Eleven out of 35 students, who graduated from the first batch of the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), have been selected by international universities where they will pursue their doctoral thesis.
The students have earned fellowships from topline varsities such as Standford, Carnegie Mellon, Pennsylvania, Chicago and Stony Brook to get their Ph.Ds.
The 2007 batch received its M.Sc. degrees at the first graduation ceremony here on Wednesday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Dr R K Sinha and NISER’s Governing Body Chairman Dr Anil Kakodkar gave away the degrees and medals to the meritorious students.
Of the 35 students who graduated, most have decided to pursue research. While 11 of them will go abroad to pursue their doctoral degrees, another five have been chosen by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, two will join the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, while four others will go to National Institute of Immunology, Delhi.
Another four will join the IITs for their Ph.D. work. Odia student Siddharth Satpathy, from the School of Physical Sciences, topped the academics in all disciplines and walked away with gold medal.
“Most of you have opted for research and this is a matter of pride in this atmosphere of commercial and peer pressure,” Sinha said. He said research must remain relevant, cutting edge and self-reliant. When India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, it faced embargoes.
The vision of people helped the country overcome the odds and it stood ninth in terms of operational nuclear reactors. The reactors have 90 per cent availability and some of them have operated for 520 days at a stretch, Sinha said.
Former AEC chief Kakodkar echoed similar views. Acquiring knowledge for the larger benefit of the society is the real challenge for the students, he said.
Naveen Patnaik recalled his father Biju Patnaik’s role in promoting science by way of institution of UNESCO-Kalinga Prize. NISER Director Prof T K Chandrasekhar said, “the 2007 batch has 13 publications in peer-reviewed journals which is no mean achievement.” The NISER faculty, he said, has bagged 30 sponsored projects with funding to the tune of Rs 25 crore from non-DAE sources such as departments of Science and Technology, Bio-technology and Earth Sciences.