R&D Highlights - NISCAIR · Working Group I for preparation of the Fourth ... commercial supplier...

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Dr Unnikrishnan worked (2004-2006) as a leadauthor of Chapter 5 on “Observations: OceanClimate Change and Sea Level” under theWorking Group I for preparation of the FourthAssessment Report. Chapter 5 contains changesin sea level, recognizing the strong interconnectionsbetween the changes in sea level and ocean heatcontent. Data from tide-gauges, satellites and in-situ observations of temperature and salinity formthe focus to assess the longterm changes in sealevel and ocean heat content respectively.

Dr Unnikrishnan along with other LeadAuthors jointly worked to prepare this Chapter. Inparticular, he worked on the assessment of changesin Extreme Sea level. Each Lead Author is assistedby several contributing authors and the LeadAuthor team for each Chapter is led by two Co-ordinating Lead Authors. The entire process of thepreparation of the Report has taken over two years.

The Chapter 5 has links with Chapters 3 and4, which deal with observations on surfaceatmosphere, snow and ice respectively. Whileobserved changes in these components of theclimate system are closely inter-related throughphysical processes, the separate chapters give amore focused assessment.

*The Chapter 5 is cited as:N.L. Bindoff, J. Willebrand, V. Artale, A. Cazenave,J. Gregory, J. S. Gulev, K. Hanawa, C. Le Querre,S. Levitus, C.K. Shum, L.D. Talley and A.Unnikrishnan , 2007: Observations: OceanicClimate Change and Sea Level. In: ClimateChange 2007: The Physical Science BasisContribution of Working Group I to the FourthAssessment Report of the Inter GovernmentalPanel on Climate Change [S. Solomon, D. Qin, M.Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)] CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom andNew York, USA.

On receiving the Prize, Dr Pachauri sent aletter to all lead authors including Dr Unnikrishnan.CSIR is proud of Dr Unnikrishnan’s associationwith IPCC and this ‘shared’ success.

Silicon Carbide Schottky Diodes

The Central Electronics Engineering ResearchInstitute (CEERI), Pilani, has developed Silicon

Carbide (SiC) technology for the fabrication of Schottkydiodes of varying diameters from 1.2 mm to 2.0 mm inan array on a 2” diameter wafer. 4H-SiC polytype hasbeen used with both sides polished surfaces. An epitaxiallayer of 50 µm with a uniform doping of the order of 9×1014

cm-3 on Si-face of 4H-SiC wafer was obtained from acommercial supplier of production grade quality. Thefabrication of nickel Schottky contact on Si-face of 4H-SiC has been processed using e-beam evaporation of99.999% Ni. A 2000 Å thick Ni was deposited, followedby vacuum annealing in Ar at 400°C for 30 minutes. Fieldplate and field ring termination techniques have beenemployed in the design of the main Schottky diode tosuppress electric field crowding on the edges for improvedavalanche breakdown voltage. A schematic layout of thediode equipped with field ring and field plateterminations, is shown in the following figures:

Layout of Ni/4H-SiC Schottky Diode Structure

7 mm x 7 mm Chips Carrying Diodes

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50.0 µm

R=0.6mm, 0.8mm, 1.0mm

300 µm200 µm

375 µm

300 µm

100×100 µm2

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• Blue layer : Schottky metal with field plate over lay of 50 µm• Pad contact : 100 µm• Field ring : 50 µm

An array of similar diameter diodes was laid out on achip area of 7×7mm2, so that 12 diodes of 1.2 mmdiameter, 8 diodes of 1.6 mm diameter and 5 diodes of 2mm diameter were realised on each chip. The chip wasfurther arrayed in a matrix of 6×6 to cover the entirearea of 2” diameter wafer. Pads for each diode within thechip were suitably placed to provide ease in wire bondingon TO-8 header.

• Chip size : 7 mm• Grid width : 100 µm• Edge distance : > 150 µm

A Processed 4H-SiC Wafer

The packaged diodes were tested for their I-V andC-V performance using computer aided measurementfacility. Barrier height of the Schottky contact, idealityfactor of the diode and epitaxial layer dopingconcentration, were evaluated using measured data. Theelectrical performance of a typical diode is listed in thefollowing table:

Packaged Chip on TO-8

Measured I-V Characteristics

Measured C-V of Different Diameter Diodes


Avalanche Leakage Ideality Barrier DopingBreakdown Current at factor height concentrationVoltage 200 Volts using 1/C2 vs

Voltage

More than 1-5 nA 1.21 1.252 eV 1.5 ×××××1015 cm -3700Volts

2.0 mm Diameter1.6 mm Diameter1.2 mm Diameter

4H-SIC Schottky Diode

Reverse Bias (Volts)

Cap

acita

nce

(pF)

-100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0

0

500

100

150

200

250

300

B4C27D1

Applied Bias (Volts)-200 -100-150 -50 0

0.0

2.0µ

4.0µ

6.0µ

8.0µ

10.0µ

12.0µ

Cur

rent

(Am

p)

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New Processes released by CFTRI

THE Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, has released the following new processes:

Puffed Moth Bean Sweet and Savoury Snacks

The moth bean puffed snack is aready-to-eat (RTE) product

with either sweet or salt-spicy intaste. It is suitable as a low-fat snackbecause frying in oil or fat has beenomitted to provide a good shelf lifeto the product without loosing theattractive taste and texture of acrispy snack. The product is costeffective and has the potential tobecome a health food in the nearfuture. The product can be storedfor four months at ambientconditions. The small size mothbean fractions/broken could be usedseparately in the preparation ofsweet and coated products. Wholemoth bean, pregelatinized starch

Puffed RTE moth bean products and raw whole moth bean (inset)

Continuous vada making machine

Urad vada is a popular snack foodof India prepared from black

gram dhal. The black gram dhal issoaked in water at ambienttemperature for about 2 hours andground to a thick viscous batterwith the addition of salt for taste.The prepared batter is made into adoughnut shape and deep fatfried.

The Central Food TechnologicalResearch Institute (CFTRI),Mysore, has developed acommercial scale automaticcontinuous vada making machineand the design drawing is availablefor commercialization. The machinecan manufacture doughnut shaped

urad vada continuously, consistentlyand hygienically in a predeterminedform, shape and size. The fryingtime can be regulated electronicallyusing the controls available in theunit. The unit is simple to operate,hygienic and economically viable.The unit can also be used for otherproducts similar to urad vada. Thefryer unit can be used for thepreparation of french fries, potatochips and other products with anattachment. As there is no mountinghassles or extended parts to thedevice, it can be suitably fixedwherever needed. The machine canproduce approximately 700-800vadas/hour.

powder, sugar, saltand hydrogenated fatare the materialsrequired for thepreparation of theproduct. Permittedfood colour andflavour are essentialfor sweet snacks andspice powder is usedfor spiced snackproducts. Cleaningand milling, soaking,cooking, toasting,coating/flavouring, drying andpackaging are the steps involved inthe processing. Plant grinders,shaker/ grader, autoclave, planetary


mixer, dryer, toaster and pan coaterare the important machineriesrequired. The process is available forcommercialization.

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Stevioside: A non - calorific sweetener

Steviosides are sweet glucosebearing diterpenoids produced

by the Parguayan plant, Steviarebaudiana. The plants have beentraditionally consumed in SouthAmerican countries, such asArgentina, Brazil, Paraguay andMexico. Steviosides vary in theircomposition based on the number,position and type of sugar attachedto the terpenoid backbone. The twomajor forms are stevioside, whichhas two glucose units, and the otherone rebaudioside with three glucoserings. These compounds are abouttwo hundred times sweeter thansucrose. Hence, they are used assweeteners. Stevioside in pure form

is a white, crystalline material anddoes not impart any color. Thesecompounds have a lingering taste inthe mouth.

Heat and pH stability widensthe scope of its use in many foodpreparations where otherconventional sweeteners cannot beused. The contribution of thesteviosides to our energy isminuscule, since it is notmetabolized and a very smallquantity such as 25 mg of stevioside,is almost equal to 1 table spoon ofsugar.

CFTRI has developed a processfor the production of steviosideextract and crystals from dry Stevia

leaves. The institute has thenecessary expertise to providetechnical assistance and guidance toindustries for commercialization.The suggested economic capacity is1000 kg of dry leaves per day andyield is around 2%.

Stevioside: leaf powder and white crystalline extract

Stevia rebaudiana plant

Preparation of radical scavenging conserve from tea leaves— normal, coarse and pruned

India is the largest producer of tea,approximately contributing to

30% of the total world production.In the tea plantations, the coarse tealeaves are not plucked for teamaking and they are prunedperiodically every 2-3 years. Thesecoarse/pruned tea leaves containsubstantial amount of polyphenols.Polyphenols are known for severalhealth benefits. Fresh coarse/pruned tea leaves are dried to

inactivate the enzymes, which leadto green teas. A radical scavengingconserve enriched with polyphenolswas prepared from these tea leavesusing a suitable solvent. Theconserve showed very good radicalscavenging properties in a modelsystem. The conserve containsmainly catechins, which haveantioxidant, anticancer andantimutagenic properties. The conservecan be used as a nutraceutical in food

and confectioneries. Further, it has thepotential to be used in variouspharmaceutical formulations.

Main advantage of this processis the utilization of wastes from teaplantations as the raw material. Alsothe process could be also employedfor the preparation of conservesfrom fresh normal tea leaves.

CFTRI has filed a patent on thisprocess and it is available forcommercial exploitation.


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CECRI: Grant-in-aid/Sponsored Projects andConsultancy/Technical Services

The grant-in-aid/sponsored projects, consultancy and technical assignments undertaken by the CentralElectrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, during January-June 2007 include:

Grant-in-aid/Sponsored Projects

• Electrolytic recovery of copperand regeneration of acidic cupricchloride etchant, AT & S,Nanjangud

• Galvanic corrosion performanceof magnesium alloys inautomotive applications,General motor India Pvt. Ltd,Bangalore

• Evaluation of paint coated mildsteel panels, Kansai NerolacPaints Ltd, Mumbai

• Evaluation of “Exide” VRLA

batteries for service life andfloat life with daily dischargesfor 12V, 1500 Ah (MST), 12V,400Ah (EPST) and 12V, 300AH9NEPST) batteries as per ClNo 6.13 and 6.15 of IEC 60896-21:2004, Exide Industries Ltd,Mumbai

• Electro-fabrication of seamlesscrucible (nickel & nickeltungsten alloy) for the saltpurification cell inphyrochemical reprocessing,Indira Gandhi Centre for AtomicResearch, Kalpakkam

• Development of eco-friendlychromium plating bath, DST,New Delhi

• To develop moisture compatiblecorrosion resistant protectivecoating system, KrishnaConchem Products, Mumbai

• Gold plating on reaction wheelassembly parts used in satellites,ISRO Inertial Systems Unit(IISU), Thiruvananthapuram

• Studies on the galvaniccompatibility of interfacial ringcomponents and corrosionbehaviour of canister in sea

Virgin Coconut Oil

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) isextracted from fresh coconut

meat without involving thermaltreatment. The oil is colourless andhas an intense coconut aroma. It isrich in lauric fatty acid and containsvitamin E. The virgin coconut oil hasmany pharmaceutical and cosmeticapplications. It has a peroxidasevalue of less than 1 and free fattyacid (FFA) less than 0.2%. It has longshelf life due to its antioxidantproperties. VCO is abundant inmedium chain fatty acids such asC8, C10 and C12, and has a uniquerole in the diet as an importantphysiologically functional food. VCOhas healthy saturated fats that helpin maintaining proper cholesterollevels, supporting thyroid function,easing digestive disorder symptoms,averting hypoglycemia cravings and


providing many other healthbenefits. The virgin coconut oil haspotential as a replacement forbutter, margarine and other cookingoils. It is not stored in the body asfat, rather it is converted intoenergy. The processing steps involvedeshelling of matured coconuts,paring, dewatering, disintegrating,milk extraction, enzyme treatment,centrifuging, freezing and thawing

and centrifugation. The critical stepsinvolve centrifuging operationswherein cream is separated fromfresh coconut milk and separationof oil from oil and cream mixture.The principal equipment requiredare hammer mill, screw press,centrifuge, bottle filling machine,fluidized bed dryer, pouch sealingmachine and walk-in-cooler.

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water, DRDL, Hyderabad• Supply of potentiostat (manual

operation), Sri NarayanaCollege for Women, Kollam,Kerala

• Supply of Digital Four ProbeResistivity meter, CoimbatoreInstitute of Technology,Coimbatore

• Fabric dyeing by redoxmediated environment friendlyprocess, DST, New Delhi

• Conducting polymer compositesfor housing electronicequipment to avoid staticelectricity and to controlelectromagnetic radiations inthe range of 1GHz to 40 GHz,DST, New Delhi

• Evaluation of additivesusing hydrogen permeation,Panacea Worldwide Traders,Kumbakonam

• Melt/solution processableconducting polyaniline basedmagnetic films, DST, New Delhi

• Preparation of painting manualand study of other corrosionproblems, NRL, Assam

• Evaluation of 2V/500Ah“Microtex” low maintenancebatteries as per IRS S 88/04specifications, Mysore ThermoElectric P. Ltd, Bangalore

• Feasibility study of brushelectropolishing on 316 LNstainless steel with differentsurface conditions, IGCAR,Kalpakkam

• Corrosion monitoring ofpreviously installed corrosionmonitoring probe sensors andalso on the previouslymonitored prestressing cablesin second Thane Creek Bridge,Navi, Mumbai

• Some insight onphysicochemical properties of

defluoridator of 1000 LPHcapacity, Sandur Fluid ControlPvt Ltd, Bangalore

• To suggest the area to be paintedof the steel structures of boilers,Tuticorin Thermal PowerStation, Tuticorin

• Installation and measurement ofstrain by SMER Ganges for leaktest, Rajasthan Atomic PowerProject-6, NPCIL

Technical Services• To supply 10 platinized titanium

anodes for R&D work, IISc,Bangalore

• Evaluation of Exide batteries for3-h capacity followed by shortcircuit and internal resistancetest as per EN 60896-11:2003,Exide Industries Ltd, Mumbai

• To supply electrochemicaldefluoridator unit, Sandur FluidControls P. Ltd, Bangalore

• Paint test for three panels,Anand Eng. Products Pvt. Ltd,Trichy

• Testing of organophosphonatesamples, NLC Ltd, Neyveli

• Testing of paint, AltecFabricators, Trichy

• Testing of paint samples, JayEngineering Industries, Trichy

• Testing of paint panels, M/sToolfab Engg. Tech., Trichy

• Testing of lead oxide samples,Exide Industries Ltd, Hosur

• Evaluation of black coatings forsolar energy conversion, Mr R.T. K., Dindigul

• Analyzing the failure of Li-ionbattery pack showing “0” volts,Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Mysore

• Study of filter press andcylindrical flow cell, AnnaUniversity, Chennai

• Testing of blended organophosphonate samples, NLCLtd, Neyveli

different electronic-ceramicsusing opto-impedance probe,DST, New Delhi

• Evaluation of paint coated steelpanels at low temperature,International Paint, Bangalore

• Evaluation of power build lowmaintenance batteries as perIRS S 88/04 specification for 2V/80Ah, 2V/200Ah & 2V/500Ah,Power Build Batteries Pvt. Ltd,Bangalore

• Evaluation of “Sharana”stationary cells as per IS 1651:1991 specification & sulphationtest (2V cells) for 2V/120Ahb,Sharana Industries, Chennai

Consultancies• To suggest corrosion protective

coating for stressed posttensioning cables in secondVivekananda Bridge, Larsen &Toubro Ltd, ECC Division,Chennai

• To study the condition ECHSConveyor steel structure ofBCN 41 A/B, 42A/Band 51,TNEB, Chennai

• Vetting of design of CP systemfor the underground pipelinesystems for SPM Project forBPCL, Kochin, CorrosionControl Services (B) Pvt Ltd,Mumbai

• Preparation of paintinghandbook for steel bridges in theHimalayan region, KonkanRailway Corp. Ltd, NaviMumbai

• Recommendation of paintschemes and supervision ofpainting work, GHCL, Gujarat

• Corrosion measurement ofproduct water tank at AnuvijayTownship, Nuclear PowerProject, NPCIL, Kudankulam

• Design of electrolytic


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Joint Workshop on Ecological Forecasting: An Indo-US Initiative

The National ChemicalLaboratory (NCL), Pune,

organized a Joint InternationalWorkshop on EcologicalForecasting: An Indo-US Initiativeduring 27-29 August 2007 whichmainly focused on current status ofecological forecasting, emergingneeds and the causes of ecosystemchange. The workshop alsodiscussed the areas of commoninterest in the field of EcologicalForecasting where the two countriescould collaborate. Sixty participantsincluding five from US having variedacademic and research experiencesattended the workshop. Eightthemes of potential collaborationwere brainstormed.

Dr S. Sivaram, Director, NCL,Pune, in his inaugural addressstressed the importance of variouscomponents such as reliable data,mathematical tools, computationalpower along with inputs from socialscientists and behaviouralpsychologists needed for ecologicalforecasting. Ecological forecasting isa result of collective effort, besetwith great complexity anduncertainty. Dr Sivaram said, “in asociety, one needs to take correctdecisions based on predictivemodels, however imperfect. Theoutcome of such an initiative iscrucial to the survival of planetearth.” He wondered whether anymodel exists which can predict thestate of Planet Earth by 2050 or2100, when the world’s twopopulous nations will achieve a levelof prosperity and consumption,which is seen today in NorthAmerica, Europe or Japan.

Ecological modeling and forecastingis, thus, a very desirable goal,notwithstanding the fact that it isfraught with serious deficiencies.Giving an example of the recentdebate caused by the report of theInter-Governmental Panel onClimate Change, Dr Sivaram saidthat truth is always inconvenient andany prediction has an element ofunpredictability. Nevertheless,weather and climate modeling stillobey the laws of physics and, henceare within human reach. On thecontrary ecological modeling andforecasting attempts to predict theimpact of physical, chemical,biological and human inducedchanges on ecosystems and theircomponents. This is indeed aformidable challenge. Humanbehaviour hardly obeys the laws ofPhysics! In fact the Malthusianmodel on population followed by theprediction of the Club of Rome hasnot necessarily infused confidencein predictive modeling of socialsystems. The world is in the midstof a raving controversy presently onthe subject of fuels from biomass. Asnations, driven by theirunsustainable demand for energy,shift to bio-fuels, deep seatedchanges are anticipated in the globalecosystems. Does one have apredictive model, to enlighten thedecision makers, on what theconsequence will be if a substantialportion of human energyconsumption shifts to bio-fuels, sayby 2100.

The first session on Introductionand Need for Ecological Forecastinghad two presentations. Dr

Townsend Peterson of the NaturalHistory Museum and BiodiversityResearch Center Kansas University,USA, through his presentation tookthe audience to a tour ofmonuments, specimens as old as1800s, museums, old documentsexplaining the major amount ofinvestments involved in recordingover a period of time. Dr Petersoninformed that a complete siteornis.org is coming up with a portalthat would be built to createbiodiversity informatics exclusivelyfor ornithology. His talk emphasizedthe importance of data, the toolsrequired for data mining andrealistic quality data which wouldgive rise to new field work in thearea of ecological forecasting, datamanagement and integration. Whiletalking about datasets, Dr Petersonremarked that India is having a largeamount of rich information whichneeds to be recorded in the datasets.The providers of biodiversityinformation on the Indian Ocean likethe Indian Ocean BiogeographicInformation System (IndoBIS),National Institute of Oceanography(NIO), Goa and Zoological Surveyof India, Kolkata, mainly focus on thesurvey of faunal resources andendangered species.

Dr Peterson gave another talkon the concluding day of theworkshop in which he discussedtools and protocols for ecologicalforecasting by sharing variouswebsites and highlighting the detailsof specific tools and approaches.

Second speaker of the firstsession Shri Vishwas Chavan fromNCL, Pune, who was also the

WorkshopsWorkshopsWorkshopsWorkshopsWorkshops

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convener of the workshop, spoke on‘Ecological forecasting is a scienceto perform forecasting acrosssociety’. He discussed the issues ofnon-data availability and the needto make it available to anyone,anytime and anywhere. The data arethe essential base of ecologicalforecasting and needs to beauthentic and sufficient. It needs aprior model rather than a posteriorone for computing mathematicalmodels infrastructure and datacontent. Referring to the workperformed at NCL, Shri Chavan

said that the database IndFaunacontained 94,000 plus species whileIndoBIS collections contained40,000 plus species. Data are neededto maintain specimens of specieswhich play a role in the ecosystemand the environment as a whole. Hestressed the need to recordtraditional knowledge, being theheritage and making it easilyaccessible.

The second session on CaseStudies in Ecological Forecastinghad three speakers. Shailey Menonfrom Grands Valley State University,

USA, presented the case study ofnuthatches, referring to the analysisand exploration of the ecology anddistribution of Asian nuthatches,objectives of exploring thedistribution of Asian nuthatchspecies in ecological and geographicspace, relationship between nichebreadth and niche volume, andexploration of the relationshipbetween potential range filling andmontane habit. The data onEurasian nuthatches (14 nuthatchand 1 wallcreeper) and the methodsused were discussed.


Clockwise (from top left): Dr S. Sivaram, Director, NCL, delivering his inaugural address; Dr S. Krishnan welcoming the participants;Dr Townsend Peterson speaking about workshop; Shri Vishwas Chavan proposing the vote of thanks

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The second speaker Dr KristinaMcNyset of US EnvironmentalProtection Agency (US EPA), whopresented a case study of ecologicalforecasting in aquatic ecosystems,stated that it poses a uniquechallenge to researchers in terms ofdata availability and scale-dependedlimitations. Ecological data has beenuseful in predicting freshwaterspecies distributions at regional toworldwide scales, even without theinclusion of in situ measurements ofin-stream variables. However, if sitesampled datasets are available, localto site specific distributionalpredictions can be generated. DrMcNyset presented examples ofanalyses at multiple scales in aquaticecosystems using continuous andsite sampled data and discussedtheir integration into invasivespecies risk assessments andimpacts on biotic integrity.

In her second presentation inthe sixth session Dr McNysetexplained that huge repositories ofdifferent types of data from varioussources are available, and updatedat regular intervals. Many state andfederal agencies serve thegeneration of environmentaldatasets as part of their definedmission, and a number of academicinstitutions make datasets availableas a result of research projects ormulti-institution partnerships.These datasets vary in variables,geographic extent, and spatial andtemporal scales, and therefore theirusefulness depends on the needs ofthe researcher. Dr McNyset gave anoverview of a number sources ofenvironmental data in the UnitedStates such as remotely sensed,station based interpolated, site

sampled, repositories like EarthResources Observation and Science(EROS), Geologic Data ClearingHouse and National Water Data(NWISWEB) and available datasetslike Ecological Monitoring andAssessment Projects (EMAP), U.S.Geologic Survey (USGS), NationalWater Quality Assessment(NAWQA), USGS GAP AnalysisProgramme, etc.

In her yet another talk in theeighth session held on theconcluding day of the workshop, DrMcNyset highlighted theimportance of standardization ofdata. She gave her perception ondata standards and an overview ofthe quality assurance or qualitycontrol (QA/QC) procedures used byUS EPA to assure data quality forthe Western EMAP, an aquatic bio-assessment dataset of over 1400monitoring sites from where thedata were collected over five years.The data at US EPA is compulsorilysubjected to the procedures of QA/QC protocols thereby assuring itsauthenticity.

Going back to session two, thethird speaker Dr Amarnath Guptafrom the University of California atSan Diago, USA, discussed theimportance of data, integrating theinformation it contained and locatingit in a digital repository. He said thatowing to the data beingheterogeneous and non-structured,their recording in softwareprogrammes becomes difficult asthey vary in density and form. Thedata needed to be managed byconsidering its type, functions byassuming n number of data availablein different locations. A singlesource of information system can be

acquired by setting different datamodels, schemes, types, query andcomputational capabilities.Integration should be across manydomains and on many types of data.A case study on a project thatcreated an extensive informationintegration framework forspatiotemporal information arisingfrom marine ecological studies andmodels was discussed.

Dr Gupta’s second talk in thethird session on case studies inEcological Forecasting coveredObservation SystemsCyberinfrastructure for theEnvironmental Sciences. Tounderstand, predict, andcommunicate the impact of naturaland anthropogenic influences onlake and reservoir ecosystems twoobservation systems called theGlobal Lake Ecological ObservatoryNetwork (GLEON) and Coral ReefsEnvironmental ObservationalNetworks (CREON) are used forbuilding a scalable persistentnetwork of lake ecologyobservations. He also mentionedabout the sessions organized byNational Science Foundation (NSF)on cyberinfrastructure wherespeakers described the computingcapabilities to enable betterforecasts of when and whereearthquakes were likely to occur andhow the ground would shake as aresult.

The second speaker in the thirdsession Dr Richard Williams fromBiodiversity Research Center, USA,shared his case study of Avianinfluenza (AI), caused by a group ofviruses found in a small number ofbirds in West Africa. HP-H5N1, ahighly pathogenic virus, has resulted


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in millions of domestic poultrydeaths and now found in a smallnumber in humans has raised analarm among health officials. DrWilliams focused on emergingdiseases resulting in a significantthreat to human health, foodsecurity, economic development andwildlife conservation. Ecologicalniche models are a powerful tool inestimating potential distributions,based on human case occurrencesor on known occurrences of vectoror reservoir species.

The fourth session was on DataGeneration, Digitization and theQuality Control Standards Adoptedand had eight speakers. Dr C.V.R.S.Vijaya Kumar of Indian Institute ofForest Management (IIFM),Bhopal, emphasized the data needsand its availability on the modelsmainly used for analysis,understanding, prediction, anddecision making. This involves notonly the economic, ecologicalactivities but has to address torelated policy issues. Therefore, hestressed, the need to capture theuncertainty and dynamic changesunderlying in a comprehensivemanner that could arise due tostructural (setting up of industriesand large infrastructural projects)and non structural (various policyinterventions, global warming, andnatural calamities) pressurescreated by various changes in intraand inter-related disciplinesimpacting forest.

Dr Priya Davidar from theGrands Valley State University, USA,stressed the need of biodiversityinformatics to include informationon current distributional records ofplants and animals. Although such

data are available for key speciessuch as tigers, the Asiatic lion, andendemic tree species of the WesternGhats of India, information on theother species is lacking. The data areavailable in records but not to thegeneral public or the scientificcommunity.

Dr Baban Ingole, NationalInstitute of Oceanography, Goa,referred to the estuarine system ofMandovi-Zuari and Cumbarjuacanals which are considered as thebackbone of Goan economy. Abouttwo-third of the total ores exploitedin Goa comes from mines locatedalong the two rivers and almost 90%of the ores are transported throughthe waterways of these rivers.Mining plays a very important rolein the Goan economy. Dumping ofeffluents/rejects and physicaldisturbances caused by regulardredging and sand extraction as wellas movement of barges also affectsthe estuarine benthic environment,using benthic data. Dr Ingolediscussed the issue of assessment ofbenthic biota of the estuarinesystem. The study put emphasis onusefulness of long-term benthic datain assessing the health of marineenvironment.

Dr A. Arunachalam, NorthEastern Regional Institute ofScience and Technology, Itanagar,informed about digitizing thedatabase of 4500 flowering plants, 30gymnosperms, 45 bamboo species,500 orchids, etc. in the biodiversityhotspot located in ArunachalPradesh, which would prove vitaland instrumental in augmenting theprocesses of exploration andinformatics. He also mentionedabout the work done at Bombay

Natural History Society (BNHS)who has collected information onvarious aspects of the natural historyin India and possesses voucherspecimens of 26,000 birds, 20,000mammals, 7,500 amphibians andreptiles, and 50,000 insects. Thelibrary contains 20,000 books, 130theses and 5000 journals andperiodicals on the natural history ofIndia.

Dr Bibhad Talukar, Aaranyak,Guwahati, spoke regarding the wildbiodiversity in North East Indiadescribing its rich and unique arrayof biological as well as culturaldiversity in Eastern Himalayawhose level of species, genetic andecosystem has attained globalrecognition as an area of biodiversityhotspot. However, owing toimproper documentation, and lackof scientific approach properconservation and management ofbiodiversity sites is becomingimpossible. To generate basicscientific information from thescattered information, AaranyakNature Club (ANC) was formed,which aims at biodiversityconservation in the region and ispursuing a number of initiatives todocument species level informationsince 1998.

The fifth session focused on theEfforts in Ecological Modeling. DrK. N. Ganeshiah, University ofAgricultural Sciences, Bangalore,highlighted the initiatives of hisuniversity by presenting case studieson white cedar (Dysoxylummalabaricum), Rattan (Calumusthwaitesii), sugarcane woolly aphid(Ceratovacuna lanigera), etc.explaining the use of niche modelingtools for different situations. A study


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predicts vulnerable area where newpests e.g. wooly aphid were likelyto occur were borders of Karnatakaand Maharashtra. Another situationwas exploring new populations forbio-prospecting and relationbetween genetic and ecologicaldifferentiation. The principles ofevolutionary ecology predict thatpopulations adapt to new niches dueto the process of geneticdifferentiation. He concludedstating that geographic isolationamong species is reflected in geneticdifferentiation and ecologicalisolation.

Dr Sarnam Singh, IndianInstitute of Remote Sensing,Dehra Dun, discussed thebiodiversity information system(BIS) whose objective is to collectand organize the available butdistributed spatial and non spatialdatabase into an interactive systemthat is capable of presenting a userfriendly and easily accessibleinterface. The data collected fromthe providers are filtered accordingto their characteristics. Thesebiodiversity and ecosystem datahelp in decision-making and aresought using geospatial tools ofremote sensing and globalpositioning systems. The datarecorded undergo quality assuranceand control. A separate forestresource information system hasbeen also built which providesinformation at a national level alongwith maps of important protectedparks and sanctuaries. IndianBioresource Information Network(IBIN) serves as a single window forinformation channel, on diverserange of issues on bioresources for

the country’s scientists, bioresourcemanagers, policy makers andentrepreneurs.

Dr Maya Rajasekharan, AshokaTrust for Research in Ecology andthe Environment (ATREE),Bangalore, highlighted theinitiatives of Eco-InformaticsCenter (EIC), a facility of ATREEfor the purpose of enhancingcooperation and exchange ofinformation for biodiversityconservation, and its contribution byway of assembling, organizing anddisseminating biodiversity data inthe public domain, promotingresearch and development tools andsoftware including modeling tools.EIC supports a website thatprovides ecological information todifferent stakeholders. It contains acomprehensive WebGIS basedonline data analysis system.Taxonomic database developmentshave been carried out forgrasshopper, butterfly and antspecies of the Western Ghats ofIndia, Dr Rajasekharan informed.

Dr M. Irfan Ullah, RegionalMaritime Security Initiative(RMSI), Noida, gave an overview ofRMSI that provides geospatialsolutions and software services toclients worldwide. RMSI iscurrently focusing on mapping foresttypes (phyto-ecological mapping),management planning for reducinghuman - elephant conflicts underclimate change scenarios, planningbiodiversity conservation, mappingcrop acreages and productions andmodeling coconut mite infections,and infectious diseases (like H5N1)and probable disease outbreaks.

Dr Gautam Talukdar, Centre forDevelopment of Advanced

Computing, Pune, shared his viewson the Geomatics SolutionsDevelopment Group’s (GSDG)services in the fields of remotesensing image processing,photogrammetry, spatial analysisand modelling, softwarecustomization, web GIS applicationdevelopment, etc. Dr Talukdar gavean overview of geomatics projects inimplementing the application areasof e-Governance, natural resourcesmanagement, environment, health,infrastructure and landmanagement. One of the importantinitiatives in ecological/environmental modeling at GSDS,in association with National RemoteSensing Agency, Department ofSpace, is biodiversitycharacterisation at landscape levelusing satellite remote sensing inBihar and Maharashtra. Thisinitiative aims to predict thebiological rich areas in these regionsusing principles of landscapeecology. Different indices likeinterspersion, juxtaposition, porosityand patchiness, would be used toestimate the Disturbance Index(DI). This index coupled with phyto-sociological data and terraininformation results in the biologicalrichness map forms a significantinput for conservation prioritization.

The sixth session focused onEmerging New Data Types andData Sets. Dr M. S. R. Murthy,National Remote Sensing Agency,(NRSA), Hyderabad, expressed hisviews on the impact of two types ofdata namely human interventionsdata that take into account logging,land conversion, burning, etc. andnatural processes data involvingclimate, erosion, etc. and studying


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their effects and structuring themfor biodiversity purposes. He saidthat taking into consideration theexisting and emerging modelscapable of predicting land use andland cover (LULC) change, speciesniche and forest stand growth wouldbe the primary tools for forecastingecological trends. Studies onecological niche, LULC change,productivity models and intensivefield experimentation will provideexplicit geospatial databases andunderstanding for an ecologicalforecast. The communication toolssuch as the internet GIS (Web GIS)and the pervasive role of wirelessGIS implemented through internetand geo-stationary satellitecommunications through VSAT’s(e.g. INSAT systems, etc.) may finda long way into the effective datacapture, integration and modeling.Efforts towards development ofInformation systems like BIS, IBIN,INFFRAS, WALIS, LULC-WEBdeveloped as part of DOSprogrammes would also benecessary to facilitate integratedmodeling, forecast and spatialdecision support systems.

Prof. Madhav Gadgil, AgharkarResearch Institute, Pune, discussedthe importance of biodiversityregister that focuses issues on a threetiered management structure forNational Biodiversity Authority,state level biodiversity boards andlocal level biodiversity managementcommittees. Highlighting the issueof local bodies in the country, DrGadgil gave an overview of thedocumentations that needed to bedocumented in the form of People’sBiodiversity Registers (PBR). These

documents would include (i) acomprehensive information onavailability and knowledge of localbiological resources, medicinal orany other traditional knowledgeassociated with them; (ii) data aboutthe local vaids and practitionersusing the biological resources and(iii) details of the access to biologicalresources and traditionalknowledge, details of the collectionfee imposed and details of thebenefits derived and the mode oftheir sharing. He said it would be anovel activity to prepare PBR thatwould involve people at the grassroots in a scientific enterprise. Thiswould include documentation andknowledge of biodiversity relatedissues in bilingual form, open forcontinued updating and givingoutputs in the form of videotapes orreports and finally informationwould be categorized as the oneshared with wider society and theother confidential one maintainedunder restricted local access.

Dr Rajasri Bhattacharya,Indian Institute of ForestManagement (IIFM), Bhopal, spokeon the growing demand formedicinal and aromatic plants(MAP) in national and internationalmarket vis a vis their cultivation. Shestressed on integrated conservativeprogrammes both in situ and ex situand involve stakeholders supportpolicy framework and constraintsrelated to conservation activity. DrBhattacharya gave an overview ofthe role of bioinformatics inconservation of medicinal plantsand detailed on PLANTCON adatabase on conserving these plants.

Dr Vijay Barve, Foundation for

Revitalisation of Local HealthTraditions (FRLT), Bangalore,expressed his views on traditionalknowledge available withincommunities which needs to beincorporated in biodiversityinformation system. He said thatthe greatest challenge is to linktraditional knowledge (Ayurveda)which follows a polynomial systemof nomenclature with modernsciences (botany) which follows abinomial system with reference toplants. The modern classification ofplants is according to Families andGenus based on morphologicalcharacters where as Ayurvedicsystem follows clinical classificationof Ganas and Vargas. Consequently,establishing botanical identity of anAyurvedic entity itself becomes achallenge.

Mainly focusing on EcologicalForecasting for Planners andCitizens, the seventh session hadthree speakers. Dr K. KrishnaKumar from Indian Institute ofTropical Meteorology, Pune, spokeon changing climate and its impacton eco-systems in India. He sharedmaps drawn from observationsdepicting annual temperatures, seasurface temperatures, long-termregional trends in Indian summerrainfall, and development of climatemodels for over last 25 years, presentand future. He also presented thestatistics pertaining to forests in thecountry which has the dominantforest types like the tropical drydeciduous (38%) and tropical moistdeciduous (32%) forests, and otherimportant forest types like thetropical evergreen, tropical drythorn, sub-tropical pine and alpine


CSIR NEWS350350350350350

forests. The value of goods andservices provided by the forestsector is estimated to be nearlyUS$ 5.8 billion. There is a clearindication of global warming in theIndian surface air temperatures butit has no significant effect in the all-India Mean Monsoon Rainfall. Theextreme events appear to haveincreased in their frequency andintensity and the future climatemodel projections indicate a slight(~10%) increase in the meanmonsoon rainfall and 2-3°C changein the surface temperatures by thelater part of 21st century over India.But the large uncertaintiesassociated with the estimation offuture emissions and climate modelbiases have to be borne in mindwhile framing policy decisions.

Dr Aravind Jha fromConservator of Forests,Maharashtra, expressed his viewson the requirements of planning andgovernance in forest areas. Givingan overview of different acts,sections and articles of law, Dr Jhapointed out the situation of forestand cultivable non forest areasstating that over 4.6 crorepopulation in Maharashtra still usesfirewood for cooking meals whichmeans using 57,000 metric tonnes offirewood per day. Over 53 million haof non forest public or privatewasteland exists in the state and theimpact of global warming may leadto more humid or cooler climatewith consequential impact on forestsresulting in disappearance ofgregarious species such as teak bythe end of 21st century. He alsomentioned about NTFP, a projectthat contributes by generatingfinancial income through trade for

the rural poor. It is estimated thatnearly 50 million tribal populationand 200-300 million rural poordepend on NTFP for their livelihoodto varying extent.

Dr S. P. Bagade fromGroundwater Survey andDevelopment Agency, (GSDA),Maharashtra, discussed impact ofwater resource development on theecosystem in the State ofMaharashtra. His presentationbrought out the importance andavailability of water in natural formand the dependency of agricultureon rain water in the early 1960s.During 1990 to 2000 water becamescarce and therefore rain waterneeded to be managed carefully. Theneed to conserve water in rural andurban areas in a systematic manneris required by taking into accountthe data sets at micro levels. DrBagade also spoke on initiativestaken by the Government ofMaharashtra by enacting variousacts like State Ground WaterAuthority (SGWA) forimplementation of MaharashtraGround Water (Development &Management) Act, 2007 and policiestowards water resources.

The workshop concluded with aJoint Statement on EcologicalForecasting which endorsed thecommitment to a continuingcooperation among the two nationalbiodiversity communities. Itrecognized the common interest andexpressed that to developcooperation, a commitment to shareresources, funding, and commitmentto international standards wasrequired. These collaborative effortswould contribute to scientificunderstanding and global objectives


in ecological forecasting. Theimportance of sharing scientific dataand information and to open source,have public access software andinformation resources was stressed.To ensure the vibrancy of thecollaboration, the statement assuredproper credit and recognition to begiven to those who contributetowards intellectual assets. Broadareas of common interest wereidentified as listed below:• Develop primary biodiversity

data infrastructure to providebiological information,

• Develop geospatial datainfrastructure to provideinformation on the ecologicaland environmental context,

• Develop and enhanceconceptual and software tools forecological forecasting,

• Encourage development ofeffective standards forstandardization, enabling, andquality-control of biodiversityinformation,

• Build capacity in ecologicalforecasting for scientists fromboth countries,

• Encourage development ofdemonstration applicationstreating key topics such asbiodiversity conservation,climate change effects onbiodiversity, keystone species,indigenous biodiversityknowledge, economically andmedicinally important species,disease transmission and publichealth, and invasive species and

• Promote joint proposals topromote this cooperation viafunding from such institutionsas the Indo-US Forum, andDST-NSF.

15 NOVEMBER 2007 351351351351351

NAL celebrates its Foundation Day

The National Aerospace Labora-tories (NAL), Bangalore,

celebrated its Foundation Day on 7September 2007 at the ValluriAuditorium of NAL.

Air Chief Marshal F. H. Major,the Chief Guest on the occasion,delivered the 21st NAL FoundationDay Lecture on ‘Strategic AerospacePower: Technological andMaintenance Challenges’.

The Air Chief felicitated NAL forits 48 glorious years of service to thenation. In particular, he mentionedthe good services rendered by NALto the IAF. He said that air powerreflected the national power andstressed on the need to develop highend indigenous technology backedby research for the country’smilitary power to have an upperhand over adversaries. A strongaerospace power was necessary forthe country’s security. Aerospacedominance could be achieved onlythrough cutting edge technology.Commending NAL on itscontributions, he said that SARAShad great potential and the IAF waseagerly looking forward to its passingthe certification tests. Stressing theneed to invest more on R & D inaerospace technology, the Air Chiefsaid that the national security policyneeded to be integrated with

national technology. He was infavour of encouraging private sectorin defence related research.

Earlier, in his welcome address,Dr A. R. Upadhya, Director, NAL,spoke about the importance of theFoundation Day and said that it hasbeen an emotional event at NAL. Hepaid homage to the former Director,late Dr P. Nilakantan whose visionand effort led to the founding of NALand its major facility – The 1.2 mTrisonic Wind Tunnel. NAL was alsofortunate to have had equallycapable directors to succeed Dr P.Nilakantan, and they have nurturedthe laboratory.

Stressing on the strong ties NALhas with the IAF, Dr Upadhyamentioned that NAL had carried outseveral important projects for theIAF. He expressed NAL’s gratitudeto the IAF for the interest andvaluable support provided for theflight testing of SARAS, and said that‘We would be happy to see ourSARAS flying in the Indian skieswith the IAF colours’.

The Air Chief Marshaldistributed NAL’s ‘SpecialRecognition’ awards to ASTE flighttesting team and DGCA flightcertification team in appreciation fortheir contribution to the SARASproject.

The tenth NAL TechnologyLecture was delivered by Dr Sekhar Majumdar, Head,Computational and TheoreticalFluid Dynamics Division, NAL on‘CFD Technology - The NALExperience’. It was a thoughtprovoking and illuminating lecture.

Dr V. K. Aatre, former Adviserto the Defence Minister presidedover the function and released theNAL Annual Report for 2006-07. Hedistributed the NAL OutstandingPerformance Awards and also gaveaway prizes to children of NALemployees for excelling in the fieldof sports, academics and extra–curricular activities. In hispresidential address Dr Aatrestressed on the need for researchand development and the need toinvest in academic research. Ninetypercent of the academic researchwas sponsored by government, andthere was a need to change ourattitude towards academic research.He said that the number of peoplein science and technology researchwas dwindling and there was a needfor a sound policy to arrest this decline.

The function concluded with avote of thanks proposed by Dr M.R. Nayak, Adviser (M&A). Dr M. N.Sathyanarayana, Jt Head, KTMD,compered the programme.

Multimedia Projection Technology

A salient feature of this year’sNAL Foundation Day was theoperationalization of multimediatechnologies to showcase NAL’scapabilities. This ‘powerful mode’was put to use during the foundation

day celebrations very effectively. A multimedia projection system

was setup at the S. R. ValluriAuditorium. A sustainableprojection quality through a specialmid-throw lens was attained from a

challenging throw distance of 65 ft.An optimal screen dimension of9 ft×12 ft was achieved to projectNAL’s presentations. Two full-blownmultimedia films on SARAS put thisprojection facility to its optimum use

Foundation Day CelebrationsFoundation Day CelebrationsFoundation Day CelebrationsFoundation Day CelebrationsFoundation Day Celebrations

CSIR NEWS352352352352352

prior to thecommencement of themain Foundation Dayfunction.

In addition, theoutside corridor of theS. R. Valluri Auditoriumhad 42” plasma screento cover the SARASpresentations and alsothe live telecast of thefunction. Unlike theconventional televisioncathode ray tubes, theplasma picture developsspontaneously and isextremely sharp.

At the meeting withthe Chief of the AirStaff, at the Director’sConference Hall, priorto the Foundation Dayfunction, Dr A. R.Upadhya, Director,NAL, in hispresentation, made it apoint to run twodocumentaries onSARAS. Thedocumentary on SARASflight displayed at AeroIndia 2007 kept theaudience in raptattention, more so as theprojection system wasfixed with a specialwide-angle lens andpowered by a 5000ANSI lumen lamp.Coupled with this wasa high-end desktop PCfitted with a 5.1 DigitalTheatre Surround(DTS) system. This trulygave it a ‘SurroundTheatre Effect’.

CIMAP (CentralInstitute of Medicinal

and Aromatic Plants) Daywas celebrated on theconcluding day of theweek-long CIMAPTechnology Fest-2007 (4-11August, 2007). The ChiefGuest on this occasion, Prof.V.K. Suri, Vice-Chancellorof C.S. Azad University ofAgriculture & Technology,Kanpur, signed animportant MoU withCIMAP for R&D collaboration andtechnology dissemination.

Delivering a lecture on the ‘FutureScenario of High-Tech Agriculture’, Prof.Suri said that the development ofagriculture in India has seentremendous changes in the last 60 years.Although, India has achieved self-sufficiency in food production but thecontribution of agriculture sector toGDP, which was 56% during 1950’s hascome down to 24% during 2005, whichis a matter of serious concern, Prof. Suriremarked. Speaking on the initiativetaken in agriculture extension, he saidthat many programmes were introducedfrom time to time to address locationspecific and client based developments.There was a steady progress towards‘technology transfer’ aimed at increasedfood production and attaining greenrevolution. The public research as wellas extension system in the country hascontributed significantly to theenhanced food production. Theintroduction of ‘T’ and ‘V’ system during

CIMAP Day CelebrationsMedicinal and Aromatic Plants in Integrative

Agriculture Mode (IAM) for Impact Agriculture

late eighties across the countrycontributed significantly towards thespeedy transfer of farm technology to ourfarmers, Prof. Suri said.

Prof. Suri stressed the need forconstituting special scientific teams atKrishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to providespecialized extension services to thefarmers, besides human resourcedevelopment by imparting training to theunemployed agriculture graduates inthe field of export of agriculturalcommodities, specialization in specificcrops including exposure to marketingand value addition which can help themprovide specialized consultancyrequired by the farmers in specific areas/crops.

Welcoming the guests Dr S.P.S.Khanuja, Director, CIMAP, highlightedthe main achievements of CIMAP duringlast one year. Dr Khanuja further saidthat medicinal and aromatic plants(MAPs) provide avenues to integrate thepotential of commercial as well as socialvalue with food crops in such a way that

Dr S.P.S. Khanuja, Director, CIMAP, delivering the welcome address

CIMAP Day Celebrations Day Celebrations Day Celebrations Day Celebrations Day Celebrations

15 NOVEMBER 2007 353353353353353

food crops while becoming intensivein high value produce, also integrateMAPs as “high income options” infertile lands and “only incomeoptions” in waste and marginallands. Thanks to the plants’ ownbiological defense strategy andcapability to produce ‘secondarymetabolites’, they are able to combatthe adversities/stresses whetherbiotic and abiotic, Dr Khanujaadded.

Dr Khanuja told that during2006-07, CIMAP had organized 40entrepreneurship trainingprogrammes in different parts of thecountry through which 2384 personswere provided technical knowledgeand guidance for cultivation,processing, marketing, etc. forquality production of medicinal andaromatic plants. Five plant varietiesand products were released for hightech farming and entrepreneurialopportunities linking rural India tomain stream of development. Hefurther said that 10 sponsoredprojects were completed during thisfinancial year, 30 sponsored projectswere progressing according to planand 19 R&D projects, twelveconsultancy projects and onecollaborative project were taken as

new ventures.CIMAP has beenworking as nodallaboratory for two andp a r t i c i p a t i n glaboratory in fourteenCSIR’s networkprojects for missionmode research.

Highlighting theaccomplishments inthe area of businessdevelopment, Dr

Khanuja told that 11 CIMAPtechnologies were licensed toindustry/entrepreneurs. Theseinclude crop consultancy onpatchouli and lemongrass to MrRoger Binny, Bangalore;consultancy for project report forcultivation andprocessing of MAPs toM/s Margadarsi ChitFunds Ltd,H y d e r a b a d ;consultancy formenthol mintcultivation to EmamiBiotech Pvt Ltd.,Kolkata; consultancyfor cultivation ofArtemisia annua (var.CIM-Arogya) to M/sDisinfecto ChemicalIndustries Pvt. Ltd;consultancy forvetiver distillation ofpatchouli to M/sBalagundar EstatesSomvarpet; materialtransfer agreementwith M/s NESSO PvtLtd, Mysore;designing, fabricationand installation offield distillation unit

Prof. V.K. Suri, Vice-Chancellor, C.S.Azad University delivering CIMAP Day Lecture

Students visiting Technology Gallery in Gyan-Surabhi Complex

Signing of MoU documents between CIMAP and CSAUA&T, Kanpur

CIMAP Day Celebrations Day Celebrations Day Celebrations Day Celebrations Day Celebrations

to PSCST, Chandigarh; consultancypertaining to design, drawing ofdirectly fired type field distillationunit to M/s Avadh Nasesh, Etah, UPand Shri M. Rungta, Bihar andlicensing of technology for mosquitorepellant spray, mosquito repellentcream and hand disinfectant toM/s Vitromed Healthcare, Jaipur.

During the Technology Fest-2007 about 2500 students of differentschools and colleges visited thelaboratories and research farm ofCIMAP. They also interacted withthe scientists on various aspects ofmedicinal and aromatic plants.Students went round the specialtechnology gallery set up on thisoccasion.

CSIR NEWS354354354354354

Dr K. Nagarajan deliversProf. Venkataraman Memorial Lecture at NCL

Dr K. Nagarajan,Corporate R&D

Advisor, Hikal R&DCentre, Bangalore,delivered the sixthProfessor K.Venkataraman MemorialLecture at NationalChemical Laboratory(NCL), Pune, on 7 June2007. Prof.Venkataraman, the firstIndian Director of NCL,made seminalcontributions to the areaof organic synthesis and to thedevelopment of industriallyimportant processes for dyestuffindustry. He was affectionatelyknown to his associates as “KV”. Hisseven-volume treatise on thechemistry of dyes and dyeintermediates has been hailed as aclassic. He has the rare distinctionamongst organic chemists in Indiaof having a reaction named afterhim, namely, the Baker-Venkataraman rearrangement forhis contribution to the synthesis offlavones at room temperature. DrNagarajan spoke on “Endeavours inOrganic Chemical Research -Trivial and Not So Trivial”.

Dr Nagarajan recalled hisassociation with KV andremembered how he first came incontact with him and his frequentinteractions with him in later years.He started with describing ProfVenkataraman’s work and his workinspired by KV’s work which led tothe synthesis of wedelolactone. The

interest in this compound wasrevived in recent findings of neweractivities and its total synthesis.He later described his work onantitubercular research workwhich resulted in a moleculeCGI 17341 which had betteractivity but could not becomea drug owing to mutagenicity.He touched upon the biologyand chemistry of this molecule.He alsopointedout thats i m i l a rscaffoldsw e r el a t e rs h o w nb yothers tobe verya c t i v eand arei nv a r i o u sstages of

clinical trials.Dr Nagarajan also

described thetheoretical interactionsof drugs like nimesulideand meloxicam withc y c l o o x y g e n a s e - 1(COX-1) and -2 (COX-2)enzymes and found thatnimesulide is selectiveCOX-2 inhibitor. Lastly,he touched upon solidstate and solution phasechemistry of someimportant molecules like

gabapentin and its analogs andespecially fluoro compounds wheresolid state crystal studies wereundertaken and for the first timeF-F interactions were observed andgeneralized. He also revisited theproblem of reactions of triphenyltricyclo- octadienes which he hadtackled almost 40 years ago andelucidated the structures ofcompounds which could not be

Dr K. Nagarajan delivering Prof. Venkataraman Memorial Lecture

Dr S. Sivaram giving welcome remarks

LecturesLecturesLecturesLecturesLectures

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Dr B. G. Unni

Dr B.G. Unni, Scientist F andArea Coordinator (Biological

Sciences), North East Institute ofScience & Technology (NEIST),Jorhat, attended on invitation, the9th International Conference onJuvenile Hormone at York City, UK,from 5 to 10 August 2007 anddelivered a lecture entitled‘Dimethyl Sulfoxide Inhibits in vitroBiosynthesis of Juvenile HormoneI and II by Corpora Allata ofLepidopteran Insects (Manducasexta, Samia cynthia ricini &Antheraea assama)’ in the scientificsession on Regulators of JuvenileHormone Biosynthesis.

The international conference ofJuvenile Hormone (JH) covers major

Honours & AwardsHonours & AwardsHonours & AwardsHonours & AwardsHonours & Awards

assigned at that time with mechanisticdetails.

Earlier, Dr S. Sivaram, Director,NCL, in his welcome remarksremembered Prof. Venkataraman’scontribution to organic chemistryand his association with NCL. Healso introduced Dr Nagarajan to theaudience. After obtaining Ph.D.degree in 1954 and spending eight

years in post-doctoral research atPresidency College, Chennai,Wayne State University, Detroit,USA, California Institute ofTechnology, Pasadena, USA, andZurich University, Switzerland,Dr Nagarajan has been associatedwith various chemical industries inIndia in different capacities for the lastfour and half decades. His

specializations include medicinalchemistry, pesticide chemistry,hetero-cyclic synthesis, applicationof NMR spectroscopy to naturalproducts and synthetic organicchemistry. The lecture was organizedunder the auspices of NCL ResearchFounda-tion, a non-profit trust createdto foster all round excellence in scienceand technology.

r e s e a r c ha c t i v i t i e swith respectto JuvenileH o r m o n e ,f r o mmorphologicalchanges tom o l e c u l a rbiology andfunctional properties of JH ininsects. The first internationalconference on JH was held in 1972.Earlier, Dr Unni was invited toattend the 7th InternationalConference held in Israel (1999) andawarded a fellowship by theHebrew University, and the 8th

conference organized by the

University of Nevada in California,USA and was awarded the WellmarkResearch Foundation Fellowship bythe University of Nevada to attend theconference. The present conference,ninth in the series, had theparticipation of 23 countries.

Dr Unni’s visit was sponsored bythe organizing committee of theconference, Central ScienceLaboratory, York City, UK;Department of Science andTechnology, Government of India;Indian National Science Academy(INSA), New Delhi and H.R. CamaMemorial Award by the Society ofBiological Chemists – India, IndianInstitute of Science, Bangalore.

DR V. Kasi Rao, Head, Documentation Department, Central Leather ResearchInstitute (CLRI), Chennai, attended on invitation, the World Water Week Conference

of the Stockholm International Water Institute held at Stockholm during 12-18 August2007, and presented his paper titled Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs):A Tool for Water Resource Management (WARM) in Industry for Sustainable Development.During the conference, he also delivered lectures on the following aspects:

• IT Strategies and Knowledge Organization Management Skills (KOMS): Need forinformation products and services towards organization development

• Leather Science Abstract (LESA) and Indexing Services: A tool for leather industrialdevelopment.

Dr V. Kasi Rao

CSIR NEWS356356356356356

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International Recognition forNGRI Scientists

The National Geophysical ResearchInstitute, (NGRI), Hyderabad’s Scientists have

bagged various prestigious positions in differentInternational Bodies of Earth Sciences at theGeneral Assembly of the International Union ofGeodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) held at Perugia,Italy, during 2-13 July 2007.

• Dr V. P. Dimri, Director, NGRI and Chairmanof National Committee of IUGG, attended theIUGG Council Meetings and presentedNational Report 2003-07 during the GeneralAssembly.

• Dr Harsh Gupta, Raja Ramanna Fellow andformer Secretary to Government of India, DoD,and former Director, NGRI, has been electedas the Vice-President of IUGG for 2007-11.

• Dr T. Harinarayana, Scientist and ProjectLeader, Magnetotelluric Group, NGRI, hasbeen elected to the Executive Committee ofInternational Association of Geomagnetism andAeronomy (IAGA).

• Dr Kalachand Sain, Scientist and ProjectLeader, Gas Hydrates Group, has beenappointed as Bureau Member of InternationalLithosphere Programme (ILP).

• Dr Sukanta Roy, Scientist, has been elected toThe Bureau of the International Heat FlowCommission (IHFC) of the IASPEI for theperiod 2007-11.

IUGG organizes an international symposium oncein 4 years, and earth scientists from differentcountries participate in the assembly to share theirresearch experiences and scientific findings. Over6000 scientists from 92 countries, working in variousfields of earth sciences, participated in this GeneralAssembly.

Dr S. C. Nath, Scientist F, North - East Institute ofScience and Technology (NEIST), Jorhat, has been

conferred the ‘Life Time Education Achievement Award2006’ by Health and Education Development Association(HEDA), New Delhi, for his significant researchcontributions to the area of medicinal, aromatic andspice plants. Dr Nath’s major areas of research includepreparation of inventory, characterization anddevelopment of new plant resources of economic valuefor sustainable use. He has discovered many economicplant species and new sources of import substitutionproducts from the flora of North-East India having vastpotential for use in perfumery, flavouring andpharmaceutical industries besides undertaking thedocumentation and validation studies of folkloremedicinal plants of the region. Dr Nath has alsocontributed significantly towards the fundamentalaspects of plant sciences by describing new taxa andnew stomata to plant kingdom and developing new keysand technique to angiosperm taxonomy apart fromstandardizing methods for propagation of a number ofnew industrial crops and preserving live plantgermplasms of many rare, endangered and threatenedspecies of academic and commercial importancethrough the development of botanic gardens at NEIST.A Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, IndianAssociation of Angiosperm Taxonomy and Society ofEthnobotanists, India, Dr Nath has so far 133 researchpapers, 27 science articles, 13 radio talks and 4 patentsto his credit besides being research guide to manyPh. D. students. Dr Nath is also the recipient of AssamScience Society’s P. C. Goswami Award and Dr B. M.Das Memorial Science Award in 1993 for his researchcontributions in the area of Plant Sciences and EconomicBotany. Dr Nath’s name has been enrolled in the‘International Directory of Specialists in Herbs, Spicesand Medicinal Plants’ compiled and published by theUniversity of Massachusetts. USA.

HEDA Award for Dr S.C. Nath

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