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Tap renewable energy sources: MacDiarmid

By Our Staff Reporter

Dr. B. N. Suresh, VSSC Director (left) and Dr. K. N. Ninan, chairman, organising committee, presents a shawl to Prof. Alan G. MacDiarmid, Nobel laureate, who inaugurated the MACRO-2004, in the city on Tuesday. Photo: S. Mahinsha.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 14. Nobel laureate and polymer scientist, Alan G. MacDiarmid, has emphasised the need for concerted efforts in the area of renewable energy.

Inaugurating the `MACRO 2004,' an international conference on "Polymers for advanced technologies," organised by the Thiruvananthapuram chapter of the Society for Polymer Science India, at the University Senate hall this evening, he said energy is the most serious problem the world has now come to face.

There is a pressing need to search for new energy sources and also to exploit wind, solar and nuclear energy to the maximum extent possible, especially in view of the dismal picture projected for the future. It has been estimated that by 2050, the world population would have exceeded 10 billion. Sufficient energy to meet their requirements would not be available then.

Prof. MacDiarmid called upon all the nations to set apart at least a certain portion of their defence budgets to researches in the area of development of renewable energy sources. In the U.S., by way of cess levied on petroleum fuels, $ 10 billions could be raised annually, he pointed out. Referring to the scope of polymers in the modern day context, he said the volume of polymers used is greater than that of iron and steel. After the stone age and metal age, the world has now come to the polymer age.

However, there is immense potential to develop polymer science through a multi-disciplinary approach, he added.

B. N. Suresh, Director, VSSC, said the scope for using polymers in industrial and commercial sectors, especially in the area of aerospace technology, is phenomenal because of their light, strong and durable properties. He called for a more effective institution-industry interaction to further develop polymer science.

I. K. Verma, Emeritus Professor, IIT, Delhi and T. K. Chandrasekhar, Director, Regional Research Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram, spoke. Prof. MacDiarmid released a souvenir brought out in connection with the MACRO 2004.

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