After Nobel and Padma,
knighthood for "Venki" - London, Dec. 30: "Arise,
Sir Venki," the Queen will be able to say very soon, tapping him on the shoulder
with a sword.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who won the Nobel Prize
for chemistry in 2009, is being honoured with a knighthood in the New Year's
honours, The Telegraph
disclosed.The 59-year-old professor, who prefers to be addressed simply as
"Venki", is being recognised "for services to molecular biology", the citation
will say.
Ramakrishnan, who was born
in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu in 1952, shared the Nobel
Prize for chemistry for his work on ribosomes with two other scientists, Thomas A. Steitz, an American, and Ada Yonath, an
Israeli.They had made significant advances in their "studies of the structure
and function of the ribosome".
After graduating from Baroda, Ramakrishnan went to the US where he
obtained his PhD and began his research. But for the past 12 years, he has been
living in Cambridge, cycling every morning from his home in the village of
Grantchester to his laboratory.
He has never owned a car.
He works in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the Medical Research Council, which is located in the
sprawling complex that makes up Addenbrooke's Hospital in
Cambridge.
Ramakrishnan and his wife, Vera Rosenberry, an author and illustrator
of children's books, and one of their children can go to Buckingham Palace for
the investiture.
Ramakrishnan, who will tomorrow make his way from Chennai to Madurai
accompanied by his wife and sister, was characteristically modest when contacted
today by The Telegraph: "This is an honour that reflects the quality of science
supported by the Medical Research Council, in particular at the Laboratory of
Molecular Biology in Cambridge. In my case, credit should go to the numerous
dedicated post docs, students, associates and colleagues who made crucial
contributions to the work."
He added: " In the current debate about immigration, it is worth
noting that this award is yet another example of the numerous contributions that
immigrants make to British society. Indeed, many of the founding members of the
Laboratory of Molecular Biology were immigrants themselves, and they helped to
revolutionise modern biology."
Like many senior academics, Ramakrishnan feels the UK government's
immigration policy is making it harder for scholars to come to
Britain.
When it comes to Americans who have received honorary knighthoods,
the list is distinguished ' President Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates, Steven
Spielberg, Bob Hope and General Norman Schwarzkopf, who was the US commander
during the first Gulf War.
But since Ramakrishnan and
his wife are American and British dual nationals, the knighthood he receives
will be "the real thing". So he could henceforth be addressed as Professor Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan or Sir
Venkatraman or even Sir Venkat ' although he would probably want to go on being
called "Venki" by his friends.
The UK is following the
example of India. Ramakrishnan received India's second highest civilian honour,
the Padma Vibhushan, in 2010. Over the past four decades, the professor has led
an itinerant existence.
"Many universities have
claimed me and many institutions… the University of Utah has claimed me, Yale
University has claimed me, Ohio University has claimed me, that is perfectly
understandable…. Baroda University is proud of me," Ramakrishnan once told The
Telegraph. "That's fine because they all contributed to my development at
different stages in my career so I am perfectly happy with that
