• The Assam Kaziranga University,Koraikhowa, NH-37, Jorhat 785006, Jorhat, Assam.

THE FIRST EVER EVENT IN NORTH-EAST TO BRING TOGETHER THE CUTTING EDGE OF INDIAN SCIENCE
SHANTI SWARUP BHATNAGAR AWARDEES AND SENIOR LEADERS IN SCIENCE.

Event Highlights :
Chairman, Inaugural Session: Dr V K Saraswat: Member, NITI Aayog and Chancellor, JNU | Public Lecture: Padma Vibhushan Dr K Kasturirangan | Lead Talks: Senior Scientists of International Eminence | Invited Talks: Recent Bhatnagar Awardees from Different Disciplines | Careers in Science and Technology: Students- Bhatnagar Awardee Interaction | Research Strategies for Excellence: Faculty- Bhatnagar Awardee Interaction | Poster Presentations by Students and Young Scientists

Introduction

In spite of a glorious scientific past and unmatched potential, India currently doesn’t enjoy an undisputed leadership position in science and technology. While there may be many reasons, from historic to economic, it is urgent and critical that a systematic, inclusive and holistic analysis of India’s Science and Technology policy is carried out along with identification of implementable steps. Undoubtedly, this topic is of active interest among several ministries and agencies; however it is necessary to obtain the inputs from the recognized practitioners of S&T; ALIST aims to obtain such inputs from the cutting edge of Indian S&T.

Broad Goal

ALIST aims at an assessment of Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities and Threats (SCOT) Analysis for creating a roadmap for India to achieve global leadership and high societal impact in science and technology.

Objectives: ALIST will address the following topics towards formulating an implementable roadmap for achieving global leadership in S&T for India

  • Challenges in India becoming a S&T superpower: A SCOT Analysis
  • Creating Breakthroughs in S&T in India: From Education to Innovation
  • Identification of Potential Areas for Leadership: S&T Forecasts
  • The Elements of Indian Research Ecosystem: Science, Policy, Industry, Society
  • S&T Applications for the Masses: Product Vs Outreach

Exhibition on: Science and Technology Solutions for Sustainable Development

Participants

The Keynote Address, Lead Talks as well as the Chairs of the ALIST sessions will be by eminent scientists with proven credentials. The Invited Speakers of ALIST will be recent recipients of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award. In addition, a few registered participants will be allowed.

Structure:ALIST will be organized in six technical sessions, including a plenary and a synthesis session. The two interactive sessions: Students-Awardee and Faculty–Awardees sessions, are aimed at inspiring and encouraging young and upcoming scientists. The synthesis session will be devoted to arriving at precise and concise recommendations and roadmap for achieving global leadership for India in science and technology. Further, the aim of the event is to bring together leading scientists, academicians, researchers, research scholars and students to exchange and share their experiences and research results covering broad spectrum of topics related to Engineering Sciences, Medical Sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences and Basic Sciences.

The events will include

  • Keynote Address and Lead Talks By Eminent Scientists
  • Technical Presentations By Bhatnagar Awardees
  • Student-Bhatnagar Awardee Interactions: Science, Technology and Career
  • Faculty-Bhatnagar Awardee Interactions: Research Strategy
  • Poster Sessions on Ideas by students/Young Researchers/Faculties

Dissemination

The deliberations of the event, after review, will be published as proceedings or in Journals or as Short Communication in following ways.

  • Abstract will be published in book proceedings with ISBN number
  • Selected papers from the conference will be published as a proceedings book volume.
  • Selected papers will be published in special/regular issues renowned Journals

The Organizers:

Situated in the “Knowledge City”. Jorhat, The Assam Kaziranga University is a private university having six different academic schools covering a range of disciplines e.g. Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences, Basic Sciences, Computing Sciences, Health Sciences and Business. Since its establishment, the university has been involved in different academic, research and skill development programmes designed to achieve sustainable development and empowerment of people all around North-Eastern Region (NER) by tapping best available opportunities in the rapidly evolving global world.

The Institute of Frontier Science and Application (IFSA) is an organization under Science for Inclusive and Integraded Development Trust (SIID), a public interest charitable Trust. IFSA is devoted to multidisciplinary research that relies on an Information Technology enabled global virtual platform comprising scientists, scholars and thought leaders.

The Location:

Jorhat, with its pleasant climate and green vistas, is a place to live in, to explore and to fall in love with! It is a historic city, with many monuments of historical/cultural/religious interests in and around it; several famous wildlife parks, like the Kaziranga National Park and the Dihing-Patkai sanctuaries are within easy driving distances. It is well connected by road, rail and air; the Roroia airport is less than 20 minutes drive from the university. Already celebrated for its natural assets, cultural diversity and rich heritage, Jorhat is now evolving as a thriving metropolis. In the recent times, Jorhat has glorified the already laudable richness of the North-East by developing itself into a hub of education. The proposed Cultural Programme will provide an opportunity for the participants to visit some of these sites.

Organizing Committees

A National Organizing Committee (NOC) will design the technical programme, identify and invite the speakers and ensure overall effectiveness of the meeting. A Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will ensure the smooth conduct of the meeting, including the Interaction Sessions.

National Organizing Committee (NOC)

Chairman, NOC:

  • Dr. Prashant Goswami, Chairman, Institute of Frontier Science and Application (IFSA)

Co-Chairman, NOC: 

  • Dr. P. K. Mishra, Vice Chancellor, The Assam Kaziranga University

Member, NOC:

  • Dr. G. Narahari Sastry, Director, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat
  • Dr G. Prathap, Former Director, CSIR NISCAIR and Former Vice Chancellor, CUSAT
  • Prof. B N Goswami, Department of Physics, Cotton University

Local Organizing Committee (LOC):

Chairman, LOC:

  • Dr. T VVLN Rao, Professor, Dean, SET, KU

Co-Chairman, LOC:

  • Dr. Veera Talukdar, Registrar, KU
  • Dr. Jayanta Kr. Sarmah, Professor, Dean, SBS, KU
  • Dr. Utpal Barman, Dean Research & Associate Professor, IT & CSE, SET, KU
  • Dr. Abhishek Sinha, Associate Professor, HOD, Microbiology, KU

Member, LOC:

  • Prof. Ratan Kumar Saha, Professor, Dean, SCS, KU
  • Dr. Manvinder Singh Pahwa, Dean, SOB, KU
  • Dr. Chandra Kanta Gogoi, Professor & Dean, SSS, KU
  • Dr. Ritunjoy Bhuyan, Professor, Dean, CoE & Skill Development, KU
  • Dr. Gitumoni Konwar, Dean, SHS, KU
  • Dr. Rajesh Jesudasan, Dean, SOP, KU
  • Dr. Arpita Basak, Professor, Dean, IQAC, KU
  • Prof. Puranjoy Das, Dean, CDPC, KU
  • Mr. Bobby Roy, Chief Marketing Officer, KU

Program

16:00 - 20:00 Inaugural Function

16:00 Invocation and Felicitations

16:10 Welcome: Dr P K Mishra,Co-Chairman,National Organizing Committee and VC Kaziranga University

16:20 Overview: Dr P Goswami, Chairman, National Organizing Committee and Chairman, IFSA

16:30: Chief Guest: Padma Vibhushan Dr A Kakodkar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission

17:00: Address by Chairman: Padma Bhushan Dr V K Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog

17:30: Inauguration of Centre of Excellence in Policiy and Social Studies

Tea Break

18:00: Interactive Session between Dignataries, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardees and Invitees

  • Padma Bhushan Dr. V K Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog
  • Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission
  • Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardees
  • Prof. G. Prathap, Former Director, CSIR NISCAIR and Former Vice Chancellor, CUSAT
  • Prof. B N Goswami, Deptt Physics, Cotton University, Guwahati
  • Dr P Goswami, Chairman, IFSA
  • Dr. G. Narahari Sastry, Director, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat
  • Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, IIT Kharagpur
  • Dr. Vatsala Thirumalai, NCBS, TIFR, Bengaluru
  • Dr Binoy k Saikia, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat
  • Dr Kanak Saha, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune
  • Dr Jeemon  Panniyammakal, SCTIMST, Kerela
  • Dr Kinshuk Dasgupta, BARC, Mumbai
  • Dr. Kayarat Saikrishnan, Department of Biology, IISER, Pune

19:30: Vote of Thanks

19:35: Media Briefing

20:00 Interactive Dinner

9:30 - 11:00 Technical Session I (Making India an S&T superpower by 2047: A SWOT Analysis)

9:30 - 10:00 Lead Talk: Dr G Prathap

Title: Science in India: projections and prospects

10:00 - 11:00: Inputs from the Awardees

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Mathematics
  • Physics

11:00 - 11:30: Break and Poster Session on Young Ideas

11:30 - 12:15: Inputs from the Awardees

  • Engineering Sciences
  • Medical Sciences
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences

12:15 - 13:00: Discussion and Synthesis

13:00 - 14:00: Lunch and Poster Session on Young Ideas

14:00 - 15:30: Technical Session II (Potential Areas for Leadership: S&T Forecasts)

14:00 - 14:30: Lead Talk: Prof. B N Goswami

  • Title: The Monsoon Mission and Achieving Leadership in Weather and Climate Science

14:30 - 15:30: Inputs from the Awardees

  • Engineering Sciences
  • Medical Sciences
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Mathematics

15:30 - 16:00: Break and Poster Session on Young Ideas

16:00 - 18:00: Technical Session III (Creating Breakthroughs in S&T: From Ideas to Products)

16:00 - 16:30: Lead Talk: Dr G N Sastry

  • Title: Collaborative Excellence for Technology Leadership

16:30 - 17:30: Inputs from the Awardees

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Mathematics
  • Engineering Sciences
  • Medical Sciences
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences

9:30 - 11:00: (Plenary, Synthesis, Recommendations and Roadmap)

  • Moderator: Dr G N Sastry, Director, CSIR NEIST, Jorhat

09:30: Opening Remarks by Moderator

09:45: Inputs from the Participants

10:15: Synthesis, Recommendations and Roadmap

11:00: Break and Poster Session on Young Ideas

11:30 - 12:30: Valedictory Function

  • Chief Guest: Dr N Kalaiselvi, DG CSIR and  Secretary DSIR

11:30: Felicitation and Welcome

11:45: Summary of ALIST-22

12:00: Address by Chief Guest

12:30: Vote of Thanks

12:30 Interactive Sessions

12:30: Students-Awardee Interaction Session: Science, Technology and Career

13:00: Faculty-Awardee Interaction Session: Research Strategies

Cultural Tour: An optional Cultural Tour to places of nature/historical/religious tourism is being planned; please indicate your choice during registration.

Speakers:

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardees

  • Dr P Goswami, Chairman, IFSA
  • Dr. G. Narahari Sastry, Director, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat

Lead Speakers

  • Prof. G. Prathap, Former Director, CSIR NISCAIR and Former Vice Chancellor, CUSAT
  • Prof. B N Goswami, Deptt Physics, Cotton University, Guwahati

Invited Speakers

  • Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, IIT Kharagpur
  • Dr. Vatsala Thirumalai, NCBS, TIFR, Bengaluru
  • Dr Binoy k Saikia, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat
  • Dr Kanak Saha, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune
  • Dr Jeemon Panniyammakal, SCTIMST, Kerela
  • Dr Kinshuk Dasgupta, BARC, Mumbai
  • Dr. Kayarat Saikrishnan, Department of Biology, IISER, Pune

Accommodation:

Participants are expected to arrange their own accommodation, However the organizers will be happy to assist in booking the hotels/guest houses/resort. For more details click here

Post Event - Achieving Leadership for India in S&T

On 14th November, 2022, the North-East witnessed a unique congregation of some of the leading scientists and thought leaders of the country. The occasion was a novel national event on Achieving Leadership for India in S&T (ALIST)-22, perhaps the first time in the history of entire North-East, if not whole of India. What made the event unique was coming together of several Awardees of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (Assam now has four) from different corners of the country and from different disciplines. Participation of personalities like Padmabivhushan Dr Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, as the Chief Guest, Padmabhushan Dr V K Saraswat, H’ble Member, NITI Aayog as the Chairman of the Inaugural Session and Dr N Kalaiselvi as the Chief Guest of the Valedictory function brought in rare depth of analysis to the theme of ALIST-22.

ALIST-22 has been initiated by the thought that while India had a glorious scientific past and unmatched potential, it didn’t currently enjoy an undisputed leadership position in science and technology, and that a critical, systematic, inclusive and holistic analysis of India’s Science and Technology policy was an urgent necessity. To carry out this analysis involving the cutting edge of India’s scientific and technology research, ALIST-22 brought together several recent winners of Shantiswarup Bhatnagar Award: Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee (IIT-Kharagpur), Dr. Binoy Kr Saikia (CSIR NEIST, Jorhat), Dr. Jeeemon Panniyammakal (SCTIMST, Kerala), Dr. Kanak Saha (IUCAA, Pune), Dr. Kayrat Saikrishnan (IISER, Pune), Dr. Kinshuk Dasgupta (BARC, Mumbai) and Dr. Vatsala Thirumalai (NCBS, TIFR, Bangalore).

The event also saw the participation of eminent scientists and Bhatnagar Awardees including Prof. GanDgan Prathap (Former Director, CSIR NISCAIR), Prof. B N Goswami (Dept. of Physics, Cotton University, Guwahati), Prof. Prashant Goswami (Chairman, Institute of Frontier Science and Application and Former Director, CSIR NISTADS) and Dr. G N Sastry (Director, CSIR NEIST Jorhat).

The technical and scholarly aspects of ALIST-22 were supervised by a National Organizing Committee (NOC), chaired by Dr. Prashant Goswami, Chairman, Institute of Frontier Science and Application (IFSA) and co-chaired by Dr. P. K. Mishra, Vice Chancellor, KU.

ALIST-22 also created some unique opportunities for students and faculty of Kaziranga University and other local organizations. Two Interactive Sessions:  Students-Awardees and Faculty – Awardees sessions were organized for inspiring and encouraging young and upcoming scientists. A large number of students and faculty participated through poster presentations and took part in question-answer sessions with the Awardees.

In the inauguration of ALIST-22, Dr P.K. Mishra, Co-Chairman, National Organizing Committee and Vice-Chancellor of The Assam Kaziranga University, introduced the Chief Guest, the Guest of Honour, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awardees, invitees, and the Co-Chairman of the event Dr. Prashant Goswami, Chairman, IFSA, India to the audience. Dr P.K. Mishra highlighted the vision, mission and hard work of Mr. M. D. Khetan who conceived the idea of University in a place called Jorhat. Dr P Goswami, Chairman, National Organizing Committee and Chairman, IFSA, presented an overview of the ALIST-22 and highlighted about scientific leadership, funding aspects, management of R & D equipment, optimal utilization of central R & D parks, initiatives for pure science and big ideas that can bring leadership in S&T.

Chief Guest Padma Bhushan Dr Anil Kakodkar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission highlighted the initiatives needed to take India forward in Science and Technology including the ecosystem for nurturing excellence and fundamental research. Dr Anil Kakodkar reiterated the significance of value creation (1st level) by developing institutions to be able to at the Frontiers of Science and Technology, and the other levels of value creation in India are adoption of procedural knowledge to create value supporting core economics (2nd level) and leveraging resources to pay for imports or raw materials (3rd level).

Chairman Dr.V. K. Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog, highlighted that India after independence clearly identified to contribute in Science and Technology (S&T), technological institutions, textile, defence, pharmaceuticals, cement and missile development. Dr. Saraswat has identified the need of the Indian research work to be focussed on huge demand for sustainable technologies in India, multi-sector engagement in S&T with diversity and inclusivity, collaboration of multiple stake holders for the development of S&T, improvement of start-up culture, critical mass of entrepreneurship and the development of a research ecosystem.

Dr Abhijit Mukherjee (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee) discussed on the geological flow of ground water and detection of the availability of ground water in ecosystem. Dr Binoy Kr Saikia (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee) highlighted on the synthesis of blue fluorescence quantum dots from coal from North East India. Dr Jeeemon  Panniyammakal (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee) discussed the significance of cardiovascular health and highlighted the alarming cardiovascular problems in India. Dr Kanak Saha (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee) shared the exploration of the signatures of distant galaxies using Indian Astrosat satellite. Dr Kayart Saikrishnan (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee) provided insights into the functioning of restriction-modification enzymes, which play a crucial role in bacterial defense. Dr Kinshuk  Dasgupta (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee ) highlighted pioneering research in making armour panel protection named Bhabha Kavach, light in weight, made using hard boron carbide ceramics that is hot-pressed with carbon nano-tubes and composite polymer. Dr Vatsala Thirumalai (Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee) highlighted the pioneering research in the field of neurobiology on the neural circuits that cause physical movements in animals.

In the presentation theme on “Challenges in India becoming a S&T super power: A SCOT analysis”, Dr. G. Prathap presented a lead talk on “Indian Science @75”. Dr. Prathap observed that India was primarily an agrarian country and contributed a lot to aqua culture and poultry. During the same period India’s percentage share in global GDP continued to drop whereas Europe’s GDP continued to improve. Dr. Prathap further added a matter of great concern about the higher education landscape and shared that top scientists of a country had a significant role in the high percentage share of GDP  in the countries. Number of patents filed in developed countries was way high compared to India and it also impacted India’s GDP. Dr. Prathap further reiterated “we have to understand that schooling is different from skilling” and signified a simple mantra to “educate the masses”.

In the presentation theme on “Creating Breakthroughs in S&T: From Education to Innovation”, Dr. G. Narahari Sastry presented a lead talk on “Collaborative Excellence for Technology Leadership”. Dr. Sastry discussed about the key attributes to be desired in a scientific leadership, culture, leadership and economics and its impact on research outcomes. Dr. Sastry emphasized about the leadership culture and the mechanisms to build trust among academia and Industry for a mutual collaboration. He also discussed about the three basic forms of. Dr. Sastry also highlighted the importance of Collaborative Excellence to drive industrialization for national development.

In the concluding session, Dr. P. Goswami synthesized the discussions on Genesis and the Objectives of the Event ALIST-22, Formulation of an implementable roadmap for achieving global leadership in S&T for India, and Leadership in Science: Metrics and Recommendations.

ALIST-22 is jointly organized by The Assam Kaziranga University and The Institute of Frontier Science and Application (IFSA), an organization under Science for Inclusive Development Trust (SIID).

The poster prizes are awarded to the following participants:

Poster 1st Prize:

Deep Learning in Rice Farming: a way to Create Digital Leadership in Northeast

Angshuman Barpujari, Gitartha Kalita, Manish Saikia, Anindita Bhagawati, Anish Modi, Akash Chetry, Salma Sultana Rahman, Mrinal Kanti Mishra, Utpal Barman

Department of CSE, KUSET, The Assam Kaziranga University, Jorhat 785006, Assam, India

BML Munjal University, Kapriwas, Haryana, India

 

Poster 2nd Prize:

Non-Equilibrium Phase Transitional Study in Field Driven 3D Pair-Ion Plasmas

Swati Baruah, Vishal Kumar Prajapati, Rajaraman Ganesh

Department of Physics, The Assam Kaziranga University, Jorhat 785006, Assam, India

Institute of Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar 3848, Gujarat, India

 

Poster 3rd Prize:

Automatic Agriculture Irrigation System Using Arduino

Biswajit Sarmah, Bishal Deka, Manashwi Tamuli, Ritunjoy Bhuyan

School of Engineering and Technology, The Assam Kaziranga University, Koraikhowa, Jorhat 785006, Assam, India