Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public university for scientific research and higher education located in Bangalore, India. Established in 1909 with active support from Jamsetji Tata it is also locally known as the "Tata Institute". It acquired the status of a Deemed University in 1958. IISc is widely regarded as India's finest institution in its field, and has been ranked at number 11 and 18 worldwide (and ranked 3rd and 6th in Asia) when considering the criteria of Citations per Faculty in 2014 and 2015 respectively. IISc has been ranked number 1 and 4 in the BRICS and Asian region respectively while considering the criteria of Papers per Faculty in 2015. IISc has made significant contribution to advanced computing, space, and nuclear technologies.
After an accidental meeting between Jamsedji N. Tata and Swami Vivekananda on a ship in 1893 where they discussed Tata's plan of bringing the steel industry to India, Tata wrote to Vivekananda five years later "I trust, you remember me as a fellow-traveller on your voyage from Japan to Chicago. I very much recall at this moment your views on the growth of the ascetic spirit in India... I recall these ideas in connection with my scheme of Research Institute of Science for India, of which you have doubtless heard or read.
Impressed by Vivekananda's views on science and leadership abilities, Tata wanted him to guide his campaign. Vivekananda endorsed the project with enthusiasm, and Tata, with the aim of advancing the scientific capabilities of the country, constituted a Provisional Committee to prepare a plan for setting up of an Institute of research and higher education. The committee presented a draft proposal to Lord Curzon on 31 December 1898.Subsequently, Prof. Sir William Ramsay, a Nobel Laureate, was called on to propose a suitable place for such an institution who suggested Bangalore as the best location.
The land and other facilities for the institution were donated by H.H. Sir Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore (a Princely State now called State of Karnataka), and Tata himself. The Maharaja donated about 371 acres (1.50 km2) of land. Tata gave several buildings towards the creation of IISc.
The constitution of the Institute was approved by the Viceroy, Lord Minto, and the necessary Vesting Order to enable it to function was signed on 27 May 1909. Early in 1911, the Maharaja of Mysore laid the foundation stone of the Institute, and on 24 July, the first batch of students were admitted in the Departments of General and Applied Chemistry under Norman Rudolf and Electro-Technology under Alferd Hay. Within two months, the Department of Organic Chemistry was opened. With the establishment of the University Grants Commission in 1956, the Institute came under its purview as a deemed university.
At the time of the inception of IISc in 1909, Morris Travers, Sir William Ramsay's co-worker in the discovery of the noble gases, became its first Director. For Travers, this was a natural continuation of his work on the Institute, since he had played a role in its founding. The first Indian Director was the Nobel Laureate Sir C.V. Raman. Raman was the Indian Science-based Nobel Laureate. The current Director is Anurag Kumar.
The Institute was the first to introduce masters programmes in engineering. It has also started integrated Ph.D. programmes in Biological, Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences for science graduates.
The IISc campus is located in North about 4 kilometers from the Bangalore City Railway Station and bus stand on the way to Yeshwantpur. The Institute is about 35 kilometres from new Kempegowda International Airport. A number of other research institutes viz. Raman Research Institute, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Wood Research Institute and Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) are close to IISc. Most of these institutes are connected to IISc by a regular shuttle service.
The campus houses more than 40 departments marked by routes such as the Gulmohar Marg, the Mahogany Marg, the Badami Marg, the Tala Marg, the Ashoka Marg, the Nilgiri Marg, the Silver Oak Marg, the Amra Marg and the Arjuna Marg. The Institute is fully residential and spreads over 400 acres of land situated in the heart of Bangalore city.The campus features six canteens (cafeterias), a gymkhana (gymnasium and sports complex), a football and a cricket ground, four dining messes (halls), one multicuisine family restaurant, nine men's and five women's hostels (dormitories), an air strip, a library, two shopping centers and residence areas for faculties and other staff members, besides other amenities.
The IISc campus harbors both exotic and indigenous plant species with about 110 species of woody plants.The roads on the campus are named after the dominant avenue tree species.
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