Category Archives: Education

SASTRA Prize for 27-yr-old Oxford Scholar

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, World Opinion
James Maynard receiving the 2014 SASTRA-Ramanujan award at a function held in Kumbakonam on Sunday | express
James Maynard receiving the 2014 SASTRA-Ramanujan award at a function held in Kumbakonam on Sunday | express

Kumbakonam :

The 2014 SASTRA-Ramanujan Prize was awarded to  James Maynard of Oxford University, England, and the University of Montreal, Canada, at a function held in Sastra Ramanujan Centre here on Sunday.

Mangalam Srinivasan, Special Advisor, Kennedy school of Government in Harvard University and fellow of Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CFTA), Harvard University, presented the prestigious award to the 27-year-old Maynard.

Professor Krishnaswami Alladi of Univeristy of Florida and Chairman of the award committee read the citation for the award. He said James Maynard is being awarded the 2014 Sastra Ramanujan Prize for his revolutionary contributions to prime number theory, for making strongest advances thus far on various long standing problems of primes and for the ingenious techniques he has introduced which influence future research in the field.

The citation also pointed out James Maynard, who received his Doctorate in Philosophy from Oxford University in 2013, has been  a Post-doctoral fellow at the University of Montreal, Canada. Prof.Krishnaswami Alladi while reading the citation, recalled the genesis of this Award in 2005.

S Vaidhaysubramaniam, Dean, Planning and Development of Sastra was also present during the occasion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / December 22nd, 2014

Training given in sea turtle conservation

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature

J. Vinodh, a home guard in Kadapakkam on East Coast Road, has been assisting the police in patrolling the areas and checking vehicles during weekends. Now, he has learnt to collect eggs laid by Olive Ridley turtles and translocate them properly.

Mr. Vinodh was one of the 75 people who underwent training in protecting and conserving marine resources on Saturday. A total of 17 home guards, 20 forest watchers, six panchayat presidents and 31 sea turtle protection force volunteers underwent the training on Saturday.

Jebastian Emmnuel, a forest watcher who completed the training, will now take care of the coastal stretch between Napier Bridge and Lighthouse. He says: “Earlier, I did not know that when the weather is hot, adequate cover is needed around the spot where the eggs are translocated. I learnt this during the training.”

Forest department sources said a total of 15 field staff, including the wildlife headquarters range officer, underwent the training. The department has proposed to post five persons along the Marina stretch, and another five along the Besant Nagar stretch and along the east coast up to Mahabalipuram. These watchers will help local marine life conservationists to relocate the eggs, rescue stranded turtles along the coast and count dead Olive Ridley turtles.

Supraja Dharini of TREE Foundation said the training was scheduled just before the commencement of the nesting season of Olive Ridleys along the Chennai coast. The training focussed on the integrated sea turtle conservation programme, which is imparted in association with the wildlife wing of the State forest department, she said. Protocols, interaction and exchange of information on sea turtle monitoring and conservation methodologies were part of the training, she added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by P. Oppili / Chennai – December 21st, 2014

10 Pilots Get ‘Wings’ at INS Rajali Passing Out Ceremony

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All
Vice Admiral R K Pattanaik, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, inspecting the cadets during the 83rd Helicopter Conversion Course, held at Naval Air Station, INS Rajali at Arakkonam on Saturday | express
Vice Admiral R K Pattanaik, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, inspecting the cadets during the 83rd Helicopter Conversion Course, held at Naval Air Station, INS Rajali at Arakkonam on Saturday | express

Vellore :

Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral R K Pattanaik, AVSM, YSM, awarded ‘wings’ to 10 pilots – eight naval and two coast guard pilots at the passing-out parade held at the 83rd Helicopter Conversion Course at Naval Air Station (NAS), INS Rajali, in Arakkonam on Saturday.

Vice Admiral Pattanaik also awarded ‘The Governor of Kerala Rolling Trophy’, for the best all-round trainee pilot and a book prize, for standing first in ground subjects to Himanshu Kukreja and awarded ‘The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Rolling Trophy’ for the trainee pilot standing first in order of merit in flying, to Praffur Kishor Itape.

Speaking on the occasion, Pattanaik congratulated the trainee pilots, and wished them success in their future endeavours. “You (trainee pilots) have faced and overcome many difficulties  during the trainee period to gain success. But, this is not the end but is instead the beginning of your career. The real problems are waiting for you, outside the base.”

The pilots underwent rigorous training for 22 weeks in flying and aviation subjects at the Helicopter Training School (HTS) INAS 561 located in the NAS at Arakkonam. The HTS commanded by Paul Mathew has graduated 616 pilots for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard till date.

The squadron was awarded the ‘Best Training Squadron’ trophy for the year 2013-14. The school was also recently awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification and has also been adjudged ‘The Best Naval Air Squadron’ for the year 2012-13 among all the naval air squadrons of the Navy. The squadron is 43 years old and was initially established at INS Garuda, Kochi and later in June 1992 was re-based in INS Rajali in Arakkonam.

Graduating pilots will be joining operational flights in Mumbai, Port Blair, Goa, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, Daman and Chennai.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / December 22nd, 2014

Teacher’s Tribute to Hero Bharathi: 750 Pens to Kids

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features
C Kannan handing pens to the students in Coimbatore | EXPRESS
C Kannan handing pens to the students in Coimbatore | EXPRESS

Coimbatore : 

A science teacher has sought to reach out to his students by going back to the once popular Hero pens.

The teacher at Velliangadu government school near Karamadai chose to pay his respects to the his hero, revolutionary poet Subramania Bharathi, on his birth anniversary by gifting the fountain pens to all the 750 students from classes VI to XII.

For C Kannan, who spent `20,000 for the gifts, such acts of benevolence are not new, as he has already provided students from economically weaker sections with two sets of uniforms.

The science teacher, who has completed two years at the Velliangadu Government Higher Secondary School, says the gesture would also serve as an encouragement for the students who are in the middle of their half-yearly exams.

Speaking to Express, Kannan said, “Sincerity and dedication from teachers motivate students to perform better. Inspiring children and moulding them into responsible citizens are part of the duty of every teacher.”

R Palanisamy, headmaster of the school, said that though Kannan was appointed as a BT Assistant to handle science classes for students of classes VI to IX, out of interest, he used to take English and Mathematics classes.

Whenever teachers handling Class X were not present, he used to chip in and help the students, he added. Another interesting aspect with Kannan, as pointed out by his colleagues, was that he would make the learning process interesting for students by discussing general issues with them before getting into the text books.

According to the staffers, “Kannan also has good knowledge about computers and helps us a lot in our work. He is always optimistic and ready to help.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> TamilNadu / by Ram M Sundaram / December 16th, 2014

Country’s first private management institute turns 50

Education, Records, All

Coimbatore :

It came into existence to support the flourishing textile industry in Coimbatore a few years after the IIMs were set up in Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Today, PSG Institute of Management (PSGIM), the first private management education institution in the country, is turning 50.

The institute was started in 1964, just three years after the IIMs were established in 1961, and offered diplomas in management to feed to growing textile industry which had plenty of skilled engineers but not enough marketing, sales and managerial executives. PSGIM’s history is closely linked to the textile trade of Coimbatore. Around 20 years before Independence the cotton industry began flourishing in the Kongu belt. “Engineer and educationist G R Damodaran started PSG Polytechnic College in 1939 to train and provide diplomas to those wanting to work in spinning factories in the area,” said R Nandagopal, director, PSGIM.

Later, G R Damodaran, better known as GRD, set up PSG College of Technology in 1951. “Many graduates from PSG Polytechnic and College of Technology became businessmen and industrialists. This helped the textile industry flourish,” said Nanadagopal. But soon the engineers realized that they lacked management skills.

“In the early 1960s, a group of graduates came to GRD with a problem. They said they were unable to market their products and faced problems when it came to management of resources and putting processes in place,” said Nanadagopal.

In 1964, GRD approached the department of personnel and training and started a two-year diploma course in industrial management.

As the institute grew, a department of management science was established in 1971 in PSG College of Technology. “At that time, there was a rule that an institute could start a particular course only if the university to which it was affiliated has the said course,” he said.

PSG College of Technology was affiliated to the University of Madras then. “GRD pushed for the university to start an MBA course so that PSG Tech could begin one,” said L Gopalakrishnan, managing trustee of PSG Institutions. PSG Tech started a full-fledged MBA programme in 1971, a full year before University of Madras started its MBA course.

In 1994, the department of management science became PSG Institute of Management. E Balaguruswamy, who later became vice-chancellor of Anna University, was the first director of the institute. The institute has produced around 7,200 management postgraduates. Alumni have fanned out across the world and include Thamarai Kannan, ACP, Chennai, Jagadeesa Pandian, chief secretary, Gujarat and MPs Jose K Mani and R Radhakrishnan.

Chairman of the alumni association D Madan Mohan said: “When I was studying in the institute between 1985 and 1987, we were one of the few institutions in the country with a computer lab. Now the institute has established a trading centre for students.” In the trading centre, students monitor share market feeds live from New York Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange and trade them, he said.

PSGIM has completed 50 years but Nandagopal and Gopalakrishnan feel the institute has a long way to go. “Twenty years ago, we were one of the few management institutes in the country. Today, we have stiff competition from within the nation and also the world. Our challenge is to maintain world class standards,” said Gopalakrishan.

The institute recently introduced a specialization in family business and entrepreneurship. “This will help firms and companies that do not have heirs to plan succession in a family business. There are some family-run empires that are facing problems and do not know how to resolve them,” said Nandagopal.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore  / TNN / December 15th, 2014

After 5 decades, TCE students come together for a reunion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Former students of Thiagarajar College of Engineering of the 1960-1965 batch, along with Uma Kannan, secretary, at the golden jubilee reunion in Madurai on Monday. Photo: G. Moorthy
Former students of Thiagarajar College of Engineering of the 1960-1965 batch, along with Uma Kannan, secretary, at the golden jubilee reunion in Madurai on Monday. Photo: G. Moorthy

Former students of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, belonging to the 1960-1965 batch, came together to celebrate their golden jubilee reunion at the college premises here on Monday.

“I am meeting some of my friends after fifty years. It feels great to recollect our college memories,” said S. Nambi Narayanan, retired director of Indian Space Research Organisation and an alumnus.

Around 20 former students from different cities in India and abroad had converged at the college for the reunion. They toured the campus and honoured retired faculty members.

“It is very exciting to visit the college again and meet our friends after five decades,” said Ravi Ravindran, a retired scientist from Bell laboratory, USA.

The former students also expressed jubilance over the developments that had taken place at the college over the years since they had graduated.

“We feel happy to take note of the developments in the college. They are beyond our imagination,” Dr. Nambi Narayanan said. Mr. Ravi Ravindran urged the students to improve their skills to shine in any field.

V. Abhaikumar, Principal of the college, welcomed the alumni to visit the college and share their experiences with the students. “Alumni visiting the college at least once in a semester and sharing their stories on success and struggle will motivate not just students, but young faculty members as well,” he noted.

He also stated that the college is focusing on becoming a research-based institution. “We are looking for more involvement from industries in curriculum development and syllabus formation,” he added.

Former principal Maria Louis spoke on the importance of value based education. “College managements should inculcate the sense of responsibility in students. Most educational institutions, barring a few like TCE, have become commercialised,” he noted. Secretary of the college Uma Kannan interacted with the alumni.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – December 09th, 2014

City School Students Win Int’l Robot Olympiad, Bring Glory to the Country

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Arock Joe, Motheswar and Shiva Manickam, who won second prize in the International Robot Olympiad held in Russia
Arock Joe, Motheswar and Shiva Manickam, who won second prize in the International Robot Olympiad held in Russia

Chennai :

With wind turbines based on the air velocity in Mars, track wheels based on the planet’s ground texture, sensors and spectrometers, the children who built the robot ambitiously hope to find solutions to the challenges in the Mars rovers. Now armed with second prize in the International Robot Olympiad held in Russia, the team of three from Chennai hope to go a long way.

Arock Joe (Class 9) of St Michael’s Academy, Adyar, Motheswar (Class 10) of Akshayah School, Velachery and Shiva Manickam (Class 9) of DAV Public School are the first Indian team to bag the prestigious prize in the event. The team received its training in Robotics under the Chennai-based trainer TechKnowledge Education Solutions Pvt Ltd.

Over 367 teams from 62 countries participated in the event held in association with the Ministry of Education & Science and Ministry of IT of the Russian Federation.

The theme for the year was ‘Robots and Space’, and the challenge these children took up was the issue of power failures in the Mars rovers in their prototype Infinity-M. “With our research we found that all of them had solar panels as the power source. We found that the wind velocity in Mars was enough to propel a small turbine so we installed a windmill, would supplement solar energy,” said Joe.

The robot built by the children
The robot built by the children

He said that they found that the wheels were getting stuck in some portions in the Curiosity rover, which they changed by using track wheels with larger surface area to reduce the pressure. The team began their work in May. “We did our research on the Internet and spoke to a scientist from ISRO,” says Joe. The judging was gruelling, with nine judges evaluating the students of whom three were ‘plainclothes’ judges who came to the stalls like visitors.

“There were some last minute challenges like Internet issues. And it was freezing in Russia!” said Siva. But the group made it to second place — a huge achievement. Indian teams have been participating for many years, but nobody has made it to the top three until now.

“Robots find their role in anything from making cars to packing pickles. There is a new wave in the school education system that is recently coming up — robotics for school children,” says Godwin Varghese, director, Development and Operations, Techknowledge Education.

The competition, however, had to be funded by the students themselves, and building a robot over months and a trip to Russia did not come cheap. Scholarships and sponsorships could go a long way in encouraging robotics.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by Express News Service / December 10th, 2014

Celebral palsy-afflicted girl brings home prestigious national award

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Trichy :

Finding the exact day of any given date in 110 years is not an easy task for most people, but N Priyanka, a 14-year-old girl affected with cerebral palsy, can accomplish that within a five seconds. This extraordinary talent has brought national recognition to the Trichy girl, who has just got back from meeting the Indian President.

Priyanka, daughter of N Kannan and B Banu, won the ‘national award for the empowerment of persons with disabilities’ last week, presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at New Delhi. She met the collector and received accolades from the district administration and a cross-section of people on Monday.

She showed off some of her talent at the grievance day hall here in the presence of district collector Jayashree Muralidharan, instantly calculating the day for the dates mentioned between 1941 and 2050. Her questioners needed to check the calendars to ascertain the answer, but Priyanka never required any outside help

Though she is affected with cerebral palsy and mental retardation, this Class 8 student of Ramakrishna middle school in Puthur has an extraordinary memory power. The discovery of her talent was purely accidental. Her mother, K Banu, tells the story, which took place sometime in June this year.

“I was trying to figure out the day of August 17, 2014 to apply for a leave to attend a function. To my surprise, my daughter said that it was Sunday within a few seconds. When I cross checked with the calendar, her answer was perfectly correct,” she said, who is a caretaker in a private school in the city.

Unlike some normal people who have such talent, but who may have to depend on some formula to find out the day, Priyanka relies solely on her memory power.

When her teacher asked her how she could find out the answer within a fraction of second, she simply said with a smile, “I don’t know, madam.”

She is also capable of listing out the dates of a day in all weeks in a month. For instance, if we want to know the dates of ‘Wednesday’ in a month, she will list out the dates within few seconds.

Her father Kannan, who is an auto rickshaw driver, proudly says that this is only the first step for his daughter, ahead of a brilliant future.

“It takes only two to three seconds for my daughter to find out the days. I feel her talent can help children like her. My aim is to make her a doctor to serve the poor people,” said Kannan.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / December 09th, 2014

A Trip down history lane for school students

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Coimbatore :

R Rajeshwari, a Class 9 student from Selvapuram had never been on any trip, not even to VOC Park in the city. But all that changed on Wednesday, when she was taken to six places of historical importance in the city.

She was not alone. Sixty other children from various schools run by the city corporation also went on the trip. But what made the trip more memorable was the fact that Archana Patnaik, district collector, A K Vishwananath, commissioner of city police and K Vijayakarthikeyan, corporation commissioner accompanied them on the bus.

“We are not taken on trips like other private schools. I was surprised that Coimbatore had so many heritage buildings,” said Pandi Selvi, a Class 9 student. The trip was organised as part of the Coimbatore Day celebrations by the city corporation.

Students visited the Athar Jama Masjid that was built in 1904, Durglal Pickles which is an 80 year old shop, the clock tower built in 1928 on the big bazaar street, the residence of Rao bahadur and A T Venkataswamy Mudaliar which is now the Tamil Nadu Merchantile Bank on Big Bazaar Street, Delite Theatre on Variety Hall road and Coimbatore cloth merchants association training school on Raja street.

The bureaucrats seemed to have as much fun as the children as they interacted with them, cracked jokes and got to know more about the city. Many were surprised to know that south India’s first movie theatre was the variety hall theatre in the city. “It is now called the Delite theatre,” said C R Elangovan, city based historian and a writer, who was their tour guide.

For Madhan of Class 11, it was an experience of his life time, travelling with the top officials of the city and learning about its heritage and culture. “These officials are my inspiration. I have got their autographs and will definitely frame them,” said Madhan.

A photo exhibition aimed at recalling the city’s vivid 200 year history was also inaugurated at the corporation office. Industrialists, members of non-governmental organisations, government officials and the children visited the exhibition. The exhibition showcased pictures of Swamikannu Vincent who brought electricity to the city. He also built the Delite theatre.

Pictures of Rao Bahadur ATT Mudaliar, member of the first family of Coimbatore and municipaality chairman, M G Arogayaswamy Pillai, Coimbatore chairman from 1830 till 1891 and Moses Gnanabaranam Pillai, who built the first eye hospital in the city, were also displayed at the exhibition.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore /  TNN / November 27th, 2014

IIT-Madras shows the way in low-cost housing

Business & Economy, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

With real estate prices and cost of construction on the rise, owning a house in cities remains a dream for the middle class. But it might soon be a thing of the past, courtesy IIT Madras and its efforts to popularize the cost-effective, rapid and eco-friendly method of construction using Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) panels.

After the successful construction of a two-storey building at the IIT campus in June this year using GFRG panels, experts from the civil engineering department of the institute are close to an agreement with Tata Housing Development Corporation Ltd to build a housing project at Boisar, a suburb in Mumbai, for low-income groups.

The GFRG building method essentially uses glass fibres and specially calcined gypsum plaster to make the regular panel stronger and water resistant.

According to Shinto Paul, structural design engineer for the GFRG building at IIT-M and PhD scholar at the civil engineering department, the foundation for the building is laid in the regular manner and GFRG panels are used for erecting the remaining superstructure with minimum concrete usage except at the joints and cavities of the panel. Once the foundation is constructed and the panels are erected, the main structure can be built in a few days.

However, while using GFRG panels, all floors should ideally have the same floor plan. Curved structures and domes are best avoided or concrete can be used for such areas.

“The rapid low-cost housing project is headed in the right direction and we are in talks with Tata Housing to use the technology for mass housing projects. We are also collaborating with various state governments and housing structures are already being built in Kerala using this technique.” said Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras.

A senior official with Tata Housing confirmed the development and said the pilot project discussions were under way. The pilot module of the Boisar project consists of nine buildings, each with five floors and eight apartments on each floor. After the construction of the pilot module, the project may be scaled up with more buildings. It is estimated that the total cost of construction will be limited to less than 1,200 per sqft.

“We have been getting numerous enquiries about the project after the completion of the demo building at our campus,” said A Meher Prasad, head of the department of civil engineering, IIT Madras. The 1,981sqft two-storeyed building at the IIT campus, with two one-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments, was completed in just a month at a cost of 24 lakh.

“We are constructing a 54-unit housing building for Kerala government at Chottanikara at a cost of 1,000 per sqft. The idea is to bring down the cost of constructing the structure and the customer can choose the remaining accessories and fittings,” said Shinto Paul.

As of now, the GFRG panels are being manufactured at FACT-RCF Building Products Ltd (FRBL) in Kochi, a joint venture between The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mumbai. Proposals have been mooted to the Union government and more manufacturing units for GFRG panels are expected to be set up across the country to further scale down the transportation cost of the panels.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Binoy Valsan, TNN / November 24th, 2014