Category Archives: Education

IIT-M Joins Hands With CERN To Explore Secrets of Universe

Education, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Chennai :

Led by an expert who was part of the ATLAS experiment that helped find the God Particle, Higgs Boson, by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras has become a full member of a collaboration with the Geneva-based organisation in search of the structure of the universe.

While reputed institutions including TIFR, BARC and a few others have been partnering with CERN, IIT-M is the first IIT to come on board of the prestigious LHC experiment.

According to Prafulla Kumar Behera, associate professor with the department of physics, this initiative will help the institute strengthen its capabilities in fundamental research. “CERN is home to a lot of innovations, including the world wide web. This collaboration is like a bridge that would connect us to the highest level of scientific research while offering them our talent and expertise,” Behera told The New Indian Express.

Besides him, another faculty, James Libby, and two PhD scholars have come on board on the CMS collaboration.

Behera was part of the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus), one of the many particle detector experiments at the LHC particle accelarator, for half a decade till 2011 before returning to India to take up the job at IIT-M.

The collaboration will be on CMS or Compact Muon Solenoid, a particle detector that is designed to see a wide range of particles and phenomena produced during high-energy collisions in the LHC. This information is believed to hold answers to questions like what the universe is really made of, what forces act within in and what gives everything substance.

Behera has previously worked on silicon pixel detector, a sophisticated technology used primarily in fundamental scientific research, which is not available in India. “We would like to collaborate and develop Indian expertise so that by the time the plant is upgraded by 2020 as has been planned, there will be substantial contribution from our country,” said Behera, who returned from CERN a week ago.

The silicon pixel detector has uses outside the limits of fundamental scientific research, including medical purposes like advanced imaging, he said, pointing out that Indian industries could manufacture the detector in the coming years.

While the team from Chennai will be placed at CERN during the summer, the idea is to collaborate from here by using grid computing to access data generated at the labs in Geneva. Grid computing facility has already been networked till TIFR, Mumbai, which will be expanded to south India, he added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / November 23rd, 2014

Award of merit for educationalist

Education, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

This is a significant year for India and Australia to build bilateral relations and strengthen economic ties between the countries, Patrick Suckling, Australian High Commissioner to India, said here on Saturday.

He was in Chennai to present the Indo-Australian Award for Meritorious Service to Elizabeth Varghese, chairperson, Hindustan Group of Institutions.

Highlighting the significant aspects of recent meetings between Prime Ministers of India and Australia, Mr. Suckling said their mutual visits helped to intensify the relations between the countries.

Drawing comparison between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, he said both were deeply committed to values and development. Pointing out that several agreements were signed for sustainable development, Mr. Suckling said mutual contributions by the communities in both the countries were also significant. He lauded Ms. Varghese for her achievements in male-dominated fields and also for her pioneering work in the engineering and education fields.

Accepting the award and citation given by the Indo-Australian Association and Australian Consulate General, Chennai, Ms. Varghese said, “This award is recognition for my work in the fields.”

Deputy Consul General to South India Stuart Campbell and Indo-Australian Association’s vice-president Eugenie Pinto also spoke.

The Indo-Australian Award for Meritorious Service was presented to Elizabeth Varghese of the Hindustan Group of Institutions

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 23rd, 2014

100 Years of German in India

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Chennai :

To commemorate the 100 years of German language teaching in India, the Indo-German Teachers’ Association (InDaF) and the Goethe-Institut Chennai are organising a conference for German teachers. The two-day conference, which is to be held on November 24 and 25, will be inaugurated on November 23 at Hotel Ramada, Egmore.

More than 100 German teachers from South India are expected to participate in the conference. The conference will have lectures, workshops, presentations by publishers and a discussion. Experts from India, Germany and Austria will offer presentations that will touch a variety of topics relevant to German teachers engaged in schools, language institutes and universities.For details, e-mail Susanna.Magesh@chennai.goethe.org

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / November 22nd, 2014

Central Library, a book lovers’ paradise

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
The new stock of books readying for distribution to other libraries in the district at the Thanthai Periyar E.V.R. District Central Library, in Vellore, Tamilnadu. Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy / The Hindu
The new stock of books readying for distribution to other libraries in the district at the Thanthai Periyar E.V.R. District Central Library, in Vellore, Tamilnadu. Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy / The Hindu

Infantry Road in Vellore is home to a treasure trove of knowledge. It is here that the District Central Library has been functioning since the late 1950s.

Keeping in tune with the growing needs of the day, the library has recently started a separate section for persons with disabilities and expanded its facility adding a section with books for civil services aspirants, officials said.

Named after Thanthai Periyar E.V.R, the library was started in a small building in 1951. In 1956, the then Chief Minister K. Kamaraj laid the foundation stone for the present building, which was inaugurated in 1959. Today, the library boasts of 1.57 lakh books. It has 26,622 members and 286 patrons.

Every day, People visit the Thanthai Periyar E.V.R. District Central Library, Vellore, to read newspapers and periodicals. Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy / The Hindu
Every day, People visit the Thanthai Periyar E.V.R. District Central Library, Vellore, to read newspapers and periodicals. Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy / The Hindu

“ We have books in Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Hindu and English across different subjects. We get 186 periodicals and 18 newspapers,” said J. Ravi, district central librarian, Thanthai Periyar EVR District Central Library.

Every day, nearly 850 readers visit the library, while a total of 225 books are lent and 2,450 books are referred. The library also stores bulletins and gazettes from 1983.

The library follows the Colon Classification method that is based on alphabets and certain sub-classes. “This is an easy method of classification. Every year, we add at least 15,000 books to the library that is both through purchase and donation,” he added.

For civil services

In June this year, a new section was opened on the first floor for civil services and reference books at a cost of Rs. 64 lakh were added. The separate section for persons with disabilities has five to six wheelchairs. Television, DVD facility and computers are also available. “We have Braille books for the visually challenged and plans are in the offing to obtain a Braille software,” Mr. Ravi said.

There is a branch library for women, a separate section for children with internet facility. K. Anandan, district library officer, said, “The District Central Library is located at the heart of the town and hence, has a good reach among people. It is very spacious unlike most of the central libraries in other districts.”

Vellore has a total of 67 branch libraries, 69 village libraries and 42 part-time libraries. “We are tying up with the School Education department to encourage students to become members. We will be visiting schools to enrol students personally,” he added.

R. Dayalan, an artist, has been visiting the central library for 10 years. “I spend an entire day every week at the library reading short stories, periodicals and literature. There are many others who spend more time here,” he said.

Mr. Ravi noted that they have visitors from Chittoor and Bangalore too.

National Library Week

As part of the National Library Week celebrations (Nov 14 to 20), several programmes have been held at the central library, including competitions for students.

The library functions from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Persons interested in becoming patrons, can pay Rs. 1,000, while it is Rs. 5,000 for big patrons and 10,000 for donors.

The money goes into a fixed deposit and the interest is used for development of libraries, Mr. Anandan said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Puducherry / by Serene Josephine M / Vellore – November 21st, 2014

T.N. partners with MIT

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

5 projects have been identified for evaluation

Leading development economists and social scientists across the world are likely to take part in the formulation and evaluation of various schemes in the State in sectors such as school education, health, poverty alleviation and skill development.

To facilitate this, the State government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Abdul Latif Jameel–Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the U.S., and the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), Chennai, the host institute for J-PAL in India, according to an official release issued on Wednesday.

The J-PAL, headquartered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has more than 100 affiliated professors from top universities, including MIT, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, London School of Economics and IIM- Ahmedabad.

Initially, five projects have been identified for evaluation — primary school education interventions, youth labour market outcomes, healthy habits to reduce the burden on non-communicable diseases, engaging women to improve breastfeeding outcomes and weekly iron folic acid supplementation and school anaemia monitoring.

The J-PAL would assist the government in building internal capacity to carry out monitoring and evaluation of the ongoing or new schemes.

The MoU was signed by S. Krishnan, Principal Secretary (Planning, Development and Special Initiatives), and Shobini Mukherji, Executive Director, J-PAL, South Asia, in the presence of Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 20th, 2014

Wildlife institute nears completion

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Uncategorized

Reproductive biology, animal care sciences, conservation ecology and a wildlife forensic lab will form part of the institute

An advanced institute for wildlife conservation, research, training and education is nearing completion in Vandalur, near the zoo.

Forest department sources said an announcement in this regard was made last year. The government had sanctioned Rs. 27.13 crore for establishing the institute.

Taking up research to aid the survival and recovery of species and their habitats, exclusive breeding programmes by creating captive breeding centres, training youth on conservation, finding solutions for man-animal conflict, advanced training for zoo management and captive breeding are some of the main objectives of the institute.

Reproductive biology, animal care sciences, conservation ecology with a field station in Kanyakumari, conservation education, centre for conservation and evolutionary genetics, migratory birds, species survival and a wildlife forensic lab will form part of the institute.

The first consultative meeting to develop a road map for the institute was held on October 13, on the zoo premises.

More than 20 forest service officers participated.

In the future, the institute will offer courses on wildlife conservation.

A sum of Rs. 7.13 crore will be spent on the building, and Rs. 20 crore on developing infrastructure, different centres and laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by P. Oppili / Chennai – November 12th, 2014

Engineering heritage centre opened

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies

An engineering heritage centre has been established at Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Thandalam near Sriperumbudur to showcase the growth of various branches of engineering. The centre was inaugurated by A. Sivathanu Pillai, managing director of BrahMos Aerospace recently. Dr. Pillai, distinguished scientist, Defence Research and Development Organisation, traced the development of space and missile technology in India under the leadership of Vikram Sarabhai and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

He appreciated students’ effort in fabricating and displaying various engineering gadgets and emphasised that creative and innovative thinking was the need of the hour. “A strong industry-institute interaction and joint patents should be part of core activity in any technical institution” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 15th, 2014

Gandhigram University scientists save tree from extinction

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All

Madurai :

If researchers at Gandhigram university are successful in their endeavour, the rudraksha tree, which is endemic to the Western Ghats, can soon be saved from extinction.

Researchers from the university have germinated seeds of the species ‘Elaeocarpus blascoi Weibel’ under laboratory conditions and the saplings reared by them are slowly taking root in their natural habitat of the shola forests in the Western Ghats.

According to Dr Raju Ramasubbu, professor in the department of biology at the Gandhigram Rural Institute, there are 250 species of the rudraksha tree in the world, of which 25 are found in India. Eleven of the 25 are confined to the Western Ghats, and 10 can be seen only in the Palani Hills, Dindigul district. Fruits from the subspecies ‘Elaeocarpus sphaericus’ are used as beads to make rosaries, necklaces and bracelets.

Dr Ramasubbu and his student Felix Irudhayaraj were alarmed at the fact that only a single ‘Elaeocarpus blascoi’ tree was found in the Palani hills when they undertook a study on the trees, which are on the red list of the International Union for Consevation of Nature (IUCN). The study on ‘E. blascoi’ was conducted from July 2012 to May 2014, and was published in the October 26 issue of the ‘Journal of Threatened Taxa’.

On reason for the tree facing extinction is that nuts take very long to germinate due to their hard cover. A mature tree takes 15 years to start flowering and grows to a height of 20 meters. This large evergreen tree was found in the Bear Shola in the Palani Hills in 1970. But another report published in 1999 said it had become extinct. Later, a lone tree was spotted in 2000.

After confirming that the species was staring at extinction, they went to the mother tree and collected seeds. Many seeds were found viable but had not germinated. Some were too old or affected by fungus, and there were no saplings near the mother tree.

The researchers took the seeds to their laboratory and were successful in germinating 80% of them. They planted four saplings that were two- and-a-half months old in an isolated spot in its natural habitat and are happy with the way they are growing. “We visit the spot twice a month and check their growth,” Dr Ramasubbu said.

The researchers collected tissue from the shoots of the mother tree and are culturing them. If successful, they plan to plant more trees in their natural habitat as it aids seed germination, which would help remove the species from the IUCN ‘red list’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / November 12th, 2014

Erode girls win handball championship

Education, Sports
The triumphant Erode handball team receiving the prize fromM. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, in Tiruchi on Sunday.
The triumphant Erode handball team receiving the prize fromM. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, in Tiruchi on Sunday.

Erode clinched the title in the State sub-junior handball championship for girls, which concluded here on Sunday.

The two-day tournament, played for the M.A.M. Rolling Trophy, was jointly organised by Tamil Nadu Handball Association (TNHBA), Tiruchi District Handball Association (TDHBA), and M.A.M. Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

Teams from 24 districts took part in the tournament that was played on knockout basis.

Erode defeated Tiruvannamalai in the final. Thanjavur got the better of Coimbatore in the third place playoff. R. Vimala of Tiruchi and S. Amirtha Varshini of Erode were adjudged best player and best goalkeeper respectively.

M. Ramasubramani, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, and president, Handball Federation of India, gave away the prizes in the presence of A. Saravanan, general secretary, TNHBA; M.A. Mohamed Nizam, secretary, MAM Group of Institutions; M.A. Fathima Mansoor, correspondent of the school; S. Amala Ruban, principal; SP. Annamalai, president, TDHBA; and R. Karunakaran, secretary.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Tiruchi – November 11th, 2014

Blue Boys Team of Fathima School Invent Water Alarm

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Science & Technologies

BlueBoysMPOs11nov2014

Chennai :

To create environmental awareness in Saidapet, three teams — the Eco-friendly, the Blue Boys and the Go-Green — were started in Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

The Blue Boys team contributed with a water alarm.  Afrith of Class 10 invented the alarm.

One day when Afrith was alone at home, he saw water overflowing from the tank, which led to the invention.  He decided to create an alarm to alert people when water overflows from the tank.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by Express News Service / November 11th, 2014