Aditya Narayan Purohit (born 30 July 1940) is an Indian scientist and professor who has mainly worked on ecophysiology of tree species and physiology of high altitude medicinal plants. He was the Vice-Chancellor of

Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University(HNBGU) (formerly known as Garhwal University) is a Central University, established in 1973, located in Srinagar, Uttarakhand in Northern India. The university is named after Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, f ...

and director of the university's High Altitude Plant Physiology Research Center. He was also the Director of Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development from 1990 to 1995. Purohit was awarded

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest civilian award of India, by the President of India in 1997 for his valuable scientific contribution in Indian mountains.

Personal life

Purohit was born in Kimni,

Chamoli Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Pauri Garhwal to the southwest, Ru ...

district,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, India. He had his early education in Tharali and Rudraprayag in

district, Lansdowne in

Pauri Pauri is a town and a municipal board in Pauri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Pauri is the seat of the Divisional Commissioner of the Garhwal Division. Geography Pauri is located at . It is located 1,765 meters above sea ...

district,

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

and research studies in

Panjab University Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

. He worked at Forest Research Institute Dehradun,

, Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and

North Eastern Hill University North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a Central University established on 19 July 1973 by an Act of the Indian Parliament. The university is in the suburb of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. The university has two campuses: S ...

, Shillong before joining H.N.B. Garhwal University in 1977. He has travelled all over the world to deliver lecturers and seminars in various conferences. He is married to Malti Purohit; they have a daughter and a son. After joining HNB Garhwal University, Purohit initiated work on high-altitude plants. He established an institute with its alpine field station at 13000-ft elevation at

Tungnath Tungnath ( IAST:tuņgnāth) is one of the highest Shiva temples in the world and is the highest of the five Panch Kedar temples located in the Rudraprayag district, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Tungnath (literal meaning: Lord of the ...

, which is the ''first Alpine Center in India''. The work conducted at this centre has revealed that ''high altitude species are less sensitive than the low altitude species to the environmental stresses''. The germination studies of alpine plants made by Purohit and his associates have helped in germinating many endangered species and establishing them in nature in the alpine field station at Tungnath. He and his associates have come up with the cultivation technology for Aconites, alpine and sub-alpine plants of very high medicinal value, where yield is increased 10 to 12 fold. He has made valuable scientific contribution on mountain plants and the mountain ecosystem. After retiring from H.N.B. Garhwal University in 2002, he was offered the special chair by Government of Uttarakhand to advice on conservation, development and cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants in the State. He has established a Centre for Aromatic Plants for the State.

Books edited

* Views on Physiology of Flowering, 1978 (with R. Gurumurti) * Conservation and Management of Biological Resources in Himalaya, 1996 (with P.S. Ramakrishnan, K.G. Saxena, K.S. Rao and R.K. Maikhuri) * Harvesting the Herbs -2000, 1997 (with A.R. Nautiyal and M.C. Nautiyal)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purohit, Aditya Narayan Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Garhwali people People from Chamoli district Indian ecologists Plant physiologists 1940 births Living people Scientists from Dehradun Fellows of the National Academy of Sciences, India Fellows of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences 20th-century Indian botanists Himalayan studies