Professor M.K. Rout

     The Orissa Chemical Society (OCS) is the apex society of the chemists of the state. Conceptualized in the School of Chemistry, Sambalpur University in 1985, the society was formed with late Professor Mahendra Kumar Rout as the Founder President. Since then the OCS has consistently grown in strength with a respectable member base. Founded on the principle of equal emphasis onquality teaching as well as research in frontline areas of chemical science, the OCS has attracted many members from inside and outside the state with some members from overseas as well. The Society organizes regional and annual conferences at regular intervals each year in institutes of higher education and research spread all over the state. The conferences are well attended. Several invited lectures are delivered by eminent scientists.
    Senior members of the Society are routinely felicitated in these meeting for their lifetime achievement in both teaching and research. Many young researchers and faculty members contribute to the conference proceeding with oral and poster presentations.Best research papers and doctoral thesis are awarded prizes and medals. For the last several years the OCS has been promoting programs to attract higher secondary students to the fascinating world of chemical science by organizing Summer Camps and Olympiads. On successful completion of 25 years of seamless functioning, the OCS celebrated its Silver Jubilee in Sambalpur University in 2010. In recent years, there is a growing trend of increased participation of chemists from industries.
    The principle of "Excellence in Teaching and Research" is the slogan. With this preamble, the OCS envisions to emerge as a premier chemical science organization in the country with many more activities catering to the needs of the chemical scientists in interdisciplinary fields. In this direction, the OCS has launched a peer-reviewed open access e-magazine named "Chemical Science Reporter" that will be publishing articles online in front-line and inter-disciplinary chemical sciencetopics. The society embraces all with the promise of equal opportunity.