Gopalasamudram Sitaraman Venkataraman received DSc (1971) from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He worked as Joint Director (Research), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi (1986-90) and Director, DBT Centre for Blue-Green Algae, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai.

Academic and Research Achievements:Venkataraman developed algal biofertilizer technology for rice to harness the natural renewable biological nitrogen-fixation process through blue-green algal systems. His work led to our understanding of the ecobiology of blue-green algae in crop production ecosystems. His work has shown, contrary to the general belief that nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae do not seem to be invariably present in all tropical rice soils, although recurrent combinations of algal species may occur in comparable habitats.

Other Contributions:Venkataraman served as Member, Policy Advisory Committee on N-Fixation, IRRI, Philippines (1975-77), and many scientific bodies of DBT, DST, DOD, etc. He was Short-term Consultant to FAO (1977). He also served on the Editorial boards of: Bioresource Technology, Phykos and Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, and also served as Editor, INSA Publications (1983-86).

Awards and Honours:Dr Venkataraman received the Alagappa Gold Medal (1951), Vasvik Award (1978), Sanjay Gandhi Award (1982), UGC National Lecturer Award (1986), Om Prakash Bhasin Award (1988), Padma Shri (1992), and Professor Panchanan Maheshwari Memorial Lecture Award by INSA. He was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad.