30 JANUARY 2007 21

CSIR NEWS22

R&D Highlights

The new process involves essentially threesteps, namely:(i) Solid state reduction of ilmenite using coal;(ii) Aeration rusting of reduced ilmenite using

environmentally benign catalyst where themetallic iron is converted to solid iron oxide;and

(iii) Chemical beneficiation to remove theremaining small quantities of iron.

In the new process all the byproducts arerecovered as salable byproducts, thereby makingthe process pollution free. Synthetic rutile of 96-97% TiO2 with radioactivity acceptable tointernational clients is produced.

The process patented by RRL has been furthermodified to meet the requirements of CMRL andpollution control board norms.

The new process has been proved by RRL andCMRL jointly through a pilot plant where tonnagequantities of high-grade synthetic rutile have beenproduced, which has been evaluated and acceptedby international customers. Many new innovationshave been incorporated in the process to make itenvironment friendly and economically viable to theIndian conditions. The technology is globallycompetitive in terms of cost of production, qualityof synthetic rutile and conversion of byproductsinto salable commodities.

Under the present agreement CMRL wouldput up a commercial plant of capacity 24,000 tonnes/annum synthetic rutile of 96-97% TiO2 with lowradioactivity using the new modified RRLtechnology. The commercial plant is expected tobe ready within two years and RRL would continueto be associated with CMRL in the implementationof the technology.

This is one of the major technology transfersnot only in the history of RRL but also in CSIR. Itis also a major milestone in the laboratory’spriorities for developing and transferringtechnologies suitable for regional development.

CGCRI developsSolid Oxide Fuel Cell

Technology

ALL over the world, including India, theneed for finding alternative energy optionsis assuming increasing importance. It is not

only with a view to lowering the dependence onrapidly exhausting fossil fuels, but also owing toincreasing global concern about the environmentalconsequences of fossil fuel use in production ofelectricity and for the propulsion of vehicles. Fuelcells are promising alternatives to solve theseproblems.

Compared to other types of fuel cells, Solid OxideFuel Cell (SOFC) characteristically has all solid statecomponents providing compactness and flexibility todesign. In addition, high operating temperature(>700°C) causes electrode reactions to occur fasterwithout the use of expensive metal catalysts. Theexhaust heat from SOFC is useful for cogenerationor bottoming cycle leading to further increase inefficiency of the system. Another important featureof SOFC is its multi-fuel capability. Besideshydrogen, it can accept natural gas, biogas and otherlight hydrocarbons. Considering all such multivariateadvantages, SOFCs are emerging as one of the mostpromising distributed power generating system (wattto kilowatt-level) for the future.

In India the Central Glass & Ceramic ResearchInstitute (CGCRI), Kolkata, is the pioneering institutefor the development of SOFC. Under the currentCSIR-NMITLI programme, CGCRI is the leadinstitute responsible for development of indigenousSOFC technology in multi-kilowatt range which isbased on the state-of-the-art anode-supported planardesign. Under this project, large numbers of singlecells of dimension 5 cm × 5 cm × 1.5 mm have beenfabricated (Fig. 1) by using simple, inexpensive andup-scalable fabrication techniques such as tapecasting and screen printing. The developed cells havethe right kind of microstructure (Fig. 2) with a 20 µm

30 JANUARY 2007 23

R&D Highlights

thin, gas-tight 8 mole% yieldyttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ)electrolyte sandwiched betweena porous anode (NiO-YSZ)support (1.5 mm thick) on oneside and a 50 µm thick porous Sr-doped LaMnO3 (LSM) cathodelayer on the other side. Recently,electrochemical performances ofthese cells have been tested atForschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ),Germany. The performance ofthe cells has been found to beexcellent and a current densityas high as 1.3 A/cm2 under a cellvoltage of 0.7 V at 800°C (Fig. 3).Various cells from differentbatches have been tested and theresults are quite reproducible.The performances of CGCRI’scells are quite comparable withother international leadingSOFC stack developers (Table onnext page). Currently, cells ofdimensions 10 cm × 10 cm × 1.5mm are under development. Theinstitute is now engaged indemonstrating a 250 watt SOFCstack using ferritic steel asinterconnect and gas-manifolding. CGCRI has alsodeveloped suitable glass-basedsealant for its in-house stackdevelopment. Shortly BHEL andCGCRI are going to sign an MoUto carry out a much biggerprogramme on SOFCTechnology development todeliver a SOFC power pack withbalance of plant.Forschungszentrum Jülich,Germany is also keen to startcollaborative research work withCGCRI in this area. Fig. 3 : Electrochemical performance of CGCRI developed 5 × 5 SOFC single cells

LSM Cathodelayer (50 mm)

YSZ electrolytelayer (20 mm)

NiO-YSZ anodelayer (1.5 mm)

q

q

Fig. 1 : Planar anode-supported SOFC single cells (5cm × 5 cm × 1.5 mm) developed at CGCRI, Kolkata

Fig. 2 : SEM micrograph of a typical SOFC single cell (as shown in Fig. 1)

Electrolyte (YSZ) thickness ~ 20 mm

800°C

750°C

0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Current density (A/cm2)

Po

wer

den

sity

(W/c

m2 )

Cel

l vol

tage

(V)

CSIR NEWS24

R&D Highlights

New CFTRI Processes Released

THE processes released by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore,recently, include:

Shelf stable kabab mix with chicken meatKabab is a popular snack food product and different

varieties of kababs are available in the market, basedon meat and vegetable. The shelf stable kabab mix withchicken meat is a convenient product that can be easilyreconstituted to make kababs of different shapes. Theproduct can be consumed by frying / baking / toasting.

The kabab mix with chicken meat developed byCFTRI is a ready-to-use kind with an acceptable tasteand meat flavour. The incorporation of onion, garlic andpepper enables the product to be shelf stable up to sixmonths under ambient conditions. The product is freefrom added chemicals and preservatives.

The deboned chicken meat with skin, corn starch,wheat flour, garlic and onion powder, skimmed milkpowder and spices are the major raw materials usedfor the product. The meat is washed, cooked, mincedand after adding other ingredients, dried and packed.Meat mincer, dry grinder, autoclave, steam generator,hot air drier and mixer are the equipment required.This product is an innovative one in the hygienicprocessing of comminuted meat.

Ready-to-eat amla products —candy and osmo air-dried segments

The Indian Goose-berry (Emblica officinalis) is rich

in vitamin ‘C’ and pectin and is valued for its medicinalproperties. It is widely used in Ayurvedic preparationsin view of its ability to inhibit platelet aggregation andcholesterol lowering properties.

Amla fruit is also used as an astringent and mouthfreshner as the fruit is rich in polyphenols. Amlaproducts have very good internal and export marketpotential. The amla fruit is seasonal and it is availableduring October - January months. Processing of theamla fruit is essential in order to make the productavailable throughout the year.

CFTRI has developed amla candy, osmo air-driedamla-sweet and osmo air-dried amla-salty ready-to-eatproducts with a shelf life of eight to ten months underambient conditions. These concentrated amla productshave good taste, texture and nutritive value. The rawmaterials required include amla fruit, sugar, salt andpermitted preservatives.

The processing comprises washing, cutting,syruping, osmotic treatment, drying and packing. Fruitwasher, tray drier and boiler are the equipmentrequired for a production unit.

The left over syrup can be flavored andprofitably utilized for preparing ready-to servebeverages.

SOFC Developer Cell Size Performance

GE Hybrid Power Generation Systems (USA) 4 cm ´ 4 cm At 800°C, 0.7V, <1.0 A/cm2

Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany) 5 cm ´ 5 cm ´ 1.5 mm At 800°C, 0.7V, >1.0 A/cm2

PNNL (USA) Coin cell (dia. – 25 mm) At 750°C, 0.7V, <1.0 A/cm2 Natural gas / Gasoline

H.C. Starck Ceramics (In DEC, spin off Up to 20 cm ´ 20 cm At 750°C, 0.85V, 0.5 A/cm2

Company of ECN, Netherlands)

CGCRI (Kolkata) 5 cm ´ 5 cm ´ 1.5 mm At 800°C, 0.7V, 1.35 A/cm2

Comparison of cell performance of CGCRI developed and anode-supported planarSOFC single cell with some leading international SOFC developers

30 JANUARY 2007 25

R&D Highlights

CFTRI Processes granted US PatentsProcess for obtaining a bound - phenolic acid richdietary fibre(US Patent No. 7037537)

Phenolic acids such as ferulic and coumaric acids are covalentlylinked to mainly dietary fibre components such as arabinoxylans andpectins and influence their physicochemical properties in various foodpreparations.

Besides acting as flavour components, phenolic acids are known topossess anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic and antioxidant properties.

The presence of phenolic acid in dietary fibre components is veryvital in the preparation of cereal-based health foods targeting geriatricsand infants.

Phenolic acids are also present as free acids in very small amountsin cereals and malts.

However, they undergo decarboxylation, leading to decrease in theirutility value. Hence, the bound phenolic acid is very important for thepositive health benefits of dietary fibre components. Removal of thestarch by specific enzymatic treatments is a prerequisite to preparebound phenolic acid dietary fibre rich from cereals and their malts.

The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI),Mysore, has developed an economic and efficient process for obtainingthe bound - phenolic acid rich dietary fibre from cereal malts. Comparedto the existing process, the present one eliminates the usage/addition ofexogenous enzymes.

Process for the preparation of high arginine peptides(US Patent No. 7091001)

Arginine is present in most of the proteins including meats, nuts,milk, cheese and eggs. Arginine is essential for the removal of ammoniathat is generated from protein breakdown. It is also needed to transportthe nitrogen used in muscle metabolism. Arginine is one of the bodybuilding amino acids and influences several hormone functions. L-arginine is shown to influence the liver functions to lower cholesterollevels and to inhibit the growth of certain type of tumours in animalsystem. It is a precursor for potent blood vessel expander and main bloodpressure regulator of the body.

A low lysine: arginine ratio in protein has been shown to reduceserum and aortic cholesterol. CFTRI has developed a novel process forthe preparation of high arginine peptides.

The advantages of this process are:

· It is a single step process with high yield of hydrolysates.

· The process provides enriched fraction of peptides with higharginine to lysine ratio of at least 5 times.

· The preparation can be used as an ingredient in health foods fortreating cardio-vascular diseases.

SARAS Nacelle andEngine Installation

THE current activity under the SARASproject of the National AerospaceLaboratories (NAL), Bangalore, at the

SARAS hangar is centered around the nacelleand engine installation on the aircraft. Thenacelle on the aircraft is attached to the stubwing through the L and M inboard frames.An integral part of the stub wing. Inboard Lframe is attached to the root rib at #3, frontspar, skins and tie rod brackets. Inboard Mframe is attached to End Rib at #3, machinedspacers and the skins. The L and M inboardframes are attached to the O/B and bottom Land M frames of the nacelle through thelongerons and splice boxes.

The SARAS PT-II is now powered by two‘PT6-67A’ engines. These are attached to theengine mount yoke I/B and O/B through shockmounts mounted on engine mounting pads.The shock mounts are attached to the yokecup brackets by bolts and self locking nuts.The engine is also attached to the stub wingtie rod bracket by tie rods attached to the topand bottom ends of the inboard yoke. Engineinstallation is definitely a delicate processinvolving deft maneuvering. It is firstmaneuvered in position to the inboard yokeand then the outboard yoke is locked to theinboard yoke with 10 mm diameter bolts andnuts at the top and bottom flanges. In itsinstalled condition, it has a pitch up of 2 degand a toe-in of 1.5 deg with respect to theaircraft axis.

The tasks that have been completed onthe integration and equipping side, include:the assembly of the wind shields-front andside and the assembly of the pax cabinwindows. Fitment of antennas atop the topskin of the fuselage and Swaging and loadtesting of all the FCS cables.

CSIR NEWS26

MoUs

THE National Institute of Oceanography(NIO), Goa, signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with Ecole

Nationale Superieure d’Ingenieurs de Limoges(ENSIL), University of Limoges, France, on 27October 2006 for research cooperation in theareas of Environmental Pollution andEcotoxicology. Under this MoU exchange ofstudents, scientists and scientific informationbetween these two organizations would takeplace. The use of facilities and equipment atboth the laboratories would also be madeavailable to the individuals working under thecooperative research programmes. Dr AnupamSarkar from NIO and Prof. Guy Matejka fromENSIL would coordinate the activities. TheMoU will remain in force initially for a periodof six years. The documents were exchangedbetween Dr S.R. Shetye, Director, NIO andProf. Patrick Leprat, Director, ENSIL in ameeting held at NIO.

NIO signs MoU with ENSILfor Cooperation in

the Areas of EnvironmentalPollution and Ecotoxicology

Dr S.R. Shetye, Director, NIO and Prof. Patrick Leprat, Director,ENSIL, exchanging the MoU documents

FINER, Guwahati, CFTRI andRRL, Jorhat tie-up

A joint meeting to discuss the possibility of settingup of food-based industries in Assam and otherstates of North Eastern region, was held at the

Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Jorhat, on 13October, 2006. Directors of RRL, Jorhat, Central FoodTechnological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore andFederation of Industries for North Eastern Region(FINER), Guwahati, participated in the meeting. Themembers of the Research Council, scientists of RRL,Jorhat and members of FINER also took part in thediscussion. The specific purpose of the meeting was toinitiate dialogue with CFTRI for exploring possibilitiesof setting up of food based industries and morespecifically the horticulture products based processingindustries. The FINER and RRL, Jorhat had signed anMoU for working jointly in the areas of mutual interestfor industrial and socio-economic development of theregion. The present meeting was the second of its kind.Shri S. K. Jain, President, FINER, briefed about theinitiatives taken by FINER for facilitating small andmedium scale industries in the region and in thatconnection he also informed that a group ofentrepreneurs would be deputed to CFTRI forundertaking higher training in food processing.

Earlier, Dr P. G. Rao, Director, RRL, Jorhat,welcomed the participants and spoke about theobjectives of the meeting, Dr V. Prakash, Director,CFTRI, spoke on the experiences of CFTRI technologyfor pineapple processing industry commissionedsuccessfully at Ukhrul, Manipur. He emphasized theneed for taking special care in selection and supply ofraw materials in the food processing sector and gave anexample of PPO Model, i.e. Passion Fruit, Pineapple andOrange where steady supply of raw materials would beavailable throughout the year in the region. He alsostressed for setting up of processing units nearer to thecultivation area to minimize transportation cost anddamages in handling. The marketing of the produceseemed to be a deciding factor in the region as the roadis the only mode of transportation of the finished productsto the market, he opined. He mentioned that markettie-up with establishments like Army Cantonment of theregion might be a better solution. On the security of

30 JANUARY 2007 27

Meets

agri-products andpreventing biopiracy,Dr Prakash emphasizedthe need for DNAfinger printing of thefruit and vegetables ofthe region. Dr G.Thyagarajan, Chairman,RC, RRL, Jorhat,suggested that only thep u b l i c - p r i v a t epartnership couldbring rapid industrialdevelopment in theregion and mentionedthat environmentallyviable technologies arethe need of the day. Hementioned that theregion could bringabout horticulturalrevolution in thecountry and the timehas come for valueaddition to vegetablesfor export. But at thesame time, hecautioned not to exportvegetables as such.The horticulturalrevolution couldgenerate employmentavenues to millions inthe region, hecommented. Themeeting ended with theresolution that CFTRI,Mysore, RRL, Jorhatand FINER, Guwahatiwould work togetherunder a tripartiteagreement to addressmany of such problemsfor bringing aboutindustrial and socio-economic developmentof the N E region.

NPL-Industry Meet

THE National Physical Laboratoryand Metrology Society of Indiaorganized an NPL-Industry Meet

on 7 November, 2006 jointly at NPL,New Delhi. The aim of this Meet was toprovide a forum for interaction betweenscientists, metrologists and technocrats inthe industry with a view to understandingtheir problems in metrology, technologyincubation and provide the viablesolution. The deliberations were focusedon how NPL could help the industry.Twenty-six participants from differentindustrial units and over 20 seniorscientists of NPL attended this meet. M/sMahindra & Mahindra Ltd, M/s CromptonGreaves Ltd, M/s Maruti Udyog Ltd, M/s Honda and several other industrieslocated in different parts of the countrywere represented by their senior officials.

The forenoon session was dedicatedto the NPL contributions to inductees,

including presentation on theimportance of measurement, calibrationand testing in improving the quality ofproducts. In addition, the presentationon various techniques and technologiesdeveloped by NPL, e.g. those pertainingto noise pollution, development ofmetallic components, teleclocks, antiglarecoatings, luminescence materials,conducting polymers, smart windows,chemical analysis and much more wasgiven by senior scientists of NPL.

In the afternoon session, industryrepresentatives gave their viewsregarding the contribution of NPL. Whilecomplimenting NPL for its contributions,some delegates from industries desiredimprovement in procedures for publicdealings. Director, NPL while attendingto their queries assured them for bettercontact between industry and NPLscientists in future.

Views of NPL-Industry Meet. Dr Vikram Kumar, Director, NPL, giving the welcome address (top right), andDr R.K. Garg, Scientist F and General Secretary, MSI, giving introductory remarks (right above)

CSIR NEWS28

D R Ashish K. Lele,Scientist at the NationalChemical Laboratory

(NCL), Pune, has been awarded,along with Dr Sanjay Mittal of theIndian Institute of Technology,Kanpur, the Shanti SwarupBhatnagar Prize in EngineeringSciences for the year 2006 “formaking pioneering contributions byprobing micro and mesostructure ofpolymeric materials and relating itto the macroscopic dynamical andequilibrium properties using acombination of theory andexperiments” [CSIR News , 56(2006), 296].

Dr Lele has particularly workedon smart gels, influence of moleculartopology on the dynamics, andpolymer-nanoclay composites.Smart gels have been shown in thepast to demonstrate sensitivity,selectivity, mobility, shape memoryand enzyme catalysis. Dr Lele’sgroup demonstrated for the firsttime two additional life-mimickingfeatures namely, macroscopic self-organization and healing inhydrogels. The discovery of thesetwo novel phenomena was hinged onunderstanding the metal ioncomplexation with specificfunctional groups attached to thepolymer chains. The theoreticalbasis of this work was provided byDr Lele by developing a mean fieldequilibrium model that specificallyaccounted for hydrogen bonding and

dispersive interactions in hydrogels.Dr Lele’s work highlighted the linkbetween the macroscopic swelling-collapse transition phenomenon andmolecular events.

The understanding of howtopology governs the dynamics ofmacromolecules is extremelyimportant for polymers of differentarchitectures such as linear,branched, ring, star and combs.Such polymers are expected to havenovel applications in adhesives, gels,processing aids, bio-medicaldevices, etc. Dr Lele has beenexploring the roles of intrinsic andextrinsic constraints on thedynamics of polymer molecules. Hisgroup has investigated the role ofconstrained dynamics of graftedmacromolecular brush in wall-slip,a phenomenon which is ofsubstantial fundamental as well asapplied interests. On the one handit questions the basic assumption ofthe ‘no-slip’ boundary condition in

fluid mechanics of macromolecularfluids and on the other hand it ishighly relevant to the polymerprocessing industry. Dr Lele’s grouphas developed a coarse grained butrigorous molecular model describingthe coupling between the dynamicsof tethered chains and the bulkchains. The model unearthed for thefirst time the crucial role of theconvective constrained releaseprocess as being the root cause ofthe stick-slip instability. Recently, hehas investigated the dynamics ofendless flexible ring polymers. Thekey question to answer is whethersuch polymers, when constrained,can reptate at all; knowing well thecritical role played chain ends in thereptation mechanism. Recently,theoretical research from his groupresulted in the formulation of thefirst coarse grained mean model thatrigorously predicts the dynamicalparameters of thermal motions forideal flexible ring polymers in fixedas well as moving obstacles.

Recently, organo-nanoclays haveattracted attention in industry andacademia alike owing to thesubstantial improvement theyimpart to thermo-mechanical andbarrier properties of polymericresins for a relatively smallincorporation into the matrix. DrLele’s group illustrated crucialstructure-property relations in thesenanocomposites. They were the firstto show that polymer nanoclay

SSB Prize-winners’ work

Studies on Microstructure of Polymeric MaterialsShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize-winner

Dr Ashish K. Lele’s work

30 JANUARY 2007 29

composite melts exhibit anapparent yield phenomenon inwhich the viscosity of the meltprecipitously drops from a veryhigh value (due tohydrodynamically percolatingnetwork of the highlyasymmetric nanoclay tactoids)to a much smaller polymermelt-like value (due to flowinduced orientation andbreakage of the network) onapplication of a shear yieldstress. Dr Lele demonstratedthe usefulness of rheology as atool that should be usedtogether with other techniquessuch as x-ray scattering andelectron microscopy toelucidate the dispersion ofnanoclays in polymers. Further,he quantitatively establishedthrough the use of a novel insitu rheo-x-ray technique theeffect of shear on theorientation of the clay and thekinetics of partial disorientationon cessation of shear.

Dr Lele leads ‘ComplexFluids and Polymer Engineering’group at NCL. He has beenearlier awarded the CSIRYoung Scientist Award (1996),Indian National ScienceAcademy Young Scientist Award(1998), and UICT Alumni YoungScientist Award (2003). He is afellow of the Indian NationalAcademy of Engineering(2004). He has to his creditthirty-eight papers publishedin international peer reviewedjournals, eleven conferencepapers and one US patent.

D R Vikraman Balaji ofChennai MathematicalInstitute, Siruseri, has

been awarded along with DrIndranil Biswas of Tata Institute ofFundamental Research, Mumbai,the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizein Mathematical Sciences for theyear 2006 for his outstandingcontributions to moduli problems ofprincipal bundles over algebraicvarieties, in particular on theUhlenbeck-Yau compactification ofthe Moduli Spaces of µ-semistablebundles. Further his work onholonomy groups for stable bundleson surfaces is significant [CSIRNews, 56 (2006), 297].

Dr V. Balaji’s contribution in thepast several years has been to the

SSB Prize-winners’ work

geometry of principal bundles aswell as issues related to vectorbundles over higher dimensionalvarieties. His initial motivation wasto understand principal bundles andthe related moduli problems from aTannakian perspective. With this inmind, in collaboration with C. S.Seshadri, he worked out a newapproach for the study of principalbundles on curves. As in many ofthese moduli problems it wasrealized early that the key issuewhich needs to be addressed is theso called “semistable reductiontheorem”. In the mid seventies, afterGIT construction of the moduli ofprincipal bundles on curves, heapproached the problem from whatmay now be termed as the “stacky”point of view. In the mid-nineties,

Uhlenbeck-Yau Compactification ofthe Moduli Spaces of µ-Semistable Bundles

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize-winnerDr Vikraman Balaji’s Work

CSIR NEWS30

semistable reduction was provedbut unknowingly he gave anapproach for the semistablereduction theorem which wasgroup-theoretic rather than Lietheoretic.

He (in collaboration with A. J.Parameswaran) generalised it tolarge positive characteristics andsolved the moduli problem (theexistence and projectivity) forprincipal bundles over curves. Theproblem was open since the mid-seventies. For principal GL(n)-bundles, as is well-known, this isclassical and due to Seshadri. Moreprecisely, H to be a semisimplealgebraic group and assuming X, asmooth projective curve definedover an algebraically closed field k.He proved the existence and theprojectivity of the moduli spaces ofprincipal H-bundles on X for fieldsk of characteristic p > 0 with precisebounds on the prime p, therestrictions being imposed by therepresentation theory of H.

Carrying on the work onprincipal bundles on curves, headdressed the problem of semistablereduction for principle bundles overhigher dimensional varieties. Thistogether with the construction of theD o n a l d s o n - U h l e n b e c kcompactification of the moduli spaceof stable principal bundles onsurfaces is his next goal. The purposeof this work is two-fold: its first aim

is to prove the semistable reductiontheorem for the isomorphismclasses of µ–semistable principalbundles (in the sense ofRamanathan–Mumford) with asemisimple structure group H oversmooth projective varieties Xdefined over C. In fact, he provedthe semistable reduction theoremfor classes of µ–semistablequasibundles. This theoremgeneralizes, in its entirety, the basictheorem of Langton for the functorof isomorphism classes of µ–semistable torsion–free sheaves. Itinvolves new ingredients such as thenotion of “quasibundles” whichextends the notion of principalbundles. This plays the role of µ–semistable torsion–free sheaf so asto realize the boundary points.

The final theorem is concludedwith the key input from Bruhat-Titstheory. The second aim is to give analgebro–geometric construction ofthe compactification of the modulispace of µ–semistable principalbundles over smooth projectivesurfaces. By the theorem ofRamanathan and Subramaniam(generalising Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau theorem to the case of principalbundles), this enables one to give aprojective scheme structure to theD o n a l d s o n – U h l e n b e c kcompactification of the moduli spaceof antiselfdual (ASD) Yang-Millsbundles over X with generalstructure groups. In the vector

SSB Prize-winners’ work

bundle case the algebro–geometricconstruction was independentlygiven by J.Li and J.Morgan. DrBalaji then proved (generalising aresult of Taubes) that the modulispace M s H of µ–stable principalH–bundles on the surface X is non–empty for large characteristicclasses c where “largeness” issuitably interpreted for principalbundles.

Dr Balaji did his B.A. (Hons) inMathematics and M.A. from StStephen’s College, New Delhi. In1984, he joined the Institute ofMathematical Sciences as a doctoralstudent of Prof C.S. Seshadri. Hisdoctoral work was on the theme ofgeometry and topology of certainmoduli spaces of vector bundles. In1991, after a post-doctoral period, hejoined the faculty of the then formedSchool of Mathematics, SPICScience Foundation which has sincebecome the Chennai MathematicalInstitute. He is a faculty memberhere ever since. He has visited anumber of centres the world oversuch as Oxford University,Cambridge University, University ofParis-VII, University of Liverpool,etc. where he did collaborativeresearch. He was an AssociateMember of the ICTP, Trieste till2002. He has given invited talks inmany international centres such asOberwolfach (Germany), Durham(UK), Porto (Portugal) and also at theTIFR (Mumbai).

30 JANUARY 2007 31

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations at Laboratories/Institutes

THE highlights of CSIR Foundation Day celebrations at some of the laboratories/institutes were coveredin 15 December 2006 issue of CSIR News. Highlighted here are the programmes held at CGCRI, CMERI,IICB, RRL-Jorhat and SERC, on the occasion:

Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), Kolkata

School students being told about the Specialty Glass Blocksduring the Open Day session observed at CGCRI

At CGCRI, Shri B.Bhattacharjee, Chairman, ResearchCouncil of the institute, was theChief Guest. Speaking on theoccasion, Shri Bhattacharjee,reminded the gathering that thebest way to offer homage to thefounders of the Council was tocultivate the spirit of collectiveresponsibility by the staff andinculcating innovativeness in thework place. Every person shouldpossess a sense of pride in beingassociated with CSIR, and assurehimself that he or she was up to themeaningful standards of dutyexpected from the system.

Earlier, welcoming the chiefguest and the gathering , the CGCRIDirector Dr H.S. Maiti gave anoverview of the achievements of theinstitute and its futureplans. The institute hasbeen consistentlycontributing to the threesectors – strategic,general industrial andsocietal. In the strategicsector– one of the mostimportant examples wasthe development ofspecial glasses likeradiation resistant, ultra-low expansion, and thelaser glass. The institute

had also shown significant progressin the CSIR network projectsespecially in the areas of photonicsand custom-tailored specialmaterials where CGCRI was thenodal laboratory. He also explainedthe achievements and thepossibilities of the on-going NewMillennium Indian TechnologyLeadership Initiative (NMITLI)project on fuel cell. He referred tothe encouraging results obtained onthe Single Solid Oxide Fuel Cell(SSOFC) which could be stacked toproduce 250W-1kW power packs.The results of the activities in theother NMITLI project onbioceramics implants were alsoencouraging, he informed.

Among the examples of R&Daccomplishments of CGCRI, Dr

Maiti mentioned about developmentof erbium-doped fibre, a keycomponent of EDFA (Erbiumdoped Fibre Amplifier). Under anMoU with Network SystemsTechnology (NeST), Cochin, thefibres are being regularly suppliedby CGCRI to the company forcommercial use in the amplifier inthe national and the internationalmarkets. He also discussed thedevelopment in Fibre Brag Grating(FBG) sensors which could beadvantageously used for on-linetemperature and stain sensingwhere other techniques weredifficult or impossible to use. He alsoinformed about the work doneregarding non-linear with non-linearglasses with non-linear opticalproperties. While discussing the

development of specialcoating on glasses by solgel techniques, heinformed that an MoUwas signed betweenCGCRI and TataChemicals InnovationCentre, Pune, on theexploitation of gold nano-triangle incorporatedglasses which wereexpected to have specialoptical properties. Aspecial mention was

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations

CSIR NEWS32

made of the work doneon synthesis of zeolitenano particles for gasseparation membrane.The recent CGCRIcontributions to thearea of engineeringceramics for thestrategic sector havebeen: hall effectthrusters, ceramicmaterials for electrontubes, jet vanes andarmours. Dr Maiti alsomentioned thea c h i e v e m e n t sregarding biomorphicsilicon carbide materials using thefibre structures available in woods.Among the contributions in thesocietal sector, special mention wasmade of the arsenic and iron removalplants, the achievement of theNaroda and the Khurja Centres ontraditional ceramics. The bone chinaplant in a rural setting in Bankura,West Bengal has been a goodcommercial success. In animportant development, a two-yearDiploma course on ‘Designing inceramics and glazed pottery’ hasbeen started through an interactiveprogramme between CGCRI andthe University of Burdwan (one ofthe main universities in WestBengal), informed Dr Maiti.

Dr Sandip Chatterjee, theConvenor of the Foundation Dayprogramme, proposed vote ofthanks.

In the afternoon, the fifth AtmaRam Memorial Lecture wasdelivered by Dr Tridibesh

Mukherjee, Deputy ManagingDirector (Steel), as part of theFoundation Day programme. DrAtma Ram, was the founder Directorof this institute and he later becameDirector General of the CSIR. Thetopic of this year’s lecture was‘Technology and Growth: The Link’.

Dr Mukherjee divided hislecture into three parts (i) Per capitaincome and Technology — possibleconnection, (ii) History of technologydevelopment and (iii) Spark of ideason technology development. Hereminded the audience that theeconomic development was not azero sum game; this game was onethat everybody could win ifappropriate technology wasidentified and applied. The majordevelopments take place by“discontinuous” development aidedby innovativeness in the idea and theapproach, making a departure fromthe slow pace of growth sustainedby improvements in the prevailing

approach. One examplewas the introduction ofsteam engine in UKduring the industrialrevolution. Dr Mukerjeepointed out that UKcould attain highereconomic developmentthrough the industrialrevolution because ofopen society, individualinitiative, speculativescientific thinking,geographical advantage,and the fact that Britainwas rich in coal andother natural resources.

Talking of prompt technologydevelopment, he discussed howcircumstances trigger a technologydevelopment, and cited the exampleof Japan’s economic rise from theravages of war. On the indigenousapplication of appropriatetechnology, Dr Mukherjee gave theexample of India achieving greenrevolution in the 1960s and 1970s.He also discussed the present statusof the indigenous technology andeconomy. He concluded that the percapita income implied standard ofliving and the latter was theindicator of a country’s state oftechnology. For technologicalsuccess, the technological ambienceand focus should be the basicattribute, he concluded.

The institute was kept open tothe school students, family membersof the staff members and theinterested general public for viewingits facilities and knowing its R&Dactivities.

Dr T. Mukherjee (left), who delivered the fifth Atma Ram Memorial Lecture,being presented a plaque by the Chief Guest Shri B. Bhattacharjee (right)

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations

30 JANUARY 2007 33

Apart from the usualobservances that mark this day, thehighlight of the Foundation Daycelebrations at CMERI were threeilluminating lectures by — Dr P.S.Goel, Secretary, Ministry of EarthSciences; Shri S.P. Gon Chaudhary,Director, West Bengal RenewableEnergy Development Agency(WBREDA) and Dr A. Chatterjee,Advisor to the Managing Director,Tata Steel.

Shri Partha Sarathi Banerjee,Scientist, CMERI, welcomed thegathering and introduced thespeakers to the audience.

In his inaugural Speech, Dr G.P.Sinha, Director, CMERI, extendeda hearty and warm welcome to thedignitaries and the personnel of theinstitute. He spoke about the effortsof CMERI towards propelling thenation forward. He mentionedKrishishakti – the latest of theofferings of CMERI forempowerment of the small Indianfarmers. Krishishakti is an economytractor that retains all the importantfeatures and functions of its higherhorsepower counterparts but whichhas been designed with the soleobjective of helping a commonfarmer. Dr Sinha then outlined theefforts of CMERI towards thedesign and development of theAutomated Underwater Vehicle(AUV). Another first in India, thetechnology for the development ofan AUV for operating at a depth of500m is in progress. Dr Sinhaconcluded by focusing on ten newadvanced technologies on which

Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur

CMERI is working on under theCSIR Network Project to render theIndian manufacturing sectorglobally competitive. He dwelt onthe challenges CMERI hasundertaken in addressing NNSmanufacturing and for introductionof automation in manufacturing. Healso spoke about the ambitiousprojects CMERI has proposed foradoption under the Eleventh FiveYear Plan. These include microsystems development like micromachine tools, micro robots, etc. sothat the indigenous manufacturingsector can benefit from machineshaving better capabilities, less bulkor mass and less energyrequirement.

Dr P.S. Goel, who was the ChiefGuest on the occasion, delivered theFoundation Day Lecture. In hisilluminating and thought provokingaddress, Dr Goel deliberated on thefuture of science in this country andsounded a timely alarm that thebest talent is drifting away fromscience owing to the uncertainty infinding a rewarding career inscience. He stressed that Indianeeded to generate scientific jobs.He also reminded that scientistshave the duty of providing scientificsolutions to realize this and stop thedrift to the best talent away fromcareers in science.

Subsequently, Dr Goel spokeabout the various issues that areconfronting the country today, viz.energy consumption, globalwarming, depletion of the ozonelayer, shrinkage of cultivable land,

water consumption, etc. He addedthat in addition to separatelyaddressing the challenges beingconfronted in the various disciplinesrelated to earth sciences, theMinistry of Earth Sciences today isessentially addressing the ways andmeans of integrating these aspectsinto a combined model. Heillustrated this by commenting thatin today’s world if one is looking forbetter, more precise, accurate anddependable weather forecasting, thiscannot be done by considering theaspects of atmospheric sciencealone. For this, one needs to integratethe inputs coming from the ocean tothe atmosphere and move back to theocean which also gets affected by theatmosphere.

Dr Goel then mentioned aboutthe CMERI’s participation indeveloping appropriate technologiesfor sub-sea exploration. Recently,CMERI has developed a RemotelyOperated Vehicle, which is to betested soon by NIOT. CMERI is alsoworking on the development ofAutonomous Underwater Vehicleand other submersible vehiclesjointly with IIT, Kharagpur.Appreciating this activity, he felt thatsuch cooperative ventures were alogical conclusion of the ongoingactivities. The Ministry of EarthSciences, Dr Goel said, had muchmore ambitious plans for fosteringsuch developments in a phasedmanner. He opined that in the firstplace, one should look for solutionsto pertinent problems. Secondly,such programmes must relate to the

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations

CSIR NEWS34

wider context so that tangiblebenefits can accrue for the societyin general.

Shri S.P. Gon Chaudhary, whowas the Guest of Honour, deliveredhis lecture on ‘Energy Security’.Beginning his speech with asuccinct account of the energy statusof the country, where half a billionpeople are denied of energy forconsumption, livelihood andsustainable development and where126,000 MW power being generatedin the country is utilized by only50% of the population. Shri GonChoudhury concluded that torealize the government’s mandate ofproviding energy to all by 2010 andaccess to electricity to all by 2012, atremendous technological challengehas to be taken up by the scientistsand technologists of the country. Heopined, “I don’t think that only coal-based, or gas-based or nuclearpower-based conventional sourcescan solve the problem. We mustthink about distributed powergeneration, power from alternativeenergy sources, alternativetechnologies.” Shri Gon Choudhuryfurther consolidated the case forrenewables by pointing out that theextension of grid line to provideelectrical power from conventionalconcentrated utilities to half abillion people may not be always agood option. The setting up of longand costly transmission and

distribution lines, coupled with hightransmission and distribution losses,the increasing price of fossil fuels,and the high cost of centralizedmanagement systems make thisprogramme unattractive in manyplaces, and in some cases, almostimpossible. He then underlinedsome of the existing renewabletechnologies related to solarphotovoltaics, solar thermal, wind,biomass and biogas utilization,microturbines, etc. He concludedby reiterating that a tremendouschallenge lies ahead in the field ofenergy in general and renewables inparticular and exhorted thetechnologists at CMERI toundertake meaningful research inNew Renewables like Fuel Cell,Organic Solar Cell, Hydrogen,Biofuel, BIPV in urban areas, etc.He opined that it is clear that therewill be no single solution forproviding electricity to billions ofpeople and energy switching fromconventional to renewable isinevitable.

The third lecture of the day wasdelivered by Dr A. Chatterjee, wholed the captive audience tointrospect whether we as Indianshave actually delivered what we arecapable of. He began his speech bydrawing attention to the richspiritual and cultural heritage ofIndia and by recalling theachievements of the country in the

ancient times, which included theinvention of the ‘zero’, theformulation of algebraic andtrigonometric equations, theestablishment of the first everuniversity in the world, etc. He alsoquoted copiously from the speechesof great men of letters who spokewarmly about the potential of India.He then went on to highlight someof the more recent achievements byoutstanding Indians in the fields ofscience, technology andentrepreneurship, which underlinedthe immense pride in this countryand its people. Thereafter, he wenton to elaborate the competitiveadvantages of India and concludedby providing a road map to excel asa country in the global scenario.

The programme concluded withvote of thanks proposed by Shri S.N.Shome, Chairman of CSIRFoundation Day Committee.

Certificates of appreciation andmementoes were then handed overto the CMERI employees who hadsuperannuated during the year. DrP.S. Goel, Secretary, Ministry ofEarth Sciences, gave away themementoes.

During the afternoon session,prizes were handed over by Dr G.P.Sinha to the winners of the variouscompetitions arranged for the staffmembers and their children on theoccasion of the CSIR FoundationDay.

Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata

At IICB, Dr SushantaDuttagupta, Director, IndianInstitute of Science Education and

Research (IISER), Kolkata, was theGuest-in-Chief. Dr J. Gowrishankar,Director, Centre for DNA

Fingerprinting and Diagnostics(CDFD), Hyderabad, delivered theFoundation Day Lecture. Prof.

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations

30 JANUARY 2007 35

Siddhartha Roy, Director, IICB,presided over the function.

Dr Duttagupta, in his addressmentioned how IICB and CSIR arededicated to serve the nation. Healso highlighted the endeavour,activity and glory of CSIR. Heemphasized on human resourcedevelopment and importance ofbreaking artificial barriers amongdifferent disciplines of science.

Dr J. Gowrishankar, in his

Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Jorhat

At RRL, Jorhat, Prof. S K Joshi,former Director General of CSIRand presently the Vikram SarabhaiProfessor at the JNCASR, deliveredthe Foundation Day Lecture on‘Nanoscience & Nanotechnology’.Prof. Joshi mentioned thatnanoscience and nanotechnology isentirely a new concept and one ofthe most exciting branches ofphysical research. It started takingshape as subject of study andresearch in 1980 and has soondeveloped into a full-fledgeddiscipline. He briefly described theadvances in the area and itsimmense potential, e.g. in thedevelopment of powerful computers,mobile phones, appliances formedical research, drugs fortreatment of complicated diseases,perfumeries, etc. He was hopefulthat nanoscience will bring about anew revoluation in the industrialsector for improving the quality ofhuman life. Prof. Joshi profuselylauded the accomplishments ofRRL-Jorhat.

Prof. S.K. Joshi delivering the CSIR Foundation Day Lecture at RRL-Jorhat

Foundation Day Lecture discussedabout “R-loops in Transcription”.

Prof. Roy, Director, IICB, in hiswelcome address, briefly discussedthe purpose of the celebration. Healso mentioned the futureprogrammes of CSIR and IICB toprovide more benefits of science tothe common people of India. Dr H.K. Majumdar, Scientist G, IICB inhis introductory lecture discussedthe history of CSIR, its vision,

structure and function andmentioned recent scientificdevelopments and achievements ofIICB, its past contributions andfuture programmes to develop thenation and to build strongerscientific base. The instituteobserved ‘Open House’ on theprevious day, when a large numberof students from different schoolsand colleges and their teachersvisited the institute.

Dr P. G.Rao, Director,RRL, Jorhat, inhis speechaccorded awarm welometo the augustgathering andspoke brieflyabout theg e n e s i sof CSIRand thecontributions ithas made overthe years for thedevelopment ofthe country. Inthe meeting,r e t i r e demployees of RRL as well as thosewho had completed 25 years ofservice in CSIR were givenmementoes in recognition to theircontributions towards the growthand development of the institute.Meritorious students belonging toSC/ST category were given cash

awards for scoring highest marks inscience subjects in the lastmatriculation examinations heldunder various school boards. Prizeswere also awarded to the winnersof essay competition organized onthe occasion. The day was observedas ‘Open Day’.

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations

CSIR NEWS36

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations/Honours

Printed and Published by S.K. Rastogi on behalf of National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR),Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi -110 012 and printed at NISCAIR Press, Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi -110 012

Editor: Dr B.C.Kashyap; Associate Editors: Meenakshi; Vineeta Singhal; Editorial Assistant: Neelima Handoo;Design: Pradip Banerjee; Sarla Dutta; Production: Kaushal Kishore

Phone: 25846301 Fax: 25847062 E-mail: bck@niscair.res.in; meenakshi@niscair.res.in; vineeta@niscair.res.in; Website:http://www.niscair.res.inFor subscription: The Sales & Distribution Officer, NISCAIR; E-mail: sales@niscair.res.in Annual Subscription: Rs 200 Single Copy: Rs 10.00

Subscription Complaint No 25843359

RN 4512/57

Structural EngineeringResearch Centre (SERC), ChennaiThe event was celebrated jointly by SERC and Regional

Units of CECRI, CEERI, CSIO, NEERI and NML.Open Day was observed in the morning when college

students and faculty, students of higher secondary schools,entrepreneurs and general public, totalling nearly athousand, visited the campus. Multifarious and multi-disciplinary R & D programmes and projects carried out forgovernment, public and private sector industrialorganizations / agencies, providing solutions to their currentproblems, were explained and demonstrated. A multimediavideo documentary prepared by SERC, highlighting theprincipal R&D expertise, facilities and achievements of theResearch Centre was projected.

In the afternoon, a special lecture was delivered by theChief Guest, Shri R.K. Celly, Executive Director, BuildingMaterials and Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi.

SERC Director, Dr N. Lakshmanan, in his brief welcomespeech, emphasized the national need to identify, nurtureand support the scientifically bent youth to take up careersin the core science and engineering disciplines.

Shri Celly, in his lecture, laid stress on the need forrecycling of industrial wastes and innovative technologiesfor minimizing the energy demand. Citing the contemporaryconcern on the disaster-proneness of the Indiansubcontinent, he advocated more focus on disasterprevention technologies. He also dwelt on the importanceof taking up technology diffusion and technology transfer ona ‘Mission Mode’. He welcomed efforts and ideas to bringabout and strengthen ‘Synergy’ among CSIR – BMTPC –Industry. He also gave away the Dr M. Ramaiah Prize forthe best technical paper and certificates of merit, to thescientists of SERC.

Later, Dr C.V. Vaidyanathan, Director-Grade Scientistand Advisor (Management), SERC, gave away prizes to thewinners of various Science competitions conducted for thechildren. Director Dr Lakshmanan honoured the retireesand those who had completed 25 years’ service in CSIR.

DR G. Parthasarathy, ScientistF, Geological Studies Division,National GeophysicalResearch Institute,Hyderabad, has been selectedby the Materials ResearchSociety of India (MRSI) toreceive the MRSI Medal for2007. The medal will be presented to him duringthe Annual General Meeting of MRSI to be heldat NPL, New Delhi, on 12-14 February 2007.Dr Parthasarathy is a Ph.D from Indian Instituteof Science, Bangalore and has over 130 researchpapers in peer reviewed SCI journals to hiscredit. He has filed five international patents.

Dr G. Parthasarathyselected for MRSI Medal

Dr S.S.C. Shenoi electedFellow of IAS

Dr S.S.C. Shenoi, a SeniorScientist of the NationalInstitute of Oceanography(NIO), Goa, has been electeda Fellow of the IndianAcademy of Sciences,Bangalore. Dr Shenoi hascontributed significantly tothe understanding of physical oceanography ofthe waters around India during the last twodecades. His work particularly stands out in theareas of study of processes internal to the oceanthat influence Sea Surface Temperature (SST)and hence to coupling between the monsoon andthe ocean, development and validation of SSTretrieval algorithms using satellite data anddescription of the system of coastal circulationaround India. He has 50 research publicationsin various journals to his credit.