Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Everyday lessons in science and engineering

Photo: M. Karunakaran

Students participate in an activity at the workshop at IIT-M on Thursday. —

CHENNAI: How do you tear a paper without using a knife or scissors? Fold it at a point and apply pressure such that it tears – pat came the reply from most of the students in the hall. But what many of them did not know was that the principle of “fatigue and fracture” was behind this operation.

Sivakumar M. Srinivas, professor of Applied Mechanics, IIT-Madras, explained many such day-to-day applications to the participants to explain engineering concepts at a two-day workshop on ‘Science and Engineering', being organised by the Federation of Science Clubs of Tamilnadu and MCC Higher Secondary School. The programme, for students of classes IX, X, XI and XII, got underway at IIT-Madras on Thursday. He asked students to keep experimenting to get answers to science. “And the best place to do so is your kitchen,” he added.

The significance of different branches of engineering is being brought out to the participants through different sessions.

Other sessions included an orientation on ocean engineering, mechanical engineering and role of physics and chemistry. “We were divided into batches of 10 and taken to different labs. In particular, the robotics lab was fun,” said R. Rahul, a student of GRT Mahalakshmi Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

The workshop was inaugurated by V.G. Idichandy, Deputy Director, IIT-M. He asked students to pursue their hobbies, identify their strength and build on them, develop humility and to take school education seriously. J. Daniel Chellappa, president, FSCT, G. Srinivasan, course director, IIT-M and G.J. Manohar, correspondent and headmaster, MCC Higher Secondary School spoke.

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