Pramod Tandon is an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Plant Biotechnologist and academic. He is a former Professor of Botany & Vice-Chancellor of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong and Chief Executive Officer of Biotech Park, Lucknow. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour Padma Sri in 2009, for his contributions to science.

Early life and education

Tandon was born on 6 October 1950, at Lucknow. He received his BSc degree in 1969 and MSc (Botany) in 1971 from

Lucknow University University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

. He obtained his PhD from

Jodhpur University Jai Narain Vyas University (JNVU, formerly known as University of Jodhpur) is an educational institution in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The institution is the only residential university in the state, catering mainly to the needs of students of ...

in 1976. In 1977, he joined the

North-Eastern Hill University North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a Central University, India, Central University established on 19 July 1973 by an Act of the Indian Parliament. The university is in the suburb of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. The univ ...

as a lecturer and later rose to the position of Vice-Chancellor. Tandon was awarded the National Scholarship for Study Abroad by Government of India and worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine, US during 1978–79 and studied the genome organisation and expression of chloroplast DNA. From 1989 to 1995, the National Institute of Agro-biological Resources and several universities in Japan invited him for research work that led to a long-term collaboration on Plant Conservation Biotechnology.

Personal life

Tandon is married to Veena Tandon, a parasitologist and former Professor of

, Shillong, and they have a son, Prateek.

Career

Tandon was Vice-Chancellor of NEHU from 2005 to 2010. Under his leadership, NEHU received the distinction of 'University with Potential for Excellence' being one amongst nine such universities in the country at that time, securing an 'A' grade through reaccreditation of the university by

NAAC NAAC may refer to: *National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an organization that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India. * North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, near Carthage, Tunisia. *North American Anglican ...

. In addition to his position as Vice-Chancellor, Tandon helped in establishment of Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong as its Project Director. Tandon hosted the 96th

Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Calcutta and it meets annually in the first week of January. It h ...

at NEHU during January 2009. Tandon served as a member of the

National Advisory Council The National Advisory Council (NAC) was an advisory body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004 to advise the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson for much of the tenur ...

during 2010–14, where he worked extensively on development of northeastern region, a region facing many challenges including troubled history and geo-politics, environmental vulnerability and rough terrain, seclusion and insurgencies, poor infrastructure and weak governance, and limited connectivity. Tandon's has made seminal contributions in

micropropagation Micropropagation or tissue culture is the practice of rapidly multiplying plant stock material to produce many progeny plants, using modern plant tissue culture methods. Micropropagation is used to multiply a wide variety of plants, such as ...

, re-establishment in nature, and recovery of critically endangered endemic plants of Northeast India. His most recent studies (2010–2015) focus on the genetic makeup of RET plants, including

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

and

cytological Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

basis of rarity of

endangered plants In September 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 3654 endangered plant species. Of all evaluated plant species, 17% are listed as endangered. The IUCN also lists 99 subspecies and 101 varieties as endangered. ...

that is useful in planning conservation strategies. Tandon has worked on biotechnological enhancement of Capsaicin biosynthesis in cell cultures of ''Capsicum chinense'' (Naga King Chilli - one of the hottest chillies of the world) Tandon has published more than 200 research papers in journals and edited 4 books on

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

. Tandon promoted entrepreneurship in biotechnology-based industry in Uttar Pradesh to assure benefits to society including training of tribal youth. Tandon is a Fellow of the

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, also known as NASI, was established in 1930 and is the oldest science academy of India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows * Suddhasatwa Bas ...

Indian Botanical Society The Indian Botanical Society (IBS) is the national learned society for botany, botanists of India. It was founded in 1920. The Society's activities include lectures, symposia, field excursions, field projects and an annual society meeting for exch ...

, Indian Botanical Society,Linnean Society of London, and International Society of Environmental Botanists and served as a member of many Academic bodies and National Task Forces including Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet, GOI.

Awards

Tandon is the recipient of a number awards and recognitions, including: *

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

(2009) awarded by the President of India * Award of Millennium Plaques of Honour (2008–2009) of

Indian Science Congress Association Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Calcutta and it meets annually in the first week of January. It h ...

, received from Hon’ble Prime Minister of India * Prof. A.R. Chavan Memorial Lecture Award (2013) of the M.S. University of Baroda * Biodiversity Lecture Award (2013) of

* Prof. Saligram Sinha Memorial Lecture Award (2011) of the

* Professor R.N. Tandon Memorial Lecture Award (2008) of the National Academy of Sciences, India * Gadgil Memorial Lecture Award (2006) of Plant Tissue Culture Association of India (2006) * Dr. T.N. Khoshoo Memorial Lecture Award (2006) of The Orchid Society of India * Professor Panchanan Maheshwari Medal Award (2004) of

* B.P. Pal National Environment Fellowship Award on Biodiversity (2002–2004), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India * Platinum Jubilee Lecture Award (2000) of

* Science and Technology Agency Research Award (1994 & 1995) for Foreign Scientists by Prime Minister's Office,

Government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

* National Scholarship for Study Abroad (1978 1980), Ministry of Education, Government of India * Merit Scholarship (1965 1967) from U.P. Government

References

External links

North-Eastern Hill University

Ministry of Education, Government of India

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tandon, Pramod Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering 1950 births University of Lucknow alumni Academic staff of the North-Eastern Hill University Heads of universities and colleges in India 20th-century Indian botanists