Academic Council

Deepak Kumar Behera hails from Sambalpur district in Odisha and is an internationally acclaimed anthropologist. Presently, he is serving as the Vice Chancellor of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Deemed to be University. Prior to joining KISS-DU, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of Sambalpur University, Berhampur University and Rajendra University, Bolangir. Under the leadership of Professor Behera, Berhampur University secured “A” grade by NAAC (the first state-funded university in Odisha to achieve this distinction). Professor Behera has the distinction of being the only academician from Odisha to become the Vice Chancellor of four different universities.

Professor Behera has many national and international distinctions to his credit. He had been a Fulbright Visiting Professor at California State University, Long Beach, where he taught a course titled, “Childhood in a Changing Context (With Special Reference to South Asia)”. As a recipient of DAAD fellowship, he had been a Visiting Guest Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Karl Ebrard University, Germany. The other prestigious fellowships received by him include: the Carlos Chaga Foundation Fellowship, Brazil; National Research Foundation Fellowship, Republic of South Africa; German Research Council Fellowship, Germany; Indo-French Academic Exchange Fellowship, India/France; Indo-Israel Academic and Cultural Exchange Fellowship, India/Israel.

He has also been a visiting professor in Aarhus University, Denmark; University of Free State and University of Durban-Westville, South Africa; Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Maison des Sciences de L"Homme, Paris and CNRS-EHESS, France. He has also delivered invited lectures at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Tel Aviv University, Israel; University of Orange Free State, South Africa; University of Durban West-Ville, South Africa; University of California at Santa Cruz; University of Illinois at Chicago; University of Utah, Logan (famous Brownbag Lecture); University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. Professor Behera also delivered the prestigious Jubilee lecture (Anthropology Section) in the 100th Science Congress held at Calcutta University in January 2013.

Professor Behera has also been a recipient of the prestigious Sarat Chandra Roy Memorial Gold Medal by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata (the oldest educational institution in Asia) for his outstanding contribution in the field of cultural anthropology in India.

He has to his credit more than 120 research publications in reputed journals and edited volumes. He is the author/editor of 22 volumes.  His publications have appeared in reputed publishing companies such as Routledge, Springer, Anthem, Elsevier, Pearson, Orient Longman, Kluwer International, Trans-National, Manges, Greenwood Press, Concept, etc. He was the editor of the Journal

Professor Sabita Acharya has joined as the Vice Chancellor of Utkal University, her alma mater in November 2020. She is the first Woman Vice Chancellor of the oldest University of Odisha. As a Commonwealth Post Doctoral Fellow, she has joined in the prestigious University of Oxford, UK in 2002 and worked on ‘Gender and Development’ with special reference to Tribal Women of Odisha. She has successfully demonstrated her administrative skills by occupying different important positions in Utkal University like the Member of Syndicate, Chairman, Post Graduate Council, Director, College Development Council, Director School of Women’s Studies and Director, International Office, Head of the Department of Anthropology. She has been continuing as an Assessor, NAAC (National Assessment Accreditation Council) as Chairman of peer team visit to different educational institute since 2019-20. Professor Acharya is an eminent Indian Anthropologist having more than 30 years of teaching and research experiences, an expert in the areas of Socio-cultural Anthropology. She has demonstrated significant academic impact on the discipline of Anthropology by working incessantly on full spectrum of the human experience and examining the relationship among human beings, their societies and cultures . Her areas of interest of research has focused on different aspects of Socio-cultural Anthropology like Religion, Medical Anthropology , Gender and development with special emphasis on rural and tribal communities including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Odisha. Her book “Indian Civilization” which is an outcome of her doctoral work on “Anthropology of Pilgrimage at Puri and Simhachalam”(1991) is a referred book for research work. During academic career she has presented research papers in World Congress which have been well appreciated in various academic forums like IUAES (International Union of Anthropological and ethnological Sciences) at Kunming (China), Manchester (UK), Florianopolis (Brazil), Poznan (Poland). she has also been invited to visit different academic institutions like University of Tuebingen, Germany ,University of Goethe, Frankfurt, University of Humboldt, Berlin, University of Groningen , The Netherlands. She has been currently associated with a international Research project on ‘Cereal Culture in South Asia’ in collaboration with Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany and Groningen University, The Netherlands. During her academic career, Professor Acharya has completed more than 12 research projects including a Major Research Project funded by University Grants commission (UGC), New Delhi , an Indo-German Research Project on ‘Resource Cultures” on Lord Jagannath. She has participated, presented and chaired sessions in 24 International and 35 National Conferences, Seminars,

Executive Member, Odisha State Higher Education Council​
Former Vice-Chancellor, G M University​

At the present executive member of Department of Higher Education, Government of Odisha and the State Pollution Control Board, Odisha. ​
An alumnus of BHU and Professor of Bioscience, Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, ​
Prof Pati is well-known for his pioneering research in Human Chronobiology and his outstanding contribution to the scientific knowledge of Animal Behavior. ​
He has been Council Member of the World Federation of Societies of Chronobiology, Japan, and the International Society of Subterranean Biology, Paris [2004-2012]. ​
He has to his credit a bright track record of academic leadership. ​

FNAAS, FNEA, FBS
Former Vice-Chancellor, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha
He taught Biotechnology as a Professor at Utkal University and Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.
Prof. Adhikari’s research on BGA biofertilizer and organic fertilizers from algae including the extension of technology in rural areas has been lauded in India and abroad.
He was conferred with Samanta Chandra Sekhar Award in Life Sciences by Orissa Bigyan Academy Govt. of Odisha, 1999; UGC Research Award, 1999; Lifetime achievement Award in Phycology by Krishnamurthy Institute of Algology, Chennai, 2012; Prof. Harihar Pattanaik Memorial Award in Environmental Sciences by Orissa Botanical Society, 2012; Dr B.P. Pal National Environmental Fellowship Award for Biodiversity, 2012 by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India, and also young Scientist Award of Indian Botanical Society in 1983. Served as the President of Orissa Botanical Society (2016-17) and President of Probir Chatterjee Research Foundation, West Bengal (2010-2018).

Dr. Prashanta Kumar Routray has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), since April 2005. For the last five years, he has been holding charge as the Registrar of KISS Deemed to be University. KISS is the largest Integrated Residential Academic Institution for the indigenous communities. Thirty thousand tribal students, from kindergarten to the university level, receive free education, healthcare, vocational and athletic training at KISS. There are ten thousand more in ten satellite centres across Odisha.
In a thirty-eight-year-long working career, Dr. Routray has served three institutions in various capacities. He began his professional career at the Advanced Study Centre in Psychology at Utkal University, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1992. He joined the Centre for Youth and Social Development, (CYSD) a Bhubaneswar-based NGO specializing in capacity building, research, and advocacy for the tribal, rural, and urban poor in Odisha, in 1992. By 1994, he shifted from research to practice, taking over as a Programme Officer and Trainer. He rose fast and was heading the Panchayati Raj division at CYSD in 1996. Routray was promoted again in 1998 to the rank of a Programme Manager, leading entire divisions and major projects, coordinating with state and union governments and hundreds of professionals and volunteers on the ground. As a Program Officer, he was with LEPRA India, a NGO which works for mainstream rehabilitation of patients of Leprosy and other debilitating diseases, for a year between 2004 and 2005.
Routray specializes in academic and vocational training of students and the youth. He is the topper in the Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. As a practitioner of Organizational Psychology and Management, he has excelled in large-scale education delivery, strategic organizational planning and turnkey project management, training of trainers, and information and communication management.
Several national and international courses and workshops on these have subsequently strengthened his domain expertise. In 1998, for instance, he was in the Netherlands, attending a UNESCO certified training course on early child development at the AVERROES European Training Centre, Amsterdam.
At KISS, Dr. Routray is responsible for the overall institutional growth and development for both academic and non-academic activities. It primarily involves presiding over a contingent of over two thousand teaching and support staff and coordinating with various donor and collaborators such as the state and the union governments, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, The US Embassy, ORACLE Education Foundation, TISS, Give

Professor K.K. Basa is currently the Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada, Odisha. He was the Tagore National Fellow, Ministry of Culture,
Govt of India during 2019-20. He is also the Chairman of Indian National Confederation and Academy of Anthropologists (INCAA), the largest anthropological association in India.
Professor Basa was the Former Head, Department of Anthropology, Utkal University. He has been teaching archaeological anthropology and museum studies since 1980. He was the
recipient of Surajmal Saha Memorial Gold Medal for securing the 1st position in the whole of Odisha in H.S.C. Exam in 1973 and Professor Ghanshyam Dash Memorial Gold Medal for 1st Class 1st in B.A. History (Hons.) Exam in 1977 in Utkal University. Professor Basa secured his Ph.D. from University of London in 1991. He was a Commonwealth Post Doctoral Academic Staff Fellow at the University of Cambridge in 1999-2000 and was a recipient of the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Fellowship in 1997. He was the former
Director, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal, (Ministry of Culture, GOI (2004–2008), the Director, Indian Museum, Kolkata (2008–2010) and the Director,
Anthropological Survey of India (Additional Charge) (2009-2010).

Former Vice-Chancellor of the Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar. ​
He was Professor of Anthropology and Dean, School of Social Sciences at the Central University of Hyderabad. ​
Prof Mishra was Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship in the UK, Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence in the USA, Research Associate at the University of Bergen, Norway. ​
For his academic distinction, Prof Mishra was the recipient of the Sarat Chandra Roy Memorial Medal by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata. ​
He assumed many prestigious positions, namely that of Director of National Museum of Mankind, Bhopal, and also the Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata. ​
He was appointed member of the High-Level Committee to prepare a status report on the Scheduled Tribes of India. He had represented Govt. of India at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, several times.​

Director and Special Secretary SCSTRTI and Odisha State Tribal Museum​
Former Vice-Chancellor, North Odisha University

Former Vice-Chancellor of North Orissa University. ​
Currently, Prof Ota is Director and Special Secretary SCSTRTI and Odisha State Tribal Museum. ​
He combines the scholarship of academic and administrative acumen of a bureaucrat, for he was a professor as well as an IAS officer. ​
He has also wide experience of working with UNWFP, UNICEF, the World Bank and UNDP as an Anthropologist and as a Resettlement and Rehabilitation Expert.​

Director, Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Odia, Govt. of India

Dr. Suar's group work on Salmonella Typhimurium (STm) and Salmonella Enteritidis (SEn) infection biology in Streptomycin pre-treated mouse model especially looking at identification of new virulence factors of SEn through comparative genome wide screening approach; development of recombinant and safe Salmonella derived mucosal vaccine candidates, which are even safe in immuno-compromised mouse models. Further translational work is under progress to develop enterocolitic vaccine against common gastro-intestinal pathogens such as Vibrio, Salmonella, E. coli and Shigella. Dr. Suar group also works on several projects like Characterization of efficient probiotics and study of their molecular basis of interaction with enteropathogenic microbes like Salmonella Enteritidis; Structural and Biological characterization of virulence proteins in SalmonellaTyphimuriumand investigating the functional role of differential alanine racemase gene of Salmonella Enteritidis; Exploring bacterial LPS modification: Its interaction with host and role in virulence; Transcriptomics of Salmonella with emphasis on the small non coding RNA complement involved in the acid tolerance response (ATR) and their influence on virulence and Identification and characterization of putative virulence factors inVibrio parahaemolyticus; Characterization of emerging MDR (Enterobacter) E. coli strains causing extended neonatal sepsis; Characterization of Type IV Pilin and pilin encoding islands in Salmonella enetrica serovar Enteritidis (P121509): Origins and interactions with phages; Novel cloning and chromosomal integration techniques, phage remodeling and vaccine development, construction of a modular genetic ALU; Synthesis of different nanoparticles and understanding their implication in biological systems.

Former Professor of Geography, Utkal University. ​
Prof Panda has been the UGC Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow, ICSSR. ​
He was also Visiting Fellow of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine of Liverpool University on the British Council Fellowship and visiting faculty to Minnesota State University. ​
He has won many prestigious prizes and received many honours for outstanding research in the field of environment. ​
He has worked for many national and international agencies like WHO, UNDP, DFID and public sector organisations like Odisha State Pollution Control Board and Odisha State Disaster Management Authority. ​
He has done noteworthy research and consultancy for Population Research Center, National Health Mission and population Survey the governments of Odisha and India. ​

M. A., Ph. D.

Ph. D.

M. A., Ph. D., D. Litt.

M. Com., M. Phil., Ph. D.

M.A., M. Phil., UGC-NET-Dec-2003, Ph. D., ICHR PDF, D. Litt.

M. A., Ph. D.

Ph. D.

M. Sc., Ph. D.

Ph. D.

M.Sc., CSIR-UGC NET-JRF, Ph.D

Ph. D.

Ph. D.

M.A., M. Phil., Ph. D.

UGC NET, Ph. D.

M. Com., M.B.A., LLB, Ph. D.

Ph. D.

M. Sc., M. Phil., Ph. D.

Ph. D.

M. Phil., Ph. D.

M.A., M. Phil., Ph. D.

M. Sc., B. Ed., Ph. D.

M. Tech. Bioinformatics, B. Tech. Biotechnology