JOIN USThe world of chemistry
The activities were conceptualised and planned by the Department of Chemistry of the Indian Academy. Inaugurating the programme, Sudheer Nambiar, vice-president and MD, Astra Zeneca India Ltd said, “We invest millions of dollars and years of research to bring a drug into the market. But now we need more scientists to join us since it is a team work.” In his presidential address, T Somasekhar, the chairman of the Academy and an educationist in his own right, motivated the young towards science. “Let us not be slaves of money but be the real masters of science,” he said.
Principal Nagarathna encouraged the students to go in for research. “The purpose of conducting such an event is to emphasise that chemistry is a creative science, essential for sustainability and improvement of the way of life,” she said. There were a group of speakers who were slated to speak on various topics for the day. Subhendu Mohanty, senior research investigator, Syngene International Ltd spoke on drug and medicinal chemistry. He dwelled on the link between ayurvedic, allopathy and homeopathic drugs.
Jayakumar Kesavan of Astra Zeneca (research scientist) gave a talk on NMR Spectroscopy and its application in organic synthesis.
The students, who were prepared for events such as quizzes and lectures with power-point presentations, said that the fest had given them fresh insights into the world of science and the advancements chemistry.
The lecture competition was based on the theme of ‘Recent Trents in Chemistry’ and students participated with great enthusiasm. They were ready with power-point presentations and notes. Sandhya and Bhagyashree, first year MSc students of NMKRV College said, “We are in our first year and we got to know so much more about the world of chemistry. The lectures by other students and the guest speakers were particularly insightful,” said Sandhya. The quiz was followed by three other rounds such as ‘brain hunting’, ‘visual round’ and a ‘rapid fire round’.
The students confessed that they really found the fest interesting and informative. Rupashree and B N Megha of Government Science College in K R Circle said, “Analysing the compounds and getting to the heart of the matter was a challenge in itself.” Amrin Sultana and Ramya J, both first semester students of the Indian Academy, said that they came prepared for the lecture with a power-point presentation.
“The information we were given today is invaluable. There’s a lot of research and homework that have gone into the preparation and we learnt a lot in the process,” said Ramya. The winners were presented cash prize and a certificate.