New Delhi: APJ Abdul Kalam's death is also a loss to medical science, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said here on Tuesday while remembering the former President's contribution to various fields.
"The sudden demise of Kalam was also a loss to medical science because during the last few years, Kalam had started showing diversified research interest in medical science particularly in the subject of Carcinogens or cancer-related factors or agents," he said.
This also offered some of us from the medical science stream an opportunity to personally interact with him and learn from him not only the subtle nuances of scientific research but also about the unwritten traits which contribute to the greatness of an individual personified by someone like him, said Singh.
The Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is a doctor.
If only Kalam had lived a little longer, it is possible that, given his record of innovative and progressive experimentation, he might have come out with some original postulations even in relation to medical science, particularly in the area of Oncology, he said.
Describing the former President not only as a "great source of inspiration" for the scientific fraternity but also a "valuable resource person" who had the capacity to guide students of science from any stream, Singh said, it is no small achievement that during his science career of over six decades, he diversified from nuclear science to space science and in the latter years to medical science.
"For a country like India known for its diversity, Kalam truly symbolised science in diversity," the Minister said.
Kalam, who would have turned 84 in October died after suffering a massive cardiac arrest during a lecture at IIM Shillong yesterday.
