Generosity and kindness, the hallmarks of top ANU scientific leader 

For the past 35 years, Emeritus Professor Chennupati Jagadish has pioneered nanotechnology research at the Australian National University (ANU).  

But when we speak about his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society, generosity and kindness are the focus of our conversation. 

Jagadish, the current President of the Australian Academy of Science, grew up in a small village in India and studied by the light of a kerosene lamp. There was no high school in his village, so he lived with his maths teacher in a neighbouring village for three years.  

He joined ANU in July 1990 with his wife Vidya, two-month-old daughter Laya and a two-year contract. 

“I never imagined that I’d be living in Australia for 35 years, but ANU is such a great place and really enabled me to be able to carry out my research,” he says. 

“The kindness and generosity of my teachers has enabled me to be who I am today.” 

“They supported me in terms of infrastructure, and then also the various leaders in the university supported me. That made a big difference for me to be able to pursue what I want to.”  

The University also invested in technical staff who were able to maintain $30 million worth of equipment without depending on overseas support – this prevented research delays. 

“They used to come and then see what the problem was. If it was an electronics problem, a mechanical problem, they used to fix it. So they enabled us to do research much more efficiently,” Jagadish says. 

“My passion is science, and that ability to pursue your passion is a great opportunity for me. So that’s why I’m so grateful to ANU.” 

Nanotechnology innovator

Jagadish is an expert in the science of the extremely small. He has helped make semi-conductors used in LED lights and lasers so tiny that 30 can fit into the width of a human hair. 

Other applications of his research include manipulating neurons to help people with dementia, splitting water to create hydrogen as a pure energy source and making lightweight, flexible solar cells. 

He has also pioneered the creation of high-performance optical devices, which have great potential in communications and data storage. And somehow, amongst all this, he also found the time to publish 880 research papers. 

But it’s not the innovation he highlights when reflecting on his career, it’s the people.  

“Success, for me, is secondary, but seeing their success is what makes me happy,” he says. 

“I’ve learned to be generous to others. Generosity never hurts you. That’s what I always tell people, be kind and generous to others. The kindness and generosity of my teachers has enabled me to be who I am today.” 

Believe in yourself and others 

Jagadish and wife Vidya have donated $140,000 to start the ANU Future Research Talent program (FRT), a Fellowship which supports students from developing countries to study at ANU. Contributions from others at the University grew the fund to $1 million. 

Last year, 87 scholars from India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia travelled to campus as part of the FRT. The students spent around three months gaining research experience. During their time here, Jagadish delivered a talk on how failures are a pathway to success. His top tips for students are: 

• Chase your passion: “If you’re passionate about what you do, good things happen. You can invariably be successful because you’re having fun.” 

• Believe in yourself: “Self-belief is very important, and if you believe in yourself, you can really make huge things happen. But if you don’t believe in yourself, wonderful opportunities are there, but you’re not able to grab those opportunities.” 

• Work with others: “You need to develop the ability to work with other people and collaborate and cooperate and also learn to communicate with others.” 

Jagadish says he has followed this advice throughout his career. 

“Choose the right people, empower them, and then give them the freedom that’s very important. I don’t believe in telling them every day what to do. I tell them that you’ve got 85 billion neurons, and I’ve got 85 billion neurons. And so, let us work together.” 

Jagadish is humbled to join the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Founded in the 1660s and consisting of distinguished scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth, the Royal Society aims to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science for the benefit of humanity. 

“Newton, Einstein, Rutherford—these are the giants of science and it’s a truly humbling experience for me to be recognised alongside them,” Jagadish says.  

“I’m so grateful to the Royal Society for honouring me with this fellowship – and to various people who helped me in my life as well.”