New Delhi, September 26: President
of India Ram Nath Kovind and Minister for Science and Technology, Earth
Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Thursday presented the Technology Awards and
other prizes for excellence in science and technology, instituted by the Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The winners of the CSIR Technology
Awards are – Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow; Central Salt and Marine
Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar; Central Institute of Mining and Fuel
Research, Dhanbad; and National
Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru.
The awards were instituted in
1990 to foster and encourage multi-disciplinary in-house team efforts and
external interaction for technology development, transfer and commercialization
.
Prof. Amitabha Chattopadhyay of
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, bagged the G.N.Ramachandran Gold Medal for excellence in biological
sciences and technology; Cadila Healthcare Limited and
Carborundum Universal Limited got the CSIR Diamond Jubilee Technology Award.
Nine young scientists were
presented CSIR Young Scientist Award:
Dr Bidyut Purkait of Central Drug
Research Institute, Lucknow; Dr Lipi Thukral of Institute of Genomics &
Integrative Biology, New Delhi; Dr John Mondal of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad; Dr
Sasidhar B.S. of National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and
Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; Dr Amol Prakash of National Institute of
Oceanography, Goa; Dr Bodhisatwa Hazra of Central Institute of Mining and Fuel
Research, Dhanbad; Dr Divya Agrawal of Central
Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh; Dr Prabhat Ranjan Prem of
Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai; and Dr. Shikha of Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur.
In addition, 17
school children were awarded the CSIR
Innovation Award for School Children. The first prize went to Anmol Rathi and
Harsh Agrawal, students of R.K. Sarda Vidya Mandir, Raipur for their innovation
on “novel technique for early detection of pancreatic cancer through spermine
level in human saliva”.
The President also unveiled the first Indigenous High Temperature Fuel Cell System
developed by CSIR in partnership with two Indian companies, Reliance Industries
Limited and Thermax Ltd, Pune under its flagship program named “New Millennium
Indian Technology Leadership Initiative.
The 5 kW system generates power in an
environmental-friendly manner using methanol/bio-methane and produces heat and
water as bi-products for further use. The cells have been developed based on
high temperature proton exchange membrane (HTPEM) technology. They are most
suitable for distributed stationary power applications such as for small
offices, commercial units and data centres, where highly reliable power is
essential with simultaneous requirement for air-conditioning.
This system can also help meet the
requirement of efficient, clean and reliable backup power generator for telecom
towers, and strategic applications in remote areas. It would replace diesel
generating sets and help reduce India’s dependence on crude oil.
Three CSIR
laboratories were involved in the development : National Chemical Laboratory,
Pune; National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi and Central Electrochemical
Research Institute, Karaikudi.
The President lauded the accomplishments of CSIR and its
technological interventions towards the socio-economic development of the
nation. He congratulated all the awardees and urged them to address the
challenges facing the country.
Dr Harsh Vardhan expressed pride in CSIR contributions and said
that the country has high expectations from CSIR in developing solutions and
technologies towards sustainable development in the country. He released a book on on the winners of CSIR’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards from 1958
to 2018.
Dr Shekhar C Mande, director general of CSIR, in his opening
remarks highlighted the need of Science to connect to Society and called upon
the scientists and students to excel in pursuit of science.
By Sunderarajan Padmanabhan
(India Science Wire)
- The closed mindsets of Indian politicians, ‘liberals’, ‘intellectuals’ and the media persons
- #Breaking: Latest News |Today’s big news headlines | 25 June 2023 news
- Why did Justice Katju tell the Chief Justice of Pakistan- to pack up his bags, resign, and go home?
- Imran Khan is fighting for Haqeeqi Azadi in Pakistan
- Opposition Unity in India
