Bhubaneswar, Sept. 29: Scientists of different age groups were awarded by the Odisha Bigyan Academy of the state science and technology department for their contribution in various disciplines.

The awards for the year 2010 were given away today by chief minister Naveen Patnaik at Jayadev Bhavan.

The scientists were awarded under five categories — veteran scientist felicitation, Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence, Samanta Chandrasekhar Award for outstanding contribution, Pranakrushna Parija Popular Science Award and Odisha Youth Scientist Award.

Among the felicitated scientists were agriculture scientist Ashutosh Ray, who has pioneered developing new varieties of rice and has been an expert at plant breeding and genetics at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) for close to four decades. Banchanidhi Mishra (botanist), Jafran Kehsari Ray (agriculture scientist) and Gopabandhu Behera (chemical scientist) were felicitated for their lifetime contribution in their respective fields.

Pradipta Kishore Dash, director of research and consultancy at Siksha O Anusandhan University, received the Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence in recognition of his contributions to the field of engineering and technology.

The Samanta Chandrasekhar Award was presented to four scientists — Aswini Kumar Pradhan, who works at the University of Virginia and is known for his innovative and pioneering works in nanoscience and nanotechnology, received the award for Odia scientist working outside the state; Subhranshu Ranjan Samantaray, an associate professor in the department of electrical engineering at National Institute of Technology, Rourkela; Rankanidhi Sahu for achievements in the field of physical sciences and Savitri Sharma, a prolific researcher in the area of microbiology and eye diseases. Sharma is associate director at the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Bhubaneswar.

Sharma and retired science professor Rekha Das were the only women scholars to be awarded at the programme. Das was conferred the Pranakrushna Parija Award along with Sarat Chandra Mishra, who has been creating science literature in Odia for children for years.

Among youth scientists, Umakanta Subudhi and Rati Ranjan Naik from the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) and Ajit Kumar Barisal of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla, received the awards for 2010.