Kolkata: In a remarkable achievement for Indian science, Dr. Dibyendu Das, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, has been honoured with the Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2025 in Chemistry under the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP). The award is among India’s highest recognitions for exceptional contributions to scientific research and innovation. Notably, Dr. Das is the sole awardee in Chemistry for 2025.
An internationally acclaimed researcher, Dr. Das has made pioneering contributions to the emerging field of systems chemistry — a discipline that explores how life-like behaviour can arise from simple chemical systems. His work focuses on addressing fundamental questions about the origin of life and developing living-matter-like systems in the laboratory, a concept he refers to as “Life 2.0.”
Expressing his gratitude, Dr. Das said, “I am very happy and deeply honoured to receive the Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2025 in Chemistry. This recognition strengthens our confidence in pursuing a very exciting and emerging area of science — systems chemistry.
This field explores networks of reactions that display emergent, life-like properties. Through such studies, we hope to understand how living matter may have first evolved on Earth, and whether we can create life-like matter — or Life 2.0 — in the laboratory.
I sincerely thank the jury for this honour. It will truly inspire us to continue our pursuit of understanding and creating life-like systems through chemistry.”
This prestigious honour recognizes Dr. Das’s groundbreaking discoveries, high-impact publications, and leadership in advancing one of the most dynamic frontiers of modern chemistry. His research is reshaping the understanding of how chemistry can mimic biological systems, potentially redefining the boundaries between living and non-living matter.
The Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards 2025 are expected to be formally conferred by the Hon’ble President of India at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, in the coming months.
IISER Kolkata has a distinguished history of excellence in science, with several faculty members previously honoured with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, including Prof. Soumitro Banerjee (2003, Physics), Prof. Biswarup Mukhopadhyaya (2003, Physics), Prof. Swadhin Kumar Mandal (2018, Chemistry), and Prof. Rahul Banerjee (2018, Chemistry).
Adding to this legacy, both Prof. Swadhin Mandal and Prof. Rahul Banerjee, from IISER Kolkata’s Department of Chemical Sciences, were recently awarded the J. C. Bose Fellowship this year for their outstanding contributions to chemical research.
It is a matter of pride for IISER Kolkata that its Department of Chemical Sciences currently ranks 3rd in India and the institute 7th overall in the Nature Index (Jan 2024 – June 2025) — reflecting its growing global impact in scientific innovation and excellence.
