Indian Institute of Science
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, Karnataka. The institute was established in 1909 with active support from Jamsetji Tata and thus is also locally known as the Tata Institute.[5] It was granted a deemed university status in 1958 and recognized as an Institute of Eminence in 2018.[6]
After an accidental meeting between Jamsetji Tata and Swami Vivekananda, on a ship in 1893 where they discussed Tata's plan of bringing the steel industry to India, Tata wrote to Vivekananda five years later: "I trust, you remember me as a fellow-traveller on your voyage from Japan to Chicago. I very much recall at this moment your views on the growth of the ascetic spirit in India... I recall these ideas in connection with my scheme of Research Institute of Science for India, of which you have doubtless heard or read."[11][12]
Impressed by Vivekananda's views on science and leadership abilities, Tata wanted him to guide his campaign. Vivekananda endorsed the project with enthusiasm, and Tata, with the aim of advancing the scientific capabilities of the country, constituted a provisional committee to prepare a plan for setting up of an institute of research and higher education. The committee presented a draft proposal to Viceroy George Curzon on 31 December 1898.[13] Subsequently, Sir William Ramsay, a Nobel Laureate, was called on to propose a suitable place for such an institution who suggested Bangalore as the best location.
The land and other facilities for the institution were donated by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and Tata. The maharaja donated about 371 acres (150 ha)[14] of land; Tata gave several buildings towards the creation of IISc. The maharaja also granted Rs 5,00,000 towards capital expenditure and Rs 50,000 for annual expense.[15][16] Nizam Osman Ali Khan also contributed, which amounted to around Rs 3,00,000 over a period of 31 years.[17]
The constitution of the institute was approved by Viceroy Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, and the necessary "vesting order" to enable it to function was signed on 27 May 1909.[18] Early in 1911, the maharaja laid the foundation stone of the institute, and on 24 July, the first batch of students were admitted to the Departments of General and Applied Chemistry under Norman Rudolf and Electro-Technology under Alfred Hay. Within two months, the Department of Organic Chemistry was opened. In 1958, the institute was deemed a university by the University Grants Commission of India.[19]
At the time of the inception of IISc in 1909, Morris Travers, Sir William Ramsay's co-worker in the discovery of the noble gases, became its first director. For Travers, this was a natural continuation of his work on the institute, since he had played a role in its founding. The first Indian director was the Nobel Laureate Sir C.V. Raman.[18]
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