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About the BookAbout the Author

This book is the second part of the two-volume set entitled The Big and the Small. In the earlier volume, Journey into the Microcosm: the Story of Elementary Particles, the story of elementary particle physics was related. In the present volume the author describes how the physics of elementary particles allow us to reconstruct the origin of the universe and its subsequent evolution. Carrying on from the point where volume 1 was concluded, the story of the fascinating quest for the Ultimate Theory (the theory that stands all by itself and does not rest on any other pedestal) is revealed here in the context of the shortcomings of the Standard Model.

A physicist and a prolific writer, Dr G Venkataraman has had a distinguished career in science and technology at BARC, Mumbai, IGCAR, Kalpakkam, and Anurag, DRDO, Hyderabad. He was a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow from 1984 to 1986. He has also served as Vice Chancellor and Honorary Professor at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prashanthi Nilayam. He is a recipient of many awards, including the Sir C V Raman Prize, C V Raman Centenary Medal, Padma Shri, Indira Gandhi Award and the Indian Science Congress Medal for his contributions to the popularisation of science.

Besides the Vignettes in Physics series, Dr Venkataraman has authored two monographs—Dynamics of Perfect Crystals and Beyond the Crystalline State. He is also the author of the widely acclaimed Journey into Light: Life and Science of C. V. Raman.