PPISR observed National Science Day on March 01, 2024, under the theme of Science and Technology Advancements. The event commenced at 10:30 am with a warm welcome from program coordinator Dr. Ananda K. This was followed by the esteemed presence of our revered director Dr. A. B. Halgeri and our chief guest Dr. Nagesh Kini, Co-founder and CTO at Vimano Inc. and Dr. Ganapati V. Shanbhag (Dean of Academics & HoD), along with other invited speakers, guests, faculty, and students, graced the occasion. The event’s tone was set by the invocation led by Ms. AshaDevi. Dr. A. B. Halgeri delivered the welcome address, sharing insights into the significance of National Science Day and recounting his memories of Sir C. V. Raman’s presence at Bangalore Central College. The inauguration ceremony was conducted by our chief guest, Dr. Nagesh Kini, who illuminated the ceremonial lamp.
Session I:
The scientific talks commenced with an invited presentation by our chief guest, Dr. Nagesh Kini, titled “Developing Businesses Based on Cutting-Edge Technologies: Ecosystem Issues in India.” Dr. Kini provided insight into his company’s profile and addressed the challenges related to academia-industry collaboration for innovation within the Indian context. As a token of appreciation, our Director facilitated the guest.
The session continued with a talk by our in-house speaker and faculty member, Dr. Ganapati V. Shanbhag Dean of Academics, HoD of Materials Sciences and Catalysis division, addressing “Ozone Layer Depletion and the Application of Ozone in Chemical Synthesis.” This presentation highlighted the historical context of ozone, its discovery, evolution, and the significance of both good and bad ozone in climate change and chemical synthesis. Following this, Dr. Sanjeev P. Maradur, Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Catalysis, presented “A Tribute to Dr. Srinivasa Sourirajan: Father of Reverse Osmosis,” focusing on the technology’s contribution to providing clean drinking water to the world’s growing population. Dr. Maradur detailed the pioneering work of Prof. Srinivas Sourirajan in developing the reverse osmosis process, crucial for converting seawater into drinkable water, and explored its various applications. This was succeeded by a presentation titled “Unlocking Opportunities: Carbon Capture and Utilization Strategies” by Mr. Manjunath Reddy, a Research Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Catalysis. Mr. Reddy discussed the impact of carbon emissions and underscored the importance of carbon capture for ensuring a sustainable environment.
The morning session was Chaired by Dr. R. Vetrivel, Honorary Professor, Materials Science and Catalysis division, PPISR.
Session II:
The second session was started afternoon and first talk was given by invited speaker Dr. Urmi Bandyopadhyay, Ramalingaswamy Fellow, Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, MAHE, Bengaluru on “Lysosome in Novel Nutrient Homeostasis: From Degradation to Disorder”. The speaker unveiled about her lab investigations based on how the little recycling centers in our cells play an important role in maintaining the right balance of nutrients and what happens when they don’t work as they should, leading to potential health issues. Our director honored the speaker for accepting our invitation and her efforts in sharing knowledge to PPISR audience. This talk was followed by a talk by Mr. Mallikarjun M, Research Scholar, Biological Sciences division about “Cinderella of Genetics: A story about fruit fly”. He informed the audience about the importance of research on fruit fly to advance the knowledge about various biological phenomenon.
Dr.Ananda, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences Division Chaired this session.
Session III:
An invited presentation was given by Mr. Animesh Aryan, CEO of Taqbit Labs Pvt Ltd Bengaluru, on the topic of “Interfacing Quantum Information Science and Technology.” During his talk, Mr. Aryan introduced his company’s products and services to the audience, emphasizing the importance of quantum research in advancing our data-driven world. Our director honored the speaker for accepting our invitation and his efforts in sharing knowledge to PPISR audience. Following Mr. Aryan’s presentation, Mr. Shubhodeep Gangopadhyay, a Research Scholar in Theoretical Sciences, delivered a talk titled “Magic in Non-linear Dynamics.” He engaged the audience by explaining the concept of non-linearity through practical examples and discussed the future prospects of applying non-linear principles in various fields.
This session was chaired by Dr. Sujit Sarkar, Associate professor, Theoretical Sciences.
The proceedings of the whole conference was prepared by Dr. Ganapati V Shanbhag and presented to the audience at the end of the conference. Our Director Dr. A. B. Halgeri distributed certificates of appreciation for all the speakers from PPISR.
The National Science Day celebrations at PPISR concluded with a Vote of Thanks delivered by Dr. Ganapati V. Shanbhag.
The PPISR family would like to extend their gratitude to Dr. Ganapati V. Shanbhag, the overall coordinator of the National Science Day program, for his dedication in liaising with invited speakers, efficiently organizing the entire schedule, and ensuring the successful execution of the program.