California: An Indo-US Physicist, Mani Bhaumik has donated a whopping $11 million towards developing the infrastructure in University of California. Bhaumik rose from poverty to become an eminent scientist who played a key role in developing the laser technology that paved the way for Lasik eye surgery.
He was born in a remote village in West Bengal, and as a child slept on rags in the thatched-roof mud hut he shared with his parents and six siblings. The Mani L Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics is intended to become a world-leading centre for theoretical physics research and intellectual inquiry, the university said in a statement.
The Bhaumik Institute will host visiting scholars, organise seminars and conferences for the academic community, and begin a public outreach programme to teach the community about scientific advances made by UCLA physicists. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said, I thank Mani Bhaumik for his philanthropic leadership and for believing in UCLA.”