Yearbook Report 2009-2010

“Chemistry is the bridge between the perceived world of substances and the imagined world of atoms.” --Peter Atkins

Chemistry is a subject that forms the basis of all life, a subject that surrounds us in our every breath. Celebrating the spirit of this subject, The Chemistry Meet ‘09 was organised by the Chemistry Society. The main feature of the meet was the series of informal interactive sessions of the students and teachers with eminent scientists of the country. The forum also included paper presentations by students of the various colleges and universities of Delhi. These students were chosen through a two round selection procedure i.e. both an Intra-college and Inter-college paper presentation competition which were conducted in October. There was also a poster presentation competition by the students along with the event and the best entries were rewarded.

The meet witnessed fabulous “homemade” research when Dr. Pushpito K. Ghosh, Director, Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, Gujarat elaborated his research concerning the manufacturing of salt using basic knowledge of chemical reactions of NaCl and physical aspects like buoyancy etc. titled “The Joy of Invention”. Prof V. S. Chauhan, Director International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, New Delhi gave a very inspiring talk on "Amazing Properties of Self Organizing Systems based on Small Molecules". The Closing Ceremony was graced by the presence of Prof.Samir Brahmachari, Secretary, DSIR and Director General, CSIR. He talked about the role of chemistry in the pursuit of advance research in life science and also the scope and challenge of eradicating killer diseases like tuberculosis which would go a long way in the improvement of health conditions, particularly for the poor. A big challenge ahead for innovative scientists!

The annual educational excursion saw an overwhelming participation this year. The students visited the Research and Development Centre of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. in Faridabad where they were shown the various processes involved in the manufacture of petrochemicals (and also interestingly, an eco-friendly park that was apparently fed with treated waste water). The students also enjoyed the informal discussion with Prof. S Sundar Manoharan from IIT Kanpur, who described his fascinating work on the wonders of Organic L.E.D’s and their applications in the fabrication of ultra thin digital cameras.

The events organised by the Society were significant not only because these were periods of valuable learning for the students and teachers but also because they provided a brilliant platform for the student to interact informally with some of the country’s greatest minds. They also became instrumental in igniting the fire of scientific passion and thrill amongst young minds. The message to students was think and think street smart; imbibe and initiate.

PRESIDENT
Krishna Sharma (2010-2011)

Executive Council Members 2010-2011