In the 9th convocation of IISER Pune held in the evening of May 26, 2022, a total of 197 students received their degrees. This included 21 PhD students, 11 Integrated PhD, and 165 BS-MS students. Prof. P. Balaram, DST-YOS Chair Professor at the NCBS, Bengaluru and former director of Indian Institute of Science was the Chief Guest for the occasion.
At the outset of the event, Director Prof. Jayant Udgaonkar and Registrar Col G. Raja Sekhar presented PhD, MS with PhD, and BS-MS dual degrees to the graduates. Thirty four BS-MS students received their degrees with Distinction (CGPA >9). Aditya Kolhatkar received the institute gold medal.
PhD students Prasun Roychowdhury (Mathematics) and Ajith V.J. (Physics) received Xytel Best PhD Best Thesis Awards; and BS-MS students Yashi Jain (Mathematics); Writam Sinha Roy Choudhuri (Chemistry); Rushikesh Anil Patil (Physics); Rohit Sahasrabuddhe (Inter-Disciplinary); Aditya Milind Kolhatkar; Vaibhav Chhaya (Biology); Ishwari Mulkalwar (Earth and Climate Science); and Viraj Dsouza (Humanities and Social Sciences) received the Xytel Best MS thesis awards.
Some of the students, who graduated in the previous years when a valedictory session was held online to present degrees in lieu of convocation, took up the opportunity to receive their degrees during today's ceremony.
Director presented the annual report of the institute, and described the academic achievements of institute members, activities pursued during the year and updates from the institute’s interactions with our partners and collaborators within and outside India.
Chief Guest Prof. P. Balaram spoke about the upsurge in awareness about science in the post-covid times, about the inseparable connection between science and technology, and took examples of how the basis of several technologies firmly lay in the research and scientific advancements from many years before. Quoting J.K. Rowling, he said he agrees that two qualities, that of resilience and imagination, will stand one in good stead, be it research or any other profession.
Wishing the graduates the best for their future, Prof. Balaram said, “Science is a deeply humbling subject and every day we are reminded of our imperfect understanding of even the subjects of our daily research. It is this humility that I hope you have learnt at IISER. It will go a long way in guiding you in the future.”
Best wishes to all our graduates from the entire IISER Pune community!