7.11.2015:
Dr. Mohandas Goel: Civil engg researcher. Has won young scientist award.
21.11.2015:
Dr.K.V.Prabhu: Joint director of IARI, Delhi. From an agrarian background; his father had graduated in agriculture from Coimbatore and worked in Karnataka. Born and brought up in Puttur in Karnataka. His father, whose job involved assisting farmers, was his role model. Initially wanted to become a doctor per his mother's wishes. But couldn't get admission to medical college, as seats were limited and he missed the cutoff by a very small margin. When asked for the reason, says it may have been due to his not attending special coaching for medical exams. Higher education in BHU. Was inspired by Ann Rand's 'FountainHead' and a book of Swami Vivekananda - and decided he must contrinbute to nation. Got Ph.D in genetics from IARI in 1986. His meeting with Dr. M.S.Swaminathan was a turning point - Dr.MSS asked him how his work was helping Indian agriculture and farmers. Awoke him to the need to ensure that research must not be confined to lab research findings but must benefit farmers. Worked on plant breeding techniques to help fight plant diseases like wheat rust that cause loss to farmers. Has worked on developing basmati breeding techniques. Traditional basmati rice growing farmers did not benefit due to those varieties being very thermosensitive, photosensitive and tall. Due to trade restrictions (??), new variants could not be developed for export initially. Fought for genetics science research on basmati rice - had to convince ministries of commerce, trade etc. that it was very important for India to get the freedom to develop new varieties; took over 3 years, till around 2008. PUSA basmati 1211 developed by IARI is longer than older varieties of basmati and has become popular. His work also helped double basmati yield. Annual basmati exports stands at more than 35000 crore rupees now. Says political leadership should get Geographic Indicator for Indian basmati rice, just like Darjeeling tea. Else India stands the risk of losing its basmati.
Advice to youngstres: Consider agricultural research as a career option. Agricultural science has immense opportunities; things ranging from physics, space technioogy to management find application in agriculture. Agriculture continues to be essential for country's sustenance and development, and therefore agricultural research has immense scope.
28.11.2015:
Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh: Scientist at NPL. When asked why he didn't chose electrical or electronic engg., says he chose chemical engg. only by chance, no guidance on which branch is best. Mother and maternal uncle (who was the most educated in his family) were his role models. Got to work on a project using simulator; simulation gave results without need for experiments. Worked on a project involving carbon nanotubes. Problem solved: technique to develop high quality material containing carbon nanotubes/nanosheets embedded in base material. Received national award (Young Scientist award) for this. Dr. Gauhar asks the usual question of need to do research within the country - guest says it is important to be able to develop technology indigenously. Nanotechnology needs collaborative work, sometimes with scinetists and technologists from other disciplines. Another research area is developing composite materials that act as shield from radiation - will be useful in many areas like aerospace, aviation (less heavy aircrafts leading to tremendous energy saving due to less aviation fuel). Are there sufficient naotechnology scientists in India? Says doesn't know how many work in India but thinks numbers in India is sufficient. When asked how he managed to publish manyu papers and get patents, attributes it to working with good students and scientists. Message: face challenges head-on and develop confidence.
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