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.

(India Science Wire)

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