NUCLEAR PHYSICS

PROFILE

The Department of Nuclear Physics at Andhra University is the only one of its kind in India, meant for advanced level teaching and research in Nuclear Physics. The Laboratories for Nuclear Reasearch were instituted as a part of the Physics Department in October 1954 with Professor Swami Jananananda as its founder leader. The Department was organized into a full-fledged one in 1956.Prof.V.Lakshminarayana who took the reins of the department from Prof.Swami Janananda in1969 established various fields of research in Nuclear Spectroscopy, Nuclear reactions and interaction of Gamma Radiation. He is a renowned international expert in in-beam Nuclear Spectroscopy. He was awarded the Best Teacher Award by A.P. State Government and National Lectureship by UGC.Prof.K.Venkata Reddy extended the research in Nuclear Spectroscopy using Beta Ray Spectrometers. He was awarded the Best Teacher Award by A.P. State Government. Late Prof.K.Parthasaradhi expanded the horizons of research in the interaction of Photons with Matter and is renowned expert in Radiation Physics. Prof.B.v.Tirumala Rao extended the horizons of in Beam Nuclear Spectroscopy by carrying out pioneering research at the Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi and at University of Bonn Germany. He is instrumental in establishing a live collaboration of this department with University of Bonn Germany. His collaborative experiments carried out in Germany resulted in the observation of magnetic rotational bands in nuclei of higher spins for the first time which resulted in explaining the behaviour of nuclei at higher angular momentum. Prof.B.Mallikarjuna Rao was instrumental in starting research in applied aspects such as Radiation Oncology. The UGC recognized the Department as a centre for carrying out advanced level research in Nuclear Spectroscopy under “Departmental Support Programme”, in 1978. The Department has on its staff highly qualified teachers. Most of them gained extensive experienced in advanced laboratories in Europe and U.S.A.