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Memorial Tributes Volume 25 (2023) / Chapter Skim
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RODDAM NARASIMHA
Pages 338-345

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From page 339...
... He was closely associated with several major aerospace projects in India, such as the light combat aircraft and light transport aircraft. Roddam was born July 20, 1933, and brought up in Bengaluru, where his father taught physics in the Central Readers may also enjoy recollections of Roddam's life and contributions written by many of his colleagues and his daughter, available online by searching ICTS Newsletter VII-II SPL RODDAM NARASIMHA.PDF.
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From page 340...
... Roddam's theory for free molecular flows using the Boltzmann equation and the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) approximation developed a few years earlier drew immediate attention: Russia had just launched Sputnik and launching a satellite became a national objective in the United States.
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From page 341...
... He also began a program of Monte Carlo simulations of the Boltzmann equation for space applications. Much of the research those days concerned shock structure and the Boltzmann equation, turbulent bursting, supersonic flows, flow control, wake structure and turbulence modeling, relaminarization (where a turbulent flow goes back to an orderly laminar state)
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From page 342...
... His focus was on developing advanced technologies and building products. He steered NAL toward contributing to aerospace projects of the Defence Research and Development Organization and Indian Space Research Organization.
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From page 343...
... With less pressure to lead national projects, he returned to his earlier love of research on stability, transition, turbulence, clouds, and the like, and guided students while continuing his interests in philosophy and science policy. He was an outstanding teacher, both in the classroom and in individual interactions, and a world-class researcher.
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From page 344...
... The many honors and recognitions that came his way made no difference to Roddam's personal qualities that endeared him to so many: easy accessibility to all; the openness with which he interacted with people of all walks of life; abiding interest in intellectual pursuits and love for truth, scientific culture, and scholarship; unprejudiced and disciplined advice provided when sought; clarity of thought in spoken and written words; the personal example he naturally and effortlessly set; genuineness of curiosity; and the inspiration he provided to numerous colleagues. His is a legacy that will endure far into the future.
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Key Terms

  • aeronautical engineering
  • roddam narasimha
  • fluid mechanics
  • rarefied gas
  • boltzmann equation

  • national projects
  • jawaharlal nehru
  • gas dynamics
  • indian academy
  • fluid dynamics

  • combat aircraft
  • space program
  • light combat
  • ten words
  • layer flow

  • scientific culture
  • prime ministers
  • dynamics award
  • civilian awards
  • swarup bhatnagar

  • covered teaching
  • mechanics seminar
  • indian air
  • supersonic flows
  • journal sadhana

  • molecular flows
  • eventually led
  • dynamics remained
  • approximation developed
  • satish dhawan


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