Dr Jayant Narlikar
Astrophysicist and founding director of IUCAA in Pune, known for his work on cosmology and his Marathi science fiction.
Quick facts
- Known for:
- Cosmology, IUCAA, science writing
- Pune link:
- IUCAA, Pune University campus
Life and work
Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (1938 to 2025) studied at Cambridge and worked with Sir Fred Hoyle on the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity. He became one of India's best known scientists while still young, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1965 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2004.
He wrote many science books and stories in Marathi and English for ordinary readers, and received the Sahitya Akademi award for his Marathi autobiography.
Pune link
He was the founding director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), set up on the Pune University campus in 1988, and lived in Pune until his death on 20 May 2025.
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Sources: Written by PuneDiary. Facts checked 29 October 2026.