Manipur University, July 23, 2026: Manipur University has earned another major international academic recognition with Prof. Maibam Bidyananda of the Department of Earth Sciences being awarded the 2026-2027 Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship. According to the official award letter issued by the United States-India Educational Foundation on July 9, 2026, Prof. Maibam Bidyananda has been selected to undertake an eight-month research programme at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, beginning October 26, 2026.
The Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship, one of the most respected academic exchange programmes between India and the United States, will support his collaborative research in the United States and further expand his long record of international scientific engagement. While the Fulbright-Nehru award is a significant international honour, Prof. Maibam Bidyananda’s selection is also important because it builds on a sustained record of competitive research funding. Over the past two decades, he has secured and led several major sponsored research projects from national funding agencies, bringing substantial scientific resources to geological research in Northeast India and Manipur University. His sponsored research profile includes a Department of Science and Technology project from 2005 to 2008 on “Petrological and Geochemical Studies and Zircon Geochronology of the Shillong Massif, Northeastern India: Implications to the Evolution of Archaean Indian Shield.” The project contributed to research on one of the key Precambrian geological blocks of Northeast India.
From 2012 to 2016, Prof. Maibam Bidyananda received another Department of Science and Technology project titled “Mafic Rocks of the Precambrian Terrains of Meghalaya and Assam, Northeastern India: Geochemical and Petrogenetical Significance.” This project strengthened research on the deep geological evolution of Meghalaya and Assam and expanded scientific understanding of mafic rock associations in the region. He also led a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research project from 2013 to 2016 on “Petrological and Geochemical Significance of the Ultramafic Rocks of the Indo-Myanmar Ophiolite Belt, Northeastern India.” The project focused on one of the most geologically important belts in the region. The Indo-Myanmar Ophiolite Belt has wider significance for understanding tectonic processes, oceanic crust fragments, subduction-related evolution, and the geological linkages between Northeast India and Southeast Asia.
Later, in 2018, Prof. Maibam Bidyananda also secured a six-year project titled “Geochemical and zircon U-Pb geochronological and Hf-isotopic studies of the Precambrian rocks of Arunachal Himalayas.” The project, covering the period from 2018 to 2023, examined the ancient crustal history of the Arunachal Himalaya using advanced geochemical and isotopic methods.
Prof. Maibam Bidyananda earned his Ph.D. in Mineralogy from Jadavpur University in 2001 and has since built an accomplished career in Earth Sciences through prestigious fellowships and international research appointments at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, the University of Mainz, the University of Bonn, and Macquarie University, Australia. A prolific researcher, he has published extensively on Himalayan crustal evolution, the Manipur and Naga Ophiolites, and Northeast India's geology in leading international journals. He has collaborated with globally renowned institutions and has also served Manipur University in key academic and administrative roles, including Head of the Department of Earth Sciences and Proctor. His Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship is the latest recognition of his sustained contributions to research, international collaboration, and academic leadership