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Prof. Supriya Kumar Bhattacharjee is an eminent scientist in the field of horticulture, retired as Project Coodinator, all India Coordinated Research Project on Floriculture, Indian council of Agricultural Research, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, on January 31, 2003. He obtained his M.Sc. (Ag.) in Horticulture from Calcutta University. He is also a diploma holder in Business Management and Industrial Administration, United Nations studies and Landscape Architecture. He has 38 years research, teaching, management, developmental and administrative experience in private organisations, Indian Botanic Gardens, Botanical Survey of India, State Agricultural Universitites and ICAR Institutes. He was Head of the Division of Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bangalore. He has also served as Professor of Horticulture and Professor in charge, North Bengal Campus, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Visvavidyalaya, Cooch-Behar, West Bengal, which has later converted into a full-fledged Agricultural University presently named as Uttar Banga Krishi Visvavidyalaya. While serving in private organisations, he has laid out many landscape gardens in different agro-climatic conditions of the country, collected a wide range of indigenous and exotic plants from India and abroad and propagated tem on a large scale for use in gardens. Prof. Bhattacharjee has visited several foreign countries. He has published about 400 research papers and popular scientific articles in journals of national and international repute. He is the author of seven books among which Advanced commercial Floriculture, Handbook of Medicinal Plants have been widely acclaimed and well-received.

Dr. Shankar Prasad Das, recipient of Lal Bahadur Shastri Young Scientist Award (2001-2002) for his outstanding contribution in the field of collection, characterization, evaluation, documentation and embryo culture of orchid resources of North Eastern Himalayas, is Plant Breeder by Profession, He did his Ph.D. from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, in Genetics.  While working at National Research Centre for Orchids, Pakyong, Sikkim, he was involved in collection, characterization and evaluation of more than 400 native orchid species from North Eastern Himalayas.  He was responsible for day-to-day maintenance of about 10,000 lives specimens of orchid genetic resources.  He was involved in successful regeneration in vitro of about 100 orchid species and crosses through embryo culture.  His work and evaluation was also awarded with 4 best paper awards at national level congress and seminars.