January - February 2016

NEWSLETTER OF COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha presided over the function. Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr. K.A. Zakkaria, Sri. R.S. Sasikumar (Syndicate Members), Dr. K.G. Nair (Director, Centre for Sciene in Society) and Dr. S. David Peter, Registrar offered felicitations. The Prof. M.V. Pylee Award consists of a purse of Rs. 1 lakh and a citation. Dr. Jancy Dr. M.S. Valiathan is presenting Prof. M.V. Pylee Award for the best Academician James, who was earlier a pro- of India to Dr. Jancy James, former Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi University. fessor at Institute of English Tough to find Best Teacher : Dr. Valiathan The main goal of a teacher country require a lot of scaling and Director of the Centre for should be to teach the stu- up despite advancements in Comparative Literature at the dents effectively, said Padma the higher education sector. University of Kerala, was the Vibhushan Dr. M.S. Valia- She also advised researchers first woman to become a than, noted educationist. not to look for shortcuts while University Vice Chancellor in pursuing their goals. the state of Kerala. In his address after pre- senting the Prof. M.V. Pylee Award for the Best Academi- cian of India instituted at Cusat to Dr. Jancy James, former Vice Chancellor of Central University, Kasargod, at Cusat on 16th February, Dr. Valiathan pointed out that the number of teachers encourag- ing their students to follow their dreams seems to be decli- ning. It has become tough to find best teachers, he said. In her acceptance speech Dr. M.S. Valiathan is addressing the audience after presenting the award. Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Prof. M.V. Pylee, Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha, Dr. Jancy Dr. Jancy James said emplo- James, Dr. K.G. Nair, Sri. R.S. Sasikumar, Dr. K.A. Zakkaria and Dr. S. David yability skills of students in the Peter are on the dais. come eligible for "subst- for accreditation in its Editorial... antial equivalency" in 15 signatory countries. Est- foreign countries includ- ablished in 1989, the sig- I am excited and ing the US and the UK. natories as of 2014 are thrilled by the news that Thus the School of Engi- Australia, Canada, Tai- all the seven B. Tech neering, Cusat has acqu- wan, Hong Kong, India, Engineering programmes ired a unique position Ireland, Japan, Korea, offered by the School of among the institutions Malaysia, New Zealand, Engineering, Cusat have offering Engineering Russia, Singapore, South been accredited for two programmes in the state. Africa, Sri Lanka, Tur- that an Engineering insti- years by the National key, the UK and the USA. Board of Accreditation tution in Kerala is getting The National Board (NBA) under Tier-I sys- accredited by NBA under of Accreditation (NBA) The agreement reco- tem. I take this opportu- Tier - I Category. As you has been accorded per- gnizes that there is sub- stantial equivalence of Testimonial of Academic Excellence programme accredited by those signatories. Gradu- nity to personally congra- may be aware, Tier-I pro- manent signatory status ates of accredited progr- tulate the teaching and grams are housed in insti- of Washington Accord on ams in any of the signa- non-teaching staff as tutions with the auto- th 13 June 2014. As per tory countries are recog- well as the students of nomy to review the curri- Washington Accord agre- nized by the other signa- the School of Engineering culum content and make ement, recognition of tory countries as having for achieving this honour. changes based on reco- programs by other signa- met the academic requ- I am sure that this will mmendations from accre- tories applies only to irements for entry to the ensure transnational ditation visits. The pro- programme accredited practice of engineering. mobility and competitive- gramme offered by IIT's, by NBA and offered by This accreditation is a ness of our students. IISc's, NIT's, Constituent education providers Departments/Colleges of shot in the arm for all accepted by NBA as Tier Our B.Tech progra- Central, State and Dee- concerned in their march 1 Institutions. The Wash- mme in Civil Engineering, med-to-be Universities to ensure total quality in ington Accord covers Computer Science & and Autonomous Institu- engineering and techno- undergraduate enginee- Engineering, Electrical & tions are eligible for logy education. It is our Electronics, Electronics & accreditation under Tier- ring degrees under Out- duty to take this achieve- Communication, Infor- I system. All the colleges come-based education ment as a stepping stone mation Technology, Mec- affiliated to a University approach. for future glory. I hope hanical and Safety & are accredited only un- As we know, the this honour will provide a Fire Engineering have der Tier-II system. Washington Accord is an new impetus to all Cusat thus achieved a cove- fraternity in their efforts Currently, from the international accredita- table position among the to achieve global stand- State of Kerala, only tion agreement for profe- prestigious institutions in ards of quality in all these seven programmes ssional engineering aca- the country. academic activities. offered at School of Engi- demic degrees, between It's for the first time neering, Cusat have be- the bodies responsible Dr. J. Letha

Maritime Research Advisory Board constituted In an effort to overcome the un- ration, Indian Maritime University ns of NOx reduction. (II) Fuel oil precedented challenges with regard etc. MARPOL Commission of IMO emulsification techniques to com- to control of emission from ships stipulates the reduction of emi- ply with emission requirements. in the wake of MARPOL convention, ssion of oxides of Sulphur & Nitro- (III) Water injection into combus- the K.M. School of Marine Engi- gen from various ships, said Dr. tion chamber of compression igni- neering, Cusat has formulated a K.A. Simon, Director, K.M. School tion engine and scavenge air moist- Maritime Research Board involving of Marine Engineering. The Dire- the representatives of organiza- ctor of the School further explained urizing in order to regulate NOx tions such as Indian Register of that the immediate priority of the production and (IV) Study of nozzle Shipping, Directorate General research wing is the following. (I) flow characteristics of sonic and Shipping, Mercantile Marine Dept., Exhaust gas recirculation in Mari- subsonic flows with the aid of State Marine Development Corpo- ne diesel engine as a primary mea- anechoic chamber.

Tejus January - February 2016 2 The Stratosphere Tropo- sphere (ST) Radar installed in the Cusat campus has comme- nced issue of weekly weather bulletins from Monday, 2nd November, 2015. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha released the first weather bulletin during a function organized at The Centre for Atmospheric research at Cusat campus. She has also inaugurated the 32 m tall Meteorological Tower and Automatic Weather Station on Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating ST Radar Weather Station. Dr. the occasion. An introductory S. David Peter, Sri. Sebastin Ouseph, Dr. S. Anilkumar, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob and speech was delivered by Dr. K. Dr. K. Mohankumar are also seen Cusat ST Radar: Weather Bulletins commenced

Mohan Kumar, Director of the 205 MHz. Radar of Cusat can of atmospheric conditions will Advanced Centre for Atmos- detect and analyze even the contribute immensely towards pheric Radar Research. Dr. K. slightest changes in air and diverse sectors like atmospheric Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chan- other atmospheric forces at a research, defense, air transport cellor, Dr. S. David Peter, Regist- height of 20 km above the and weather analysis, according rar, Sri. Sebastian Ouseph, earth's surface on a 24-hr basis. to Dr. K. Mohan Kumar, Project Finance Officer and Dr. S. Anil Established with funding of Rs. Director. Weekly weather bulle- Kumar, Director, Public Rela- 20 Cr. from Dept. of Science and tin is available on www. acarr. tions and Publications were also Technology, Govt. of India, the cusat.ac.in, www.cusat.ac.in. present among faculty, scienti- project is the only one of its kind Training brochure on sts and media persons on the in India with ST Radar, Meteor- occasion. ological Tower, Automatic Taxonomy of Bivalve Weather Station and GPS Radio Conventionally weather Molluscs Sonde. predictions are made with the Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. help of periodic relays from The ST Radar project's pre- Letha released the brochure of Radio Sonde equipment carried diction of wind storms and first International training work- by helium-filled balloons. The monsoon based on its analysis shop on "Taxonomy of Bivalve Molluscs" on 10th December 2015 in the School of Marine Sciences Auditorium, Cusat. The workshop was organized by the Dept. of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, Cusat and co-organized by the Dept. of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, in collaboration with National Museum of Wales and School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor Univer- Dr. K. Mohankumar is elaborating the working of ST Radar to Cusat Vice sity, UK, said Dr. Bijoy Nandan. Chancellor Dr. J. Letha and other dignitaries

Tejus January - February 2016 3 Ocean Wealth: India should exploit our seabed : NSTL Director "The seabed has vast resour- ces of mineral wealth, which have not been exploited through seabed explorations by India. On the other hand, China has established a huge lead in sea- bed exploration by developing the world's deepest diving vehicle, which can go deep even beyond 7000 metres. Our nation has to accelerate its programs Dr. C. Durgamalleshwar, Director NSTL is inaugurating SYMPOL, 2015 Dr. P.R.S. on a war footing for the extrac- Pillai, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha, Sri. K.G. Nair and tion of strategic rare earth met- Sri. S. Kedarnath Shenoy are on the dais als from the seabed", said Dr. varieties of commercially impor- underwater weapons and wea- C. Durgamalleshwar, Director, tant fish stock. It is grossly pon delivery systems. The wea- Naval Science & Technological underexploited and the catch is pon systems include light- Laboratory, Vishakhapatnam. less than one third of the total weight /heavy-weight torpedoes, He was delivering the inau- potential. The development of mines and decoys. India has th gural address at the 13 Inter- low cost fish finding sonar to also excelled in developing national Symposium on Ocean help the poor fishing community stealth technologies for naval Electronics (SYMPOL 2015), is the need of the hour, which platforms", he added. organized by the Dept. of Elec- will certainly fetch substantial tronics, Cusat on 18 November export earnings to the country. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. 2015. The Govt. of India has now In the defence sector, our nation Letha who presided, said that in put up a claim for a possible is self-reliant in underwater sys- these times of sea-piracy and addition of nearly another milli- tems and technologies as well as terrorism, ocean electronics on square kilometers to the EEZ, researchers should focus their after the necessary survey as per India has to develop activities on national security the specific clauses of the UN several key cutting edge rather than sea-bed explora- Convention of Law of the Sea. technologies for tions for commercial gains. surveying the nation's Ultra-sensitive sonars should be "India has to develop several potential EEZ as well as installed at critical areas on the key cutting edge technologies for design the required surveying the nation's potential sea-surface as well as sea- underwater systems and depths to monitor even the EEZ as well as design the requ- technologies for ired underwater systems and slightest movements, she added. harvesting the oceanic Sri. S. Kedarnath Shenoy, Dire- technologies for harvesting the resources from various oceanic resources from various ctor, NPOL, Dr. K. Poulose depths. A wide Jacob, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr. depths. A wide technology gap technology gap exists in K.G. Nair, Director, C-SiS, Dr. exists in various spheres of various spheres of ocean P.R.S. Pillai, Chairman, SYM- ocean technology in India and technology in India and there is demand to develop there is demand to POL, and Dr. M.H. Supriya, Co- multiple technologies to tap our develop multiple ordinator, SYMPOL spoke. Aro- seabed resources. Indian seas technologies to tap our und hundred participants atte- also have rich potential fishing seabed resources. nded the Symposium which grounds with more than 100 continued for three days.

Tejus January - February 2016 4 Oceans have an important role in climate change To understand the role that India has placed buoyed oceans play in climate change monitoring cylinders to study in-depth, studies should be the presence of carbon in the initiated on both short term Arctic Ocean. Satellite contro- and long-term basis, according lled buoys that help in the stu- to Dr. N.A. Atmanand, noted dy of climate change and fore- cast of Tsunami have been ins- Ocean Scientist and former talled in the Indian Ocean also, Director, National Institute of he added. Dr. P.R.S. Pillai, Ch- Ocean Technology, Chennai. airman, SYMPOL and Dr. M.H. Dr. N.A. Atmanand With the continuous droughts Supriya, Co-ordinator, SYM- and famines, global warming concluding session of SYMPOL POL and Head, Dept. of Elec- has made its presence felt in 2015, the Symposium on Oce- tronics, spoke on the occasion. South East Asia and the cha- an Electronics, organized by Around hundred research nce of its repetition have incre- Dept. of Electronics, Cusat on papers were presented during- ased. He was speaking at the 20 November 2015. the three day symposium. Radar Centre to collaborate Euro Padma Bhushan Dr. S.Z. Qasim Union funded project remembered A commemorative meeting Cusat has received an invi- paign all over India during sum- to pay tribute to late Syed tation to be part of an internatio- mer 2016 with a high altitude Zahoor Qasim, renowned Mar- nal research programme on aircraft that will bring a host of ine Biologist and Oceanographer climate change funded by the unparalleled information," said and the leader of the first Indian European Union. K. Mohankumar, Director of the Antartica expedition for his The varsity's Rs. 20 crore Advanced Centre for Atmosph- great contributions and services Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) eric Radar Research. rendered in the academic and Radar, managed by its Advan- research area of Marine Biology The aircraft payload will ced Centre for Atmospheric was held in the School of Marine include instruments devoted to Radar Research, is expected to Sciences Auditorium, Cusat on characterize aerosols and ice play a key role in generating 10 December 2015 Cusat Vice crystals as well as the chemical valuable data towards the Chancellor Dr. J. Letha recalled StratoClim research project. The composition of gas tracers. Dr. his great contribution in the field aim of the ambitious venture is Mohankumar pointed out that of Marine Science during the to assess the role of upper the distribution of ground sour- occasion. Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, troposphere and stratosphere in ces and the transport properties Pro-Vice Chancellor, Justice K. climate change and it involves across the layer are still poorly Sukumaran, Dr. K. Sajan, Dire- 28 institutions in 11 countries. understood. ctor, School of Marine Sciences, Mr. Mathew Puthussery, Dr. S. "The Dynamic Meteorology "The goal of the project is to Anil Kumar, Director PR & P and Laboratory in Paris has reco- make advances in our under- Dr. A.N. Balchand, Dean, School mmended a joint venture to standing of the processes ruling of Marine Sciences, graced the study the impact of the Indian the composition of the TTL and event. monsoon convection on the the paths of air parcels going Eminent Scientists Dr. Bha- topical tropopause layer and through. It will build on a uni- ttathiri P.M.A., Prof. Abdul Azis, climate. que combination of opportu- Dr. G.K. Vinci, Dr. Rosamma The StratoClim project is nities on the observation side,'' Stephen and Dr. A.A. Mohamed planning a measurement cam- he said. Hatha shared experiences.

Tejus January - February 2016 5 Meet CUSAT'S Hands-on VC

When Dr. J. Letha, the first former college, I was confident woman Vice-Chancellor of the about doing this; I could give Cusat assumed office in Octob- them instructions. Of course, er 2014, the university lacked they also tuned to it quickly many things. There were many and finally we achieved it, "she gaps to be filled; almost all says, explaining the para- meters they had to meet. departments of the university had many vacant positions as There were almost 16 para- far as faculty positions were meters related to different concerned. Her first priority areas of the courses, including was to fill those gaps. She teaching mode, syllabus, and made arrangements to adver- the number of research scho- lars. "There is a particular mark tise about the recruitment pro- for each criterion. Those who cess. And, now, a major chunk get above 600 are eligible for of the vacant seats have been the accreditation. We did self- filled and notifications have assessment many times. Once be given to the accreditation been given for the rest. we achieved more than 600, we process and we completed all submitted that data," she says. "The reason for focusing on accreditation procedure within a this particular issue was that short span of time. I had gone to During her tenure in the we could not go for new proje- campus, Letha has activated some fresh thoughts. We have cts and accreditation process Her far-sightedness introduced new schemes such without sufficient faculty", says was true. The National Letha in a soft voice. as 'Enrich' in which students Board of Accreditation and faculties will be given ince- Her far-sightedness was (NBA) has accredited ntives for their achievements true. The National Board of Acc- seven B.Tech programs and a 'Adjunct Faculty', where reditation (NBA) has accredi- Electrical & Electronics, interested industry people could ted seven B.Tech programs Electronics & commu- come to the campus and teach Electrical & Electronics, Ele- nication, Civil Enginee- a subject for which they will be ctronics & communication, Civil ring, IT, Mechanical, Sa- paid. Then, we introduced a Engineering, IT, Mechanical, fety & Fire Engineering technology business incubator Safety & Fire Engineering and and Computer Science with an intention to make stud- Computer Science offered by offered by the School of ents job providers rather than the School of Engineering Engineering (SOE), whi- jobseekers," she elucidates. (SOE), which comes under ch comes under the Cu- Now, after NBA accredita- Cusat, for two years under its sat, for two years under tion, the university is gearing Tier-1 system, a first of its kind its Tier-1 system, a first up for NAAC accreditation. in the state. of its kind in the state. How has her journey been so far? "It has been good. I am "We got the accreditation friendly with the students. If other colleges and conducted two months ago; It is included they come up with justifiable meetings to motivate them, "says in a project funding called Tech- reasons, I yield to them. Even nical Education Quality Improve- Letha, who was the Principal of if they get frustrated, I stay ment Program (TEQIP) and to College of Engineering, Trivan- calm. I think that is the best continue in the loop, accredita- drum earlier. part of being a woman." tion is a must. After coming here, Since I have been a part of (By Elizabeth Thomas, Deccan I understood that priority must accreditation processes in my Chronicle, 17.2.2016)

Tejus January - February 2016 6 "Nanotechnology will ensure availability of safe drinking water in the rural areas of the country, besides putting a logi- cal end to the persistant threat of plastic menace. Nano-filters used in water taps will be cap- able of filtering not only micro- bes, but also particles that cause chemical pollution," poin- Dr. Pulickel Ajayan is inaugurating Cochin Nano '16. On the dais are Dr. M. Junaid ted out Dr. Ajayan. He added Bushiri, Cusat Vice.Chancellor Dr. J. Letha, Dr. K.A. Zakkariya, Sri. Gunther that Nano-science was an enabl- Schatz, Dr. M.R. Anantharaman, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Dr. S. Jayalakshmi, Sri. S. Kedarnath Shenoy and Dr. S. David Peter ing technology through which Time ripe for India to invest in Nano-research : Dr. Ajayan Pulickel

The time is appropriate for science Dept. at Rice University, anything could be achieved for India to make maximum invest- USA. the welfare of mankind. "It also ment in Nano-research and He was delivering the inau- helps to enhance the efficiency related technology, which will gural address at Cochin Nano- of solar cells, storage batteries pay rich dividends to the coun- 2016, a four-day international and other electronic devices," try, said reputed Nano-scientist seminar on Nanotechnology the Nano-scientist said. Dr. Pulickel Ajayan, who is also organized by the Dept. of founder-director of the Nano- Physics at Cusat. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha presided over the inau- Sidelining of reformers is gural function, at which Pro- Vice Chancellor Dr. K. Poulose dangerous - Sethu Jacob released the Proceedings The cultural of the Seminar. deterioration in Organizing secretary Dr. Kerala is the M.R. Anantharaman; NPOL result of sidelin- Director Sri. S. Kedarnath She- ing the reform noy, Gunther Schatz from the leaders, accord- University of Konstanz, Germa- ing to Sri. Sethu, ny, Cusat Syndicate members renowned auth- Dr. K.A. Zakkariya and Dr. V.S. or. We can esc- Sebastian, Registrar Dr. S. ape from this so- David Peter and Dr. M. Junaid rry state only by Novelist Sethu is addressing the audience. Dr. K. Vanaja and understanding Dr. N. Mohanan are also seen Bushiri also spoke. and adopting the real meaning Vanaja, Head, Dept. of Hindi According to Dr. Ananthara- of their teachings and ideals, he presided over the function while man, Convener, Nano 2016 added. He was delivering a Dr. N. Mohanan, Dean, Faculty around 300 delegates from 35 of Humanities, Dr. R. Sasidh- special address at the 'Kerala countries participated in the Piravi' celebrations organized by aran and Dr. K. Ajitha (Faculty seminar, at which about 300 Dept. of Hindi, Cusat. Dr. K. member) spoke. research papers presented.

Tejus January - February 2016 7 CUSAT Gets 1 Crore Financial support for the Technology Business Incubator (TBI) The Govt. of Kerala has san- Director and Dr. Sam Thomas versity. More than 100 students ctioned Rs. One crore to Cusat Assistant Director of the Centre. attend these programmes regu- larly. The syndicate has already to set up a state of the art Tech- In tune with the state govt. passed the rules and the incu- nology Business Incubator (TBI) policy of encouraging student bation policies governing the in the area of communication entrepreneurs, Cusat has al- operation of the TBI. The stu- technologies. Finance Minister, ready set up the basic TBI under dent incubates will be assigned Govt. of Kerala in the Budget the Centre for Innovation Tech- from January 2016. speech 2015-16, had declared nology Transfer and Industrial setting aside Rs. 11 crore to Collaboration (CITTIC) of Cusat. The funding from the state provide Rs. 1 crore each to set The university has allocated govt. will be utilized for proper up Incubation Support Centers 5000 sq.ft. premises for the networking and furnishing of in the Universities in the State. same. The centre hosts a series the space, purchase of equip- CUSAT is the first university in of training programmes and ments and furniture, organizing the state to receive this funding, workshops for the budding stu- workshops and other recurring according to Dr. P. Abdulla, dent entrepreneurs of the uni- expenses.

A home rebuilt with love for Paru Amma In her later 70s, she had visits to local body offices to resigned to a life in her gutted clear issues related to the 0.90 one-room hut. cent of plot and get the clea- rance. Being nothing but a bother to her five children for long, The students started with hope seemed non-existent. But, pulling down the gutted stru- Smt. K.N. Paru didn't count on cture. They took turn to help the compassion of the students masons. The truss work was of SoE, Cusat behind which done using welding machines stood her rundown house. at the mechanical lab. They braved cold December morn- For generations of stud- Smt. Paru Amma ings to water the cement stru- ents in Cusat, she has been ctures, painted the house dur- Paru Amma, the granny who genarian sweeping the cam- ing evenings after the classes unfailingly swept the campus. pus on a rainy evening last and electrified the house. A Moved by her plight, a few November. "She told her story contractor provided an earth- students of the school of and her attachment to our mover free of cost to clean up engineering decided to repay campus," said Nitin who pos- the mess in the front yard. by refurbishing her home. And ted it on Facebook page. on Friday the School of Engi- Finally, when a tearful As knocks at numerous neering Principal G. Madhu, Paru Amma boiled the milk to doors went unanswered, the handed over the keys of her mark the house warming they students decided to undertake renovated house. were all present as if to make the task on their own with the up for the absence of her own Its all started after Nitin support of the Principal and children. Vasanth, a final year B.Tech faculty members. But it was student, spotted the septua- not easy. It took countless (The Hindu, 17.1.2016)

Tejus January - February 2016 8 'We are not C-SiS training alone'- noted programme for Astro-Physist teachers Dr. Jayant The Centre for Science in Narlikar Society (C-SiS), Cusat organized a one day training program on Dr. Jayant Narlikar, noted Experimental Optics for astro-physist and science wri- Teachers in Schools and colleges ter expressed hope that life on 19 December 2015. Dr. forms may be existing in some Suresh Das, Executive Vice parts of the universe outside Dr. Jayant Narlikar President, KSCSTE inaugura- earth, based on various balloon ted the Seminar. tion with Inter University cen- experiments conducted with tre for Astronomy and Astro- Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. the support of Indian Space physics on 11 February 2016. Letha presided. Dr. K.G. Nair, Research Organization. Dr. S. Jayalakshmi, Head Director, C-SiS offered felcita- Dr. Narlikar was delivering Dept. of Physics and Dr. V.C tions. C-SiS is conducting the training program in connection a talk on 'Are We Alone?' at the Kuriakose, IUCCA Centre Co- with the celebration of Internati- Dept. of Physics in collabora- ordinator spoke. onal Year of Light 2015 in asso- ciation with Kerala State Coun- 'Emerging trends in Mechanical cil for Science Technology and Engineering' conference held Environment (KSCSTE). The Division of Mechanical School of Engineering presided Paper presented at Engineering, School of Engi- over the function. Dr. Biju N., neering, Cusat has organized an Dr. K.P.S. Nair, Dr. K.A. Zakka- Int'l conference International Conference on ria, Dr. M.R. Anantharaman, Dr. V.R. Re- "Emerging Trends in Mechanical syndi-cate members P.K Dileep, njith, Associate Engineering" during 16-17 Dec- Dr. P.S. Sreejith and Dr. M.R. Professor, Safe- ember. Cusat Vice Chancellor Radhakrishna Panicker spoke. ty and Fire Eng- Dr. J. Letha inaugurated the Prof. Atul Chokshi, Dr. Shreyes ineering Divis- th Seminar on 16 December at N. Melkote, Prof. John Tharakan ion of School of Cusat Seminar Complex. and Dr. Dong-Hwan Park were Engineering Dr. G. Madhu, Principal, the keynote speakers. presented a paper titled "Risk Assessment of LNG Storages using LOPA and FTA: An inte- grated approach" at the inter- national symposium held at Mary K O Connor Process Safety Cent- re of Texas A & M University, USA during 27-29 October 2015. The paper focused on the need for identifying and analyz- ing the safety hazards associa- ted with Liquefied Natural Gas through the FTA (Fault Tree Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating Icetime'15, Dr. P.S. Sreejith, Dr. Biju N., Dr. K.A. Zakkaria, Dr. M.R. Anantharaman, Dr. K.P.S. Nair, Dr. G. Analysis) & LOPA integrated Madhu, Dr. M.R. Radhakrishna Panicker and P.K. Dileep are also seen approach.

Tejus January - February 2016 9 Explore mechanisms to control plastic pollution : Dr. Masataka Sugimoto The Dept. of Polymer Scie- nce and Rubber Technology, Cusat and the Indian Rubber Institute (IRI), Kerala Branch jointly organized a two day Inter- national Conference on 'Advan- ces in Polymer Technology' (APT '16) during 25-26 February, 2016. Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro- Vice Chancellor, Cusat presided over the function. Prof. Masataka Sugimoto, Head of the Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, Yama- gata University, Japan presen- ted the plenary lecture. During Dr. Masataka Sugimoto lighting the lamp during the inaugural function of APT '16. Looking on are Dr. Thomas Kurian, Dr. A.P. Kuriakose, Dr. Joseph this lecture Dr. Masataka Sugi- Francis, Sri. P.K. Mohamed, Dr. Sunil Narayanankutty and Dr. Rani Joseph moto reiterated the need of scientists to explore appropriate Sugimoto is the Executive Board Seminar. Dr. Thomas Kurian mechanisms to control the rate member of the Japan Society of Head, Dept. of PS & RT, Dr. of pollution spreading due to the Polymer Processing and an ex- Sunil Narayanankutty, Conve- over usage of plastic in our daily pert in Electro Magnetic Rheo- nor, Dr. Rani Joseph, President, Indian Rubber Institute, Dr. life. He also said that the rate of logy, Nano composites and Joseph Francis and Dr. A.P. prospering of industries would Polymer Processing. Kuriakose spoke on the occa- initiate the real development of Appolo Tyres Research Head sion. P.K. Mohamed, Global R Science and Technology. Prof. P.K. Mohamed inaugurated the &D Chief, Apollo Tyres Ltd. delivered the keynote address. Guinness Record for Cusat faculty Green Clique clicked Dr. K. Gir- his research scholars Ms. Sha- ish Kumar, Pro- lini Menon and Ms. Ammu The official blog GREEN- fessor, Dept. of Rosin Jose (Dept. of Applied CLIQUE of the eco club in the Applied Che- Chemistry) as instructors. Dept. of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology was inau- mistry won a The session based on pra- gurated by Dr. S. David Peter, Guinness rec- cticals in catalysis was formally Registrar, Cusat on 10 Febru- ord by organi- inaugurated by Dr. Harsha Var- ary, 2016. Prof. Thomas Kur- zing the largest practical science dhan, Hon'ble Union Minister ian (Head, Dept. of PS&RT) lesson with 2000 participants for Science and Technology and during India International Scie- Smt. Smrithi Irani, Hon'ble Uni- and Prof. Honey John (Co- nce festival held at IIT Delhi on on Minister for MHRD, Govt. of ordinator, Eco club) were the 7 December, 2015. Dr. Girish India. This record was achieved other speakers. The blog was Kumar, the chief co-ordinator of by breaking the existing record designed by Mr. V.B. Bhagy- the program sponsored by of Royal Society of Chemistry, esh, Research Scholar of the Vijnan Bharathi was assisted by London. Department.

Tejus January - February 2016 10 The twelfth three day Natio- nal Workshop on Science Com- munication and Science Jour- nalism organized by the Cusat Public Relations and Centre for Science Communication in collaboration with KSCSTE concluded on 4 February, 2016 at Cusat with a clarion call for down-to-earth reporting in sci- ence for the common man. Dr. Suresh Das is inaugurating the National Workshop in the presence of During the inauguration on Dr. S. Anilkumar, Dr. M.R. Anantharaman, Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha, 2 February, Dr. Suresh Das, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Sri. Sergi Antony and Dr. K.A. Zakkaria 12th National Workshop on Science Journalism Executive Vice President of the king news, the media is igno- ions & Publications during the Kerala State Council for Scie- ring the science, said Sri. J. function. Dr. K.A. Zakkariya nce, Technology and Environ- Sergi Antony, Chairman Kerala and Dr. M.R. Anantharaman ment exhorted the journalists Media Academy. He deplored (Syndicate Members) and Smt. to boil down Science writing to the practice of providing little K.G. Binimol, Section Officer, create scientific awareness space to science in news papers. DPR&P offered felicitations. among common man, else its Over 150 delegates from vari- Media is a mediator bet- target itself will fail. He pro- ous parts of the country parti- ween science and the people, mised the support of KSCSTE cipated in the three day progra- it can play an important role in organizing Science Journa- mme, where experts in the area in creating scientific awareness lism Workshops in all the dis- lead various sessions, said Dr. among people. Truth is the tricts of the State in collabo- S. Anilkumar, Co-ordinator of essence of news and hence the ration with the Centre for Sci- the workshop. ence Communication, Cusat. facts that the media is report- ing must be true and factually Dr. K. Ajith Prabhu, Sri. According to Dr. Das, the Kumar Chellappan, Dr. S. Anil media has a strong role in for- correct, said Dr. J. Letha, Vice Kumar Vadavathoor, Smt. Su- mulating public opinion on Chancellor, Cusat. dha Nampoothiri, Sri. Francis pertinent issues like genetically Dr. K. Paulose Jacob, Pro- Perera, Sri. G. Shaheed, Dr. modified crops, global warming Vice-Chancellor, Cusat relea- K.G. Nair, Prof. S. Sivadas, Sri. over usage of pesticide etc. sed the book, 'science ezhuthu- D. Pradeep Kumar, Sri. C.P. Hence extra care should be mbol' authored by Dr. S. Anil Byju, and Sri. D. Pramesh taken while reporting such Kumar for Centre for Science Kumar lead various seminars. issues. Communication and published With the conclusion of this 12th by Directorate of Public Relat- In their rush to make brea- edition of Science Journalism workshop, a total number of 1200 young journalists/jour- nalism students were taught the art and craft of Science Journalism, according to Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Co-ordinator of the programme and Director, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob is releasing the book 'science ezhuthumbol' by handing over Public Relations and Publicat- a copy to Sri. Sergi Antony, Chairman, Kerala Media Academy ions, Cusat.

Tejus January - February 2016 11 Budget is not mere income-expenditure statement: Minister V.K. Ibrahimkunju The budget is not a mere Minister for Public Works. He a practical approach based on income & expenditure state- was laying the foundation stone reality is essential in the pre- ment but a document of destiny, for K.M. Mani Centre for Budget paration of budgets. Otherwise said Sri. V.K. Ibrahimkunju, Studies. The Minister added that the total approach becomes unscientific and irrational. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha presided over the func- tion. Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro- Vice Chancellor, Dr. Joseph Jo- hn, Dr. K.A. Zakkaria, Sri. R.S. Sasikumar, Sri. George Paul, Prof. D.K. John, Dr. A. Mujeeb and Dr. A. Mohammuda Bee- gum (Syndicate Members) Prof. Lopus Mathew (Member, Kerala PSC), Jessy Peter (Municipal Sri. V.K. Ibrahimkunju, Minister, PWD is unveiling the plaque. Dr. M.A. Ummen, Chairperson, Kalamassery) and Prof. Lopus Mathew, Smt. Jessy Peter, Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha, Dr. S. David Peter, Registrar Sri. R.S. Sasikumar, Dr. S. David Peter, Prof. D.K. John, Dr. K.A. Zakkariya, Dr. Joseph John, Sri James Joseph and Dr. A. Mujeeb are on the stage spoke during the occasion. Kinfra, Cusat join hands to set up Nanotech facility Dr. G.C. there was a need for scholars to Gopala Pillai, continue their research even MD, Kinfra after they get Ph.D. Therefore, was inaugu- the proposed facility could be on rated by the lines of discovery laborato- Cusat Vice ries or venture business labora- Chancellor tories. She also called for a for- Dr. J. Letha. mal framework within which Speaking on KINFRA and Cusat would colla- the occasion, borate on the project. Dr. Gopala Cusat Vice-Chancellor Dr. J. Letha and Dr. G.C. Gopala Pillai, MD A 'Nanotechnology Zone' has Kinfra are addressing the delegates. Pillai said the proposed been earmarked inside KINFRA Kerala Industrial Infrastru- materials park with special Hi-tech Park for promoting cture Development Corporation emphasis on Nanotechnology Nano-technology based indust- (KINFRA) and Cusat will join could become a trend-setter in ries. As part of this, KINFRA hands to set up the proposed the country. The session arrived proposed to set up a common Nanotechnology facility at at a con-sensus to set up a basic facility with suitable infrastruc- KINFRA Hi-tech Park at Kala- common facility, which could be ture to encourage research sch- massery. It was decided at a utilized by researchers & entre- olars from universities and other brain-storming session held at preneurs. R & D institutions to establish Cusat administrative office. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. their business ventures with the The event, presided over by Letha in her address said that support of Cusat.

Tejus January - February 2016 12 Transform the fruits of basic sciences to innovations: Dr. Suresh Das Dr. Das said that India has achieved the 13th position in the number of publications in the Basic Science research. Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chan- cellor, Cusat presided. Dr. N. Manoj, Chairman Matcon'16, Dr. Joseph John (Member, Syndicate), Prof. Herbert W. Roesky (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Germany), Prof. Dr. Suresh Das is lighting the lamp marking the inauguration of MATCON '16 Hiroaki Misawa (Hokkaido Uni- in the presence of Dr. N. Manoj, Prof. Herbert W. Roesky, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, versity, Japan) and Dr. K. Girish Dr. Joseph John and Dr. K. Girish kumar Kumar (Convener, Matcon'16) The Executive Vice President materials like bio-materials and offered felicitations on the of KSCSTE, Dr. Suresh Das ex- bio-composts. occasion. horted the scientists and tech- Dr. Suresh Das was inaugu- The International Confere- nologists to harness the process rating an international confere- nce in which 350 delegates from of transforming the fruits of nce on 'Materials for the Mille- all over the world participated basic science research to inno- nnium, MATCON'16' organized concluded on 16 January, 2016. vations. He stressed the need to by the Dept. of Applied Chemis- More than 100 papers were do more research on indigenous try, Cusat on 14 January, 2016. presented. Research Sans Frontiers : Cusat VC

Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Workshop on "Research Metho- the function. Sri. R.S. Sasi Ku- Letha called upon the scientists dology in Physical Sciences mar, Syndicate Member, Dr. Godfrey Louis, Dean, Faculty of to come forward for new innova- organized by Dept. of Physics on Science, Dr. M.K. Jayaraj, Dr. tion by liberating research from 11 December 2015. M. Junaid Bushiri, Dr. M.R. the rigid frame of individual sub- Dr. S. Jayalakshmi, Head, Anantharaman, (Syndicate jects. She was inaugurating the Dept. of Physics presided over member), Dr. Padma Nambisan and Smt. Arathi Ashok offered felicitations. Open House and Competitions in STIC In connection with National Sci- ence Day, Sophisticated Test & Instrumentation Centre (STIC) at Cusat organized various competitions for students and an open house for general public on 26 February, 2016. The science day activities are Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating the workshop on Research Methodology. Dr. Godfrey Louis, Sri. R.S. Sasikumar, Dr. S. Jayalakshmi, Dr. M.K. based on the theme 'Make in Jayaraj and Dr. M. Junaid Bushiri are also seen India: S & T driven innovations'.

Tejus January - February 2016 13 The Conference was inten- ded to create awareness among people about the need and rele- vance of computing in regional languages and would serve as a platform for interaction and communication among experts in this area and activists all over world. The thrust areas of the Conference were Machine Tran- slation, Transliteration, Indian Language Understanding, Cha- racter Recognition, Speech JAIHIND - Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is saluting the National Recognition, and similar areas, Flag after the flag hoisting ceremony during Republic day celebrations on 26th January 2016 in front of the administrative office said Dr. K.V. Pramod, Convenor. Language Computation reduces Digital Gap: Dr. Ujjwal Bhattacharya

Computation of Indian regi- common man. He explained the Dr. B. Kannan, Head, Dept. onal languages will reduce the constraints of alphabets of bi- of Computer Application presi- digital gap that exists between gger fonts like in Bangla langu- ded over the function. Dr. K.A. haves' and have not's of the age, had caused significant Zakkaria, Member, Syndicate released the proceedings. Dr. society, said Dr. Ujjwal Bhatta- bottle necks in the development charya, noted computer expert Sumam Mary Idikkula, Head, of language recognition tool. and Professor of Computer Vis- Dept. of Computer Science, Dr. Such latest techniques develo- ion and Pattern Unit, Indian K.V. Pramod, Convenor and ped in this area will be fruitful Statistical Institute, Kolkata. Dr. Dr. S. Malathy, faculty member Ujjwal was speaking while inau- to handle similar kind of con- spoke. About 150 delegates gurating the 6th two day National straints in an efficient way. participated in the conference. Conference on Indian Language Computing organized by Dept. of Computer Application at Cusat on 26 February, 2016. Dr. Ujjwal also emphasized the need for computation of regional languages for the enrichment and outreach of languages. This will also help the exchange of local and regional cultures and languages which leads for the betterment of natio- nal integration, said Dr. Ujjwal. He exhorted the Govt. to initiate steps for strengthening such key Dr. Ujjwal Bhattacharya is inaugurating the National Conference on Indian Language Computing. Dr. Sumam Mary Idikkula, Dr. B. Kannan, areas for the ultimate benefit of Dr. K.A. Zakkaria and Dr. K.V. Pramod are on the dais

Tejus January - February 2016 14 Promote indigenous innovations: Prof. Sivadas was deli- through the super highway of vering the knowledge, it is unfortunate that National we are still trapped in the bullo- Science Or- ck cart era, he added. ation at a Dr. K.A. Simon, Director, function K.M. School of Marine Enginee- organized ring presided. Prof. N.G. Nair, by Cusat Course in Charge, K.M. School Directorate of Marine Engineering, Dr. S. of Public Anil Kumar, Director, Public Relations & Relations & Publications and Science Day Oration by noted Science Writer Prof. S. Sivadas. Dr. Publications Centre for Science Communi- K.A. Simon, Prof. N.G. Nair and Dr. S. Anilkumar are on the dais and Centre cation and Smt. K.G. Binimol, The Universities should for Science Communication on Section Officer DPR&P offered come forward to develop indige- 4 February, 2016. felicitations. Prof. S. Sivadas dis- nous and innovative science and Prof. Sivadas urged the you- tributed the certificates & prizes. technological ideas and to deve- th to come forward to dream new The programme was spon- lop the same for the welfare of ideas and to materialize innova- sored by the Kerala State the nation, said Prof. S. Sivadas, tions. It is dangerous to skip Council for Science, Technology noted popular science writer away from the path of scientific and Environment and Dept. of and winner of central and state innovations. At a time when the Science and Technology, Govt. sahitya academy awards. He world is moving at a high speed of India. Cusat Book on Mangroves released A book titled 'Manual on Auditorium, Mangroves' published by the Cusat Lake- Directorate of Public Relations side Campus and Publications, Cusat was by the Dept. of released by Vice Chancellor Dr. Marine Bio- J. Letha, by handing over a copy logy, Micro- to Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro- biology and Vice Chancellor. The book Biochemistry. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is releasing the book release function was organized 'Manual on Mangroves' by handing over a copy to Dr. K. The fore- at the School of Marine Sciences Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Cusat. word of the book was written by the famous ine Sciences presided over the Environmentalist Dr. Madav function. Former Cusat Vice Gadgil and was edited by Dr. S. Chancellor Dr. P.K. Abdul Azis, Bijoy Nandan with S. Sree- Dr. A.N. Balchand, Dean, Fac- lekshmi, C.M. Preethy, Rani ulty of Marine Sciences, Dr. S. Varghese and Philomina Joseph Anil Kumar, Director, Public as Associate Editors. Relations & Publications, Sri. Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is Hon'ble Justice K. Sukuma- Mathew Puthussery, Vanami- releasing the brochure on "Taxonomy thra award winner of 2014 and of Bivalve Molluscs" by handing over ran was the Chief Guest. Dr. K. a copy to Justice K. Sukumaran Sajan, Director, School of Mar- several other dignitaries spoke.

Tejus January - February 2016 15 When Makers showed the way for learners Kerala Science Lit. Award for Dr. Anilkumar What if a film poster was Jeff Salim, all of 12 years, to deliver a hit dialogue by your seems too young to be an Vadavathoor favorite star when you just innovator. Dr. S. Anil walked past ? kumar (Anil Only, he does not think so. Kumar Va- Such a "talking poster" was The class 7 student is into davathoor), one of the highlights of the home automation through Maker Weekend organized by Director, smartphones. Public Rela- the technology business incu- tions and bator of the Cusat, Centre for The youngster, who is Publications won the Kerala Innovation, Technology Tran- fascinated by wireless techno- State Science Literature sfer and Industrial Collabora- logy, stumbled upon the idea Award for his book 'Mainaka- tion, with the support of Kerala on the Internet, wrote the rele- vum Koottukarum' (popular Startup Mission on the Univer- vant code and got the mobile science) for his outstanding sity campus on 16 January, app created to execute his idea. contributions in the area 2016. The event witnessed "The Bluetooth module hel- published by SPCS and sharing of knowledge between ps to control multiple devices- distributed by NBS. startups and students from within a 20-metre radius. But schools and colleges. The award carries a cash there would be no such dista- prize of Rs. 50,000/-. Cita- The poster was putup by nce restriction if a router were tion and certificate was insti- Mumbai-based Rituparna Mat- to be used," he said. tuted by Kerala State Council kar to drive home the concept It was not all technology for Science, Technology and behind an open source-based and innovation at the event as Environment, Govt. of Kerala development board named Tah non-technical sessions were in appreciation of his contri- created by him. butions for the promotion of also held alongside. Clay mod- science through writings in It can be plugged into any eling, painting and even a Malayalam. USB port and with the help of dance workshop provided the an app turns a smartphone in perfect backdrop for the event. to a remote control for devices vote of thanks by Prof. N.G. Nair, "We ran a campaign worth More than 500 particip- Course-in-Charge, K M School of Marine Engineering. $29,000 on the crowd funding ants, including students from platform Kick starter and sold three schools and various colle- This was followed by techni- 700 boards in 90 countries," ges, visited the event. cal sessions. Two groups each said Mr. Matkar. (The Hindu 17.1.2016) from K M School of Marine Engi- neering, METI, Cochin Shipyard Ltd., Cochin, Eurotech Maritime Maritime Day Celebrated Academy, Cochin participated in The K M School of Marine V.J. Jose, Chief Mechanical the group discussions on selec- Engineering, Cusat celebrated Engineer (Rtd.), Cochin Port ted topics based on the IMO's World Maritime Day-2015 on 23 Trust. Capt. Naveen Vinod, theme "Maritime Education and September 2015. Prof. Dr. K.A. Principal, Eurotech Maritime Training". Capt. Josekutty Tho- Simon, Director of the School Academy, Cochin felicitated and mas, CEO, M/s Expedo Ship welcomed the gathering. Shri. Prof. Dr. P.V. Sasikumar, Profe- Management Company and Ajithkumar Sukumaran, Prin- ssor, K M School of Marine Shri. S. Krishnan Kutty, Ex. cipal Officer, MMD delivered the Engineering presented the DGM of Shipping Corporation of key note address and the inau- technical session out-line. The India were the judges for the gro- gural address was given by Shri. inaugural function ended with up discussions.

Tejus January - February 2016 16 Hindi Language and Literature - Int'l Seminar

The Dept. of Hindi, Cusat had conducted a three day International Seminar on "Hindi Language and Literature". Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha inaugurated the Seminar on 15 December.

Tomocco Kikochi (Japan), Manenare (Armenia), Dr. Vijay Bahadur Singh (Bhopal), Asgar Vajahath (Delhi), Dr. Rambex (JNU), Venkateshvar (Hyderab- ad), Pramod Kumar (Patna) and

Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating the International seminar on Dr. Ram Nivas Sahu (Mysore) Hindi Language and Literature. Dr. N. Mohanan, Smt. Tomocco Kikochi, Dr. K.A. participated and delivered key- Zakkaria, Dr. P.V. Vijayan Dr. K. Vanaja and Dr. Ram Nivas Sahu are on the stage note orations at the Seminar. The concluding session was presided Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal over by Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Cusat on 17 Kendra: M.Voc courses started December, 2015.

Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. 2016. Dr. M.R. Anantharaman, National Science Letha urged the need of impart- Member Syndicate, Dr. S. David Day Celebrations ing employability in higher edu- Peter, Registrar and Dr. K.A. cation, so that the students can The Dept. of Biotechnolo- Zakkariya, Director, DDUKK and be converted to entrepreneurs gy, Cusat with the financial rather than job seekers. She was Syndicate Member spoke. The assistance of Kerala State Co- inaugurating the first batch of function was presided over by Dr. uncil for Science Technology and Environment and with the M.Voc courses allocated to the K. Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice support of Dept. of Science and DDUKK of Cusat on 15 February, Chancellor, Cusat. Technology organized various programmes on 25th February in connection with National Science Day 2016. The programme was inau- gurated by Cusat Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. K. Poulose Jacob. Dr. Ajithkumar K., Scientist, NPOL, Kochi and Dr. Priya Rao, Director, Pelican Biotech and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. spoke. Essay and Quiz competiti- ons were held for college stu- dents organised on the theme Dr. K.A. Zakkaria, Director DDUKK is elaborating on the activities of DDUKK. Dr. 'Make in India: S & T driven M.R. Anantharaman, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Dr. J. Letha Vice innovations'. Chancellor and Dr. S. David Peter, Registrar are on the stage.

Tejus January - February 2016 17 Crisis Management and Business Continuity Planning : Seminar held The School of Management students participated. Dr. Sek- ger, Federal Bank), Mr. Leo Studies, Cusat, had organized a har Lukose Kuriakose and Mr. Samuel, (CEO, Technomix) and two day National Seminar on Amal Raj (disaster man- Mr. Gijo Joseph, (former C.E.O., Crisis Management and Busi- agement experts), Mr. Mohana- Infopark) were among the ness Continuity Planning" dur- chandran, (Chief General Mana- experts to lead discussions. ing February 11-12, 2016 at SMS Auditorium. The objective of the seminar was to create awareness about the need for disaster and crisis management and to develop the required conceptual skills. The Vice-Chancellor Dr. J. Letha inaugurated the seminar. The representatives from the corporate sector, university and college teachers, researchers, Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating the National Seminar on Crisis Management organised by School of Management Studies, Cochin NGO sector functionaries and University of Science & Technology. Music Workshop for young Cusat Faculty bags DAAD Project singers conducted Dr. M.R. Anantharaman, Professor of Cusat Physics Dept. bagged the prestigious DST- DAAD project, an Indo-German joint research collaboration project with Prof. Manfred Alb- recht of University of Augsburg, Germany. DST-DAAD, is a Proj- ect based Personnel Exchange Program with India & Germany (PPP). This is the third time Prof. Anantharaman won the colla- borative project under DAAD project. Dr. S. David Peter, Registrar, Cusat is presenting a Memento to noted film director New Short Term Training Sri. Sibi Malayil. Dr. P.K. Baby and Sri. Suresh Manimala are also seen Programme in Cusat SoE A Music Workshop for the tal- Sibi Malayil. Dr. J. Letha delive- The Division of Mechanical ented singers of student frater- red the Keynote address. The Engineering, School of Engi- nity of Cusat was organized by Workshop was intended to cater neering, Cusat started a short the Youth Welfare Dept. on 27 & professional training in singing, term training program on Indus- 28 February, 2016 at Dept. of said Dr. P.K. Baby, Director, trial Automation & Measure- Youth Welfare Dept., Cusat. ments. The duration of the Hindi Auditorium. Shri. Suresh Manimala, Music course is four weeks with a The Workshop was inaugu- Composer, Singers Chitra Arun course fee of Rs. 10,000/-. Dr. Biju N., is the Course Co- rated by the noted Film Director and Beni lead the Workshop. ordinator.

Tejus January - February 2016 18 Demystifying the Process of Patent Application Cusat has launched a 'Kno- Studies of Cusat, which aims achieved by nationally reputed wledge Forum' comprising res- at demystifying the process of higher educational institut- earchers and their guides to patent application. ions, she said. scale up patent filing. "To begin with, the know- "A resolution will soon The move comes after the ledge forum has nearly 50 come up in the Academic Cou- varsity found that the filing of members. They will present ncil recommending that pat- patents among the faculty new research findings and ent filing could be considered members and researchers on discuss inter-disciplinary equivalent to research pub- the campus was sluggish and subjects in the meeting. The lication. Our focus is on promo- required a massive push. The team will be expanded in the ting patent filing in inter- forum will meet on the first coming months by adding more disciplinary areas. The forum Wednesday of every month. researchers," said Dr. J. Letha, will evolve groups that would The initiative is part of the Vice Chancellor. The target work specifically in inter- Inter-University Centre for levels have to go up to match disciplinary areas," Dr. Letha Intellectual Property Rights the growth in patent filing said. Workshop on Accrual Based Clean Fuel Budgeting in local governments Marathon held at To provide first hand expo- ittee and Secretary/ accounts Cusat Campus sure to budget making and acco- Officer from each Panchyath To create awareness on oil unting at local levels, K.M. Mani and Muncipalities in Kerala. conservation and environ- Centre for Budget Studies, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, Pro- mental protection, the Indian Cusat organized a workshop on Vice Chancellor, Cusat presided Oil Company in association Accrual Based Budgeting in while Dr. M.A. Oommen, Direct- with the NSS, Cusat main Local Governments on 16 Dec- or, KMMCBS, Dr. Joseph John, Dr. V.S. Sebastian (Syndicate campus unit has conducted a ember 2015 at the International members) and Dr. Sabu Tho- marathon on 20 January 2016 Shool of Photonics Auditorium. mas, Co-ordinator, KMMCBS at Cusat campus. Cusat Vice Chancellor, Dr. J. spoke on the occasion. Sri. The Marathon was flagged Letha, inaugurated the func- Udayabhanu Kandeth, Senior off by Dr. M.B. Santhosh- tion. The workshop was cond- Audit Officer (Retd.), Accountant kumar, NSS Coordinator, ucted for Vice President/Chair- General's Office delivered the Cusat. A.M. Santhosh kumar, man, Finance Standing Comm- Special Address. State Institutional Manager (Lubes), Indian Oil Company Ltd., Y.D. Leelakrishna, Depu- ty Manager (Lubes), Indian Oil Company Ltd., Naveen S., NSS Programme Officer, Cusat main Campus Unit and Pra- binraj P., Student Co-ordina- tor of the program spoke. Around 100 NSS volunteers of Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating the Workshop on Accrual Based NSS main campus unit parti- Budgeting in local governments. Dr. M.A. Oommen, Dr. K. Poulose Jacob, cipated in the marathon. Dr. Joseph John, Dr. V.S. Sebastian and Dr. Sabu Thomas are on the dais

Tejus January - February 2016 19 Silver Jubilee of Ocean Electronics Centre inaugurated Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha urged the researchers to empower themselves to conquer the unknown areas of knowle- dge. She was inaugurating the silver jubilee celebration of the Cusat Center for Ocean Electr- onics at the Dept. of Electronics on 8 February 2016. Dr. K. Pou- lose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chancellor presided. Dr. P.R.S. Pillai, Dr. K.G. Nair and Dr. Supriya M.H. offered felicitations. Silver Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha is inaugurating the Silver Jubilee Celebration Jubilee commemorative volume of Centre for Ocean Electronics. Dr. K.G. Nair, Dr. P.R.S. Pillai, Dr. Poulose Jacob, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dr. M.H. Supriya are on the dais was released by Dr. K.G. Nair, Director, Centre for Science in Green Room VI - skill Society, Cusat. development workshop held Chen Nanguang The Dept. of Youth Welfare, nnai Mind Screen Film Insti- at ISP Seminar Cusat has conducted three-day tute, Film actor and moderator, Skill Development Workshop- Smt. Parvathy and noted film International School of Pho- "Green Room-VI cultivating theatre artist Appunni Sasi tonics, Cusat in collaboration creativity" during February 12- participated. A monodrama with Photonics Society of India has organized a National Pho- 14 for the students at the Hindi titled 'Theranjeduppu' was also tonics Symposium and Annual Auditorium. Noted theatre arti- staged by Sri. Appunni Sasi. Workshop (NPSAW) on February st Sri. T.M. Abraham inaugu- According to Dr. P.K. Baby, 26 to 28 at the Photonics audito- rated the workshop. Sri. Sree- Director, Youth Welfare, the rium, Cusat. The focal theme of jith Ramanan from School of skill development programme the symposium was "Recent Drama, Sri. Devendranath was well received by the Trends in BioPhotonics". Dr. Sankaranarayanan from Che- campus community. Chen Nanguang, Professor, Na- tional University Singapore E-waste - a threat to ecosystem: delivered the keynote speech. NUS ranked consistently as one Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha of the world's top University th Students should unite agai- inaugurating the Workshop on ranking with 12 position. nst the threat of e-waste, said E-Waste Management organized C-SiS summer camp Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. by Cusat NSS Unit in collabo- for Students Letha. E-waste which is gene- ration with Clean Kerala Com- rated from the excessive con- pany at the University's Thri- A Mid summer Science Tal- sumption by human beings has kkakara campus. Sri. Kabir B. ent & Total Capacity Develop- become a major threat to the Haroon, MD, Clean Kerala ment Programme (STDP) for sch- ecosystem, she said. Controlling Company. Sri. M.B. Santhosh ool students will be conducted by this hazard requires creation of Kumar, NSS Co-ordinator and Centre for Science in Society (C- awareness in a comprehensive Sri. S. Naveen spoke on the SiS), Cusat in two modules sta- manner. She was speaking after occasion. rting from 1 April - May 28, 2016.

Tejus January - February 2016 20 Nisha Nandakumar "Radio capa- and reversibility of frames and a city and chemical resistance of Ph. D Awardees study on automorphism group of elastomer barium sulphate nano- frames" Dr. T.P. Johnson. composites with special reference Nutritional quality, optimization of Anil kumar N. "A study on the to natural rubbr, ethylene propy- large scale production and quality of life of the members of lene rubber and isobutylene isopre- evaluation of its protective effect self help groups assisted by non- ne rubber" Dr. Philip Kurian. on koi carp from aeromonas governmental organisations in Navya Antony "Immobilization of infection" Dr. I.S. Bright Singh. Kerala" Dr. P.R. Wilson. diastase ? - Amylase on to synthetic Anish kumar M.S. "Development Midhu N.N. "Modelling and and natuaral polymers" Dr. P.V. of 2-d mrt based image compre- analysis of life time data using Mohanan. ssion techniques" Dr. R. Gopika quantile functions" Dr. P.G. Srikrishnan S. "Software risk ma- kumari. Sankaran. nagement in information systems A. Ramesh "Assessment of energy Archana S.N. "Resource sharing off showring and outsourcing" conservation in Indian cement among engineering college libraries Dr. M. Bhasi. industry and forecasting of co 2 affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi Abhilash S. "Studies on fish waste emissions" Dr. G. Madhu. University, Kerala : A proposed management practices in Aroor Shiji. K. "Analysis of stochastic model" Dr. Humayoon Kabeer S. seafood industrial belt, Kerala and volatilty sequences generated by Prem Gopinath "Mosquito larvae conversion of seafood waste in to product autoregressive mosdels" borne viruses from the Central a liquid plant growth supplenent" Dr.N. Balakrishna. Dr. Saleena Mathew. Travancore Region of Kerala: Jeena N.S. "Genetic divergence in Isolation and Characterization" Dr. Sreelakshmi N. "a quantile based lobsters (crustacea : Palinuridae I.S. Bright Singh. analysis of income data" Dr. K.R. and scyllaridae) from the Indian Muraleedharan Nair. ee2" Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan. Prashob Peter K.J. "Modulation of hydrophobic partitioning affinity Sony Vijayan "Indian law on Bindhu B.K. "Influence of major of humic acid from mudbank sedi- control of vessel sourced pollution operatonal parameters on aerobic ments and its potential applica- in maritime ports" Dr. A.M. Varkey granulation for the treatment of tions" Dr. S. Muraleedharan Nair. waste water" Dr. G. Madhu. Sonia Sunny "A hybrid architect- Ignatius Kunjumon K.V. "Compu- ure for recognising speech signals Siju M. Varghese "Integron study tational techniques in the study of in malayalam" Dr. David Peter S. molecular typing and protein folding and the design of characterization of salmonella Roshni Baby Thomas "Dopamine drugs" Dr. Babu Philip. serotypes isolated from seafood receptor subtypes functional regu- and poultry" Dr. Sarita G. Bhat. Jisha Jose "Biochemical effects of lation in insulin induced hypogly- cadmium salinity and temperature Sasidharan K.K. "Natural rubber cemic neonatal rats: Effect of glu- on the catabolism of proteins and latex filler masterbatch by soap cose, bacopa monnier; and baco- purines in oreochromis mossam- sensitised coagulation-prepara- side a resuscitation" Dr. C.S. bicus (Peters)" Dr. Babu Philip. Poulose. tion, processing and evaluation" Dr. Thomas Kurian. Seena Kurian "Samakaleen hindi Jiya Jose "Studies on metal resis- kavita mein lok tatv" Dr. K. Vanaja tant bacteria in Cochin estuary Anit M. Thomas "Algal blooms and its response towards antibio- and associated bacteria along the Rajasree K.P. "Beta-glucosidases tics and silver nano particles" Dr. south west coast of India" Dr. A.V. from aspergillus unguis nii 08123: Shanta Achuthankutty. Saramma. molecular characterization prope- Alphonsa Vijaya Joseph "Chara- ries and applications" Dr. Rajeev Abesh reghuvaran "Process K. Sukumaran. improvement of coir pith degrada- cterization and pathogenicity of tion involving white rot fungi by vibrio cholerae and vibrio vulnificus Naijil George "Adrenergic and mus- substitution of urea with nitrogen from marine environments" Dr. carinic receptor subtypes functio- fixing bacteria and application of Sarita G. Bhat. nal regulation during diabetogene- biodegraded coir pith as plant gro- Renjini D. "Market orientation sis: Effect of curcumin and vitamin wth medium" Dr. Anitha das and organisational performance of d3 pre-treatment" Dr. C.S. Poulose. ravindranath. nonprofit organisations in Kerala" Preetha Nair K. Studies on the Sajitha T.S. "Novel [3+2] annula- Dr. Mary Joseph T. use of nanokaoline, mwcnt and tion reaction of nitrones with bur- Smitha V.S. "Sol-gel photocatalytic graphene in nbr and sbr" Dr. Rani gess reagent and a few related rea- titanium dioxide multifunctional Joseph. ctions" Dr. P.A. Unnikrishnan. nanocomposites and coatings" Dr. Mothi Krishna Mohan "synthesis, Sunitha Poulose "Marine yeast K.G.K. Warrier. characterization and applications candida mccf 101 as feed Jayaprasad P.N. "Maximal com- of modified tio2 systems" Dr. S. supplement in aquaculture: pactness, minimal hausdorffness Sugunan.

Tejus January - February 2016 21 Hamza V.K. "Cumulative approach interaction of two level atoms with brushless alternators" Dr. Jayadas to customer satisfaction with quantized electromagnetic field" Dr. N.H. respect to compact segment car Ramesh Babu T. Jenish Paul "Modification of dgeba users" Dr. Zakkariya K.A. Nemat Sheereen S. "A study on using epoxidised resins" Dr. Eby Dhanya Alex "Risk disclosure pra- decision making and buying patt- Thomas Thachil. ctices in indian companies and the erns of consumer of backery prod- Sona Narayanan "Design and syn- impact of risk disclosures on the ucts in Kerala" Dr. Zakkariya K.A. thesis of Donor-Acceptor Low Band cost of equity" Dr. K.B. Pavithran. Sethulakshmi N. "Towards realiza- Gap copolymers for photocond- Hari Sankar H.S. "The major dige- tion of magnetocaloric and magneto uctive and Non-linear Optical Appli- stive enzymes in etroplus suraten- electric applications based on bulk cations" Dr. Rani Joseph sis and oreochromis mossambicus and thin film forms of sodium sub- P.R. Suresh "Social Structural distribution and characteristics Dr. stituted lathanum manganites" Dr. Determinonts of Education among Babu Philip. M.R. Anantharaman Tribes in Kerala" Dr. D. Rajasenan Johnson Zacharia "Evolution and Anitha G. Pillai "A study on miti- Sandhya S. "Mrinal Pandey ka dynamics of the lakshadweep cold gating the effect of sulphates in Rachana sansar" Dr. R. Sasi- pool and lakshadweep low in the lime stabilised cochin marine clays" dharan arabian sea" Dr. C.K. Rajan. Dr. Benny Smitha Sebastian "Occurrence of Preeth M. "Properties of equilibri- Jose Augustine "The art and craft filamentous algae and soil um distributions of order n" Dr. N. of M.T. Vasudevan Nair reflected in characteristics in the paddy fields Unnikrishnan Nair. his fiction based films and related of Kuttanad and Kole lands of works - A brief study" Dr. Maria- Neetha J. Eappen "Service provider Kerala" Dr. Ammini Joseph switching:a study on the switching mma Vincent Priyanka A. process in retail banking" Dr. K .B. Chembrakalathil Prabha "Finite "Elucidation of mole- Pavithran. element analysisof doubly curved cular events underlying hypoxia induction dysfunctions in 3t3-l1 Girishkumar K.K. axisymmetric subsea sandwich "Samakaleen adipocytes and possible ameliora- hindi kavita mein nav upanivesh shells" Dr. C.G. Nandakumar tion with bilobalide and curcumin" ka pratirodh" Dr. N. Mohanan Santhosh Simon "Data aggregation Dr. K.G. Raghu Nifty John "Distribution extra and mac layer approaches for Manju Sebastine "Population cha- cellular virulence factors and anti enhanced energy efficiency in large racteristics and taxonomy of lan- biogram of mobile aeromonards in scale wireless snsor net works" Dr. tern Fishes of genus Diaphus (Fa- fresh water ornamental fishes and K. Poulose Jacob mily Myctophidae) off south west immune response of cyprinus car- Joemon Pappachan "Influence of coast of India" Dr. N.G.K. Pillai pio against aeromonas hydrophila frequent flyer programme and air- infection" Dr. A.A. Muhammed line service quality on re-buy intent- Jaya V.L. "Development of N*N Hatha ions of airline frequent passengers" SMRT for N a power of 2 and its Pamy Sebastian "A study on semi Dr. Moli P. Koshy Applications in Image Enhance- ment" Dr. R. Gopikakumari group action on fuzzy subsets, George Joseph "Operational inverse fuzzy automata and related flexibility : A model for effective Ibrahim Y.C. "Export performance topics" Dr. T.P. Johnson project management" Dr. Zakkariya of Indian spices in the WTO" Dr. P. Priya Rani M. "Investigation on K.A. Arunachalam phytochemical constituents and Vineetha S. "Ecosystem monito- Binesh T. "Realisation of Under- biological potential of some trad- ring and modelling of benthic fauna water Target Classifier With Impro- itional medicinal plants" Dr. K.P. in Maranchery Kole Wetland, ved Performance" Dr. P.R. Sasee- Padmakumari Amma Kerala" Dr. S. Bijoy Nandan dran Pillai Anjali N. "Hindi nukkad natakam Aparna Thankappan "Studies on Jayalakshmi M.S. "Development ka samajik srokar : Ek vishlesh- betanin natural dye incorporated of Selected Electro-active polymer natmak adhyayan" Dr. P.A. She- zno composites at nano and micro Ceramic Nanocomposites as Pyro- mim Aliyar scale for photonic device applica- electric Thermal/Infrared Detector Manju P. Nair "Geochemical metal tions" Dr. V.P.N. Nampoori Matarials" Dr. Jacob Philip fractionation profile of the core Sreeja S. "Filamentation in air and Anju Pradeep "Investigation on sediment in the Cochin estuarine water and non linear optical chara- Metamaterial Based Spiral Indu- system" Dr. Sujatha C.H. cterization of biopolymer using ctors For Compact Microwave Devi- Chameswary J. "Butyl rubber- ultra short laser pulses" Dr. P. ces" Dr. S. Mridula ceramic composites for flexible Radhakrishnan Anoop P.D. "Studies on Collective electronic applications" Dr. M.T. Jiji K.S. "FEM based virtual proto- Excitations of Quasi-two-dimensi- Sebastian typing and design of third harmonic onal Bose-Einstein condensate" Priyesh K.V. "Studies on the excitation system for low voltage Dr. T. Ramesh Babu

Tejus January - February 2016 22 Aswin bagged 1st rank Cusat won the Campus Notes in Marine Engineering Professor R.N. Pillai Young Sta- The final ye- tistician Award ar B. Tech Mari- Junaid V.M. elected as as part of the ne engineering University Chairman Annual confere- results of 2015 Nimitha John V.M. Junaid nce of the Kerala batch of Kunjali M.Phil student, Statistical Association held at Marakkar Sch- Dept. of Applied Aswin N.S. Nirmala College. Muvattupuzha ool of Marine Economics has during 12-13 February 2016. Engineering, Cusat have been been elected as published. Aswin N.S. has bag- Marine Pollution: the Chairman of st Junaid V.M. ged 1 rank securing 80% International Seminar Cochin Univer- marks. Nithin M.S. and Anand sity Union at K.M. School G. Krishnan have come up with (2015-16). Ms. 2nd and 3rd ranks. Out of thirty A Three day International Vinaya Baby of students who successfully pas- Seminar on "Marine Pollution the Dept. of sed out, 15 have already been and Environment" is scheduled Computer Appli- placed in shipping companies. to be held at K.M. School of cations is the Vinaya Baby The remaining students are be- Marine Engineering commen- new Vice Chair- ing recruited and placed in vari- cing on 26 May 2016. The person. Moha- ous National and International seminar will deal with the latest mmed Ali Sha- stringent requirements and rest- Shipping companies according mlu of the Mech- rictions imposed by Interna- to Prof. N.G. Nair, Course in anical Enginee- tional Maritime Organization on Charge. ring (SoE) is the emission control from ships and General Secre- Mohammed Ali R.N. Pillai Award for Mandatory requirements with Shamlu tary and N. Hari Cusat Scholars regard to the marine pollution. Prasad, School Sriranga- Online payment of of Environment nath C.G. Rese- semester Fees Studies was sele- arch Scholar, On-line payment of semester cted as Secre- Dept. of Stati- tary. Other Exe- stics, Cusat has fee has been introduced in cutive Commi- N. Hari Prasad won the Profe- School of Engineering, Cusat. ssor R.N. Pillai Sriranganath The on-line payment of semester ttee members of the Cochin C.G. University Union are Arjun Kur- Best Paper Pre- fee is being done through the oor (International School of sentation Award in connection payment portal of State Bank of Photonics), Hafees Mohammed with the International Confe- India linked to the School of (School of Management Stud- rence on "Statistics for Twenty- Engineering website www.soe. ies), Muhammed Shinos (Dept. first Century-2015" organized by cusat.ac.in. It is for the first time of Ship Technology), Niyas N. the Dept. of Statistics, Univer- that such a system has been ini- (School of Industrial Fisheries) sity of Kerala. tiated in Cusat, said Dr. G. & Sanoon V. Jain (Polymer Sci- Ms. Nimitha John, Research Madhu, Principal, School of ence and Rubber Technology). Scholar, Dept. of Statistics, Engineering.

Editor: Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Director, Public Relations and Publications (Directorate of PR & P), Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi - 682022, Kerala. Printed and Published by Dr. S. David Peter, Registrar, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi - 682 022, Kerala. Printed at PrintExPress, Kaloor, Kochi - 682 017.

Tejus January - February 2016 23 In recognition of Academic Excellence

Dr. K. Poulose Jacob Sri. R.S. Sasikumar Dr. K.A. Zakkaria Dr. S. David Peter

Tejus January - February 2016 24