Dec 27, 1999

Ajay K. Sood, 48
Physicist

TOP QUARK

Ajay Sood is a typical product of the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore. An accomplished professor who has done major work in experimental physics, he has made the IISC's department of physics his second home. "It's the complex chemistry of physics that keeps driving me," he says. Sood and Company are looking deeper into the world of lasers and into the fundamental properties of matter. Sood is one of India's keenest experimental physicists whose research could lead to lavish spinoffs  -- technologies, especially for ecologically safe sources of energy, energy-saving equipment, medicine and telecom.

But as the new millennium dawns, Sood's discovering the challenges of biological physics. Very hot. Very vibrant. It's an area that looks at the dynamics of membranes and dna, deeper knowledge of which will help tackle diseases. Applications will be in pharma and health-related areas. They may not be the last word, but when you want to know what's the update on experimental physics in India, you keep tab of Sood and his A-Team.    

 -Stephen David

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