CNR Rao 'fires off' Vijyoshi Camp

He was not farther from the truth as Rao’s hydrogen combustion demonstration on stage literally fired off the three-day Vijyoshi Camp 2011 organised by Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) on Saturday.

Rao’s lecture on chemistry and its importance was the first of a series of talks that are part of the camp which have brought together 12 scientists, mathematicians, chemists and physicians from India and abroad on one stage.

The Tata Auditorium at the IISc was packed, with only a few seats vacant at the media end, as more than 500 students from prestigious Indian institutes listened with rapt attention to the country’s leading chemist. The 90-minute talk took the audience through the history of chemistry and connected the past with the present with emphasis on ‘individual intuitive scientific thinking’.

Rao promoted the idea of scientific research saying, “Science and research allow one to lead a self-less life with no time for gossip. I want many more youngsters to approach science in a much more positive way and not just as a career.”

“Chemistry is life and environment and energy. India needs a minimum of 400,000 MW in the next 20 years. To ensure this demand is to take chemistry seriously,” he said. Rao said he was currently studying carbon nanotubes and graphene.

Towards the end of the lecture, Rao gave some distracted a piece of his mind. “Shut up and look here when I am speaking. If I were in my class, I would throw chalks at you.”
The participants included students and a few faculty members from KVPY, IISER, IITs, University of Hyderabad and INSPIRE. The programme is funded by the Department of Science and Technology, KVPY, IISc and INSPIRE.