Award

Professor Kamal Merit Awards for Young Researchers
(for Discovery and Documentation of Indian Fungi)

Professor Kamal was born on September 02, 1941, in Kushinagar District. He was raised in a family from the lower middle class. He went to elementary school in villages and towns, and then to high school and intermediate school at Uditnarayan Kshatriya Inter College in Padrauna (UP). Later, he got his bachelor's and his master's degree from the University of Gorakhpur (UP).

Dr. Kamal enrolled as research student in the Botany Department at Gorakhpur University. He worked with Professor K.S. Bhargava, who was the Head of the Botany Department, to do his study. After getting his PhD, he became a lecturer at Gorakhpur University's Department of Botany in 1969. Since then, he had been doing research all the time. Prof. Kamal began studying fungi (soil microbiology) and has identified and proven many Aspergilii, Penicilii, and other fungi that live in soil. At the same time, he looked at the different kinds of Aspergilii in the soil of different-aged teak stands. After that, he looked at the variety of aeromycoflora at different places and made important contributions to this branch of mycology (aeromycology).

He was interested in the biology and classification of fungi, so he started working on plant pathogenic fungi from different plant groups with economic importance, such as orchards, forest plants, crop plants, agro-forestry, etc. In similar kinds of research, he studied fungi from almost all of Indian states. He has also done a lot of research on plant-harming fungi from the Churia/Terai regions of north-easter Uttar Pradesh to the mid-mountain regions of the Nepal Himalayas. (Kathmandu Valley, Nepal). He got advanced training in the classification of fungi for a short time in the Department of Special Botany at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland (1979). This was done under the guidance of Prof. Emil Muller, a well-known mycologist from all over the world. He was an INSA visiting fellow at the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology in Kathmandu, Nepal, from September 1993 to February 1994. During this period Central Department of Botany at Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Nepal extended him facility as a host. He was also a U.G.C. visiting fellow at Dr. H.S. Gaur University in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, in the Department of Botany. He has made keynote speeches, invited lectures, and led workshops at national and foreign symposia and conferences. He was elected as Councillor, and in 1992, he became the President, Mid-Eastern Zone of the Indian Phytopathological Society, New Delhi. In 2001, he was elected as Vice-President of the Mycological Society of India (MSI) and served as Editor-in-Chief of the official journal of the "Society for Basic and Applied Mycology," the Journal of Basic and Applied Mycology.

Professor Kamal has already published more than 250 research papers on different aspects of Mycology and Plant Pathology, especially on the taxonomy of foliar fungi including recombination and redisposition. During his study, he discovered more than 200 new species and more than a dozen new genera of fungi. He published >50 research papers in journals of international repute having high impact and citation indices such as Mycological Progress (Germany), Mycotaxon (USA), Canadian J. Botany (Canada), Transactions of the British Mycological Society (UK), Mycological Research (UK), and since establishing certain genera and species, he worked in collaboration with mycologists abroad such as Dr. B.C. Sutton, Dr P.M. Kirk, Dr. G.W. Minter (UK), Dr. Gareth Morgan Jones (USA), Dr Uwe Braun (Germany), etc. Professor Kamal has supervised more than 60 PhD students in getting their Ph.D. degrees. He jointly wrote four books about Mycology and Microbiology. In addition, he has published a authoritative monograph on Indian cercosporoid fungi, a topic close to his heart.

So, Professor Kamal has established a reputation for being a dedicated, disciplined, and diligent teacher, researcher, and mentor. Because he was honest and wise, he was well-liked by his peers, students, and other followers. He has always been a man of few words, forthright, open-minded, futuristic, mentally alert, adaptable, and always full of fresh ideas. His academic endeavours have been thoughtfully planned and completed. Despite coming from a modest farming background, he persevered, worked hard, and gave his life to achieve high intellectual heights. This award is being instituted by one of his students Dr SK. Singh.

Criteria: Taxonomy and systematics of fungi are dynamic and rising field, but declining interests in these fundamental aspects are the matter of great concern in modern era require utmost attention of mycological fraternity of India. New generation of budding researchers are encouraged to make concerted efforts in discovering and studying fungi from various natural sources for their various applications in applied disciplines. It is important to establish correct identity/ validation of identity by combination of morphotaxonomy and multigene phylogeny of newly discovered as well as known India taxa of fungi. This would enable subsequent generations to continue honoring and appreciating the fundamental mycological science as well as exceptional educator-cum researcher, Prof. Kamal.

Eligibility:

1. Young researchers and teachers with age not exceeding 40 years shall be eligible for this award.
2. Candidate publishing original research papers in referred journal of repute on bi-phasic taxonomy of microfungi in general or on specialized group like cercosporoid fungi shall be given preference
3. Along with fungal bi-phasic taxonomy, work on applied research will also be considered for the award
4. Undergraduate and post graduate students are not eligible for this award.

Terms & Conditions for Award :

• The award will be given by the Association of Fungal Biologists during its annual meet and conference every year
• Award will be given to one best oral and best poster presentations. Awards for oral and poster presentations will be given separately.
• The oral and poster presentations will be delivered during annual meeting and associated symposium/conference of AFB
• ORAL PRESENTATION: Young faculty/Post Doc Fellows (not exceeding 40 years of age) engaged in mycological research/teaching are eligible for this award (First & Second)
• POSTER PRESENTATION: Young faculty/Post Doc Fellows (not exceeding 40 years of age) engaged in mycological research/teaching are eligible for this award (First & Second)
• A committee constituted by the AFB will screen the applicants for the best poster and oral presentation award.
• Preference would be given to quality work on the biphasic taxonomy and systematics of complex / rare/ interesting/ group of micro-macrofungi.
• Each awards will carry a memento and a merit certificate/citation.
• No cash prize will be given
• The decision of constituted committee by AFB will be the final.