SOA organises 5-day FDP in collaboration with IGCAR on materials

Bhubaneswar, September 24: More than 130 faculty members and researchers from different parts of the country attended a five-day virtual Faculty Development Program (FDP) on ‘Advances in instrumental techniques for identification and characterization of materials’ held at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) which concluded on Friday. Faculty members in colleges, institutes and universities belonging to disciplines of Chemistry, Physics, Material Science, Pharmacy, Biotechnology and Engineering participated in the program which was jointly organised by Department of Chemistry of Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), SOA’s faculty of engineering and technology, in collaboration with Society for Advancement of Chemical Sciences and Education, Radiochemistry Laboratory, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalapakkam.  “The program was designed to introduce the faculties as well as students to the world of cutting-edge instruments which enabled new discoveries and help in expanding knowledge,” Dr. Sujata Mishra, Head of Department of Chemistry and Convenor of the FDP, said. Material characterization formed the basis for understanding the composition of a material, its molecular structure relating the structure to material properties, performance and its use for different applications, she said. Prof. C.V.S. Brahmananda Rao, Dean (Academic) of Chemical Sciences at Homi Bhaba National Institute (IGCAR), who was the chief guest at the inaugural function, emphasized the need for research and innovation in the universities while highlighting the activities at the Radiochemistry Laboratory at IGCAR and achievements relating to nuclear technology and nuclear fuel cycle using a wide range of analytical techniques. Prof. P.K. Nanda, Pro-Vice Chancellor of SOA, said the FDP would be of great value to professionals in varied fields in order to meet the emerging challenges in different sectors. He also outlined the various research activities presently being taken up at SOA. The inaugural lecture was delivered by Dr. S. Vijaylakshmi, Head, Analytical Chemistry Section, Materials Chemistry and Metal Fuel Cycle Group, IGCAR while Dr. P.G.R.Achary, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Co-convenor of the FDP and Dr. Sanghmitra Pradhan, Assistant Professor in the same department, also addressed the participants.