The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Nanotechnology making rapid strides’

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Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
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Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Nanotechnology making rapid strides’

Staff Reporter

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Scientific meet: Renowned scientist C.N.R. Rao (right), principal of Seshadripuram First Grade College M. Prakash (centre) and Principal Secretary (Biotechnology) Ashok Kumar C. Manoli arriving for a national symposium on nanotechnology at Seshadripuram First Grade College, Yelahanka, in Bangalore on Monday.

Bangalore: If everything that we expect to happen in the field of nanotechnology does happen, the world will not be as we know it today, noted scientist C.N.R. Rao has said.

Speaking to students of the Department of Biotechnology and Genetics at the Seshadripuram First Grade College here on Monday about the imminence of a “nanoworld,” he said: “If we are lucky we could have a nanocomputer in 10 to 15 years.”

There are already applications of nanotechnology, whether in the chemical industry, in biological research, or in magnetic resonance imaging, he said.

Prof. Rao was speaking at a three-day national symposium on “Nanobiotechnology” organised by the college in association with the Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science and Technology and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Illustrating how technology over the years was being “miniaturised,” he said: “I was one of the very first users of the first generation computers in 1954 during my Ph.D. It was a huge computer … about the size of a room. But whatever that computer could do then can be done by a computer the size of my palm.”

Ashok Kumar C. Manoli, Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT, S&T, said that nanotechnology, the fastest growing branch of technology today, needed the participation of the private sector. “There is need for collaboration between industry and the State Government. We also need to find areas where the private sector can participate in research.”

Nanoscience and technology have already begun to offer solutions in terms of applications, especially in the areas of medicine and biosciences, he said.

“This field holds a lot of promise, but is also one of the most demanding areas. It is an area that is still evolving and changing. It, therefore, will require both time and patience to finalise technology and find applications.”

Among the scientists who will deliver lectures on Tuesday will be Aditya Mittal from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; S. Sampath from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.); S.N. Sahu from IOPB, Bhubaneswar; S. Venugopal from IISc.; and S.F. D’Souza from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai.

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