Bhubaneswar, July 3: The Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence for the year 2013 was conferred on scientist Gadadhar Misra today.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik presented the award to the scholar who is known for his contribution in the field of operator theory in mathematics.

Several senior and young scientists from across the state were felicitated for popularising science, at an event organised by the Odisha Bigyan Academy at Jayadev Bhavan.

Misra, in his acceptance speech, said the state should garner possibilities in the field of theoretical sciences.

"It would be advisable to try and encourage investment. Our temperament is such that we find science easy. Since ancient times, we have been making progress but we lost the game somewhere down the line. To avoid that, theoretical sciences should be get further encouragement," said Misra, who also received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2001, the highest science award in the country.

Speaking on the scenario of scientific research in the country, Misra said: "The state of financial aid to science in India is better than many other countries. It may be not prominent in rocket technology or in futuristic projects. But, in sectors such as healthcare and basic science, our investment is quite good," said Misra.

"I also feel the state can experiment with medicines and should focus on weather forecasting technologies," Misra said, adding that the state had a long way to go in terms of attracting quality students.

"We have developed in terms of infrastructure and Odia students are doing great elsewhere. But, unless good students from other places come here to study, the horizon of scientific research will not be broadened," said Misra, who is also the chairman of the mathematics department at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Besides Misra, three more scientists received the Samanta Chandra Sekhar Award. They include Ramesh Chandra Ray, who is engaged in collaborative research on wine technology, Bidyadhar Subudhi, who is presently researching on system and control theory and underwater robotics, and Pradyumna Kumar Mishra, who works as an associate professor at the Central University in Madhya Pradesh.

The Odisha Young Scientists Award was conferred on Alok Prasad Das, Bidyadhar Subudhi and Pradyumna Kumar Mishra. Seniors scientists such as Krushna Chandra Satpathy, Amulya Kumar Panda, Basudev Kar, Sharat Chandra Panda and Nimain Charan Mohapatra were also felicitated on the occasion.