Ashok Dhawan

Dr. Ashok Dhawan has 35 years of experience in the areas of Biotechnology and Physiology. His widely-respected discovery, as a part of the team at Australian National University, establishing the occurrence of “G-substances” as a new class of growth regulator, finds a place in classic textbooks. As a partner in the National Mission projects of the Government of India, his innovations lead to an understanding of mechanisms of low-temperature tolerance and the development of PCR-based markers to identify specific alleles of sucrose synthase-2 and invertase genes. His work at the University of California Davis proposing a new mechanism for nitrate reduction has been widely acknowledged.

He has been a Dean at the Central University of Punjab, Dean (Academic) National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, and Director (Technical) in the Haryana State Department of Science and Technology. He has published 143 research papers and presented 75 papers at conferences around the globe, including as a lead speaker at World Biotechnology Congress, Chicago. A scientist of renown, he is a Fellow of two professional bodies and has been conferred with Neol Deer Award (2008) by President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. With his wide vision and deep understanding of research and administrative needs of R and D organizations, Dr. Dhawan leads KamTek in certain aspects of technical operations, business development and commercialization plans.