Dr P Nilakantan
Dr S R Valluri
Professor R Narasimha
Dr K N Raju
Professor Satish Dhawan
Dr R A Mashelkar
Dr PRamamoorthy
Prof U R Rao
Dr B R Somashekar
Mr K Venkatachalam
Dr K S Yajnik
Dr M V V Murthy
Dr A C Raghuram
Dr Indira Rajagopal
Dr S Srinathkumar
Dr M Shivakumara Swamy
Dr S Nagabhushana
Dr J P Pichamuthu
Dr Srinivas Bhogle

Two of Dr Murthy's biggest R&D successes probably were his seminal work in shear deformation theory (now known as the Levinson-Murthy theory) and his illuminating investigations on the 'perennial FE problem'

Dr M V V Murthy
A tribute which appeared in the Information Pasteboard on the eve of Mr M V V Murthy's retirement.

Dr M V V Murthy, Scientist G, Structures Division, has just completed his outstanding innings for NAL. When Dr Murthy stepped down on 14 February 1998, he, together with Dr S Nagabhushana, held the distinction of being NAL's longest serving scientist.

The innings began on 3 October 1960 when Dr M V Vedavyasa Murthy (that's his full name) joined NAL as a Senior Scientific assistant (SSA). How did he discover NAL? "Well, actually NAL discovered me. I had obtained the third rank in my BE (Mech) examination from University of Mysore and Dr Nilakantan (NAL's first Director; then on a recruiting spree) was rounding up all rank holders" (Dr Murthy has been a rank holder in every public examination he has faced. In 1954 when he stood third in the Mysore state Matriculation examination, he became a local celebrity in his small town of Kanakahalli; he was even garlanded in the Town Hall!).

Looking back, did he think that it was the right decision to opt for NAL? "Oh, absolutely, although I had a few doubts during my early years. It was a curious dilemma we faced those days. On the one hand, there was the pleasure of working for Dr Nilakantan and participating in his crusade. And yet, with only a BE, we felt inadequate and incomplete. The urge to study more was great. But Dr Nilakantan resolved this conflict by sending me in 1964 to Penn State University in USA for my Masters".

The PhD followed in 1976, but the bug to be a good and inquisitive theoretician has never left Dr Murthy. "I was both famous and notorious for my mathematics", Dr Murthy recalls. The first big success came with his work on the theory of shells in 1963. It was Raju (Dr K N Raju) who initiated me into this business after he saw the work we were doing for the air receiver design, fabrication and erection at the wind tunnel site. And when my paper appeared in Int J Mech Sci, Nilakantan couldn't believe that a mere SSA had done it". Dr Murthy went on to work for a whole decade on cut-outs and cracks in shells. Around 1981 came another big success when, while at NASA, Dr Murthy did some seminal work in shear deformation theory (now known as the Levinson-Murthy theory). In 1993 there was another high when Dr Murthy completed some investigations on the 'perennial FE problem'. "I suspect it was this work which earned me my Scientist G", chuckles Dr Murthy.

That in essence sums up Dr M V V Murthy. Unassuming, erudite, loyal and non-controversial, Dr Murthy is also genuinely warm and affectionate. As he packs his books to leave, there is sorrow at the parting of a true friend.

Srinivas Bhogle