Professor Vikram Vishal an Assistant Professor in IIT Bombay won the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) award for Young Scientist. Professor Vikram Vishal works as Assistant Professor in the Earth Sciences Department in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay INSA Young Scientist award 2017. He has been awarded a cash prize of Rs.25,000 and a bronze medal. Till 2015, 737 young scientists have been recognised by INSA.
The award is considered to be the highest recognition of promise, creativity and excellence in young scientists, and awarded annually by INSA for research conducted by scientists in India. INSA President, Professor Ajay K Sood stated that Professor Vikram has shown great potential to be a leader in research and hope he will continue to strive hard to reach his potential and to prove leadership in the coming years.
Vishal is currently working on a research which attempts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and their environmental impact by capturing the natural gases. His research looks at "geologic sequestration" or capturing the carbon dioxide that is released when coal is burnt (or created as a by-product in other industries) and injecting it back into the rock deep underground so that it is not released into the atmosphere.
Vishal explained that the natural gases have remained trapped in deep underground rock structures for several million years. This provides an analogy to inject and store the greenhouse gases in rocks and prevent their release into the atmosphere.