"When it comes to health, we need to have abalanced view between health as a right andhealth as a business"

Prof. Samir K. BrahmachariChief Mentor OSDD,Director General, CSIR

website: http://www.csir.res.in

ISSN 0409-7467

VOL 62 NO 7 & 8 APRIL 2012

C O N T E N T S

CSIR NEWSCSIR NEWSCSIR NEWSCSIR NEWSProgress, Promise and Prospects

NAL Transfers Radome Technology to BEL

NIO commissions Mobile laboratory

Farmers’ Fair Organized at CSIR-CIMAP

Workshops organized on Aviation Safetyand Genomic Tools in Bioremediation

Handbook on Drinking WaterTreatment Technologies Released

CSIR NEWS74

R&D HIGHLIGHTS

Synthesis and Characterisation of Nanosilica and its Subsequentuse in Calcium-Silicate Hydrate Systems at CBRI Roorkee

Nanotechnology is finding excitingapplications in the construction sector,especially for creating innovativematerials. Nanotechnology can be usedto modify the structure of materials toimprove their bulk properties such asmechanical performance, volumestability, durability and sustainability.

Dispersed, spherical particles ofnano silica (n-SiO

2) with controllable

size have been synthesised using ametal alkoxide, tetraethoxysilane, asstarting material and ammonia as thebase catalyst by sol-gel method. Theparticle size of nano silica can be wellcontrolled by adding non-ionicsurfactants. Increase in chain length ofsurfactant resulted in decreasing particlesize of silica nano particles (Fig 1).

Further, these nanoparticles wereincorporated in cement paste forcompressive strength and calciumleaching resistance. The two silicatephases of cement, tricalcium silicate anddicalcium silicate, give calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium hydroxide(CH) as hydration products. The C-S-H gel, being the main component ofcement hydration, is responsible for thestrength and microstructure of thecement paste. The amountof CH formation in cementpaste was evaluated byt h e r m o g r a v i m e t r i canalysis (TGA) duringhydration process. Thiswas characterized bydetermining the CH

residue in cement paste admixture.Further, silica fume (SF) was also addedto the cement paste for comparison.

TGA curves of pure, n-SiO2 & SF

incorporated cement pastes are shownin Figure 2 at 28 days of hydration.CH content in various cement pasteduring the hydration process is shownin Table 1.

At early stages of hydration, plaincement paste has 4.4% of CH whereas

Fig 1: SEM micrograph of n-SiO2 particles (80-200nm) prepared without surfactant(A), span 20 (B), span 40 (C) and span 60 (D)

Fig 2: TG curves of cement pastes at 28 days of hydration

L. P. Singh and Team at CBRI

A: Plain cement pasteB: SF (5%) incorporated cement pasteC: NS (5%) incorporated cement paste

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 90065

75

85

95

Weig

ht %

(%)

Temperature (°C)

C

BA

Table 1: Calcium hydroxide content (%) in cement pastes

CH content (%) at1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days

Plain cement paste 4.4 7.7 12.8 20.3

Cement + SF (5%) 2.3 5.7 9.8 16.3

Cement + n-SiO2 (5%) 0.5 3.3 5.2 8.5

APRIL 2012 75

R&D HIGHLIGHTS

SF incorporated cement paste has2.3% and n-SiO

2 incorporated paste only

0.5% CH content. During the hydration,CH forms and at 3, 7 and 28 days itamounts to 7.7%, 12.8% and 20.3%,respectively in plain cement paste.However, the CH content in SFincorporated cement paste is upto 16.3%at 28 days. n-SiO

2 has much significant

effect as compared to plain and SFincorporated cement paste and at28 days of hydration only

XRD profiles of plain cement,n-SiO

2 and SF incorporated pastes

28 days of hydration are shown inFigure 3. It is evident from XRDprofiles that the CH peak completelydisappears with the addition of n-SiO

2;

while the same is significantly presentin plain and SF incorporated cementpaste. It can be inferred from Figure3 that addition of n-SiO

2 significantly

consumes the CH produced during thehydration process. Therefore, thepozzolanic reactivity of n-SiO

2 at early

stages of hydration is significantly highand increases compressive strength atearly ages, thereby enhancing the

durability and mechanical properties ofthe cementitious materials.

SEM micrographs of plain cementpaste, SF and with n-SiO

2 (5%) at 28

days are shown in Figure 4. It wasobserved that in the microstructure ofthe plain cement paste and SFincorporated cement paste, the C-S-Hgel existed along with needle and plate

shaped hydrates ofCH. The depositedCH around the C-S-H gel is uniformlydistributed among theentire cement phase(Fig 4). However, themicrostructure of thecement paste withthe addition of n-SiO

2

revealed that theformation ofhydration productswas denser, becomessignificantly different

and shows absence of the needle shapedcrystals of CH.

The compressive strength of cementpaste containing 5% n-SiO

2 is 64%

higher at day 1 & 35% at day 28 thanthat of control cement paste. Thedifference in the strength developmentof the paste is attributed to the pozzolanicreaction of n-SiO

2 with CH and forming

additional C-S-H.It was observed from SEM, XRD

and TGA studies that addition of n-SiO

2 to cement reduced calcium

hydroxide leaching by reacting with thecement at early stage of hydration andforming additional C-S-H gel, whichenhances its mechanical strength. Itwas found that calcium hydroxidecontent in n-SiO

2 incorporated cement

paste reduced 90% at one day andupto 59% at 28 days. Therefore,addition of nanoparticles significantlyimproves the engineering properties ofthe cementitious materials.Fig 3: XRD patterns of cement pastes at 28 days of hydration

A: Plain cement pasteB: SF (5%) incorporated cement pasteC: NS (5%) incorporated cement paste

20 40 60 802-Theta [*]

Inte

nsity

(a.u

.)

16.0 18.0 20.0

Fig 4: SEM micrographs of plaincement paste (PC28), silica fumeincorporated cement paste (SF28)and nano silica incorporated cementpastes (NS28) at 28 days of hydration

C

B

A

CSIR NEWS76

AGREEMENTS/LICENSE

In a unique partnership, scientists at the NationalInstitute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology(NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, joined hands with 3DFoundry Tech Pvt. Ltd., (3DFT) a Companyincubated in the Indian Institute of TechnologyBombay, to create advanced software for metalcasting industry. The Agreement for this was signedon 26 September 2011.

A new module named FLOW+ will incorporatethe Solver of Virtual Casting software developed atNIIST. The Solver can perform coupled simulationof metal flow and solidification, enabling visualizationof mold filling sequence, changes in castingtemperature and solidification rate. This helps inprediction of casting defects such as cold shut andshrinkage porosity without shop-floor trials, savingvaluable time, energy and other costs.

FLOW+ will be a new module in AutoCAST-X,currently the most popular casting software in Indiawith about sixty licensed users in academia andindustry. AutoCAST-X is based on a geometricreasoning engine developed at IIT Bombay, allowingsemi-automatic design, 3D modeling and analysis ofcasting elements like cores, feeders, and gatingchannels. The software is currently maintained andmarketed by 3DFT.

Currently, the Indian foundry industry loses overRs. 2000 crore every year in shop-floor trials fornew castings and rejections in production castings.These losses can be reduced by computer simulationand optimization of casting designs. Unfortunately,SME foundries that constitute the majority of thefive thousand-strong foundries in India, arehandicapped by a severe shortage of trained technicalmanpower.

The NIIST-IITB scientists aim to double thepenetration of casting simulation software in Indianfoundry industry within five years by keeping thenew software affordable and easy-to-use andsupporting it with an online E-Foundry Academy.

NIIST Partners with Industry toCreate State-of-ArtCasting Software

NALSUN 27th Licence toM/s Akoni Tech Private Limited

CSIR-NAL and M/s Akoni Tech Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad signed alicense agreement on 23 January 2012 for the transfer of KnowhowProcess on Room temperature Black Chromium Plating BathFormulation. Mr. T. Jagan Mohana Rao, Chief Executive Officer,M/s Akoni Tech Pvt. Ltd represented the company for signing theagreement, becoming the twenty-seventh industry availing theNALSUN license from CSIR-NAL.

After the signing of the agreement, the AKONI team haddetailed technical discussions on NALSUN bath preparation andoptical properties with Head, SED. The team was satisfied withvarious aspects of NALSUN coating. M/s Akoni has infrastructurein place for starting the commercial production of NALSUN coatedfilms at the earliest.

NALSUN 28th Licence toM/s Ranko Metals Private Limited

CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories and M/s Ranko Metals Pvt.Ltd, Hyderabad signed a license agreement on March 29, 2012 forthe transfer of Know-how Process on Room temperature BlackChromium Plating Bath Formulation (NALSUN Technology).Mr. Anil Bohra, MD, M/s Ranko Metals Pvt. Ltd , Hyderabadrepresented from the company for signing of agreement, becomingthe twenty eighth Industry availing the NALSUN license fromCSIR-NAL.

After the signing of agreement, Mr. Anil Bohra had technicaldiscussions on NALSUN bath preparation and optical propertieswith Head, SED. The team was satisfied with various aspects ofNALSUN coating. M/s Ranko is confident of starting the commercialproduction of NALSUN coated films at the earliest .

Transfer of Technology of NALSUN to Ranko Metals Private Limited

APRIL 2012 77

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER/R&D FACILITIES

The Radome Technology and know-how documents for13-metre Doppler Weather Radar were recently handedover by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL),Bangalore to BEL, Ghaziabad. Dr C Divakar, Joint Head,KTMD welcomed the gathering.

Mr Samiulla, Deputy Head, CSMST gave a briefoutline about the processes involved up to thecommissioning stage of the Radome technologydevelopment. Mr Shyam Chetty, Acting Director, NALexpressed his happiness on NAL’s success in handing overthis technology to the industry. The documents werereceived by Mr Ramakrishna, Director (Marketing), BEL,Bangalore and Mr M.M. Pandey, AGM (Manufacturing-Antenna), BEL, Ghaziabad. Mr Ramakrishna expressedhis happiness at the quality of the product and congratulated the NAL Design and Fabrication team.

NAL Transfers Radome Technology andKnow-how Documents to BEL

National Institute of Oceanography(CSIR-NIO) houses its laboratories atits headquarters in Goa and at regionalcenters, besides the ‘floatinglaboratories’ (in the form of tworesearch vessels). In order to collectdata efficiently at another coastlinelocation, a mobile laboratory wasneeded.

Such a mobile laboratory, the firstof its kind, was recently commissionedon 3 January 2012 by the DirectorGeneral of Shipping, Dr. S.B. Agnihotrialong with Dr. S.R. Shetye, Director,NIO. This mobile laboratory is expectedto be used for the Ballast WaterManagement Program of India(BAMPI). Financial support of Rs. 15crore has been obtained from theDirectorate General of Shipping

Mobile Laboratory gets added to NIO’s Infrastructure(Ministry of Shipping, Govt of India) toroutinely collect data for the next fiveyears at the major ports of India wherethe ballast water is released by the cargovessels. This data is expected to aiddecision making on the effect of ballastwater on the biodiversity at theselocations.

The mobile laboratory contains wetand dry laboratories where seawater andsediment samples can be analyzed for

chemical and microbial parameters assoon as they are collected. This hasbeen designed by scientists of NIO Dr.S.S. Sawant assisted by Shri K. Venkat.Dr. A.C. Anil, the project leader, saidthat this fulfilled the dream of one of thefounding scientists of NIO – the LateDr. A.B. Wagh, who introducedbiofouling studies at NIO and neededsuch a laboratory for data collectionalong the coastline

Some highlights of Transfer of Radome Technology to BEL

Mobile Laboratory for BAMPI Programme

CSIR NEWS78

“Indian S&T in the Facebook Era”Convocation Address at Goa University on 27 January 2012

by Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari, DG-CSIRHis Excellency Shri K. Sankaranarayanan,Honourable Chancellor Goa University,Prof. Dilip Deobagkar, Vice ChancellorGoa University, Prof. Vijayendra P.Kamat, Registrar Goa University,Members of the Academic Council;Deans, all faculty members;distinguished invitees; my dear studentsgraduating today; ladies and gentlemen.

I am happy to be here today with allof you, in the beautiful city of Panjim inGoa. This young University that hasrecently completed twenty-five years islocated in a picturesque environmentwhere the River Mandovi meets theArabian Sea. And I see a sea of youngfaces before me.

As a graduate of the University ofCalcutta, which is one of India’s oldestuniversities having been founded in1857, and belonging also to an earliergeneration than the one graduating today,I am reminded of the time when we wereyoung, of your age.

Che Guevara, the Argentineguerrilla leader and revolutionary, whowas also a physician, author, and a giantintellectual, was our role model. Wewere young and idealistic. We believedthat the young must worry about the poorand agitate against injustice anywherein the world. We believed that the youngpeople must be conscious about theworld’s development; that they shouldbelieve in their hearts that human rightshave to be equitable, there must bejustice for all and that no one should

remain hungry. For theyoung graduates ofCalcutta University,particularly those whograduated forty oddyears ago i.e., in theearly 70s, this was therole model. In the 60sand 70s the Universityscholar had fewoptions. One was topursue S&T orscholarships for higher education in arts,humanities, philosophy or literature. Theaim was to be known as a scholar.

The teachers here, who graduatedabout 20 years ago, i.e., in the 90s, willagree that the magazine CompetitionSuccess was of paramount importancefor the young graduates, then. Therewere so many challenges. Studentscompeted feverishly and were concernedprimarily with how to make wealth andhow to fuel personal growth. The onlyaspiration in life was to get valueddegrees and succeed in competitions tobag financially remunerative jobs in theopen market.

The vision, the direction, the ambitionand the aspirations of the students havechanged with the decades. It hasevolved afresh every generation. Thetrend continues.

Today, i.e., in 2012, your generationcan be called the Facebook generation.There is a vast difference between youand the generations of students who

have preceded you.Your best friend in thequest for knowledge isnot the library. Thesources of yourknowledge are thesearch engines Googleand the Wikipedia.

We are an oldcivilization with a richlegacy of pioneeringScience and

Technology advances. In the olden days,India occupied a pre-eminent position inthe world. You will be surprised to knowthat even in 1780, twenty-five per centof the world’s GDP came from India.India had the best of Science andTechnology, medicine, music, the arts,literature, and handicrafts. As historianshave pointed out, the East IndiaCompany and subsequently, the ImperialRule levied impossibly high levels oftaxes on farmers, leading to colossalpoverty and a crash in the nation’s self-confidence. The suppression ofintellectual thought was encouraged.The education system was permanentlychanged and geared to produce clericalworkers. India also missed the Industrialrevolution.

India missed the opportunities thatscience provided in the 1800s. But bysheer luck, the nineteenth and the earlytwentieth century saw some of theworld’s greatest S&T leaders take theirstand in India. S.N. Bose, J.C. Bose,

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APRIL 2012 79

Meghnad Saha, India’s first entre-preneur-scientist Acharya P.C. Ray,Ramanujam, C.V. Raman and G.N.Ramachandran in the 1950s, to name afew. However, almost all these scientistswere physicists. So perhaps they actedas a source of inspiration for the Indianyouth of the time who mostly went onto study Physics.

Independence came to an India,which had a destroyed S&T base.Industry was near non-existent. Theeducation system was not appropriatelystructured to meet the needs of a newnation. Millions went hungry. India’sneeds were dire. Global cooperation wasnot forthcoming to the extent needed.

The mission in newly IndependentIndia was to build modernIndia on a firm Science andTechnology base. To becomea professor concerned withS&T was an attractive ideain those days. The politicalleadership in those days, withPandit Nehru’s vision, built theCSIR laboratories and theIITs. Those were the dayswhen Dr. Shanti SwarupBhatnagar and his peers builta chain of nationallaboratories. From the late 50sonwards Dr. Homi Bhabhaforged ahead with the atomicenergy programme. By the late 60s thenation was confidently initiating a spaceprogramme of its own by exploring theupper atmosphere and ionosphere.

From the 50s to the 70s self-reliancewas the mantra the nation pursued.Focus was not on individual scholarship.It was a collective leadership and collectiveresponsibility to industrialize India with

emphasis on self-reliance.The 70s were the years of technology

denial. During the 70s to 90s scientists wereasked to build up indigenous technology tosubstitute technology that was denied. Thisis the time that saw the development of theIndian supercomputer. The first parallelcomputer of India, Flosolver Mk1, was builtin 1986 by CSIR scientists. When the Craysupercomputers were denied to India becauseof a technology embargo, Indian scientistsdesigned the PARAM-8000 supercomputerin the early nineties. These denial-driveninnovations led Washington Post to remark,“And Angry India does it!!”

Indian scientists forged ahead on theirown in frontier areas such as agroequipments to satellites and rockets, from

India’s first parallel computer, Flosolver,built by CSIR-NAL

expensive in India. The CSIRlaboratories namely Indian Institute ofChemical Technology (Hyderabad),National Chemical Laboratory (Pune)and Central Drug Research Institute(Lucknow) contributed to thedevelopment of new processes that madeIndia the most affordable healthcaredestination today and a global leader ingeneric drugs.

India went from being an exporterof raw hides to being a leader in fashionleathers. India made new hybrids andpesticides leading to the GreenRevolution. From a nation that dependedon imported tractors to till its fields, theIndian tractor Industry today dominatesthe world. By 2000 we became theworld’s largest tractor manufacturingcountry. The CSIR laboratory CentralMechanical Engineering ResearchInstitute (Durgapur), with its Swaraj,Sonalika, Krishishakti and Pushantractors, has contributed tremendouslyto the attainment of this status.

Today, in the post-liberalized era,Indian science has become aggressivelyactive to earn and consolidate its placein the global space. Scientists of theCSIR laboratories, the National Instituteof Oceanography in Goa and theNational Geophysical Research Institutein Hyderabad have devoted themselves

nuclear reactors to pharmaceuticalproducts. They met with amazing success.

A radical change in policy thatsupported process patent, not productpatent, resulted in India becoming theleader in generic drugs. India alsobecame the leader in manufacturingmedicines at the lowest cost, althoughtill 1970 drug prices were the most

CONVOCATION

Development of new processes by CSIR laboratorieshas made India a global leader in generic drugs

CSIR NEWS80

to identifying the country’s limits of thecontinental shelf. They used indigenouscapability utilization without anyinternational assistance to earmark thecontinental shelf – a region where Indiacan have economic control. The outerboundary of India’s Exclusive EconomicZone has added 1.1 million squarekilometer area to India’s legal continentalshelf.

This allowed India to stake claim toextend its present limit of the ExclusiveEconomic Zone, the marine area overwhich India enjoys special rights forexploration and exploitation. This hassignificant advantages as this zone canbe now explored for strategic depositsof uranium, gas hydrates and polymetallic nodules etc.

Thus, you can see that Indians cannow decide the nation’s destiny in thearea of science and technology.However, in this era you have to beextremely innovative. And thisinnovation has to be used to address theneeds of the least fortunate; those wholive on very little and occupy the bottomof the economic pyramid. We must notlose sight of the fact that although India

has madetremendous strides,and is immenselycompetitive in theglobal arena, andIndian women area g g r e s s i v e l yreclaiming theirrightful place inS&T, there are stillproblems of thehungry millions. Theproblems of thecommon Indian are

problems for us all. India is a connectednation. There are 800 million cell phoneusers in the country. Broadbandconnectivity links Kanyakumari in thesouth to Kashmir in the north; and Panjimin the west to Jorhat in the northeast.

What do I see as Director General,CSIR? I travel across the length andbreadth of India, visiting CSIR’s thirty-seven laboratories, five units and severalextension centres, and severalinstitutions and colleges in the country. Inote with happiness the huge craving forknowledge. I also see the desire that thisgeneration of young students has, toperform well and to undertakechallenges. Interestingly, these qualitiesare more pronounced in students whohave fewer opportunities and whobelong to smaller institutions that havefewer resources.

I wonder whether our currenteducation system is geared to create andretain the interest of the students inScience and Technology. I wonderwhether it is true what people are saying,that the youth of the country has turnedits face away from the pursuit of Scienceand Technology. I wonder, what the

future of the nation would be, if we donot use the power and IQ of the Indianyouth to create our own valuableIntellectual property. It worries me tothink what will happen to the Indianadvantage if the youth are only focusedon, or interested in, seeking greenerpastures abroad.

There is no doubt that we need adifferent type of role model now in thefield of higher education. This new modelmust be attractive and customized forthe Facebook generation. We need anew sort of University too. We mustfocus on the promotion of analyticalability and innovation-driven creativityfar more than information-drivenknowledge base.

The education system must beflexible enough to incorporate and exploitnew technology. For example, it mustadapt to exploit the connectivity thatFacebook provides. Facebook providesa platform that allows students tonetwork with other students and learnfrom one another. A Facebook user cancommunicate with another user,anywhere in the world. It allowsteachers to escape the confines ofclassrooms to the vastness ofcyberspace.

In our time, we were restricted inmany ways. For example, we wererestricted in our access to teachers inthe school, relatives at home, neighbourswho were instrumental in impartingknowledge to us. You can think of us asexploring the estuaries of the RiverMandovi with no courage or opportunityto explore the vast ocean that connectsthe western coast of India with the restof the world.

Fortunately, such is not the case

Sonalika tractor developed by CSIR-CMERI

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APRIL 2012 81

today. Today, you are empowered. Youare networked with friends, peers andteachers across the world. Youcommunicate and learn in a new way.The process by which you will learn willbe different. There is no need to craminformation as you can always accessthe information at the click of the mouse,as and when you want.

Young men and women gatheredhere today, you have novel assets andtools. You have inherited a world quitedifferent from the one that we got inlegacy from our preceding generation.Your world is flat with less of thehierarchical structures that characterizedours. You also have a very differentfuture than what we could haveimagined for ourselves.

So, what are your assets and toolsthat will help you to make a differencein the flat world? As an Indian student,the first and foremost is to develop anattitude of self-confidence. You mustcreate a new mindset. This mindset mustbe one that takes you from being a jobseeker to becoming an entrepreneur orjob creator. It must make you acontender for the leadership position, notjust a follower. From being a Facebook user,you must aspire to be a Facebook creator.

Your teachers and the world havegiven you so much. You must ask whatit is that you can give back? There aremany kinds of giving, each with its ownend.

As Khalil Gibran has said in TheProphet:

“You give but little when you giveof your possessions.It is when you give of yourself thatyou truly give…There are those who give little of

the much which they have - and theygive it for recognition and theirhidden desire makes their giftsunwholesome.And there are those who have littleand give it all. These are thebelievers in life and the bounty oflife, and their coffer is never empty.There are those who give with joy,and that joy is their reward.And there are those who give withpain, and that pain is theirbaptism…”Gibran also says: “You often say, ‘I would give, butonly to the deserving’. The trees in your orchard say notso, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live, forto withhold is to perish… And he who has deserved to drinkfrom the ocean of life deserves tofill his cup from your littlestream…”

However, you can’t truly give backunless you cultivate another mindset.This is that of combining compassionwith chutzpah. Chutzpah is the qualityof spunk…that of audacious daring…inother words, guts! Combined withcompassion it is a powerful force forbringing in change for the better.Compassion is a quality that has alwaysbeen valued. It encompasses a mindsetthat is concerned with the act of giving.

You are the Facebook generation.You are the face of today. It is on yourshoulders that the future of the nationrests. It is your actions that willtransform tomorrow. And interestinglyenough, it is now, more than ever thatthe attitude of my generation is morerelevant than ever before.

The passion of Che Guevara, thedevotion to the nation and selflessservice to the downtrodden are all valuesthat still command a premium.Remember that you are the custodiansof an indigenous social system that hasalways been sensitive to the needs ofothers, always responsive even ifconstrained by a lack of resources andpro-active. Our generation cherished it,protected it, value-added to the best ofour abilities and passed it on like a torchin a relay race. The Facebookgeneration is now the new custodian; thefresh link in a chain that goes backgenerations.

To them I say, remember thatScience and Technology is able to domany things. Be mindful also that thereis a huge role scientists have to play tomake this planet secure for billions ofpeople. Remember those who sleephungry under the stars. Remember thosewho need medicines that they cannotafford. Never forget that three billionmarginalized people of the world needyou as much as you need India.

On your life’s journey as you takeIndia towards the pinnacle of progresslet these words of Mahatma Gandhi beyour guide. “Just as some of theexperiments in your laboratories goon for all the twenty-four hours, letthe big corner in your heart remainperpetually warm for the benefit ofthe poor millions.”

With this as your guiding principleyou cannot go wrong. Be confident. Becompassionate. Show chutzpah. Be aleader.

I wish you an exciting journey tothe future

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CSIR NEWS82

Indo-US Workshop onIntegrated Vehicle Health Management and Aviation Safety

The first Indo-US Workshop onIntegrated Vehicle HealthManagement (IVHM) and AviationSafety was organized by CSIR-NALwith participation of NASA Scientists inBangalore during 9-10 January2012 at The Oberoi Hotels, MGRoad, Bangalore. NASA and CSIR-NAL have received the award tojointly organize the Workshopsponsored by Indo-US Science andTechnology Forum (IUSSTF). NPMaSS(National Program on Micro and SmartSystems) is also one of the majorsponsors.

Participants in this workshopincluded leading US academic institutions(viz. Georgia Tech, University ofMaryland and Auburn University) andUS industries (viz. GM, GE, Honeywell,MEGGITT), US research agencies (viz.FAA, SRI International and CALCE),European organizations (viz. IVHMCenter, UK and LMS International,Belgium), Indian academic institutions(viz. IITs, IISc, University ofHyderabad), Indian R&D institutions(ADA, ADE, RCI, GTRE, CGCRI),Indian Public Sector institutions (viz. HALKorwa, HAL AR&DC, Bangalore),Indian industries (including HCL, TCS,Infosys, Boeing, NI, Cassidian,Mathworks), and Indian Armed Forcesunits (4BRD, IAF Kanpur). Indianairlines also participated in the event.Participation by an LCA and airline pilotsadded value to the proceedings. This isthe first attempt to bring all the

stakeholders in aviation safety under oneroof in India. NAL participated in a bigway in addition to the organization of theworkshop.

The purpose of the workshop wasto deliberate and discuss the state-of-the-art aerospace systems healthmanagement strategies, identifyopportunities for collaboration betweenUS and Indian institutions, prepare aroad map of IVHM in the Indian andglobal context involving variousstakeholders and initiate IVHMconcepts in the design of the nextgeneration civil aircraft. It was recommendedthat a core group of IVHM professionalsin the country must be formed bydrawing strengths from variousorganizations (comprising academia,R&D and manufacturing) and efforts to

create a Center of Excellence must beinitiated which would cater not only toaerospace but also to other areas likeindustrial and automotive health.

This Centre would also trainengineers and scientists and bring outpostgraduate & PhD programmes.

A number of collaborations with USAcademia, R&D institutions andIndustry have been proposed to take theIndian IVHM Mission under the NALinitiative. Notable among them areAircraft Electrical Power SystemsHealth Management by Honeywell,Landing Gear Health Management byMEGGITT, Industrial Systems andSoftware Health Management includingformal methods by Georgia Tech,Electronics Prognosis & Battery HealthManagement by Auburn University and

Some highlights of the Workshop

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APRIL 2012 83

CALCE, University of Maryland.Collaborations in the areas of avionicsand structures were proposed by thevisiting experts.

A tutorial was also arranged atCSIR-NAL on 11 January for studentsfrom various engineering colleges and

researchers from different R&Dinstitutions, public sector undertakings,defence and corporate establishments.Participation of a large number offaculties from various academicinstitutions ensured that the importanceof IVHM is spread among the next

Indo-Finland Workshop on Genomic Tools in BioremediationCSIR-National EnvironmentalEngineering Research Institute(NEERI) organized the Indo-FinlandWorkshop on Genomic Tools inBioremediation workshop on 29-30November 2011 in the CSIR-NEERIAuditorium. The workshop wasinaugurated by the Chief GuestDr. G.P. Meshram, Joint Director, DRDOand Dr Kirsten Jorgenson, ProjectCoordinator, Finland.

In his inaugural address,Dr. Meshram spoke on Bioremediation:Today’s Need & Its Future. He saidthat bioremediation is the best option fordestruction of chemical contaminants.Tracing the history of bioremediation, hetold the audience that while the processof bioremediation is known from 1990,it has taken a new shape in the currentera of genomics and metabolomics.Dr. Meshram gave many examples ofchemicals and wastes that have beensuccessfully bioremediated. Headvocated that bioremediation could bea better option than chemical methodsfor the destruction and decontaminationof weapons and had many prospects inthe future.

Dr. Kirsten S. Jorgensen, ProjectCoordinator, Finland said that India and

Finland will try to find out problemscommon to both countries in the field ofenvironmental genomics. Thisworkshop would try to find solutions formitigating environmental pollutiondue to the increasing use of pesticidesaround the world, she added.Dr. Jorgensen also talked aboutIndian and Finnish legislations onenvironment.

In his welcome address, Dr. C.V.Chalapati Rao, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NEERI informed the audience thatNEERI has been working in the field ofenvironmental genomics for the last two

decades. He urged the workshopparticipants to explore various avenuesin environmental genomics for improvingthe environment.

Dr. (Mrs) Atya Kapley, PrincipalScientist, CSIR-NEERI & Coordinatorof the workshop, said that CSIR-NEERIhas successfully demonstrated the useof genomic tools in bioremediation andwould propagate the use of gene-basedtools to improve treatment efficiency.Various experts from Finland, Belgium,China and India working in the area ofbioremediation delivered lectures on thisoccasion.

Dr. Kirsten S. Jorgensen, Project Coordinator, Finland speaking on the occasion. Seated on the dais (from left):Dr C.V. Chalapati Rao, Dr G.P. Meshram and Dr (Mrs) Atya Kapley

WORKSHOPS

generation engineers and researchers.A lecture by Prof George Vachtsevanosof Georgia Tech USA, a pioneer ofPrognostics and Health Management,was arranged by KTMD for the benefitof those from NAL who could not attendthe workshop.

CSIR NEWS84

WORKSHOPS

UKIERI Workshop on Unmanned Aircraft Systems TechnologiesA two-day workshop on UnmannedAircraft Systems Technologies wasorganized by the Multi Sensor DataFusion group, Flight Mechanics andControl Division (FMCD) of NAL atHotel Matthan, HAL Airport Road on8th and 9th December 2011. Thefourth UKIERI (UK-India Educationand Research Initiative) workshopwas hosted by NAL, one of the fourIndian partners of a major award projectfunded by the UK and Indiangovernments.

The UKIERI programme wasstarted in April 2006 with the aim ofenhancing educational links betweenIndia and the UK. In the year 2007, thegroup of institutions consisting of CSIR-NAL Bangalore, Indian Institute ofScience (IISc) Bangalore, IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT) Bombay,National Institute of Technology (NITT)Trichy and the University ofLeicester, Leicester, UKwere among the first six towin a major award under thisprogramme for their jointproposal entitled “TowardsReliable and Smart AirVehicles”.

In his welcome addressat the inaugural session,Mr. Shyam Chetty,Officiating Director, NALacknowledged the immensecontribution made by Prof.Ian Postlethwaite towardsthe UKIERI project. Hementioned that the finalworkshop organised by NALis aimed at providing a

platform to share expertise andknowledge in research, developmentand technologies in the vibrant andexciting area of autonomous unmannedair vehicles (UAVs) in India and UK.He reiterated that the partnerships thathave been forged between the twocountries should be nurtured further tomake it stronger.

Dr (Mrs) Girija Gopalratnam,Deputy Head, FMCD in her inauguraladdress described the work carried outat FMCD, NAL on application ofartificial intelligence techniques for faulttolerant control. Other technologiespursued under the UKIERI projectinclude an enhanced synthetic visionsystem for ground operator situationawareness and system identification forUAV flight data. She mentioned that theactivities described in the original workplan have been followed closely with

each partner taking a lead in certaintasks. The progress has been discussedand presented at three workshops heldearlier at IISc, NITT and IIT Bombay.

Prof Ian Postelthwaite, Deputy ViceChancellor, Northumbria University, UKdescribed the work carried out by eachof the five partners. The IISc team, ledby Prof Sitarama Bhat has madecontributions in the areas of design andconstruction of an instrumented light-weight long-endurance mini UAVcapable of autonomous trajectoryplanning in cluttered environments, anddesign of control laws for the automaticlanding of UAVs and coordinationproblems in multi-vehicle systems.

The IIT Bombay team headed byProfessor Bandyopadhyay has workedon sliding mode control for UAVs usingfast output sampling. The NITT teamled by Prof Ramakalyan, working closely

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with research staff at IISc, hasdeveloped UAV path planningalgorithms. The Leicester researchactivities of Professors Postlethwaite,Gu and Edwards have aimed atincreasing the levels of autonomy thatcan be achieved in UAVs using methodsand algorithms for flight path planning,mission planning and task assignment forsingle and multi-vehicle systems. Acommon theme in all of the projectsabove has been the need for real-timeimplementation in the presence ofuncertainties arising from unpredictableoperating environments.

Lt. Gen (Dr.) V.J. Sundaram,PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd.) Advisor,Micro and Nano Systems, NationalDesign and Research Forum who hasspearheaded the Unmanned Aircraft

programs in India was the keynotespeaker. In his keynote address, whichwas titled, Micro/Nano/Bio Air Vehicles– India, Gen Sundaram talked about thedevelopments in unmanned aircraft inIndia and the research areas that needto be pursued for future developments.The research areas include lowReynolds number aerodynamics,lightweight composite structures, robustcontrol with vision and GPS basednavigation and guidance and lightweightpropulsion. The National Design andResearch Forum jointly supported byAR&DB and the Department ofScience and Technology, supports R&Din micro and nano air vehicles based onfixed, rotary and flapping wings withspecial focus on insect flightaerodynamics or mechanics,

cooperative flying, robust swarm control,vision based navigation and guidance aswell as appropriate sensors.

The two-day workshop had fourinvited talks and twelve paperpresentations by team members from thefive organizations.

In the concluding session, all thepartners expressed that the UKIERIProgram has established a strongrelationship between UK and India.Though the current project is over, theresearch work and the cooperation willcontinue. The program broughtinstitutions in India to work togetherand enabled a number of students topursue and finish their PhD degrees.It was felt that government funding forfuture collaborative projects could beexplored.

The workshop on Faculty Training &Motivation and Adoption of Schools& Colleges by CSIR labs wasinaugurated at the NBRI Auditorium.The purpose of the progamme was tocreate awareness and motivate teachingfaculty as well as students of adoptedschools and colleges for scienceeducation. Forty-five representativesfrom twenty institutions across UttarPradesh (both from Degree section andInter sections), participated in theprogramme. The function was attendedby scientists, research scholars and staffof NBRI.

While inaugurating the programme,Dr. C.S. Nautiyal, Director, CSIR-NBRI,Lucknow said that he had great respect

Workshop at NBRIFaculty Training & Motivation and Adoption of Schools & Colleges

for teachers, whose motivation has agreat impact on the overall developmentof students. The main aim of thisprogramme is to update teachers aboutthe latest developments in science so thattheir students may learn from them. He

urged teachers toencourage childrento visit NBRI andsee its facilities andassured thatNBRI wouldprovide all supportfor the visit.

Earlier, theparticipants wereshown variousfacilities at NBRI

and taken around the garden andexposition. The participants had theopportunity to listen to lectures ofDr. P.K. Srivastava on Nanotechnologythrough Scientoon, Dr. P.B. Khare,on Biodiversity of Indian continent,

A view of the workshop

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WORKSHOPS/EXHIBITIONS

Dr. P.K. Trivedi, on Biotechnology andits Applications and Dr. A.K. Goel, onBotanic Garden, historical and scientificimportance and conservation. Dr. J.K.Johri, Co-ordinator, compeered theprogramme and also gave a briefbackground of the programme. Dr. S.K.Tewari, Scientist, proposed the vote ofthanks.

The valedictory function held on 4th

February at the NBRI conference roomconcluded with the distribution of

certificates by Dr. C.S. Nautiyal,Director CSIR-NBRI. The teacherswere taken to the Regional Science citywhere they participated in the ScienceExpo. Later, Dr. S.K. Tewari describedhow floral craft and dehydrated floraltechnology could be a source of self-employment. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Ojhaexplained the role of plants for healthand the principles of Ayurveda, citingexamples of how individual plants canbe used for good health.

Dr. C.S. Nautiyal, Director, CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, while concluding theprogramme, recognized that teachers’motivation has great impact on theoverall development of students, andhoped that they were benefited by theprogramme. Teacher participantsexpressed deep satisfaction with theproceedings. Dr. Johri summed up theprogramme, followed by vote of thanksby Dr. Sanjeev Ojha.

Farmers’ Fair Organized at CSIR-CIMAPThe annual Farmers’ Fair (Kisan Mela)was organized at CSIR-Central Instituteof Medicinal and Aromatic Plants(CIMAP) on 31 January 2012. It wasattended by about 1700 people includingfarmers and entrepreneurs hailing fromdifferent states such as Uttar Pradesh,Bihar, MP, Assam and Nagaland.

The Kisan Mela was inauguratedby Shri P.P. Shrivastav, Member, NorthEastern Council, Govt. of India, Shillong.Shri Shrivastav praised the efforts of

CSIR-CIMAP in developing andpopularizing the medicinal and aromaticplants related technology for the benefitof the farmers and entrepreneurs. Healso released the souvenir of Kisan MelaAus-Gyanya brought out on thisoccasion.

In his welcome address Prof. RamRajasekharan, Director CSIR-CIMAPthanked all guests for participating inCIMAP Kisan Mela. He said thatCSIR-CIMAP is committed to empower

farmers by developing and disseminatingimproved technologies. He said thatregular interaction between farmers,scientists and industry is necessary fortaking up new research programmes andalso for strengthening the marketinglinks.

Dr. A.K. Singh, Chief Scientist,Technology and Business Development,CSIR-CIMAP briefed about the variousevents planned for the Kisan Mela. Hesaid that the Kisan Mela is assuming

Participants of the NBRI workshop

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greater dimensions overthe years in terms ofparticipation andtechnology dissemination.

On this occasion, aninnovative product –Herbal Sanitary Pad wasreleased. Developed byCSIR-CIMAP andnamed as Naari thissanitary pad is a uniquemedicated low costaromatic product for thecommon masses,especially targetedtowards the lower income group. It isabout 40-50% cheaper than thecommercially available sanitary napkinsin India. This medicated sanitary padprevents infection due to its antimicrobialactivity and the use of natural absorbentenhances the absorbency of the pad. Thenapkin is perfumed with natural aroma,which minimizes the unpleasant odoursduring use.

Several stalls were also put on thisoccasion including stalls of CSIR-CIMAP herbal products andpublications, agro-advisory and SMS

service registration, display andsale of fragrant agarbattis by womenself-help groups established byCIMAP, private companies like NishantAromas, Biotech Park, Lucknow andState Bank of India, Main Branch,Lucknow.

A large number of the participantsvisited these stalls and showed keeninterest in the products and servicesdisplayed there. Besides, improvedvarieties of seeds and planting materialsdeveloped by CSIR-CIMAP weredisplayed and supplied to a large number

of farmers visiting the fairfor further cultivation.

A team of scientistsof CSIR-CIMAPcomprising Dr AshokKumar Singh, Dr V.K.S.Tomar, Dr Saudan Singh,Dr D.D. Patra,Dr Mansoor Alam,Dr Alok Kalra, Dr SanjayKumar and severalrepresentatives ofindustries and herbal drugbuyers and farmersparticipated in the

interactive session on latest technologiesfor cultivation, marketing related issuesand contractual cultivation of medicinaland aromatic crops.

On this occasion, two consultancyagreements were signed, one withM/s IPCA Lab, Ratlam for large-scalecultivation of Artemisia annua(the anti-malarial drug plant) andthe other with Emami Biotech,Kolkata for trial cultivation of mentholmint in Balasore (Odisha), Madurai(Tamilnadu) and Jhansi (UttarPradesh).

EXHIBITIONS

Release of Kisan Mela souvenir Aus-Gyanya

A view of the participants at the interactive meetWomen self-help group members displaying agarbattis in the mela

CSIR NEWS88

NEERI participates in First Science Expoat Raman Science Centre

CSIR-National EnvironmentalEngineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) participated in the first ScienceExpo held at the Raman Science Centreand Planetarium, Nagpur during 19-21January 2012. The exposition wasorganized by the Raman Science Centre& Planetarium, Nagpur on the theme AnInterface of Science and Society, inwhich 14 research and academicinstitutes located in Nagpur showcasedtheir technologies and achievementsaimed to bridge the gap between scienceand society.

essential oils from waste citrus peelswas demonstrated. A portable arsenicfield kit developed by CSIR-NEERIuseful for on-site water monitoring forarsenic contamination was alsodemonstrated. A technology to achieveimmobilization and containment ofarsenic waste, developed andimplemented at Zuari Industries Ltd.was also presented.

The visitors were also briefed aboutan integrated biotechnological approachdeveloped by the Institute for themetamorphosis of a manganese mine

Dr. Satish R. Wate, Director, CSIR-NEERI delivering the presidential address atthe inaugural function of the 1st Science Expo

Dr. Satish R. Wate at the CSIR-NEERI pavilion in the Science Expo Students at the CSIR-NEERI pavilion

Mr. Prakash Kumbhare,Principal Scientist,CSIR–NEERIdelivering a popularscience lecture at theScience Expo

In consonance with the CSIR-800programme, CSIR-NEERI also tookpart in this event and showcased itslatest achievements and technologies. Inthe area of potable water, CSIR-NEERIshowcased a live model of NEERI-ZAR, a portable instant water filter, withits fluoride and iron removal units. Amodel of the solar power basedelectrolytic defluoridation process unitdeveloped by CSIR-NEERI was alsoshowcased in this expo.

In the area of waste to wealth, acost-effective technology to produce

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spoil dump into lush green forest atManganese Ore India Ltd. (MOIL),Gumgaon, Nagpur. Visitors also learntabout the CSIR-NEERI’s PhytoridWastewater Treatment Technology,which involves a constructed wetlandexclusively designed for the treatmentof municipal, urban, agricultural andindustrial wastewater. CSIR-NEERI’sinvolvement in designing CommonEffluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) inthe country, which are instrumental inpreventing water and soil pollution,was also highlighted. These CETPscould revive 767 small-scale industrialunits in Pali, 249 in Balotra, andover 2000 industrial units in NCT ofDelhi.

The first Science Expo wasinaugurated by Dr. Satish R. Wate,Director, CSIR-NEERI, Dr. PratapSingh Parihar, Director, Atomic Mineral

Directorate for Exploration & Research,Hyderabad, Dr. Unnikrishnan Nair S.,Project Director of Human Flight SpaceProgramme, Vikram Sarabhai SpaceCentre, and Shri A.S. Manekar, Director,National Council of Science Museums,Mumbai.

In his presidential address, Dr. Watesaid that our scientific achievementsshould aim at improving the welfare ofthe common people. He urged thestudents to develop more curiosity inscience for betterment of the country.In his inaugural address, Dr. Pariharbriefed about the concept of energysecurity and the need to harness greenertechnologies like nuclear energy forsustainable development.

Dr. Unnikrishnan outlined fivedecades of man’s space exploration.Shri Manekar emphasized theimportance of popularization of science.

Shri S.P. Pathak, Project Coordinator,Raman Science Centre & Planetarium,proposed the vote of thanks.

Popular science lectures were alsoorganized during this science expocoinciding with the R&D areas of theparticipating institutes. Shri PrakashKumbhare, Principal Scientist & Head,R&D Planning Division, CSIR-NEERIdelivered a lecture on the topic “TheRole of Science & Technology inSustainable Development” where morethan two hundred students were present.The students interacted and asked manyquestions on the topic.

On all the days the expo was visitedby thousands of students from bothschools and colleges. Over ten thousandpeople visited during the three days ofthe expo. Most of the visitors werecurious to know about the achievementsof CSIR-NEERI.

CSIR participates in Agrovision 2012CSIR participated in the Agrovision 2012 organized in Nagpurduring 27-30 January 2012. CSIR-NEERI, CSIR-IHBT, CSIR-CIMAP, CSIR-NBRI, CSIR-CMERI and CSIR-CFTRI showcasedtheir agriculture oriented developments, achievements andtechnologies in this exhibition.

The technologies showcased in Agrovision 2012 were:recovery of essential oil from waste citrus peels, value addition tohorticultural produce, bamboo preservation, tractor-mounted soilapparent conductivity mapper, light-weight power tiller, medicinaland economic plants, production technology of quality plantingmaterials of saffron (Crocus sativus L), commercial cultivation ofGladiolus and Gerbera, tractors – Swaraj, Sonalika, andKrishishakti, pungent oil expellers, low-cost nutritious food, etc.

Dr. Satish R. Wate, Director, CSIR-NEERI inaugurated the CSIR pavilion at Agrovision 2012. He interacted with theparticipating scientists from various CSIR institutes and laboratories. He also interacted with farmers and entrepreneurs atthe CSIR pavilion.

The CSIR pavilion was visited by thousands of farmers from the Vidarbha region. Most of the visitors were curiousto know about the achievements of CSIR and many were interested in using the CSIR technologies.

Dr. Satish R. Wate, Director, CSIR-NEERI going around the exhibits

EXHIBITIONS

CSIR NEWS90

Students of Sister Nivedita Girl’s High School visit NML underSchool-NML Interactive Programme

On 10 February 2012, 34 students fromClass VIII and IX in Sister NiveditaGirls’ High School (Hindi Medium),Jamshedpur accompanied by twoteachers – Mrs. Minakshi Biswas andMrs. Bratali Dutta Gupta – visited theCSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory(NML), Jamshedpur.

The students were thrilled to visitthe laboratory and interact withlaboratory scientists. A student Ms. ArtiKumari said, “We are surprised to knowabout the CSIR-NML’s contributionstowards materials that we use everyday.” Another student Ms. PurnimaYadav said, “I came to know about manythings. It was a wonderful experiencerejuvenating my thought process.” Ms.Puja Kumari, a standard IX student,commented, “The visit has given memore clarity in pursuance of my futuregoal.” Ms. Neha Kumari, a Std. IXstudent said, “I did not know thecommonly used poultry feed contains

calcium extracted from the naturallyoccurring low grade lime stone mines,based on CSIR-NML’s flotationtechnology.”

Another student Ms. FarzanaKhatoon was excited to learn thatSwaraj Tractor used in farming is basedon CSIR Technology. Ms. VartikaKumari, a Class IX student said, “Now,I learnt about different ores, metals; andhow they are extracted and used.” Ms.Jyoti Kumari a Class IX student added,“I came to know about the preparationof steel, deep sea mining, recycling ofwaste materials, manufacturing of bio-compatible products, commercial use oflime stone, magnesium and many moreelements.” Ms. Archana Kumari aClass IX student commented, “The visittaught me to look at things differentlyand science from a new dimension. Iwant to pursue science in a moremeaningful way. Thanks to CSIR-NML.” The feelings of the teachers

were similar and they requested for avisit of their next batch of students toNML.

It may be mentioned here thatCSIR-NML launched the School-NMLInteractive Programme (SNIP) in Junelast year. Under this programme,students from registered schools visitNML every Friday at 10 AM. Theprogramme has been designed to givethem an exposure to modern laboratoryworking conditions and to develop apositive feeling toward science as acareer prospect.

The visit includes a batch ofabout forty students (preferably fromStandard VIII to IX) accompanied byone or two teachers. The registration isdone over telephone (0657-2345108/09)or through e-mail (director@nmlindia.org; ngg@nmlindia.org) on a first comefirst serve basis for every visit. Morethan thirty-four schools have alreadyparticipated in the programme.

VISITS

Some highlights of the school visit to NML on 10th February 2012

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The Handbook on DrinkingWater Treatment Techno-logies brought out by theNational EnvironmentalEngineering Research Institute(NEERI), Nagpur with supportfrom Ministry of DrinkingWater and Sanitation,Government of India, NewDelhi was recently released byHonorable Minister for RuralDevelopment and DrinkingWater & Sanitation, Shri JairamRamesh at a workshop organized by theMinistry. This handbook has beenprepared as a desk study reference foraccessing information on drinking watertreatment technologies, interacting withrural water supply agencies, contactingvarious departments, academic andresearch institutions, and privateagencies and placing queries on theWater Portal.

Jairam Ramesh Releases Handbook onDrinking Water Treatment Technologies

Extensive literature search wasundertaken on available drinking watertreatment technologies giving moreemphasis on those that have beenimplemented in the field than merelytested in the laboratory. Inputs receivedfrom these agencies were synthesizedand subsequently included in thehandbook. The target audience for thishandbook includes engineers, chemists,

public health and waterresources professionals havingknowledge and experienceabout the fundamentals ofdrinking water related healthsciences and water engineeringtechnology. This handbookprovides a scientificallysound and supportable basisfor identifying, acceptingand promoting communityand household water treatmentand storage systems.

The objective of this Handbook isto critically review various candidatetechnologies and systems forproviding microbiologically andchemically improved water and topresent appropriate technologiesbased on their technical description,implementation potential, repli-cation possibility and performancecriteria.

The Nodal Officers and Task ForceMembers of the National KnowledgeResource Consortium (NKRC) met atthe National Institute of Oceanography(NIO), Goa recently. The NKRCincludes all CSIR and DST laboratoriesand institutes as its members. About 80officials from CSIR and DSTlaboratories attended the meet.

The three days were marked by aseries of joint and separate meetings of

National Knowledge Resource Consortium MeetingHeld at NIO

the consortium partners. The Task Forceof CSIR, which has representatives ofDirectors of all the CSIR laboratories,discussed the NKRC under the scopeof the Network Project of CSIR. Inaddition, the Deputy Financial Adviser,CSIR and F&AO, NISCAIR alsoattended the Task Force meeting. DrGangan Prathap, Director, NISCAIRchaired the Task Force meeting.

The Nodal Officers meeting had

both DST and CSIR laboratories’representatives, which was also chairedby Director, NISCAIR. Many importantaspects were discussed during thethree-day meeting. With the Consortiumpromoting open access (OA) in allmember institutions, a session during thethree-day meet was devoted to openaccess and institutional repositories. TheOA coordinators of a few CSIR labs alsoattended the OA Session. The session

BOOK RELEASE/MEETINGS

Release of Handbook on Drinking Water Treatment Technologies

CSIR NEWS92

had eminent invited speakers whoenlightened the participants on variousissues concerning copyright, technologyand philosophy of open access and itsrelevance to the labs.

Earlier, inaugurating the meet,Dr. S.R. Shetye, Director, NIO in hisInaugural Address noted that publishersare monopolizing information accessand evolving unfriendly access models.He called upon the consortiummembers to evolve mechanisms tocreate and access institutionalrepositories to meet their informationneeds.

The Keynote Address was deliveredby Dr. Gangan Prathap, Director,NISCAIR. He emphasized the need fora research focus to the consortium. Withcloud computing becoming increasinglyprevalent, Dr. Prathap forecasted thatinformation access models are gearedfor considerable change in the comingyears.

The CDRI Awards 2011 for “Excellencein Drug Research” were recently givenout to Dr Shantanu Chowdhury, scientistat the Institute of Genomics &Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhiand Dr. Gangadhar J. Sanjayan, scientistat the National Chemical Laboratory(NCL), Pune. The Awards wereinstituted in the year 2004 to honourIndian researchers below 45 years ofage who had contributed significantly tothe broad areas of drug research. TheAward is given in two categories: LifeSciences and Chemical Sciences. EachAward carries a cash prize of Rs. 20,000/

- and a citation.For the year 2011, the award in Life

Sciences category went to Dr. ShantanuChowdhury for his work on “ GenomeWide Predictions of G-Quadruplex asPromising Drug Targets”. In theChemical Sciences category, the Awardwas given to Dr. Gangadhar J. Sanjayanfor his work on, Design andDevelopment of Artificial ProteinScaffolds for Use in Protein-ProteinInteractions and Cell MembraneInteractions.

Prof. N. Jayaraman, Department ofOrganic Chemistry, Indian Institute of

Science, Bangalore presided over theaward presentation function. He

CDRI Awards-2011 for Excellence in Drug Research

MEETINGS/HONOURS & AWARDS

Dr. R.R. Hirwani, Head, URDIPalso spoke on the occasion. He said thatthe CSIR KRCs should gear up to newtechnological challenges such asmanaging print versus e-journals; datastorage versus online access; manpowermanagement issues; IP challenges;copyright laws and fair use. Dr. MilindKulkarni, Scientist, DST shared the DST

laboratories’ experience as NKRC’spartner since 2009.

Earlier, Dr. M.P. Tapaswi, Head,KRC-NIO welcomed the gatheringnoting that the Consortium hadcompleted 10 years of its existence.Mrs. P. Nishy, Scientist, NISCAIR andCoordinator, NKRC proposed the voteof thanks.

Dr. S.R. Shetye delivering the inaugural address

Prof. Jayaraman delivering his lecture

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delivered a lecture on the salientfeatures of PETIM DendrimerGene Delivery Platforms andtheir gene transfectionapplication. Poly(ether imine)(PETIM) dendrimers areconstituted with the tertiaryamine branch points and n-propyl ether linkers. A divergentsynthetic method allowspreparing several generationsof this series of dendriticmacromolecules. Thesedendrimers are inherently fluorescentand non-toxic, depending on theperipheral functional groups. Thepresence of multiple cationic sites andhydrophobicities permit their use as drugand gene delivery platforms. PETIMdendrimers are new non-viral vectors foreffective gene transfections. Acomprehensive set of physicochemicalexperiments show efficiencies of genetransfection mediated by the dendrimerson varied types of cell lines.

Dr. Chowdhury delivered the awardlecture on, Another Dimension toGene Regulation: The EmergingStory of G-quadruplex DNA Structureas Molecular Targets. His teamresearched the role of DNA structurein transcription using G-quadruplexIndependent mode of analyses revealingsurprisingly direct role of quadruplexmotifs in control of gene expressionwhen associated with specific proteinfactors. Based on the emergingdiscoveries, he argued for a role ofG-quadruplex DNA as a candidateregulatory structure that canserve as molecular targets for drugdevelopment.

Dr. Sanjayan delivered his Awardlecture on From Peptides toFoldamers: Use of Non-CovalentInteractions in Structural Design.He focused on the folding and assemblyof biomolecules by means of acollection of non-covalent interactions,which he thought are two of the mostimportant events observed inthe world of biomolecular science. In anattempt to mimic the bio-machineries,both structurally and functionallywith man-made constructs, syntheticoligomers weredesigned and developed.In this context, an areaof research that hasattained enormousattention in recentyears is foldamerswhose objective is thedevelopment ofCon format iona l l yOrdered SyntheticOligomers mimickingthe conformationalfeatures of biopolymers.

The major thrust ofresearch focus by

Dr. Sanjayan’s group is in thegeneration of conformationallyordered synthetic scaffoldscapable of displaying diversesecondary structural features ofpeptides and proteins. Scaffoldswith well-defined secondarystructural preferences (i.e.,helices, sheets, or turns) could,for example, be used to createnew types of tertiary structures,which in turn may havemedicinal applications, e.g., for

disruption of specific protein-proteininteractions.

Over the last few years, his researchgroup has been able to develop andreport diverse class of conformationallyordered synthetic peptide structuresdisplaying remarkable conformationalordering, as would be evident from theirbiophysical studies. His lecture coveredrecent efforts by his group directedtowards the generation of novelconformationally ordered syntheticoligomers featuring diverse backbones.

HONOURS & AWARDS

Dr Gangadhar J. Sanjayan receving the award

Dr Shantanu Chowdhury receving the award

CSIR NEWS94

The Award Ceremony was aptly named“North East Award Summit 2011 &North East India Digital Festival” andwas held at the Regional Institute of e-Learning Information Technology(RIELIT), Kohima, Nagaland on 25November 2011. The Summit wasinaugurated by Mr. T. R. Zeliang,Honourable Minister for Planning andCoordination, Government of Nagaland.A host of other dignitaries representingvarious organizations, both governmentand private sector, actively participatedin the one-day Summit.

The Biology Division of the IndianInstitute of Chemical Technology(IICT), Hyderabad received theprestigious e-North East Award-2011 asa special mention in the category of‘Health Services Delivery’ for thecommendable work and scaling up inArunachal Pradesh for the projectentitled, Database ManagementSystem and GeographicalInformation System for Managementof Malaria in Arunachal Pradesh(sponsored by DST, New Delhi). Prof.

IICT Bags North East Award-2011

Prof. U. S. N. Murty and Dr. M. Srinivasa Rao,Biology Division, IICT receiving the eNorth EastAward-2011 from Shri Lalthara, Chief Secretary,

Govt. of Nagaland

U. S. N Murty, Project Leader, ChiefScientist, Head Biology Division, IICTreceived the Award from the ChiefSecretary, Govt. of Nagaland, ShriLalthara.

The principal sponsors for the eventwere the Department of InformationTechnology, Government of India, NewDelhi, ably supported by variousorganizers, institutional partners,industrial partners, event & technologypartners.

Chief guests, Secretaries of North Eastern States and winners of eNorth East Award-2011 at Kohima, Nagaland

A Senior Scientist from the IndianInstitute of Toxicology Research (IITR),Lucknow has bagged the ShakuntalaAmir Chand Prize, one of the mostprestigious awards of the Indian Councilof Medical Research, Ministry of Health& Family Welfare, Government of India.Instituted in 1953 to acknowledge theoutstanding research contributions ofIndian scientists in the area ofbiomedical sciences, the award carries

IITR Scientist Bags Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize Awarda Scroll of Honor, Citation, Memento,and cash prize of Rs. 10,000/-

The Award for the year 2007 wasconferred on Dr. Aditya Bhushan Pantof the IITR for his work onUnderstanding the cellular andmolecular insights of neuraldevelopment, injury and repair.Dr. Pant received this prestigious Awardfrom Shri Gulam Nabi Azad, UnionMinister for Health & Family Welfare,

HONOURS & AWARDS

Dr. Pant receving the award fromShri Ghulam Nabi Azad

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Government of India, at an AwardCeremony held at DRDO Bhawan,New Delhi on 8 November 2011.

The selection of Dr. Pant for thisAward was based on his pioneeringcontributions in the development andvalidation of newer, more sensitiveand cost-effective high throughputcell-based in vitro models asalternative to experimental animalsfor biomedical research. Such testmodels have relevance inunderstanding the molecular insightsof drug/chemical induced toxicity andmetabolism. Dr. Pant’s modelsreceived global acceptance and arebeing used extensively. Currently, heis developing genetically homogenoushuman stem cells based models toassess the biosafety and toxicity ofdrugs and chemicals in developing thebrains before the birth of a child.

Dr. Pant has more than 80research publications in national andinternational journals of high repute.He has been awarded Vigyan RatnaAward-2010, by CST UP, andconferred Fellow-Society ofToxicology India, Fellow-Academyof Sciences for Animal Welfare,Animal Welfare Board, Ministry ofEnvironment & Forest, Govt. ofIndia. He is a member of the NationalAcademy of Sciences, India;National Academy of MedicalSciences, India; Advisory Board ofResearch & Executive Council ofNational Centre for Stem CellTechnology and Research, Lucknow(India), and President of the Societyof Professional Biotechnologists,India. Dr. Pant also holds varioushonorary, editorial, academic andadministrative assignments.

Dr. K. Veeraswamy Elected Co-chair forICDC under International Association of

Geomagnetism and AeronomyDr. K. Veeraswamy, asenior researcher at theMagnetotellurics Group ofNational GeophysicalResearch Institute (NGRI),Hyderabad has been electedas a co-chair for theInterdivisional Commissionon Developing Countries(ICDC) under International Associationof Geo-magnetism and Aeronomy(IAGA) by virtue of his significant

scientific contributionsin the field of electromagneticin-duction studies.

He was elected during therecent IUGG GeneralAssembly held at Melbourne,Australia, which will be validfor a period of six years (2011-2017). Dr Veeraswamy has so

far published more than 30 researchpapers in high impact journals andcontributed to hydrocarbon and

HONOURS & AWARDS

Dr. Sri Krishna Raj, Chief Scientist,Plant Virology Laboratory, NationalBotanical Research Institute (NBRI),Lucknow has been honoured withthe Vigyan Ratan Award 2010-2011from Uttar Pradesh Science andTechnology (UPCS&T), Lucknow forhis major scientific contributions in thearea of Plant Virology andBiotechnology especially foridentification and characterization ofseveral plant viruses, development ofvirus diagnostics and virus resistanttransgenic plants for protection offloricultural and horticultural cropplants by viral diseases. Theseefforts have improved cropproductivity and benefited farmers ofthe country.

Dr. S.K. Raj has successfullyinvestigated genome organization ofbegomoviruses (Tomato leaf curl virus,Papaya leaf curl virus, Chilli leaf curlvirus, Squash leaf curl virus, Cotton leaf

Dr. Sri Krishna Raj Awarded Vigyan Ratan-2011

curl virus and Jatropha mosaic Indiavirus); Cucumoviruses (Cucumbermosaic virus, Tomato aspermy virus);Potyviruses (Papaya ring spot virus,Bean yellow mosaic virus, Amaryllismosaic virus); Banana bunchy top virusand Phytoplasma associated withvarious diseases of economicallyimportant crop plants. His team hasalso developed sensitive diagnosticsystems for quick and reliablediagnosis of important plant viruses,and virus-resistant transgenic tomatoplants utilizing coat protein gene ofCMV and TLCV.

Dr. Sri Krishna Raj receving the award

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APPOINTMENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

geothermal energyexploration. He hasbeen to Antarctica toconduct Magnetotelluricinvestigations for crustalstudies in the icycontinent, for the firsttime, from the SE Asiancountries.

Dr. Veeraswamy isa member of theWorking Group I.2 ofIAGA and AmericanGeophysical Union andan Associate Fellow ofAP Academy ofSciences. He wasawarded RadhakrishnaPrize for the best paperpublished in the J.Geological Society ofIndia.

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) invites nominations for the G N Ramachandran Gold Medalfor Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology for the year 2012. The award is bestowed every year to anoutstanding Indian scientist, who has made conspicuously important contributions, applied or fundamental, in theinter-disciplinary subject / field of Biological Sciences and Technology. The award would be given for the work doneprimarily in India during ten years preceding the year of the award. Nominations addressed to Scientist Incharge,SSB YSA Unit, Human Resource Development Group, CSIR Complex, Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012should be sent as per prescribed proforma (Original + one copy) along with reprints of five most significant publicationsof the last 10-year’s period by 31 May 2012. The details of the award and the prescribed pro-forma for nomination maybe downloaded from our website www.csirhrdg.res.in

G N Ramachandran Gold Medalfor Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology - 2012

Nominations invited for

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Dr. T. Harinarayana, Chief Scientist at the National GeophysicalResearch Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad has been selected as the Directorof the Research Center of Gujarat Energy Research and ManagementInstitute (GERMI), Gandhinagar, Gujarat. GERMI is a center ofexcellence for industry learning which was set up to develop humanresource to cater to the petroleum and allied energy sectors that canprovide a competitive edge to leaders to compete in the global arena.

For his significant contributions towards various mega projects relatedto exploration of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal energy, Dr.Harinarayana was awarded the National Mineral Award of the Ministry Mines, Govt. of Indiaand Best Scientist Award by the A.P Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Harinarayana is a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Moscow. Heserved as visiting professor of University of Tokyo, Japan and University of Texas at Austin,USA. He was elected as an executive member of IAGA – International Association ofGeomagnetism and Aeronomy – during 2007 to 2011 and recently became a member of itsfinance committee. He is also a member of IAGA working group related to electromagneticand EMSEV group related to earthquakes and volcanoes.

NGRI Scientist Selected asDirector of GERMI Research Centre