Bhatnagar awardee gets a push for posting as JNU V-C

Senior Scientist Alok Bhattacharya of the School of Life Sciences has recommended to the search committee fellow scientist Sudhir Kumar Sopory for the post of vice- chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Sopory, a Padmashree awardee and recipient of the Bhatnagar Award is now a front- runner for the post. But the final decision will be taken by President Pratibha Patil.

Bhattacharya describes Sopory, who is the group leader of plant molecular biology at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), as “ top-of-the-field, with an impeccable reputation”. The scientist said he proposed Sopory’s name as he was “ a silent worker”. “This is the kind of person the JNU needs to give it academic leadership. He is above- board and top-of-the-line,” Bhattacharya said. “Sopory has spent more than 20 years as a teacher and he is the man we need to lead the university,” he added.

Sopory has also been a former professor at JNU’s School of Life Sciences. “ I taught at the JNU from 1973 to 1997, till I joined ICGEB. I have served in many capacities, including as provost, in the academic council. I have also been in touch with my former colleagues,” Sopory said.

Other candidates in the fray are Deepak Nayar, former V- C of Delhi University, and Amitabh Mattoo, strategic affairs expert and former V- C of Jammu University.