A subtle rainy morning of June sets in with enduring smell of the soil waking me up. A life of a scientist does not begin with a cup of coffee, but with engaging emails. Just back from a hectic work trip and now that the initial phase of flight idiosyncrasy has drifted, I glared at one of my emails at sure amazement---- a headline throbbing email for any young discoverer.

Yes, I realized it is again the year of awards to young scientists who have achieved great milestones in science at an early stage of their careers. We hear a lot about Nobel Prize winners synonymous to Oscar in Hollywood, and there is a galore list of amazing names of various scientists from different fields.

Nothing inspires me than these lists of eponymous mortal names. The year 2010 is on the midway and many eponymous scientists will make their way to the list, I would like to have an insight on the various working forces, issues related to these awards and the life endured to achieve these coveted and honored positions. This led me to survey the most recent award ceremonies and the scientists given the pat for years of painstaking research.

Where do these great innovators come from? How did they get to their vaunted positions in life? These people are the actual hands in the laboratory doing experiments, moving around in jungles to collect samples, performing dangerous nuclear stunts, dispensing DNA from the micro tubes, preparing microchips.

Yes, this sounds like our daily chore … so what makes some handpicked names to top up the list.  Well, the answer is innovation, irrespective of myriad woes of funding. I find these awards highly inspiring, but I wonder if it encourages young minds to pursue studies in science, technology, and engineering.

I did not join science to win awards, nor anyone around in my fraternity. However, it is different story, if I win it in near future; I would like to garner insight on the very issue of awards and the scientists enduring the barren life of science with elan.