Elsevier, the information analytics business specializing in science and health, today announced that the Honorable Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, presided over the 12th NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards 2018 at a gala ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in the nation's capital.
The Awards recognize young early career researchers from the scientific community who have contributed towards bolstering key flagship national programs through their body of research work such as the "Make in India", "Digital India", "Healthy India" and "Clean India" initiatives.
The NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards, currently in its twelfth year, is a joint collaboration between Elsevier and National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) to celebrate the best and brightest young scientists in India, whose works cut across a broad spectrum of key research disciplines.
The Awards program is part of Elsevier's global initiative to support young researchers in India to enable and encourage them to expand the frontiers of science in their chosen areas of study leading to excellence in their respective disciplines.
India's Vice President and Guest of Honor, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, said: "At a time when the world has become a global village and boundaries of different disciplines are blurring, the role of science and technology becomes far more important than ever before. I compliment the National Academy of Sciences India and Elsevier for instituting these Awards to promote scientific excellence among the youngsters."
"For the last ten years, we have seen the increase in human development indicators, such as life expectancy, maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, and the Indian scientific fraternity has played a huge role in improving the social indicators, as well as advancing India's scientific progress," Mr. Naidu concluded.
"India has a rich and strong foundation in scientific research, and we've seen some outstanding submissions from India's best and brightest scientists this year," said Gino Ussi, Executive Vice President, Elsevier. "Elsevier has a critical role to play in contributing to the continuity of India's scientific endeavors and raising the visibility of young scientists and their contribution. We commend all the winners for their extraordinary work."
The winners of the NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards 2018 are:
Agriculture, Plant Sciences and Rural Development
Dr. Jitender Giri, National Institute of Plant Genome Research, NewDelhi
Biomedical Research and Healthcare: Dr. Maddika Subba Reddy, Group Leader and Staff Scientist-V, CDFD, Hyderabad
Environmentally Sound Sustainable Development: Dr. Vimal Chandra Srivastava, Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, Roorkee
Innovation in Engineering and Physical Sciences: Dr. Ajay S. Karakoti, Associate Professor, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad
Women in Science: Dr. Zhumur Ghosh, Bose Institute, Kolkata
The Award winners each received a citation and a plaque, along with a cash prize of INR 75,000 for outstanding contribution in categories related to key areas of national priorities.
This year's award program attracted more than 750 submissions from premier research institutions across India such as IITs, IISc, NIPGR, CSIR and JNU among others, and applications were judged by a panel of 19 subject experts from India's academic community based on the following criteria:
The quality and number of publications; the nature and uniqueness of research; outcomes of research; impact on society; and vision of the researcher.
"Science is one of the greatest enablers in transforming the lives of humankind," said Prof. Anil Kakodkar, President of NASI. "The NASI-Scopus Young Scientist of the year award recognizes the efforts of young scientists in the country, thus encouraging them to pursue their work with greater vigor and others to take up careers in science and technology."
"This is important because nurturing our immensely talented scientific and technical human resource is not only critical for a developing country like India, but if harnessed well, could meet many of the daunting challenges that the world-at-large faces today.
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