Vice Chancellor

Prof. K. MUTHUCHELIAN
VICE-CHANCELLOR

      Renowned environmental scientist Prof. Dr. K. Muthuchelian has been working with dedication since 1982 for the development of India by harnessing both traditional and frontier technologies. Dr. K. Muthuchelian earned his M.Sc., (Botany) from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India with distinction and Ph.D. from the School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, and then he did his Post-Doctoral research at the University of Ancona, Italy. Dr.K.Muthuchelian is a faculty member of the School of Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai. He was conferred the prestigious "Doctor of Science" (D.Sc.) in recognition of his accomplishment in research on Biomass technology. He became the Director of the Centre for Biodiversity and Forest Studies in the University in 2001. He has been an awardee of “International Cultural Diploma of Honor 1998” and “International Who's Who Of Twentieth Century Achievement-1998” by the American Biographical Institutions, Inc. USA, and awardee of “Prestigious Member - The New York Academy of Sciences” by the New York Academy of Sciences, USA, and member Rural Development Forestry Network, UK. Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science, USA and recently nominated as a prestigious member in IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Switzerland) for South East Asia. His laboratory has got International Recognition (Nitrogen Fixing Tree Associations, Hawaii, USA) for “Erythrina Research”. He has been nominated as "Fellow of International Energy Foundation, Saskatchewan, Canada", in recognition of his outstanding International contributions to the biomass production and energy transfer technology. Recently he has elected as “Fellow of National Academy of Biological Sciences, India” for his excellent contribution to the environmental sciences.

     He worked in detail about the basic processes involved in photosynthesis and their relationship to biomass productivity in tree species. He has further studied the influence of various environmental factors on biomass productivity, realizing that this area of research will assume far greater importance in future in view of the depleting resources of the Earth’s fuel supply.

     He took this challenging area of research with a view to solve this global problem and started his research career in 1982 under Prof. A. Gnanam, a world renowned Photosynthesis scientist and then he collaborated with Prof. Kailash Paliwal for investigating the ecosystem productivity of Western Ghats. Dr. Muthuchelian meticulously searched the various leguminous trees of semi arid ecosystem for biomass production understanding the key link between photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism as a part of his research work, which was highly commended. His collaboration with Prof. Franco Zucconi at the University of Ancona, Italy has created a base for the role of organic matter (humus) in biomass productivity through improvent of photosynthetic efficiency.

     Hailed as one of the pioneers for converting botanical know-how to technology level do-how, his original strategies such as the method to reclamate the current wastelands for efficient land use for sustainable energy production, conversion technologies available, biomass resources assessment for power generation and environmental interaction will definitely help India to avoid the frightening prospects outlined by Maalthuse more than two centuries back. His prominent progress and contributions have made a significant impact among NGO’s, farmers, students, and entreprenaurs and policy makers to join the global coalition dedicated to protecting the environment.