"India has a bright future in climate research"

India is a land of intellectuals and finest minds in the world. It's not new to find Indians listed amongst the leading scientists in NASA, IBM, Microsoft, NCAR, Oxford or Cambridge but what makes some of these leading scientist different from others is their motivation to contribute to cutting edge research while remaining in India. Dr Gurfran Beig (Senior Director Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India) was in the news for being the Chairman of a group of researchers spread across the globe that not only predicted but also validated the fact that the atmosphere of the earth is contracting due to adverse human activities and if no corrective measure is taken we would end up destroying the ionosphere to such an extent that it would no more be useful for our communications.

Having previously worked with Nobel Laureates (Prof. Paul Ctutzen, MPI, Mainz, Germany) this time Dr Beig was invited by the Director of Max Planck Institute for Meteorology Hamburg, Prof. Guy Brausser to enlighten the scientific community on his new research. Awarded several times in India (as a young scientist award etc.) this was an award for which Dr Beig gave India one of it's proud moments.

We caught Dr Beig when he was quietly working in his office on the fourth floor the Max Planck Institute fur Meteorology in Hamburg.

Can you tell us about your academic background?

Rajasthan in India. My bachelors was from Rajasthan University, Jaipur and masters from Sukhadia university Udaipur in Rajasthan. I did my Ph.D. from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, a premier research institute of Indian space researches Organization. Thereafter I was selected as a postdoctoral fellow by the university corporation of Atmospheric research, Boulder, Colorado, USA to work in national center for atmospheric research (NCAR), Boulder, CO, USA which I did during 1991-92.

What was your motivation to start climate research when apparently very few people knew about it?

I was very much fascinated by the changing things right from the beginning. When I was in schools, I used to think why some time we feel cold and some time warm (winter and summer) within a span of few months. Some time it starts raining but sometime months together no rains at all. Who does that? Is it the "GOD" who do it by putting the switch "on" and "off" by choice or there is something else and if so what is the logic. Then I grew up and I forgot my kinder thoughts, as I got busy in studies but destiny pulled me to the place what a child in me used to know or explore several years back.

Why did you chose ( IITM ) or rather India as your base when most of the eminent scientists migrate abroad. Did you at any point of time feel that in India you would not be able to do quality research in India?

Probably the difference between those people and me was fundamentally very basic and it will probably give you the desired answer of your question. At any point of my research life, I never believed that the 5 star facility can only makes a person a "scientist". I always conceived the idea that quality research comes from your thoughts and hard work, which can come in you wherever you are in this world, provided you have a zeal and that your basic survival needs are fulfilled. In a country like India it may take longer to execute something but it will ultimately be achieved because it is the function of your brain and not of any machines which is anyway manufactures by a man who has brain. Past two decades have undergone phenomenal progress in awareness towards science in our country. Today we have our own supercomputers had many more opportunities to probably work indefinitely in foreign country but I preferred to stay back while do not have any hesitation to work on and off in any other country. Interaction and environment will help you to keep your research temperaments upbeat and update which is what is required and I keep visiting many European or US research labs where frontier work is in progress in my field.

What is the main focus of your research group in India ( including Phd and post docs that work with you)?

My research group in India focuses on global change and chemical climate, we also call it GC3. We focus on:

- Atmospheric Chemical-Transport Modeling
- Monitoring of Ozone and Secondary Pollutants
- Adding knowledge to understand earth's atmosphere-climate system.
- Role of chemical feedback in weather prediction.
- Role of human induced changes in quantitative terms for the benefit to policy makers

What is the future of Climate Research in India? What should be the focus areas in climate research that can be useful to the Indian region?

India has bright future in climate research. Many people die of floods and cyclones each year in india and climate change has adversely affected our lives. So Monsoon prediction, air pollution and long term trends in atmospheric parameters are some of the areas of future climate research in India.

Coming to the world acclaimed WMO (Norbert Gerbier-MUMM International Award 2005) award given to you as leader of the international group working on upper atmosphere, what is the result for which your group got this award?

WMO has the opinion that my work was the first authentic assessment of the adverse influence of polluting gases on the upper atmosphere. While greenhouse gases like methane, carbon dioxide, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen warm up the lower portion of the atmosphere up to 15 km from the earth's surface, they cool the upper portion. The upshot, is a long-term impact on weather and weakening of radio and TV signals besides difficulties in controlling satellites. In the awarded paper, a first comprehensive review of long-term trends in the most vital meteorological parameter, namely, temperature of the region from 50 to 100 km is made about which picture was gloomy and no attempt was made earlier. It has been established that there is a cooling trend in the lower and mid-mesosphere with an amplitude of a 2-3K per decade. In tropical latitudes, the cooling trend increases even upto 4-5K/decade in the upper mesosphere. There are growing numbers of experimental results consistent with zero temperature trends in the mesopause region (80-100km), which is one of the most striking finding. Cooling reduces in the lower thermosphere and then again dramatically increases in the upper atmosphere. The upper atmospheric GCM results are now started to reproduce these findings but convincing interpretation is yet to be achieved

What are the future research that you are planning to do in the area for which you got this award?

The list is long as the specific research problem is relatively virgin. I wish that many more realities of the life, which a common man never conceived, would start to unfold. As for example, it is now established beyond doubt that the Human activities at the ground can affect the atmosphere as high as 100 km and we have started to realize it in practical life as the distortion of radio signals. I wish I could answers several questions raised in my earlier answer.

As a young scientist what are your dreams after receiving such acclaim at this age?

Well, I do not say that I do not dream but there are several things that I do not dream but they fall in line. The WMO award is one of such happenings.

How do you find Germany as a venue of carrying out quality research?

It is a wonderful venue to carry our quality research. And if you have enthusiasm and zeal like India or USA and working in Germany then it is nothing like that. This combination of adventurous mind and solid work habit is deadly. I hope you know what I mean.

Would you like to come to Germany again and again?

Oh yes! I would love to come here again. It is a great country where you are so cool but quietly keep working.