Category: Education

KARNATAKA: GREEN ENERGY /SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: IISc Supercapacitor to replace Batteries in EVs

The supercapacitor is fully functional and can be deployed in energy-storage devices like electric car batteries or any miniaturised system by on-chip integration.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a new type of supercapacitor that can replace batteries in streetlights, electric cars and medical devices.

The supercapacitor, developed by researchers from IISc’s Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP), is different from others, as it is smaller or ‘ultra-micro’, but capable of storing larger amounts of energy. Hence, the supercapacitor can be easier to use in smaller electronic devices, eliminating the need for batteries, while ensuring that the device stays charged for a longer time.

“Most of these devices are currently powered by batteries. However, over time, these batteries lose their ability to store charge and therefore have a limited shelf-life. Capacitors, on the other hand, can store an electrical charge for much longer, by their design. Supercapacitors, on the other hand, combine the best of both batteries and capacitors — they can store and release large amounts of energy, and are therefore highly sought-after for next-generation electronic devices,” the researchers said.

Abha Misra, an IAP professor and a corresponding study author, said the supercapacitor used Field Effect Transistors (FETs) instead of metallic electrodes, which are more commonly used, as charge collectors. “Using FET as an electrode for supercapacitors is something new for tuning charge in a capacitor,” she said.

During their tests, they found that the ultra-micro supercapacitor, due to the materials used, was able to increase capacitance (ability to store energy as electricity within the device) to 3,000 per cent. This was compared to a regular supercapacitor, which showed only an 18 per cent increase. The key was the use of molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) and graphene in increasing the mobility of electrons within the supercapacitor.

“In future, we are planning to explore if replacing MoS2 with other materials can increase the capacitance of the supercapacitor even more. The supercapacitor is fully functional and can be deployed in energy-storage devices like electric car batteries or any miniaturised system by on-chip integration. We are also planning to apply for a patent on the supercapacitor,” they said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: AGRICULTURE / BIO-SCIENCE: 3-day International Seminar on Bioscience Technologies inaugurated at Karekere, Hassan

The seminar is being organised by College of Agriculture at Karekere near Hassan.

A three-day international conference on “Current Technologies and Opportunities in Biological Sciences” was inaugurated at the College of Agriculture near Hassan on Monday. 

Former chairman of ISRO A.S. Kiran Kumar inaugurated the event. In his address, he said the current bioscience technologies had been creating a new dimension for the good of mankind. The advances in science and technology had played an important role in facilitating daily activities of human beings.

S.V. Suresh, vice-chancellor of UAS Bengaluru, said the advances in agriculture sector helped the country to ensure food for all. Earlier the country was facing food scarcity. The improvement was because of the advances in technology, he said.

Ganeshaiah, Retired Dean of UAS Bengaluru and other scholars, researchers attended the programme. Many scientists from reputed institutes presented their research papers in the event.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY: Open Day at Raman Research Institute (RRI) to mark National Science Day

About 800 school students from various government and private schools in and around Bengaluru participated in the Open Day event, to mark the National Science Day at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) on Tuesday.

RRI’s PhD and post-doctoral students along with the scientific staff put together 30 science models and live demonstrations for the visitors, which also included science enthusiasts and the public.

On the occasion, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Kasturirangan, inaugurated the Archival Gallery at RRI.

The Archival Gallery is an unique, one-stop place offering visitors an opportunity to learn about the life and science of Indian Nobel Laureate Sir C.V. Raman, who founded the institute in 1948.

Further, the gallery offers a glimpse into some of the major scientific results from its four core themes, namely astronomy and astrophysics, soft condensed matter, light and matter physics and theoretical physics, as well as the facilities which provide able technological support for the frontier research that happens at the Institute.

The institute said that it took over two years for the completion of the gallery which is a joint effort by members across the institute.

A special cover themed on the National Science Day celebrated every year to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect was also released.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HEALTHCARE / NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH: Pratiksha Trust signs MoU with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) & Centre for Brain Research (CBR)

CBR is uniquely positioned to take on the challenge of tackling this impending healthcare and socioeconomic crisis.”

The Pratiksha Trust signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) and Centre for Brain Research (CBR), an autonomous centre of IISC, to accelerate breakthrough discoveries and translational research on neurodegenerative diseases.

Under this MoU, the charitable trust, founded by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalkrishnan, has agreed to provide support to CBR in perpetuity with an initial outlay to the tune of Rs 450.27 crore over the next 10 years, for research, innovation and translation.

IISC Director Prof G Rangarajan said, “India’s elderly population is expected to grow rapidly to a staggering 32 crore by 2050, leading to a corresponding increase in the burden of dementia and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. CBR is uniquely positioned to take on the challenge of tackling this impending healthcare and socioeconomic crisis.”

Gopalakrishnan said, “The human brain is one of the world’s biggest mysteries, which is yet to be fully understood. By funding this centre, we are working towards creating and sustaining a globally recognised, state-of-the-art research and innovation hub that will be at the cutting edge of research on the human brain.”

CBR has already been pursuing research in this area and this MoU will help scale up the research and activities at the centre.

It is also a part of nation-wide initiative involving 20 institutions called “Genome-India” (supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India), which aims to discover India-specific genetic basis for diseases through whole genome sequencing of 10,000 samples collected from across the country.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ACHIEVERS: 9 Personalities Presented State-level ‘Sandesha Awards 2023’

Nine achievers, including an institution, were presented with the State-level ‘Sandesha Awards 2023’, in recognition of their achievements in different fields here on Tuesday.

The awards were presented in a programme attended by, among others, Sandesha Institute chairman and Ballari Bishop Henry D’Souza, Alva’s Education Foundation Chairman M. Mohan Alva, Bishops of Mangaluru and Udupi Diocese Peter Paul Saldanha and Gerald Isaac Lobo respectively, Sandesha Director Sudeep Paul, and others.

The literature awards, Kannada, Konkani and Tulu were presented to Raghavendra Patil, Andrew L. D’Cunha, and Chinnappa Gowda respectively; the media award to Shivaji Ganeshan, the Konkani music award to Joyce Ozario; the art award to M.S. Murthy; the education award to Kotiganahalli Ramaiah; the special award to Prerana Resource Centre, and the best teacher award was presented to Sabiha Bhoomigowda.

Mr. Alva in his address said: “Our cultural, religious and social life and values are compromised amid the growing worldly life and technological advancement. It is unfortunate that we miss many of those persons who nurture the socio-cultural values through their life. The real joy of living a virtuous life is when we work tirelessly and selflessly for society.”

“Human being is a spirit in the world who constantly strives to explore and grow the inner spiritual powers for the betterment of the society. Sandesha awards has displayed and honoured those who have selflessly contributed their resources and inner powers,” said Bishop Rev. Saldanha.

Bishop D’Souza said: “Today we are living in a world where environment, harmony, health, unity, sensitivity, relationship and cooperation are great matters of concern. Let us aspire to build a society without hatred, division and violence.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: JNCASR Scientists Develop Brain-like Computing with Industry Compatible Nitride Semiconductors

They used scandium nitride (ScN) to develop a device mimicking a synapse that controls the signal transmission as well as remembers the signal.

A team of scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have used scandium nitride (ScN) and Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility to develop brain-like computing.

This invention can provide a new material for stable, CMOS-compatible optoelectronic synaptic functionalities at a relatively lower energy cost and also potential to be translated into an industrial product.

According to the Department of Science and Technology, the JNCASR team led by Dheemahi Rao who were working on nitride-based materials used their background for developing hardware for neuromorphic computing. They used ScN to develop a device mimicking a synapse that controls the signal transmission as well as remembers the signal.

“The JNCASR team demonstrates an artificial optoelectronic synapse with ScN thin films that can mimic synaptic functionalities like short-term memory, long-term memory, the transition from short-term to long-term memory, learning–forgetting, frequency selective optical filtering, frequency-dependent potentiation and depression, Hebbian learning, and logic-gate operations,” states the department.

Compared to the existing materials used to demonstrate optoelectronic synapse, ScN is more stable, CMOS compatible, and can be seamlessly integrated with existing Si technology. It can act as a platform for both excitatory and inhibitory functions. The industrial processing techniques of ScN are similar to the existing semiconductor fabrication infrastructure. Response to the optical stimuli also has the advantage of possible integration with photonic circuits known for higher speed and broader bandwidth than electronic circuits.

“Our work enables neuromorphic computing research with a stable, scalable, and CMOS-compatible III-nitride semiconductor that exhibits both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic functionalities. Unlike the previous works on all-electronic synapse, our work shows an optoelectronic synapse with a large bandwidth, reduced RC delays, and low power consumption,”said Dr. Bivas Saha, Assistant Professor, JNCASR.

Apart from JNCASR, researchers from the University of Sydney (Dr. Magnus Garbrecht and Dr. Asha I. K. Pillai) also participated in this study published recently in the scientific journal Advanced Electronic Materials.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: LEADERS / FAMOUS PERSONALITIES : 4 Eminent Personalities of Udupi to be Honoured at ‘New Year Awards 2023’

Academy of General Education (AGE), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), Manipal Media Network Ltd & Dr. TMA Pai Foundation Manipal, will honour eminent personalities from different fields for their distinguished services during the ‘New Year Award 2023’ function. 

Mahabaleshwara M S, managing director & CEO Karnataka Bank, Mangaluru, Dr Pushpa G Kini, professor. department of Paediatrics, KMC, Manipal & former director-Student Affaires MAHE, Manipal, Dr Pangal Sripathi Rao, former dean & professor of Orthopaedics Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, and Amai Mahalinga Naik, a well-known farmer, Kepu Adyanadka are the four eminent personalities. 

All the renowned personalities will be conferred during the award ceremony scheduled on Saturday, January 14 at Manipal. The award is being given every year to eminent personalities from different fields for their distinguished services and immense contributions to society.

Dr Ranjan R Pai – chairman-MEMG, president – MAHE, registrar- AGE & Dr H S Ballal, pro chancellor – MAHE & president – AGE; T Sathish U Pai – executive chairman – Manipal Media Network Ltd. & vice president-AGE, T Ashok Pai, president, Dr TMA Pai Foundation, Manipal will grace the occasion. 

The award ceremony will be broadcast live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJUzepGvfpo

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / ENGINEERING : INVENTIONS: Yashwanth, a student of Kadheshwalya Govt High School’s Multipurpose Agricultural Invention Model Selected for South India Science Exhibition

Yashwanth, a student of Kadeshwalya government high school has developed a multi-purpose agricultural machine that has been selected for a south-India science exhibition besides winning all-round praise for developing the model.

Recently, Yashwanth’s invention of the multi-purpose agricultural machine had won a prize at the state-level exhibition held at Dharwad.

He will now be participating in the South Indian-level science exhibition to be held at Thrissur in Kerala from January 27 to 31.

A total of 20 models have been selected from Karnataka for the Thrissur science exhibition and Yashwanth’s machine is one of the models selected from Dakshina Kannada district in the personal segment of the exhibition.

Yashwanth is the son of Lokesh and Pavithra who hail from Kemmannu.

Yashwanth was guided in developing the model by his maths teacher Geetha Kumari. Yashwanth’s model has already bagged first place at the taluk and district-level science exhibitions.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL: Infosys Prize for 6 Researchers

IISc Prof Mahesh Kakde received the award in the mathematical sciences category for his contributions to algebraic number theory which is predicted to help in computing and cryptography.

Six researchers were awarded the Infosys Prize 2022 on Saturday in recognition of their work in their respective fields.The Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust, annually honours researchers in the fields of engineering and computer science, humanities, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences.

“The Infosys Science Foundation has instituted the Infosys Prize to highlight the importance of scientific research for the development of India and the world. From exploring the frontiers of brain research and astronomy to developing solutions for the urgent healthcare needs of underserved populations to examining the notions of justice in a fast-changing world inundated by the climate emergency and pandemics, our laureates are working on the cutting edge of science, technology, and scholarship….,” said Kris Gopalakrishnan, president, Infosys Science Foundation.

Prof Suman Chakraborty of IIT-Kharagpur has won the award in the engineering and science category for developing diagnostic devices for easy access and use in rural areas. In the humanities category, Vice-Chancellor of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Sudhir Krishnaswamy, was honoured for his work on “the importance of the basic structure doctrine of the  Constitution that was adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973”.

IISc Prof Mahesh Kakde received the award in the mathematical sciences category for his contributions to algebraic number theory which is predicted to help in computing and cryptography.

Chairperson, Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Vidita Vaidya was honoured under the life sciences category for her work on understanding the brain in the context of mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

Prof Nissim Kanekar of National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, and Prof Rohini Pande, director, Economic Growth Center, Yale University, were respectively awarded for their work in the field of physical sciences and social sciences. Prof Kanekar was awarded for his studies on galaxies during the ‘cosmic noon’ era, while Prof Pande was awarded for her research on governance and potential policy change for the benefit of social justice.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / SCIENTIST: Dr. Hrishikesh Tavanadi Awarded the ‘Young Scientist of the National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi presently serving at CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru

The award is considered prestigious and very competitive given to Indian scientists below the age of 35.

Dr. Hrishikesh Tavanandi has been awarded the Medal for Young Scientist of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi. He is serving as Training Coordinator on temporary basis in the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) programme at CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru.

INSA is a body of Indian scientists founded in 1935 with the aim of promoting science in India and harnessing scientific knowledge for the cause of humanity and national welfare.

One of the activities of INSA is to encourage and motivate young talent in Indian science. INSA awards the Young Scientist Medal each year. The award is a prestigious and a very competitive award given to Indian scientists below the age of 35 and is considered to be ‘the highest recognition of promise, creativity and excellence in a young scientist’.

It is given annually to those who distinguish themselves through these attributes as evidenced by their research work carried out in India. In selecting Dr. Hrishikesh Tavanandi, INSA President Prof. Chandrima Shaha wrote, “You have shown great potential to be a leader in research. I sincerely hope that you will continue to strive hard to reach your potential and to prove your leadership in the coming years.”

Dr. Tavanandi has carried out his research work under the guidance of Prof. K.S.M.S. Raghavarao, professor-IIT Tirupati and former Director, CSIR-CFTRI.

He has developed innovative and translatable hybrid and integrated separation processes to achieve gains in yield and quality of extractable, economically useful phytochemicals from biomass.

The noteworthy processes developed by him include, high quality bioactives from Spirulina and quality drying of micro-organisms and biomolecules by methods alternative to freeze drying.

Dr. Tavanandi received the award from INSA President Prof. Chandrima Shaha at the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, RC Visakhapatnam during the 88th annual general meeting of INSA.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)’