Okhil Kumar Medhi
Okhil Kumar Medhi[1][2][3] (1952 – 2021) was the former Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University[4] and Professor of Chemistry who had a distinguished academic career. He was a prominent scientist[1][5] in the field of Bio-Inorganic chemistry, academician and notable educationist of Assam, and a writer par excellence [6]. Born in the year 1952, he studied up to the undergraduate level in Guwahati, after which he moved to IIT Kanpur [7] for his master's studies in Chemistry. Subsequently, he also completed his PhD degree in the field of EPR Spectroscopy of heavy transition metals under the supervision of Prof U C Agarwala [8] of the same institution.
Early Life and Education
Born in the year 1952, in the suburb of Guwahati near Gauhati University at Sundarbari, Jalukbari, to Pratap Chandra Medhi, a freedom fighter and canteen owner in Gauhati University. Medhi had very humble beginnings and quickly showed immense acumen towards gaining knowledge in order to support and uplift his family, thereby fulfilling their dreams. He was a brilliant student from his early days and excelled in his studies throughout his school life. He was an alumnus of Don Bosco School[9] and Cotton College.[10] After obtaining a BSc degree in Chemistry from Cotton College, he did his postgraduate study at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)[7] at Kanpur, Uttar pradesh. Later on, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the same institution.[11]
Career
After obtaining his PhD from IIT Kanpur, Medhi joined the Department of Chemistry, North Eastern Hill University as a lecturer, from where he moved to Gauhati University to become a Reader in the year 1983. Chemistry at that time had only started incorporating quantum ideas into the teaching programmes in this part of India, and it was indeed the best time for Medhi to start contributing effectively to the postgraduate teaching programme in chemistry at GU. He was a pioneer of teaching of Symmetry and Group Theory in Chemistry in Assam. A teacher of excellence, he had a very deep knowledge of Inorganic and Physical chemistry. It did not take too long for him to start an independent research programme in the field of Bioinorganic Chemistry, and he was able to initiate scientific collaboration with institutions like Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and was able to publish several high-quality research papers in journals such as Inorganic Chemistry. He became a Professor at the Department of Chemistry, GU, and also spent a year in England as a Visiting Commonwealth Fellow. Medhi supervised more than a dozen PhD scholars during his academic career. Medhi became the Head of the Department of Chemistry, GU, during 2000 – 2003 and went on to become the Vice Chancellor of this university in 2008. Under his leadership, the Chemistry Department became the first department in Gauhati University to introduce the semester system.[12]
During his term as Head, the Chemistry Department was able to receive a DST grant under the FIST programme, which helped the Department to modernize itself. During his tenure as the Vice Chancellor (2008 – 2013), Medhi could bring a visible academic change to the university. During his distinguished professorship and vice-chancellorship at Gauhati university, he contributed immensely to the scientific upliftment of the varsity with the introduction of modern academic policies for the overall benefit of students of North East India. In order to cater to the needs of technical education for students of North-East, he visualized, conceptualised, and finally achieved the goal of setting up the Gauhati University Institute of Science and Technology (GUIST). Under his visionary leadership and excellent academic acumen, GUIST has helped thousands of students in achieving their dreams. He shall be remembered as a man of action with giving back to society in the field of education, academics, and research.
Significant Contributions
He was the first researcher who started an Electrochemical station in North East India. He brought radical changes to the education system of the entire North-East India. He introduced a 4-year engineering programme at Gauhati University, which was first-of-its-kind, helping the north-eastern community. He was a pioneer academician and worked tirelessly for the betterment of students’ community of North East India. He is regarded and remembered by people of Assam for facilitating the foundation of Shri Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Kshetra on Gauhati University land under his tenure as Vice Chancellor. In particular, his leading role in the creation of a Technology Institute (Gauhati University Institute of Science and Technology) within the Gauhati University campus will always be remembered. He is regarded and remembered by people of Assam for providing land/space and facilitating the foundation of Shri Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Kshetra on Gauhati University under his tenure as Vice Chancellor. He was the first researcher who started an Electrochemical station in North East India. He brought radical changes to the education system of the entire North-East India. He introduced a 4-year engineering program at Gauhati University, which was first-of-its-kind helping the north eastern community. He shall be remembered as a man of action with giving back to society in the field of education, academics, and research.
He had a keen interest in the upliftment of Assam literature, culture, and values. Being an avid researcher and writer, the leading book in his field titled “Inorganic Chemistry - Principle of Structure and Reactivity”, a textbook in Inorganic Chemistry, co-authored by Prof O K Medhi (with JE Huheey, EA Keiter, and RL Keiter, published by Pearson)[6] has a running citation of more than eight thousand. This book with such renowned international laureates solely responsible for bringing accolades and laurels to people of Assam and North East’s Scientific community. Due to extreme popularity among students worldwide, the book is the main textbook for postgraduate courses in Inorganic Chemistry in many reputed research institutions with listing in many online digital libraries worldwide.[13] His dedication and commitment towards his service to the nation and society in the field of education and science is unmatched. He was a respected life member of many reputed scientific societies like Indian Society for Surface Science and Technology (ISSST), Kolkata, and Society for Chemical Education, Guwahati.
Post Retirement Life
After his retirement from Gauhati University, he served in executive councils of many other state universities and central research institutions. He served as Chairperson of NAAC, UGC Peer team[14] [15] for grading of various research institutions and universities throughout India. He never stopped to give back to society and nation till his last breath and was working as a consultant for many reputed research institutes and universities like Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati[16]; Assam Science and Technology University (ASTU)[17], Guwahati; Royal Global University, Guwahati. He also contributed to quality research activities with PhD students at IASST and recently published and patented a new technique to obtain carbon dots at nano-scale from water hyacinth in 2019.[18] [19]
Personal Life
His family consists of His wife Chitrani Medhi[20] [21] [22] ; a highly acclaimed professor[20] [23] and researcher in the field of analytical and computational chemistry is currently working as Head of Department (HoD) of Chemistry Department [24], Gauhati University having more than 75 peer-reviewed international publications.[21] She is also serving on the editorial board of many reputed national and international scientific journals. [25] [26] [27] Medhi is survived by two daughters Indrani Medhi Shrotriya[28][29] and Ragini Medhi [30] [31], both of whom are passionate researchers in the fields of Nanotechnology and Genetics, respectively. His son-in-law Hridesh Kumar Shrotriya,[32], an IIT alumnus, is the founder of various ventures in the fields of Education[33] and Technology[34]. He is the founder and Managing Director of Sankardev Educations [33] Group headquartered at Guwahati; serving the students of North East India by providing all-round support for various professional and civil services exams of national repute. He also works in the field of sensor technology and capacity building among youth through his Research and Development venture, HICOR innovations Pvt. Ltd.[34] based at Guwahati, Assam. Ms. Indrani Medhi Shrotriya[35] [36], pursuing her PhD in Bio-sensors and Theranostic devices at Centre for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati, is starting her research career. She gained good industry exposure and research aptitude during her master's studies at Harvard- MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Boston, MA, USA. Ragini Medhi completed her PhD from Cambridge University, England[37] and is currently working as a research scientist at Cancer Research Horizons[38] in Cambridge, United Kingdom[39].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Okhil Kumar Medhi". scholar.google.co.in. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ "Vidwan | Profile Page". vidwan.inflibnet.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Akhil Kr Medhi appointed new Gauhati University VC". Assam Times. 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ Staff (2008-08-18). "New VC for Gauhati University". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Scopus preview - Medhi, Okhil Kumar - Author details - Scopus". www.scopus.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Inorganic chemistry: principles of structure and reactivity". scholar.google.co.in. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "IIT Kanpur". www.iitk.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ "History". www.iitk.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ "Vice Chancellor Recalls Fond Memories of DB School". NewsGrab. 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Welcome to Cotton University, Assam, India, A State University". cottonuniversity.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Remembering Prof Okhil Kumar Medhi - campus". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ "Okhil Kumar Medhi". scholar.google.co.in. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ↑ "Inorganic Chemistry: Principles of Structure and Reactivity". pkklib.iitk.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "LUNGLEI GOV’T COLLEGE NAAC PEER TEAM TEN ENDIK". dipr.mizoram.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Index of /pdf/naac". pjc.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST)". iasst.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Assam Science and Technology University - Executive Council". Retrieved 2022-09-26.
- ↑ Deka, Manash Jyoti; Dutta, Parlie; Sarma, Sewaljyoti; Medhi, Okhil Kumar; Talukdar, N. C.; Chowdhury, Devasish (2019-06-01). "Carbon dots derived from water hyacinth and their application as a sensor for pretilachlor". Heliyon. 5 (6): e01985. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01985. ISSN 2405-8440.
- ↑ Medhi, Okhil Kumar. https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Okhil-Kumar-Medhi-2159264658. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Gauhati University | A NAAC A-Grade Institution". gauhati.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Chitrani Medhi". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ Medhi, Chitrani. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/C-Medhi. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ indianjournals.com https://indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:cla&type=eboard. Retrieved 2022-10-07. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Gauhati University | A NAAC A-Grade Institution". gauhati.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "INDIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND SCIENCE". irjps.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Editorial Team | The Clarion". www.theclarion.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ indianjournals.com https://indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:cla&type=eboard. Retrieved 2022-10-07. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Medhi Shrotriya, Indrani; Iyer, Parameswar Krishnan (2022-07-28). "An engineered organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) platform with a highly ammonia-sensitive mesoporous membrane". Sensors & Diagnostics. doi:10.1039/D2SD00099G. ISSN 2635-0998.
- ↑ Medhi Shrotriya, Indrani. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Indrani-Medhi. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Medhi, Ragini. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ragini-Medhi. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Ragini Medhi". scholar.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Department of EEE :: 5010219". www.iitg.ac.in. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Shankardev IAS | Home". sankardevias.academy. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 "HICOR Innovations Pvt. Ltd". hicorinnovations.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ Medhi Shrotriya, Indrani. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293193166_Stem_cell_secretome-rich_nanoclay_hydrogel_A_dual_action_therapy_for_cardiovascular_regeneration. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Maloney, Ryan; Mondal, Anuprita; Medhi, Indrani; Ahmed, Rafeeq P. H.; Paul, Arghya (2016-12-13), "CHAPTER 11:Functional Nucleic Acid Incorporated Materials for Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering", Smart Materials for Tissue Engineering, pp. 306–329, retrieved 2022-10-07
- ↑ "Sakhya: Contact Information". sakhya.soc.srcf.net. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ "Home page". Cancer Research Horizons. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ↑ Medhi, Ragini; Price, Jonathan; Furlan, Giulia; Gorges, Beronia; Sapetschnig, Alexandra; Miska, Eric A. (2022-03-01). "RNA uridyl transferases TUT4/7 differentially regulate miRNA variants depending on the cancer cell type". RNA. 28 (3): 353–370. doi:10.1261/rna.078976.121. ISSN 1355-8382. PMID 34949722 Check
|pmid=value (help).
This article "Okhil Kumar Medhi" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Okhil Kumar Medhi. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
|
This page exists already on Wikipedia. |
