Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 80 No. 2 June 2014 pp. 499-510 Printed in India. ACADEMY NEWS INSA MEETINGS 2. Dr Suryasarathi Bose (b 06.04.1980), PhD, Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Several meetings were held between April 21 and Institute of Science, Bengaluru. 23, 2014 in the Academy premises. The different Sectional Committees met for election of new Fellows For his contributions in the processing of nano- of the Academy and selection of Young Scientist particles dispersed in conducting co-polymer Awardees. The Advisory Boards for the various INSA composites. Awards also met. These were followed by meetings 3. Dr Sayan Chakraborti (b 16.07.1984), PhD, of General Body and the Council on April 23, 2014. Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows, Harvard University, USA. INSA Medal for Young Scientists For his significant contributions leading to The Council at its meeting on April 23, 2014 approved uncovering of a new class of mildly relativistic the award of INSA Medal for Young Scientist 2014 supernovae which straddle the gap between to 30 young researchers below the age of 35, out of ordinary supernovae and ultra-relativistic 557 nominations. The award carries a medal, a gamma ray bursts. certificate and cash prize of Rs. 25,000. In addition, the recipient may also be considered for research 4. Dr Vineeth Chandrasekharan Nair (b support of Rs. 5 lakh per year for three years. The 02.05.1980), PhD, Scientist /Engineer SD, awardees will also l be considered for full support Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai for a visit abroad for presenting research work at Space Centre, Indian Space Research conference, or participating in collaborative research Organization (ISRO), Thiruvananthapuram. or training programme, within five years of receipt For his outstanding contributions to of the award. Those young scientists who have been understanding equatorial upper atmospheric unable to obtain a suitable placement may also be coupling processes. considered for an interim Fellowship, whose amount would depend upon the qualification and research 5. Dr Abhijit Chatterjee (b 01.12.1979), PhD, experience, and contingency grant of Rs. 25,000 per Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian year. Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai. For his notable contributions in Material The following 30 young scientists were selected Informatics, energy systems and catalytic for the INSA Medal for Young Scientists. reactions. 1. Dr Sanjib Kumar Agarwalla (b 08.04.1980), 6. Dr Soumya Das (b 14.09.1981), PhD, PhD, Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar. Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of For his significant contributions in addressing Science, Bengaluru. some fundamental issues related to neutrino For his impressive contributions to the study of mixing and oscillations, in particular the type Fourier coefficients of modular forms which of neutrino mass hierarchy and the presence of characterize cusp forms in terms of the growth CP violating phase in the neutrino. of their Fourier coefficients. 500 Academy News 7. Dr Rohini Garg (b 19.09.1982), PhD, INSPIRE combination of experimental and computer Faculty Fellow, National Institute of Plant simulations to address issues that are of both Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi. academic and industrial significance. For her outstanding contributions in the area of 13. Shri Ashutosh Kumar (b 26.03.1984), M.Sc, plant genomics, epigenomics and Institute of Life Sciences, Ahmedabad transcriptomics leading to identification of University, Ahmedabad. development and stress related genes of plants. For developing tools to evaluate the toxicity of 8. Dr June Ghosh (b 19.06.1980), PhD, CSIR- nano-particles and establish the toxicity Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Infectious (intracellular) of Titanium based nanoparticles. Diseases and Immunology Division, Kolkata. 14. Dr Mahesh Kumar (b 18.06.1980), PhD, For her valuable contributions in the field of Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Leishmaniasis which help in understanding of Technology Jodhpur, Jodhpur. molecular pathogenesis. For his work on thin films of polar and non- 9. Dr Neena Gupta (b 24.11.1984), PhD, polar Group III Nitrides as grown by Molecular INSPIRE Faculty, Statistics and Mathematics Beam Epitaxy. This work has led to the Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. fabrication of blue emitting InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well LEDs. For solving a famous problem which was open for almost seven decades, known as Zariski 15. Dr Charu Lata (b 14.12.1981), PhD, Scientist, Cancellation Conjecture for affine spaces. This Division of Plant Microbe Interactions, CSIR- is one of the best works in Algebraic Geometry National Botanical Research Institute, in recent years done anywhere. Lucknow. 10. Dr Amit Pratap Hogadi (b 24.05.1979), PhD, For her involved work on Foxtail Millet Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Genomic resources and markers, which will Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune. help in Millet breeding. For his seminal contributions to the study of 16. Dr Debabrata Maiti (b 10.12.1980), PhD, fundamental groups of algebraic varieties. He Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, has proved a conjecture of J. Kollar that the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, fundamental group of a quotient singularity is Mumbai. the same as that of its desingularization. For his outstanding contributions in metal 11. Dr Sukanta Jash (b 26.11.1979), PhD, Post- mediated organic transformation. Doctoral Fellow, Centre for Regenerative 17. Dr Rajneesh Misra (b 15.08.1980), PhD, Medicine, Richard B Simches Research Center- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of MGH, Harvard University, Boston, USA. Technology Indore, Indore. For his notable contributions in modulation of For his excellent contributions in donor- mitochondrial function by RNA delivery. acceptor molecular synthesis for photonic and 12. Shri Mani Krishna Venkata Karri (b electronic applications. 04.07.1980), M.Tech, MSD, Mod Lab, Bhabha 18. Dr Animesh Mukherjee (b 21.12.1979), PhD, Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai. Department of Computer Science and For his work on phase transformations and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology deformation of h.c.p materials featuring a Kharagpur, West Bengal. Academy News 501 For significant contributions in language Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education dynamics in cognition and perception. and Research, Bhopal. 19. Dr Santanu Mukherjee (b 15.04.1980), PhD, For her outstanding contributions in the field Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian of membrane protein biophysics. Institute of Science, Bengaluru. 25. Shri Prakash Chandra Rout (b 07.07.1979), For his outstanding contributions in organo- M.Sc, Nuclear Physics Division, Bhabha catalytic approach to control stereochemistry Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. at the quaternary center. For his significant contributions in developing 20. Dr Vijay Pal (b 18.09.1979), PhD, School of a large area scintillator detector for the Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru measurement of fast neutrons using the time of University, New Delhi. flight technique and for his studies on the damping of nuclear shell effect in the doubly For his contributions to our understanding of magic 208Pb region. the molecular mechanism underlying retrotransposition in Entamoeba histolytica. 26. Dr Ram Pratap Singh (b 05.07.1981), PhD, Scientist & Endeavour Fellow, Avian 21. Dr Mithun Palit (b 29.09.1979), PhD, Scientist Physiology and Genetics Division, Salim Ali ‘D’, Advanced Magnetics Group, Defence Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad. Coimbatore. For his work towards a comprehensive For his extensive publication and work on Quail understanding of solidification, texture and that can be of significance for enhancing income phase transformations and magnetostrictive of farming communities. properties of Tb-Dy-Fe and Fe-Ga alloys. These 27. Dr Sunil Kumar Singh (b 06.07.1980), PhD, fundamental studies have culminated in a Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru practical transducer device. National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), 22. Dr Gayathri Pananghat (b 30.01.1980), PhD, Allahabad. Indian Institute of Science Education and For his finding that Graphene and its derivatives Research (IISER), Pune. specifically induce aggregation of platelets that For her significant contributions on the has significant relevance for its medical structural and functional studies of non- application. structural proteins of viruses, particularly 28. Dr Ashish Kumar Srivastava (b 03.11.1983), Sesbania Mosaic virus. PhD, Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology 23. Dr Vimlesh Pant (b 04.01.1979), PhD, Centre Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Mumbai. Technology-Delhi, New Delhi. For his work emphasizing that thiourea For demonstrating that marine aerosol number supplementation upregulates the expression of density does not linearly increase with wind sulphate transporters that improve sulphur speed and for the impact of this discovery in assimilation associated with redox signalling. the field. 29. Shri Gaurav Verma (b 01.05.1983), M.Sc, 24. Dr Mahalakshmi Radhakrishnan (b CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative 08.04.1980), PhD, Department of Biological Biology, Delhi. 502 Academy News For his outstanding contribution in JNK Biology and Inflammatory Disorder, CSIR- mediated mitochondrial cross-talk in pancreatic Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata. cell death. (C)