Professor Sir Michael Victor Berry, Professor Andre Beteille, Professor Satish Chandra Maheshwari, Dr. K.G. Subramanyan and Ms Aruna Roy will be conferred with Honorary Doctorate degrees at the XV Convocation of the University to be held on 1st October 2013.
The convocation will be held at the Brahma Kumaris Shanti Sarovar at Gachibowli at 11:00 am. Prof. T V Ramakrishnan, FRS, Emeritus Professor, Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University will be the Chief Guest and shall deliver the Convocation address. Hon’ble Shri E S L Narasimhan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Chief Rector of the University shall be the Guest of Honour and will award the medals. Dr C H Hanumantha Rao, Chancellor of the University will preside.
Prof. Berry is a world renowned physicist and has numerous important contributions to semi-classical physics (asymptotic physics, quantum chaos) applied to wave phenomena, in quantum mechanics and other areas including optics. Among others he is known for the Berry phase, a phenomenon which has found applications in atomic, condensed matter, nuclear, and elementary particle physics, as well as in optics.
Dr. Subramanyan is an eminent artist, teacher, scholar and critic for more than six decades. As a young student, he was actively engaged in the nation’s struggle for freedom and parity. He has embodied the ideals and aspirations of Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij, and has thereby passed on the legacy of their teachings to successive generations of artists in our country.
Prof. Maheshwari has made several pioneering discoveries in the area of Plant Growth and Development. His studies on plant tissue culture led to a path-breaking discovery on production of haploid plants from anthers. This has revolutionized plant breeding and has been extensively used all over the globe.
Prof. Beteille is one of India’s foremost sociologists and social anthropologists and currently the Chancellor of North Eastern Hill University. His sociology is interdisciplinary in orientation and formulated through a dialogue with economics, political science and law. Prof. Beteille’s commitment to cultural pluralism, liberalism and constitutional democracy has imprinted itself in his academic and popular writings and those that deal with public policy.
Ms. Aruna Roy is a political and social activist who founded and heads the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana (“Workers and Peasants Strength Union”). She is best known as a prominent leader of the Right to Information movement through National Campaign for People’s Right to Information, which led to the enactment of the Right to Information Act in 2005. Ms. Aruna served as a civil servant in the Indian Administrative Service between 1968 and 1974. She resigned the job to devote her time to social and political campaigns. In 2000, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.
In this convocation 95 Gold Medal winners and about 140 Ph.D. awardees will take part along with 949 students who will receive the degrees in person.