Jitendra Jatashankar Rawal (born March 30, 1943) is a Gujarati

Gujarati people

Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...

 astrophysicist and scientific educator, recognized for his work in the popularisation of science.

Rawal has served as Director of the Nehru Planetarium

Nehru Planetarium

There are five planetariums in India named after India's first Prime Minister, [Jawaharlal Nehru]. Nehru Plantariums are located in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore and there is a Jawahar Planetarium in Allahabad. Nehru Planetarium in Pune was the first one in Asia, established in 1954...

 Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

. He has published about 25 research papers in national and international scientific journals, and is the president of The Indian Planetary Society.

Rawal was born in Halwad village at Sundernagar district, of Gujarat, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. He received an M.Phil

Master of Philosophy

The Master of Philosophy is a postgraduate research degree.An M.Phil. is a lesser degree than a Doctor of Philosophy , but in many cases it is considered to be a more senior degree than a taught Master's degree, as it is often a thesis-only degree. In some instances, an M.Phil...

 degree in Physical Sciences, from Calcutta University, in 1975, and a PhD

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 degree in Astrophysics, from the University of Mumbai

University of Mumbai

The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...

, 1992 (Thesis: Some Problems in the Solar System & in the Local Group of Galaxies).

Works

Rawal is the author of many scientific and popular science works in the field of astronomy and related subjects, as follows:

• Solar System Parts I - IV (all in Gujarati)
• Total Solar Eclipse (English & Gujarati)
• Science in India after Independence (Gujarati).
• The Story of Birth of the Planetarium (Gujarati).
• The Wonderful Sky (Gujarati).
• Scientist of the millennium (English / Hindi)

He has written eight Science Fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 stories in Gujarati

Gujarati language

Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

 and Hindi, which appeared originally in Janmbhoomi-Pravasi, New Surat Times, Sambhav, Mumbai Samachar and Nav Bharat Times. They have been translated into English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

, as well.

He also wrote the scripts of the following planetarium shows, shown at the Nehru Planetarium:

• Journey to the Red Planet
• Astronomy of the Millennium
• Einstein and the Universe
• Collision in Space

Dr. J.J. Rawal of the Nehru Planetarium, Bombay, recorded the distance of four satellites, each 35520 km, 57710 km, 96130 km and 71300 km, away from the centre of Neptune.

• Our place in the universe (for the Indian Planetary Society only)

Awards

Rawal has received many prestigious awards, including:

• Science Journalist Late. Shri Manubhai Mehta Award for Popularization of Science.
• Yogiji Maharaj Centenary Celebration Award for contribution to Science.
• Felicitated by Mayor of Mumbai.
• Marathi Vigyan Parishad’s Smt. Manoramabai Apte Award for Popularization of Science in India.
• Felicitated by Marathi Vigyan Parishad and Marathi Vigyan Mahasangh for Scientific discoveries about rings around Planets.
• Received Award of National Council for Science and Technology Communication, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for popularization of Science in the year 1994.
• Felicitated by Municipal Corporation of Rajkot and Saurashtra Education Foundation for Scientific activities in the Country.
• Felicitated by Amreli City towards contribution to Scientific activities.
• Received Best Science Column Writer award for the year 1998-99. Department of Information, Government of Gujarat
• Felicitated by University of Gowahati, Aassam for Scientific activities.
• Felicitated by Halvad City towards contribution to Scientific research.
• Received Award of Rotary Club of Bombay South, Rotary Club of Juhu. JC’s in the field of Science.
• Felicitated by various organization for Scientific discoveries around the Planets and popularization of Science in the Country.
• Received Award from Amrita for Scientific discoveries. Amrita is a Cultural Organization which felicitates Scientists and artists of the Country.
• Awarded by Sardar Patel Jagruti Mandal in the field of Science in the Country.
• Received Award from Brihan Mumbai Gujarati Samaj in the field of Science.
• Felicitated by Panchwati education Society, Nasik.
• Received Award from Lion’s Club in the field of Science.
• Felicitated by Government of Himachal Pradesh for Scientific activities in the Country.
• Felicitated by Zalawad Social Group towards in the field of Science.
• Felicitated by Jain Social Group towards contribution to Scientific research.
• Felicitated by Brahman Social Group for the Scientific discoveries.
• Felicitated by Halvad Yuvak Mandal and Zalawad Sattar Taluka Mandal for the Scientific discoveries.
• Felicitated by various Scientific and Cultural Organizations for the Scientific discoveries and popularization of Science in the Country.