Trinh Xuan Thuan of Vietnam was conferred with the prestigious Kalinga Chair award by the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik today at an international conference marking 60th anniversary of Unesco Kalinga Prize at KIIT campus here.
The two-day conference was organized coinciding with the 99th session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) being held from December 3 to 7 at KIIT Campus in Bhubaneswar.
This award is being given away by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in association with city based Kalinga Foundation Trust and Ministry of HRD and Department of science and technology, Government of India.
Meanwhile, winner of the Unesco Kalinga Prize-2011 Rene Raul Drucker Colin of Mexico could not attend the function held at 99th Indian Science Congress due to delayed communication to him about the selection. Drucker was the president of Mexican Academy of Sciences during 2000-01. He has worked in the field of brain chemistry and functions, mechanism of sleep, neural transmission, brain physiology and neuro hormones. Organisers said, he would be honoured later by the Prime Minister at Delhi. Kalinga Chair is awarded to one among the winners of the Unesco Kalinga Prize. The chair was introduced by the Central Government to mark 50th anniversary of Kalinga Prize. Thuan was winner of the Unesco Kalinga Prize in 2009.
In the award ceremony, 11 former winners of the coveted prize were also felicitated by the chief minister.