Anil Kumar Lala obtained his Ph.D. degree from Bombay University in 1975. His notable contribution was in the area of the structural organization of membrane-bound proteins. He developed photochemical reagents as new tools to elucidate structural information of membrane protein interaction. He recognized the opportunity to create highly reactive carbenes capable of rapid insertion into chemical bonds upon generation by photolysis. He developed diazafluorene as a new fluorescent photochemical reagent providing an alternative to light activable radiolabels. He was the Professor of Chemistry and Biotechnology and Head, Biotechnology Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. Lala was the Alberta Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellow, Canada and Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School. He was the recipient of the INSA Medal for Young Scientists (1981); Associate Fellow (1983-86); and Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore.

Narayana Balakrishnan Nair obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Madras in 1955. His particular interest was taxonomy, functional morphology, embryology, digestive physiology and ecology of organisms concerned with biodegradation of cellulose in aquatic habitats. He elucidated the biology of several shellfish and fin fish species, their pathology, and aquacultural techniques. He made noteworthy contributions to the ecology of tropical wetlands and their conservation and ecology of marine algae, mangroves, and seagrasses. He advocated for trawling ban during monsoon seasons. He was the recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1971, Padma Shri in 1984. He was the elected Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, Zoological Society of London.