Dr. Digendranath Swain obtained his doctoral degree from IIT Kanpur, specializing in Solid Mechanics and Design. He has been working as a scientist at Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), ISRO, for the past 18 years. Dr. Swain is heading the Experimental Techniques Section (ETS) of the Experimental Mechanics Division (EXMD) of VSSC. His current research areas include digital image correlation (DIC), digital photoelasticity, residual stress measurement, digital shearography, solid mechanics, and biomechanics.
He has authored and co-authored 24 journal papers, five book chapters, and 35 conference papers. He has three granted patents to his name. He has been an active reviewer for 15 international journals and is recognized as an outstanding reviewer by some journals. He serves as an editorial board member in the Journal of Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation (JNDE), published by the Indian Society for Non-destructive Testing (ISNT). He was a guest editor for a recent special issue on “Optical Non-destructive Evaluation (ONDE),” which was a first of its kind in JNDE.
Dr. Swain’s team has participated in all the innovation contests held at VSSC and was shortlisted thrice as the top performer. He has received the ISRO Young Scientist Merit Award in 2014. He was also conferred with the ISNT National NDT Award for NDT systems innovation and development in 2022. Just a few months ago, he was bestowed with the most prestigious “Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar: Vigyan Yuva- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award” by the president of India.
He is an avid supporter of science outreach to the general public. Towards this, he took the initiative to conduct World Space Week 2024 for the first time at the rural and remote schools and colleges in Odisha to educate the budding young brains about the inspiring Indian space saga.