History
After the founding of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) by Prof. Govind Swarup, a common research facility for astronomy and astrophysics was proposed by Dr. Yash Pal of the planning commission. Working on this idea, astrophysicist Prof. Jayant Narlikar, along with Ajit Kembhavi and Naresh Dadhich set up IUCAA within the Pune University campus. in 1992.
In 2002, IUCAA initiated a nation-wide campaign to popularize astronomy and astrophysics in colleges and universities. IUCAA arranged visitor programs for universities in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Thiruvalla (Kerala), Siliguri (West Bengal) and others, along with a tie-up with the Ferguson college, Pune.
In 2004, IUCAA set up the Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika (Exlporatorium), a science popularization initiative, with a grant from the Pu La Deshpande foundation. The center is open to all school students from Pune. IUCAA was declared the nodal center for India to coordinate the year-long celebrations for the International Year of Astronomy.
IUCAA was headed for its first decade by Jayant Narlikar, then by Prof. Naresh Dadhich, and from September 2009, by Prof. Ajit Kembhavi.
Read more about this topic: Inter-University Centre For Astronomy And Astrophysics
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