Bishal Bhattarai
By Raymond Humienny
NQPI editorial intern
Bishal Bhattarai, an Ohio University condensed matter physics Ph.D. student, was awarded the 2017-18 Vishwa S. Shukla Memorial Scholarship.
Bhattarai is working under the direction of Distinguished Professor of Physics Dr. David Drabold, a Nanoscale & Quantum Phenomena Institute member.
Bhattara is the author of six academic publications on modeling of amorphous materials using computational methods.
“We mainly use simulation and modeling techniques to create amorphous materials,” he said. “I mostly work on developing new methods to model amorphous/glassy systems which are difficult systems to study computationally.”
The award is given each year to an Ohio University student from Nepal in honor of the late Vishwa S. Shukla, a professor of Economics at OHIO from 1966 to 1996. Once serving as the Secretary of Industry and Commerce in Nepal’s first democratically elected government from 1959 to 1961, Shukla took part in trade and treaty agreements with China and India. Shukla entered the United States to pursue higher education as a Fulbright Scholar.
Bhattarai is an active member of Ohio University’s Nepalese Student Association, where members provide a sense of community for each other, as well as share aspects of Nepal’s history and culture with the greater Athens community.
“It’s actually helpful to meet and invite (others) to NEPSA,” Bhattarai said. “Since Nepal is not a very big country with a lot of influence, sharing our culture with others is really important.”
OHIO’s Nepalese Student Association members at a recent Athens International Street Fair (Photo courtesy of Bishal Bhattarai)
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