Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Dr. Mihir Panda, who is a native of Ichhapur near Bahanaga in Odisha’s coastal Balasore district, won the National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularisation among Children.
The award was bestowed under the National Awards 2020 for Science & Technology Communication and it also recognizes the outstanding contribution in the field of science and technology communication and for promoting scientific temper.
Right now Mihir is a Junior engineer in the state government’s Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department.
Mihir has invented more than 10,000 teaching aids and different innovations and has more than 30,000 ideas to make scientific and mathematical models. These include a small cake cutter, mechanical scissor, play pump, rickshaw-operated food grain spreader, village refrigerator, and multi-purpose machine. Because of the work, she is often called the Einstein of Odisha.
Mihir also holds a Ph.D. and DLit and since 1990 he has been popularising science through song, innovative demonstrations, and motivational speech in different parts of Odisha He has also set up an institute for research in simple innovations and their implementation.
As per the reports he has also entered the Limca Books of Records in 2020 for his innovations to popularise science among common people and children. He also received the award of the Indian Science Congress Association in 2019 for his dedication towards science and has also registered his name in the world records of 23 countries.
Image Source – Google
