The annual prize was instituted in honour of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, who played a major role in setting up India’s science & tech infrastructure.
Bengaluru: Thirteen scientists involved in fields as diverse as genetic diseases and wireless networks have been awarded this year’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize for Science and Technology.
The annual prize is given away by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for outstanding achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, medicine, engineering, environmental science, and planetary science.
It was instituted 60 years ago in honour of CSIR founder-director Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, “the father of research laboratories” who is credited with playing a significant role in setting up Independent India’s science and technology infrastructure.
The prize is awarded each year on 26 September, which marks the CSIR Foundation Day. Past winners include Vikram Sarabhai, Jayant Narlikar, and the current principal scientific adviser to the government of India, K. Vijay Raghavan.
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The winners get a plaque and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, along with a stipend of Rs 15,000 up to the age of 65.
And this year’s winners are…
Physical sciences
Aditi Sen De of the Harish Chandra Research Institute in Allahabad received the prize for her contribution to the field of quantum information and computation.
Ambarish Ghosh of the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, was honoured for his contribution to the field of nano materials.
Chemical sciences
Rahul Banerjee from the department of chemical sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata, received the prize for his work in polymers and advanced materials.
Swadhin Mandal, also of IISER, Kolkata, received the prize for his contribution to organometallic chemistry.
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Biological sciences
Ganesh Nagaraju of the department of biochemistry at IISc, Bengaluru, received the prize for his work on the human genome and genetic diseases.
Thomas Pucadyil of IISER, Pune, received his award for his work on cell membranes.
Earth, atmosphere, ocean, and planetary sciences
Venkat Ratnam Madineni from the aerosols, radiation, and trace gases group at the Physical Research Laboratory, Tirupati, received the award for his outstanding contribution to meteorology and research on Earth’s atmosphere.
Parthasarathi Chakraborty of the Geological Oceanography Division, CSIR National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, works on metal bio-availability in marine environments and ocean development.
Mathematical sciences
Amit Kumar of the department of computer science and engineering at IIT-Delhi received the award for his work on approximation algorithms.
Nitin Saxena, from the same department but at IIT-Kanpur, received the award for his work on computational theory.
Medical sciences
Ganesan Venkatasubramanian from the department of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, received the prize for his work on psychiatric disorders and schizophrenia.
Engineering sciences
Amit Agarwal from the department of mechanical engineering at IIT-Bombay received the prize for his contribution to the fields of fluid mechanics and heat transfer.
Ashwin Gumaste from the department of computer science and engineering at IIT-Bombay received the prize for his contribution to broadband and wireless networks.