The names of 12 scientists who received the country’s highest scientific award, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for 2020, were announced during the founding day of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Saturday.
The award is given to Indian scientists under the age of 45 for outstanding research in seven fields: biology, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and physics.
A book and a short film were also published on the contributions of CSIR laboratories and institutes in India’s fight against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“The current moment is difficult. We have been continuously engaged in the fight against Covid-19 for nine months. Apart from the health ministry, the entire scientific community in India has been serving the cause of Covid-19 mitigation. Now the Feluda paper diagnostic kit is in the open, and I am eagerly awaiting it as it will revolutionize capacity and testing capability, ”said Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union science minister at the event.
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Feluda was developed by one of the CSIR institutes that also launched: the Institute for Genomics and Integrative Biology. One of the researchers who developed the test method, Dr. Debjyoti Chakraborty, received the CSIR Young Scientist Award for 2020.
In Biological Sciences, Dr. Shubhadeep Chaterjee from the Center for Diagnosis and DNA Fingerprinting and Dr. Vatsala Thirumalai from the National Center for Biological Sciences were awarded. Dr. Chaterjee’s work focuses on the mechanisms that promote or suppress bacterial diseases in plants. Dr. Thirumalai works on neural circuits that control movement during development and adulthood in animals.
In the field of Chemical Sciences, Dr. Jyotirmayee Dash from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science and Dr. Subi Jacob George from the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research were named recipients. Dr. Dash’s team is working on new methodologies for the synthesis of various molecules that can be used to study the structure and function of therapeutic targets. Dr. George is an organic chemist working on supermolecular synthesis.
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For Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planet Sciences, Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Dr. Suryendu Dutta from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay were the recipients. Dr. Mukherjee is a professor of geology and works on the exploration of groundwater as a source of sustainable drinking water. Dr. Dutta works in the Earth Sciences department and focuses on studies of shale gas potential and higher plant biomarkers in sediments and crude oils.
In Engineering Sciences, Dr. Amol Arvindrao Kulkarni from the CSIR National Chemical Laboratory and Dr. Kinshuk Dasgupta from the Bhabha Atomic Research Center were awarded. Dr. Kulkarni’s research focuses on the development of microreactors and multiphase reactors.
In Mathematical Sciences, Dr. Rajat Subhra Hazra from the Indian Statistical Institute and Dr. UK Anandavardhanan from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay were awarded.
In Medical Sciences, Dr. Bushra Ateeq from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and Dr. Ritesh Agarwal from the Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh received the award. Dr. Ateeq’s research focuses on cancer biomarkers and molecular events that lead to the progression of prostate and breast cancer. Dr. Agarwal is a professor of pulmonary medicine and his main area of research is a fungal infection called allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.
In physical sciences, the award went to Dr. Rajesh Ganapathy from the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research and Dr. Surajit Dhara from Hyderabad University.
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