National Science Day

NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY

             The Government of India, way back in 1986, at the initiative of the National Council for Science and Technology communication (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology (DST), declared 28 February as the National Science Day and Instituted National Science Popularisation awards. In addition to remembering with gratitude the contributions of the renowned Nobel Laureate, C.V. Raman, the Government stands committed to inculcating a scientific temper in all so that overall development of society can be achieved. For several days (upto a month), either starting or culminating on this day, special meetings, functions, debates, lectures, seminars, competitions and so on are organised with a view to giving impetus to science popularisation activities. In addition, NCSTC, DST installed the following awards, to recognie and honour outstanding work in the following areas

1. Best efforts in science popularisation
2. Best S & T coverage in newspapers
3. Best S & T FILM
4. Best efforts in science popularisation among children
5. Best S&T toy/Do-it-yourself kit

                                         It is quite pertinent at this stage to know as to how this day is celebrated thus far; to look into the activities and programmes, undertaken on this occasion by various official as well as non-official agencies, including school and colleges; to identify and separate out the ritualistic and ceremonial from among these; and to think of ways and means of ensuring that whatever is sought to be done under this head (i.e. of celebrating the National Science Day), in future, would be meaningful and consistent with the significance, the spirit and the purpose behind the very institution of this day.

                                                  On the basis of reports received in the past concerning activities and Programmes conducted on the occasion, and copies of some of the proposals received for NSD from different states and UTs, in the respective S&T Councils/departments, it has been observed that among some of the most common but nebulous activities usually undertaken by institutions and agencies include organisation of popular lectures, science quiz contests and competitions, and' science exhibitions' in schools and colleges. Every  year a number of science popularization programmes are organized all over the country for celebrating  National Science Day.   

                          National Science Day Rashtriya Vigyan Diwas (राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस) is celebrated in India on February 28 each year to mark the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman on 28 February 1928.

For this discovery, Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

                                       February 28th is celebrated throughout India as National Science Day, and marks the discovery of the Raman Effect by C. V. Raman for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. NCRA celebrates Science Day by organising one of the biggest science festivals in the country on Feb 28th and 29th at the GMRT campus in Khodad.

                                           In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) asked the Government of India to designate February 28 as National Science Day. The event is now celebrated all over the country in schools, colleges, universities and other academic, scientific, technical, medical and research institutions. On the occasion of the first NSD (National Science Day) on 30 May 2000 , the NCSTC announced institution of the National Science Popularization awards for recognizing outstanding efforts in the area of science communication and popularization. 

                                       This festival sees about 20,000 people visiting us every year, a majority of whom are students and their family from rural and semi-urban talukas and districts in Junnar and nearby areas in Western Maharashtra. 

                                  More then 600 science projects are demonstrated by school and college students. National and State science institutes and universities too show off their latest research. There are public talks, science movie screenings, night sky observing, live demonstrations, and many more. 

                                 The Science Day celebrations comprise a major component of our outreach programmes. Science Day events are usually spread over two days starting 28th of February, in order to cater to the tremendous response from the general public, especially the students from the schools and colleges in the rural and semi-urban areas and districts in the western Maharashtra, especially those near the GMRT observatory. It is perhaps one of the largest Science Day events in rural India, with about a hundred schools, colleges and institutions participating, and over 15000 people visiting the observatory during the two-day event.

                                                    The programme consists of a grand Science Exhibition, where children from the schools and colleges exhibit their science projects, and prizes are given for the best entries in different age groups. In addition, there are exhibitions illustrating astronomical themes and concepts, exciting results obtained with the GMRT, various subsystems of GMRT and illustrative models. There are also exhibits and live demonstrations from various research institutes and science popularisation groups, as well as teaching institutions such as the University of Pune and various national laboratories. There are also programmes to interact with well-known scientists and engineers and film shows on astronomical topics of current interest.

                           He Day is observed to mark the novel discovery of Raman Effect by the great Indian Physicist Sir C. V. Raman on 28th February, 1928. Raman Effect is a phenomenon in spectroscopy discovered by the eminent physicist while working in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of science, Kolkata. After two years of this discovery, Sir C. V. Raman brought the first Nobel Award for the country in 1930. Hence the National Science Day is a great day for Indian Science and scientific community.

Besides, National Science Day offers an opportunity to bring issues of science on to centre stage. The activities organized on the occasion provide public with an occasion to personally attend various programmes and be aware of the emerging issues of immediate concern. Organizing activities with the involvement of large number of people results into purposeful interaction between the science fraternity and the common people for mutual benefit.

                                    

C. V. Raman

                      Besides commemorating the event, National Science day (NSD) have several objectives. Here are a few of them:

o    NSD gives an opportunity to bring issues of science on to center stage

o    It highlights the contributions of science to human kind in the domains of disease eradication, energy production, space exploration, environmental issues, information technology etc.

o    It emphasizes biotechnology’s impact on agriculture, environment, health, industry and pharmaceuticals.

o    It gives the space for exchange of thoughts on the gospel of reason and experimental observation that helps scientist to acquire mental and intellectual excellence.

o    It provides the information on application of science in the daily life.

o    It motivates to inculcate scientific temper among the school children.

o    It lists the initiative steps taken by the scientific community to disseminate the knowledge to the future generations.

                        

                                               R. Chandrasekhara Iyer in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. His mother tongue was Tamil. At an early age Raman moved to the city of Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics, so he grew up in an academic atmosphere. Raman entered Presidency College, Chennai, in 1902, and in 1904 gained his B.Sc., winning the first place and the gold medal in physics. In 1907 he gained his M.Sc., obtaining the highest distinctions. He joined the Indian Finance Department as an Assistant Accountant General in Kolkata. His nephew Subramanyan Chandrasekhar also won the Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1983.

                       In 1917 Raman resigned from his government service and took up the newly created Palit Professorship in Physics at the University of Calcutta. At the same time, he continued doing research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta, where he became the Honorary Secretary. Raman used to refer to this period as the golden era of his career. Many talented students gathered around him at the IACS and the University of Calcutta.

                                  Chandrasekara Venkataraman, was shortened during his school years) was born in November 1888 in southern India. His father was a lecturer in physics and mathematics. In 1902, at age 13, Raman entered Presidency College, Madras. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1904 and master’s degree in 1907. As a student he did research in optics and acoustics. 

                                        He loved science, but saw few career opportunities for a scientist in India, so after receiving his degrees he took the financial civil service exam and went to work for the government as an Assistant Accountant General. But he didn’t give up science–in his spare time he carried out experiments at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at Calcutta. His research included studies of the physics of the violin as well as stringed Indian instruments and Indian drums. He also became known as a good lecturer, offering popular science lectures to the public.

                                          In 1917 Raman was offered the Palit Chair of Physics at Calcutta University. In order to take the position he had to leave his prestigious and well paid civil service job, but he was finally able to devote himself full-time to science.

                                           

LABORATORY VISITS

                                  Members of ISSL conduct groundbreaking research in neuromorphic computing, robotic manipulation, brain-machine interfaces, trusted computing, multi-sensor object recognition, and automated knowledge
and content extraction.

                                    The lab is investigating intelligent neural systems for mobile platforms that can perform complex behaviors in the face of unforeseen and changing environmental conditions. The goal of ISSL's computational brain function research is to develop computational models of how the brain processes single and cross-sensory modalities (in video, audio and speech), as well as actions (planning, navigation) and motor control. Work on brain machine interfaces is focused on discovering relevant patterns / thoughts from non-invasive devices (e.g., electroencephalograms) with the goal of assisting and augmenting human cognition. The lab is developing new capabilities for dexterous mobile manipulation using human-like robots.

                              Sensor-processing research is directed at extracting information from data of any type to enable the development of systems with new or enhanced capabilities. ISSL researchers are developing and exploiting state-of-the-art algorithms for the entire processing chain—from low-level processing to feature extraction, entity detection and recognition, sensor and information fusion, and higher level analysis. Other work in this area emphasizes diagnostics and prognostics and on wireless communications and sensing systems. ISSL has developed and demonstrated systems for a variety of applications, including automotive safety, manufacturing safety, surveillance, vehicle prognostics, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, electronic control unit diagnostics, and warranty record analysis.