IISc to award 5 alumnae at Distinguished Alumni Awards 2022 in December

NEW DELHI: Bharat Kumar Bhargava, HS Shankar, Krishna Mohan Vadrevu, Krishnan Nandabalan and M Narasimha Murty have been selected to receive the Distinguished Alumni Awards of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for the year 2022.

The annual awards recognise exceptional contributions made by IISc alumnae to their profession, society and the Institute. The nominations received are evaluated by a committee chaired by the director. Bhargava is a Professor of computer science at Purdue University, USA, and has made pioneering contributions to cyber security, applied machine learning, and autonomous systems, an IISc statement noted.

Shankar, currently the Chairman and Managing Director of Alpha Design Technologies Private Limited, Bengaluru, has served in various fields and operational units as well as in prestigious appointments in the army until his voluntary retirement in 1986. Executive Director at Bharat Biotech International Limited.

Vadrevu is known for his contributions to the development of indigenous vaccines for infectious diseases, including a typhoid conjugate vaccine, a novel low-dose rotavirus vaccine, and Covaxin, which was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Nandabalan is President and CEO of InveniAI LLC, and President and Co-founder of BioXcel Corporation. He has established an AI-based technology platform to uncover novel biological connections from published scientific data in order to develop affordable treatments for diseases, it was noted.

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Murty, currently an honorary professor at IISc, has made pioneering contributions to computer science, especially in the area of pattern recognition, with his publications having garnered a large number of citations, the statement said. IISc Director Govindan Rangarajan, said: "We hope that their accomplishments serve as an inspiration for young researchers to pursue excellence in their respective fields." The awardees will be honoured at an event to be held in December 2022, during which awardees from the years 2020 and 2021 will also be recognised, the statement added.