Bhubaneswar: Seven eminent researchers from the SOA Deemed to be University here have been named in the world ranking of top two per cent scientists, drawn up on the basis of a subject-wise analysis conducted by the Stanford University, USA.
The researchers are Prof. (Dr.) Pradipta Kishore Dash, Prof. Kulamani Parida, Prof. Lala Behari Sukla, Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, Prof. R.N.P.Choudhary, Prof. J.C.Misra and Dr. Nihar Bala Devi. The subject-wise analysis was conducted by Stanford involving one lakh top scientists of the world on the basis of standardized citation indicators such as information on citations, H-index, co-authorship and a composite indicator. The database was published recently.
 SOA, a growing centre of higher education which has been ranked 20th in the country among universities by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) this year, is known today for its emphasis on quality education and innovative research. A highly research-focused university with around 50 per cent of its Research and Development Centres aligned to national priorities, SOA has 13 research centres and 42 research labs. Investigators are provided extensive facilities to conduct research in the university.
Prof. (Dr.) Manojranjan Nayak, President of SOA, has congratulated the researchers for winning laurels for the university.
While Prof. Dash is an eminent figure among researchers in the field of energy, Prof. Parida and Prof. Sukla are from the area of Physical Chemistry and Mining and Metallurgy respectively. Prof. (Dr.) Mahapatra, an eminent neuro-surgeon, is the present Vice-Chancellor of SOA while Prof. Choudhury is from the field of Applied Physics. Prof. Misra, former Pro-Vice Chancellor of SOA and Adjunct Professor, is from the realm of mathematics while Dr. Devi is currently engaged in research in the area of Mining and Metallurgy.
Prof. Dash, an alumni of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, was also the first Vice-Chancellor of SOA. Presently, he is SOA’s Emeritus Professor and heads the Multidisciplinary Research Cell. His area of expertise includes renewable energy, signal processing, power systems, data mining, artificial and computational intelligence, distributed generation and micro and smart grid.
Prof. Parida, who is presently working as Distinguished Professor in Chemistry and Director of SOA’s Centre for Nano Science and Nano Technology, has worked in different capacities in the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT), Bhubaneswar before retiring as Chief Scientist. The research group headed by him has shown great advancement in enhancing structural and electronic properties of hybrid metal oxides-carboneous materials such as graphene, carbon nitride, fullerene, CNT and plasmonic photocatalysts.