Puttur: Rev. Dr Antony Prakash Monteiro, Campus Director and Chairman for PG Studies has been rewarded with Departmental Grant Karnataka Fund for Infrastructure Strengthening in Science and Technology in Higher Educational Institutions (K-FIST L-1 2018-19) of worth Rs. 20 lakhs to Establish the “Center for Theoretical Nuclear and Particle Physics for Advanced Studies”at PG Center of St Philomena College, Puttur by VGST, Department of IT, BT and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka. Prof. K. B. Vijaya Kumar of Mangalore University is collaborator for the Project.

DR. A. P. RADHAKRISHNA                  FR ANTONY PRAKASH MONTEIRO

The programme aims at providing financial support towards strengthening infrastructural facilities for imparting quality education and conducting research at post graduate level with the establishment of basic infrastructural facilities in qualified higher educational institutions affiliated to Universities in the State

Dr. A. P. Radhakrishna, Head, Department of Physics, St Philomena College, Puttur has been rewarded with Departmental Grant Centres of Innovative Science Engineering and Education (CISEE) of worth Rs. 30 lakhs to establish the “lnstrumentation Center for Science Education, Analysis and Research in Physics” at PG Center of St Philomena College, Puttur by VGST, Department of IT, BT and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka. Prof Karunakara N, Head of Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity (CARER), Mangalore University is collaborator of the Project.

This programme aims at upgrading Science Laboratories in selected Colleges, University Departments and Research Institutions for improving teaching methodologies, skill development and research capability.

Vision Group on Science and Technology (VGST), Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Karnataka Government is constituted under the Chairmanship of distinguished scientist Bharat Ratna Prof. C. N. R. Rao. The objective of VGST is to encourage and promote Science and Technology education and research in the State. VGST plays a vital role in catalyzing, strengthening educational institutions to meet scientific and technological needs. To accomplish this, VGST is involved in developing, in stages, mechanisms to bring a paradigm shift in the Basic Science Education, research and taking science to the masses through a wide range of initiatives. For the year 2018-19, the VGST has formulated a set of 7 programmes to promote science education and research in the State.

Dr Antony Prakash Monteiro was graduated from St Philomena College, Puttur with excellent academic track record of fifth rank in BSc. He joined M Sc in Physics at Mangalore University and completed with first rank and gold medal. Later he was JRF and SRF in the DST project entitled “Meson spectra in the framework of chiral quark models with instanton induced interaction” from 2007-2010. He obtained his PhD in the topic “The study of meson spectroscopy in the frame work of constituent quark models” from Mangalore University under the supervision of Dr K. B. Vijaya Kumar, Professor, Department of Studies in Physics, Mangalore University.

He has immense passion towards teaching and research in Physic. He is actively involved himself in research in Theoretical Particle Physics (Phenomenology). Over the years he has published more than 19 research publications in National and International Journals of repute and presented more than 60 research papers in various National and International conferences. He was awarded with ‘VGST Award for Research Publications (ARP) 2017-18’ from VGST, Government of Karnataka for his outstanding research publications in Theoretical Particle Physics field. At present, along with the role of Campus Director he is also serving as Chairman of Center for PG Studies and Research, St Philomena College, Puttur since June 2012.

Dr. A. P. Radhakrishna, HoD of Physics has accumulated 31 years of teaching and research eperience. He is better known as a popular Science Communicator. He involved himself actively in Science popularization, writes regularly Science articles in news papers. He did research on the topic "Studies on the Base Line Radiation Background in the Environment of Mangalore under the Project sponsored by the Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), at Department of Physics, Post Graduation Centre, Mangalore University and obtained PhD from Mangalore University (1993) under the guidance of Prof. Siddappa, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University.

St Philomena College, Puttur was founded by Msgr Antony Patrao, who felt that a College in this part of the state would save the people of the inconvenience of moving to distant places for higher education. He set out to realize his dream and the mission was accomplished in the year 1958. Since its inception, the College has been growing steadily. The quantitative growth has been supplemented by undiluted quality. The College has been imparting higher education to the youth drawn from far and wide. Students are enrolled without discrimination. Msgr Patrao tended the Institution with motherly care. His example was emulated by his successors. Resultantly the College has earned a name by virtue of its disciplined functioning and its achievements in the academic field as well as in the field of sports and games. Based on its infrastructure, learning resources and achievements, the College has been re-accredited by NAAC at “A” Grade.