Names of Dr Manmohan Singh PhD Scholar 2012 announced

Updated on: Thursday, September 27, 2012

St John's College, Cambridge University announced the names of the 2012 Dr Manmohan Singh PhD Scholars on Wednesday. The programme has been instituted in recognition of Singh's achievements and nurtures future world leaders in the areas of science, technology and social sciences.

The meritorious scholars for this year are Parama Ghoshal, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Nishit Srivastava,MS in engineering from the Jawarharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore and Sudhir Rama Murthy, research associate with the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Including the three scholars of 2012, the Dr Manmohan Singh PhD Scholars Programme has supported 16 young Indian students since its launch in 2007. The scholarship programme has been funded by BP, Rolls-Royce, Hardeep Rai (a St John's College alumnus) and two anonymous sponsors.

From finding sustainable solutions in product design to managing greenhouse gases to researching ways of tackling cancer, these young scholars are inspired by their mentor, Singh, the Prime Minister of India. The institution of their doctoral studies, St John's College is one of the oldest and largest of the 31 University Colleges in Cambridge, having been founded in 1511 by Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII.

The scholars shared their future plans: Ghoshal wishes to contribute to the academic ecosystem in India by being an able teacher and research guide, and Murthy intends to have a career in academic research, continuing to explore themes in technology and sustainability. Srivastava, after his doctoral thesis, is committed to research work in biophysics and biomaterials specially focused on cancer-related studies.

Singh met with the scholars last week at his residence and wished them luck as they leave for his alumnus in Cambridge.

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