Issue - 43 November 2014 President's Note Dear Colleagues, It is gives me immense pleasure to share with you some important developments in the final edition of the Silver Jubilee Celebration year. The celebrations were launched with an outstanding Sarod performance by Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Ayan and Amaan on 12th Nov 2013. Prof. CNR Rao delivered a motivating Inauguration lecture on 18th Nov 2013. This was followed by a special Faculty meet and In-House symposium that had enthusiastically participation from students and faculty members. Globally renowned scientists like Prof. Ross Griffiths of the Australian National University, Prof. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Bio- technology, Government of India and several others have shared their thoughts with us during occasions such as Silver Jubilee lectures, Special Lectures and Endowment lectures. I'm glad to share with you that Prof CNR Rao and Mrs. Indumati Rao have donated generously to instate an annual Silver-Jubilee Professorship for the best performing and active faculty member of the Centre, from 5th Jan 2015. Our publication matrix of 25 years shows a significant total of over 4500 papers with citations received around a lakh with an average citations per year of more than 4000. We also have been granted 22 Foreign and 6 Indian Patents with one license and one trade mark. This year our faculty members have reported several key discoveries which include discovery on breaking bacteria's resistance to antibiotics; discovery of new drug discovery tool using spectroscopy and simulation; Versatile semiconducting material; separation of industrially important compounds from crude oil; and discovery of anti-cancer potential of a common anti-hypertensive drug. I'm sure our combined efforts will take the Centre to the next level. President Inside this issue… l From the Editor's Desk l JNC in the News l Academic Activities & Science Outreach l Intellectual Property l Appointments and Awards l Seminars and Lectures l Past and Forthcoming events Felicitation of Prof. CNR Rao by Hon'ble Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha on June 18, 2014 on being conferred the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna. FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK The 2nd issue of Silver Jubilee Year edition of the newsletter highlights some of the activities of the JNCASR community over the past six months. As in the past, several faculty members have been recognized for their contributions to scientific research in the country. Of special importance is the news of felicitation of Prof. C.N.R. Rao by Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr. Siddaramaiah on June 18, 2014 at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru for his receiving the country's Highest Civilian Award, the Bharat Ratna. Prof. M.R.S. Rao was awarded the Distinguished Awards for the year 2014 by IISc Alumini Association. JNCASR Faculty members have also been awarded Visiting Fellowships or Professorship from Indian and International scientific bodies while others have been selected as Editorial board members of high impact peer reviewed journals. Ph D students have also received best poster awards at International Conferences. The Centre has obtained seven patents (US-3, Japan-2, Europe-1 and China-1) in various disciplines during 2014. This year under the JNCASR-CICS fellowship programme, fellowships were given to scholars from Nepal. Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan. Silver Jubliee Year Celebration Lecture has been delivered by Padma Shri Prof.K.Vijay Raghavan, Secretary, Dept.of Biotechnology Govt of India on “Brain stem cell progeny create functional units for complex hehaviour” on 25th September 2014. Inauguration of the Commonwealth Science Conference by president of India Shri Pranab Mukherjje on 26th Nov 2014 at the J.N Tata Auditorium IISc Bangalore, which was organised by the The Royal Society in Association with the Govt of India and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, U K and JNCASR. Prof. Umesh Waghmare , Kanishka Biswas and their research team have discovered a “versatile semiconducting material” AgCuS. The news was reported in Nature India. According to another news item reported in Nature India, Dr. Ujjal K. Gautam and his research group has demonstrated soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules which can separate organic compounds drugs catalogued in pharmaceutically Bangalore scientists JNC in the databases, a critical requirement is determining how a ligand (typically a break bacteria's News modulator, or signal-triggering molecule) binds to a therapeutic protein. Currently, resistance to antibiotics most drug design protocols the most potent While the international research community ligand is chosen – but at the cost of has pondered over many options to diminished target protein specificity. On the overcome this, a team of Bangalore-based other hand, such small-molecule ligands scientists has developed a novel way to having what is known as a high TC50 value, attack these bacteria, which gives the meaning that a larger amount of the drug is organisms little chance of developing needed to be effective – and they may resistance. therefore be rejected. Recently, however, "The alarming growth of antibiotic resistant scientists at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for superbugs (bacteria) has become a major Advanced Scientific Research, India global health hazard. Our research, the combined surface-enhanced Raman findings of which is awaiting an international spectroscopy (SERS) and molecular dynamics Promising proteins: patent, breaks the bacteria in a non- (MD) simulation to identify the precise traditional way, affecting their ability to Scientists develop new location on a target protein where adapt or develop resistance," said Dr Jayanta drug discovery tool using modulators bind. Haldar, who along with his team of three Source: Stuart Mason Dambrot, Promising from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for spectroscopy and proteins: Scientists develop new drug Advanced Scientific Research has developed simulation discovery tool using spectroscopy and the antibiotic. The other three scientists are simulation. Medical Xpress: medical research Venkateswarlu Yarlagadda, Padma Akkapeddi In the ongoing quest to design new news, July 22, 2014 and Goutham B Manjunath. beneficial molecules or identify potential Excerpt from Times of India, July 10,2014. ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES Two-in-one pill: anti- reversible p-n-p type conduction switching, http://www.natureasia.com/en/nindia/article along with a colossal change in the /10.1038/nindia.2014.144 cancer potential of a thermopower at superionic phase transition common anti- near room temperature. Temperature Academic Activities dependent p-n-p type conduction switching hypertensive drug makes AgCuS an ideal material for diode or transistor devices that operate reversibly on Research Admissions The JNCASR scientists (Prof. Tapas K. Kundu, temperature or voltage changes near room MBGU and Prof. Chandrabhas Narayana, temperature, which makes this material During the August 2014 admissions, 43 CPMU) were trying to unearth the anti- attractive for future advanced electronics. students joined JNCASR under its Degree and cancer potential of a common anti- This work has been published in: S. N. Guin, J. Diploma programmes. The current student hypertensive drug. In the process, they ended Pan, A. Bhowmik, D. Sanyal, U. V. Waghmare, strength at JNCASR is 291. Currently, there up focusing attention on the hitherto and K. Biswas, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, are 176 students registered for Ph D, 12 for unexplored application potential of Raman 12712–12720 (2014). M S (Engg./Research) and 98 for Integrated spectroscopy. Ph D degree programmes respectively. The News based on this work has appeared in Centre has also admitted two students under The work, published online in the journal Nature India on Sept 26, 2014 the Postgraduate Diploma Programme in Proceedings of National Academy of http://www.natureasia.com/en/nindia/article Science Education and three students under Sciences, convincingly proved that an /10.1038/nindia.2014.129 the Postgraduate Diploma Programme in advanced technique derived from Materials Science. conventional Raman spectroscopy — called surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy Soccer-ball-shaped Student Awards (SERS) — has the potential to be used for carbon molecules drug discovery. For the year 2013 -14, Ms. Paramita Sarkar, separate organic 1st year Int. Ph.D student of the Integrated Excerpt from news article published in The Ph.D programme in Chemical Science, was Telegraph, June 30, 2014. compounds awarded the Babu Matru Prasad Scholarship. Recent research from Ujjal Gautam's group The award is given to the student who scores the highest CGPA in the Int. Ph.D programme ‘Rugby ball’ peep into demonstrated the possibility of high- in Chemical Science. Ms Sarkar received a efficiency separation of a large number of glass scholarship of Rs 6000, a book grant of Rs industrially important compounds from crude 1500 and a certificate. Using microscopic particles shaped like rugby oil by using fullerene, C60. C60 is considered balls, Indian physicists have provided deep an wonder molecule, since rarely other Mr Uttam Gupta, M.S. student of the insights into the formation of glass which has molecules can have so many diverse Integrated Ph.D Programme in Materials Science, CPMU, was awarded the Bapu remained a mystery in materials science potential applications such as in electronics & Narayanswamy award for the Best M.S. despite its antiquity, ubiquity and utility. spintronics,