US Names Mountain In Honour Of Indian-American Scientist

The US has named a mountain in Antarctica after an Indian-American scientist whose biological research expedition provided crucial data about animal populations.

Akhouri Sinha, adjunct professor in the Department of Genetics, cell biology and development at the University of Minnesota, was recognised by the US Geological Survey, which named the mountain ‘Mt Sinha,’ for the research he did as an explorer in 1971-72.
Sinha was a member of a team that catalogued population studies of seals, whales and birds in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas.

The mountain was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) and the US Geological Survey.

"Anyone can see the Mt Sinha, Antarctica, on Google.com or Bing.com," said Sinha.

Sinha, who graduated with a BSc degree from the Allahabad University in 1954 and an MSc degree in Zoology from the Patna University in 1956, said he was invited to carry out research on the reproduction of Antarctic seals by the National Science Foundation Antarctic Program. He also taught in the Department of Zoology at Ranchi College from November 1956 to July 1961. Then he left for the US.

"I went to Antarctica on two expeditions lasting for about 22 weeks on the US Coast Guard cutters, Southwind and Glacier, during 1972 and 1974, respectively," said Sinha. He has published more than 100 papers and has been teaching graduate level courses for almost 25 years.