The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : In schools, the scientific temper is alive and well

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

In schools, the scientific temper is alive and well

By Our Staff Reporter

Students at the regional-level CBSE-Intel Science Exhibition organised in SBOA School and Junior College in Anna Nagar on Monday. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI, AUG. 31. It may be true that only students of 20 of the 97 participating schools in the regional-level science exhibition organised by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Intel, which ended Tuesday, will get a chance to participate in the national-level exhibition to be held later this year.

But it will only be fair to say that all the students at the exhibition organised at the SBOA School and Junior College in Anna Nagar were winners in their own right.

The students, from CBSE schools in the southern states, responded with enthusiasm and innovative ideas for the exhibition, themed "Science and technology in the changing world." They had come up with solutions for a range of problems in daily life: from energy-saving devices to effective waste management to ultra-modern lifestyles in the IT era.

Students of Nav Bharath Public School from Kothagudam in Kammam district of Andhra Pradesh came up with a captive-powered Persian wheel (usually used to irrigate fields with bullocks or camels turning the wheel, which in turn pumps water to the fields.) Their innovation: water being forced into the field could move a turbine, which in turn could generate electricity. This power can even sustain the Persian wheel. Of course, to start the wheel the system will require some energy. B.S. Vikas, B. Nitish and K. Murali of Nav Bharat said their project could help save a lot of the cross-subsidised power given to farmers.

Future technology

Several students put to good use their computer and electronic circuit-making skills. Athith Rao and M. Manoj of Little Rock Indian School in Udipi, Karnataka came up with a "global village" and their vision of an intelligent house. Connected by laser devices and photo-sensitive circuits, a miniature model detailed the ideal solution for modern day homes: lights switch on when a person enters a room; the motor switches off when water overflows; and a burglar alarm goes off when the door is tampered with.

Students came up with innovative solutions for waste treatment. Several schools exhibited vermi-composting techniques. Students of Sri Krishna Vidya Vihar had a miniature cattle shed model, incorporating a biogas plant for energy self-sufficiency.

Among Chennai schools, genetic engineering seemed to be the most popular topic. Students of P.S. Senior Secondary School, SBOA and St. John's Senior Secondary School all exhibited various facets of gene technology. Students of La Chatelaine Residential School in Alwarthirunagar had an interesting take on desalination technology, touted officially as a solution for Chennai's water crisis.

V. Nithyanandam and M. Hariharan of the school suggested that solar energy could be used to convert seawater into steam, which in turn could be used for power generation and also separation of salt from water. Apart from producing pure water, the plant would also have spin-offs in the form of edible salt and energy.

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