30 AUGUST 2006 241

CSIR NEWS242

TKDL in Time

B eginning his 24-yearodyssey to the East in1271, Marco Polo went

through Caucasus, Persia,Afghanistan, Pamirs and, taking the‘Silk Route’, to China. He stayed inthe court of Kublai Khan for 17years, and then sailed back throughSouth China Sea, Malacca Strait,Indian Ocean and finally docked atHormuz and reached Venice in 1296.Two years later, he conceived TheDescription of the World, which waslater called Travels of Marco Polo,to record his reminiscence of theEast. This first ever exposure of theEast by the daring Venetianportrayed most of Asia soprosperous and culturally advancedthat it looked like a fairy tale to theWest. The centuries that followedwitnessed aggressions, change ofdynasties, and imperialism, whichswung the pendulum in favour of theWest.

But the East and the West arerediscovering each other as manyAsian countries are surging ahead

once again. How are the places Polovisited faring now and how are theEast and the West viewing eachother today? A few examples fromthe articles published in the Time’sspecial issue:

· India — One of the world’s tentop economies today, India ismaking efforts to protect andrevive its highly rich ancientmedical system, Ayurveda,through the establishment ofTraditional Knowledge DigitalLibrary (TKDL), and plantationof and R&D on the aromatic andmedicinal plants.

· China — China is today theAsia’s top economy. Places likeXinjiang in the West China,from where Polo passed, areturning into prominent centresof industry and trade. Chinacontinues to be the top producerof silk, but only in quantity, inquality, today it is Italy.

· Istanbul — Here East and Westare not mutually exclusive.

In the Steps of Marco Polo How East Meets West Today…

· Malacca Strait — Located atworld’s most importantsea line, Singapore efficientlyhandles annually 20 millioncontainers riding on 200shipping lines serving 600 portsin 123 countries. Singaporeis today, what Malacca wasonce.

· Mongolia — Once richest onthe planet, Mongols werechased back by Ming within80 years of Kublai Khan’sdeath. Living at the mercy ofits neighbors since then,Mongolia is today trying tobecome prosperous onceagain through tapping of itsmineral wealth with the help ofWestern companies like theVancouver-based IvanhoeMines.

· Sri Lanka — Once prosperous,today it is a conflicted nation

· Zanzibar — Once the Singaporeof Africa, it is trying to recoverits past glory

Basically, today West is coming to East for outsourcing of services and productsand for the vast market potential, while people from East are going to Westfor better financial prospects, and are contributing substantially to the

economies of both East and the West. As a whole, East is rising again. “Futurologistsnow all agree that China and India will come to dominate the global economysometime in this century — the main reason being the low-costs and high outputoffered by them”, notes Time.

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TKDL in Time

TKDL in Time

The Turmeric Battle

“Housewives have been using turmeric

for centuries. It’s outrageous that

someone would try and patent it”, says

Mr Gupta. So when two U.S.-based

researchers were awarded a patent in

1995 on turmeric’s special wound-

healing properties, a collective howl of

outrage arose from the subcontinent. The

patent was eventually revoked, after a

decade-long battle…

Magnitude of PiracyGupta scrolls through a list of some 5,000 ap-plications currently pending approval by U.S.and European patent offices, jabbing a fingerat the most egregious examples of what he con-siders to be outright theft. He estimates thatat least half of those scientific “discoveries”are established remedies in India’s ancientplant-based medical system, called Ayurveda.To Gupta, each application is a jewel plun-dered from India’s vast trove of medicinalknowledge. “If this isn’t piracy, I don’t knowwhat it is,” he says.

Ayurveda — A Rich Medical System

Traditional remedies have long been a richresource for pharmaceutical companies. Quinine,a treatment for malaria, comes from the bark ofthe cinchona tree and was an ancient Peruviancure. But Ayurveda is different: most of itsmedicines are based on multiple herbs that workin concert. Ayurvedic doctors didn’t just prescribeherbal cures; they documented the individualproperties of each ingredient as well as how itworked in conjunction with others. “Ayurveda isthe accumulation of thousands of generations’worth of knowledge,” says Gupta. “But we haveto modernize in order to mine it.”

Danger to Ayurveda

India’s traditional medicine is under attack.

Not just from medical marauders taking a

shortcut to the next blockbuster drug by using

ancient remedies, but from modernity itself.

A new generation of Indians has turned from

Ayurveda to Western drugs that are cheaper

and work faster. Many of the foraged plants,

like bitter snake gourd-good for treating

digestive disorders-are disappearing along

with forest habitats. Meanwhile, Western

countries have embraced Ayurveda as an

alternative to conventional medicines, placing

additional strains on already dwindling

supplies of rare plants.

TKDL Ayurveda

So far, some 140,000 treatments have beenentered into the Traditional KnowledgeDigital Library (TKDL), a $2 million projectlaunched five years ago to provide a directlink to what is regarded in the patentworld as prior knowledge.

The Impact

The first of its kind, the TKDL isserving as a model for countriessuch as Brazil and China, which alsowant to safeguard traditional heal-ing systems. Once recorded, patentson existing remedies cannot beawarded.

TKDL in Time

CSIR NEWS244

Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh

Digital Moisture Probe

Bamboo Splitting Machine

THE Central ScientificI n s t r u m e n t sOrganisation (CSIO)

Chandigarh is a premiernational laboratory dedicatedto research, design anddevelopment of scientific andindustrial instruments. CSIOhas been actively engaged,over the years, in thedevelopment of instrumentsin close association with apexbodies such as space, defenceand health. In terms of itsR&D accomplishments, CSIOcontinued to make discernibleimpact. Highlights of a few majorprogrammes:

Agro and Geo-scientificInstrumentation : In agro-basedInstrumentation, monitoring ofmoisture content in grains, cereals,fertilizers, tea, tobacco, etc. isimportant for their storage andquality. CSIO has successfullydeveloped a digital moisture probefor application in grain markets.

Unleveled agricultural fieldsneed more water for irrigation afterploughing. The CSIO’s development

of laser guided land levelingsystem aims at optimizingutilization of water resources,increased productivity with aradial distance coverage of150 m without sunlight.

Bamboo is an economicresource for sustainabledevelopment and livelihood,particularly in the North-eastregion. Therefore, it isconsidered as ‘Green Gold’.Government of India haslaunched a National Mission onBamboo Technology and TradeDevelopment. CSIO, in its endeavour

to serve this sub-sectorhas successfully developedlow-cost bambooprocessing machines –Bamboo Knot Removing& Silvering Machineand Bamboo SplittingMachine. The machineswill find wide applicationsin industry where bamboois used as the rawmaterial.

Medical Instrumentation :In medical instrumentation,first indigenous 6 MeVMedical Linear Acceleratorhas been developed throughcollaborative efforts of CSIO,SAMEER and PMT. Themachine, developed under thesponsorship of theDepartment of InformationTechnology under Jai VigyanProgramme of Government ofIndia, will be installed atMahatma Gandhi Institute of

Medical Sciences, Wardha. It is wellestablished now that cure rate ofcancer afflicted patients throughMedical Linear Accelerator is farbetter than that by the cobaltmachine besides the otherconcomitant advantages of theformer.

Cockpit Instrumentation: CSIOhas established its credentials incockpit instrumentation particularlyfor combat aircraft, HindustanAeronautics Limited (HAL),

R&D Highlights

R&D Highlights

Bamboo Knot Removing and Silvering Machine

30 AUGUST 2006 245

6 MeV Medical Linear Accelerator-JV1

Cockpit view of LCA with CSIO HUD

Real Time Sound Analyzer

Coefficient of Haze and Dust Mass Monitor

Bangalore, reposed its confidence inCSIO by sponsoring thedevelopment of Head Up Display forHindustan Jet Trainer (HJT) andAdvanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft.Besides reduction in weight andvolume, this HUD will incorporateElectronic Stand by Sight (SBS)feature to guide the pilot forcombating and landing in case ofmission computer failure.

During AERO INDIA – 2005,the air show held in Bangalore inFebruary 2005, CSIO’s HUD wasinstalled in TD-2 and PV-1 combataircraft. It is gratifying to note thatCSIO’s HUD has been successfullyflown in more than 400 flights.

Yet another milestone in the areawas the successful development of firesafety sensors of the combat aircraftto check sudden overheating of theengine or any other system. Thedevelopment complied with therequired qualification test of MIL gradespecifications.

Analytical Instrumentation: AReal Time Sound Analyzer wasdeveloped and the technology wasready for transfer. It monitors noiseintensity and would help evolve

means to bring it within thresholdlevels.

The microcontroller basedcoefficient of haze and dustmass monitor developed bythe institute is useful to assessdust concentration in airwhich is one of the keyparameters in Index of theQuality of Air (IQUA).

In the domain of energymanagement instrumen-tation, an online energymonitoring and control system(EMCS) was developed undera programme sponsored byDST and commissioned atBoiler Auxiliaries Plant ofBharat Heavy Electricals Ltd(BHEL), Ranipet. The systemresulted in significant energysavings in the productionunits.

An Oscillation MonitoringSystem (OMS) was developedwith the support of RDSO,Lucknow for assessing thesafety of railway tracks andvehicles. An engineered modelof OMS was handed over toRDSO for performance trials

which gave comparable results asobtained by Track RecordingCoach, being currently used byIndian Railways.

Business Promotion/MoUs signedThe year also saw spurt in

business development activities.A CSIO-Industry Meet organizedjointly with Rajasthan StateIndustrial Development andInvestment Corporation Ltd(RIICO) at Jaipur for promotionof agro-based instrumentationwas an astounding success. Themeet paved way for an MoU for

the creation of three agro-testlaboratories in the food parks being

R&D Highlights

CSIR NEWS246

established by RIICO.CSIO has good expertise in high precision single point

diamond turning (SPDT) and precision metrology for superprecision components. The institute signed an MoU withBARC, Mumbai, for undertaking feasibility study for thedevelopment of super precision components withnanometric finish.

Training ProgrammeThe Indo-Swiss Training Centre (ISTC) under CSIO

received a shot in the arm when the National Board ofAccreditation (NBA) awarded accreditation status to thethree diploma level programmes being regularly conductedat ISTC. These are: Advanced Diploma in Mechatronicsand Industrial Automation, Advanced Diploma in Die andMould Making and Diploma in Instrument Technology. Itwas gratifying to note cent percent placement of the passingout graduates, which demonstrates the credibility of theinstitute in the industry.

Publications and PatentsCSIO scientists are becoming increasingly conscious

of IPR and publications. During the year, 2004-05 threeforeign patents were granted and 26 were filed, including14 abroad. Twenty-two papers were published in differentnational and international journals with a good ImpactFactor. Besides, 42 papers were presented in national andinternational conferences/symposia.

Honours and AwardsDr R. P. Bajpai, the then Director, CSIO, was honoured

with Panjab Ratan Award at the Punjab and Haryana StateIntellectuals Conference. Dr A. K. Aggarwal, the thenScientist G and Head, was selected as Emeritus Scientiston superannuation. The Indian Society for Advancementof Materials and Process Engineering (ISAMPE),Bangalore, awarded its annual K. Suryanarain RauMemorial Award for Smart Technology Development forthe year 2004.The award was presented to the team,comprising Dr R. P. Bajpai the then Director, CSIO; Dr A.K. Aggarwal, the then Scientist G; Shri N.S. MehlaScientist F and Shri Subash C. Jain, Scientist EII, duringthe 18th Annual General Meeting of ISAMPE held at theNational Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore.

T HE Central Scientific InstrumentsOrganization (CSIO), Chandigarh, has signedMemoranda of Understanding with

Banasthali Vidya Peeth, Rajasthan and theKurukshetra University.

The MoU with Banasthali Vidya Peeth aims topromote academic and research co-operationbetween the two institutes. The identified areas ofcooperation are: instrumentation, advance signalprocessing and soft computing, embedded systemapplications and fibre-optic based system.

Also, CSIO and Banasthali Vidya Peeth (B.V.) willundertake joint research work in the identified areasof mutual interest. Joint sponsored and consultancyprojects will be undertaken with both long term andshort term goals and training to the staffs, studentand technical persons within the identified areas ofco operation. The concerned scientists of CSIO andthe faculty members of B.V. will formulate researchprojects and HRD plans for the joint work.

Similarly, the objective of the MoU withKurukshetra University is to promote joint researchwork and human resource development. The areasidentified include: analytical instruments, medicalinstruments and virtual and intelligentinstrumentation, material growth andcharacterization for semiconductors, observationalseismology etc.

According to the MoU 10-15 selected post-graduate students from KU can pursue researchwork at CSIO. CSIO scientists can be registered forPh. D. programmes at KU with joint supervision, onemerging areas of research and applications.

The MoU will help in building stronger linkagesbetween academia and R&D institutions towardsquality manpower generation and utilization invarious niche areas. Similar MoUs in other areas areunderway with other institutions also.

CSIO signs MoUs withBanasthali Vidya Peeth,

Rajasthan andKurukshetra University

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30 AUGUST 2006 247

NGRI’s collaboration withSri Venkateswara University, Tirupati

I n view of the excellentfacilities, expertise and wideexperience in the field of

Geophysical sciences available atthe National GeophysicalResearch Institute (NGRI),Hyderabad, Sri VenkateswaraUniversity (SVU), Tirupati, hasapproached NGRI forcollaboration in the areas ofteaching, research and training inselected and advanced thrustareas of S&T with special

Exchange of MoU documents between Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati and NGRI by Dr. V.P. Dimri, Director, NGRI(Second from left) and Prof. S. Jayarama Reddy, Vice Chancellor, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati

reference to earth sciences. TheSVU also desires to havecollaboration in the area ofintellectual property rights,consultancy R&D academiapartnerships, technologymanagement and technologytransfer and any other area ofmutual interest

NGRI and S.V. University willenter into detailed agreements oncase-to-case basis with definedobjective, scope of work and

R&D Highlights

mutual obligations, terms andconditions, financialarrangements, intellectualproperty rights and similarcontractual obligations. NGRI willpermit the use of its equipment,facilities, manpower to theUniversity for executing a project.NGRI S.V.U. will work out costsharing jointly through a separateagreement as per the CSIRguidelines. MoU would remainvalid for a period of two years.

CSIR NEWS248

CGCRI, Khurja Centre’s efforts towards development of White Ware Clusters

THE Central Glass & CeramicResearch Institute’s(CGCRI’s), Khurja Centre is

engaged in the development ofKhurja White Ware Clusters inUttar Pradesh as a nodal R&Dinstitution. Khurja is a pottery townin the district of Bulandshahr inUttar Pradesh, having the largestagglomeration of small and mediumscale ceramic industries in India.Cluster survival depends on themajor factors such as fuel efficiency,improved productivity, good marketpractices, excellent house keeping,attractive designs/shapes and worldclass quality at competitive prices.

With a view to developing highlyenergy efficient method byimproving the fuel efficiency in oilfired continuous tunnel kilns,CGCRI Khurja Centre approachedthe Executive Director and JointSecretary, Petroleum ConservationResearch Association (PCRA), NewDelhi, for financial support. CGCRIand RDCIS, SAIL-Ranchi workedtogether to modify the tunnel kiln oftwo SMEs. It resulted in the fuelsaving of 12-18% and productivityimprovement of 30-34%.

Also, CGCRI Khurja Centretook initiative to plan an exposuretour of representatives from 21SMEs to CGCRI, Naroda Centre,Thangarh and Morbi, to show themthe better operating practices incrockery and tile industries and thebenefits accruing from these. Therepresentatives from SME’s fromdifferent industries visited theGujarat cluster under financialsupport of PCRA. Dr L.K. Sharma,Scientist-in-Charge, explained tothem the improved techniques in theareas concerned, particularly withregards to automatic control of kilns,fuel savings, cost reductionapproaches (high productivity andreduced rejections, etc.). Dr K. N.Maiti, Scientist-in-Charge, CGCRINaroda Centre, explained thehighlights of developments ofGurajat Ceramic Clusters. Therepresentatives from SMEs wereexposed to new kilns, technologies,clay washing plants, ceramic colourmanufacturering, waste operatedgasifiers (low cost fuel) and gainedlot of experiences under theguidance of Dr C. S. Prasad,Technical Officer and Shri K.C.

Singh, Cluster DevelopmentExecutive. As per the feedback afterone-week tour the visitors from theindustry expressed that they wouldattempt the following improvements,modification of kiln design; use oflow thermal mass kiln furniture; useof granulating semi auto machine formaking the kit; improvement inhouse keeping; and operatingpractices to improve the quality.

Based on the outcome of firsttrip, CGCRI Khurja Centre,planned another trip for a batch ofrepresentatives from 25 new SMEswith financial assistance of DC (SSI)to the CGCRI Naroda Centre,National Institute of Design,Ahmedabad, Thangarh and Morbi.They were exposed to nine ceramicindustries. All the participants arenow looking for the creation of newdesigns and have developedcontacts with the SMEs ofThangarh and Morbi machinerymanufacturers and raw materialssuppliers. Mutual interaction of theSMEs will be helpful to fill uptechnological gaps and show overalldevelopment of ceramic industriesof Khurja.

R&D Highlights

Khurja SMEs Teams at CGCRI Khurja Centre before departing for Gujarat : Left: First Exposure Visit Team; Right: 2nd Exposure Visit Team

30 AUGUST 2006 249

Training Programmes

Training Programme on Low-cost Fish Feed Production at Bhandara

THE National EnvironmentalEngineering ResearchInstitute (NEERI), Nagpur,

organized a training programme onLow-cost Fish Feed Productionbased on byproduct andnutritionally rich waste, at BhandaraDistrict Central Co-operative Bank,Bhandara. During the trainingprogramme Dr T. Chakrabarti,Director Grade Scientist, NEERI;Dr T.K. Ghosh, Deputy Director,NEERI; Dr G.V. Mulmuley,Scientist, NEERI; Shri M.S.Gaikwad, Assistant Director ofFisheries, Bhandara; Shri R.L.Lonkar, District FisheriesDevelopment Officer, Bhandra; Shri

setting of such units in the ruralsector would elevate the economicstatus of the backward classes in theregion. Shri M.S. Gaikwad, ShriR.L. Lonkar and Dr P. Malgavelauded the work done by NEERI forthe development of the low-costtechnology, and encouraged thegroup of 51 trainees to adopt thetechnology for expansion of fisheriessector in the region.

Dr T. Chakrabarti, in hiskeynote address explained thebackground of the project, theobjectives of which was theconversion of waste to wealth, andbenefits to the local people. Dr T.K.Ghosh, the Project Leader, discussed

S.S. Tayade, AGM (DD), NABARD,Bhandara and Dr P. Malgave,Director, Bhandara District CentralCo-operative Bank, Bhandara werepresent.

The training programme wasthe follow-up of the studiesconducted at NEERI under aDepartment of Biotechnology,Government of India’s sponsoredproject aimed at formulating fishfeeds comprising cheaply availablewaste-based ingredients and also toimprove the quality of theconventional feed, used bypisciculturists.

Inaugurating the programme,Shri S.S. Tayade, expressed that

Training programme on Low-cost Fish Feed Production at Bhandara in progress

CSIR NEWS250

the requirements of thenutrients by the fish fortheir proper growth andreproduction. Thetechnology developed byNEERI using byproductsand nutritionally richwaste material reducesthe cost of fish feedproduction substantially,thereby increasing themargin of profit inaquaculture, he added.Dr G.V. Mulmuley,deliberated on theingredients used in the low-cost fish feed, and explainedand demonstrated theoperation of machineries.He has also providedinformation regardingproject cost, market andmarketing, and financialschemes for funding.

A brochure on thetechnology, methodology,economics etc. was alsoreleased on the occasionfor free distribution to allthe trainees.

There was over-whelming response from allthe 51 participants whobelonged to SC/STcategory. The traineesensured that they wouldtake up this technologyfor propagation ofpisciculture in this regionand also for their incomegeneration. Dr SantoshZargar, Project Fellow,NEERI, who successfullyorganized the programmeproposed the vote ofthanks.

Prof. Grubbs deliversNCL Foundation Day Lecture

PROFESSOR Robert H. Grubbs,Nobel Laureate (Chemistry-2005),Victor and Elizabeth Atkins

Professor of Chemistry, CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, USA, delivered theNCL Foundation Day lecture on‘Chemistry develops drugs, bugs and bats’at the National Chemical Laboratory(NCL), Pune. The lecture organized underthe auspices of NCL Research Foundation(NCL RF) was a part of NCL’s 56 t h

Foundation Day celebration held in therecent past.

Organic synthesis is a multi-disciplinary science where there is anincreasing demand to make moleculeswith desired properties. This synthesis ofmolecules requires very efficient andreliable tools that can bring the requiredbond formations or bond disconnectionsat defined places. Olefin metathesis is onesuch reaction where the synchronizationof bond making and breaking brings‘change-place’ of the atoms.

Prof. Grubbs started his presentationwith a chronological development of the

origins of the olefin metathesis reactionstarting from simple Lewis acid mediateddimerization of ethylene, the work carriedout by earlier scientists in the area ofpolymerization of cyclopentene andnorbornene which triggered thedevelopment of various polymer formingreactions and catalysts, thereby, leadingto an understanding of the mechanism ofthe reaction. Normally synthetic chemistsdevelop chemical reactions and polymerchemists utilize them for polymerization.This is one of the very few instances wherea new reaction was developed by polymerchemist and has been widely utilized byorganic chemists. He also elucidated howthe mechanism of this reaction wasdemonstrated by Prof. Chauvin of Francewith whom he shared the Nobel Prize inchemistry for the year 2005.

The fundamental knowledge of themechanism of the reaction along with theknowledge of the properties of the metalshelped Prof Grubbs to design newthermally and chemically stable catalysts,thereby, contributing vastly to the area oforganic synthesis and polymer science.The ability to tune the catalyst structureand design practically useful catalyst forolefin metathesis reactions has placed ProfGrubbs above his contemporaries in thearea of application of well definedorganometallic catalysts for organicsynthesis.

Prof Grubbs explained that the word‘metathesis’ means ‘change-places’. Inmetathesis reactions, double bonds arebroken and made between carbon atomsin ways that cause atoms to change places.This happens with the assistance ofspecially designed catalysts. He comparedthe efficiency of several catalysts used formetathesis reaction in terms of reactivity,stability and functional group tolerance

Professor Robert H. Grubbs, delivering theFoundation Day lecture at NCL

Lectures

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and demonstrated the superiorityof the ruthenium (Ru) basedcatalysts. He traced thedevelopment of differentgenerations of Ru catalysts andhighlighted the influence ofligands in increasing reactivity byseveral orders of magnitude. TheN-heterocyclic carbene basedligands appear to be one of thebest. These catalysts can also bemade in kilo quantities.

In the second part of hislecture Prof Grubbs illustratedseveral applications of olefinmetathesis reaction in chemistry.Ring opening metathesispolymerization ofdicyclopentadiene leads topolymer with unique properties.The polymer finds applications inarmours for military purposes.This polymer is also used forstrengthening the woodenbaseball bats performing thepolymerization reaction withinthe pores of wood. This impartstremendous strength to the woodand is used in commercialmanufacture of baseball bats andwood coating. Olefin metathesisreaction is useful for the synthesisof pheromones which can eitherattract or repel bugs and can beused for pest management. Theunique advantage andeffectiveness of the catalystsystem in the manufacture of somedrugs was exemplified. Thisincluded a molecule scaffold ofMerck which can be made inthree-step by employing ringclosing metathesis reaction asagainst 20-step by conventionalchemistry. Similarly, a 15-membered macrocyclic drug byBoehringer Ingelheim for thetreatment of Hepatitis C was

manufactured commercially on a400 kg scale using a ring closingmetathesis reaction. A drug forthe treatment of osteoporosis isunder development on a largescale by GSK Inc. using ringclosing metathesis as the key step.

Several awards includingScientist of the Year Award(Sponsored by Maneckji &Shirinbai Neterwala Foundation),highest Industrial Earning Awardin the form of Rotating Shield &Trophy and Director’sCommendation Award andIndividual Merit Awards weregiven on the occasion at the handsof Prof. Grubbs.

Earlier, Dr S. Sivaram,Director, NCL, welcomed theaudience. He briefly traced thehistory and chronology of NCLsince its inception. Whileintroducing Prof. Grubbs to theaudience Dr Sivaram describedhim as an organo-metallic chemistof great distinction and a personwho has made pioneeringcontribution to the science ofcatalysis. If one looks at thecontribution of Nobel Prizewinners during the past onehundred years, 1901 to 2005,Dr Sivaram pointed out,approximately 25% prizes havebeen awarded to those individualswho discovered new ways to makecarbon – carbon bonds. Prof.Grubbs joins those distinguishedline of chemists whosecontributions to the making ofC-C bond has been recognized bya Nobel Prize.

A large cross-section ofpost-graduate students ofchemistry from local colleges andUniversity of Pune attended thelecture

Prof. Peter Lissdelivers NIO’s fifth

40th Foundation YearLecture

PROF. Peter S. Liss from the School ofEnvironmental Sciences, University ofEast Anglia, Norwich, UK, delivered 40thFoundation Year Lecture on ‘GlobalChange and the Oceans’ at the NationalInstitute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa,recently. His was the fifth lecture in thisseries. In this lecture Prof. Liss describedhow the oceans interact with theatmosphere and exchange variouselements that are important in globalbiogeochemical processes and climatechange. The exchange of greenhousegases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide (CO

2),

nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH

4) ,

dimethylsulfide (DMS), volatile organo-halogen compounds (VHOC), etc, takeplace at the ocean-atmosphere interface.The oceans, which form a natural sink foratmospheric carbon, are failing to absorb

Prof. Peter S. Liss delivering the 40th FoundationYear Lecture at NIO

Lectures

CSIR NEWS252

elevated emissions of CO2 mainly due to the

increased burning of fossil fuels during post-industrialization period. He expressedserious concern on elevated atmosphericCO

2 levels that alter the chemistry of oceanic

waters and strongly influence the health oforganisms in the oceans. Based on laboratoryand mesocosm experiments by his group, theimpacts of elevated CO

2 concentrations have

indicated negative effects on calcite bearingorganisms in the oceans and on the growth ofphytoplankton like coccoliths. An increasein the primary production may also result ingreater emission of organo-sulfurcompounds like DMS that are consideredimportant in the formation of cloudcondensation nuclei (CCN) and reducingthe earth’s surface temperature.

Prof. Liss described a model to study theimpact of such elevated DMS levels on globaltemperatures highlighting the fieldobservations made by the National Instituteof Oceanography, Goa, of high DMS levelsand their impact on atmospheric chemistry.Phytoplankton and macroalgae are alsoimportant producers of VHOC, which arepotent GHGs. However, some of the VHOCslike iodine are also known to be essential formaintaining good health in humans. His talkhighlighted the significance of theseelements and micronutrients like seleniumon the health of the coastal population andindicated that fertilization of oceans withmicronutrients like Fe 3+ is an importantmethod to mitigate the levels of atmosphericcarbon. An iron-fertilized ocean is believedto increase carbon fixation, resulting inincreased down ward flux and sedimentationof organic carbon, and an increase in thecarbon dioxide draw-down thus lowering theatmospheric CO

2 levels. Finally, he discussed

various studies coordinated under the aegisof SOLAS (Surface-Ocean LowerAtmosphere Study).

Dr Dileep Kumar, Scientist, NIO, whilewelcoming Prof Liss, outlined hisachievements and Dr Lata Raghukumarproposed the vote of thanks.

CIM – Utsav at CIMAP

T HE CentralInstitute ofMedicinal and

Aromatic Plants(CIMAP), Lucknow,organized its AnnualFarmer’s Fair CIM-Utsav (Kisan Mela), toequip the participantswith modern skills of thecultivation ofeconomically importantmedicinal and aromaticplants. More than 1500participants, mostly farmers,took part in the mela, andparticipated in various activitiesorganized on the occasion.

In his welcome address, DrS.P.S. Khanuja, Director,CIMAP, told that CIMAP hasemerged as a pioneerinstitution in technologydevelopment for ruralempowerment in true sensethrough its R&D work. Todaythe herbal based products aregaining popularity all over theworld and the time has comethat farmers should also takeadvantage of such scenario byproducing quality herbs and

plants – the input material forany herbal/plant-based pharmaindustry utilizing technologyfrom CIMAP. He highlightedthe work undertaken by CIMAPthrough its unique bio-villagemission approach forpopularization of geranium,mints, patchouli, and Artemisiaannua. Dr Khanuja told that forthe first time the Artemisiavariety - CIM-Arogya has beenlicensed to five majorcompanies of the country andtwo companies are involvingabout one thousand fivehundred farmers in cultivationof anti malarial drug plantArtemisia annua in various

Dr S.P..S Khanuja, Director, CIMAP addressing thedistinguished gathering

A section of the participants

CIM -Utsav

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districts of Uttar Pradesh andUttranchal. As per theparliamentary Committee report“this type of Kisan Mela hassignificant influence in terms ofaugmenting rural awareness andsuch Melas should be organized inother places more frequently”.

Dr Khanuja said thatcontinuing efforts made by CIMAPhave made visible impact, speciallyin rural areas, and CIMAP hasbeen awarded FICCI award bythe Prime Minister of India asnational recognition to theCIMAP’s effort in the area of ruraldevelopment.

The Guest of Honour on thisoccasion, Prof. Chandrika Prasad,DG, UPCAR, and Prof. P.K. Seth,CEO, Biotech Park, Lucknow, alsoaddressed the gathering andreleased souvenir of CIM-Utsav(Gyanya) and second issue of themagazine Aus boond and MAPs dewbesides the latest issue of JMAPS.

Chief Guest Shri NaveenChandra Bajpai, Agriculture

Production Commissioner, UttarPradesh, in his lecture called uponthe farmers to adopt CIMAP’Stechnologies to increase theirincome. He said that integration ofmedicinal and aromatic plants withexisting cropping system isnecessary so that overallproduction of food grains is notadversely affected. Dr A.K. Singh,Head, Technology Transfer Division,conducted the proceedings.

Other highlights of the CIM-Utsav were a question answersession, ‘Know Artemsia’ stall toeducate the farmers about the anti-malarial drug plant, plant healthand plant identification competition,display and sale of improved plantvarieties and newly developed roseoil distillation unit, CIM Asvika. Astarter kit, Navankur, was providedto the participants who desired tostart cultivation of medicinal andaromatic plants. Prizes were alsoawarded to the winners of variouscompetitions organized on thisoccasion.

Participants showing keen interest in CIMAP’s herbal products

Dr M. Deepa receivesG. C. Jain

Memorial Award

D R M. Deepa,Scientist,NationalPhysical Laboratory

(NPL), New Delhi, has wonthe G. C. Jain MemorialAward for the best Ph. D.thesis in Materials Science forthe year 2005. Dr Deepa, ispresently working on electro-chromic materials and devi-ces in the Electronic MaterialsDivision. Her Ph. D. has beenan outcome of work done inthe field of lithium ionconducting polymeric gelelectrolytes. This awardcarrying a citation from MRSIalong with a cash prize of Rs6000, was given to her by theMaterials Research Society ofIndia in the Annual GeneralMeeting of MRSI heldrecently at Lucknow.

CIM -Utsav

CSIR NEWS254

Honours & Awards

RRL Bhopal gets National Award for Fly Ash Utilization

T HE Regional ResearchLaboratory (RRL), Bhopal,has been awarded the

National Award in recognition of theexemplary work done in the area ofFly Ash Utilization. RRL–Bhopalhas made significant contribution tothe R&D work on use of fly ash forbuilding components, agricultureand value added products. Theaward was jointly conferred at thelaboratory by Ministry of Power,Ministry of Environment andForests and TIFAC, DST,Government of India, during theInternational Congress on Fly AshUtilization held recently in NewDelhi.

RRL-Bhopal has carried outextensive research on use of fly ashin developing cost-effectivealternative building materials(blocks, bricks, paint), fly ash filledpolymers composites (wood

substitute materials) and developedprocesses for vermi-compost andbulk utilization of fly ash in

increasing the agriculturalproductivity. All these materials/processes have massive potential forthe utilization in the livelihooddevelopment of rural sector in asustainable manner.

In addition, RRL-Bhopal, hasbeen actively involved in processdevelopment for value-addedmaterials through fly ashbeneficiation, fly ash classification.Attrition milling of fly ash forreactivity improvement, cenosphereextraction and development of lightweight materials with specialproperties and for immobilizing andrecycling hazardous wastes indeveloping value-added productsusing fly ash.

The laboratory is also activelyinvolved in propagation of the aboveuses among the masses.

The award-winning team: Dr N. Ramakrishnan, Director, RRL, Bhopal,with his team of scientists.

Dr N. Ramakrishnan, Director, RRL, Bhopal, receiving the award. Seen (from left) are:Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science & Technology and Ocean Development; Shri P.M. Sayeed,

Minister of Power; and Shri N.N. Meena, Minister for Environment and Forests

30 AUGUST 2006 255

Honours & Awards

Dr Baban Ingole awardedMarathawada Gourav

D R BabanIngole, ascientist in

B i o l o g i c a lOceanography Divisionat the National Instituteof Oceanography (NIO),Goa, has been awardedthe ‘MarathawadaGourav’ award this yearfor his significantcontributions to thefield of Marine Scienceand for popularizationof science. The awardwas presented atRavindra Natyamandir,Mumbai during aspecial functionorganized byM a r a t h a w a d aLokawikas Manch,Mumbai, affiliated to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra.Dr Ingole received the award at the hands of ShriBabanrao Patchpute, Minister of Forests, Maharashtra, in thepresence of Smt. Suryakant Patil, Minister of State forRural Development, Government of India.

Dr Ingole has over 25 years of research experience in appliedaspects of varied ecological habitats like estuaries, salt marshes,intertidal areas, coral reefs, seagrasses, deep-sea and theAntarctic Ocean studies. He has received many honoursand awards including the Young Scientist Award in 1994,Shri D.B. Vikaji Taraporewale Fellowship, and JapaneseGovernment (MOMBUSHO) fellowship for his post doctoralstudies during 1989-91. He recently participated in the‘Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami Offshore Survey(SEATOS)’ – an international research activity. He has 78 researchpapers in international and national journals and filed fourpatents

Dr C. Mohandassreceives

BiotechnologyOverseas

AssociateshipAward 2005-06

D R C. Mohandass,Scientist at theNational Institute of

Oceanography (NIO), Goa, hasreceived Biotechnology OverseasAssociateship Award for the year2005-06 from Department ofBiotechnology, Government ofIndia. This award permits DrMohandass to work for a term ofsix months at the Institute of PaperScience and Technology (IPST) atGeorgia Institute of Technology,Atlanta in United States. He wouldbe associated with Dr ArthurRagauskas, Scientist at theInternational Academy of WoodScience Fellow at IPST.Dr Mohandass intends towork on Modern Biotechnologicalaspects of biological deinkingduring his fellowship. This is incontinuation of the work that he isalready involved in at NIOunder marine biotechnologyproject.

Dr Mohandass has 12 researchpublications in most prestigiousjournals and two internationalpatents. He also participates in thesponsored projects and hascontributed his expertise to15 project reports.

Dr Baban Ingole, with his award

CSIR NEWS256

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Honours & Awards

Dr (Smt.) E.C. Malaimanielected Member-at-Large

in GGOS

DR-Ing (Smt) E.C. Malaimani,Scientist ‘F’, NationalGeophysical Research Institute

(NGRI), Hyderabad, has been officiallyconfirmed as Member-at-Large inGGOS (Global Geodetic ObservingSystem) Steering Committee of theInternational Association of Geodesy(IAG), USA. It is, for the first time that anIndian is occupying this prestigiousposition.

It is IAG’s contribution to EarthSciences and bridge to the otherdisciplines; it asserts the position ofgeodesy in geosciences, integrates thework of IAG and emphasizes the broadspectrum of geodetic research andapplication fields. GGOS integratesdifferent geodetic techniques, models, andapproaches in order to ensure a long-termmonitoring of the geodetic observables inagreement with the Integrated GlobalObserving Strategy (IGOS). GGOSprovides the observational basis tomaintain a stable, accurate and globalterrestrial reference frame, to link it to thecelestial reference frame and to monitorthe Earth’s kinematics and dynamics. Inthis function GGOS is crucial for all Earthobservations and many practicalapplications. GGOS contributes to thescientific and infrastructure basis for allglobal change research in Earth sciences.In the frame of GGOS, the Earth systemis viewed as a whole, the solid Earth aswell as the fluid components, the static aswell as time-varying quantities.

D R ShyamSunder Rai,Scientist F at the

National GeophysicalResearch Institute (NGRI),Hyderabad, and a SeniorAssociate at the AbdusSalam International Centrefor Theoretical Physics,Trieste, Italy, has beenhonoured with the NationalMineral Award 2004 by theUnion Minister of MinesShri Sis Ram Ola, for hisresearch contributions tothe development of newapproaches, design andexecution of experimentsand modelling ofgeophysical measurementsin the areas of seismology and geo-electromagnetism for mineralexploration and investigation of the deep structure of India. Heblended the recent advances in data acquisition and mathematicalsimulation to infer the deep geological processes, based ongeophysical images, generated at various scale lengths in segmentof India. Dr Rai did his M.Tech. in Applied Geophysics from IIT,Roorkee and obtained his Ph.D. from the Indian School of Mines,Dhanbad. He heads the Seismic Tomography program at NGRI.He has published over 50 peer reviewed research papers ininternational and national journals. Dr Rai is recipient of severalprestigious awards including the S.S. Bhatnagar Prize, CSIR YoungScientist Award, and M.S. Krishnan medal of the IndianGeophysical Union. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Scienceand the National Academy of Science, India. Currently, Dr. Rai isleading an ambitious project under the National MissionProgramme in Seismology of DST, to image the Himalaya in orderto understand its internal making and to accurately define theseismically potential regions

Dr S. S. Rai getsNational Mineral Award

Dr S. S. Rai, Scientist NGRI, receiving theNational Mineral Award at the hands of theUnion Minister of Mines Shri Sis Ram Ola