The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras is hosting a science awareness workshop for higher secondary students on February 24 and 25.
The workshop, organized by IIT-Madras in association with the Federation of Science Clubs of Tamil Nadu (FSCT) and the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, will be based on the theme, ‘Science and Engineering – A Journey.’
The workshop will introduce recent developments and applications of science and engineering and is expected to help students shape their careers.
A total of 250 students from government, aided, Anglo Indian, matriculation, CBSE, and international schools, and those run by the Chennai Corporation will be registered on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis.
IIT-Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi will speak to the students on the challenges and career prospects in physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering design, biotechnology, electrical, chemical, mechanical and aerospace engineering disciplines. Participants will also get an opportunity to visit the laboratories and state-of-the-art research facilities at IIT-Madras.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / b y M. Ramya, TNN / February 17th, 2014
Village Health Nurses with the free laptops they received to compile data on women and childcare in Villupuram district / The Hindu
At a function held recently at Kallakurichi near here Rural Industries Minister P. Mohan handed over the free laptops to the Village Health Nurses (VHNs).
Now, it is the turn of the Village Health Nurses (VHNs) attached to the sub-Primary Health Centres in Villupuram district to get on the technological bandwagon with free laptops. Besides taking care of pregnant women and child births they would have to hereafter collect and feed data on these aspects to their higher-ups in the headquarters. To facilitate this they have been provided with laptops.
At a function held recently at Kallakurichi near here Rural Industries Minister P. Mohan handed over the free laptops to the VHNs. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, driven by the motive to make available the best healthcare, had launched many schemes and the distribution of free laptops to the VHNs was one such scheme. The VHNs were serving as the vital link to the rural people, particularly women and children, in the health care delivery system. It was enjoined upon them to impress upon the rural people about the safety of institutional delivery. Mr. Mohan said that for framing the health policy it was essential to gather the statistics on number of pregnancies occurring within a given period in a particular village, how many child births take place in the PHCs, the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate and so on.
The laptops would help the Health Department to take immediate corrective measures, wherever necessary.
The Minister further said that in Villupuram district so far 36,875 women were benefited to the tune of Rs. 40.75 crore.Mr. Mohan called upon the VHNs to intensify the health awareness drive among the people within their jurisdiction. Collector V. Sampath and others were present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Villupuram – February 18th, 2014
The initiative will mark 100 years of the college’s existence
One of the oldest colleges in the country, Queen Mary’s College, plans to go solar soon, to commemorate the 100 year of its existence.
Hemamalini Rajagopal, head, physics department, said the college will begin with installing 15 solar streetlights inside the campus, and then work towards making the administrative buildings completely solar.
“Companies like Mahindra have come forward to help us. We have approached some companies for solar panels for the main building first,” she said.
Ms. Rajagopal said the project will take shape in phases over the next two years.
To mark the centenary year of the college, students, volunteers and staff members will start landscaping of the college campus soon to make it look greener and cleaner, said Maria Preethi Srinivasan of the English department.
As part of the celebrations, alumni and students of the college will bring out a coffee table book that will have details about the history of the college, interviews of alumni and old pictures.
“The college has seen much, from two world wars to several social struggles. The effort is to capture its transition from an institution built for the elite to one that serves the poorest of the poor,” said Prof. Srinivasan.
Among the highlights is a multi-lingual choir to be performed by students of the college. “Our focus has been on celebrating the multiculturalism on campus. Even recently, the guests at a seminar were greeted in six different languages,” she said.
Celebrations for the centenary year began last year with a sing-along event by the alumni. “We are also coming out with memoirs that can be sponsored or afforded by everyone. The event is a clarion call for every QMCian to chip in,” said Nithya Balaji, a committee member of the college’s Old Student’s Association.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vasudha Venugopal / Chennai – February 21st, 2014
A PhD student from Bodi in Theni district has become the first woman from Tamil Nadu to bag the prestigious Bharat Siksha Ratan award.
U Umadevi (26) daughter of Dr Umakanthan, a veterinary surgeon is a research scholar at the Krishnammal College in Coimbatore. She has six patents in her pocket for drug designs including four for potentiators. She was instrumental in establishing a new branch in science called potentiology.
According to her, the wonder chemicals known as ‘potentiators’ discovered by her with the help of her father can enhance the performance of almost anything from vehicle fuel, cement, rubber and also reduce emission to a large extent.
“When mixed with petrol or diesel it enhances the performance of the latest engines known as multipoint fuel ingestion engines by 12% and that of older engines more. Emission is also reduced by 60 to 90%, reducing the exhaust and also the NOS and hydrocarbons and this has been proven at laboratory level,” she said.
When mixed with cement, it increases the strength of the concrete compression by 36% hence reducing the use of cement by an equal amount. Similarly, the tensile strength of rubber is enhanced by 42% so the durability of rubber goes up so much. When mixed with chicken feed, the broilers harvested in six weeks show just two per cent fat in their body while that of the normal broilers show 20 per cent. When sprayed on cigarettes and then inhaled, the nicotine levels in the cigarettes are reduced by nearly 90%, she said.
She was awarded the Bharat Siksha Ratan award given by the Global Society for Health and Education at a glittering function in New Delhi recently. She received the award from former Tamil Nadu governor Bhishma Narain Singh in the presence of Dr G V G Krishnamurthy (former election commissioner of India), Sardar Joginder Singh (former CBI director). Umadevi says she is proud to be the recipient of this prestigious award and that serving the nation is her vision in life.
Her father adds that they have six different types of potentiators for which they have patents for four. “We have approached major rubber manufacturers and cement industries with this chemical and explained its benefits, but they are not so happy with it. Some of them openly told us that we were finding means to reduce their business and not develop it. This is a really low-cost chemical which would be affordable and economical,” he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / February 18th, 2014
Coimbatore Collector Archana Patnaik inspecting the Forest Department-runtribal school in Top Slip./ by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Wild Wing Trust plans to groom students to adapt to urban environment
For the students in Classes V, VI, VII and VIII in the Forest Department’s tribal middle school in the middle of forest in Top Slip, students have been having teachers from across the globe. The students and teachers meet at the predetermined time, watch and listen to one another, engage in the teaching-learning process and sign out for the day to catch up the next day for the next lesson.
This interaction among the tribal students and teachers across the globe had been made possible with the active involvement of Wild Wing Trust and support of eVidyaloka, an online organisation that facilitates e-learning.
Wild Wing Trust’s Managing Trustee C. Saravanan said that the organisation’s volunteers decided to help the tribal children after studying the forest and tribal community for long and coming to the conclusion in their education and empowerment lay the future of the forest.
The volunteers started off by visiting the school on weekends to help the children by providing cots, books, etc and meeting their other requirements. But that did not bring about the expected change. It was then that they decided to partner with eVidyaloka to improve the teaching-learning process.
With the help of software and other professionals from Coimbatore who worked abroad and were willing to teach the children, the Trust volunteers provided television sets, network connectivity to bring together the children and the teachers through a video conferencing system.
The online teachers complemented the teachers at the school in that they shared the teaching but provided additional resources like showing video clips, demonstrations, etc. to the students to help them understand better. Mr. Saravanan said that the online teachers also stuck to the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus.
And, the result of the online intervention has been good. Headmistress Vanaja Durairaj said that the students’ commitment towards had improved. “They listen more, study well and also come well groomed to the school.”
The Wild Wing Trust did not stop with that, though. It also took a group of students, who were interested in sports, to interact with cricketer Rahul Dravid in Bangalore. “This was part of our confidence building measure.”
The Trust’s next plan was to groom the students to adapt to urban environment so that they did not drop out of school when they head to the plains to pursue Class IX and X. Field Director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) Rajiv K. Srivastava and Range Officer Xavier recently infused more life into the school by sourcing more teachers and bringing in more activities for the children.
The old building had been renovated to provide an ideal ambience. Forest Department sources said that they were encouraging the new teaching-learning activity so that the tribal children received quality education.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Karthik Madhavan / Coimbatore – February 17th, 2014
Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam having a word with S. Sunderrajan director of National Institute of Technology in Tiruchi on Wednesday. / Photo: A. Muralitharan / The Hindu
Laying primacy on innovation and creativity, the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday said that in the next 20 years India would grow in a big way in the knowledge society.
Innovation and creativity would result in a culture of excellence which would help in further elevating the country, Mr. Kalam said speaking at the National Institute of Technology here.
“Today knowledge is power and if you are creative you are the winner”, the former President said.
Noting that institutions would be judged by their creativity and innovation, Mr. Kalam exhorted students to aspire for attaining excellence without getting deterred by failures.
Universities and national institutions should prepare citizens of future with global outlook capable of strengthening the nation. Facing a new world, institutions should foster team spirit and carry out joint projects that would bring together multiple faculties and enable minds to integrate thereby, he said.
Today synergy was the mandate and working together would ultimately lead to sustainable development which was very much required, he said. Ignited mind of youth was the most powerful resource which the nation should make use of, he said. Increased student–faculty interaction would enable the young minds to expand their knowledge.
Earlier, Dr. Kalam honoured 15 distinguished alumni of the institution by presenting awards to each one of them. He inaugurated the golden jubilee science block on the occasion and interacted with students.
The Director, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, S. Sundarrajan, welcomed the gathering.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Staff Reporter / Tiruchi – February 27th, 2014
Aarthi Rathnasabapathi / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
It was a dream come true for Aarthi Rathnasabapathi at the Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland.
I was born and brought up in a beautiful and pleasant township of Udumalpet, near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. I completed my schooling in a reputed school where my chemistry teacher was my source of inspiration. My area of interest was science, science and only science. While searching for science- related courses, I enrolled myself in Industrial Biotechnology at an institute in in Sathyamangalam. I completed my undergraduate degree with distinction and then decided to pursue my higher studies in my chosen area of Biological sciences in United Kingdom. I began researching on most institutions that would meet my requirements and ended up at Edinburgh Napier University. Their on-campus facilities, academic atmosphere and the enriching international student community atmosphere in the university was excellent. I got admission at the institution’s Drug Design and Biomedical Science programme.
Edinburgh Napier University, which is located in Scotland’s capital city, imparts good quality technical education in allied fields of research and technology. The most fascinating part of the programme for me were the modules on drug design, toxicology, Immunology and Biotechnology and Drug discovery. The course was geared more towards research than analytical study and I enjoyed how both theory and laboratory classes were equally distributed in the modules.
I still remember the models that my drug design module professor used to bring to class. Those drug models not only improved my imagination but also explained clearly about the drug-drug interactions. I never missed my toxicology classes, because of my professor and the way he made each class interactive and interesting. I loved the questions and answer sessions and group discussions after every class, which allowed me to grow in confidence and share my views and ideas to the group.
At each and every stage, we had course-works, poster and power-point presentations. With the help and guidance of my professors, I received distinction for my poster presentation on SiRNA technology and by the end of my academic programme, I realised my dream of designing a prodrug for cancer with the help of my professor Dr David Mincher.
Completing my masters, I started my career as a Research Assistant in Edinburgh Napier University where I continued my intense research in designing macromolecular prodrugs for cancer. At the end of nine months of my research at the university, I received an offer from Lab901 and worked on quantification of DNA and RNA using TapeStation. After my short-term experience with Lab901, I returned to India and joined as a Scientist in the Discovery biology division of Anthem Biosciences, Bangalore.
At present, I am working on the screening of chemical entities for various diseases especially on cancer cell lines. With two years of experience at Anthem, I found myself specialised in assay biology sector in performing and optimizing various in-vitro assays and other confidential in-house projects.
I would proudly say that my master’s education had given me a strong foundation for my future PhD in the field of drug discovery on cancer.
Email: aarthirathan@gmail.com
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Education Plus> Colleges / by Aarthi Rathnasabapathi / Chennai – February 16th, 2014
Helmut Gensler, a physical disability teacher-cum-trainer spoke at a workshop at MSSW on disability simulation
To understand the problems of disability, one needs to experience it, said Helmut Gensler, a physical disability teacher-cum-trainer at Schule am Hofgarten in Germany.
Speaking at a workshop for disability simulation at Madras School of Social Work (MSSW), he said students should have exposure and a chance to feel and live with disability.
“I did an exercise with the students here wherein I asked them to draw a circle in one hand and write their name with the other. If you look at their handwriting, it will resemble the way spastic children write,” he said.
He added there was no one particular solution to various types of disability. “The idea is to understand each problem and see what can be done.”
Mary Angeline, head of the department of social work in MSSW, said the department was conducting another workshop on palliative care.
“Usually, only doctors and nurses are involved in providing palliative care. But that may not suffice and social workers need to be roped in to focus on the caregivers as they also work on the psychosocial aspect of an individual,” she added.
The workshops were organised as a precursor to a two-day International Social Work Conference which will be held at Hotel Hablis in the city on February 7 and 8. At the conference, scholars and social work practitioners will deliberate, share their research and best practise models in the field of social work.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – February 07th, 2014
The Department of Economics attached to the Thiruvalluvar University, here, in association with the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai, is hosting a three-day national conference on ‘Economic thoughts in classical Tamil literature,’ from February 5 on its campus at Serkkadu near here.
According to Dr C Dhandapani, the conference organiser attached to the university, while many fora in the country had been organised to discuss the westernised economic theories and thoughts, for the first time an attempt had been made to explore the economic theories propagated in the classical Tamil literature.
The three-day national conference would also dwell at length on the contribution of economic thoughts madeby the Sangam literature.
Students of Tamil language and Economics, faculties, research scholars, academicians and experts from across the country are expected to participate in the conference.
Dhandapani also said that over 70 research papers would be presented during the conference.
Former vice-chancellor of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Dr Vedagiri Shanmughasundram will inaugurate the conference on February 5 while the vice-chancellor of Bharathidasan university in Tiruchy Dr C Thangamuthu will deliver the valedictory address on February 7.
The vice- chancellor of the Thiruvalluvar University Dr Gunasekaran will preside over on the occasion.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Vellore / February 04th, 2014
Students of P S Senior Secondary School in Mylapore won the third edition of the Times Science Quiz held in Chennai on Wednesday. After two years of missing the trophy, S Abhinav and V Thejas qualified, maintained a lead and won this year.
“We have a special interest in science quizzes and that is why we have been at this event every year,” said Thejas, a Class 11 student of P S School.
More than 1,200 participants from 70 schools across Chennai competed in the written preliminary round. Six teams made it to the final round of the quiz held at Chinmaya Heritage Centre in Chetpet.
“It was a wonderful experience to be part of the quiz. This time, it was pretty challenging but we managed to maintain the lead throughout because of our preparations,” said Thejas.
Quiz master Akshya Ananth held the audience rapt with his ready wit. Pranav Krishnan and R Amrodh of PSBB School in Nungambakkam were the first runners-up.
The event was held by The Times of India in association with Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Group. Sriram Rajagopal, vice president, HR at Cognizant, Annamalai Regupathy, managing director of Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Group; Meenakshi Annamalai, director of Karpaga Vinayaga Educational Group; P Venkatesh, co-founder and director product, Maveric Systems; and Ninan Thariyan, vice-president, The Times Group, participated in the event.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai> Schools / TNN / January 30th, 2014
