Deepak Pental | |
---|---|
Vice Chancellor University of Delhi | |
In office 1 September 2005 –31 August 2010 | |
Chancellor | Mohammad Hamid Ansari |
Preceded by | Prof. Deepak Nayyar |
Succeeded by | Prof. Dinesh Singh (academic) |
Director,South Campus University of Delhi | |
In office 2000–2005 | |
Preceded by | Prof. Abhai Mansingh |
Succeeded by | Prof. Dinesh Singh |
Personal details | |
Born | 1951 |
Residence(s) | Flat No.7,University of Delhi,South campus,Benito Juarez Road New Delhi-110021 |
Alma mater | Punjab University,Chandigarh, Rutgers University,United States |
Profession | Research,Academician |
Deepak Pental (born 1951) is a Professor of Genetics and the Ex Vice Chancellor at the University of Delhi. He is a noted researcher whose current research interests lie in development of transgenics and marker-assisted breeding of crops. He took charge of the post of Vice-chancellor of the University succeeding Professor Deepak Nayyar on 1 September 2005. As the VC,Pental has outlined his agenda to update the library system,work on teachers’recruitment,increase student accommodation facilities and bring researchers working abroad to India. [1] [2] A new frog species,Minervarya Pentali,discovered in Western Ghats by a team of Delhi University researchers;was named after Pental. [3]
Pental completed his B.Sc.(Hons) and M.Sc.(Hons. School) from the Department of Botany,Panjab University,Chandigarh in 1971 and 1973 respectively. And subsequently he did his Ph.D. from Rutgers University,United States in 1978. Pental was a Postdoctoral and University Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham from 1978-84. He returned to India to join Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) in 1985 and in 1993 he joined the University of Delhi,South Campus as Professor of Genetics. Pental had been Director of the University of Delhi,South Campus from 2000-2005. From 2005-2010 he was the Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Pental’s research interests lie in breeding of mustard and cotton. He has published more than sixty research papers in the national and international peer reviewed journals and his work has led to major breakthroughs in hybrid seed production technologies. Pental is a keen student of social science policy particularly related to the field of agriculture. Years back Pental got Punjab University medal for diploma in Gandhian Philosophy which shows his interest in social sciences and Gandhian thought.
Some of his works are described below: [4]
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Sudhir Kumar Sopory is an Indian educationist,plant physiologist,scientist and former vice chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University,New Delhi. He is known to be the first to purify a protein kinase C activity from plants and is credited with the identification of topoisomerase as a substrate of protein kinase C. He is an elected Fellow of several major Indian science academies and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and is a recipient of many honours,including the 1987 Shanti Swarup Bhatangar Prize,the highest Indian award in the science and technology categories. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri,in 2007,for his contributions to science and technology.
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Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao was an Indian geneticist and plant breeder,known for his efforts in developing hybrid varieties of sorghum,which earned him the moniker,the Father of Hybrid Sorghum. He was the vice chancellor of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University and chaired the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was a recipient of several national honors including Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award and the VASVIK Industrial Research Award. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research,awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology,one of the highest Indian science awards,in 1966,for his contributions to biological sciences.
Hari Krishan Jain was an Indian cytogeneticist and plant breeder,known for his contributions to the field of genetic recombination and the control of interchromosome level. He is a former chancellor of the Central Agricultural University,Imphal,a former director of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute and a recipient of honours such as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award,Borlaug Award and Om Prakash Bhasin Award. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research,awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology,one of the highest Indian science awards,in 1966,for his contributions to biological sciences. He received the fourth highest Indian civilian honor,the Padma Shri,in 1981.
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Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11,otherwise known as DMH - 11,is a genetically modified hybrid variety of the mustard species Brassica juncea. It was developed by Professor Deepak Pental from the University of Delhi,with the aim of reducing India's demand for edible oil imports. DMH - 11 was created through transgenic technology,primarily involving the Bar,Barnase and Barstar gene system. The Barnase gene confers male sterility,while the Barstar gene restores DMH - 11's ability to produce fertile seeds. The insertion of the third gene Bar,enables DMH - 11 to produce phosphinothricin-N- acetyl-transferase,the enzyme responsible for Glufosinate resistance. This hybrid mustard variety has come under intense public scrutiny,mainly due to concerns regarding DMH - 11's potential to adversely affect the environment as well as consumer health. DMH - 11 was found not to pose any food allergy risks,and has demonstrated increased yields over existing mustard varieties. Conflicting details and results regarding the field trials and safety evaluations conducted on DMH - 11 have delayed its approval for commercial cropping.
Minervarya pentali,or Pental's Minervaryan frog,is a species of frog in the fork-tongued frog family,Dicroglossidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in India.