As 2013 finally passes ....and as we enter an exciting 2014.....here are some relevant news snippets that made 2013 memorable.
The first one though not relevant (and not in the chronological order) was the retirement of cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. His departure from the sport left everyone misty eyed. Come January 26 (Indian Republic Day) he will be conferred with the highest civilian honour by the Indian Government which is the Bharat Ratna (Diamond of India). On the same day Indian Scientist Prof. C. N. R. Rao who also happens to be an honorary fellow of the RSC will be conferred with the same honour.
The other BIG development was the visit of Britain Prime Minister David Cameron to India. Though he was on a hurricane visit, he addressed many important issues. On the visa bond issue, Cameron said Britain needs to control immigration as it is a much smaller country geographically than India but at the same time he clarified that there was no limit on number of Indian students going to UK.
"Fact one, there is no limit on the number of Indian students that can come to Britain and study; fact two, having completed your university degree there is no limit on the number of people who can do a job in Britain," he said. This is definitely positive news for Indian students looking for opportunities in Britain. (Quoted from the Indian Express).
Finally the greatest scientific news that made all the headlines in 2013 (in India) is the Mangalyaan i.e. the Mars Orbiter Mission launched in the earth’s orbit on 5^th November 2013. It is India's first interplanetary mission and, if successful, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) would become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and European Space Agency.
2013 was definitely an year to remember........Hopefully 2014 will be even more exciting..........On this note I wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous...err .............and yes..... considering the times we are living in I would like to add A very Happy Prosperous and PEACEFUL new year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s been a while since my last blog; hopefully the following blog would do justice to
the long gap. Here, I hope to highlight a very unique initiative by Dr Arnab
Bhattacharya and his team for popularizing science.
 

Promoting Science is as important as doing quality research. The moment anyone says a scientific talk or a lecture will be delivered, the general idea one gets is that of a sophisticated environment  with the speaker bombarding the audience with his complex recitals. The curiosity aspect is generally killed in these lectures. This is true for at least students who are at the under graduate level, and maybe to a certain extent even for students at the masters level. Now imagine a totally different scenario i.e if a speaker walks in and says “I love questions!!!  Especially the ones starting with – I feel it’s stupid…but…” This has essentially been the motto of the CHAI and WHY team (http://chaiandwhy.org/). Chai & Why is an initiative  started by Prof Arnab Bhattacharya who handles the public outreach programme of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR, Mumbai). Chai is the Indian word for tea, so basically the idea is to discuss science over a casual cup of tea!!!

It all started in 2009, inspired by Science Café in the US and Café Scientifique in Europe, Prof Bhattacharya started organizing popular lectures on science. The first lecture was held on 2^nd Jan, 2009 (coincidently the birthday of Issac Newton) and since then its popularity has grown immensely. The topics are chosen carefully and are of general interest to the listeners. So far, Chai and Why has seen a remarkable and diverse set of interesting topics (for more details see link- http://www.tifr.res.in/~outreach/outreach/chaiandwhy.html). From science in the kitchen to science in the bathroom, from science in the playground to scientific ballooning, from Darwins evolution theories to traffic jams, from nanotechnology to music, Chai & Why has managed to touch almost every aspect of science. The speakers range from PhD Students to established researchers. Moreover, researchers outside India have also been a part of this initiative.

The typical format starts with an introductory talk from the speaker and followed by an informal discussion over chai (tea). The speaker then takes questions from the audience. While one may think it could be intimidating to ask a scientist questions from a lay man point of view the atmosphere is so informal that the only feeling lingering is that of curiosity. This infact is the USP of these lectures. The audience comprises of school students, graduate students and even the general public (who feel science is not their cup of tea).

With such a unique setup the ideas flow freely and the discussions become inciting and stimulating. Here science unravels itself in its very raw form and yet easily digested. The bottomline is science need not be discussed only in the laboratories or conventional lecture theatres, if presented in the right way and with the right enthusiasm (like Chai & Why) scientific ideas can be shared and discussed almost anywhere.

Some of the Chai & Why lectures are recorded and can be accessed on their YouTube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/chaiandwhy?feature=watch

More details about the current activities can be found on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/chaiandwhy

Link to Prof Bhattacharya's group page
http://www.tifr.res.in/~arnab/index.html

Also some of the links from where I have taken information
http://mummyknowsbest.com/2011/04/30/chai-and-why/
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/knowledge/science-behind-cup-chai-450
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/taking-science-out-lab



So keep on sipping the hot tea and yes keep the questions coming!!!!!!!

The year 2013 is being celebrated as the centenary year of Bohrs Atomic model. The model given in 1913 by Neils Bohr is truly a milestone in the modern science era. Information on Bohrs scientific contributions is known worldwide (see link). He was a builder of institutions and people. He founded the Institute of Theoretical Physics in 1920 which is now known as the Neils Bohr Institute (see link) . Apart from this he pioneered many scientific programmes. He was truly an extraordinary scientist and an equally efficient administrator.
Neils Bohr belonged to an era where research institutes were less. In the 19^th century the world did require maximum scientists to take on the role of administrators and nation builders, but in the present scenario, where there are institutes and funding for almost every aspect of science , do we require more than 50 percent of the scientific strength to take on the role of administrators? Aren’t the scientific brains better of doing research rather than charting out policies or doing some paperwork? How many scientists actually spend time for scientific thinking or solving research problems? Most of them are generally busy writing research proposals for some funds or they are busy drafting policies. Writing research proposals, acquiring funds and making policies though very important and researchers should definitely be involved at a certain level but the major focus should be research. A researcher’s true identity is his/her scientific contributions.
As a Phd student I ponder and worry that once I am an established researcher, (a looooong way to go!!!!!!!) how am I supposed to strike a balance between Science and Administration. The argument people put forward is that it all depends on person to person. However the problem is partly institutional and partly individual. There are examples wherein senior professors still participate in experimentation whereas some in spite of having a thirst for science are forced to do administrative work.
Neils Bohr pursued a scientific problem relentlessly and found a solution to it. It was only after he grew in stature that he went on to work for the development of sciences which was essential and relevant in his era. Similarly Sir C V Raman discovered the Raman Effect and it was later on in his carrier he participated in various developmental activities. These people were passionate about science and it was this passion which culminated in their participation for setting up institutes. Thus, the writing on the wall is One has to do science to develop science.
The things that will inspire the coming generations are discoveries and inventions. I firmly believe that a scientist should venture into administration only when he feels that his scientific temperament is wearing out and he/she can now contribute at an administrative level


More about Neils Bohr-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr

Link to Neils bohr Institute-
http://www.nbi.ku.dk/english/

Link to some interesting quotes by Neils Bohr
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/niels_bohr.html

India was still a young country to the foray of science when Sir C. V. Raman won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. It was the first instance wherein a scientist working on Indian soil won the highest prize in science. Sadly, it was the last instance as well.
The other Indian Nobel laureates in sciences won the coveted prize working in foreign institutes. Never the less, every landmark discovery in itself has the ability to inspire a hoard of young minds. Apart from Sir Raman, there have been quite a few individuals who have shaped up India’s scientific future. If one talks about Space Sciences in India then Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is a prominent name. The same goes for nuclear sciences as well. Here the inspirational individual was Dr H.J Bhabha who laid the foundation for nuclear sciences in India. Apart from being exceptional researchers they were great visionaries.
Dr Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray and Satyendra Nath Bose (to name a few!!!) are other Indian Scientific luminaries who have contributed to the development of Indian Science. The curious thing here is that all the above mentioned scientists had a strong British connection. All of them were associated with British institutes at some point in their illustrious carrier. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, widely considered as the father of modern Indian Chemistry was honored by the RSC with a Chemical Landmark Plaque in Kolkatta (formerly Calcutta). With such a strong Indo-British connect I feel it is now for the Gen-Next to take this association forward. With this short historical background I open the blog “Chemical Sciences from an Indian Perspective”.


Did you know- The RSC awards Chemical Landmark Plaques to places where important chemical breakthroughs have taken place!!!!!