Dr. Prativa Pandey, Founder/CEO of Catalyst Technology and Herveda Botanicals, is a researcher and a science entrepreneur. Her research is focused on the value addition of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Nepal. She is a Principal Investigator at the Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology (RIBB) and a visiting faculty at RECAST, TU. She completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Northwestern University in 2013 and Management Certificate from the Kellogg School of Management. She returned to Nepal in 2015, after a decade of research and industrial experience in the US and Singapore. She has published several research reports, articles, and holds three US patents. She is a member of the STI Policy Implementation and Promotion Council at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and lead formulation of R&D and Innovation implementation plan as a coordinator. She serves as an executive board member of various organizations related to innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, as an STI expert. She also co-founded two platforms for women and young scientists, Women Scientists Forum Nepal (WSFN) and Young Scientists Forum Nepal (YSFN), in initiation of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). She received prestigious UNESCO-OWSD Early Career Fellowship 2019 and NAST-NABIL Science and Technology Award 2019 in recognition of her leadership and excellence in STEM.
