For their extraordinary research in the areas of chemical sciences, biological sciences, earth, atmosphere, ocean, and planetary sciences, engineering sciences, mathematical sciences, and physical sciences- a total of 13 scientists were chosen from different states across India for the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for 2018. It is often cited as the highest honor for scientists in India.
On Wednesday, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) announced the name of the winners of the prestigious award. Here is the list of champions-
- In the Biological Sciences category– Ganesh Nagaraju from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and Thomas Pucadyil from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune.
- In the Chemical science category– Rahul Banerjee and Swadhin Kumar Mandal of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata.
- In the Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences category– Dr. Madineni Venkat Ratnam of the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Tirupati, and Parthasarathi Chakraborty of CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa.
- In the Engineering Sciences category– Amit Agarwal and Ashwin Anil Gumaste from IIT Bombay.
- In the Mathematical Sciences category– Amit Kumar and Nitin Saxena, from IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur respectively.
- In the Medical Sciences category– Dr. Ganesan Venkatasubramanian of NIMHANS, Bengaluru.
- In the Physical Sciences category– Dr. Aditi Sen De from the Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, and Dr. Ambarish Ghosh from IISc, Bengaluru.
According to the PTI report, the name was announced by the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and Director General of CSIR, Prof Ashutosh Sharma on the occasion of the organization’s Foundation Day. Further, the prize also carries a cash component of Rs. 5 lakh each.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology was established in 1958 in the honor of the Indian chemist for exemplary work in the fields of biological sciences, engineering sciences, chemical sciences, earth, atmosphere, ocean and planetary sciences, mathematical sciences, medical sciences and physical sciences.