Dr. Prafulla Chandra Tripathy

Born on September 13, 1935 in Uttarasasan, Bhubaneswar, Prof. P. C. Tripathy began his illustrious academic career in the corridors of the prestigious Ravenshaw Collegiate School and then at Ravenshaw college, Cuttack. He completed B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Botany with a first class Honours and a University Gold Medal respectively. His insatiable thirst for academic pursuit continued unhindered. And he was selected for a Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Grant to study for a Ph.D at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A on “Distribution of C14-labelled assimilates from two-leaf position in Zea mays L. during different stages of grain development.” He went on to complete his post-doctoral training at Dekalb Agricultural Research, Northern Illinois University. In 1969, he had the rare distinction of receiving the “GAMMA, SIGMA, DELTA” award from the University of Wisconsin, in recognition of his high scholarship, outstanding achievement and services to Agriculture Science. Upon his return to Odisha, he resumed his career as Lecturer in Botany at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack and at BJB College, Bhubaneswar, then moved on to Berhampur University in 1970 as Reader in Botany. In 1976 he joined Utkal University and went on to hold the Parija Professor of Plant Physiology Chair till his superannuation in 1995. His research spanned across areas like Stress Physiology, Physiology of Plant Morphogenesis through tissue culture technique, Crop Improvement and Biomass Productivity etc. He has supervised seventeen M.Phil and eight Ph.D. Scholars for award of degrees. Besides being a member of several learned societies like Indian Science Congress, Plant Physiology Forum, Odisha Botanical Society, Odisha Environmental Society etc., Prof. Tripathy boasts of a number of research publications both in national and international journals. His brilliant academic career was paralleled with an equally brilliant contribution as a teacher. The rigours of research he exacted from himself, he also demanded from the students he mentored, sometimes even ruthlessly so. He owed his allegiance to none other than his passion for research. A teacher with a difference, he was a man of few words who.let his work speak for itself. In recognition of his significant contribution to the growth of science edudtion in the State he was felicitated as Distinguished Senior Scientist for the year 2015, by the Odisha Bigyan Academy. We acknowledge with a deep sense of gratitude Prof. Tripathy’s contribution to the study of Botany. His name will be forever etched on the annals of giants in the field while students and contemporaries will remember him as a teacher par excellence. We are indeed honoured for the rare privilege of felicitating him today, his 83rd birthday. We hope and pray that the Almighty grants him good health and peace of mind in days to come while we continue to be inspired and enriched by his dedication to scientific research and the quest for knowledge. Grateful Students and Admirers “Botany Family”