Dr. O. P. S. Sengar Memorial Young Scientist Award

About Late Dr. O. P. S. Sengar
Dr. O. P. S. Sengar (1929–2001) was a pioneering scientist, a visionary and whose footprints in India’s scientific and intellectual landscape cannot be erased. Dr. Sengar was a pioneer in goat breeding, genetics, reproductive physiology and nutrition and adopted an interdisciplinary approach to research and innovation. Dr. Sengar was a graduate of Agra University, where Professor S. N. Singh’s mentorship had a lasting impact on his career, and the ideas of Professor Singh guided and shaped his science. After that he completed his Master of Science in Reproductive Physiology from the University of Illinois, USA and returned to India in 1958 to start and promote goat research in the country.

Contributions and Legacy
Dr. Sengar was an ardent proponent of empirical fieldwork or research, and he insisted that the goat production and management systems could only be understood by empirical field investigation. Born into a family that raised goats, his work combined traditional agriculture with contemporary scientific methods. At a time when goats were being scapegoated for forest destruction, he came to the species’s defense, writing a seminal report called “Only for Those Who Love Goats” — a heartfelt tribute to his passion and dedication.

Dr. Sengar’s groundbreaking concepts contradicted traditional breeding practices that prevailed in those days. As others bred native cattle with exotic strains, Dr. Sengar looked to indigenous goats with their own potentially superior genetics, and became a pioneer of heterosis (hybrid vigor) in goat breeding. He used some sophisticated methods for estimating specific and general combining abilities and made great progress in producing early generation of stocks with high levels of desirable genetic traits. This strategy was a standard in plant and poultry breeding, but was a first in livestock breeding, especially for goats, and remains a pillar of his legacy.

Award Overview
The Dr. O. P. S. Sengar Memorial Young Scientist Award is a tribute to Dr. Sengar’s immense contributions and enduring impact. Established to honor his memory and inspire the next generation of researchers, the award recognizes outstanding achievements by young scientists in the fields of nanotechnology, molecular science, and interdisciplinary research.

Award Details

  • Prize Amount: ₹11,000
  • Frequency: Annually
  • Presented by: Jointly awarded by the Nano & Molecular Society and the Sengar Family
  • Purpose: To acknowledge and encourage innovative and impactful research by emerging scientists, fostering a legacy of excellence and dedication to scientific advancement.