Tariq Thekaekara

Content Description

This accession contains material belonging to Matthew Pothen Thekaekara, who was a solar physicist and Roman Catholic priest. He was born in 1914 in India. He moved to the United States in 1952 and spent seven years as a faculty at Georgetown University. In 1967, he served as the principal investigator for The NASA 711 Galileo Experiment where he and a team of 18, measured the solar constant and solar spectral irradiance from a research aircraft flying at 38,000 feet above the atmosphere. Their findings were compiled in a report published by the Godard Space Flight Centre, NASA in 1970 where they found the solar constant to be equal to 135.3 mW cm -2. The material received by the Archives includes religious notebooks, drafts, sermons, and letters; notes on physics, research publications, short stories, and tape recordings on religion and science.

Condition Description

The papers are slightly fragile and need to be handled carefully.

Accession Date

2024-04-27

Dispostion

This accession will be transferred to the collection MS-048 Matthew Thekaekara Pothen Papers.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

The material was packed and transferred to the Archives by Deepika S from the house of Tariq Thekaekara, who is a relative of Matthew Thekaekara Pothen, on 27th April 2023.

Retention Rule

This collection will be useful for researchers interested in space science research in the country and the development of the Goddard Space Flight Centre in NASA. This collection also offers insight into the life of an individual who is practicing science and religion simultaneously.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No

Access Restrictions

Access restricted until collection is processed.

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.