National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC)

������ ������ VishleshanVishleshan31st December, 2018Newsletter of the 26th National Children’s Science Congress

oung minds must make use of evolving technology to nd solutions to India's long list of complex problems

Yincluding climate change and energy needs, union minister for petroleum, natural gas, skill development and thentrepreneurship, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan told participants at the 26 National Children's Science Congress

(NCSC-2018).

India spends huge amount of money to pay its energy import bill as the country is the world's third largest consumer of energy. This could be addressed by nding alternatives to fossil fuel and hydrocarbon, Mr. Pradhan said during an hour-long interaction with child scientists attending the conference on the fourth day.

“India does not have much fossil fuel but has coal deposits which could be used to generate power. Coal, on the other hand, is the cause of much pollution which impacts the environment,” he said while challenging the delegates to nd the way.

If the country did not have to pay such huge energy import bills, the resources could have been utilized elsewhere for the benet of the country, Mr. Pradhan said adding efforts were on to nd solutions.

Recently, he said, the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum at Dehradun had developed jet fuel from waste which was successfully used to y an aircraft from Dehradun to New Delhi.

Children, who are attending the NCSC-2018, hold the key to the future and the country looks forward to them to nd solutions to its various energy problems, he said adding “my generation is waiting for you to come up with innovative ideas to nd solutions.”

Stating that the children of today shall have to handle the challenges India would face in the future, Mr. Pradhan said the country's energy consumption was expected to rise further in the future.

FIND SOLUTIONS TO NATION'S PROBLEMS, PRADHAN TELLS CHILD SCIENTISTS

FIND SOLUTIONS TO NATION'S PROBLEMS, PRADHAN TELLS CHILD SCIENTISTS

2

Vishleshan

The minister also urged the children to think about the fallout of climate change which could lead to the submergence of several island countries.

Referring to the employment scenario, he said around 2.4 crore children turn 15 every year of whom half go to school while the rest seek employment or remain jobless. By 2040, half of all jobs which exist in the market today would disappear but developing technology and digitalization would ll in the breach giving rise to more number of jobs.

“We don't have any idea as to what kind of jobs they would be,” Mr. Pradhan said adding “I don't know the future of job.”

The minister recalled India's plight in the past when food security was a burning problem. But this problem could be surmounted by agri-scientists who turned the country into a food exporter, he said.

Prof. Amit Banerjee, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, introduced the minister to the children.

The minister also felicitated the state coordinators and child scientists from different states and union territories.

hild scientists attending the NCSC-2014 were taken on a guided tour of four different places of interest in

C thBhubaneswar on the 4 day of the conference. They visited the Regional Museum of Natural History, the Regional Science Centre, 'Kalabhumi'- Odisha Crafts Museum and Museum of Tribal Arts and Artefacts. Some of the

children from ASEAN and Gulf countries visited the Sun Temple at Konark and the sea beach at Puri.

CHILD SCIENTISTS TAKEN ON GUIDED TOUR

3

Vishleshan

4

Vishleshan

NCSC-2018 IN PICTURES

Vishleshan

5

6

Vishleshan

6

7

Vishleshan

MEET

rof. Jogesh Chandra Pati is an internationally acclaimed physicist whose path-breaking contribution

Ptowards the theory of “Quark Lepton Unication” or “Grand Unication” threw up new fundamental ideas in theoretical physics.

Prof. Pati said his theory shed light on elusive properties of the feeblest and lightest known massive particles—the neutrinos—and the origin of matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe which was crucial to the origin of life and our own existence. His formulations, carried out in collaboration with Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan, are considered the cornerstone of modern particle physics today.

Hailing from Baripada town of Odisha, Prof. Pati earned his B.Sc. from Ravenshaw College, now a university, at Cuttack and did his M.Sc. from Delhi University before earning his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland in the physics department and worked at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally known as Standford Linear Accelerator Center in the US.

Prof. Pati was awarded the Dirac Medal for his contributions to the “Quest for Unication” in 2000 along with Howard Georgi and Helen Quinn. He was decorated with the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2013.

Great Scientists from Odisha:PROF. JOGESH CHANDRA PATI

THESCIENTIST

FIVE CHILDREN WALK AWAY WITH TOP PRIZE IN

‘MY COUNTRY QUIZ’‘MY COUNTRY QUIZ’thive child participants nished at the top in a 'My Country Quiz' conducted during the 26 National Children's

FScience Congress (NCSC-2018). They were presented with copies of “Freedom at Midnight”, authored by

Dominic Lapierre and Larry Collins, by Union minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development and thEntrepreneurship, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan on the 4 day of the conference. The winners, who had answered all

questions correctly are:

Nancy Singh Wesessweni Konwar Porty Mosi Angam Yabu Lucky Modi