I

The

KALINGA PRIZE

1952-1977

SILVER

JUBILEE

THE I<ALINGA PRIZE

The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an international award

presented each year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) to a person with a distinguished career of service in theinterpretation of science and research to the public. Many of the winners of theKalinga Prize have been scientists in their own right, while others have been trained

in journalism or have been educators or writers. Each in his or her own way hasmade a significant contribution to improving public understanding of science,lIsually through writing, editing, public speaking, radio or television.

UNESCO awarded the Kalinga Prize for the first time in 1952, having establish­

ed it at the initiative of Mr. Biju Patnaik, the founder and chairman of the KalingaFoundation Trust in the state of Orissa, India. The Foundation and the Prize bearthe name of the ancient Kalinga Empire which flourished in eastern India under thefamous Emperor Ashoka, who began his rule as a warrior but la~er forsake warfareto turn his attention to learning and religion.

Early each year, UNESCO invites nominations from all of its Member Statesthrough national associations for the advancement of science or through theNational Commissions for UNESCO. A three member int.ernational jury designatedby UNESCO's Director-General studies the nominations and makes its recommenda­tion. The Kalinga Prize is presented by the Director-General of UNESCO and

comprises an award of one thousand pounds sterling granted by the KalingaFoundation Trust. The winner of the prize also receives the UNESCO Gold Medaland is invited to visit India as a guest of the Kalinga Foundation Trust.

(for a complete list of the Kalinga Prize Laureates, see Inside the back cover)

This souvenir booklet was compiled with the editorial assistance of Dr. Shakti Gupta and

published by the United Nations Educational, SCientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) using bioQraphical data from "Who's Who" and "Who Was Who" and other

material kindly provided by th3 Kalinga Prize laureates or by the resr;ective UNESCO

delegation or national commission or embassy, to wbom the publishers wish to express

their gra:itude.

Printed in New Delhi, India, by MASS PRESS

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MESSAGE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONSEDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

In the quarter-century since the founding of

the Kalinga Prize, for the Popularization ofScience, this high distinction has each yearextended its range and grown in prestige.

I wish here to pay homage to the person who

conceived the idea, Mr. Bijoyanand Patnaik,currently Minister of Steel and Mines in theGovernment of India. His initiative has madeit possible to reward numerous eminent per­sonalities who have felicitously participated inthe popularization of scientific and technical

knowledge.

Scientific discovery and technical innovation have increased during the pasttwo or three decades so rapidly that it was imp3rative that public opinion become

aware of them; the renown of the Kalinga Prize has contributed largely 10 thisawareness.

Apart from engineers and technicians, it has been the thousands of professionalsconcerned with the communication of science, the 'popularizers', who havebrought discovery and invention within the ken of a large audience. Some of thesecommunicators are journalists representing the printed or audiovisual media, whileothers are scientists (including winners of Nobel Prizes). The list of winners ofthe Ka!inga Prize is eloquent in this respect. But whatever their origins and their

training, the winners all possess in common something essential: a profound senseof responsibi!ty towards the public, an acute awareness of the need to make scienceand technology known throughout the world, and the establishment of a fruitfuldialogue between the public and scientists-constituting a categorical duty andimplying total commitment.

UNESCO, having the mission of aiding in the support, advancement and spreadof knowledge, keenly appreciates the work accomplished by Mr. Bijoyanand Patnaikand the Kalinga Foundation Trust in the diffusion and popUlarization of sciencethroughout the world.

It is with the greatest delight that I express my sincere congratulations to thetwo winners of the Kalinga Prize who are honoured on the occasion of the award'stwenty-fifth anniversary, Sir George Porter and Academician Alexander Oparin. Iwish to thank them, as well as 1heir predecessors. All have worked, with equaldevotion, so that science be brought closer to mankind.

Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow

MESSAGE

OF THE FOUNDER OF THE KALlNGAFOUNDATION TRUST

Over 25 years ago, Kalinga Foundation approached UNESCO with a view toestablish an international award to encourage a dialogue between scientists andthe general public, a dialogue which I felt then and still feel today is extremelyimportant for scientists as well as for laymen. It is generally understood todaythat every man must have at least a basic understanding of science in order tofunction well in society. Similarly, it is becoming clearer that the scientificcommunity must not allow itself to become isolated from the mainstream of socialand economic and political trends within their society. Hence the importance of thepopularisation of science and the direct involvement of the scientific community inthat effort, both as message givers and message receivers.

I am very gratified to see that over the years the Kalinga Prize has achieved

widespread recognition and in turn has succeeded in drawing attention to theexemplary work for the popularisation of science accomplished by its many distin­guished laureates. I am also pleased to note that among the winners of the prizefigure a number of personalities from the developing countries. where science andtechnology have a growing role to play. Finally, I would like to take this opport­unity to express my sincere thanks to UNESCO and its Director-General for socapably managing the selection of the Kalinga Prize Laureates and the presentationof the award with suitable publicity, so that the Prize has indeed fulfilled theFoundation's initial intentions in establishing it twenty-five years ago.

Biju Patnaik

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LOUIS DE BROGLIEKalinga Prize-1952

Born in Dieppe, France, 1892, Prince Louis deBroglie comes from an illustrious aristocraticfamily, which included three "Marshalls ofFrance" in the 18th century. His grandfather,father and elder brother were all membersof the prestigious French Academy, to whichhe was also admitted in 1944.

Young Louis de Broglie had obtained a degreein history and was preparing a further diplomawhen he was deeply impressed in reading theworks of Hemi Poincare and decided to take upscience as his career. He earned his "licence es

sciences" in 1913 and continued his research in the private laboratory establishedby his elder brother Maurice for investigating X-rays. Louis was concentrating hisattention on quanta, waves and corpuscles when war broke out in 1914. For the

duration of the war, he was assigned to the military radio service, but with thecessation of hostilities, he returned to his research on X-rays. In November 1924,he defended his doctoral thesis, '''Research on the theory of quanta", in which forthe first time was established the wave nature of electrons and protons and otherparticles. This led to a new discipline: wave mechanics. The French Academyof Sciences awarded him the first "Hemi Poincare medal" in 1929, and the sameyear he received the Nobel Prize for Physics.

In 1928, Louis de Broglie became a professor of the Faculty of Science inParis, and from that year until 1962, he taught at the Institut Hemi Poincare,

which he made internationally known. He founded a centre for the study of appliedmathematics in 1943, and became a councillor to the French Atomic EnergyCommission in 1945. From 1942 onwards, he was the honorary permanentsecretary for mathematics and the physical sciences of the French Academy ofSciences, to which he had been elected in 1933. He was awarded the GrandCross of the Legion of Honour, and he was the recipient of honorary doctoratesawarded by the universities of Warsaw, Bucharest, Athens, Lausanne, Quebec andBruxelles.

Louis de Broglie became the first laureate of the Kalinga Prize in 1952 inrecognition of his work for the popularization of science. Among his publishedworks are: 'Matter and Light'; 'Continuity and Discontinuity in Modern Physics';'Waves, Corpuscles and Wave Mechanics~' 'Physics and Micro-Physics'; 'NewPerspectives in Micro-Physics'; 'On the Path of Science'; and 'Certainty and Uncer­tainty of Sciance'.

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JULIAN HUXLEYKalinga Prize 1953

Sir Julian Huxley, scientist, humanist, writer,and the first Director-General of UNESCO, wasborn in June 1887 and died in February 1975.

A King's Scholar at Eton, Julian Huxley went

on to Oxford University as a BrakenburyScholar at Balliol College, where he received afirst class in natural science (zoology), as wellas recognitio!l for his poetry an:! athletics.After graduation, he worked one year in the

marine zoological station at Naples, Italy.From 1912 to 1916 he was a research associate and then assistant professor at theRice Institute in Houston, Texas, USA, before returning to Oxford. He moved toLondon in 1925 to become professor of zoology at King's College, a position heexchanged three years later for an honorary lectureship in order to give himselfmore time for research, writing and "exploring the methods of communicating theresults of scientific rese,Hch in the public". His studies of courtship behaviouramong grebes and herons pioneered the way for the modern concept of sexualselection and reproductive behaviour in evolution.

Huxley was professor of physiology in the Royal Institution from 1926 to 1929,and for seven years fr0m 1936, he served as secretary of the Zoological Society inLondon. In 1938 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was a founderof the Associ?tion of Scientific Workers, of the Society of Experimental Biology,of the Association of Systematics, and of the PEP (poli:ical and economic plan­ning). On several o:::casions he was sent to Africa by the British Government toassist various e::lucational commissions, and was one of the original members ofthe BBC brains trust. In 1946, Huxley became secretary of the PreparatoryCommission for UNESCO and was subseq'Jently appointed the first Director­

General of UNESCO. He became Sir Julian Huxley on being received into theknighthood in 1958,

Sir Julian was a prolific writer, known for his versatility, writing on sociology,religion, philosophy and science. He addressed himself to laymen, as well as toscientists. His first book, The Individual in the Animal Kingdom, appeared in 1911.Among his better known writings are: Soviet Genetics and World Science, Evolutionin Action.' The Wonderful World of Evolution, and Essays of a Humanist. He wasalso the biological editor of the 14th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

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WALDEMAR KAEMPFFERTKalinga Prize 1954

Waldemar Barnhard Kaempffert was a popu­larizer of science for nearly fifty years, writingthousands of articles on scientific discoveries.His style was journalistic, adapting andglorifying scientific truths to suit the particularreadership in view. The titles of his articles

often sounded sensational-"Why Flying

Machines Fly"; "Was the Star of Bethlehem aComet?"; "Origin of Life on this Planet" -yethe discussed the subjects in a simple and lucidprose understandable to the layman, presenting

the facts in an interesting manner.

Kaempffert was born in New York City in September 1887. He was a brilliantstudent, admitted to Phi Beta Kappa at the College of the City of New York, wherehe received his Bachelor of Science degree at the age of twenty. After obtaininga law degree from the University of New York, he was admitted to the New Yorkbar and was registered as a patent attorney.

Quite early he showed an interest in science writing. From 1897 to 1911, hewas assistant editor of the 'Scientific American', and edited the Popular Science

Monthly from 1915 to 1920. In 1927 he became the science editor of the NewYork Times but left the paper the following year to become director of the Museumof Science and Industry in Chicago. He returned to the Times as scienceeditor in 1931.

Kaempffert did not confine himself to writing for magazines and periodicals butalso wrote and edited many books. He was the author of The New Art of Flying(1910); 'The A BC of Radio' (1922), 'Invention and Society' (1930), and 'ScienceTodayandTomorrow' (1939). He edited 'Collier's Wonder Book' (1920), 'TheBoys Story of Invention' (1924), 'A Popular History of American InventIon' (1924),and 'Modern Wondel Workers' (1931).

He was a member of the Meteorological Society, the Historical ScientificSociety, and the National Association of Science Writers. Kaempffert was one ofthe first to urge that cancer research he organised like a research programme in abig industry. He was nominated for the 1954 Kalinga Prize by the British Asso­ciation of Science Writers. Waldemar Kaempffert died in 1956 at the age of 79.

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AUGUSTO PI SUNERKalinga Prize 1955

In recognition of his important contribution to the popularization of science inthe Spanish-speaking countries, Augusto Pi Suner was awarded the Kalinga Prizein 1955. Though known mainly for his published works on physiology and theteaching of science, he has also popularized science through lectures and writing.Among his books translated into English are: 'The Bridge of Life' and 'Classics ofBiology.

Suner was born in August 1879 in Barcelona. After completing his studies,he became professor of physiology at the universities of Seville and Barcelona.Later, he held the chair of physiology at the University of Caracus, Venezuela,and served as the director of the University's institute of exparimental medicine.He was a president of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Barcelona and a member

of the medical academies of Paris, Buenos Aires. Genoa, Saragossa and Valladolid.He was a member also of the Leopoldine Academy of Natural Sciences of Halle,the Academy of Sciences of Coimbra, and numerous other scientific societies. Hewas honoured by many foreign institutions. including the University of Toulouse,the Central University of Venezuela, the University of Montevideo. the ArgentineScientific Society, the New York Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine,and the biology societies of Barcelona. Paris, Belgium and Argentina.

In 1922, Dr. Suner receivad the Achuarro National Prize in Spain for hisresearch on the physiology of the nervous system. He was awarded the PrixPourat of the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1949 for his book, 'The VegetativeNervous System

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Kalinga Prize 1956

GEORGE GAMOW

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George Gamow, nuclear physicist and author,was awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1956 inrecognition of his numerous books on scienca

written for the layman. Two of his earlier

popular writings, 'Mr. Tompkins in Wonder/and'(1939) and 'Mr. Tompkins Explores the Atom'(1944) were described in the 'American Scien­

tist' as "extraordinarily imaginative populariza­tions of modern physics". In 'The Birth and

Death of the Sun' (1940), he presented to the layman material not yetwidely known except among physical scientists. A year later, his 'Biography ofthe Earth' was described by Waldemar Kaempffert (later, himself a Kalinga laureate)in the 'New York Times' as "a racy, interesting, simply written, and authoritativeaccount of what is known and what is surmised about the earth". Gamow's 'OneTwo, Three .... .Infinity' (1947) was intended to make advanced mathematicalconcepts understandable and entertaining to the general public. Among his otherbooks are: 'Atomic Energy in Cosmic and Human Life' (1946), 'Creation ofthe Universe' (1952), 'The Moon' (1953), 'Puzzle-M3th' (1958), 'Biography of

PhysIcs' (1961), 'A Plamt Called Earth' (1963) and 'Thirty Years that shook

Physics' (1965).

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Although a citizen of the United States after 1940, George Gamow was bornin Odessa, USSR, in March 1904, and obtained his Ph.D. at the University of

Leningrad in 1928. His quantum theory of radioactivity (announced simultaneouslyby Condon and Burney in the USA) won prompt acceptance and established hisscientific reputation. As a Carlsberg Fellow, he worked with Niels Bohr at t~e

University of Copenhagen in 1928-29, then with Lord Rutherford at Cambridge ona Rockefeller Fellowship in 1929-30. Over the next years, he held several acade­mic appointments: Copenhagen, Leningrad, Paris, London, and in the USA atMichigan and Stanford. He was appointed professor of physics at George Wash­ington University in 1934, a position he held for over twenty years. He joinedthe University of Colorado in 1956 and continued working there until his death in

1968.

During his career he attended various international congresses, including the Convegnlo Fislca

Nucleare (Rome, 1931), the Solvay International Congress on Physics (Brussels, 1933), the Inter­

nationa I Physics Congress (London, 1934; Warsaw, 1938). He was a member of the American

Physical SOCiety, the American Astronomical Society, the Washington Philosophi<::al Society, the

GeophYSical Society, and the International Astronomical Union.

A multillnguist (Russian. French, Italian, German, Danish, English), Gamow enjoyed travelling

a:ld reading poetry. He was elected to the Royal Danish Asadamy of Sciences In 1851.

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BERTRAND RUSSELLKa:inga Prize 1957

The internationally known philosopher, math­ematician and writer, Bertrand Russetl, wasborn in May 1872 into one of Britain's illus­trious families. His grand father had been a

prime minister under Ql'een Victoria, and anearlier forefather had lost his head on a charge

of rebellion against King Charles 11.

Having lost his parents when he was three, theyoung Bertrand was brought up by his grand­father. Russell won an open scholarship toTrinity College, Cambridge, where he received

a first class in mathematics and moral sciences. He became a lecturer at TrinityCollege and wrote many books on mathematics, logic and philosophy. In 1908, at

the earlv age of 36, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. Apart from hisacademic activities, he also was interested in politics, the Fabian Society, the freetrade movement, women's sufferage, and thrice he stood unsuccessfully for a

Parliamentary seat.

Until the rise of the Nazis, he was a strict pacifist and suffered for his viewsduring World War I : his lectureship was terminated and he was imprisoned Laterhe declined a reinstatement at Trinity College. As a member of the Labour Party,he visited the USSR and wrote of his impressions in 'The Practice and Theory ofBolshevism' (1920). He went to Peking University to lecture on behaviourism in1920 and on his return wrote 'The Problem of China' (1922), discussing China's

probable role in the 20th century.

Russel! is the author of more than fifty books covering a variety of subjects:'Principles of M3thematics' (1903), 'Mysticism and Logic' (1918), 'The A B Cof Relativity' (1925), ,M3rriage and M:Jrals' (1929), 'Education and the Social

Order' (1932), 'History of Western Philosophy' (1946), 'The Impact of Scienceupon Society' (1952), 'Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare' (1958), and 'HasMan a Future?' (1961) ··to mention only a few.

Prior to World War IJ, he lectured at the University of Chicago and theUniversity of California (UCLA) and was offered a professorship at New York City

College. He returned to Britain in 1944 and took up a special fellowship atCambridge. He was an active speaker and broadcaster, taking part in the B. B.C.'s"brains trust"programmes.

He is well known as the founder and president of various bodies working forworld peace and campaigning against nuclear weapons. In 1950, he received theNobel Prize for Literature; in 1957, the Kalioga Prize; and in 1960, the DanishSonning Prize for outstanding contributions to European culture. BertrandRussell died in 1970 at the age of 97.

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KARL VON FRISCHKalinga Prize 1958

In November 1886, Karl von Frisch was bornin Vienna, into a family with strong academictraditions: his father and four uncles were alluniversity professors. As a child, Frisch likedto observe and care for animals. In accor­dance with his father's wishes, he enrolled atthe Faculty of Medicine in Vienna, but after fivesemesters, he changed course, moving toMunich to study zoology. He returned toVienna in 1909 to work at the well· known

biological research station there, concentrating

his study on colour changes in fish. A year later, he obtained his Ph.D.

During the 1914-1918 war, Frisch worked as a medic and bacteriologist in aRed Cross hospital in Vienna. After the war, he went back to Munich to dofurther study there, and in 1921, he was appointed director of the zoologicalinstitute at the University of Rostock. In 1923, he took up a similar appointmentat Breslau, but returned to Munich in 1925 to take over from his former professorand continued teaching there through World War 11. With the institute largelydestroyed by the end of the war, Frisch went to Austria but returned to Munichin 1950 to head the rebui It institute until he retired in 1958.

His research dealt with animal behaviour, particularly of bees and fish.He made several notable discoveries concerning their aural, olfactory and visualabilities. Three of his books relate aspects of his study of bees: 'Aus dem Lebender Bienen' (1927), 'Duftgelenkte Bienen' (1947). and 'Tanzsprache undOrientierung der Bienen' (1965). Other of his books include: 'Du und das Leben'(1936). 'Erinnerungen eines Biologen' (1957), and 'Tiere als Baumeister' (1974).

Frisch has been awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Berne,Graz, Harvard, Tubingen, Rostock, and the Technical High School of Zurich. Heis a membar of numerous academies and learned societies and received severalmajor awards, including the Kalinga Prize, 1958; the Austrian Honorary Awardfor Science and the Arts, 1960; the BaJzan Prize for Biology, 1963; the NobelPrize for Medicine, 1973; and the Order of Merit (of the Federal Republic ofGermany). 1974.

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JEAN ROSTANDKalinga Prize 1959

Jean Rostand, the son of Edmond Rostand,known as the author of 'Cyrano de Bergerac'was born in Paris in October 1894. On reading'Souveniers Entomo!ogiques' by Fabre at theage of 8 years, young Rostand was drawn tothe study of natural history. He pursued hishigher studies at the Sorbonne, whele heobtained his "licence es sciences". During the1914-1918 war, he was mobilized and assignedto the vaccination service.

A researcher, historian, moralist and popularizer of biology, Rostand divided

his time between his research and his writing. He is attributed with originalscientific contributions on parthenogenesis, gynogenesis, the doubling ofchromosomes by cold, the hereditY of polydactyles among the amphibians, theprotective action of glycerine with regard to freezing, the production of anomolies,

etc.

Rostand was a defender of truth and a film believer in reason, refusing toaccept dogmatism in any domain. He believed that democratic values wouldfinally triumph, but he also felt strongly that the group or col/ectivity should notmisuse its power over its members and that the spiritual individuality of each per­son must be jealously preserved for the g~eater good of the whole.

As a prolifiC science writer, he succeeded in making known to a vast public in France the main

problems ana issues of biology, particularly in the domain of genetics and embryology. Examplesof his scientific books are: 'Les Chromosomes' (1928), 'De la Mouceh a r Homme' (1930), 'La Vie

des Crapauds' (1933), Heredite et Racisme' (1939), 'La Genese de la Vie' (1943), and 'La Partheno­

genese Animale' (1950). Some of his books were more philosophical: 'Men of Truth' (1942, 1948).

'What I Believe' (1953), and Can the Human Species be Modified?' (1956). He also contributedto numerous scientific and literary publications.

Rostand was a laureate of the French Academy of Science, the Literature Prize 01 the City ofParis, the Singer-Polignac Foundation Prize, and the Kalinga Prize for 1959. He was admitted to the

prestigious French Academy in November 1959. He belonged to the International Academy of the

History of Science, the Biological Society, the Internatio"al Insritute of Embryology, and the

World Academy of Arts and Sciences. Edmond Rostand died in September 1977 at the ag<J of 82.

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RITCHIE CALDERKalinga Prize 1960

Ritchie Calder's formal education, which didnot include science, ended at [he age of fifteen,but as an experienced general reporter, he won

the confidence and co-operation of scientistsand became a pioneer of British science-writingin the 1930s. Calder siated his sentimentsaptly thus: "Science is knowledge. Wisdomis knowledge tempered by jUdgment. The

promotion of the common understanding ofscience is essential to its wise use for the bene­fit of mankind."

Born into a Scottish weaver's family In July 1906, he was given the title Baron Ritchie-Calder,

a life peerage, in 1966. At age 15 he wa3 a police court reporter for the 'Dundee Courier;' later

he worked for Fleet Street newspapers in London. While making a tour of Britain's laboratoriesfor the 'Daily Herald', he became interested in science, noting the affinity between police detectives

and sCientists, "looking for clues, examining their significance, deducing a possible explanation. ".During the late 19305, he was a moving spint In the creation of the Bntish Association's diVision

of social and international relations, which under his chairmanship, dealt with the Impact of

scientific discovery on human affairs. In fact, the "Calder plan" for a world association of scienceanticipated the "S" in UNESCO, set up a few years later.

During World War 11, Calder served in the Foreign Office, but in the post-war years returnedto science writing, first with the 'News Chronicle' and then with the 'New Statesman'. He was

a member of the Bntish delegatIOn to the fJrst General Confelence of UNESCO and subsequently

served as an adViser and consultant to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, as well

as other UN agencies, especially regarding the application of science and technology to develop­

ment. Among hiS many mher assignments, he served as chairman of the University of Chicagostudy gr':Jup on radiation In the environment (19BO), as a co,lsultant of OXFAM, a fellow of the

Center for the Study of Democratic /nstitutlOns (USA). the UK Community Relations Commission,

anda member of the counclloftheUK's "Open University". From1961 to 1967, he was pro­fessor of international relations at Edinburgh.

He IS the author of over thirty books, appearing In 42 languages. Some of the titles: 'Birthof the Future' (1934), 'Men Against the Desert' (1951), 'Profile of Science' (1951), 'Men

Against Ignorance' (1953), 'Science in Our Lives' (1954). 'Magic of Medicine' (1958). 'Common

Sense About a Starving World' (1962). 'The Evolution of the Machine' (1968). and 'How LongHave We Got' (1972).

Calder was awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1960. Among his other awards, he received thefirst Victor Gollancz Award for service to humanity in 1969. Calder's son, Nigel. became a KalingaPrize laureate in 1972.

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ARTHUR CLARKEKalinga Prize 1961

Arthur Charles Clarke, the well known sciencewriter, was born in England in December 1917.He entered lhe British civil service in 1936,working in the Exchequer and Audit Department

until ,he outbreak of World War 11. During thewar, he was a radar instructor in the Royal AirForce, and it was he who, in 1945, originated aproposal to use satellites for communications.

In 1948 he received his B.Sc. degree at King's College, London. During thenext two years, he worked with the Institution of Electrical Engineers and also asassistant editor of 'Science Abstracts', befGlre becoming a full-time writer. Clarkehas over 50 books, fiction and non-fiction, to his credit. Among his non-fictionworks are: 'Interplanetary Flight' (1950), 'The Exploration of Space' (1951), 'TheMaking of a Moon' (1957), 'The Challenge of the Spaceship (1960), 'Indian

Ocean Adventure (1961), 'The Treasure of the Great Reef' (1964), 'The Coming ofthe Space Age' (1967). and 'First on the Moon' (1970). Of his many works offiction, probably the best known is the novel and screenplay (with Stanley Kubrick),'2001 : A Space Odyssey' (1968).

Since 1954, Clarke has b8en engaged in underwater exploration of the GreatBarrier Reef of Australia and the coast of Sri Lanka, where he is now resident.He has lectured and made radio and TV appearances all over the world. He waschairman of the British Interplanetary Association, 1946-47 and 1950-53, and a

member of the International Academy of Astronautics, the World Academy of Arts& Sciences, the Association of British Science Writers, the International ScienceWriters Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science,among other affiliationc;. Clarke is the recipient of numerous awards for hiswriting, inclUding the Kalinga Prize fGH 1961.

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GERARD PIELKalinga Prize 1962

L

Gerard Piel, editor and publisher, was born in March 1915 in New York state.He was graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1937 and hassubsequently received several honorary degrees from American colleges anduniversities.

From 1939 to 1944, Piel was the science editor of 'Life Magazine'. He wasassistant to the president of the Henry J. Kaiser Company in 1945-46. Since 1917,he has been president and publisher of the'Scientific American', He is the authorof 'Science in the Cause of Man' (1961) and 'The Acceleration of History' (1972).

Piel is an overseer of Harvard College and a trustee of several institutions,including Radcliffe College, Phillips Academy, the American Museum of NaturalHistory, New York University, the Mayo Foundation, and the Henry J. KaiserFamily Foundation. He is a fellow or member of the American Academy of Artsand Sciences, the American Philosophical SocietY, the Council on Foreign Relations,the Institute of Medicine, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi (hon.)

His awards include the Kalinga Prize for 1962, the George K. Polk Award, theBradford Washburn Award, the Arches of Science Award, and the RosenbergerMedal of the University of Chicago.

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JAGJIT SINGHKalinga Prize 1963

The first Asian to receive the Kalinga Prize, Jagjit Singh was born at Amritsar,India, in May 1912. He studied at Punjab University in Lahore (now in Pakistan)and obtained his Masters degree in mathematics in 1933. Subsequently he joinedthe Indian Railway Administrative Service and rose to become general manager of

the North East Frontier Railway in 1965. Later his services were lent to the publicsector, and he was appointed chairman and managing director of Indian Drugs andPharmaceuticals Ltd, a Government of India undertaking and the largest pharm­aceutical company in the country. He retired from that position in 1973.

Singh served as chairman of the editorial board of 'Science Repofter,' apopular science monthly published by India's Council of Scientific and IndustrialResearch. He has written many articles and books to popularize science, concen­trating his efforts to improve the layman's understanding of the fundamental princi­ples of mathematics. astro-physics, cosmology (particularly Einstein's concept of

relativity and space-time), statistics, and information theory underlying theconstruction of natural and artificial automata, such as the human brain andcomputers. respectively. Among his books are: 'Mathematical Ideas: TheirNature and Use;' 'Modern Cosmology'; 'Great Ideas in Information Theory: Language

and Cybernetics;' and 'The Story of Our Railways'. Translations of SOme of hisbooks have appeared in Dutch, Italian and Japanese.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, London; a member of the IndianStatistical Institute, Calcutta; the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, North Caro­lina, USA; and was president of the Operations Research Society of India as well as

adviser to the Government in operations research. He represented India at the 3rdInternational Federation of Operational Research Societies Conference (Oslo. 1963)and was a member of the Indian delegation to the International Railways Congress(Dublin. 1964).

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WARREN WEAVERKalinga Prize 1964

Warren Weaver was born in Wisconsin, USA, in July 1894. He studied atthe University of Wisconsin, earning his B. Sc. in 1916 and his Ph. D. in 1921. Hethen held several teaching positions: Throop College, California Institute ofTechnology, University of Chicago, and University of Wisconsin, where he becameprofessor and chairman of the department of mathmatics from 1928 to 1932. Forthe next 27 years he was an officer of the Rockefeller Foundation, head:ng itsprogramme for the natural sciences, eventually including agriculture and medicineas well. In 1959, he joined the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

In the course of his C3reer, he also headed various research advj!)ory groupsfor the US Department of Defense and served as an officer or trustee of numerouSInstitutions among which could be mentioned the Sloan-Kettering Institute of CancerResearch, the Public Health Research Institute of New York City, the NntionalScience Board of the US National Science Foundation, the Salk Institute forBiological Studies, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Weaver also found time to help popularize science. He served as chairman of

the scientific committee which planned and conducted a series of radio broadcasts,beginning in 1943. Later, he served in a similar capacity for two series of tele­vision programmes on science. He is an honorary member of the National Asso­ciation of Science Writers, and from 1963, he has been director of the Scientist's

Institute for Public Information'

Apart from his technical articles and papers on mathematical research and generalaspects of science, he is author of : 'Lady Luck-The Theory of Prababilty' (1963);'Alice in Many Tongues' (1964); 'Science and Imagination' (1967); plus several

other titles which he edited or co-authored.

Seven universities have conferred honorary doctorates on Weaver, and he hasreceived numerous public service awards and decorations, including the Medal forMerit of the United States, the French Legion of Honour, and the British Medal forService in the Cause of Freedom. He is a recipient of the Arches of Science

Award and Kalinga Prize for 1964.

15

EUGENE RABINOWITCHKalinga Prize 1965

One of the earliest initiatives to alert the publicto the potential dangers of atomic energywas the publication, "Science and PublicAffairs, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists",

begun in December 1945 at the instance ofEugene Rabinowitch, then working as a seniorchemist on the famous Manhattan Project

together with his project colleague, Hyman H. Goldsmith. As editor-in-chief of~he "Bulletin", Rabinowitch campaigned personally and editorially for a rationalsolution to the issues which divide mankind. His campaign won the support ofscientists all over the world and succeede::l in making the "Bulletin" famous as anexpression of conscience of the scientific community responsible for creating thenuclear age. He was also one of the organizers of the Pugwash conferences.

Rabinowitch had studied chemistry at St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was

born in August 1901. He obtained his Ph. D. at the University of Berlin in 1926and was associated with the University of Gottingen until 1933, when he movedto Copenhagen to work with Niels Bohr. After a short associalion with UniversityCollege, London. he emigrated to the Unitec States in 1938 to work on a solarenergy research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 194 2,he joined the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago.

A leading authority on the processes of photosynthesis, Rabinowitch becameprofessor of botany and biophysics at the University of Illinois in 1947, remainingthere until 1968, when he jo'ined the State University of New York at Albany as

professor of chemisny and as director of the Center for Science and the Future ofHuman Affairs. He took leave of absence in 1972 to write a book as a WoodrowWilson Fellow, but died the following year at the age of 71.

Among his published works are a 3-volume treatise on "Photosynthesis andRelated Processes;' 'The Dawn of a Nl3w Age;' 'The Chemistry of Uranium' (with

J.J. Katz); and 'The Atomic Age' an anthology of 'Bulletin' articles edited withMorton Grodzins. Rabinowitch was awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1965, and hewas presented with a special award in 1972 by the American Academy of Arts andSciences for his ettorts"t'o promote international cooperation among scientists.

16

J

PAUL COUDERCKalinga Prize 1966

French astronomer Paul Couderc was born in July 1899 and studied at the

Ecole Normale Superieure, obtaining a degree in mathematics and the "docteur

es-sciences" degree. From 1926 to 1944, he taught mathematics at several

"lycee5" in and around Paris, then became an astronomer at the Paris Observatory

until 1969, and continues his association in an honorary capacity. He also

supervised instruction in astronomy at the Ecole Polytechnique.

Couderc is a founder of the Association of French Science Writers and was

vice-chairman of the science advisory committee for the FrE'nch radio and television

network. He was the creator of the Paris Planetarium and the author of numerous

articles and books on cosmography and the structure of the universe. Some of

his works published in the "'Que sais-je?" (what do I know?) series have appeared

in several languages besides French. His other books include: 'L'architecture derUnivas' (1930); Dans le champ solaire' (1932); 'Univers (1937); Parmi les etoiles'(1938); and 'L 'expansion de r Univers (1950).

He was secretary-general of the French National Committee for Astronomy and

vice-president of the Astronomical Society of France. He was admitted to the

Legion of Honour and awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1966.

In accepting the Kalinga Prize Couderc explained "why it is becoming

increasingly necessalY and urgent that all men should be acquainted with thegeneral outlines of science. ( ... ) The education system must take on the task in

the first place; but the school inevitably lags behind the advancing front of

knowledge-and the faster science advances, the greater the lag. The necessary

link can ba maintained only by means of regular and well organized popularization

through the press, radio, teltvision, lectures and books."

17

FRED HOYLEKalinga Prize 1967

Sir Fled Hoyle, the internationally known

cosmologist, was born in June 1915 andstudied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Heundertook research as a Fellow of St. John'sCollege, and shortly before the second WorldWar, he and Professor Lyttleton promulgatedtheir theory of the major importance of thecapture of interstellar material by stars in thedevelopment of gelaxies.

During the war, he was employed by the Admiralty on radar development. In

1945 he became a university lecturer in mathematics at Cambridge until 1958, whenhe became professor of astronomy and experimental philosophy. In 1967 he wasappointed also director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Cambridge andheld both these offices until 1973. Between 1956 and 1962, he was also a staff

member of the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories.

Hoyle has been associated in scholarly capacities with Manchester University,the California InstitlJte of Technology and Cornell University. He was a memberof the Science Research Council, 1968-72; vice-president of the Royal Society,1970-71; an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in

1964, and a Foreign Associate of the United States National Academy of Sciencesin 1969. In 1968, he was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society's Gold Medal;in 1967, the Kalinga Prize. and in 1970 the Bruce Gold Medal of the AstronomicalSociety of the Pacific. In 1972 he was knighted and two years later was awardedthe Royal Medal for his contributions to theoretical physics and cosmology. He isthe recipient of honorary doctorates from the universities of East Anglia, Leeds,Bradford and Newcastle.

Sir Fred has lectured widely at home and abroad and has appeared on radioand television. Among his publications are the following: 'Some Recent Researchesin Solar Physics' (1949); 'The Nature of the Universe' (1950); 'A Decade ofDecision' (1953); 'Frontiers of Astronomy' (1955); 'Of Men and Galaxies' (1964);'Galaxies, Nuclei and Quasars' (1965); 'Man in the Universe' (1966); 'From Stone­henge to Modern Cosmology' (1972); 'Nico/aus Copernicus' (1973); 'Action at aDistance' (1974) (with J.V. Narlikar); 'Highlights in Astronomy' and 'Astronomyand Cosmology' (1975). He has also authored several science fiction novels and

television and stage plays.

1H

GAVIN DE BEERKalinga Prize1968

Though a British subject by birth, Gavin

Rylands de Beer was proposed for the 1968Kalinga Prize by the Academie des Sciences ofthe Institut de France. His sponsors statedthat "he discusses the origin of the Etruscansor the crossing of Alps by Hannibal and his

elephants with the same penetration ... but inhis varied works-whether scientific, historical,literary or philosophical-his fundamental,constant aim is to increase the public's

knowledge of natural phenomena and human achievement."

De Beer was born in Surrey, UK, in November 1899, but spent his childhood onthe continent, mainly in France, and became completely fluent in French, Italianand Swiss German. In 1912 he returned to Britain to complete his secondaryeducation before entering Magdalen College at Oxford, where he read zoology andobtained first class honours in 1921. He served briefly with the Grenadier Guardstoward the end of World War I and again during World War 11. Between the warshe taught zoology and embryology at Oxford. From 1945 to 1950 he wasprofessor of embryology at University College, London

In 1950, de Beer became director of the British Museum (Natural History), a

post he held for ten years during which he made a notable contribution to the popu­larization of science. Many of his exhibits, particularly those prepared for the Dar­win- Wa lIace centenary celebrations, evoked the admiration of zoologists as well asthe public. Among his scientific books are: 'Introduction to Experimental Embryology(1926); Vertebrate Zoology (1928); Embryology and Evolution (1930); Embryosand Ancestors (1940); and Atlas of Evolution (1964). Some of his books inclinedto philosophy, such as The Sciences were never at War (1960) and Reflections ofa Darwinian (1962), while others dealt with non-scientific topics or reflected hisattraction to Switzerland. He authored numerous papers and articles on zoology,

embryology, evolution, and the history of science, including contributions to theEncyclopaedia Britannica.

He became Sir Gavin de Beer when knighted in 1954. He is a member ofseveral scientific societies at home and abroad and was president of the 15thInternational Congress of Zoology (London, 1958). Among his several honoursare the French Legion of Honour, the Darwin Medal of the Royal Society and theGold Medal of the Linnean Society of London.

19

KONRAD LORENZKalinga Prize 1969

Bern in Vienna in November 1903, Konrad Lorenz is the son of the well-knownorthopedist Adolf Lorenz. At his father's house in Altenberg, Austria, youngLorenz learned "talking to the animals, the birds, and the fishes" and was led todraw parallels between animal behaviour and human habits, anxieties, aggressive

instincts, and existential rites and ceremonies. He studied medicine and obtainedhis M.D. in 1928 and his Ph. D. in 1933. He became an assistant professor ofcomparative anatomy (zoophysics) at the University of Vienna in 1937.

After World War 11, Lorenz moved to Bavaria, Germany, where he founded theMax Planck Institute of Biology. He attracted international attention through hisnumerous books based on his research with animals. Among his better knownbooks are: 'Der Kumpan in der Umwelt des Vogels' (1935); 'Die angeborenenFormen moglicher Erfahrungen' (1943); 'Er redete dem Vieh, den Vogeln und denFischen' (1949); 'So kam der Mensch auf den Hund' (1950); 'Das sogenannte Bose'(1963); 'Uber tierisches und menschliches Verhalten' (1965); and 'Die Ruckseite desSpiegels' (1973); With his book 'Die acht Todsunden der zivilisierten Menschheit'("the eight deadly sins of civilized mankind"), Lorenz became a leading proponentof protecting the environment.

He was awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1969, and he received the Nobel Prize formedicine in 1973. That same year, he returned to Austria in active retirement,continuing his research, now concentrated on the aggressive drive in coral fish andthe family life of gray geese. Lorenz is a member of the Austrian Academy ofScience.

20

MARGARET MEADKalinga Prize 1970

Margaret Mead. the world renown anthropo­logist, was born in Philadelphia, USA, inDecember 1901 into a family of educators. She

received her B.A. from Barnard College in 1923and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia Univer­sity in 1924 and 1929 respectively. As acultural anthropologist, she has spent consider­able time doing field wod<, notably her several

expeditions to New Guinea and to BaiL How­

ever, she has alsu been an active teacher andlecturer.

Three broad overlapping phases or trends can be noted in her career. The firstbegan with her expedition to Samoa in 1925-26 and entailed intensive field work,particularly in the period up to World War 11. but her field trips stili continue. Thesecond phase, roughly beginning with her tenure as executive secretary of theNational Research Council's committee on food habits, during the war, is charac­terized by the redirection of her anthropological research and applied interests to

the more complex societies of the USA, Britain, France, the USSR, etc. She wasinstrumental in inaugurating the Columbia University Research in ContemporaryCultures. which she then directed, 1948-50.

Mead's interdlsclplln~rywork, the third trend, could be s2id to have started In the 1930s and

includes, of course, her work on food habits and contemporary cultures. Since the late 19405, she

hes become increasingly involved at national and international level in a wide range of activities with

many organizations, e.g. the World Federation for Mental Health (president, 1956-57). the World

Council of Churches, the World Society for Ekistics (president. 1969-71), the United Nations NorthAmerican Committee for Non-Governmental Organizations, and the Scientists' Institute for Public

Information (president, 1970-73). She was elected president of the American Association for the

Advancement of SCience in 1975.

Apart from Columbia University, she has been associated with several universities and research

institutions, such as Fordham University, the universities of Clncinnati and Rhode Island, the

Menninger Foundation, the American Museum of .N'Itural History, the Social Science ResearchCouncil, and the National Institute for Mental Health. She is also a member of numerous learned

societies.

Among Mead's many publications are: 'Coming of Age in Samoa' (1928); Growing upIn New Guinea' (1930); The Changing Culture of an Indian rrib~' (1932); 'Sex and TemperamentIn Three Prtmitive Societies' (1935); Male and Female' (1949); Soviet Attitudes toward Authority'(1951); 'New Lives for Old' (1956); 'An Anthropologist at Work' (1959); Continuities in CulturalEvolution' (1964); 'Culture and Commitment' (1970); 'Twentieth Century Faith' (1972). She has

co-authored and edited a further number of books and has contributed numerous articles to

profeSSional Journals. She was awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1970.

21

PIERRE AUGERKalinga Prize 1971

Pierre Auger, physicist of world reputation,was born in Paris in May 1899. He was admit­

ted to the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieureand in 1926 he obtained the degree "dccteures-sciences physiques". From 1927 to 1S35he was an assistant at the Faculty of Science inParis, working in the laboratory of ProfessorJean Perrin where he concentrated his researchon secondary electronic radiation of X-rays ingases, on beryllium neutrons, and on cosmicrays. He became a full professor in 1937.

Charged with examlnrng the problem of documentation in the country'slaboratories, in 1939, Auger created a documentation service under the "CentreNational de la Recherche Scientifique" (CNRS) and the new service soon expandedconsiderably. Obliged to leave France in 1941, he went to the USA and joinedthe Free French. From 1942 to 1944., he directed a physical laboratory establishedby him within the Anglo- Franco-Canadian group consecrated to the developmentof atomic energy.

Following the liberation of France, he was appointed director of highereducation in the Ministry of National Education and concentrated his efforts on

establishing university level schools for engineers. In 1945 he helped set up theFrench Atomic Energy Commission, and he served on the commission for nuclearphysics of the CNRS.

Auger was France's first representative on the Executive Board of UNESCO, and from 1948to 1959, he headed UNESCO's department of natural sciences and p!ayed a determining role in the

creation of the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), From 1959 to 1961. he presided

over th e French natio'lal comm ittee for space research, and in 1962, he created and chaired the

National Centre for Space Studies. In 1967, he became director-general of the European Space

Research Organization (ESRO). which had been created largely at his personal initiative,

Auger published numerous important works on X-rays, neutrons and cosmic rays, and gave his

name to a photoelectric phenomenon (the Auger effect). In 1961, he was awarded the Prix

International Antonlo Feltrlnelli by the Accademla Nazlonale dei Lincei, Rome. He was also very

interested in the popularization of sCience and was a member of the governing board of the French

radio and television network, as well as of the consultative committee of the univerSities. Among

his books Intended for laymen are: 'Les Rayons Cosmiques' (1941) and 'I'Homme Microscopique'

(1952), the latter a philosophic interpretation of known facts In phYSICS, biology and psychology. He

IS also the author of a leport prepared fOt UNESCO and the UN entitled: 'Principal Trends inSCientific Research' (1961). He was awarded the Kalinga Prize in 1971.

22

PHILIP ABELSONKalinga Prize 1972

Born at Tecoma, Washington, USA, in April1913, Philip Hauge Abelson studied at Wash­ington State College, earning a 8.S. (chemi s­

ttYI in 1933 and a M.S. (physics) in 1935. Hereceived a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from theUniversity of California at 8erkeley in 1939.

Abelson has been associated with the Carnegie Institution of Washingtonduring his entire professional career, except during World War 11, when he workedas a physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Philadelphia. He began as astaff member of Carnegie's department of terrestrial magnetism (1939-41 and1946-53), then directed the geophysical laboratory from 1953 to 1971, beforebecoming president of the Institution.

Concurrently, he held several editorial positions: editor of Science since 1962,of 'Researches in Geochemistry' (vol. I, 1959; vol 11, 1967) and of 'Energy: UseConservation and Supply' in 1974; co- editor of the 'Journal of GeophysicalResearch', 1959-65, and associate editor of the Ametican Journal of Science, Heis the author of Energy for Tomorrow (1975).

He served as president of the American Geophysical Union (1972-74) and ofthe International Union of Geological Sciences (1972-76) and has been a merr,beror fellow of a large number of scientific bodies, among which are the AmericanMedicc:1 Association's advisory board on medical science, the US Atomic EnergyCommission, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institutes of Health,the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academyof Arts and Sciences, and several universities.

Abelson was awarded the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal in 1945,the Washington Academy of Sciences' annual award for the physical sciences in1950, the Hillebrand Award of the Chemical Society of Washington in 1962, theModern Medicine Award in 1967, among others, as well as the Kalinga Prize In

1972 (awarded ex aequo to Nigel Calder).

NIGEL CALDERKalinga Prize 1972

The British science writer, Nigel David RitchieCalder, who was awarded the Kalinga Prize in1972 ex aequo with Philip Abelson, is the eldestson of Lord Ritchie-Calder, himself a KalingaPrize laureate in 1960. Nigel Calder is the firstprofessional television writer to receive theKalinga Prize,

Born in London in December 1931, Carder received a M. A. in natural sciencesfrom the University of Cambridge. After working as a physicist at the MullardResearch Laboratories from 1954 to 1956, he joined the staff of the New Scientistmagazine at its inception in 1956, becoming its science editor in 1960 and chiefeditor from 1962 to 1966. He was also science correspondent of the New States­man, 1959-62 and 1966-71.

Since 1966, he has concentrated on freelance writing, mainly for BBC televis­ion. In 1967, he presented a TV programme entitled "Russia: Beneath the Sputnik"and the following years wrote the script for several "science specials" based on hisbooks and co-produced by the BBC with foreign television organizations. In 1977he scripted another TV series entitled 'The Whole Universe Show" and is working

on a television programme based on his latest book "Spaceships of the Mind" forrelease in 1978.

Among his numerous earlier books are: Electricity Grows Up (1958); Robots(1958); The Environment Game (1967); Technopolis (1969); Violent Universe(1969); The Mind of Man (1970); Restless' Earth (1972); The Ufe Game (1973);The Weather Machine (1974); The Human Conspiracy (1976); and The Key to theUniverse (1977). Calder has also edited a number of other books. From 1962 to1964, he was chairman of the Association of British Science Writers. Since 1969,he has been a member of the UK National Commission for UNESCO.

24

JOSE REISKalinga Prize 1974

Jose Reis was born in June 1907 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He studied at theMedical School of the University of Brazil and specialized in microbiology,parasitology and pathology at the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz and in viruses at theRockefeller Institute While still a medical student, he taught natural science ina high school. but after graduation, he joined the scientific staff of theInstituto Biologico in Sao Paulo and worked there from 1929 until hisretirement, as director, in 1958. Initially interested in pure research (e.g. thesystematics of Streptococcus), he soon became interested in avian diseases, a real

problem for Brazilian poultry raisers. His research led him on field trips, duringwhich he began to pass on his scientific findings directly to farmers and found thathe could learn from them too. Writing later about this period of his life, Reis said:"The main lesson I got from all that work was that science i~ not enough. You

have to mobilize it. So I entered another field, the divulgation of science in generalfor the layman by all possible means."

He began writing in rural magazines, and from 1948 onwards, he regularlycontributed a Sunday science feature page in the newspaper Fo/ha de Sao Pau/o,which drew considerable attention. Subsequently he wrote on science and on

medicine for other newspapers and lectured widely to all kinds of audiences. Hewas also instrumental in starting a movement of science fairs and science clubs,which he supported as the chief editor (1962-67) of Fo/ha de Sao Pau/o, adding tothe paper a special supplement for children which included a science section.

In view of his flair as an administrator at the Instltuto Biologico; the government put him

temporarily in charge of the civil service department so that he could classify all public officers and

reorganize the civil service. He gave special attention to the status of SCientific and technical work­

ers and enabled the University of Sao Paulo to become an autonomous body. Later he was put in

charge of the University's new School of Economics and Administration.

Reis was one of the founders and the first secretary of the Brazilian Society for the Advance­

ment of Science and edits ItS monthly publication, Ciencia e Cultura. He is an officer or trustee of several

sCientifiC institutions, such as the Instituto de Flslca Teorica, Fundacao Carlos Chagas, the Federal

University of Sao Carlos, an educational teleVISion station, and the publishing house, IBRASA, which

he established after his retirement from active public service.

Apart from hiS scientific books, papers and articles, Reis authored several books intended for

the general public, such as Educacao e Investimrmto, in which he argues that education must be

treated as an Investment. For his work as a sCience writer, Rels was awarded the "Governador do

Estado" prize in 1959 and the "John R. Reitemayer" prize by the Pan-American Union and the Inter­

American Press ASSOCiation in 1963. He was awarded the Kalinga Prize In 1974 ex aequo with Luis

Estrada Martinez.

25

LUIS ESTRADA MARTINEZKalinga Prize 1974

UNESCO's Director-General. Mr. M'Bow (left), presenting the Kalinga Prize to Dr. Estrada.

Concerned about the gulf of ignorance separating the tiny minority with somescientific training from the vast majority having little or no knowledge of science,

Luis Estrada, a professor at the National Autonomous University ot Mexico (knownby its Spanish initials as UNAM), established in 1968 Fisica, a periodical dedicated

to the systematic vulgarization of science. After two difficult years, Fisica attractedsupport from UNAM and the National Council for Science and Technology andwas able to broaden its scope, reflected in its current title, Naturaleza.

In 1970, UNAM's directorate-general for cultural propagation established ascience department, and Estrada was appointed to head it. In addition to the usualconferences and exhibitions, Estrada introduced "coffee house chats" and "talks"to bring together scientists and laymen, including many students, to discuss parti­cular issues and not only from the scientific point of view. Some of these discuss­

ions have been animated by audio-visual presentations, including puppet theatre

and circus acts. He has also promoted science clubs and fairs.

Estrada obtained his Ph. D. in physics from UNAM in 1956 and taught physicsthere, except during brief assignments with other universities. He had specialized

training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA) from 1958to 1960, and he was appointed "assessor" at the National Institute of NuclearEnergy, Mexico, in 1962.

Born in Mexico in June 1932, Luis Estrada is the youngest Kalinga Prize laureateduring the Prize's first 25 years. He was awarded the Prize in 1974 ex aequo with

Jose Reis.

26

ALEXANDER OPARINKalinga Prize 1976

The distinguished biochemist, AlexanderIvanovich Oparin, was born in Uglich, Russia, inMarch 1894. He entered Moscow State Univer­sity in 1912 and obtained a D.Sc. degree inplant physiology, which he then taught at the

University from 1921 to 1925. His first book,The Origin of Life on Earth, was published in1924. The following year he taught a fullcourse on this subject entitled "the chemicalfoundations of living processes".

Oparin led two concurrent careers: one academic, the other scientific. In theformer, he began teaching technical biochemistry in 1929 at the Mendeleev Chemis­try and Technology Institute in Moscow and in 1931 at Moscow State University,where he was awarded a doctorate of biological sciences in 1934. From 1942 to1960, he headed the University's department of plant physiology, and since 1960he has been professor of molecular biology.

During this time, he continued his research work, first as deputy director ofscientific affairs and head of the biochemical laboratory at the Central Institute ofthe Sugar Industry, Moscow, from 1927 to 1934. In 1935, Oparin collaboratedwith Academician A.N. Bach to organize the Institute of Biochemistry (now namedafter Bach) under the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; he served as its deputydirector until he became its director in 1946 to the present.

From 1951 to 1957, he was chairman of the All-Union Society for the Propaga­tion of Political and Scientific Knowledge. His second major book, Life, its Nature,Origin and Development, was published in 1960, three years after the third, revisededition of his earlier book, which has been translated into mar,y languages. He hasgiven popular science lectures in the USSR and in several countries abroad, e.g.Sweden, Poland, UK, France, Spain, China, India, USA, Cuba, Iran, Japan, Rumania.

In 1957, Oparin chaired an international symposium on the origin of life and was the presidentof the 5th International Biochemical Congress (Moscow, 1961). He attended numerous internationalconferences and from 1961 to 1967 served as the vice-president of the International Union ofBiochemistry. He is the chairman of the National Committee of Soviet Biochemists and has beenpresident of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life since its creation in 1970(he IS now honorary president).

Oparln became fu 11 member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR In 1946 and is the recipi_ent of many decorations and honours, including the Order of Lenin (5 separate awards), the LeninPrize for Sciense (1974), and honorary doctorates from five foreign universities. He was awardedthe Ka linga Prize for 1976 ex aequo with S:r George Porter.

27

GEORGE PORTERKalinga Prize 1976

George Porter has been director of the RoyalInstitution of Great Britain since 1966, a posttraditionally reserved for a scientist distin­

guished for his or her contribution tofund8mental research and devotion to the

populE.rization of science.

He shared the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1967 with Norrish, his formerteacher at Cambridge. They developed the technique of flash photolysis wherebychemical reactions are induced by an intense flash of visible or ultraviolet light,and the intermediates formed are studied during their fleeting existence. Althoughgas was usually the subject of the experiments, Porter has used liquids andidentified unstable molecules lasting for a fraction of a second in his later work atthe Royal Institution.

During hiS tenure as director, he IS credited w.th establishing a research group of the highest

international repute In the field of photochemistry and with enhancing the role played by the Royal

Institution in bringing science to the people. Through his initiative, radio and television and film

programmes on scientific subjects have been produced at and in co-operation with the Royal Institu­

tion, including an annual series of televised "Christmas lectures" for young people. Knighted in

1972, Sir George has been an active participant in many of these programmes, giVing lectures,

moderating discussions, etc. In fact he is much in demand as a lecturer in the UK and abroad;

film and videotape recordings of his 1965/66 lecture series entitled "The Laws of Disorder" have

been distributed worldwide. He has also published numerous articles of a popular scientifiC nature.

Born in December 1920, Porter obtained his B.Sc. degree from Leeds University and his

M.A., Ph,D. and Sc.D. degrees from Cambridge UniverSity, where he subsequently taught physical

chemistry and did research from 1949 to 1954. During World War 11, he served in the Royal

Naval Volunteer Reserve where hiS work with radar stimu lated his interest in electronics. After a

brief association with the British Rayon Research Association in 1954/55, Porter became professor

of physical chemistry at the University of Sheffield and headed the department from 1963 until his

appointment in 1966 to head the Royal Institution.

Sir George has received numerous awards, some 14 honorary doctorates, and has held

several important appointments, such as president of the Chemical Society, the Internat;onal

Committee of Photobiology, the Natlona I Association for Gifted Children, and the Research and

Development Society. He has been a member of the BBC's science consultative group, of the

Science Museum Advisory Council, and of the National Gallery's science advisory committee. He

was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1960. His book 'Chemistry for the Modern World'(1962) has been translated Into several languages. Sir George was awarded the Kallnga Prizefor 1976 'ex aequo' With Academician A./. Oparin.

28

Messages from Kalinga Prize Laureates

The international Kalinga Prize has now for 25 years effectively promotedefforts to make interesting scientific discoveries known to a large number of laymen.Such an endeavour is particularly welcome. I wish all success to UNESCO forthis work in the future

Karl von Frisch

• • •It is a great pleasure to pay tribute to the Kalinga Priz@. As I described in The

Treasure of the Great Reef, my prize arrived at a time when I was seriously ill andunable to work. I shall always be grateful to Mr. Patnaik, the founder of theKalinga Trust, for his timely help at a critical stage in my career.

Arthur C. Clarke

•••In honouring certain scientists in so many countries who have tried to draw the

public's attention to fundamental research, the Kalinga Prize has shown the path tofollow. More than ever, it is necessary that man does not feel himself cut off fromthe contemporary scientific movement. He has the right to know the methods, theresults obtained and the expectations of the true researchers, and to be warnedagainst the charlatans.

The principal hope for humanity on this earth resides in science, well managed,which will net be oriented to neg3tive applications, nor exploited for privateinterests.

Paul Couderc

• • •The modern era is deeply characterized by rapid progress in scientific know­

ledge, not only because of the technological developments deriving from this pro­gress, but also because of the new perspective it has brought us of the universe inwhich we live. One could even say that if a contemporary were totally unaware ofscience in all its forms, he would not be living completely in our times and wouldpass to the side of his century.

Therefore, it is a true responsibility for those who can to spread our scientificknowledge to a broad public, to dedicate part of their time, of their thought, and oftheir energy to what is generally called the popularization of science, and to thisend to use both old and new means, such as pubiic talks, books, the press, radioand television.

Pierre Auger

29

I have the most exciting job in the world. It enables me to meet the Galileosand Darwins of our day and to share with them some of the anguish and ecstasy oftrying to make sense of the world we live in. Then I have to help communicate theirdiscoveries and ideas to the widest possible public, because to me it seems politi­cally dangerous and culturally tragic that the human species does not know howmuch it knows. I find the scientists unstintingly helpful, and the ordinary viewersand readers quite ready to exercise their minds in order to share the wonders ofnew knowledge. The chief impediment to the popularisation of science is atneither end of the chain of communication: it lies in the middle, with the peoplewho control the media and who persistently underestimate the public interest inserious science.

Nigel Calder

• • •I thank the Ka!inga Foundation most sincerely for this award. The Royallnstitu­

tion was one of the first places in the world where the exposition of science to thepublic, and especially to young people, was considered to be important. HumphryDavy, Michael Faraday, the Braggs and other professors here were pioneers in theart. The Kalinga Prize is an encouragement to all who try to continue their work.

Sir George Porter

30

LAUREATES OF THE KALlNGA PRIZE FOR THEPOPULARIZA TlON OF SCIENCE

1952 Louis de Broglie (France)

1953 Julian Huxley (UK)

1954 Waldemar Kaempffert (USA)

1955 Augusto Pi Suner (Venezuela)

1956 George Gamow (USA)

1957 Bertrand Russell (UK)

1958 Karl von Frisch (Fed. Rep. Germany)

1959 Jean Rostand (France)

1960 Ritchie Calder (UK)

1961 Arthur C. Clarke (UK)

1962 Gerard Piel (USA)

1963 Jagjit Singh (India)

1964 Warren Weaver (USA)

1965 Eugene Rabinowitch (USA)

1966 Paul Couderc (France)

1967 Fred Hoyle (UK)

1968 Gavin de Beer (UK)

1969 Konrad Lorenz (Austria)

1970 Margaret Mead (USA)

1971 Pierre Au ger (France)

1972 Philip H. Abelson (USA)Nigel Calder (UK) ex aequo

1973

1974

1975

1976

no award

Jose Reis (Brazil)Luis Estrada (Mexico)

No award

A I. Oparin (USSR)George Porter (UK)

ex aequo

ex aequo