Category: Education

IISc. researchers have nano solution for wastewater treatment

They developed a metal organic framework (MoF) nanocomposite by intercalating the properties of graphene oxide and UiO-66-NDC.

Researchers in the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc.) have developed a novel nanocomposite material for improved wastewater treatment.

A team of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Water Research (ICWaR) in the IISc., led by Praveen C. Ramamurthy, has developed a metal organic framework (MoF) nanocomposite by intercalating the properties of graphene oxide and UiO-66-NDC.

Heavy metals

According to IISc., industrial effluents containing heavy metals have polluted our water sources for decades. Lead, a heavy metal commonly found in discharge from paint and battery manufacturing plants, is a major water pollutant whose presence severely affects human and animal health.

In recent years, scientists have turned to nanotechnology to develop absorbent materials that can remove heavy metals for improved wastewater treatment.

However, existing adsorption materials and technologies are expensive, and their applications are limited by where they can be implemented and how efficiently they can adsorb lead. This demands the development of novel, low-cost and structurally stable composite materials for wastewater treatment. To this end, ICWaR researchers have developed a novel nanocomposite material.

The researchers have demonstrated that the new nanocomposite can adsorb lead (Pb) from simulated wastewater systems.

Four-fold capacity to absorb lead ions from wastewater

The team demonstrated that the newly developed MOF nanocomposite adsorbent has approximately four-fold enhanced capability in removing lead ions from wastewater compared to previously reported studies of graphene oxide. The material exhibits a stable crystalline structure. Modelling and simulation results also support enhanced efficiency in lead adsorption due to the adsorbent molecular architecture.

The new nanocomposite has improved adsorption and high regeneration and reusability capacities, making it an effective tool in the wastewater treatment of lead ions.

thehindu.com

Rashtriya Military School, Belgaum, celebrates platinum jubilee

A commemorative special cover was released by India Post.

Rashtriya Military School, Belgaum, celebrated its platinum jubilee here on December 23 and 24.

It was presided over by Deputy Chief of the Army Staff Lt. Gen. Ravin Khosla. Several senior Army officers and eminent Old Boys of the school, including Lt. Gen. K.H. Gawas, Commandant, MCTE, Brig. Joydip Mukherjee, Commandant, MLIRC, and Chairman of the School’s Local Board of Administration, and others were present.

A commemorative special cover by India Post was released by the Chief Guest and other dignitaries. They also released a coffee table book that tells the inspiring saga of the school right from its inception to the present time and presents a roadmap for future.

The platinum jubilee trophy instituted by the Old Boys Association, was received by Lt. Col. Satveer Singh, Principal, and Arun Kumar Dharwal, MIE. Shahid Capt Sajjan Singh Malik Memorial Trophy was given away to cadet Abhay Singh for being the academic topper of Class IX, cadet Roshan for exhibiting best leadership qualities, and the Champion House Trophy to Pratap House.

Lt. Gen. Khosla expressed satisfaction that the school had remained steadfast to sound military ethos and secular and progressive values on which it was founded and committed to pursue the goal of all-round excellence with professionalism. He admired the contribution the Old Boys of the School had made to nation building and national security.

Lt. Gen. Khosla unveiled the newly erected bust of late Captain Sajjan Singh Malik, school’s former student who was martyred while neutralising terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Mrs Ravin Khosla inaugurated the Science and Philately exhibition.

Lt. Gen. Kulbhushan Gawas, Commandant, MCTE, Mhow, and an alumnus of the school inaugurated the festivities on the second day. A march past was led by the School Captain and members of the Old Boys Association. Activities like aerobics, karate display, pyramid formation and hula hoops gymnastics were performed. Old boys and their families participated in sports activities, according to a release.

thehindu.com

IIIT-Bangalore installs rooftop solar power system

The solar power system offers 498.43 KWP capacity which is nearly 40 per cent of the power requirement of the institute.

The International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore installed a 500 kVA rooftop solar power system in its campus recently. It was inaugurated by S Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, IIIT-B governing body.

The solar power system offers 498.43 KWP capacity which is nearly 40 per cent of the power requirement of the institute.

IIIT-B has installed 393 solar panels on rooftops and has upgraded its infrastructure to tap green energy.

Jagadish P Patil, Chief Administration Officer, said, “Our power requirement has shot up to 22% as there is an increase in student strength and upgradation of infrastructure. With this solar power system, we can reduce 40 per cent on the overall power bill.”

newindianexpress.com

What to see at Bengaluru Cake Show 2022

Cakes of various shapes and sizes are on display at the 48th annual Bengaluru Cake Show, at St. Joseph Indian High School ground, ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, in Bengaluru.

Cakes of various shapes and sizes are on display at the 48th annual cake show, at St. Joseph Indian High School ground, ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, in Bengaluru.

thehindu.com

IISc student wins prize at Berlin summit for TB diagnostics tool

An IISc student won third prize at an international summit held in Berlin, Germany, for a device that could make tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis cheaper and more accessible.

Ayushi Chauhan, a PhD scholar at IISc’s chemical engineering department, was awarded third prize under the ‘Breakthrough of the Year Emerging Talents’ category at the Falling Walls Lab and Science Summit 2022 in Germany. She was earlier the winner of Falling Walls Lab India 2022, leading her to represent the country during the global summit.

She and her adviser, Dr Bhushan Toley, developed a pocket-sized device for the detection of both regular and drug-resistant tuberculosis, that makes the diagnostic portion near equipment-free. “The device reduces instrumentation cost by 99.6% and testing cost by 87%, which can be reduced even further. Only around one-third of tuberculosis cases are actually reported.

This is due in large part to equipment needs,” she said, during her pitch at the summit. She said the diagnosis method was visually similar to that of a home pregnancy test and Covid tests. “I believe this invention can bring an end to tuberculosis by 2035,” she said.

newindianexpress.com

Bengaluru student comes first in hackathon

Shreya Narayan, a student of Bangalore Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, took part in the UNESCO-India-Africa Hackathon 2022 held at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, recently and won the first place with a cash prize of ₹3 lakh, said a release.

Bengaluru: Rev Ferdinand Kittel Foundation to award 10 eminent people for various contributions

Rev Ferdinand Kittel Foundation is giving the ‘Rev Kittel Awards’ to 10 eminent people who have contributed towards Kannada and Karnataka in various fields for the year
2021-2022.

The award ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 26 at 3.30 pm, at Gandhi Bhavan, Kumara Park East, Bengaluru.

The awardees are –
Philanthropist – Dr Ronald Colaco
Social Activist – Dr CS Dwarkanath
Film – B Ramamurthy
Literature – Marie Joseph
Media/journalism – Ramakanth Tv5
Sports – Martin Das
Health worker – Dr Smitha (Victoria hospital)
Educationest- Eshwaramurthy
NGO-CUPA.
Public Service- Ashwini SI, Pullikeshinagar Station.

The award will be conferred by, His Holiness Nidumamidi Mutt Seer Sri Veerabhadra Channamalla Swamiji, B V Pinto, former judge high court of Karnataka and Bhaskar Rao IPS (Retd) former commissioner of Police, Bengaluru.

daijiworld.com

Mangaluru: Mount Carmel’s Aaron D’Souza shines at International Karate Championship held in Dubai

Aaron Calvin DSouza of VII E of Mount Carmel Central School won the 2nd place in Kata and 3rd place in Kumite in U-11 green belt category in the International Karate Championship ‘Shorin Kai Cup-2022’ held at Kent College, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE on November 13.

Around 1,500 contestants from seven countries participated under various categories in the championship.

Aaron is trained by his coach Victor D’Souza of Western Institute of Martial Arts, Mangaluru.

The management, principal and staff congratulated Aaron for this stupendous success at an international event and wished him well in the future events.

daijiworld.com

Chanakya University launched a step towards Indian multidisciplinary education system

The key method for innovation, he said, is the ability to borrow concepts from other disciplines.

Renowned mathematician Prof Manjul Bhargava said Chanakya University is a step towards India moving towards a multidisciplinary system of education.

He was speaking at the official launch of Chanakya University as the chief guest on Saturday evening. The event was attended by Minister for Higher Education Dr CN Ashwath Narayan and a number of eminent personalities supporting the university.

Prof Bhargava said, “The Indian numerals were a basis for a lot of modern mathematics used in everyday life and in technology. Without it, the Europeans were still using Roman numerals. The ‘zero’ is foundational. Its start came from philosophy, then linguistics, then poetry, music, astronomy and, finally, to mathematics and computer science. This shows the importance of multidisciplinary education.” The key method for innovation, he said, is the ability to borrow concepts from other disciplines.

“The idea of having a multidisciplinary background and drawing ideas from aesthetics, science and art to work on whatever we’re working on, is still applicable today. The best companies hire multidisciplinary teams and people. Many inventors come from a multidisciplinary background. We need more such homegrown stories in India and it is time to move our education system in that direction. I compliment Chanakya University for moving forward on the recommendations of the NEP. I hope it is a model for future new institutions and already established institutions in pursuing multidisciplinary education,” he said.

Established by several architects of the National Education Policy under the Centre for Educational and Social Studies (CESS), Chanakya University has the support of many philanthropists and eminent members involved in multidisciplinary settings. “This unique institution is being established by a charitable trust and through funds collected by the public, having no commercial angle and is not-for-profit. The news about the university has reached other cities and the people have woken up. They are willing to come forward to fund the university with an emphasis on quality and value-added education,” said Dr Sitharam Jindal, founder chairman and managing director, Jindal Aluminium.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder and chairperson of Biocon India, said Bengaluru has been blessed with many great educational institutions and the university will contribute to this. “Knowledge is paramount in terms of economic success. We are adding another great educational institute to the knowledge profile of Bengaluru. This helps in creating Bengaluru as not only a ‘Science Capital’, but the ‘Knowledge Capital’ of the country, which will be an extremely proud moment for us,” she said.

newindianexpress.com

PM unveils 108-feet bronze statue of Bengaluru founder ‘Nadaprabhu’ Kempegowda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled the 108-feet tall statue of the city’s founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, which is the “first and the tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city”, as per the ‘World Book of Records’.

Called the “Statue of Prosperity”, it has been built to commemorate the contribution of Kempegowda towards the growth of Bengaluru.

The statue weighing 218 tonnes (98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel) has been installed at the Kempegowda International Airport here.

It has a sword weighing four tonnes.

The project, besides the statue, has a heritage theme park in an area covering 23 acres dedicated to the 16th century chieftain, together costing about Rs 84 crore to the government.

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and several of his cabinet colleagues, Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri Math, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP Parliamentary Board member B S Yediyurappa, former Chief Minister S M Krishna, BJP legislators, officials, among others were present at the event.

Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire founded Bengaluru in 1537.

He is revered, especially by the Vokkaliga community that is dominant in Old Mysuru and other parts of southern Karnataka.

Renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar has designed the statue.

Sutar had built the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Bengaluru’s ‘Vidhana Soudha’.

As a precursor to the unveiling, ‘Mruthike’ (sacred mud) was collected from over 22,000 locations across the state, which was mixed symbolically with the mud beneath one of the four towers of the statue.

Twenty-one special vehicles collected the sacred mud in villages, towns and cities during the last two weeks.

With the installation of the statue ahead of the Assembly polls next year, a competition of sorts seems to have erupted between political parties to claim credit for the legacy of Kempegowda, aimed at garnering electoral support from the politically dominant Vokkaliga community.

Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah had earlier said the Congress government led by him was the one which had first planned to install the statue of Kempegowda at the airport.

newindianexpress.com