Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was an Indian academician and scientific administrator. He earned his Doctorate in Science in University College, London. In 1921, he returned to India and joined the newly established Banaras Hindu University. His research contribution in the areas of magnetochemistry and physical chemistry of emulsion were widely recognized. He also did considerable work in applied chemistry. The first Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), he was revered as the "Father of Research Laboratories" in India. He was also the first Chairman of the University Grants Commission. He was elected as one of the first Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences. In 1958, to honour his name and legacy, the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) instituted the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology for scientists who have made significant contributions in various branches of science.

Govindranjan is an Indian biochemist and biotechnologist. He served as the Director of the Indian Institute of Science(1994-1998). He is serving as honorary professor in the department of biochemistry at IISc. He worked in the transcriptional regulation of Eukaryotic genes in the liver. He was interested in elucidating the multifaceted role of heme in cellular processes. His group discovered the heme-biosynthetic pathway in the malarial parasite and showed it to be a drug target. He also worked in the area of vaccine development. His team was successful in showing the antimalarial property of Curcumin and its efficacy in combination therapy in 2004. He received the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology(1983). The Government of India Honoured him with Padma Shri (1991) and Padma Bhushan (2003).