The first 'Manohar Parrikar Yuva Scientist Award' instituted by the Goa government will be presented to Dr Mathavaraj S of the U R Rao Satellite Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) next month, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has announced.
The selection committee headed by Dr Anil Kakodkar selected Dr Mathavaraj, who designed the powered descent trajectory of Chandrayaan-3 Mission, for the award.
In his post on 'X', Dr. Sawant on Friday said, "First Manohar Parrikar Yuva Scientist Award is out. Dr. Anil Kakodkar who chaired the Expert Committee of selection of Yuva Scientist has handed over the results to me this evening. Happy to announce that the award has gone to the person who designed the powered decent [descent] trajectory of #Chandrayaan3 Mission that had successfully landed on the South Pole of the moon."
"The award recipient is Dr. Mathavaraj S of the U R Rao Satellite Centre @isro. There were 106 applicants out of which 14 were shortlisted," he said.
The award comprises ₹5 lakh and a citation, which is currently the highest cash prize in science and technology, Dr. Sawant said.
"The award will be presented at Manohar Parrikar Vigyan Mahotsav at NIO on 13th December 2023 i.e. birth anniversary of our beloved Dr. Manohar Parrikar [Bhai]," the Chief Minister added.
