Shiv Nath Rai Kohli Memorial Mid-Career Best Scientist Award - 2026

Notice inviting Nominations/Applications for Shiv Nath Rai Kohli Memorial Mid-Career Best Scientist Award: 2026

Panjab University instituted, in 2017, an annual "Shiv Nath Rai Kohli Memorial Mid-Career Best Scientist Award" comprising a cash prize of Rs 100,000/- (Rs. one Lac) and a plaque with citation for researchers in institutions of higher learning located in Chandigarh or Punjab.

Award is open in any field of Sciences, Humanities, Medical Science, Dentistry, Microbial Science, Commerce, Business Management, Languages, Sports Science, Library Science, Computers, Engineering - any stream, and others. It is based on research work done in India, either independently or as part of a team or in collaboration with other Indian institutions.

Catchment Area:

Panjab University, Regional Centres of Panjab University and its affiliated colleges, Central University of Punjab, member Institutions of CRIKC, State Universities & Research Institutions of Punjab. And Chandigarh.

An online application will be preferred. However, a hard copy that is complete in all respects will not be rejected.

Eligibility conditions:

·   Any researcher/scientist below the age of 50 years at the end of the year before the year of convocation. For instance, for the convocation to be held in 2026, the age of the applicant/nominee must not be above 50 years by 31st December 2026

·   Number and quality of published research papers in indexed journals, and patents in any field (sciences, humanities, medical science, dentistry, microbial science, commerce, business management, languages, sports science, library science, computers, engineering any stream, and others) based on work done in India, either independently or as a part of a team or collaboration with other Indian institutions will be considered.

·   The papers/patents selected once by the award winner will not be considered again.

·   The award winner (individual or in a team) will become eligible to apply again only after 5 years.

·   Patent(s) awarded to the applicant must be in the name of the institution (not personal).

·   There should not be any established case of plagiarism or criminality against the applicant/nominee.

·   The awardee will be required to deliver a public lecture / talk on her/his award-winning research work for the general public, which will be arranged by the Panjab University or any member institution of CRIKC.

Evaluation criteria:

The research output will be evaluated in terms of bibliometric analysis, including the number of research papers published in SCI journals (excluding paid journals), Number of papers, number of citations, h-index, cumulative impact factor, the novelty of the research, executive value of atent(s), etc. It will be purely on merit and open to all.

Academic Record Capping

·   Research Publications (0.5 marks for each research publication published in SCOPUS): Capping = 15

·   Number of Citations (0.1 marks for each citation in SCOPUS excluding self-citation): Capping = 25

·   h-index as per SCOPUS (1 mark for one h-index in SCOPUS): Capping = 35

·   Cumulative impact factor/CiteScore (1 mark for 5 impact factor): Capping = 10

·   Number of Patents granted (5 marks for 1 patent): Capping = 15

In order to ensure that there is no discrimination with respect to the fields of research, the bibliometric data analysis from SCOPUS for the following five major groups of disciplines will be normalized with respect to Median Impact Factor/Citations/value of h-Index of the disciplines. The normalization for the last 5 years of the year award will be worked out and duly announced at the time of the award:

Group 1. Biological / life / Agricultural Sciences, including plant, animal, microbial, biophysical, biochemical, genetical, molecular, biotechnological and Immunology allied sciences.

Group 2. Chemical / Pharmaceutical/ Toxicology/ Pharmaceutics / Physical / Material / Geological / Earth sciences, Environmental sciences / Ecology and allied subjects

Group 3. Mathematical and Engineering Sciences - Mathematics/Statistics/Engineering & Technology / Architectural/ Computational/ Computer/ derived and allied sciences,

Group 4. Social Sciences - Arts/Humanities /Economics / Econometrics, Finance / Languages including journalism / Laws /Sociology/Psychology/Philosophy/Defence Studies, and allied subjects

Group 5. Clinical Sciences – Medical, Dentistry, Neuroscience, Nursing, Veterinary and allied sciences”

In order to offer equal representation/recognition to each of the five major groups, the selection will be made from among candidates representing the group not awarded in the first and second five-year cycles.

For the tenth year (2026), i.e., the current year, the award is open to the best mid-career scientist from Group No. 4, since candidates from other Groups (i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 5) have already been awarded during the previous 4 years (i.e. 2022 to 2025). From the next year, i.e. 2027, as per the rules, scientists from all Groups will again become eligible.

The application must reach the office of the Director, R&DC, PanjabUniversity, Chandigarh by 31 December 2026.

Self-nomination is permitted.

To know more about eligibility conditions, evaluation criteria, online application please visit https://sites.google.com/site/snrkohliaward

 Query, if any be addressed to:

 Director, R&DC,
Panjab University Chandigarh
email: diectorrdc@pu.ac.in