Category: Science & Technology

** From Kannada medium school to NASA’s doorsteps: Karnataka village thrilled by local lad’s feat

Dinesh Vasanth Hegde, a research assistant in space science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), is on the moon after being selected for the scholarship of 1.35 lakh dollars by NASA

** Hudli, a village in Karnataka inspired by Gandhian principles

A week-long stay by Mahatma Gandhi at Hudli in Belagavi district in 1937 has changed the face of this tiny village. It has undergone a radical change as the last one century was a time for social reform in Hudli.

Despite having a thriving 100-year-old khadi industry, the residents here have been exploring other alternatives for a better life. Also, a large number of people have been joining the Armed forces with the sole objective of serving the nation. However, khadi industry, and also agriculture, continue to thrive. Belgaum Sugars, one of the noted sugar factories in the region, depends on the cane produced in Hudli.

** Bengaluru girl’s agri startup wins award

Bengaluru girl Manasa Gonchigar is one of the 10 young winning entrepreneur teams of the agri-enterprise challenge S.O.L.V.E.D (Social Objectives-Led Volunteer Enterprise Developed), who were felicitated by Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi recently.

The 25-year-old’s team won the challenge for her startup company PureScan AI — a technology startup that helps players in the food supply chain, and also assists them in making informed decisions on food safety. This year, the International Youth Day theme focused on transforming food systems.

Her co-founder Ayush Nigam’s expertise in the agritech space, through his startup firm ‘Distinct Horizon’, led them in the right direction. She says her extensive travel, including her Academia Industry training in Switzerland, helped her understand how India has taken a backseat in terms of food safety.

** Bengaluru-based foundation creates learning model to help bridge education gap

The model was piloted in Karnataka’s Nanjangud and Odisha’s Barapita between December 2020 and April 2021.

A Bengaluru-based foundation found that an alternate between physical and online classes will be efficient in teaching during this pandemic. Pushpa Thantry, Programme Head – Maths Resource Team, Akshara Foundation, Bengaluru said that this model will be effective during normal times as well.

** An IT pro who forgot English and a professor who fumbled with Math!

“The peculiar language problem can be ignored quite often. This is a unique and rare situation affecting specific languages due to a stroke,” said Dr NK Venkataramana, Founder Chairman and Director Neurosciences, Brains Hospitals, Bengaluru.

** Veteran ISRO scientist Ramabhadran Aravamudan dies at 84

Veteran space scientist Ramabhadran Aravamudan, who was among the first to join the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1962 when it was still named Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), died in Bengaluru late Wednesday night.

He had been ailing for over a year with kidney problems.

Eighty-four-year-old Aravamudan retired from ISRO in 1997 after being a director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (spaceport) in Sriharikota, and the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bengaluru. He had closely worked with ‘Missile Man’ Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India. He was known for his expertise in satellite tracking and telemetry.

** Bengaluru girl invents portable battery that resembles power bank, wins accolade from Oxford University

This B’ luru girl has received the Vice-Chancellor’s Social Impact Award at the University of Oxford, for inventing a solar chargeable lithium ion portable battery useful for pushcart vendors.

Bengaluru-girl Prerna Wadikar recently won the Vice Chancellor’s Social Impact Award at the University of Oxford, UK. She received the award for inventing a device that resembles a power bank, which is a lithium ion portable battery.

** Mobile solutions

During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, KKRTC converted the versatile bus into a mobile clinic with oxygen cylinders, a swab centre, and even a library.

The face of 72-year-old Saroja Madde of Khajuri village, in Aland taluk, lights up every time she talks about the ‘Oxy Bus’ (oxygen equipped bus), introduced as saviours in rural areas by Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC), formerly known as Northeast Karnataka Road Transport Corporation.