress (1953)

The Indian National Science Academy has instituted the ‘Professor Vishnu Vasudeva Narlikar Memorial Lecture Award’ in his honour.