Sadhan K. Basumatary,^1,* Swati Tripathi,^1,**,*** Samir K. Bera,^1,**** Chandra Mohan Nautiyal,^1,***** Nilakshee Devi,^2,****** Gajen Chandra Sarma<sup>2,*******

1</sup>aBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53 University Road, Lucknow 226007, Uttar Pradesh, India
²bDepartment of Botany, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781014, Assam, India

^*Sadhan K. Basumatary was awarded a BSc degree from the University of Gauhati (India) in 1995, a Masters in Botany from the same institution in 1998 and a PhD from the University of Lucknow in 2011. He is currently a Scientist “C” at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, working on palaeoclimatology using multiproxy data. He has 12 years research experience, and has published 58 papers in international and national journals.
^**Corresponding author. Email: swatidixit26@gmail.com
^***Swati Tripathi is currently working as a Scientist “B” at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, India. She focuses on palaeoclimatology using Quaternary pollen as a proxy. Swati was awarded a BSc from the University of Lucknow in 2005. Subsequently, she received three gold medals for her Masters in Botany from the University of Lucknow in 2007. She was awarded her doctorate in 2011, also from the University of Lucknow. Swati worked as a Research Fellow and Birbal Sahni Research Associate before joining as a Scientist. She is also a recipient of the Dr. B.S. Venkatachala Memorial Medal for 2012 in recognition of her research in palaeobotany. Swati has published 22 research papers in peer-reviewed journals.
^****Samir K. Bera was awarded a BSc in Botany from the University of Calcutta, India in 1976, an MSc in Botany from the University of Burdwan in 1978 and a PhD from the University of Lucknow in 1989. He is currently a Scientist “F” at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, working on palaeoclimatology and using Quaternary pollen as a proxy. Samir has 33 years research experience, and has published 75 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has visited Antarctica twice, and has supervised several research students.
^*****Chandra Mohan Nautiyal gained Bachelors and Masters degrees in physics from the University of Roorkee, India (now the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee), followed by a PhD from the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. He won three scholarships and doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships at the Physical Research Laboratory, and also an INSA-DFG Fellowship to visit Germany. Chandra received a travel grant from the Meteoritical Society in 1984, a prize from the Indian Society for Mass Spectrometry in 1988, the INS A Medal for Young Scientists in 1988, a Consultancy Medal from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in 2008 and several awards for science communication. He has been a member of several national committees for science and science communication. Chandra has around 50 publications and is a Fellow of the NCSTC-Network of the Society of Earth Scientists and the Geological Society of India. He has organised several national and international conferences, and runs the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany.
^******Nilakshee Devi was awarded a BSc in 1990, and an MSc in 1992 from the University of Gauhati, India. She was the recipient of a PhD and a gold medal from the same institution in 2004. Nilakshee is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Gauhati, working on angiosperm palynology and taxonomy. She has 14 years research experience, has supervised several research students and has published 30 papers in national and international journals.
^*******Gajen Chandra Sarma was awarded a BSc 1976 and an MSc in Botany in 1978, both from the University of Gauhati, India. He is currently a curator in the Department of Botany at the University of Gauhati, working on aerobiology, angiosperm taxonomy, palynology and theraputic plants. He has 30 years research experience, has guided 25 research students and has published 60 papers in national and international journals.