Excessive Delay in Recognition of Professor Mrinal Thakur by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Causing Global Frustration
New Delhi, January 26, 2023: After 22 long years of not recognizing the path-breaking discovery of Professor Mrinal Thakur of “Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers”, the public frustration against the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) is now reaching a flashpoint.
Professor Thakur, the Director of Photonic Materials Research Laboratory of Auburn University of the USA, discovered Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers more than 35 years ago. Being an outstanding discovery, this deserved conferring the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Professor Thakur in 2000.
But it was not done.
Strange is the fact that in 2000, the Chemistry Nobel Prize was given to Heeger, MacDiarmid and Shirakawa for discovery of “Conductive Polymers” although they discovered only “Conjugated” Conductive Polymers which is a special case of “Nonconjugated” Conductive Polymers” in general.
The NRI scientist Professor Thakur was not given the Chemistry Nobel Prize. This constitutes a violation of the Nobel Statutes, academic norms and also violation of human rights.
After that, 22 long years have passed but he was continued to be ignored despite the fact that his Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers have the unique attribute of protecting mankind against nuclear radiation including radioactive iodine.
Although the RSAS is in agreement with Professor Thakur that the fundamental basis or basic assumption of research on conductive polymers documented at the Nobel Foundation website is incorrect / nonfactual and Professor Thakur’s is correct, the RSAS has not taken any action to make the requisite correction and provide due credit to Professor Thakur.
Professor Thakur’s research and discoveries in the areas of Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers and Nonlinear Optics have drawn the attention of the public. But the world leaders like the Prime Ministers of India, Sweden, the UK, Japan, Chancellor of Germany and President of the USA have not taken any action to ensure that the deeply rooted human rights issues are addressed. They did not even launch any diplomatic initiative to persuade the RSAS to correct its mistake of continued delay in providing him due credit.
Professor Thakur was nominated for the Chemistry Nobel Prize for 22 times. In 2014, something similar to 2000 took place yet the world leaders did not intervene to convince the RSAS to correct its wrongs.
In 2014, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to Betzig, Hell and Moerner for works on Super-Resolved Fluorescence Microscopy. But Professor Thakur had developed the experimental methods, his Equation and theory on nonlinear optics critical for super-resolved fluorescence microscopy, 10 years earlier than the Nobel recipients. The persons who received the 2014 Chemistry Nobel Prize plagiarized from Professor Thakur’s works. But the Nobel Committee has remained silent!
Violation of Statutes of The Nobel Foundation
In 2000 and 2014, the RSAS violated the Statues of The Nobel Foundation.
As it appears at the website of The Nobel Foundation,“ key property of a conductive polymer is the presence of conjugated double bonds along the backbone of the polymer. In conjugation, the bonds between the carbon atoms are alternately single and double.” Also, “For a polymer to be able to conduct electric current it must consist alternately of single and double bonds between carbon atoms”. These fundamental statements are nonfactual / incorrect since these disregard existence of “Nonconjugated” Conductive Polymers and their impact.
Professor Thakur used Coulomb Correlation theory which applies to both Nonconjugated and Conjugated Conductive Polymers while other theories developed only considering Conjugated Conductive Polymers may lead to incorrect conclusions. “Conjugated” conductive polymer indeed is a special case of “Nonconjugated” conductive polymer.
The Nobel Committee failed to follow their statutes (Statutes of The Nobel Foundation) in decisions on 2000 and 2014 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. The relevant statute (1) goes as follows: the prize will go “to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement”. Can “incorrect” or “plagiarized” works be considered “most important chemical discovery”? Not really!
Are the World Leaders Really Serious About Dangers of Radioactive Iodine?
Apparently, not!
Radioactive iodine is carcinogenic, it can endanger the entire planet jeopardizing human beings, all animals, water resources and overall ecology. Recently, the world leaders voiced about the dangers of ecological dangers faced by the universe.
It is in this backdrop that they should persuade the RSAS to correct its earlier mistakes of 2000 and 2014 to accord Professor Thakur the Chemistry Nobel Prize this year. Besides, he should be provided with funding to carry out his researches on Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers and other fundamental topics pertaining to the Nano-Science.
The research conducted by Professor Thakur proved the “Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers” can effectively absorb radioactive iodine emitted from nuclear reactors saving the Mother Earth. Millions of human lives, flora and fauna across the globe can be safeguarded by creating shields made of the Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers.
Mass deployment of such shields can protect the people against radiation poisoning and different ailments including thyroid cancer that radioactive iodine causes. Currently, there is a huge demand for the potassium-iodide pills throughout the European Union (EU) for fear of nuclear radiation due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
In the backdrop of the fear of nuclear war, the world leaders should impress upon the RSAS to recognize the radiation absorbing capacity of the “Nonconjugated” Conductive Polymer-based shielding technology. The global leaders must come forward in sealing all nuclear reactor facilities around the world with this protective shield to save human lives.
Dangers of Radioactive Iodine
Radioactive iodine can be lethal. It poses danger to human lives, all animals, water resources and overall ecology as it remains in a state of vapor at ordinary temperature and can travel long distances over a very short time.
It not only causes thyroid cancer but a plethora of other very serious and life-threatening diseases. This danger can be minimized if Professor Thakur’s discovery is put in use for mass welfare. The world leaders can suggest application of the polymer shields on a mass scale around the nuclear reactors (standard and modular) and the nuclear waste facilities which store spent nuclear fuel rods.
All the countries having nuclear reactors should demand for global funds to meet the cost of safeguarding their facilities and press upon the global leaders to come forward to save the earth against nuclear radiation fallouts.
Global Wrath at Delay in Honoring Professor Thakur
The people around the globe are raising their voices against the continuance of unresolved status on the following critical issues :
- No credit was given to Professor Thakur in 2000 Nobel Prize and afterwards for his discovery of “Nonconjugated Conductive Polymers.”
- Royal Swedish Academy is yet to correct the document preserved at the Nobel Foundation website despite repeated requests. The document states a polymer must be conjugated to be electrically conductive – which is nonfactual and the corresponding theory as given is incorrect,
- Professor Thakur’s research funding was abruptly stopped in 2003 as he brought up the incorrectness and inequity regarding the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Professor Thakur stakes claim to the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry as well since “Super-resolved Fluorescence Microscopy” (2014 Nobel in Chemistry)is primarily based on earlier nonlinear optical experimental and theoretical studies performed by Professor Thakur and colleagues on organic materials.
Scientific Explanation of Thakur’s Equation
The central equation (Equation 3 in 2014 Nobel document) used in this work is based on nonlinear optics works and phase-space-filling model developed by Professor Thakur and coworkers. No reference of that is given in the 2014 Nobel document preserved at the Nobel Foundation website.
Detailed nonlinear optical coefficients as a function of wavelength, excited-state lifetimes, two-photon absorption and the detailed saturation dynamics have all been measured by Professor Thakur and coworkers using femtosecond-duration pulses and their theoretical interpretations have been established. The excited state lifetime as measured is about 1.8 ps. In the off-resonant domain the response is instantaneous.
As discussed in such reports, (phase-space filling model applied to PTS-polydiacetylene crystal), the fractional change in oscillator strength, δf/f is related to the number fraction of electrons (excitons) involved in the transitions is as given in the following: δf/f = – N/Ns where Ns is the saturation density.
For organic materials, energy levels remain essentially unchanged when light is incident on it. Using the phase-space filling model as above verified by detailed experimental measurements (Thakur et al. 1985-88), the equation relating the resolution and laser light intensity (Thakur’s Equation) that one arrives at is Δ = λ/(2nsinα(1 + I/Is)1/2). Here Δ stands for resolution, I stands for laser light intensity, λ is wavelength, n is refractive index, α is semi-aperture angle and Is is saturation intensity. More details of the equation have recently appeared (Thakur, J. Macromol. Sci., PAC 2016 and references therein).
This is the central equation, Equation 3 given in page 5 of the 2014 Nobel document preserved at the Nobel Foundation website and is derived based on phase-space filling model and the statistics involved in the emission process. No reference for this equation was provided in that document. Professor Thakur received no credit from RSAS in 2014 Nobel Prize!
