Know Your India

[Amber G.]

Is it Raghav Chaddha given how it is lately?

Its either Prof Suman Chakraborty or Dr Mondal coinventors of COVIRAP.

I have to admit, took google (AI) help to know to know 'my India'.

In the context of the Bharat Rakshak forum thread, the mention of Raghav Chadha is a tongue-in-cheek political joke by the user Tanaji.
The Context:

• The user Amber G. had posted a "challenge" asking forum members to identify a scientist based on several prestigious achievements (Director of IIT Kharagpur, inventor of COVIRAP, etc.).

Tanaji replied:

• "Is it Raghav Chaddha given how it is lately? Its either Prof Suman Chakraborty or Dr Mondal coinventors of COVIRAP."

• The "Lately" Reference: Raghav Chadha is a prominent young politician from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a Member of Parliament. At the time of these posts, he was frequently in the news regarding various political controversies or appointments.

• The Contrast: The joke plays on the absurdity of suggesting a high-profile, often-discussed politician for a specialized scientific achievement.

The use of the emoji (a standard forum "grinning" face) indicates he is being sarcastic before providing the actual serious answer: Prof. Suman Chakraborty.

Prof. Suman Chakraborty is indeed the correct answer to the challenge, as he is the Director of IIT Kharagpur and a lead inventor of the COVIRAP diagnostic technology.

*****************
"Dr. Mondal" refers to Dr. Arindam Mondal.


(Photo Credit: iitkgpbioscience)

He is an Associate Professor at the School of Bio Science at IIT Kharagpur and the lead co-inventor of the COVIRAP diagnostic technology alongside Prof. Suman Chakraborty.

• Expertise: He is a specialist in Molecular Virology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, particularly how RNA viruses (like influenza and SARS-CoV-2) replicate within host cells.

• Role in COVIRAP: While Prof. Suman Chakraborty (a mechanical engineer) led the microfluidics and device engineering aspect, Dr. Mondal provided the essential biological and virological expertise to develop the isothermal nucleic acid-based testing method that COVIRAP uses

.

• He heads the Molecular Virology Lab (IITkgpAMlab) at IIT Kharagpur, where his team works on developing prophylactic and therapeutic strategies against various epidemic-prone infections.

• He completed his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted postdoctoral research at several prestigious institutions before joining IIT Kharagpur.

Thanks. All.

[Amber G.]

Thanks all ..

Here are the answers to the challenges found on Know Your India forum thread

1. The Three Giants of Relativity
In a rare photo taken at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), the three physicists are:
• C.V. Vishveshwara: Known as the "Black Hole Man of India."
• Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri: Famous for the Raychaudhuri equation, which is foundational to singularity theorems.
• Jayant Narlikar: Renowned astrophysicist and proponent of the Hoyle–Narlikar theory.

2. The World-Famous Doctor (Oncologist)
The doctor whose birth anniversary is March 11 and who has two Nobel Laureates in her family (uncle C.V. Raman and cousin S. Chandrasekhar) is:
• Dr. V. Shanta: The legendary oncologist and former director of the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai.
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3. The Boltzmann Medal Winner
The legendary theoretical physicist described as the first Indian to win the Boltzmann Medal (2022) and an expert in statistical physics is:
• Deepak Dhar: Currently a Distinguished Professor at ICTS-TIFR, known for his work on self-organized criticality and fractals.

4. The "Paper Strip" Scientist
The scientist who became the Director of IIT Kharagpur in 2025 and invented low-cost diagnostic tools like COVIRAP is:
• Prof. Suman Chakraborty: A pioneer in microfluidics who developed medical tests costing less than 2 rupees for resource-limited settings.

5. The Soft Matter Physicist turned Actor
The physicist who won an Obie Award for a one-act play about her life is Bulbul Chakraborty (prominent physicist at Brandeis University ). The play was written and directed by Chakraborty’s son Shayok Misha Chowdhury.

[Anoop]

Raychaudhuri is famous for the Raychaudhuri equation, fundamental to the singularity theorems of Hawking and Penrose

An interesting connection with BRF - the late Brig. Raychaudhuri, who used to post as RayC here, was a nephew of Raychaudhuri.

[Amber G.]

^^^ Thanks!