KARNATAKA: HORTICULTURE / GARDEN: CM Opens Mysuru City’s First Botanical Garden – The 15-acre Lingambudhi Lake Botanical Garden

Chief Minister Siddharamaiah inaugurated the Mysuru city’s first Lingambudhi Lake Botanical Garden at Srirampura II Stage, Ramakrishnanagar, this morning.

The garden, spread over 15-acre area, is developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 4 crore and has over 300 plant varieties, including medicinal plants.

The Chief Minister and dignitaries, who went around the garden on a battery-operated vehicle, also released the pamphlets on Geographical Indicator (GI) products of Mysuru like Nanjangud Rasabale, Mysore Veelyedele (Betel leaves), Mysore Mallige (Jasmine) and several other farm produces.

Horticulture Minister S.S. Mallikarjun, Mysuru District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Minister for Animal Husbandry K. Venkatesh, MLAs K. Harishgowda and D. Ravishankar and others were present.  A topiary at the Botanical Garden.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: ARTS & CRAFTS / FASHION: Namratha Manjunath Wins ‘Miss Mysuru 2023’ Crown and First Runner-Up Bhavana Narayan

Inner Wheel Club of Mysuru Aisiri with Nandini Nagaraj Pageant Initiative and RK Universe Coorg had hosted ‘Miss Mysuru 2023’ event recently at The Viceroy Comforts in Mysuru.

‘Miss Mysuru 2023’ winner Namratha Manjunath , a medical student, first runner-up Bhavana Narayan and second runner-up Harshitha, are seen with the jury members Dr. Hemamalini Lakshman (Mrs. India Universe 2018), Prathiba, K. Kavya and Sowhardini.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL : NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: EDUCATION : IIT gets its First Woman Director. Mysuru-Born Dr. Preeti Aghalayam Is IIT Zanzibar-Tanzania Director

IIT gets its first woman Director

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), the country’s top-ranked educational institution, has achieved the distinction of being the first IIT in India to establish an international campus, set to be located in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The institute has also set another first by appointing the IIT’s first woman Director.

Heading this initiative is Mysuru-born Dr. Preeti Aghalayam, who is an alumna of IIT Madras. She is also a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

The Zanzibar Offshore  Campus of IIT Madras will be situated on Zanzibar Island, off the East African mainland and is slated to commence its inaugural academic session in October 2023.

The establishment of this offshore campus aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, which encourages high-performing Indian Universities to establish campuses abroad.

Dr. Preeti grew up on 13th Main Road in Saraswathipuram and attended Demonstration School (DMS School) in Mysuru. After completing her Pre-University, she made it to IIT Madras and chose Chemical Engineering as her field of study.

According to Meena Mysuru, a retired officer from the Indian Information Service (IIS) and resident of city, a close friend of the family, Dr. Preeti hails from a family of educators.

Her father, late Dr. Janardhan, was a Chemistry Professor at the Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Mysuru, while her mother, Dr. Rama, taught linguistics. Both her parents held Ph.Ds and her grandfather was a renowned historian.

Professional journey: Dr. Preeti Aghalayam completed her B.Tech in Chemical Engineering at IIT Madras in 1995 and later earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2000. Her professional journey includes a stint as a post-doctoral researcher at MIT in Cambridge and a faculty position at IIT Bombay.

Dr. Preeti joined IIT Madras as a faculty member in 2010 and is actively involved in the Office of Global Engagement at the institute, where she oversees international academic programmes.

Her contributions led to her recognition as one of the 75 Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by the Principal Scientific Advisor’s office.

Running enthusiast

Beyond her academic pursuits, Dr. Preeti has a strong sports background and was an avid basketball player during her school days. She is also an accomplished marathon runner.

In an interview, she said, “Running is everything for me as it helps me shred off the stress. If I am under a lot of stress, my family asks me to run and come back. Running makes me feel human again.”

In the initial plans, faculty members for the Zanzibar campus will be either deputed from IIT Madras or recruited from India. Presently, the institute will operate from a temporary campus in the Bweleo district of Zanzibar, with the permanent 200-acre campus on Zanzibar Island set to be completed by 2026.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: INDIA’s FREEDOM FIGHTER: Mysuru’s B.S. Ramachandra Rao No More

 B.S. Ramachandra Rao (96), freedom fighter and a resident of Saraswathipuram, passed away here on Wednesday (Aug. 30) night.

A Mechanical Engineer by profession, he had participated in Quit India Movement as a teenager and in the 1946 freedom struggle held at Hassan, he was jailed for flying the Indian flag atop a Police Station.

He is survived by his son Arun Belawadi (President of Rotary Mysore), daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends. Last rites were performed at the foot of Chamundi Hill on Aug. 31.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: Lifetime Achievement Award For Dr. H. Basavanagowdappa, Physician & Principal/Dean of JSS Medical College, Mysuru

The Association of Physicians of India, Karnataka Chapter, presented the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Dr. H. Basavanagowdappa, a Senior Physician, Principal of JSS Medical College and Dean, Faculty of Medicine at JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru, at the awards ceremony held on Aug. 11 at Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari, during the Annual State Conference of the Association of Physicians of India, Karnataka State Chapter. 

The award was given in recognition of his 36 years of dedicated teaching experience in Medical education and his commitment to health services to several thousands of needy patients.

He was honoured with a plaque and a citation.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL & KARNATAKA: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: Eminent Scientist Padma Shri Prof. MRS Rao passes away in Bengaluru at 75. He was the First Scientist to initiate Chromatin Biology Research in India. 

Prof Rao was working as an Honorary Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and was actively running the Chromatin Biology laboratory in the institute.

Manchanahalli Rangaswamy Satyanarayana Rao, popularly known as MRS Rao, an eminent Indian scientist and Padma Shri awardee, died of cardiac arrest at 7 pm at his residence in Tata Nagar in Bengaluru on Sunday.

He was well known for his discipline, scientific knowledge, patience, soft-spoken nature and mentorship of PhD students.

The former Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research president is survived by his wife Padma S Rao and two sons Sharat and Rohan.

MR Satyanarayana Rao’s colleagues told TNIE that his last rites will be conducted on Tuesday after one of his sons returns from Brisbane. 

Born on January 21, 1948, in Mysuru, the 75-year-old scientist, was the first scientist to initiate Chromatin Biology research in India. 

Prior to his demise, he was working as an Honorary Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and was actively running the Chromatin Biology laboratory in the institute.

He was honoured with the Padma Sri award in 2010 for his contributions to the field of science and engineering.

He was also honoured by the Karnataka state government with the Sir MV Visvesvaraya Award for his contribution to the field of science and research.

He was the President of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, from 2003-13.

He was also the chairman of many central government science committees. He was also on all committees of the Indian Council of medical research. 

Prof Rao completed his BSc in 1966 and Msc in 1968 from Bengaluru University. He did his PhD in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru in 1973.

He then did his postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston from 1974–76, where he also worked as an assistant professor.

When he returned to India, he joined the Department of Biochemistry at IISc.

In over 30 years of his research career, Prof Rao has mentored and guided over 35 PhD students and hundreds of trainees. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SPORTS / SKATING: Mysuru’s City Skaters Shine at the ‘4th National Ranking Roller Skating Championship, Ranchi,Jharkhand

Six skaters of Elite Roller Skating Academy, Mysuru, participated in the 4th National-level Ranking Roller Skating Championship was held in Ranchi, Jharkhand, recently.

Among them, G. Vijay, belonging to 14 to 17 years age group Quad Category, has won 2 Gold Medals in the Road 1 Lap event and 100 meters event.

Aarav Kiran, belonging to 7 to 9 years age group Inline Category, has won 3 Silver Medals in the Road 2 laps, Road 1 Lap and 100 meters event.

G. Vijay is son of Mala and Govindaraj, residents of Gurudarshini Layout, Mysuru and Aarav Kiran is son of Kiran and Deepika, residents of Manasinagar, Mysuru. The skaters were trained by Adithya S. Rao and M.G. Uma at Elite Roller Skating Academy in city.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: 80th Birthday Of Science Writer S. Ramprasad On May 21

The 80th birthday celebration of Science writer S. Ramprasad, who is also the Founder-President of Karnataka Muktaka Sahitya Academy and the release of four books have been organised by District Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Mysuru, Kannada Sahitya Kalakoota, Mysuru and Hoysala Kannada Sangha, on May 21 at 11 am at Rotary West Auditorium, Saraswathipuram in city.

Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji will grace the occasion. Managing Director of Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (KSIIDC) Dr. M.R. Ravi will release the books and deliver felicitation address.

Litterateur Dr. Kabbinale Vasanth Bharadwaj will speak on the books ‘Ramaprabhe’ and ‘Maneyondu Bagilaidu’ while Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) Kannada Professor Dr. Jyothi Shankar will speak on ‘Kelu Jaana Thammana Muktakagalu’ and ‘Alvars and Sri Ramanujacharya’.

District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Maddikere Gopal will preside. Kalakoota President M. Chandrashekar will deliver introductory address.

S. Ramprasad will also speak. General Secretary of Hoysala Kannada Sangha Ranganath (of Sushmita Prakashana), Muktaka writer M. Muthuswamy (of Muddukrishna Prakashana) and Editor of ‘Sudharma’ Sanskrit daily Padma Shri K.S. Jayalakshmi will be present, according to a press release.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: INNOVATION & RESEARCH: May 11th – ‘National Technology Day’ Celebrated at The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL),The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)

DFRL expo extended till Friday.

The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in Mysuru celebrated National Technology Day on Thursday and conducted an exhibition showcasing its products and technological innovations.

The day is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of Shakti, the Pokhran nuclear test held on May 11, 1998, and also seeks to popularise science and its importance so as to motivate students to pursue science as a career option.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Anil Dutt Semwal, Director, DFRL, and R. Kumar, Associate Director, DFRL. V.A. Sajeev Kumar, Scientist ‘F’, and others were present.

Consequent upon the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) declaring 2023 as International Year of Millets DFRL showcased different millet-based products developed for use by the tri-services as well as general public.

 The scientists highlighted the importance of millets in daily life and the expo showcased a variety of Ready to Eat (RTE) millet bars, instant millet mixes, millet flour mixes etc. Newly developed anti-freeze container was a crowd puller and it is used for transportation of fruits and vegetables at high altitude terrains with hostile environmental conditions, according to the DFRL authorities.

They said the container does not use any electricity and fruits and vegetables can be transported without chilling to forward areas in the border.  The team of scientists and technologists had recently demonstrated their invention in forward areas of Siachen Glacier, according to the DFRL.

The exhibition drew students from different institutions and the general public and interacted with scientists of DFRL. In view of the overwhelming public response, the exhibition has been extended by a day and will be open to the public on Friday as well from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

CFTRI

The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) also celebrated National Technology Day. D. Sudhanva, co-founder and CEO, Excel Soft Technologies, was the chief guest and delivered the National Technology Day lecture.

Certificates were distributed to recent licensees of CFTRI technologies and the quarterly newsletter FoodPro was released on the occasion. N.K. Rastogi, Director in-charge, presided.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

ASIA: SPORTS / POWERLIFTING: Mysuru’s Alfiya Vagh Lifts Gold In Asian Equipped Powerlifting Championship-2023

Alifiya Vagh from Mysuru has won Gold Medals in following categories :

Women’s 75-kg  Master1, Squad-160 kg, Benchpress-70-kg and Deadlift 170-kg at Asian Equipped Powerlifting Championship-2023, organised by Asian Powerlifting Federation (APF), from May 1 to 6 at Alappuzha, Kerala.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)