Interview Summary
Rohini Godbole talks about moving back to India, to TIFR for a postdoc. She discusses the lack of accommodation and infrastructure for women in the institute in the early days. She details the vibrant intellectual atmosphere at TIFR.
She revisits her early postdoctoral research and contributions to theoretical physics and interactions with experimental physics. She talks about the difficulties in not being able to attend an international conference despite being invited because of funding constraints.
She talks about a brief Research Associateship with the Royal Institute of Science and later transferring to Bombay University. She discusses her international collaborations with various researchers, living and working in Europe. She describes her role in mentoring, importance of gender-neutral environments and efforts in shaping high energy physics in India.
She concludes by reflecting on challenges of gender biases in academia and her satisfaction from her physics career.
Time-stamped section headings
(00:00:00) Early days at TIFR; influence of experimental high-energy physics group
(00:04:23) International collaborations; Stony Brook connections to European physics groups
(00:05:55) Research communication before the internet; access to preprints from SLAC, CERN, DESY
(00:10:29) Collaborations with Probir Roy, D.P. Roy, and K.V.L. Sharma
(00:14:36) First woman postdoc in TIFR Theory Group; lack of women’s washrooms
(00:16:24) Intellectual vibrancy at TIFR; navigating leased computing systems
(00:20:11) Participation in social and scientific groups; anti-nuclear movements, film screenings
(00:23:31) Intense physics work – free Meson Seminars, Friday Seminars, Wednesday Colloquiums
(00:30:16) Long-term friendships and scientific collaborations at TIFR
(00:31:01) Research contributions; publications on structure functions and proton interactions
(00:40:21) Monte Carlo simulations; Higgs boson parity studies; work on top quark detection
(00:47:17) End of contract at TIFR; struggles with academic job market and missed conference opportunities
(00:53:33) Opportunity at IIT Kanpur through H.S. Mani; research associate position at TIFR
(00:58:37) Quantum mechanics lectures at Royal Institute of Science; accommodation issues
[01:02:09 - 01:02:31: Archivist’s Note- Break or interruption]
(01:02:31) Bombay University experience; differences from TIFR intellectual environment, but supportive
(01:10:09) Continued collaborations with TIFR; organizing high-energy physics workshops
(01:16:10) Visits to CERN Theory Division, ICTP; interactions with UA1 experimental group
(01:19:16) Invitations to European conferences; senior postdoc position in Dortmund
(01:25:18) Research at DESY; resolved photon processes at HERA
(01:30:42) Collaborations on two-photon cross-section studies at LEP and Tristan
(01:32:05) Marriage in Germany; collaborations with Giulia Pancheri from Frascati National Labs
[01:32:33 - 01:32:46 - Restricted Access. Contact archives@ncbs.res.in for details]
(01:35:46) Attending international conferences; dealing with grief of losing father
(01:39:27) Early contributions to high-energy physics phenomenology in India
(01:43:08) Establishing SERC Schools in Theoretical High Energy Physics
(01:46:13) Gender-neutral mentoring and preparing for advanced physics lectures
(01:48:06) Plenary talks at DAE Symposium; challenges in national recognition; exploring Mysore
(01:56:27) Gender biases in science; perseverance despite setbacks; importance of support during early stages in science
(02:02:52) International conference in Monterey; reflections on scientific integrity
(02:06:11) Scientific contributions as long-term work; satisfaction in physics career
(02:07:52) Ending the session
Dates
- Creation: 2023-04-10
Creator
- Deepika S (Interviewer, Person)
- Godbole, Rohini (Interviewee, Person)
- Samyamee Sreevathsa (Processing Archivist, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Level of Access: Open/Online
Biography
Rohini Godbole (12 November 1952 – 25 October 2024) was an Indian physicist and a Professor at the Centre for High Energy Physics at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where she worked for over 25 years. She completed her Master’s degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and her PhD from Stony Brook University, USA, in 1979.
She primarily worked in particle physics, with her research interests including Nucleon Structure functions, Physics beyond Standard Model, Quantum Chromodynamics, the Higgs Boson, Supersymmetry, collider phenomenology, Photon interactions, Linear Collider Physics, String theory and experimental physics. For her contributions to science, Godbole was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, in January 2019. In 2021, she was honored with the Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) for fostering Indo-French scientific collaboration. She was also elected as a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2010 for her efforts in advancing science in developing countries.
In addition to these recognitions, she received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to particle physics and for encouraging women to pursue careers in science, both in India and internationally. She was a strong advocate for women in science and has written extensively and engaged with the public on this topic.
Extent
128 Minutes
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Archives at NCBS Repository
National Centre for Biological Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Bangalore Karnataka 560065 India
+9180 6717 6010
+9180 6717 6011
archives@ncbs.res.in