Curtain raiser (Photo in Nica
It is nothing less than the ‘Science Face of India’ that is ready to show up at the sprawling Sri Venkateswara University campus in the temple city. Welcome to the 104th Indian Science Congress, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, where the scientific thrust and technological push required for the nation’s progress will be the agenda for the next five days.
Since 1914, the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) has been conducting the event, on the same dates every year, pooling up the best of scientific brains to discuss the future of India. Two British chemists — Prof. J.L. Simonsen and Prof. P.S. Macmahon — gave shape to their idea by creating this forum to stimulate scientific research in India.
Sri Venkateswara University is hosting the national event for the second time, the last time being in 1983 with the theme ‘Man and the ocean — resource and development’. In view of the overwhelming response, the organising committee has decided against extending spot registrations. However, it has been decided to make available the major proceedings at http://www.isc104.com/TV, to ensure ‘digital involvement’ of the scientific world.
Tuesday’s event will be attended by 12,000 plus participants, mostly scientists, academics, researchers and policy makers from national laboratories, universities, national institutes and research organisations, besides 200 scientists from abroad. The five-day event is divided theme-wise into Societal needs, National priorities, S&T for economic development, Frontiers of S&T and higher education and Collaborative activities.
The event assumes a global appeal as Nobel Laureates Ada E. Yonath (Israel), Takaaki Kajita (Japan), William E. Moerner (U.S.), Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh), Serge Haroche and Jean Tirole (both France) are here to deliver special lectures. Similarly, international academies such as the Malaysian Scientific Association, Sri Lankan Association for the Advancement of Science, Programme d’ Appui Strateguque a la Rescherche Scientifique of Ivory Coast, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (Kenya), Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Japan Science and Technology Agency and the Singapore National Academy of Science have also registered to deliberate on strategically significant topics.
