IGNOU VC to be honoured with Presidential Gold medal award

New Delhi, Jan 1 (UNI) IGNOU Vice Chancellor Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai will be conferred the Presidential Gold Medal Award for his key role in the development of science and technology at the 95th Indian Science Congress 2008 on Thursday at Visakhapatanam.

Prime Minister Manohan Singh will present the award to Prof Pillai, an IGNOU statement said.

Prof Pillai has received global recognition for his contributions to field of biopolymers and peptides. He was earlier the Director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC).

He has also been the VC of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam with an additional charge of VC Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Prof Pillai has been the Post Doctoral and visiting research professor in the Universities of Tubingen, Mainz (Germany) and Lausanne (Switzerland). He has 32 years of teaching, research, research guidance and administrative experience in Universities of Kerala, Calicut and Cochin.

He had also been awarded the Best Academician of India Award, the triennial award instituted by the Cochin University of Science and Technology.

The 95th Indian Science Congress is being held at Visakhapatnam during January 3-7. Indian Science Congress Association honours eminent personalities for their significant and lifetime contribution to the development of Science and Technology in the country.

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