Infosys Award Function 2015

Scientific Session(09:30 - 11:30 hrs)

09:30 - 10:30 hrs : Indian Mars Orbiter Mission Dr. Anil Bhardwaj Director, Space Physics Laboratory, ISRO Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum

10:30 - 11:30 hrs : Science at the nano scale to atomic and molecular level - An inter-disciplinary approach Prof. Sourav Pal Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Powai, Mumbai - 400 076 11:30 - 12:00 hrs : Tea

Award Function (12:00 - 13:30 hrs)

Welcome : Prof. Jayashree Ramadas Centre Director, HBCSE

Address by : Prof. R. B. Grover Chief Guest Vice Chancellor, HBNI

Vote of Thanks : Prof. Anwesh Mazumdar National Coordinator, Science Olympiads

Venue : V. G. Kulkarni Auditorium HBCSE-TIFR V. N. Purav Marg Mankhurd, Mumbai - 400 088

** Abstracts and Introduction to Speakers **

Morning Session (09:30 - 10:30 hrs)

1. DR. ANIL BHARDWAJ
    Director, Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum

Indian MOM to Mars

This talk will cover the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), its challenges for project and launch vehicle, new technological requirements, mission constraints, strict timeline, and scientific and technological objective, and discuss various strategies adopted to overcome the challenges. The talk ends with a perspective on future planetary missions of India. About the Speaker

About Dr. Bhardwaj

Anil Bhardwaj received his M.Sc. from Lucknow University (1987) and Ph.D. from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (1992). He joined ISRO in 1993 as a scientist at the Space Physics Laboratory of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Trivandrum. Currently, he is the Director of Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) of ISRO. He has worked at NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre, USA, as NRC Senior Research Associate during 2004-2005. He initiated the research in planetary sciences at SPL and has contributed to the development of planetary science activities and planning of planetary missions in India. He was the Principal Investigator (PI) of SARA experiment on the first Indian Lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, which has revolutionized our understanding on the interaction of solar wind with the Moon through several new findings. He is the PI of MENCA experiment on the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). He and his team have PI-lead experiments on Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander missions as well as Aditya-L1 mission. His research field is planetary and space sciences. He has also made several contributions in the field of solar system X-ray astronomy, including discovery of X-rays from the rings of Saturn and X-ray flares from Jupiter and Saturn, and theoretical modelling. His research findings have led to several Press Releases by NASA and European Space Agency. He has over 120 refereed publications and seven chapters in books including Chapter in the ???Encyclopedia of the Solar System???. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Geosciences (Planetary Science volumes) during 2005-2011 and on Editorial Board of Planetary and Space Science (Elsevier). Currently he is a member of Editorial Board of Space Science Reviews (Springer), Molecular Astrophysics (Elsevier) and is Associate Editor of Advances in Space Research (Elsevier). He is a member of several ISRO, national and international committees on planetary and space sciences. Dr. Anil Bhardwaj was awarded Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (2007), Nehru Centenary Lecture of Kerala Academy of Sciences (2007), ISRO Team Achievement Award for the Chandrayaan-1 Science and Mission (2008), ISRO Merit Award (2012), Planetary Science Section Distinguish Lecture of AOGS, Japan (2014), Dr. P. R. Pisharoty Memorial Lecture of the Kerala Science Congress (2015). He is a Fellow of Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences India, Kerala Academy of Sciences, and Indian Geophysical Union. He is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics and International Astronomical Union. He was elected President of Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (Planetary Science) for 2006-2010 and is the Vice-Chair of COSPAR Commission B.



2. PROF. SOURAV PAL
    Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Science at the nano scale to atomic and molecular level - An inter-disciplinary approach

Cross-disciplinary thinking has been a major source of scientific research and discoveries. History of science is full of exciting discoveries associated with inter-disciplinary approach. Modern scientific research necessitates blending of physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology. Science from bulk to nano scale to atomic and molecular level represents a fascinating platform which derives strength from merger of ideas from within and outside of its broad discipline. Boundary of classical to quantum theories has been of interest for a long time and the simulation connecting different length scales has represented a great challenge.


About Dr. Pal

Dr. Sourav Pal is presently Professor, Department of Chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. He joined IIT Bombay in June 2015 after almost 33 years at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, in the last 5 years, serving as Director of NCL. Earlier he was the Head, Physical and Materials Chemistry Division at NCL and was instrumental in setting up the Electronic Structure Theory Group, a major research group in India and well known globally. A distinguished theoretical chemist, Dr. Pal has contributed to diverse areas of theoretical chemistry including methodological and conceptual developments.  He has contributed significantly to the many-body theory of molecular electronic structure and properties using coupled-cluster methods, and to chemical reactivity and density functional theory response. Recently he has worked on catalytic and hydrogen storage materials using computational material science, specifically on beta zeolites as catalytic systems and doped magnesium hydrides and metal-decorated metal-organic frameworks as solid state materials for hydrogen storage.

After a masters degree in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 1977, Dr. Pal received his Ph.D. degree from Calcutta University and joined NCL in 1982. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA (1986-87) Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Heidelberg, Germany (1987), Visiting Professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA (1995) and the Institute for Molecular Sciences, Okazaki, Japan (1997), Adjunct Professor at IISER, Pune and Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kharagpur. He is President of the Chemical Research Society of India (2014 - 2017)

Dr. Pal's numerous awards and honors include the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Chemical Sciences (2000) and the SASTRA-CNR Rao Award in Chemistry & Materials Science (2014). He is a Fellow of The Indian National Science Academy (2003), Indian Academy of Sciences (1996) and National Academy of Sciences (1998). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2011), and other academies. He was invited to deliver the prestigious Charles A. Coulson Lecture (2014) at the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry, University of Georgia. Dr. Pal serves on the editorial boards of several international and national journals in chemistry, has guided over 25 Ph.D theses, and published over 240 papers in International peer reviewed journals. He has authored a book titled Mathematics in Chemistry??? and contributed to chapters in several books. He has been invited to deliver plenary / keynote / highlighted lectures in several institutions and international conferences of repute over the years.

Afternoon Session (12:00 - 13:30 hrs.)

Address & Award distribution
by Prof. R. B. Grover, Vice Chancellor, HBNI

Prof. R. B. Grover

Dr. R. B. Grover is Homi Bhabha Chair and Vice Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute. He is a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He studied mechanical engineering at Delhi College of Engineering, nuclear engineering at BARC Training School and received a PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Dr. Grover has worked in various capacities in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), During the first 25 years of his career, he worked as a nuclear engineer in the areas of reactor thermal hydraulics, process safety, and process design of reactor systems and equipment. Subsequently he worked on policy issues related to governance of nuclear power, energy planning, international cooperation, technology transfer and human resource development. He was Principal Adviser during October 2010 to February 2013. Dr. Grover played an active role in all steps taken by the Government of India towards opening international civil nuclear trade. He played a lead role in conceptualizing and setting up of Homi Bhabha National Institute, a deemed to be university funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, which he has headed since its inception. Dr. Grover was conferred with a Padma Shri by the President of India in 2014. Other important awards received by him are, Lifetime Achievement Award ??? 2011 by the Department of Atomic Energy; Distinguished Alumnus Award ??? 2011 by the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institute of Science Alumni Association; Distinguished Alumnus Award ??? 2009 by Delhi College of Engineering Alumni Association in 2009; Dhirubhai Ambani Oration Award by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2008; and the INS Award-2006 for Nuclear Reactor Technology, including Nuclear Safety.