Svetlsgx: put up basic biography added tags

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{{Short description|Indian educationist and plant physiologist (born 1948)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Sudhir Kumar Sopory
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption = Sopory in JNU (2016)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|01|07|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Ambala, Haryana]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| alma_mater = [[University of Kashmir]] ([[B.S.]], [[M.S.]]) [[University of Delhi]] ([[PhD]])
| othername =
| occupation = Plant physiologist Educationist
| fields = Molecular plant physiology
| spouse =
| domesticpartner =
| children =
| parents =
| website =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology|Shanti Swarup Bhatangar Prize]] Chakravorty Award [[Indian Botanical Society|IBS]] Birbal Sahni Medal [[Indian Science Congress Association|ISCA]] Birbal Sahni Birth Centenary Award [[National Academy of Agricultural Sciences|NAAS]] Saligram Sinha Medal ASPB Corresponding Membership Award [[University Grants Commission (India)|UGC]] Career Award [[Indian Science Congress Association|ISCA]] Hira Lal Chakravorty Award [[National Academy of Sciences, India|NASI]] Salgram Sinha Award [[Indian Science Congress Association|ISCA]] S. S. Katiyar Award [[National Academy of Sciences, India|NASI]] Prof. R. N. Tandon Memorial Award B. M. Johri Memorial Award [[Indian National Science Academy|INSA]] Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award T. N. Khoshoo Memorial Award
}}
'''Sudhir Kumar Sopory''' (born on 7 January 1948) is an Indian educationist, plant physiologist, scientist and former vice chancellor of [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]], New Delhi.<ref name="Vice Chancellor">{{cite web | url=http://www.jnu.ac.in/Administration/ViceChancellor.asp | title=Vice Chancellor | publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru University | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107002743/http://www.jnu.ac.in/Administration/ViceChancellor.asp | archive-date=7 January 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Sudhir Kumar Sopory - Author Profile">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0SlLemeqPVUC&q=Sudhir+Kumar+Sopory&pg=PR24 | title=Sudhir Kumar Sopory - Author Profile | publisher=Springer | date=2016 | access-date=13 January 2016| isbn=9789048131136 }}</ref> He is known to be the first to purify a [[protein kinase C]] activity from plants and is credited with the identification of [[topoisomerase]] as a substrate of protein kinase C.<ref name="Indian Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://insaindia.org.in/detail.php?id=N94-1164 | title=Indian Fellow | publisher=Indian National Science Academy | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016 | url-status=usurped | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813022403/http://insaindia.org.in/detail.php?id=N94-1164 | archive-date=13 August 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> He is an elected Fellow of several major Indian science academies and [[The World Academy of Sciences]] (TWAS) and is a recipient of many honours, including the 1987 [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology|Shanti Swarup Bhatangar Prize]], the highest Indian award in the science and technology categories.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=71 | title=Brief Profile of the Awardee | publisher=SSB Prize, Government of India | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Shri]], in 2007, for his contributions to science and technology.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awards | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India | date=2016 | access-date=3 January 2016}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Born on 7 January 1948,<ref name="Sopory, Prof. Sudhir Kumar - IAS Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Sopory,_Prof._Sudhir_Kumar | title=Sopory, Prof. Sudhir Kumar - IAS Fellow | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> Sopory secured his graduate degree (BSc) in 1966 and postgraduate degree (MSc) in 1968 from [[Sri Pratap College]], [[Sri Nagar]]<ref name="NAAS Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://naasindia.org/fdetail.html#S119 | title=NAAS Fellow | publisher=National Academy of Agricultural Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> of the [[University of Kashmir]].<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU">{{cite web | url=http://www.jnu.ac.in/vicechancellor/default.htm | title=Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU | publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru University | date=2016 | access-date=11 January 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114002924/http://www.jnu.ac.in/vicechancellor/default.htm | archive-date=14 January 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Subsequently, he moved to Delhi to start his career by joining [[University of Delhi]] as a member of faculty and pursued his doctoral studies there to obtain a PhD in plant molecular biology in 1973.<ref name="Sudhir Kumar Sopory on Bloomberg">{{cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=134667675&privcapId=22849551&previousCapId=22849551&previousTitle=Jawaharlal%20Nehru%20University | title=Sudhir Kumar Sopory on Bloomberg | publisher=Bloomberg | date=2016 | access-date=11 January 2016}}</ref> After securing the doctoral degree, he joined [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] in 1973 as an assistant professor and worked there till his superannuation in 1996, holding positions such as associate professor (1978–1984), professor (1985–1996) and Hostel warden.<ref name="Sopory returns to take charge of JNU">{{cite web | url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/kaveri-hostels-first-warden-sopory-returns-to-take-charge-of-jnu/ | title=Sopory returns to take charge of JNU | publisher=Indian Express | date=29 January 2011 | access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> In between, he worked at various overseas educational institutions; [[Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research]], Cologne, (1976–1978), [[University of Texas]] at their Department of Botany as a visiting [[Fulbright Program|Fulbright fellow]] (1981–1982), USDA Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, Maryland and the [[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München]] as a visiting Humboldt Professor (1991–1992).<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> After his superannuation, he joined [[International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology]] (ICGEB) New Delhi, as a group leader of research in plant molecular biology in 1997, and became the interim director of the institution in 2010. In 2011, he was appointed as the vice chancellor of [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]],<ref name="JNU will be the same as ever, assures V-C">{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/jnu-will-be-the-same-as-ever-assures-vc/article4980474.ece | title=JNU will be the same as ever, assures V-C | newspaper=The Hindu | date=2 August 2013 | access-date=13 January 2016| last1=s.n | first1=Vijetha }}</ref> a post he held till 13 January 2016).<ref name="Bio data on JNU">{{cite web | url=http://www.jnu.ac.in/ViceChancellor/CV%20SK%20Sopory.pdf | title=Bio data on JNU | publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru University | date=2016 | access-date=11 January 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319155948/http://www.jnu.ac.in/ViceChancellor/CV%20SK%20Sopory.pdf | archive-date=19 March 2015 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="JNU has to be No.1 within the country">{{cite web | url=http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/jnu-has-to-be-no1-within-the-country/7/43200/ | title=JNU has to be No.1 within the country | publisher=The Sunday Indian | date=13 January 2016 | access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
During his researches at [[Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research]], Cologne, Sopory developed a plant breeding methodology to produce monohaploids of potato, in 1978.<ref name="Production of monohaploid embryoids and plantlets in cultured anthers of Solanum tuberosum">{{cite journal | title=Production of monohaploid embryoids and plantlets in cultured anthers of Solanum tuberosum |author1=Sudhir K. Sopory |author2=Evert Jacobsen |author3=Gerhard Wenzel | journal=Plant Science Letters | date=May 1978 | volume=12 | issue=1 | pages=47–54 | doi=10.1016/0304-4211(78)90038-X}}</ref> His researches at [[University of Texas]] assisted in the discovery of the "role of calcium and calmodulin" in higher plants and, while in Maryland, he worked on [[D1 protein]] to find the mechanism behind it. In the early Nineties, he worked under R. Hermann on ''promoter analysis of light regulated genes encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis''.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> His researches on the [[gene expression]] and the activity of nitrate [[reductase]] revealed the effect of light on the turnover of [[phosphoinositide]] cycle. This helped explain light signal [[Transduction (genetics)|transduction]] in plants.<ref name="Indian Fellow" />

Sopory is reported to be the first to purify a [[Protein Kinase C]] from plants and he has been successful in identifying [[topoisomerase I]] as a substrate of [[Protein Kinase C]] in plants.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> Based on his work on dehydration stress and salinity-related [[gene regulation]], he is known to have developed a new methodology for gene amplification and a [[Polymerase chain reaction]]-based protocol for manipulating differentially-expressed genes and their promoters. Working on rice ([[Oryza sativa]]) and [[Pennisetum]], he evolved new methodologies for producing stress tolerant transgenic plants.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> His researches on [[glyoxalase]] system in plants explained how it affected the stress environment<ref name="Sudhir Kumar Sopory - Author Profile" /> and he propounded a process how transgenic plants capable of growing in conditions of high salinity could be developed by manipulating [[glyoxalase I]] and [[glyoxalase II]], two enzymes related to the detoxification of [[methylglyoxal]], the organic compound known to increase the level of stress response of plants.<ref name="Indian Fellow" /><ref name="Abiotic Stress Adaptation in Plants">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0SlLemeqPVUC&q=Sudhir+Kumar+Sopory | title=Abiotic Stress Adaptation in Plants | publisher=Springer Science & Business Media | author=Aswani Pareek (Ed.), Sudhir Kumar Sopory (Ed.) | year=2010 | pages=546 | isbn=9789048131136}}</ref>

Sopory's researches have been documented in over 250 articles published in peer reviewed journals; [[ResearchGate]], an online repository of science articles have listed 242 of them.<ref name="Sudhir Sopory on ResearchGate">{{cite web | url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sudhir_Sopory | title=Sudhir Sopory on ResearchGate | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> He has been the editor of 13 books on the subject and has contributed 53 chapters to books written/edited by others<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> besides co-authoring the Hostel Manual for [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]].<ref name="Sopory returns to take charge of JNU" /> He is the president of the Indian Society of Plant Physiology<ref name="Executive Council 2014">{{cite web | url=http://www.ispponline.org/executivecounsil.html | title=Executive Council 2014 | publisher=Indian Society for Plant Physiology | date=2016 | access-date=12 January 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065533/http://www.ispponline.org/executivecounsil.html | archive-date=4 March 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> and the vice president of the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]], Allahabad.<ref name="NASI Council 2016">{{cite web | url=http://www.nasi.org.in/council.htm | title=NASI Council 2016 | publisher=National Academy of Sciences, India | date=2016 | access-date=12 January 2016}}</ref> He has served as the vice president of such organizations as Indian Society for Plant Physiology and Biochemistry (2001–2003), Indian National Science Academy (2004–2006) and the Society for Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, New Delhi (2009–2011) and is a former secretary of the Plant Tissue Culture Association of India (2001–2010).<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" />

During his stint as the vice chancellor at [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]], the institution is reported to have acquired a new 1000-acre campus in South Delhi.<ref name="Courses with currency">{{cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/education/story/20140630-indias-best-universities-jnu-sudhir-kumar-sopory-804198-1999-11-29 | title=Courses with currency | publisher=India Today | date=20 June 2014 | access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> The university started new doctoral research courses in Energy studies, Human rights, [[Silk Route]] studies, Climate change and Biotechnology and inaugurated a new website and a cyber library during this period.<ref name="Courses with currency" /> He has also mentored many students in their doctoral studies.<ref name="Role of calcium and calmodulin in higher plants">{{cite web | url=http://14.139.116.20:8080/jspui/handle/10603/16253 | title=Role of calcium and calmodulin in higher plants | publisher=Shodhganga | date=2016 | access-date=13 January 2016 | last1=Rina | first1=Das }}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==
Four of the major Indian science academies have elected Sopory as their fellow; The [[Indian Academy of Sciences]] (IAS) in 1992,<ref name="Sopory, Prof. Sudhir Kumar - IAS Fellow" /> [[National Academy of Sciences, India]] (NASI) in 1993,<ref name="NASI Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://www.nasi.org.in/fellows.asp?RsFilter=S | title=NASI Fellow | publisher=National Academy of Sciences, India | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316043224/http://nasi.org.in/fellows.asp?RsFilter=S | archive-date=16 March 2016 }}</ref> the [[Indian National Science Academy]] (INSA) the next year,<ref name="Indian Fellow" /> and the [[National Academy of Agricultural Sciences]] (NAAS) in 2002.<ref name="NAAS Fellow" /> [[The World Academy of Sciences]] (TWAS) followed suit in 2005.<ref name="TWAS Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://twas.org/member/sopory-sudhir-kumar | title=TWAS Fellow | publisher=The World Academy of Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> He has delivered many notable award lectures such as Gadgil Memorial Award Lecture (2000) of the Plant Tissue Culture Association, P. Maheshwari Award Lecture (200) and Sisir Kumar Mitra Memorial Lecture Award (2011–2012) of the [[Indian National Science Academy]], Platinum Jubilee Award Lecture (2003) of the [[Indian Science Congress Association]], N. Narayana Memorial Award Lecture (2005) of the [[Indian Institute of Sciences]], Bangalore, G. V. Joshi Lecture Award (2010) of the Indian Society of Plant Physiology, and NCL Foundation Day lecture (2015) of the [[National Chemical Laboratory]],(CSIR) Pune.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> R. N. Singh Memorial Lecture (2000) of [[Banaras Hindu University]], Varanasi, Panchanan Maheshwari Memorial Lecture (2001) of [[Delhi University]], N. B. Das Memorial Award Lecture (2002) of the Society of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Tenth Godnev Award lecture (2003) of the [[Belarus Academy of Sciences]], Dr. Yellapragada Subba Row Award Lecture (2009) of [[Indraprastha University]], Delhi, First H. C. Arya Lecture Award (2011) of the Plant Tissue Culture Association ( India), Dr. Gopinath Sahu Memorial Award Lecture (2014) of the [[Central Rice Research Institute]], Cuttack, and Padmapani Award Lecture (2014) at Tibet House, Delhi are some of the other lectures delivered by him.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> S. P. Ray-Chaudhuri 75th Birthday Endowment Lecture Award of the Indian Society of Cell Biology, delivered in 2009 was the first instance a plant biologist was given the opportunity to deliver the address.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" />

In 1985, Sopory received the ''Career Award'' of the [[University Grants Commission (India)|University Grants Commission]], followed by ''Professor Hira Lal Chakravorty Award'' of the [[Indian Science Congress Association]], the next year.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> One year later, the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] (CSIR) awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology|Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], the highest Indian award for achievement in science and technology.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee" /> The year 2001 brought him two awards, ''Salgram Sinha Award'' of the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]] and ''Birbal Sahni Medal'' of the [[Indian Botanical Society]].<ref name="IBS Award Achievers">{{cite web | url=http://indianbotsoc.org/aa.php | title=IBS Award Achievers | publisher=Indian Botanical Society | date=2016 | access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> The [[Indian Science Congress Association]] (ISCA) honoured him with the ''Birbal Sahni Centenary Gold Medal Award'' for Life Time Achievement in 2005<ref name="NAAS Fellow" /> and he was included in the [[Indian honours system|Republic Day honours]] list of 2007 by the Government of India for the civilian honour of the [[Padma Shri]].<ref name="Padma Awards" /> Another ISCA award, ''S. S. Katiyar Award'', reached him in 2010, the same year as he received the ''Corresponding Membership Award'' for Non-USA scientists of the American Society of Plant Biology, thus becoming the first Indian to receive the award.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> Two more awards followed in 2012, ''Prof. R. N. Tandon Memorial Award'' of the [[National Academy of Sciences, India]] and ''B. M. Johri Memorial Award'' of the Society of Plant Research.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> The same year, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science ([[honoris causa]]) by the [[Banaras Hindu University]] and, in 2014, he received another DSc degree, from [[Rani Durgavati University]], Jabalpur.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" /> He received two more awards in 2014, ''Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award'' of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] and ''T. N. Khoshoo Memorial Award'' of the Orchid Society of India.<ref name="Prof. Sudhir Kumar SOPORY on JNU" />

== See also ==
* [[Gene expression]]
* [[Regulation of gene expression]]
* [[Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi]]
{{Portal|India|Science}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=http://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/jawaharlal-nehru-university-vice-chancellor-sudhir-kumar-news-photo/500953306 | title=Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Receives The Degree Of Doctor of Philosophy | publisher=Getty Images | date=2016 | access-date=9 January 2016}}
* {{cite web | url=https://vimeo.com/121596163 | title=IDSS 2015 Conference : JNU Vice Chancellor Prof. Sudhir Kumar Sopory speaking during opening ceremony | publisher=Vimeo | work=Web video | date=2015 | access-date=9 January 2016 | author=Lalit Rao}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book | title=Abiotic Stress Adaptation in Plants | publisher=Springer Science & Business Media | author=Aswani Pareek (Ed.), Sudhir Kumar Sopory (Ed.) | year=2010 | pages=546 | isbn=9789048131136}}

{{Authority control}}
{{2000s Padma Shri Award Recipients in Science & Engineering}}
{{SSBPST recipients in Biological Science}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sopory, Sudhir Kumar}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Science]]
[[Category:People from Ambala]]
[[Category:University of Kashmir alumni]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University]]
[[Category:Indian molecular biologists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian botanists]]
[[Category:Indian botanical writers]]
[[Category:Scientists from Haryana]]
[[Category:Heads of universities and colleges in India]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Delhi University]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin faculty]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Fellows of the National Academy of Sciences, India]]
[[Category:Fellows of The World Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Sudhir Kumar Sopory - Revision history

Svetlsgx: put up basic biography added tags