IIT-B, TIFR profs bag awards for their work in biosciences, nanocatalysis

Mumbai: Two city-based scientists – professors Rohit Srivastava, from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), and Vivek Polshettiwar, from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Navy Nagar – were named recipients of the first Rashtriya Vigyan Puruskar (earlier known as Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar award). The office of principal scientific adviser to the Government of India published the list of awardees on Monday.

Srivastava was honoured with the Vigyan Shri award, one of four prestigious categories, for making significant advancements in medical diagnostic devices, nanoengineered materials, and photothermal cancer therapy in 2024, as a professor in the department of biosciences and bioengineering at IIT-B.

Expressing delight at the honour by the government, Srivastava said: “This is a testimony to the hard work done by our translational science lab.” He also thanked the institute for providing an ecosystem which, he said, is unparalleled in the country, as it allowed him to file more than 250 patents and set up more than 10 startups with over 50 PhD students.

“This is a proud moment for not just me but the entire IIT-B for getting the first ever Vigyan Shri in Innovation and Technology. I believe that our work in affordable medical devices and maternal and childcare will hold extreme promise for the future,” he added.

Srivastava went to St Xaviers and DAV Model schools in Durgapur before moving to VNIT Nagpur to earn a degree in biomedical engineering. He then moved to the US to complete his MS and PhD. On his return to India in 2005, he joined IIT-B as a professor and setup a lab. Srivastava eventually moved into translational biomedical engineering, observing a need in India for indigenous medical products. “This was a decision that led to our lab commercialising several medical products and setting up many startups,” he said.

At TIFR, Polshettiwar’s research interests are in the domain of advanced nanomaterials and nanocatalysis for harvesting solar energy and the transformation of carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals and fuels. He was awarded for his work in nanocatalysis realms of ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Defects’ chemistry, which he said, represents a quintessential example of how fundamental science can drive innovation in applied research.

“It is a great honour to receive the Rashtriya Vigyan Yuva Puraskar. It is humbling and stands as a testament to the relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation in materials science and catalysis by my research group at TIFR Mumbai,” he said.

Polshettiwar has published nearly 120 articles with an h-index 65 and around 17700 citations in reputed journals. He also filed 12 national and international patent/ patent applications. He was admitted as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), United Kingdom.

Polshettiwar holds an MSc from Amravati University and earned his doctorate from Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior. After earning his PhD, he moved to the Ecole Nationale Suprieure de Chimei de Montpellier in France, where he spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2009, Polshettiwar launched his independent career at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, in Saudi Arabia. He returned to India in 2013, and joined TIFR to work on nanomaterials.