Category: Science & Technology

NATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / RESEARCH: Indian Institute for Science (IISc.) Researchers have ‘Nano Solution for Wastewater Treatment’

They have developed a metal organic framework (MoF) nanocomposite by intercalating the properties of graphene oxide and UiO-66-NDC.

Researchers in the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc.) have developed a novel nanocomposite material for improved wastewater treatment.

A team of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Water Research (ICWaR) in the IISc., led by Praveen C. Ramamurthy, has developed a metal organic framework (MoF) nanocomposite by intercalating the properties of graphene oxide and UiO-66-NDC.

Heavy metals

According to IISc., industrial effluents containing heavy metals have polluted our water sources for decades. Lead, a heavy metal commonly found in discharge from paint and battery manufacturing plants, is a major water pollutant whose presence severely affects human and animal health.

In recent years, scientists have turned to nanotechnology to develop absorbent materials that can remove heavy metals for improved wastewater treatment.

However, existing adsorption materials and technologies are expensive, and their applications are limited by where they can be implemented and how efficiently they can adsorb lead. This demands the development of novel, low-cost and structurally stable composite materials for wastewater treatment. To this end, ICWaR researchers have developed a novel nanocomposite material.

The researchers have demonstrated that the new nanocomposite can adsorb lead (Pb) from simulated wastewater systems.

Four-fold capacity to absorb lead ions from wastewater

The team demonstrated that the newly developed MOF nanocomposite adsorbent has approximately four-fold enhanced capability in removing lead ions from wastewater compared to previously reported studies of graphene oxide. The material exhibits a stable crystalline structure. Modelling and simulation results also support enhanced efficiency in lead adsorption due to the adsorbent molecular architecture.

The new nanocomposite has improved adsorption and high regeneration and reusability capacities, making it an effective tool in the wastewater treatment of lead ions.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: GREEN ENERGY: The International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIIT-B) Installs Rooftop Solar Power System Covering 40% of its Power Requirements.

The solar power system offers 498.43 KWP capacity which is nearly 40 per cent of the power requirement of the institute.

The International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore installed a 500 kVA rooftop solar power system in its campus recently. It was inaugurated by S Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, IIIT-B governing body.

The solar power system offers 498.43 KWP capacity which is nearly 40 per cent of the power requirement of the institute.

IIIT-B has installed 393 solar panels on rooftops and has upgraded its infrastructure to tap green energy.

Jagadish P Patil, Chief Administration Officer, said, “Our power requirement has shot up to 22% as there is an increase in student strength and upgradation of infrastructure. With this solar power system, we can reduce 40 per cent on the overall power bill.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: AIRPORTS / TRAVEL/ METAVERSE: Kempegowda Intl Airport’s Terminal-2 (KIA T-2) is One of the First in the World that can be Experienced on the Metaverse. First phase of ‘BLR Metaport’ Launched

The Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal-2 has become one of the first terminals in the world that can be experienced on the metaverse, after Bangalore International Airport Limited, operator of the KIA, on Tuesday announced the first phase launch of the BLR Metaport.

The Kempegowda International Airport’s (KIA) Terminal-2 has become one of the first terminals in the world that can be experienced on the metaverse, after Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), operator of the KIA, on Tuesday announced the first phase launch of the BLR Metaport.

Built in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Polygon, the BLR Metaport offers an immersive, three-dimensional (3D) virtual experience of the newly launched terminal.

Interested travellers and members of the public can log on to www.blrmetaport.com and virtually tour and navigate the new terminal using their smart devices.

The BLR Metaport is an outcome of the Joint Innovation Centre (JIC), announced in April 2022 by BIAL, AWS, and Intel. The JIC focuses on driving the development and adoption of digital solutions in aviation.

“For BIAL, the mission of the JIC is to leverage emerging technologies to build new business models and passenger experiences and be at the forefront of technology innovation in India’s commercial aviation,” BIAL added.

Developed in line with this mission, the BLR Metaport is one of the first airport metaverse experiences, designed to deliver an enhanced digital experience.

A 3D interface will offer customers new ways to interact with the airport, such as checking into flights, navigating terminals, shopping, and social aspects like connecting with other travellers.

BLR Metaport brings the virtual and physical worlds together to provide consistent engagement, and aims to excite travellers with new, unique, and immersive experiences.

BIAL’s Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Satyaki Raghunath said, “We are very excited that BIAL is entering into the new world of metaverse through the BLR Metaport.

This is our first foray into the world of Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and we aim to delight travellers with a unique, immersive, and virtual experience. We believe that it is important to connect with a new generation of our global audience through the metaverse.

We also have several initiatives planned around the BLR Metaport, which promise to increase ways in which we can engage with our global audience and enhance business impact over the next few years.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: ENGINEERING / SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: The ‘TAPAS 201 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV’ completes flight test of 18 hours. Totally Indigenous Designed and Developed by Aeronautical Development Est (ADE).

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by the Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).

The TAPAS 201 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV has achieved a significant milestone after undertaking a flight test lasting 18 hours at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka.

TAPAS 201 has been designed and developed by the Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). HAL and BEL will be the production partners for the MALE UAV.

Announcing the milestone, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) tweeted: India’s TAPAS UAV, #designed & #developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru for tri-services has successfully achieved #milestone flight test of 18 hours at Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga.

TAPAS 201 is a multi-mission UAV being developed to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance roles for the three wings of the armed forces with endurance in the range of 24 to 30 hours.

Described as the Indian version of the US’s Predator drones, TAPAS 201 is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads, like Medium Range Electro Optic, Long Range Electro Optic, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Electronic Intelligence, Communication Intelligence and Situational Awareness Payloads, to perform missions during day and night.

The MALE UAV, which was earlier referred to as RUSTOM II, undertook its first flight in November 2016. Since then, it has undertaken many test flights.

In 2019, the TAPAS 201 programme suffered a setback when the UAV crashed during an experimental flight near the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga.

Apart from the Indian army, air force and navy, internal security agencies like State Police Forces, BSF, CRPF, and the Coast Guard are also prospective users of the MALE UAV.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES: SAARC Countries Honour Dr.G. Siddesh, Sigma Hospital, Mysuru

Dr. G. Siddesh, Director of  Sigma Hospital, Mysuru, was honoured with a Fellowship by Colombo Hospital of Sri Lanka recently at the National Convention of  SAARC  countries held at Colombo.

He was honoured by Dr. Sathish Gonasinghe,  President of Sri Lanka Surgeon Associations in recognition of his more than 35 years of service to Medical Education and Minimal  Surgery in Hospital.

source/content: starofmysore.com ( edited)

INTERNATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICAL SCIENCES / INNOVATION: Ayushi Chauhan, Student of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Wins Prize for ‘TB Diagnostics Tool’ at the Falling Walls Lab and Science Summit 2022, Berlin, Germany

An IISc student won third prize at an international summit held in Berlin, Germany, for a device that could make tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis cheaper and more accessible.

Ayushi Chauhan, a PhD scholar at IISc’s chemical engineering department, was awarded third prize under the ‘Breakthrough of the Year Emerging Talents’ category at the Falling Walls Lab and Science Summit 2022 in Germany. She was earlier the winner of Falling Walls Lab India 2022, leading her to represent the country during the global summit.

She and her adviser, Dr Bhushan Toley, developed a pocket-sized device for the detection of both regular and drug-resistant tuberculosis, that makes the diagnostic portion near equipment-free. “The device reduces instrumentation cost by 99.6% and testing cost by 87%, which can be reduced even further. Only around one-third of tuberculosis cases are actually reported.

This is due in large part to equipment needs,” she said, during her pitch at the summit. She said the diagnosis method was visually similar to that of a home pregnancy test and Covid tests. “I believe this invention can bring an end to tuberculosis by 2035,” she said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL / KARNATAKA: ENGINEERING & TRANSPORT / GLOBAL J.V. / INDUSTRY LEADER:Vikram Kirloskar – The man who brought Toyota to Karnataka

Vikram Kirloskar brought global auto giant Toyota to Karnataka in 1997, when the State wasn’t yet a big name in the global business arena.

Way back in 1997, when Karnataka wasn’t yet a big spot on the global business map, auto major Toyota set up a manufacturing facility at Bidadi, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The man who was instrumental in bringing the Japanese automaker to Karnataka was Vikram Kirloskar who passed away on November 29.

The initial efforts towards bringing Toyota Motor Corp to India were made during the tenure of Chief Minister Veerappa Moily in the early 1990s, and were later followed up by his successor H.D. Deve Gowda. During J.H. Patel’s tenure, Toyota Kirloskar officially started its operations in Karnataka. Thereafter, the business savvy S.M Krishna and his industrious industries minister R.V. Deshpande extended support to the venture.

Although multiple Chief Ministers and their industries ministers were involved in bringing, hosting and settling Toyota at Bidadi, one key person who worked tirelessly from outside was Vikram Kirloskar, who is a mechanical engineering graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.A.

Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said, “He was a dear personal friend, an industry friend and, more importantly, a genuine human being who was always ready with a smile. With the passing of Vikram, a prominent face and a pillar of the business community of Karnataka is no more.”

The Kirloskar family hails from Haveri in the Dharwad region. They have been running various businesses, including automotive engineering, pumps, gensets, and machine tools for over 100 years. Vikram Kirloskar became the mainstay of ‘Karnataka Inc.’ with Toyota Kirloskar in 1997.

Since its inception, Toyota has invested over ₹20,000 crore in Karnataka, and Mr. Kirloskar’s personal commitment in 2010 was ₹1,500 crore.

“He has been a great help in organising Global Investors’ Meet. He and (his wife) Geetanjali came with me for a road show in the U.S. prior to GIM in 2010,” recalled Mr. Nirani.

A doyen of the automotive industry, Mr. Kirloskar was extremely supportive of young people and their business ideas.

Addressing a trade body event that had several youngsters in the audience recently, he said, “You are the future leaders. You should soon be sitting here where I am sitting.”

The fourth-generation entrepreneur of the Kirloskar family leaves behind his wife Geetanjali and daughter Manasi, who works in the company.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: AVIATION & AIRCRAFT / MANUFACTURING: ‘Saras Mk 2’, India’s very Own 10-seater Civilian Aircraft Indigenously Developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in collaboration with CSIR may soon Dot Skies over tier 2, 3 cities by 2025

The 19-seater civilian aircraft is being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories in Bengaluru, in collaboration with CSIR.

One of the major attractions at this year’s Bengaluru Tech Summit is a model of the Saras Mark 2, the upgraded version of the first ever indigenously built civilian aeroplane, the Saras Mark 1.

Almost 20 years after its predecessor’s historic maiden flight, the Saras Mk 2 may soon become a common sight in the skies across the state.

The Saras Mk 2, a 19-seater multi-purpose civilian aircraft, is being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

“The aircraft is an upgraded version of the Saras Mk 1. It can be used for multiple purposes, including for medical emergencies or in the event of natural disasters. However, it can also help in transporting passengers from Tier-1 cities to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities,” said Naman Dugar, a senior scientist at NAL, who has been involved with the development of the aircraft. He also said that the aircraft will be used for defence purposes as well.

The aircraft has an additional five seats when compared to Saras Mk-1, which had only 14 seats. Dugar says the plane is ideal for carrying passengers to shorter distances, like to nearby cities. With Karnataka’s push towards developing Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in the coming years, the aircraft may become an ideal option for the state’s transport needs in this direction.

“There are many larger planes. However, they are developed for long-distance travel and are generally more expensive. In terms of travelling to closer cities by air, for example, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, the Saras Mark 2 will become a sought-after plane. The aircraft does not need much space for take-off and landing,” said Dugar. The development of Saras Mk 2 is expected to be completed by 2024 and make its maiden flight by 2025.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: HEALTH & MEDICAL SCIENCES: Bengaluru’s Fortis Hospital Performs 72 Robotic Surgeries in three months

Fortis Hospital has successfully performed 72 robotic surgeries (knee and hip replacement) since September 2022. To create awareness about the efficiency of robotic surgeries, the hospital launched an initiative to perform 100 robotic surgeries without adding any additional costs.

Akshay Oleti, business head of the hospital, said the the hospital currently provides robotic surgeries at the same cost as conventional surgeries to ensure the advanced procedures are more accessible. 

In October, Ndeshiwangisa Senyaeli, a 66-year-old Tanzanian woman, was treated at the hospital. She was even unable to perform basic chores for 15 years and had co-morbidities like hypertension, asthma, heart defects among others earlier. The doctors explained that both her knees were damaged due to osteoarthritis. She could barely take a step when she arrived at the hospital.

Dr Narayan Hulse, Director – Department of Orthopaedics, Bone & Joint Surgery, Fortis Hospital, explained that they performed a surgery using the Mako Robotic Technology within a gap of three days. The robot helped create a 3D virtual model of the damaged knee and plan the corrective surgery accordingly.

Dr Hulse explained that often, patients would be unhappy with the knee surgeries as the metal plates would often end up being inaccurately placed. With the MAKO robot, the technology has evolved as the robot calculates everything, all the angles and cutting of the bones as well, reducing inaccuracy to almost nil.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL / NATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION / LEADERS: 14th Infosys Prize Award’ . 6 Awarded for the understanding of Galaxy, Statute, Engineering, Social Sciences

14th edition of Infosys Prize awarded to six persons who each will get a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

The Infosys Science Foundation on Tuesday announced the winners who include a mathematician tackling challenges in a field sometimes called “the queen of mathematics”, an economist working on governance and accountability, and a law school professor and expert on the Indian Constitution.

The winners are Suman Chakraborty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for engineering and computer science; Sudhir Krishnaswamy the vice-chancellor at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, for humanities; Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for life sciences; Mahesh Kakade at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for mathematical sciences; Nissim Kanekar at the National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, for physical sciences; and Rohini Pande at Yale University in the US for social sciences, the foundation said.

This is the 14th edition of Infosys Prize. The prize for each category includes a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

Chakraborty has studied how fluids behave in tiny channels to design novel medical devices, including low-cost tools, to detect infectious diseases and a hand-held torchlike device for early diagnosis of oral cancer.

The technology has drawn commercial interest within and outside India. Krishnaswamy was awarded the prize for “his insightful understanding of the Indian Constitution, especially his carefully argued account of the importance of the landmark ‘basic structure doctrine’ adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973 that guides and constrains efforts to amend it, while also ensuring its stability in the face of executive and legislative outcomes,” the foundation said.

Vaidya has contributed to understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, including the role of a neurotransmitter called serotonin in causing persistent changes in behaviour induced by early life stress.

The foundation said Kakde has made “outstanding contributions” to algebraic number theory, often called the queen of mathematics that has practical applications in areas such as cryptography or secret communications.

“But I don’t do things with any applications in mind,” Kakde said on Tuesday. His work has yielded proofs for several key conjectures at the heart of modern numbertheory. The conjectures serve as tools to address hard math problems involving so-called polynomial equations.

Kanekar has received the award for his study of star formation in galaxies eight billion years ago and especially for his work on elusive signatures of atomic hydrogen in distant galaxies that has resolved along-standing astronomical puzzle — why have star births in galaxies declined over time?

Pande’s research on governance, accountability, women’s empowerment, the environment, and the role of credit in the lives of the poor “offer major promise and potential for policy design in emerging economies”, the foundation said.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)