Subbarao Ramachandra Rao obtained DSc (1937) from University of London, UK. He worked as Reader and Professor of Physics, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar (1930-43); also Professor of Physics, Central College, Bangalore (1943-54) and Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (1954-63).

Academic and Research Achievements: Rao’s achievements relate to: (i) anisotropy of the polarization field in liquids by a study of light scattering in liquids at high temperatures; (ii) comparative studies on soft X-ray emission and secondary electron emission from polycrystalline and single-crystal metal faces; and (iii) magnetic properties of some elements and compounds in amorphous, colloidal, single-crystal and dissolved states.

Awards and Honours: Professor Rao was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore; Institute of Physics, London; and National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad. He was also President, Physics Section, Indian Science Congress (1952).