Dr. Darlando Khathing maintained a consistently good academic career (1st class throughout) and was trained in top institutions of the country (St. Edmund’s Shillong, St. Stephen’s Delhi and Bose Institute Kolkata).

He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Trust Fellowship (UK) and was attached to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Oxfordshire, England, for two and a half years. The selection for the fellowship then was to only one individual once in two years in the combined sciences including medical sciences.

Dr. Khathing is retired as a Professor of Physics at the North-Eastern Hill University. He is a nuclear scientist by training and his research had earlier been carried out at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay. His research group has been using the different nuclear facilities at Kolkata, Delhi, Trombay and Germany. He has authored over 70 research articles in refereed international journals of repute. He has successfully completed over twenty major research projects as the Principal Investigator. Eight PhD and three MPhil scholars have successfully been awarded degrees under his direct supervision.

Dr. Khathing is a life member of many national scientific societies ( Electron Microscope Society of India, National Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Society, Indian Assoc. of Analytical Scientists, Indian Physics Association, Indian Assoc of Physics Teachers, Indian Science Congress, Indian and International Society of Radiation Physics, etc) . He served on the Executive of many of them. He was also the founding Chairman of several regional Chapters of the national bodies. He is a Governing Board / Executive Council member in many central institutions including IIM Ranchi, Inter University Accelerator Centre New Delhi, Central Universities of Himachal Pradesh and Bihar, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Amarkantak.

In the last twenty years, Dr. Khathing has been more actively involved in senior administrative assignments. He headed, for fifteen years, the Regional Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre, Shillong, which jurisdiction covered seven North-Eastern States and was actively involved in coordinating and encouraging interaction between the analytical scientists and research workers of the region. Dr. Khathing has held several posts in his former University - Chief Proctor, Public Relations, Chief Vigilance Officer and lastly as the Registrar for over eight years. He contributed to the University earning the status of “University with Potential for Excellence”. Till 2009, when he joined his new assignment, only nine Universities in the country had this status.

He played a leading role in the successful holding of the 96th Indian Science Congress at NEHU, Shillong where he was one of the two Local Secretaries.

On the first of March, 2009. Professor Khathing joined as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Jharkhand. Dr. Khathing is the first person of/from the North East to be appointed Vice-Chancellor of a Central University located outside the North East. His University was the first among the twelve new Central Universities, to start its academic sessions. Even today, it maintains an overall lead . In 2010, Dr. Khathing was awarded for his outstanding contribution to education by the Hindustan Unilever Group at the 18th Business School and Dewang Mehta awards at Mumbai. Even as among the most junior of Vice-Chancellors, Dr. Khathing has earned respect to be nominated by the Executive Councils of two Central Universities to serve on the three-man Search Committees for the selection of the respective Vice-Chancellor in those Universities.

( Dr. Khathing is the son of late Major “Bob” Khathing, IFAS, MBE, MC, Padmashree 1957, and late Mrs Klerisnorah Khathing, nee Lyngdoh, one of the early Meghalaya graduates from Scottish Church College, Kolkata. His wife Nokdila is from Nagaland, and is the daughter of late Mr.Shashimeren Aier, IAS, often known as “Father of Modern Nagaland”, and Mrs. Metongla Aier, first Naga lady evangelist. Dr. and Mrs Khathing are blessed with a son, Alexander, and two daughters, Sirawon and Imtina.)