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3,000 children gather in Capital for Science Festival

With backpacks on their shoulders and joy on their faces, as many as 3,000 children from rural India arrived

in the national Capital, on Wednesday for five days of fun, frolic, and of course, Science. The children are

here to participate in the ‘Science Village’ event of the India International Science Festival (IISF)-2016,

which aims to focus on the theme of rural development. Organised by the Ministry of Science and

Technology, the five-day festival will have sessions on topics including indigenous science and technology,

innovative agricultural practices, livestock management and advanced manufacturing technologies.

The students have been divided into eight

‘houses’, named after distinguished scientists of the

country: APJ Abdul Kalam, S.Chandrashekhar,

Aryabhatta, JC Bose, Homi J Bhabha, S Ramanujan,

K.S.Krishnan and C.V.Raman. The festival has

provided students with an elaborate platform for

scientific interaction, to improve their understanding of

Science, knowledge and temperament.

Several activities have been planned for the

students over the next five days, including interactive

sessions, a tour of the city, and screening of documentaries on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India, and

Make in India initiatives, among others. The students from almost inaccessible villages from across the

country got this golden opportunity under the Adarsh Gram Yojna, launched by Prime Minister Narendra

Modi. “We are from a small village and cannot provide many facilities to our students. Through this

festival, our children will gain practical knowledge regarding science theories that they have studied in

classroom,”said Priyanka Badone, teacher, Saraswati Vidhya Mandir, Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh.

The festival organisers will also attempt to create a Guinness World Record for the most number of

students dressed as Nobel laureaute Dr Albert Einstein at the same venue. As many as 600 students will

dress up like Einstein on December 9, the third day of the festival. The objective of the event is to celebrate

Einstein’s inventions and theories and to make students aware of his contributions. Earlier, the Black Pine

Circle School in the US had made the record, with 319 of its students dressed as Einstein. The festival has

provided students with an elaborate platform for scientific interaction, to improve their understanding of

Science, knowledge and temperament.

Courtesy: www.dnaindia.com

December, 2016

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SIF-Kuwait successfully conducts second Kuwait Children’s Science Congress

The second Kuwait Children’s Science Congress (KCSC), organized by Science International Forum (SIF) -

Kuwait in association with The Times Kuwait and Mughal Mahal, on 18 November at the Smart Indian School

was a resounding success. Student teams from different Indian schools in Kuwait competed with each other,

and proudly showcased their inventive and unique scientific projects, to a large crowd of parents, teachers and

well-wishers.

The annual Science Congress provides children of 10 to 17 years of age a rare opportunity to showcase

their scientific knowledge and aptitude through exhibiting science projects they create from scratch. Students

form five-member teams to undertake a project based on an assigned theme, which this year was on 'Science,

Technology and Innovation for Sustainable development'. The teams had to present a solution to overcome the

specific challenges presented by their chosen project.

This year's KCSC saw the participation of around 150 enthusiastic young scientists from all the major

Indian schools in Kuwait. They were divided into two categories, Seniors and Juniors, with a total of 15 senior

and 17 junior teams taking part in the competitions. A distinguished panel of judges, which included scientists

from Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, judged the competitions. The judging panel included

Dr. Narayana R. Bhat, Dr. S Neelamani, Dr. Mohan Rana, Dr. K Ravindranath, Dr. Krishnakumar Sukumaran,

Dr. Vinoba Mari, Dr. Jayasree Chakkamalayath and Dr. Sreekanth K. J.

The day's events began in the schools' auditorium with an inauguration ceremony where a ceremonial

lamp was lit by a distinguished group that included leading scientists and special invitees. The exhibition stalls

were arranged around the school quadrangle. Crowds of enthusiastic spectators were at each stall viewing the

projects on display and listening to the explanations provided by the eager young students.

The panel of judges then toured each of the stalls and quizzed the students about the finer details of

their projects. Following their interaction with the students, the judges expressed their appreciation on the

novelty of the exhibits and the enthusiasm and efforts of the students. At the end of the day, four teams, two

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from the senior and junior categories, walked

away with the top honors and were graded

with A+ ranking. This high ranking qualified

the winning teams to participate in this year's

All India National Championships. The

winning teams of this year's KCSC were Indi-

an Educational School (Bhavans) and Indian

Learners Own Academy in both Senior and

Junior categories.

On the sidelines of the prestigious

exhibition were three spot competitions in

which several hundred students participated.

The competitions were arranged in three

groups: Sub-Juniors (Classes 5, 6 and 7), Juniors (Classes 8, 9 and 10) and Seniors (Classes 11 and 12). In the

first competition, the ‘Sci-Fie’ contest, competitors had to observe their surroundings to find some exciting

scientific fact and capture it via a ‘selfie’ on a mobile camera. They then had to take a print out of the picture

and write a description about the science behind their observation, before submitting at the event. The ‘Art of

Science’ contest, is a pencil-drawing competition where the contestants are required to draw an image on the

theme ‘Rising India – Science and Technology’. In the third spot competition, titled ‘Math Genius, students

were tested on their mathematical analytical and logical skills.

Adding to this, SIF-Kuwait also held the IGNITE Science Writing Award Ceremony, which awarded

winners of IGNITE Science Writing Contest 2016. Introduced in 2015 as a tribute to late APJ Abdul Kalam,

the IGNITE Science Writing Contest offered participants complete freedom to travel through their

imagination, exploring endless possibilities of Science. The theme for this year’s contest was ‘Transformation

using Technology.’ The contest witnessed the participation of several hundred participants from Sub Junior

(class 5,6,7), Junior (class 8,9,10), Senior (class 11,12), and Adult (Age 18 and above) categories.

Courtesy: www.thetimeskuwait.com

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M.G.K. Menon: A statesman scientist

With the passing of Professor Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon, India has lost a true statesman

of science. M.G.K. Menon, born in Mangalore on August 28, 1928, became a star in the firmament of Indian

science. He enjoyed a pan-India grounding early on. His primary

schooling was at Kurnool and Cuddalore. His family moved later to Jodhpur. An

awe-inspiring experience he had of meeting Sir C.V. Raman as a teenager was

fondly recalled by Menon. He obtained his matriculation degree from Punjab

University, a Bachelor’s degree from Agra University and a Master’s degree in

physics from the Royal Institute of Science in Bombay. He obtained his PhD

from Bristol University, working with Cecil Powell on particle physics. By 21,

Menon started his pioneering study of elementary particles. By 1951, he had

already made fundamental contributions to the field by studying the decay of

charged K particles into pions; he then obtained his PhD in 1953.

In 1955, Menon joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). He, with Dr B.V.

Sreekantan and others, recorded the first ever interaction of a cosmic ray neutrino generating a muon; this

seeded the growth of neutrino physics the world over. TIFR’s founder Homi Bhabha detected Menon’s

leadership qualities. In January 1966, Bhabha passed away in an air crash. Soon after, Menon was

appointed the director of TIFR. In 1970, he was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society for his

contribution to particle physics and the study of cosmic rays. The Kolar Gold Field experiment, performed by

a large international team of scientists during his directorship at TIFR, led to the observation of proton decay

and the setting of limits for the stability of matter known at that time. Meanwhile, from 1971-82, Menon also

held the charge of secretary to the government of India. In addition, he became chairman of ISRO.

Through the 1980s, Menon worked as the chairman of the scientific advisory committee to the cabinet,

scientific adviser to the prime minister, member, planning commission and minister of state for science and

technology from 1989-1990. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha during 1990-96. He served several

roles with a single purpose - shaping Indian science for nation-building. He brought the tools of science to

governance and the rigor of governance to bear fruit for Indian science. He became president of all three

science academies in India, a founder fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, general president of the

Indian Science Congress Association and a key member of the global citizenry of science. For his

achievements, he was awarded the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Among his several contributions, one that stands out is how consensus was built among diverse

intellectuals on the protection of a fragile ecosystem in the Silent Valley forest in Kerala. This was a true

lesson in statesmanship and objectivity. Menon’s personality combined sharp intellect with administrative

acumen, empathy with originality, and determined nation-building with statesmanship.

We pay homage to a true academic, a renowned scientist, a great leader and a wonderful human being.

Menon is to be saluted for contributing to world science and nation-building.

Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com

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Akshay Venkatesh awarded Infosys Prize in Mathematical Sciences

From winning international mathematics and physics competitions by age 12

to his current work on number theory at Stanford, AKSHAY VENKATESH has

long stood out as a brilliant mathematician. In recognition of his many and varied

achievements, Venkatesh, a professor of mathematics, is the 2016 recipient of the

Infosys Prize in Mathematics, which is awarded by the Infosys Science Foundation.

Venkatesh’s interests are impressively wide-ranging and include study of

number theory, automorphic forms, topology, ergodic theory and representation theory. The award

announcement commends his work as creative and foundational, describing it as “characterized by

unexpected guiding heuristic ideas which are then brought to fruition with dazzling technical virtuosity.”

The Infosys Prize is given annually to outstanding Indian scientists and researchers in the areas of

Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences

and Social Sciences. The goal of the award is to encourage the spread of science in India, particularly among

young people. This year, the foundation received more than 250 nominations.

The chair of the jury that selected Venkatesh was Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan, a National Medal of

Science honoree and professor of mathematics at New York University. In the award announcement,

Varadhan said of Venkatesh’s research, “His work weaves together, in a surprising way, threads from many

different fields, creating a wonderful fabric. It is really what mathematics is all about, unexpected beautiful

connections between different areas.” The Infosys Prize award ceremony will be held Jan. 7, 2017, in

Bangalore, India.

Courtesy: www.news.stanford.edu

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CERN Membership Promises India Larger Say in International Science Policy Decisions

On November 21, India officially joined

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear

Research, one of the premier scientific research

bodies in the world. CERN hosts the Large

Hadron Collider, where the Higgs Boson (or

‘God Particle’) was discovered. The agreement,

admitting India to CERN as an Associate

Member, was signed between the Director

General of CERN, Fabiola Gianotti, and the

Chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, Sekhar

Basu. “This is a historic day; a win-win situation,” the Hindustan Times quoted Gianotti as saying. “India has

been contributing in an important way by participating in experiments, and technology to build components.

The goal now is to expand collaboration in new technology and experiments, and increase opportunities to

train teachers and students,” she said.

At CERN, scientists from around the world explore some of the central questions facing the scientific

community about the fundamental nature of the universe. LHC was designed to simulate the conditions that

emerged in the wake of the Big Bang. India played a key role in the development of the machine and

participated in the experiments that ultimately led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012.

India has had observer status at CERN since 2002. But the elevation to Associate Member comes at a

cost. The country will have to pay about Rs. 77.7 crore annually towards the operating costs of

CERN’s programmes.

Last year, India submitted a Letter of

Intent and officially applied to become an

associate member. Subsequently,

this application was put to vote and after

getting approval a task force was sent to In-

dia to assess if the criteria for membership

were met. India’s associate membership will

be up for review every five years; it also

has the option of applying to be-

come a full member after two years. Full

membership will grant India the right to

vote, a privilege not accorded to Associate Members.

“It’s a momentous day for Indian science,” Sandip Trivedi, Director of the Tata Institute of Funda-

mental Research, told Hindustan Times. TIFR scientists have been part of CERN experiments since the

1970s. “A new era has begun,” Trivedi said.

Courtesy: www.thebetterindia.com

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India begins to drill into the Antarctic ice

An Indo-Norwegian project to understand the response of Antarctic ice shelves to the global warming

has begun in the less-studied areas of East Antarctica, especially the Dronning Maud Land (DML), which is

characterised by loosely-connected ice shelves along the 2000-km-long coast. Ice shelves of East Antarctica

are poorly understood when compared to the West Antarctica region.

Climatologists are increasingly worried about the large uncertainties in the future Antarctic

contribution to the global sea-level rise since the Antarctic contribution to the climate changes has increased

significantly during the past two decades.

“Under the project, mass-balance, dynamics, and climate of the Dronning Maud Land coast, East

Antarctica (MADICE), geophysical field measurements, ice core drilling, ice-sheet modelling and satellite

remote sensing-based studies will be conducted to understand the future Antarctic contribution to the global

sea-level rise,” said Thamban Meloth, a senior researcher of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean

Research (NCAOR), Goa, and one of the co-leaders of the team for 2016-17 field campaign.

The scientific programme, jointly funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India and the Research

Council, Norway, has NCAOR and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) as the partnering research institutions.

The Indian contingent includes C. M. Laluraj, K. Mahalinganathan, Bhanu Pratap, Prashant Redkar of the

NCAOR.

The researchers will try to better understand the current status and dynamics of ice shelves in

Dronning Maud Land to decipher its response to the future climate change, said a communication. Studies on

the mass balance and long-term evolution of the Antarctic ice rises (grounded ice mass leading to an elevated

part of the ice shelf) and assessment of its impact on the Antarctic ice-shelf stability and ice-sheet loss too will

be carried out. Attempts will also be made to reconstruct the recent changes in Antarctic climate using ice

cores and its possible teleconnections to global climate.

Each field campaign will

include over-snow traverse and

camping over ice shelves for nearly two

months. Maitri, India’s Antarctic research

station, will serve as the logistic support

base, explained Mr. Meloth. According to

Dr. Meloth, since the exploration region is

highly crevasse-prone and has never been

studied before, the team would use

crevasse detecting radar system at

hazardous spots.

courtesy: www.thehindu.com

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Scientists Sanjeev Dhurandhar, Sriram Ramaswamy receive HK Firodia Awards

Two scientists received the 21st HK Firodia Awards 2016 for Excellence in Science and Technology

at Balgandharva Rangmandir. The

Vigyan Bhushan award was given to

Sanjeev Dhurandar for his

three-decade long work in exploring

gravitational waves, which American

scientist Albert Einstein proposed in

his General Theory of Relativity.

Dhurandar’s work had proved

their existence earlier this year.

Dhurandhar had led the solo Indian

group at the Laser Interferometer

Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) — the detector which was used to discover gravitational waves. The

Vigyan Ratna award was given to current Director of Tata Institute of Fundamental research Sriram

Rajagopal Ramaswamy for his work in the subject of active matter, a branch of theoretical physics.

Ramaswamy said, “The secret to this study is not to get into too many details or formulae, but look at

how living matter moves in flocks and organises itself. We are just having fun with this right now.” The event

was opened with felicitations by Arun Firodia, Chairman of Kinetic Group, to various dignitaries like Dr K H

Sancheti, Founder of Sancheti Hospital and author Amitav Malik, among others.

“Where does India stand in science and technology?” said Firodia. “I have often been asked whether

India should become the factory to the world like China, but I think our destiny really lies in the services

sector. R&D can be our service sector. But in order to improve in R&D, we need to remove our fascination of

imitation and instill a practice to question established practices,” he added.

The function also saw five college students get awarded for

winning an online science quiz, which was started by the

HK Firodia Foundation last year. Among the winners, college

student Amruta Nayak was specially congratulated for completing

the 30-minute quiz in 10 minutes 43 seconds.

The chief guest of the award function was Deepak Parekh,

chairman of HDFC, who concluded the evening by congratulating

the panel, the awardees and lauding the efforts of the Firodia family.

Courtesy: www.indanexpress.com

Hello Kiddies, Here is your Answers!!!

1. Hydrogen & Oxygen

2. 7

3. Marina Trench

4. False—it floats

5. The Nile River

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It's official: Your Periodic Table is now obsolete: 4 new elements have finally earned their spot.

Get ready to ring in 2017 with a brand new Periodic Table, because four more elements have officially

been added to the seventh row: nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts), and oganesson (Og). We’ve

been hearing about these four new elements since January, but the International Union of Pure and Applied

Chemistry (IUPAC) has finally announced that the names have been officially approved, so we’ve got the go-

ahead to tear down all our posters and find some new ones.

"Following a five-month period of public review, the names earlier proposed by the discoverers have been ap-

proved by the IUPAC Bureau," the organization announced.

"Keeping with tradition, the newly discovered elements have been named after a place or geographical region,

or a scientist," they added.

"The ending of the names also reflects and maintains historical and chemical consistency: '-ium' for elements

113 and 115 and as for all new elements of groups 1 to 16, ‘-ine' for element 117 and belonging to group 17

and '-on' for element 118 element belonging to group 18."

The following names and symbols are now officially assigned:

•Nihonium and symbol Nh, for the element 113,

•Moscovium and symbol Mc, for the element 115,

•Tennessine and symbol Ts, for the element 117, and

•Oganesson and symbol Og, for the element 118.

In case this is all coming as a bit of a shock to you, back in January, it was announced that the IUPAC had

officially confirmed that four new elements had been discovered. At the time, they were known simply as 113,

115, 117, and 118, and were assigned temporary names and symbols: ununtrium (Uut), ununpentium (Uup),

ununseptium (Uus), and ununoctium (Uuo).

The teams of Russian, American, and Japanese researchers behind the four new element discoveries

were then tasked with naming their respective finds, and in June, their suggestions were officially submitted for

review. Now that those names have been approved according to the IUPAC’s stipulations, the final step has

been completed for the transition into an updated Periodic Table.

To get to know our four new friends a little better Nihonium is derived from "Nihon", a Japanese word

for Japan, Moscovium honours the Russian capital city, Moscow, Tennessine is named after the state of

Tennessee, known for its pioneering research in chemistry, and it marks the second US state to be honoured on

the periodic table. The first was California, referenced by californium (element 98), Oganesson is named after

83-year-old Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian, and this is only the second time a new element has been

named for a living scientist.

If you’re looking to update your bedroom wall, classroom, or shower screen, there’s a great collection

of new Periodic Tables to download and print over at Science Notes.

Courtesy: www.sciencealert.com

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"Progress is made by trial and fail-

ure; the failures are generally a

hundred times more numerous

than the successes; yet they are

usually left unchronicled."

William Ramsay

Chemist

Discover

VOLUME 03

ISSUE 08 DEC, 2016

Compiled & Edited By

Prasanth Nair

Reshmy Krishnakumar

Science International Forum, Kuwait

facebook.com/sifkuwait

For subscription mail to

discoveremagazine@gmail.com

Do You Know!!!

1. What is the human body’s biggest organ?

2. The innermost part of bones contains what?

3. An adult human body has over 500 bones, True or false?

4. How many lungs does the human body have?

5. Another name for your voice box is the?

You have time till next edition