2005 Mid-Year Meeting
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
No. 42 September 2005 Newsletter of the Indian Academy of Sciences 2005 Mid-Year Meeting The 16th Mid-Year Meeting of Academy was held at Central College on July 7 and at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore on 8–9 July 2005. The year 2005 is being celebrated worldwide as the International Year of Inside... Physics. It is exactly a century since Albert Einstein’s creative outburst in 1905, his year of miracles. As part of its Mid-Year Meeting, the Academy joined hands with Bangalore University and organized a half-day programme 1. 2005 Mid-Year Meeting ............... 1 of special lectures on July 7th at the new Jnana Jyothi Auditorium located in the historic Central College campus in the heart of the city. The occasion was 2. 71st Annual Meeting, Trichy similar to the joint session during the 2003 Mid-Year Meeting celebrating the Scientific Programme ................... 2 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA. It was heartening to see the near 1000–capacity auditorium completely full, with students and 3. Vision Document for teachers from over 100 schools and colleges to whom special letters of Astronomy and Astrophysics ....... 4 invitation had been sent. 4. 2005 Associates .......................... 5 The programme was inaugurated by its Academy President TV Ramakrishnan and the University Vice-Chancellor, MS Thimmappa, who both expressed 5. Special Issues of Journals ........... 6 happiness at the spirit of co-operation between the two institutions. The four 45-min lectures were: ‘Light, space and time’ (N Mukunda); ‘Bose–Einstein condensation: where many become one and there is plenty of room at the 6. Discussion Meetings ................... 8 bottom’ (N Kumar); ‘Einstein and our understanding of the universe’ (JV Narlikar); and ‘Brownian motion then and now’ (Sriram R Ramaswamy). There were 7. Summer Fellowships ................... 9 lively question and answer sessions after each presentation. Brief accounts also appear in 8. Refresher Courses ...................... 9 Current Science (10 August 2005). The Mid-Year Meeting proper was held during 9. Lecture Workshops .................... 12 July 8 and 9, 2005. D Chatterji’s special lecture on ‘A tiny molecular machine and its architecture’ 10. Obituaries................................... 13 described the functioning of RNA polymerase, a result of a 40-year effort from its detection in 1959 to its three-dimensional structure determination in 1999. Even the force exerted D Chatterji by this molecule – in purely physical terms – is now measurable and is in the EDITOR 10–15 piconewton range! The second special lecture by N. Mukunda T Ramasami was on ‘Collagen- Published by based smart biomaterials’. This Indian Academy of Sciences presentation covered the history Bangalore 560 080, India of determination of collagen Phone: (080) 2361 2546, 2361 4592 structure by GN Ramachandran, email: [email protected] in which the Central Leather This newsletter is available on the Research Institute (CLRI) played Academy website at : www.ias.ac.in/patrika/ T Ramasami an important role. Ramasami To receive a regular copy of the reminded us of the basic Newsletter, please write to the properties of skin and the several remarkably effective products Executive Secretary of the Academy based on collagen for several medical purposes – ophthalmology, ([email protected]) diabetic ulcers, burns and infected wounds – which have been developed at CLRI. The public lecture on Friday, July 8th was by Kiran Mazumdar- Forthcoming Events– Shaw of Biocon India on ‘The need for shared vision between academia and industry’. This was very timely as the present 2005/06 era is strongly identified with genomics, biotechnology and 71st Annual Meeting, Bharathidasan bioinformatics. Shaw cited several examples of such shared University, Tiruchirappalli vision in the West, and emphasized the importance of creating 11–13 November 2005 similar links in the Indian context. These bridges must be built (see programme on p. 2) as soon as possible and in her words the ‘two sectors must complement rather than compete for research funding’. Refresher Courses The rest of the programme consisted of lecture presentations by newly elected Fellows and Associates on a host of Foundation course in physics and topics covering many scientific disciplines. The Academy chemistry of the earth National Centre of Experimental played host to 33 teacher invitees from different parts of the Mineralogy and Petrology, country. Univ. of Allahabad (7–27 November 2005) 71ST ANNUAL MEETING – TRICHY Physics of the atmosphere Bangalore University/Indian Institute SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME of Science, Bangalore (14–25 November 2005) Venue: Bharathidasan University Applied stochastic processes 11 November 2005 (Friday) Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi (5–17 December 2005) 0930 – 1100 Inauguration and Presidential address by TV Ramakrishnan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi Transition metal oxides: Quantum Lecture Workshops many body physics meets solid state Einstein’s legacy: A lecture workshop chemistry St. Pious College, Hyderabad 1130 – 1300 Lectures by Fellows/Associates (28–29 October 2005) SK Sarin, G.B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, Portal Experimental Physics hypertensive bleeding: Evolution of protocols Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College and future options for Women, Bangalore Amalendu Chandra, Indian Institute of (4–7 November 2005) Technology, Kanpur, Hydrogen bond dynamics in aqueous solutions: Ab initio molecular dynamics study 2 Subhasis Chaudhuri, Indian Institute Partha P Majumder, Indian Statistical of Technology, Mumbai, Can we Institute, Kolkata, Genomic diversity include the third dimension during and structure of ethnic India: Lessons image mining? from haploid chromosomes 1430 – 1730 Symposium Mitali Mukerji, Institute of Genomics Physics and Chemistry of Materials and Integrative Biology, Delhi, The (Convener: CNR Rao) Indian human genome variation initiative: Overview and first results AK Raychaudhuri, SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata V Nanjundiah, Indian Institute of Phase separation in stained Science, Bangalore. Genomics and manganites films as probed by our past : Where are we and where scanning probe microscope and 1/f do we go from here ? noise measurements 1430 – 1600 Lectures by Fellows/Associates DD Sarma, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Electronic structure of DP Kasbekar, Centre for Cellular & oxide materials Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, GU Kulkarni, JNCASR, Bangalore Dominant suppressors of repeat- Chemistry of nanomaterials induced point mutation S Natarajan, Indian Institute of Science, Shankar P Das, Jawaharlal Nehru Bangalore Open-framework materials University, New Delhi, Heterogeneity in — what is new? supercooled liquids AK Ganguli, Indian Institute of Subhabrata Chakrabarti, L.V. Prasad Technology, Delhi, Chemistry of oxide Eye Institute, Hyderabad, A molecular materials genetic perspective on primary congenital glaucoma in India 1830 – 1930 S Ramaseshan Memorial Public lecture CNR Rao, JNCASR, Bangalore, 1730 – 1830 Public lecture Science for our future: Personal reflections on doing science in India V Shantha, Cancer Institute, Chennai, Cancer causes and prevention 12 November 2005 (Saturday) 13 November 2005 (Sunday) 0900 – 1000 Special lecture KV Subbarao, University of Hyderabad, 0900 – 1000 Special lecture Hyderabad, Volcanic poisoning and mass extinctions RK Shyamasundar, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, 1030 – 1300 Symposium Computer science: Scientific and Genomic Landscape and Structure of engineering fascinations and the People of India challenges (Convener: Partha P Majumder) 1030 – 1130 Lectures by Fellows/Associates MLK Murty, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Archaeology of modern VA Raghunathan, Raman Research humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) in Institute, Bangalore, Organization of India: Prehistory, cultural diversity cholesterol in model membranes and migrations M Radhakrishna Pillai, Rajiv K Thangaraj, Centre for Cellular and Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Genomic Thiruvananthapuram, Human approaches to reconstructing the papillomavirus associated cervical Indian population histories cancer in India 3 in the past, current areas of scientific research, a survey VISION DOCUMENT of the existing observational facilities and recommendations for the next major initiatives in that FOR ASTRONOMY area. The final chapter lists a series of recommendations AND ASTROPHYSICS for the future. Some of the important recommendations The Academy brought ❑ New Initiatives in astronomy from space out a Decadal Vision Document on Astronomy The Academy Committee has recommended two and Astrophysics. This modest instruments that could go piggy back on document is intended to the Remote Sensing Satellites that are periodically project the possibilities launched by Indian Space Research Oganization. and imperatives in an area These are (i) a small solar coronograph, and (ii) a of strong tradition and near infrared spectrophotometer. great strength in India. ❑ New Technology Initiatives The Document was formally released on 8 Keeping in mind the central role of detector technology July 2005 by T V in the presently unfolding revolution in astronomy, the Ramakrishnan, the committee has strongly recommended a set of new President of the Academy R&D initiatives. at the IISc Faculty Hall in These include: the presence of Fellows and invitees who attended the ● Detectors for infrared, X-rays and gamma rays Mid-Year