Mysore A. Viswamitra

Mysore Ananthamurthy Viswamitra (14 November 1932 – 10 April 2001) was an Indian molecular biophysicist and crystallographer, known for his pioneering work on the X-ray structural studies of DNA fragments and nucleotide coenzyme molecules. His work is reported to have assisted in the development of the concept of sequence-dependent oligonucleotide conformation. He was an INSA senior scientist and an MSIL chair professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Science and a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge.

Biography Born on 14 November 1932, in Shimoga, in the south Indian state of Karnataka, Viswamitra did his early education at the University of Mysore and Banaras Hindu University before securing a PhD from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and joined IISc in 1954. He served IISc till his superannuation in 1993 during which time he founded the School of Biocrystallography and the Bioinformatics Centre at the institution. He is reported to have determined the structure of a number of mononucleotides for the first time and, along with Olga Kennard, elucidated the oligonucleotide dp(AT)2 structure leading to the first atomic detail view of a DNA duplex.

Viswamitra was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, as well as the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). He was a recipient of a number of awards which included C. V. Raman Award of the Acoustical Society of India (1982), J. C. Bose Award of the University Grants Commission of India (1984), TWAS Prize (1986), J. C. Bose Medal of the INSA (1986), R.D. Birla National Award (1988), FICCI Award (1991), S. S. Bhatnagar Medal of the Indian National Science Academy (1993), National Citizens Award (1998) and the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Indian Institute of Science (1999).

Viswamitra died, succumbing to a heart attack, on 10 April 2001, at the age of 68, survived by his wife and son. The death occurred immediately after he delivered a public speech at the condolence meeting of his colleague, G. N. Ramachandran.

Selected bibliography