An amount of $11 million has been donated by an Indian-American physicist to the University of California (UCLA). The largest donation in the history of the varsity aims to developed a center devoted to advancing knowledge of the basic laws of nature.

The UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, said that, "I thank Mani Bhaumik for his philanthropic leadership and for believing in UCLA."

Bhaumik played a key role in the development of the  laser technology, which paved the way for Lasik eye surgery. He was born in a remote village in West Bengal and rose from poverty to become an eminent scientist.

"I didn't own a pair of shoes until I was 16 and walked four miles to school and back in my bare feet," he added in the UCLA statement.

Bhaumik completed his master's degree from the University of Calcutta. He became the first student to earn a doctorate, also in physics, from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 1958.

"It's very difficult to raise funds for this area, because people don't understand what theoretical physicists do. But physics holds the answers to the most fundamental questions of our very existence.Imagine what could be solved right here at UCLA," he said.

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Nandini