Welcome to the site of a humble INDIAN

Shantanu Rastogi
Physics Department
Gorakhpur University
Gorakhpur -273 009 INDIA
email: shantanu_r@hotmail.com

Click on the flag to learn about some facts & beautiful sights of India

My interest is in teaching Physics and Studying about Molecules in Astrophysics
My enjoyment is in listening to Classical Hindustani Music
My favourite Books: click to see 5 among the many
More about me...
Please also visit my father's Literature page

My favourite 5 Books

Among the many I have picked up five ...

    ... my choice is not due to some literary merit, which anyway I am not qualified enough to judge. My choice is simply of what I liked at the time of reading and is also constrained by the fact that I have not yet read some really good ones.

1. Lord of the flies by William Golding
    A fantasy about school boys stranded in an island. The story unfolds layer by layer barbaric human nature. Detailed informative link http://www.gerenser.com/lotf/index.html

2. Old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway
    A classic story of a Cuban fisherman who gets embroiled into an intense pursuit of a giant marlin. Summary and Analysis link http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/oldman/

3. Spartacus by Howard Fast
    Its about the ancient Roman slave who rebelled. Information and review link http://loki.stockton.edu/~roman/fiction/fast.htm

4. City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre
    A book about the strength of human spirit and of love and compassion. Set in the slums of Calcutta about life amidst extreme poverty. Link to city of joy http://www.cityofjoyaid.org/

5. Midnights Children by Salman Rushdie
    Fantasy about Children born at the midnight with India's independence, interwoven with history and progress of post independence India. Review link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight%27s_Children

There is also this book which according to some has divided the world into those who have read it and those who are going to... Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

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About Shantanu Rastogi

         It all started in Kanpur (known as Manchester of India for some time) in 1967. My parents, Pratibha and Gopi Shyam Rastogi were both in teaching profession now retired and living with us.

         Mariampur Higher Secondry School educated me early on. In my days it used to be a coed school.

         High School and Intermediate years, I spent in B.N.S.D. Inter College. It is one of the biggest schools I have known. At high school (10th) there were about 20 sections and in Intermediate (12th) there were 12 science sections. Every section with about 60-70 students!!!

         College years were the most entertaining at Christ Church College for 2 years Bachelors Degree. Physics was my main interest.

         Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur took me for M.Sc. in Physics and in 1988 I managed to get out through it with a multitude of emotions and experiences of Hostel life etc.

         After a brief stint with synthesis and characterization of Superconducting films at BHU, Varanasi I came down to Lucknow for Ph.D. in Polymer Spectroscopy.

         Lucknow incidentally is our ancestral hometown. The Nawabi city has a glorious past and a 'Phele Aap' Tehjeeb! In 1993 I received my Ph.D. degree under Prof. V.D. Gupta with a lot of hindi filmi drama in the background as I also at the same time became Lecturer at Lucknow University.

         At our Macromolecular Lab in Lucknow, we did a lot of work on phonon dispersion and vibrational analysis of Polymers and Polyamino acids.

         In December, 1994 I received another degree or rather lost one (Baccalaureate) and got married to Pooja. Though she has no web site of her own she is the one who tells all how-to.

         In 1998 I moved to Gorakhpur as a Reader in Physics at Gorakhpur University. Research on Interstellar molecules and Astrochemistry became my vocation. Gorakhpur brought me in touch with some very bright students and I found purpose in my teaching.

         During Feb. 2001 to March 2002, I was in Germany as Alexander von Humboldt Fellow working at Astrophysics Institute and University Observatory, Jena.

         At present I am a Professor in Physics at Gorakhpur University. I am also an Associate of Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). Along with my students our learning has advanced to new areas in Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics.

         Interesting episodes include Research Highlights News in Nature India
Life precursors in Space based on our work on PAHs and astronomical infrared emission bands
Nanodiamonds in Space based on our work on Anomalous extinction of starlight by interstellar nanodiamonds.
Also organizing the International Conference on Interstellar Dust Molecules and Chemistry as Co-Chair, Scientific Organizing Committee.

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