Aug 9, 2024
By: Prerna Tyagi
Credit: iStock
The government on Wednesday announced 33 Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskars, which include 18 Vigyan Yuva Puraskars for young scientists, 13 Vigyan Shri Puraskars and a Vigyan Team award that went to Team Chandrayaan-3.
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The ceremony is expected to take place on 23 August, National Space Day, to mark the landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the south pole of the moon. The awards will be conferred by the President. Let’s get to know 8 of the scientists who were awarded for their triumphs in their respective fields.
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Noted biochemist and former director of the Indian Institute of Science, G. Padmanabhan was announced as the first winner of the Vigyan Ratna. He is internationally acclaimed for his research on malaria parasites and is also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards.
Credit: TOI
Professor Srivastava from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay has been conferred the Vigyan Shri award. A professor at IIT Bombay’s Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, he has made a mark in medical diagnostic devices, nanoengineered material and photothermal cancer therapy.
Credit: TOI
Dr Tyagi is the director of the Chemistry Group at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). His research on next-generation Li/Na ion battery materials led to the transfer of technologies to several companies for commercialisation. His extensive research output comprises over 650 publications, 12 books and 25 book chapters. So far he has supervised 35 PhD students.
Credit: Indian National Science Academy
She is the Head of the Department of the BSL-4 facility at ICMR-National Institute of Virology. Her areas of interest include virology, molecular biology and biocontainment.
Credit: National academy of agricultural sciences.
Dr Roxy Koll is a senior climate scientist at IITM-Pune. He has made breakthrough contributions to the research, monitoring, and modelling of climate and extreme weather events over the Indo-Pacific region. Additionally, he is among the top 2% of scientists ranked by Stanford University.
Credit: linkedin
An Indian Statistical Institute and Cambridge alumni, Mahesh is an Algebraic number theorist. He is currently a professor of mathematics at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
Credit: IISc
A professor at TIFR, Mumbai, he will receive the SS Bhatnagar Award (Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar). He researches advanced nanomaterials and nanocatalysis, particularly for harvesting solar energy and converting carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals and fuels.
Credit: linkedin
She is the Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru. An astrophysicist, she works on areas like star clusters, stellar evolution and population in galaxies and Magellanic clouds.
Credit: TOI