Prana Krushna Parija OBE (1 April 1891 – 2 June 1978) was an Indian botanist. His research work comprised mainly fundamental and applied aspects of plant physiology, experimental plant morphology, and ecological studies of plant environment. He studied water hyacinth and other aquatic weeds, respiration in leaves and apples, transpiration and heat resistance in plants, rice and algae and storage of apples. He was born in icchapur village Jagatsinghpur in a well known Karana family.Balikuda locals remember son of the soil Dr Parija
He served as a vice chancellor of Utkal University. He worked as a principal in Ravenshaw University (formerly Ravenshaw College), CuttackVanivihar HomepagePro Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. The "Parija Library" of the university is named after him. He was President of the Indian Science Congress Association in 1960. He was an elected member of the first Odisha Legislative Assembly.List of members of OLA, 1951-2004
His daughter Saudamini Parija was married to the well-known Mathematician Ram Prakash Bambah. Their daughter Bindu Bambah is a well-known Theoretical Physicist.
Awards and recognitions Fearnsides Scholarship (1918), Christ's College, Cambridge, a scholarship to encourage clinical research in the field of organic diseases of the nervous system.The historical register. Supplement. University of Cambridge; University of Cambridge. Cambridge University calendar. Supplement; University of Cambridge. Index to tripos lists, 1748–1910. Supplement. Cambridge University Press. University of Cambridge. 1911–1920 Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), 1944 New Year Honours Padma Bhushan, 1955
References
External links Odisha Review (Jan 2012): Dr. Pranakrushna Parija Parijā, OCLC WorldCat Identities: Prāṇakr̥shṇa 1891-1978