Kharagpur, Jan 8 (IANS): IIT Kharagpur alumnus Prakash Patnaik has been conferred with the prestigious NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO)'s Panel Excellence Award in recognition for his longstanding service and extraordinary scientific contribution.

Patnaik, a globally recognized scientist in the domain of Aerospace Materials Science and Engineering, was awarded for his work in relation to NATO-STO's Applied Vehicle Technology Panel, an IIT Kharagpur release said on Tuesday.

Much of Patnaik's work over the past 30 years has been performed in a collaborative global milieu, including governments, industriesAandAacademic organisations.

Hailing from Berhampur, Odisha, Patnaik earned his B.E. in Materials Science & Engineering from NIT Rourkela and M.Tech. in 1978 from the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. He pursued his doctoral degree from McMaster University, Canada.

Patnaik is now leading the Defence Technology and Sustainment Programme at the National Research Council Canada (NRCC) as Principal Research Scientist at NRC's Aerospace Research Centre in Ottawa.

Patnaik has made significant contributions in the domain of Aerospace Materials and Protective Coating Technologies including more than 140 research papers in international journals and conferences.