Mid-Day Special: Professor who trained India’s Physics Olympiad champions dies days before historic all-gold triumph

For years Professor Vinayak S Katdare prepared Indiarsquos brightest physics students for one dream mdash to shine at the International Physics Olympiad But when that dream turned into a historic achievement the national coach was not there to witness itHours before his sudden demise on June 27 following a cardiac arrest Prof Katdare conducted a final session with the five students he had trained unaware it would be their last interactionDays later all five won gold at the 56th International Physics Olympiad in Bucaramanga Colombia creating history for India for the second time The first such achievement came in 2018 when all five gold medallists were also coached by Prof KatdareProf Katdarersquos greatest quality was his endless curiosity according to his elder sonFor colleagues and students the victory was not merely Indiarsquos triumph but a lasting legacy of Prof Katdarersquos nearly three decades of dedication to nurturing young physicists at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education HBCSE TIFR MankhurdGuiding lightFour days before his passing Prof Katdare was seen discussing studentsrsquo experimental scripts and offering final guidance at the HBCSE Physics Olympiad Laboratory He continued his regular mentoring sessions including on the afternoon of June 27 guiding Indiarsquos five representatives mdash Kanishk Jain Riddhesh Anant Bendale Rishit Garg Shresth Suraiya and Svarit JoshiMembers of the Olympiad community said the medals reflected years of Prof Katdarersquos efforts in identifying talent preparing rigorous training modules and developing scientific thinking among students representing India on the global stageSudden lossAccording to Prof Katdarersquos nephew Dr Ameya Panchwagh the physics teacher was parking his car on the campus premises on June 27 when bystanders noticed the vehicle suddenly losing course and entering a flower bed ldquoThey rushed to the vehicle and found him unconscious insiderdquo Dr Panchwagh saidThe 2018 batch of Vigyan Programme students attend a session by Prof Katdare at the HBCSE centre in MankhurdHe was rushed by colleagues and students to the nearby BARC Hospital where doctors found his vital signs unrecordable A postmortem examination at Rajawadi Hospital later provisionally attributed the cause of death to coronary artery diseaselsquoHe made physics come aliversquoStudents remember Prof Katdare as a teacher who explained difficult physics concepts through simple examples from everyday lifeColleagues recalled his constant search for better teaching methods rather than merely delivering lectures He spent countless hours designing challenging problem papers mentoring students individually and training fellow teachers in effective classroom practicesHis younger son Preshit Katdare a pilot recalled that his father never stopped working ldquoWhen I came home I would either see him cooking watching thriller mystery or sciencefiction movies or preparing question papers for Olympiad students to make sure they were ready He never sat idlerdquo he saidlsquoNo one can teachrsquoFor many students Prof Katdarersquos greatest lessons were not only about physics but about learning itself His philosophy was simple ldquoNo one can teach We can only learn At the most we can help someone in learning Try to become a facilitator and not a teacher or a guiderdquo recalled PreshitHis elder brother Sanchit Katdare settled in US said his fatherrsquos greatest quality was his endless curiosity He said his father often spoke with wonder about technological changes he had witnessed mdash from seeing the first telephone and first car arrive in his village Chiplun Ratnagiri to using globally connected wireless devices and travelling in a driverless autonomous car ldquoWhat made him different was that he always wanted to understand how everything workedrdquo he saidGolden legacyProf Katdare was part of HBCSErsquos Physics Olympiad training programme for nearly 27 years He contributed to the physics olympiad in terms of experimental development assessment and student training at multiple levels ldquoProf Katdare valued theory and experiment equally His meticulous scrutiny of every question paper answer sheet model solution and marking scheme was unmatchedrdquo said Shirish Pathare scientific officer F HBCSE TIFRAniket Sule associate professor HBCSE and Physics Olympiad training coordinator said the fivegoldmedal performances in 2018 and again this year were a fitting tribute to Prof Katdarersquos invaluable contributions