13 SOA researchers in Stanford University’s new list of world scientists

Bhubaneswar: Thirteen researchers from Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University here have found place in the world ranking of top two per cent scientists drawn up by Stanford University of USA on the basis of a subject-wise analysis.

SOA had 11 researchers in Stanford’s list of top two per cent scientists published in 2020 of which nine have found place again in this year’s roll. Four researchers of the university — Dr Manohar Mishra, Dr Rajashree Dash, Dr Akhyay Kumar Patra and Dr Sulagna Patnaik, have made it to the prestigious list for the first time this year.

Dr Mishra and Dr Dash are associate professors in the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), SOA’s faculty of engineering and technology, while Dr Patra is assistant professor in the same institute. Dr Patnaik is an ex-research scholar in ITER. Nine of the 13 researchers are from ITER.

The nine researchers who have found place in the list again are Prof Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, eminent neurosurgeon and presently SOA’s vice-chancellor, Prof (Dr) Pradipta Kishore Dash, Prof Kulamani Parida, Prof Lala Behari Sukla, Prof RNP Choudhary, Prof Goutam Rath, Prof Niharbala Devi, Dr Manoj Kumar Nayak and Dr Satya Ranjan Mishra.

SOA’s founder president Prof (Dr) Manojranjan Nayak felicitated the researchers in the university on Thursday congratulating them for the recognition bestowed on them. “The university is proud of you,” he said.

Speaking to the researchers on the occasion, vice-chancellor Prof Mahapatra also congratulated them. He emphasised the need for collective research while exhorting the scientists to think of the society while pursuing their research. “If research is done with awards and recognition in mind, it does not benefit the common man. Researchers must work in public interest,” he said.

Among those who have found place in the list this year, Prof (Dr) Dash is an eminent figure among nationally known researchers in the field of energy while Prof Parida and Prof Sukla are from the area of Physical Chemistry and Mining and Metallurgy respectively. Prof Choudhary is from the field of Applied Physics and Prof Devi is currently engaged in research in the area of Mining and Metallurgy.

Prof Rath is presently working as professor in the department of Pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, SOA’s faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, while Dr Nayak is an associate professor in ITER. Dr Mishra teaches Mathematics at ITER.

Prof (Dr) Dash, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who was also the first vice-chancellor of SOA, is presently the Emeritus Professor in the university and heading the Multi-disciplinary Research Cell. His area of expertise includes renewable energy, signal processing, power systems, data mining, artificial and computational intelligence, distributed generation and micro and smart grid.

Prof Parida is presently working as Distinguished Professor in Chemistry and Director of SOA’s Centre for Nano Science and Nano Technology. He has worked in different capacities in the CSIR Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT), Bhubaneswar, before retiring as chief scientist. Prof Sukla is now functioning as Research Professor and Director of SOA’s Bio-fuel and Bio-processing Research Centre. He previously headed the Bio-resources Engineering department at CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar.

Prof Choudhary, who had earned his Ph.D from the University of Edinburgh, UK, and was head of the department of Physics at IIT, Kharagpur, is presently professor of Physics at ITER while Prof Devi has 30 years of research experience. Focused highly on research, SOA has 16 research centres and 58 research labs with most of the work aligned to national priorities.