Here are all the four winners of Osmania Univ's first Vice-Chancellor's Research Award 

The award was sponsored by an alumni member, an act which was lauded by the chief guest for the event, Director of IIT Delhi Prof V Ramgopal Rao
Meet the winners | (Pic: Osmania University and Edexlive)
Meet the winners | (Pic: Osmania University and Edexlive)

The winners of the first Vice-Chancellor's Research Award 2021 were recognised at Osmania University's (OU) Tagore Auditorium on December 3, 2021. This was for faculty members and to encourage them in their path of research and development. Four faculty members received a citation, a certificate and a cash prize as well. The criterion for eligibility was excelling when it comes to scholarly publications and research projects. 

Dr Bhima Bhukya from the Department of Microbiology won for his relentless work on the development of efficient probiotics from different resources and the production of bioethanol from agricultural waste, areas that he has been working on for 16 years now. He also pursued his Post Doctoral Fellowship at Penn State University. "We are trying to develop technologies for preserving toddy palm nectar. And when it comes to working on prebiotics, they can not only help with metabolism but also have therapeutical, anti-cancer and anti-microbial properties as well. So that is a focus area too," says the Chintapalle-born Assistant Professor. He also believes that the award has been very encouraging for him, particularly encouraging when it comes to working harder towards his research area. 

The winner from the Faculties of Engineering, Informatics, Technology and Pharmacy (which are in one category for the award) is Dr Vidya Sagar who hails from Hyderabad and has been working on human implants and how to improve their life cycle. "In the span of five to ten years, implants need to be changed which could lead to infections. How can we reduce that by different surface modification techniques or different implant manufacturing techniques, that's the question I am working on," shares the Assistant Professor who has published papers in eight international journals and even has been granted two patents by the Government of India. "I did not expect the award at all. I feel like I am young when it comes to all aspects than many other senior researchers which motivates me even further," he says. 

All the winners 

OU is one of the few universities to have a dedicated UGC Centre for Indian Ocean Studies (CIOS) and Dr V Srilatha from the Department of Political Science won the award for her research on India's maritime interest from the perspective of the Indian Navy. "Now, the scope of the research has expanded to the Indo-Pacific region, which is a much larger perspective. The Indian Navy has been changing its diplomacy and is becoming more and more assertive," shares the Assistant Professor who hails from Hyderabad. They deal with various countries including Australia and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region as well. "India's interest is rising in the blue economy and development of ports in the peninsular region hence, our research perspective expands," she informs and goes on to add, "For a long time, OU did not have a VC and hence, the faculty members weren't getting the recognition they deserve. This recognition gives a fresh impetus to all us faculty members."

Earth surface process and climate moderation, surface hydrology and global biogeochemical cycles along with environmental pollutants in rivers and urban water management — this is the research area of Dr Harish Gupta who is a UGC-Assitant professor in OU's Department of Civil Engineering for eight years. "Normally, it is believed that it is the large rivers that carry large amounts of water. But from our research we found that rivers on the waters of the west coast have huge potential which can be used," says Dr Gupta who hails from Rajasthan and has pursued his PhD from IIT Roorkee.

An expert committee, including the deans of concerned facilities, went through the applications, 30 of which were then reviewed by a special Deans' Committee. Also, all those faculty members who completed their research projects, consultancy work and were granted patents were also given appreciation certificates during the ceremony. Director of IIT Delhi Prof V Ramgopal Rao was the chief guest and Chairman of Telangana State Council for Higher  Education (TSCHE) Prof R Limbadri and Director of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) were the guests of honour for the ceremony.  

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