Kerala Science Congress is an annual gathering of Kerala-based scientists and scholars organised by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) for revitalizing Research and Development activities in Kerala and to identify new talents in scientific research in Kerala. KSCSTE is an autonomous body constituted by the Government of Kerala. The gathering features talks by invited scientists, presentations of research papers and awards of various prizes.[1]
The first Congress was held 26–28 February 1989 in Cochin University of Science and Technology with the focal theme "natural resources and industrial development of Kerala."[2] The 29th Congress held in Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla during 28–30 January 2017. The focal theme is Genomics in Health and Disease. The special theme "Ecology and Environment". The 30th Science Congress held in Brennan College,Thalasseri during 28–30 January 2018.
History
The silver jubilee edition of the Kerala Science Congress was held in Thiruvananthapuram, during 29 January - 2 February 2013. A highlight of the event was a special session on science education in Malayalam jointly organized by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University. A draft of the Kerala Science Policy, formulated on the lines of National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, was unveiled by Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala, during the silver jubilee edition of the Kerala Science Congress.[3]
The 26th edition of the event was held during 28 − 31 January 2014 at Kalpetta in Wayanad District in Kerala with the special theme "traditional knowledge."[4][5] It was opened on 28 January 2014, by State Chief Minister, at the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University campus, Pookode near Kalpetta. The four-day congress was held at six venues on the university campus, and was attended by around 1,850 delegates from across India.[6]
The Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy inaugurated the 27th Kerala Science Congress organised by the Kerala State Council for Science,Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) in Alappuzha on 27 January 2015.[7] The focal theme of the 27th Kerala Science Congress was "Traditional Industries". The three-day conference was chaired by India’s "Agni Puthri" Dr. Tessy Thomas. A special session on ‘Traditional Industries’ was held to evolve strategies for reviving the traditional industrial sector in Kerala. About 980 delegates had registered for the event.[8]
28th Kerala Science Congress
The 28th Kerala Science Congress was held in Calicut university campus during 28–30 January 2016. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the congress which presided by Shri. K N A Khader MLA. Eminent Scientist Prof M S Swaminathan was the Chairman of 28th Kerala Science Congress. Dr. Suresh Das, was president of the Kerala Science Congress Dr. P. Harinarayanan, Senior Scientist KSCSTE was General Convenor. CWRDM hosted the 28th KSC at Calicut University campus and Dr Narasimha Prasad Director CWRDM was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee. Dr Sammer Bramachari former Director General CSIR, Prof Ajit K Kembhavi, Dr Anil Kakodkar, prof Santanu Bhattachraya, Prof Prabhat Rajan, Dr Savithri Preetha Nair, Dr R D Singh, Prof Eldho T I, Dr Jose Kallarachal, Prof. GSLHV Prasad Rao, Dr E J Joseph, Dr. CTS Nair, Prof K V Peter, Dr. P S Easa, Dr N. Sasidharan, Prof. K P. Gopinathan, Dr Sunil K Narayan, Dr K K Ramachandran were key speakers. around 1500 delegates including child scientists participated in the three day event. The focal of the 28th Edition of KSC was Climate Change and its impact on water resource of Kerala. Special Theme sessions - Malabar summit focussing on the Biodiversity and Spices of Malabar, Assistive technology for the differently abled and International Year of pulses. 302 papers out of 367 papers selected were presented during the technical session.
six memorial lectures were held to commemorate S&T visionaries during the Science Congress. Dr. P. K.Iyengar memorial lecture by Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy. Dr P. R. Pisharoty Memorial Lecture - Prof. Ajit K Kembhavi, former director and Distinguished Professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Pune. Dr Janaki Ammal Memorial lecture by Dr Savithri Preetha Nair - Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Contemporary Studies, Indian Institute for science, Bangalore, P K Gopalakrishnan Memorial Lecture by Dr Prabhat Ranjan, Executive Director, TIFAC, DST and Dr G N Ramachandran Memorial Lecture by Professor Samir K Brahmachari, Former Director General Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India.
PG students interactive session with eminent scientists, Children's Science Congress, National Science exhibition and special session on Science of Aging were other activities during the three day event of 28th KSC.
29th Kerala Science Congress
The 29th session of Kerala Science Congress was held at MarThoma College, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta, Kerala from 28 to 30 January 2017. The event was inaugurated by the Hon. Chief Minister and president of the KSCSTE, Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan on 28 January 2017 at 10.00 am. The inaugural session was presided by Shri. Matheew T. Thomas, Hon’ble Minister for Water Resources, Govt of Kerala. Bharat Ratna Dr.C.N.R. Rao, delivered the Keynote address.Shri. Anto Antony, Member of Parliament, Dr. K. P. Gopinathan, chairman, 29th Science Congress,Dr. S. Pradeep Kumar, Member Secretary, KSCSTE and Dr k. Vijaykumar, general convenor 29th KSC spoke during the inaugural session. The focal theme of this science congress session was "Genomics in Health & Disease.". Dr.Partha P. Majumder, director, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Dr. K. Thankaraj, Senior Principal Scientist, CCMB, Hyderabad were the speakers in this session. A special theme session on "Ecology & Environment" was oragisned. Dr. M. K. Prasad, Prof. Madhav Gadgil, Prof. Raghavendra Gadagkar, Prof. R. Sukumar were the key speakers in the session. Memorial Lectures on Dr. P. R. Pisharoty was delivered by Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary MoES, Dr. E. K. Janakiammal by Dr. Ramesh V. Sonti, Chief Scientist, CCMB, Hyderabad, Dr. G. N. Ramachandran by Dr. T. P. Singh, professor, AIIMS, New Delhi and Dr. P. K. Iyengar by Dr. Milan K. Sanyal, former director, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics.
432 papers were presented under 12 streams during the congress. PG students interactive session, Children's Science Congress and National Science exhibition were other highlights of 29th KSC.
30th Kerala Science Congress
The 30th session was held at Government Brennen College, Thalassery, Kannur from 28 to 30 January 2018 and inaugurated by Chief Minister Shri. Pinaray Vijayan in a programme presided by Dr.Suresh Das, Executive Vice President, KSCSTE. Dr. A. S. Kiran Kumar, former chairman, ISRO,delivered the Keynote address. Focal theme was "Viruses and Infectious Diseases. "Dr, T. J. John, CMC, Vellore; Dr. S. Vijaya, professor, IISc., Bangalore and Dr. Anmol Chandele, Group Leader, ICGEB-EMORY Vaccine Program ICGEB, New Delhi were the speakers in this session.
Memorial lectures to honour the S&T visionaries and to cherish their contributions were presented during this Science Congress session. Dr. G. N. Ramachandran Memorial Lecture was delivered by Dr. Manju Banzal, Dr. E. K. Janakiammal Lecture by Dr. Paramjit Singh, Shri. P. T. Bhaskara Panicker lecture by Prof. R. V. G. Menon, and Dr. P. K Gopalakrishnan Lecture by Shri. S. M. Vijayanand. 424 papers were presented during the congress under 12 subjects areas. PG students interactive session, Children's Science Congress and National Science exhibition were other highlights of 30th KSC.
Overview
Dr T Ramaswamy, former secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India lighting the lamp during the inaugural session of 27th Kerala Science Congress
During the Congress carefully selected young researchers are conferred the Kerala State Young Scientist Award for research excellence in various disciplines like mathematical sciences, health sciences, agricultural sciences and forestry, etc. Each awardee is presented with a medal, a certificate with citation, a cash prize of Rs.50,000, a startup research grant, and travel support for a trip abroad to present the research work at a conference. A maximum of 14 awards are conferred every year. The awards are given to young researchers of Indian origin with Ph.D working in Kerala for the last three years. The awardees will make a 15-minute presentation of their award-winning work at the plenary session of the Kerala Science Congress.
During the 26th meeting of the Congress the Award was presented to only three persons, namely, Ravi Shankar L (Scientist, Agroprocessing and Natural Products Division NIIST, CSIR, Pappanamcode, Thiruvananthapuram), Mahesh Hariharan (Assistant Professor, School of Chemistry, IISER, Thiruvananthapuram) and Vineeth Chandrasekharan Nair (Scientist SD, Space Physics Laboratory, VSSC, ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram).[9] During 27th Congress eight young scientists from different branches of science have been presented the Young Scientist Award for the year 2014. The awardees include Utpal Manna, School of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram; Rajeev N. Kini, School of Physics, IISER; Reji Varghese, School of Chemistry, IISER; K.N. Uma, Space Physics Laboratory, VSSC; N. Selvaraju, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut; Santhoshkumar K.S., Polymers and Special Chemicals Division, VSSC; Binod Parameswaran, Biotechnology Division, CSIR- NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram; and Vandana Sankar, Agro-processing and Natural Products Division, CSIR-NIIST.[10]
A special session called Children's Science Congress used to be held as part of the deliberations of Kerala Science Congress to promote children's endeavors in science. Awards are also presented for authors of best research papers. There are memorial lectures in honour of P.K. Iyengar, nuclear physicist, G.N. Ramachandran, physicist, E.K. Janaki Ammal, botanist, P.T. Bhaskara Panicker, social activist and writer, P.K. Gopalakrishnan, sociologist and economist, and P.R. Pisharoty, physicist and meteorologist.
Related Research Articles
The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) is a multidisciplinary research institute located at Jakkur, Bangalore, India. JNCASR was established by the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India as a centre for advanced scientific research in India, to mark the birth centenary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. In 2019, JNCASR was ranked #7 among the world's top ten research institutes and universities by Nature journal in a normalised ranking of research institutes and universities with high quality output.
The Kerala Library Association (KLA) was founded in 1972 by a group of librarians who strongly felt the need for an independent professional association at the state level to promote the cause of library development, professional standards of librarians, entirely dedicated for libraries and librarians. The Headquarters of the association is at Thiruvananthapuram. Prof. K. A. Isaac was the patron of the association.
University College, Thiruvananthapuram, abbreviated as UCT, is a constituent college of the University of Kerala, based primarily in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. The college, is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education in India.
Manchanahalli Rangaswamy Satyanarayana Rao was an Indian scientist. He was awarded the fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, for Science and Engineering in 2010. From 2003 to 2013 he was president of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bangalore, India.
Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) is an autonomous body constituted by the Government of Kerala in November 2002 to encourage and promote science and technology-related activities in Kerala State. Prior to the establishment of KSCSTE, the body responsible for carrying out similar work was the State Committee for Science, Technology and Environment (STEC) established in 1972. KSCSTE was formed by restructuring STEC in concurrence with the Science Policy of Government of India.
Eluvathingal Devassy Jemmis is a professor of theoretical chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He was the founding director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram (IISER-TVM). His primary area of research is applied theoretical chemistry with emphasis on structure, bonding and reactivity, across the periodic table of the elements. Apart from many of his contributions to applied theoretical chemistry, an equivalent of the structural chemistry of carbon, as exemplified by the Huckel 4n+2 Rule, benzenoid aromatics and graphite, and tetrahedral carbon and diamond, is brought in the structural chemistry of boron by the Jemmis mno rules which relates polyhedral and macropolyhedral boranes to allotropes of boron and boron-rich solids. He has been awarded Padma Shri in Science and Engineering category by the Government of India.
Ayyappanpillai Ajayaghosh is a research scientist/academician in the domain of interdisciplinary chemistry, and the former Director of the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology. He is known for his studies on supramolecular assemblies, organogels, photoresponsive materials, chemosensory and security materials systems and is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences as well as The World Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Chemical Sciences in 2007. He is the first chemist to receive the Infosys Science Prize for physical sciences, awarded by the Infosys Science Foundation. He received the TWAS Prize of The World Academy of Sciences in 2013 and the Goyal prize in 2019.
Tumkur Seetharamaiah Prahlad is an Indian aerospace scientist and the former director of the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, known as a specialist in Aerodynamics and Aerospace Design. His contributions are reported in Indian civil aircraft development programmes of Hansa and NAL Saras and light combat aircraft development programme. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004, The same year, he received the H. K. Firodia Award from H. K. Firodia Memorial Foundation.
Vishweshwaraiah Prakash is an Indian structural biologist, food technologist and a former director-general designate of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He is a former director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore and was involved with the International Union of Food Science and Technology as the chairman of its International Academy during 2008-10. He received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology category in 1996. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004,
Swaminathan Sivaram is an Indian polymer chemist, inventor, institution builder and a former director of the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He is known for his pioneering work on alkylation of tertiary alkyl halides with trialkylaluminum and olefin polymerization and holds the highest number of US patents by an Indian working outside the US. He is a fellow of several significant professional organizations. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian science.
Sudhir Kumar Sopory is an Indian educationist, plant physiologist, scientist and former vice chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is known to be the first to purify a protein kinase C activity from plants and is credited with the identification of topoisomerase as a substrate of protein kinase C. He is an elected Fellow of several major Indian science academies and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and is a recipient of many honours, including the 1987 Shanti Swarup Bhatangar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology categories. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his contributions to science and technology.
Gangan Prathap is an Indian scientist/engineer specialising in structural mechanics, composite material, finite elements and information science. After his graduation in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Madras, he was with National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, for about twenty years serving the laboratory as scientist at several levels. In April 2000, he took over as Scientist-in-Charge, CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation and held that position till January 2008. He had also served as the Vice-Chancellor, Cochin University of Science and Technology, for a short period from February 2008 to February 2009. After leaving CUSAT, Prathap took charge as director of National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), and continued in that position till his retirement on superannuation from government service. Since August 2013, he has held the position of Outstanding Scientist at National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram. He is also an Honorary Professor of A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University.
Narayana Balakrishnan Nair (1927–2010) was a marine biologist, ecologist and the founder president of Kerala Science Congress. He was known for his advocacy of trawling ban during monsoon seasons which was later accepted and imposed by the Government of Kerala. A Jawaharlal Nehru fellow, Nair was an elected fellow of all the major Indian science academies as well as the Zoological Society of London. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1971, for his contributions to biological sciences. He received the fourth highest Indian civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 1984.
Kakkudiyil George Thomas is an Indian photochemist, nanomaterial scientist and a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram. He is known for his studies on photoresponsive nanomaterials and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2006, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Erode Subramanian Raja Gopal was an Indian condensed matter physicist, a former professor at the Indian Institute of Science and a former director of the National Physical Laboratory of India. Known for his research in condensed matter physics, Raja Gopal was an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies – the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academy of Sciences, India, and the Indian Academy of Sciences – as well as a member of the Institute of Physics. He was a former CSIR emeritus scientist, an alumnus of the University of Oxford and the author of three reference texts in condensed matter physics. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Physical Sciences in 1978.
Muthusamy Lakshmanan is an Indian theoretical physicist currently working as Professor of Eminence at the Department of Nonlinear Dynamics of Bharathidasan University. Presently he is the DST-SERB National Science Chair awarded by the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology. He has held several research fellowships which included Raja Ramanna fellowship of the Department of Atomic Energy, Alexander von Humboldt fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellowship, Royal Society Nuffield Foundation fellowship, and NASI-Senior Scientist Platinum Jubilee Fellowship. In the year 2021, on August 15, he was conferred with the Dr. A. P. J Abdul Kalam Award by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Under his chairmanship, ISRO carried out the third Indian lunar exploration mission named Chandrayaan-3. The lander named Vikram and the rover named Pragyan landed near the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 18:04 IST, making India the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon. This landing gained India a proud history.
Vannadil Puthiyaveettil "V. P." Balagangadharan is a space scientist, author, and speaker from India, known for his contributions to propellant research, technology transfer, and science communication. He has worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation for over four decades in various roles.
Krishnarajanagar Nagappa Ganesh is an Indian bio-organic chemist and served as the (founding) director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati since 2017 till 2023. He is also the founding director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, that was established in 2006 and served the office till 2017. He is a recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in chemical sciences (1998) for "his outstanding contribution towards the understanding of the chemical principles of DNA molecular recognition and for his work on various facets of DNA structure and its interaction with drugs and proteins". He is also a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy since 2000.
↑ N. Balakrishnan Nair (1989). Proceedings of the First Kerala Science Congress, 26-28 February 1989, Cochin. Cochin: State Committee on Science, Technology, and Environment, Kerala, India.
↑ V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai Executive Vice President, KSCSTE. "Press Release"(PDF). KSCSTE. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
