Kurukshetra University confers coveted Goyal awards on seven scientists

KURUKSHETRA: Kurukshetra University on Friday felicitated four eminent scientists of the country with the coveted Goyal Award and three young scientists with the Rajib Goyal Young Scientist Award for their exemplary contribution in the field of basic and applied sciences.

Professor KK Aggarwal, chairman National Board of Accreditation (NBA), who was the chief guest on the occasion, emphasised that scientists should work for the betterment of agriculture, health and education in the country. We need to make our young minds inquisitive and try to break the strict boundaries of disciplines and promote interdisciplinarity. Science must come close to nature to serve humanity, a release by Kurukshetra University (KU) quoted him as saying.

Also read | Sarvodya Vidyalaya Admission 2022: Guidelines for nursery, KG, Class 1 admissions

Professor Som Nath Sachdeva, vice-chancellor, KU, and chairman of the Goyal Awards Committee, said, “It is a great honour for KU to give these awards to scientists who have done the country proud by their work. This will motivate young researchers and students to take basic and applied sciences as a career option.” Nath said the KU had awarded 100 outstanding scientists since 1992 when the awards were instituted by the late Ram S Goyal, a US-based NRI and philanthropist.

The scientists who received the Goyal Award of Rs 2 lakh each besides a medal and citation are NK Mehra, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Applied Sciences), Dr A Ajayaghosh, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram (Chemical Sciences), Dr Shyam Sunder, Institute of Medical Sciences (Life Sciences), and Dr Rohini M Godbole, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (Physical Sciences), the release said.

Also read | IIM Bangalore’s 47th convocation sees 690 students graduate with nine winning gold medals

The young scientists who received the Rajib Goyal Young Scientist Award included Rajneesh Mishra, IIT, Indore (Applied Sciences), Kana M Sureshan, IISER, Thiruvananthapuram (Chemical Sciences), and Suman Chakraborty, IIT, Kharagpur (Physical Sciences). This award carries Rs 1 lakh in cash besides a medal and a citation, it said.