SCIENCE REPORTER April 201744

REPORT

A unique conference that sought to look at ways to improve the quality of human life by

the suitable use of technology was held sometime back in Bhubaneswar. The “International Interdisciplinary Conference on Humanitarian Tech-nology” was organised at the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar during from 15-17 December 2016.

The conference organised by KIIT University along with the Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU), USA and University of Pécs, Hungary aimed at some of the promising areas related to development of sustainable technologies for improvement of quality of human and social life. The three-day IICHT-2016 highlighted the key challenges and possible solutions.

Current and emerging humanitarian issues, common problems among the countries, future direction and collaborative research plans on thematic areas were discussed too. The conference included both plenary lectures and poster presentations. Since the general theme of the conference was Humanitarian Technology, the specifi c

panel tracks were much broader and inclusive of many disciplines starting from technologies for agriculture improvement to sustainable technologies for better environment, smart living, etc.

The Plenary sessions were conducted under six themes: Technologies for agriculture improvement; Biotech for sustainable future; Science for society; Affordable point-of-care diagnostics; Sustainable technologies for better environment; and Smart Living.

In the theme Technologies for Agriculture Improvement, Prof. Sudip Chattopadhyay (NIT Durgapur) laid emphasis on the molecular mechanism behind light perception by plants and the crucial role of various transcriptional regulators in seedling development. Dr. Anand K. Sarkar, Scientist, National Institute of Plant Genome Research, highlighted the need of understanding the root architecture of crops to ultimately improve their productivity. Study of some important factors like genetic and epigenetic factors, phytohormones, small RNAs, environmental factors,

etc. play a crucial role in shaping the root architecture. He suggested that custom-made root architecture would help to produce economically and environmentally sustainable crops for a sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Monika Jaggi, Senior Scientist, CSIR-NISCAIR, focused on recent developments in metabolic engineering of medicinal plants. In addition, she also highlighted the CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering system, which has become popular with plant scientists due to this system’s effi cacy and specifi city. The session ended with an interesting talk on the role of microbes isolated from agricultural soil on the biodegradation of chloropyrifos (pesticide) by Mr. Tanmaya Nayak of KIIT School of Biotechnology, Bhubaneswar, India. Extensive use of pesticides in agricultural crops contaminates the water sources and ultimately affects the nervous system of humans. The presentation highlighted the potential benefi ts of biodegradation of some pesticides using biostimulation.

In a popular session, “Biotech for Sustainable Future”, Dr. Sachidulal

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PRASHANT RAGHAV & MONIKA JAGGI

SCIENCE REPORTER April 201745

Raychaudhuri (ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management) displayed a prototype for in situ wastewater treatment system to produce irrigable water quality. The system, tested for 20000 litres of water improved the quality of wastewater considerably by reducing suspended solids, dissolved solids, microbial loads and heavy metals. Dr. Manish Kumar (CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology) discussed the use of corn cob biochar as an alternative low cost adsorbent for heavy metal (Cadmium and Lead in particular) removal from wastewater.

Dr. Vishakha Raina, Scientist, KIIT University emphasised on investigating newer, renewable and cheap alternative non-polluting types of fuel. In India, Biodiesel is produced majorly from non-food crops like Jatropha, but the process is expensive and thus the product cost high. A potential candidate for preparing Biodiesel could be waste cooking oil. In India, millions of gallons of used cooking oil and organic waste is generated every day which is disposed off without use and is a potent bane to the environment. In a pilot scale study done Dr. Vishakha, biodiesel was produced from frying (cooking) oil in an attempt to help reduce the cost of biodiesel and reduce waste and pollution from waste oils.

In the plenary session on “Science for Society”, many new innovations were discussed. The electrical and electronics industry, which is a major consumer of engineering plastics, generates 33% of waste plastics. These plastics are relatively cheaper and easily recyclable to be widely used in different equipments such as computers, TVs, mobiles, CDs, printers, speakers,

etc. At Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Dr. Smita Mohanty conducted an investigation to reutilise the engineering plastics with a melt blending technique, which is an ecological and economical option instead of open burning causing pollution to the environment. Prof. Saroj Nayak (IIT, Bhubaneswar) discussed the greater benefi ts of harnessing effi ciently and utilizing the immeasurable energy of the sun to provide basic advanced facilities to masses without negatively affecting the environment. The potential applications are uninterrupted power supply solar (UPS) with smart sensors, wide range voltage functioning of solar water pump which could operate even in cloudy days, solar refrigerators for vaccines, nano-coating to provide longer life of solar appliances against corrosion, etc.

The session “Affordable Point-of-Care Diagnostics” suggested that a Risk Assessment Plan must be incorporated into product development, right from the stage of concept, with early participation of regulatory experts. The session stressed on development of

Release of the abstract book “IICHT-2016”

To effi ciently address the issue of poverty and improve community resilience, there is a need to recruit and train a new generation of humanitarian engineers.

SCIENCE REPORTER April 201746

‘point-of-care’ tests that provide access to affordable, clinically reliable and effi cient diagnoses in a wide range of settings – the physician’s offi ce, an ambulance, the home, the fi eld, or in the hospital – facilitating timely and rapid treatment to the patient. The development of miniaturised devices, wireless communication, portable diagnostics and monitoring devices has the potential to permanently result in a shift from curative medicine, to predictive, personalised, and pre-emptive medicine.

In the session “Sustainable Technologies for Better Environment”, Prof. Suprakas Sinha Ray, University of Johannesburg, South Africa highlighted the need for biodegradable and bio-resourced polymers. Polylactide (PLA) is a biopolymer being touted as a potential alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics obviously due to its environmental and ecological benefi ts. However, its low fl exibility, low impact strength, poor thermal stability during the melting process, low melt strength and slow crystallisation rates could limit its widespread application.

Prof. Dipankar Chattopadhyay (Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta) gave an enlightening talk on the boons and banes of plastics. He insisted that bio-degradable plastics have good potential to become a viable alternative; however its higher price remains a hurdle. Another solution is recycling; the best we can do is to reduce the use and exposure to plastics, and make conscious efforts to stop littering as well as reuse of plastics.

Dr. Abhi j i t Bandyopadhyay, Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, West Bengal has designed an indigenous method to derive a silica rich material from coal fl y ash for its effective use as fi ller in rubber compound. Dr. V. Vijayabaskar (Product Development Centre, Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd., Chennai) talked about different clean performance chemicals used in leather and concrete. The new chemicals impart light fastness characteristics, reduce fogging and minimize carcinogenic generation in leathers.

In the last session of the conference, “Smart Living”, Dr. Istvan Haber

(University of Pécs, Hungary) gave the concept of a building design for passive ventilating – a zero energy building where the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. In passive ventilating, air channels inside the building are investigated and optimized after simulations.

The session ended with a concluding talk by Dr. Aaron Brown on humanitarian technology. The objective of humanitarian technology is promoting social justice and nurturing a more peaceful world. It often merges engineering technical skills with other areas of knowledge to derive appropriate solutions that are sustainable, participatory and aimed at improving the resilience and capacity of vulnerable communities. To effi ciently address the issue of poverty and improve community resilience, there is a need to recruit and train a new generation of humanitarian engineers, he said.

Report by Prashant Raghav (Research Intern, CSIR-NISCAIR) and Dr. Monika Jaggi (Senior Scientist, CSIR-NISCAIR)

Dr. Akabarali Thobani (Metropolitan State University) addressing the students

The conference organized by KIIT University along with the Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU), USA and University of Pécs, Hungary aimed at some of the promising areas related to development of sustainable technologies for improvement of quality of human and social life.