IIT Mandi faculty bags NASI-Young Scientist Award

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi faculty Dr. Garima Agrawal has been awarded NASI-Platinum Jubilee Young Scientist Award 2022 given by The National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).  

NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award is an initiative by the NASI for Indian/Overseas citizens of India below 35 years of age. The award has been instituted to recognize promise, creativity and excellence in young scientists. NASI-Platinum Jubilee Young Scientist Award is a prestigious recognition for young scientists notably contributing in any branch of Science and Technology recognized by the NASI on the basis of work carried out in India.

This annual scientific award has been given to Dr. Garima Agrawal in the ‘Chemical Sciences’ category in recognition of notable contributions made by her. This award carries a medal and a citation with a cash prize of Rs. 25,000.

Speaking about this award, Dr. Garima Agrawal, Assistant Professor, School of Chemical Sciences, IIT Mandi, said, “This award is a great recognition of our work in chemical sciences and we are happy to be able to contribute to Indian science in a small way. This is a wide-open area with a plethora of opportunities and we will continue to take our small steps in the future as well.” 

Further, Dr Agrawal mentioned, “I thank all my esteemed mentors, collaborators and colleagues, all my current and past lab members at IIT Mandi, and all funding agencies who have supported us.”

Dr. Agrawal is interested in developing functional polymers and colloidal particles with controlled chemical structure and morphology. Taking inspiration from nature, her team focuses in particular on the chemical design of macromolecules that show stimuli responsive behavior, self-assembly, and programmable degradation. The research group is particularly interested in the synthesis of novel micro/nanomaterials and using them for designing interactive materials with active properties for targeted applications such as controlled release, plant care, active packaging, biomaterials, drug delivery, tissue engineering etc.

To be eligible for NASI-Platinum Jubilee Young Scientist Award, applicants must be below 35 years of age and have an excellent scientific track record with significant work carried out in India.

To know more information, including eligibility criteria and details of the application process, please click on the given link - https://nasi.org.in/

About NASI:

Founded in the year 1930, the National Academy of Sciences, India is the oldest Science Academy of the country and is located at 5 Lajpatrai Road, Prayagraj-211002. The main objective of the Academy is to provide a national forum for the publication of research work carried out by Indian scientists and to provide opportunities for exchange of views among them. The Academy is financially supported by the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India; and it is also recognized as the Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation by the DSIR, Govt. of India.

 About IIT Mandi

IIT Mandi has nine Academic Schools and four major Research Centers. The Schools are the School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, School of Chemical Sciences, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and School of Management. The Centers are Advanced Materials Research Centre (AMRC; set up with an investment of Rs. 60 crores), Centre for Design and Fabrication of Electrical Devices (C4DFED; has Rs. 50 crores worth of fabrication tools), BioX Centre (has acquired research equipment worth Rs. 15 crores), and Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health Applications Centre (IKSMHA Centre).

The Institute offers B.Tech. programs in seven different streams, one M.A. program, ten M.Tech. programs, four Ph.D. programs, and one iPh.D. program. The unique, project-oriented B.Tech. curriculum is centered around its 4-year long Design and Innovation stream. Since the inception of the Institute, IIT Mandi faculty have been involved in over 275 Research and Development (R&D) projects worth more than Rs. 120 crores.

IIT Mandi set up the IIT Mandi iHub and HCI Foundation (iHub; a section-8 company) on its campus at Kamand with significant funding of INR 110 crores from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The iHub is planned to fuel research and technology development, skill development, startup and innovation, and collaborations in the HCI and allied AI/ML areas in India. IIT Mandi is the only second-generation IIT to be featured at rank 7 in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements of the Innovation Cell, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.