THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a rare gesture, the Kerala University has decided to confer PhD posthumously to a Physics scholar posthumously who had passed away after working on his thesis for seven years. The Syndicate which met here the other day had decided to award K George Varghese, who was an Associate Professor of Physics at the St.Gregorios College, Kottarakara, with the PhD posthumously following a request from his family. K George Varghese was working on his thesis ‘Study on the synthesis of tungsten trioxide nano particles by chemical precipitation and their characterisation’ and had received three favourable reports from the doctoral committee. However, he passed away in January 2010, three months remaining for the open defence after which the PhD is conferred. “He was behind the research for seven years. First under Khader sir and then under the guidance of Vaidyan sir. We have seen the stress he had undertaken and we believe his sudden death was partly due to the stress he went through. We approached the Vice-Chancellor soon after his death and presented our request, but there was no Syndicate at that time. So when a new Syndicate came into being, the matter was finally taken up. We had sought for humanitarian consideration and they granted it,” said Danielkutty, brother-in-law of George Varghese. It was George’s wife Anniamma who had requested the KU for a favourable gesture. George, of Adoor, had collapsed and died while working on his computer one night. According to University officials, it is very rare that PhD is awarded posthumously. However, considering the fact that the thesis has been completed and is in possession of the University as a work, the decision was taken on humanitarian grounds.
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