Scientist Dr Alka Rao gets national award

Chandigarh, September 25

The Principal Scientist of the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) here, Dr Alka Rao, has earned accolades not only for her work in protein engineering but also for her efforts to break down barriers hindering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, particularly for individuals with hearing impairments.

Dr Rao has been selected as the recipient of the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Award for 2023. She is set to be honoured at a ceremony on September 28 in New Delhi.

Dr Rao’s professional journey is full of achievements, including several national and international patents, copyrights, and publications in prestigious journals. Beyond her laboratory work, she serves as an advisor to government bodies such as the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW), and the Ministry of Education (MoE), among others. She also spearheads the ISLEVL (Indian Sign Language Enabled Virtual Laboratory) project, funded by CSIR under the Jigyasa programme.