T. R. Govindachari

Tuticorin Raghavachari Govindachari FNA, FASc (1915–2001), popularly known as TRG, was an Indian natural product chemist, academic, institution builder and the principal of Presidency College, Chennai. He was known for his studies on the synthesis of isoquinolines and phenanthridines and his contributions in elucidating the structure of several plant constituents. He was an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy and was the nominator of Robert Burns Woodward who won the 1965 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1960, for his contributions to chemical sciences, making him the first recipient of the award in the chemical sciences category.

Biography Govindachari was born on 30 July 1915 to Tuticorin Raghavachari and his wife Rajalakshmi in Chennai (then known as Madras) in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Graduating from Presidency College, Chennai in chemistry, he continued at the institution for his master's degree for which he studied under B. B. Dey, his topic of research being isoquinolines. After completing his master's degree, he enrolled for PhD, again under D. D. Dey at the same institution, and secured the degree from Madras University while working as an assistant to his guide on a CSIR-funded project for the production of dye and drug intermediates by electrolytic processes. Obtaining a scholarship from the Government of Madras, he went to the US in 1946 and did his post-doctoral studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana under the guidance of Roger Adams, best known for lending his name to Adams's catalyst which was prepared for the first time by him in association with V. Voorhees. Govindachari's stay with Adams lasted three years during which time he assisted the US scientist in column chromatography, collection of fractions and their examination for the latter's investigation of the structures of alkaloids found in the various species of Senecioneae.

In 1949, Govindachari returned to India and in January the next year, he joined Presidency College as an additional professor at the department of chemistry.

Legacy

It is reported that his involvement with the structural elucidation of alkaloids at Roger Adams' laboratory strengthened Govindachari's conviction to continue his researches along the same lines. He also worked on Azadirachta indica for isolating its constituents.

Govindachari has published his research findings in a book, Chemistry of Natural Products: V. 8, and over 340 articles. He was a member of the Pharmaceuticals and Drugs Committee of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the research councils of National Chemical Laboratory and Central Drug Research Institute. He presided the Indian Chemical Society during 1971–72 and was a member of Royal Society of Chemistry, the American Chemical Society and Swiss Chemical Society. the Academy would honor him again in 1986 with the Golden Jubilee Commemoration Medal. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Chemical Research Society of India in 2000.

Govindachari delivered several award orations and the list includes Professor K. Venkataraman Endowment Lectureship of Bombay University (1965 and 1996), Dr. Mahendra Lal Sircar Memorial Lectureship of Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (1970), Sir S. Subramania Iyer Lectureship of Madras University (1970), H. K. Sen Memorial Lectureship (1970) and the plenary lecture in the inaugural meeting of the Natural Products Section of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. and ARKIVOC issued a Festschrift on him through their volume VIII in 2001.

Selected bibliography Books

Articles