The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : `Electrochemical science has an important role to play in nanotechnology'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 23, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Electrochemical science has an important role to play in nanotechnology'

Staff Reporter

Symposium on electrochemical science begins in Bangalore; awards presented to two scientists

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN PLACE: The Mascot National Award winner, D.D.N. Singh (second from right) and the N.N. Sampat Award winner, P. Veeramani (right), being greeted by B.S. Sheshadri (left), president of the Electrochemical Society of India, S. Sit aramu, Additional Director, CPRI, and K.N. Shankara, Director, ISRO, Satellite Centre, Bangalore at a symposium on Electrochemical Science and Technology in Bangalore on Friday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: "Several important applications in the field of space technology and every other branch of technology make use of electrochemical processes. The potential role of electrochemical science in the field of nanotechnology is pivotal," said K.N. Shankara, Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre.

He was speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day National Symposium on Electrochemical Science here on Friday.

"The annual awards instituted by the Electrochemical Society Of India (ECSI) to encourage scientists in this field are commendable," he added.

"The Electrochemical Society of India now has 123 members and 130 life members. And to encourage scientists working in the field of electrochemical science, the society has instituted two annual awards — the Mascot National Award and the N.M. Sampat Award.

We have decided to extend our activities and incorporate several other areas into the realm of our society," said B.S. Sheshadri, President of ECSI.

D.D.N. Singh, Applied Chemistry and Corrosion Division Scientist, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, was awarded the Mascot National Award for 2005 for his outstanding contributions to corrosion research and corrosion control. Born in Varanasi, he is a Ph.D holder in Corrosion Science and Engineering from Benaras Hindu University.

The N.M. Sampat Award for 2005 was given to P. Veeramani, Scientist, E-II Central Electrochemical Research Institute, CECRI, Karaikudi. Born in Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu, his field of specialisation is Electroplating and Electroforming.

Cross subsidy

"At present, we are generating about 1,06,000 MW of power. Of this, 70 per cent is generated from thermal plants. Though we have plenty of coal resources, the quality is not that good. More than 40 per cent of it has ash. What we pay to the electricity boards for the daily consumption of electricity units does not even meet the costs of buying coal. However, we have been able to survive because of the cross subsidies given to the power sector," said S. Sitaramu, Additional Director, Central Power Research Institute.

Engineering Economics and Energy Economics are essential to achieve self-sufficiency in the power sector especially in the developing countries.

Some of the barriers to achieve energy efficiency in our country are hidden costs, access to the capital resources, bonded rationality, he added.

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