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AR-014Fr Leo D'Souza CollectionAR-014Archives at NCBS

National Centre for Biological Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental ResearchBangalore, Karnataka 560065Business Number: +9180 6717 6010Business Number: +9180 6717 6011archives@ncbs.res.inURL:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-05-25 09:14:32 +0000.Description is written in: English, Latin script. Archives at NCBS Fr Leo D'Souza Collection Labhopping Science Media Forum AR-014 /repositories/2/resources/93 364 Sheets 1940s to 2000s Fr Leo D'Souza's papers are secure as most are stored in a steel almirah inside an airconditioned room in the research laboratory. Some of the papers are very frail and will need to be handled with care. Fr Leo D'Souza's former Laboratory of Applied Biology at St Aloysius College (now deemed to be university) English German Content Description Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders of the finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into two series: Research and Biographical Material. Series 1 Research contains his thesis and photographs related to his laboratory, its members and their activities Series 2 Biographical Material consists of various items related to Fr Leo D'Souza's academic and theological career. These include certificates, letters, degrees, and also identity cards.

Biographical / Historical

Fr Leo D'Souza, a scientist and former Principal and Rector of St Aloysius College, Mangalore, was born in 1932 in Mangalore. He received his primary and secondary education at St Aloysius College in Mangalore. He decided to become a Jesuit priest and was trained for this in Calicut, Shembaganur and Trichy. At St Joseph's College in Tiruchirapalli, he completed his BSc and MSc in Botany. He then left for Frankfurt, Germany, for further Jesuit training and was ordained a priest in 1967. While in Germany he pursued his doctoral studies at Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, in Cologne. After he completed his PhD in 1970, he did a year of post-doctoral study in Germany. Then he returned to India, as a lecturer at St Joseph's College, Bangalore, from 1973 to 1980, during which time he set up his laboratory dedicated to cashew research. He moved his laboratory to St Aloysius College in Mangalore, when he returned there as Principal, a position he served until 1990, and then as Director of Research and Rector. His laboratory was one of the first 18 tissue culture laboratories recognised by the Department of Science and Technology in India. His team developed the very first tissue cultured cashew plant in 1990, as well as the micropropagation of other plants like Lagerstroemia flos reginae, Ailanthus malabarica, Millingtonia hortensis, as well as other medicinal plants and ferns. It was during Fr Leo D'Souza's principalship that the college finally began admitting girls. Fr Leo D'Souza passed away on January 20, 2026.

Preferred Citation

When quoting from this material, kindly use the following format: Collection id/identifier, name of collection, Archives (Eg AR-014-001, Fr Leo D'Souza Collection, Archives at NCBS)

Processing Information

Processed as part of NCBS PAST 2025-26. Grantee Name: Labhopping Science Media Forum, Grant Title: Archiving histories of science from Mangalore (1890s–1990s). For details, see https://archives.ncbs.res.in/past

Botany Mangalore--Karnataka--India Education (Higher) Religion Jesuits--Education Plant tissue culture Plant breeding Theology Series 1: ResearchAR-014-1/repositories/2/archival_objects/26160Fr Leo D'Souza's PhD dissertationAR-014-0001/repositories/2/archival_objects/2616158 SheetsDocuments (Unbound): General Collections21 x 30 cm1970Almira in Laboratory of Applied Biology, St Aloysius College

Fr Leo D'Souza's PhD dissertation

Scope and Contents

Fr Leo D'Souza's PhD dissertation, written in German. The title translates to "Investigations into the suitability of wheat as pollen donor in cross-pollination, compared with rye, triticale and secalotricum". The thesis was submitted to University of Cologne

Conditions Governing Access