Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

‘Chemistry is a victim of its own success’

— Photo: K. Ganesan

NEW FRONTIER: P. Balaram, Director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, making a presentation in Madurai on Thursday.

MADURAI: Director of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, P. Balaram, on Thursday urged science students to show interest towards analytical chemistry because it had immense potential and could rival “IT guys” in terms of salary also.

“I want to tell the students that prospects for employment are good for analytical chemistry but, unfortunately, academia and industry do not recognise its potential,” he said.

Prof. Balaram was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day national symposium on ‘Frontier areas in chemistry’ organised by American College here as part of the golden jubilee of its Post Graduate and Research Department of Chemistry.

He expressed concern that chemistry was a victim of its own success and even in I.I.Sc., Bangalore, it was dominated by subjects such as biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology.

Making a slide presentation on chemistry/biology related issues, Prof. Balaram said students should know there was a little difference between biology and chemistry and what was enough was to know the details of chemical biology.

In his inaugural address, P. Maruthamuthu, Vice-Chancellor, Madurai Kamaraj University, lauded the pivotal role of the PG chemistry department of American College.

“The chemistry department of MKU was started from American College when the University of Madras first opened an extension centre in Madurai which subsequently became a university,” he said.

Principal T. Chinnaraj Joseph Jaikumar said the chemistry department had always been an inspiring department and certainly a jewel in the crown of the college.

Mathew John, Head, PG and Research Department of Chemistry, said experts from various organisations were participating in the symposium.

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