 WELCOME TO PSF's WEBSITE PONDICHERRY SCIENCE FORUM (PSF), was founded in 1985 with the primary objective of Science Popularization. It has since evolved into a Peoples' Science Movement with a clear mandate of shaping Science & Technology and ensuring its utilization to benefit the weaker sections of society.
The PSF's work is organized into three wings - Development, Science Communication and Women's Empowerment and to carry these tasks out effectively it has build two more institutional structures - the Centre for Ecology & Rural Development (CERD) and the Samam Makalir Suyasarbu Iyakkam (Samam).
NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS 2010.
National Science Day Lecture by Dr.Alain Doressoundiram, Astronomer, Paris Observatory.
On 22nd February 2010, PSF hosted a series of lectures by reknowned Astronomer Dr.Alain Doressoundiram of the Paris Observatory, France. He gave three lectures - one at the Government Higher Secondary School, Koravalimedu, Bahoor, another one at the St.Partick Higher Secondary School, Puducherry and a special lecture to the members of the Pondicherry Science Forum at 7pm.
His lecture mainly revolved around the Solar System of which his area of specialisation in the Trans Neptunean Bodies which includes Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Varuna etc. which forms more than 1300 such bodies which are part of the Solar System. He said that by studying the small bodies such as dwarf planets, one is able to study the formative periods of the solar system and currently he and his team is working on models which explains the existence of trans Neptunean dwarf planets, the highly eccentric orbits of them, the case of the missing mass of bodies in the solar system etc. He compared the study of asteroids to that of archeology and said that asteroids offer a very interesting study about the history of the solar system.
He was in Puducherry for a Teacher Capacity Building Workshop and being a member of the PSF e group, wanted to share his work with PSF members too. He promised that in the years to come, he wished to interact more with the rural schools, train teachers in astronomy related areas.
About Dr.Alain Doressoundiram.
Born in 1968, he is an Astronomer at the Observatoire de Paris, LESIA. He has a PhD in Astrophysics from University of Pierre et Marie Curie (1997, Paris, France). His Research interests are Planetary surfaces, small body (mineralogy, rotation, collisions), radiative transfert in particulate medium. Apart from research, he teaches courses in Master of Astronomy, Physics courses in licence, astronomy courses for high school teachers, and also conduct classroom activities. He is also deeply involved in Educational and Public outreach activities and author of several popularization books on astronomy. He is the Co Principal Investigator of the SIMBIO-SYS instrument onboard the ESA/JAXA Bepi Colombo mission to Mercury which is to be launched in the year 2014 and Co Investigator of the EXOMARS mission. He is also involved in the proposed ESA COSMIC VISION mission Marco Polo (rendezvous missions to asteroids)
MAKE SCIENCE COMPETITIONS 2010 RESULTS
The results of the Make Science Competitions 2010 have been announced and the results are available for download in the downloads section.
ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE, JANUARY 15, 2010.
Pondicherry Science Forum in collaboration with the Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of Puducherry arranged safe viewing of the Annular Solar Eclipse in Puducherry & Karaikkal. The programme was viewed by thousands of people in Puducherry UT on 15th of January 2010 which happened to be Maattu Pongal day.
Multimedia Presentations, Ball & Mirror projection of the eclipsing sun, Telescopic projections, viewing of the eclipse through Solar filteres etc. were arranged in Puducherry and Karaikkal.
A video film on the Annular Solar Eclipse was shown to the visitors at these centres which explained the science behind the eclipse.
The attraction of the programme was that women belonging to Samam SHG Federation prepared "Grahana Pongal" and served it to the viewers during the peak of the eclipse to dispel the myth that no food should be cooked or eaten during the eclipse time.
The programme was widely covered by the press and the TV channels in Puducherry.
The programme in Karaikkal was coordinated by Dr.T.Parasuraman, Gen.Sec. of PSF along with the Karaikkal PSF office bearers Mr.Vivekanandan, Mr.Balraj, Mr.Lucas etc. Some scientific experiments were also conducted at Karaikkal on the environmental changes such as pH of water, temerature, solar intensity etc.
In Puducherry, the arrangements were organized by Mr.R.Dakshinamurthy, Ms.A.Hemavathi, Mr.S.Segar, Mr.B.Ravichandrane, Mr.Ramesh, Mr.T.P.Raghunath, Ms.Chandra, and several PSF activists. Mr.N.Madhavan, Vice President, TNSF also participated in the Solar Eclipse programme arranged at Jeevanandam Higher Secondary School, Puducherry. Arrangements at Bahoor were coordinated by Mr.Vettrivel, at Karikkalampakkam by Mr.Vijayamurthy. Thousands of Samam SHG women also coordinated similar programmes in the villages of Puducherry.
Free goggles were distributed by the Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of Puducherry for viewing of the solar eclipse.
PSF thanks all wellwishers, members, the Press, the public and the Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of Puducherry for making this programme a grant success.
FAITES DE LA SCIENCE - 2010 : ENTRIES UPLOADED!!
We had a very good response for this year's Make Science Competitions. In total we have recieved 36 applications and they have already been uploaded to the PSF website. The applications that we have recieved are available in the Downloads section.
Thanks to all the schools which have applied. Now it is waiting time for us when the UPS Panel of experts evaluates the application forms!
ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE, 15th January 2010: Get ready for the Grahana Pongal !!
PSF wishes all its members, well wishers a very Happy New Year and a Seaon's Greetings for Pongal Festival. This year's Pongal is unique since we will have an astronomical event of Annular Solar Eclipse on January 15th, 2010 on the Maattu Pongal Day. PSF, in collaboration with the Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of Puducherry is organising elaborate arrangements for safe viewing of the Eclipse in Puducherry and Karaikkal. In Jeevanandapuram Govt. Higher Secondary School, Puducherry, Bhrathi Govt. Higher Secondary School, Bahoor and Annai Theresa Govt. Girls Higher Secondary School, Karaikkal, there will be public arrangement for safe viewing of the eclipse. Distribution of Solar Goggles, Slide show and Video lectures, projection of the eclipse etc. will be carried out in these places for large number of public who wish to see the programme. There will be a PRESS MEET at the Pondicherry Press Club on January 11th, 2010 which will elaborate the programme to the public. Representatives from DSTE and PSF will address the PRESS MEET.
With a good magnitude of 0.908 in Puducherry and 0.919 in Karaikkal, this will be a spectacular event for people of Pondicherry. Dont miss it.
17th National Children's Science Festival Held at Ahmedabad, Gujarat !!
The 17th National Children's Science Festival was held at the Gujarat Science City and SGVP International School Campus, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Six teams from Puducherry along with Guide teachers attended the Congress and presented the reports. The team was accompanied by Mr.S.Segar, State Coordinator, NCSC and Dr.T.Parasuraman, Gen. Secretary PSF and NCSTC Network EC Member.
The overall organisation of the NCSC was good and the children got an opportunity to visit the Gujarat Science City and Sabarmathi Ashram also. Out of 6 projects, two projects were graded as A and one project was selected for the compilation of best projects at the national level.
The six teams that were selected to the national congress are :
1. Kamban Govt. Higher Secondary School, Nettappakkam : Oxygen enriched environment.
2. Growth rate of plants : St. Patrick Matric Higher Secondary School.
3. Energy audit at Homes : St. Joseph of Cluny Girls Higher Secondary School, Lawspet, Puducherry.
4. Floral diversity study : KMK Kannaiah High School, Karaikkal.5. Study of Pollen grains : St.Theresas High School, Chalakkara, Mahe.
6. Analysis of fuel wastage at Traffic Junctions: Govt. Middle School,OK Palayam.Puducherry.
Photos from the State Level Children's Science Congress
Other than this, two students and two teachers participated in the Indian Science Congress, Thiruvananthapuram held from 3rd to 7th January 2010.
Two more studnets will be participating in the Annular Solar Eclipse Workshop being scheduled to be held in Nagarcoil, Tamilnadu from 14th to 16th, January 2010.
15th STATE CONFERENCE OF TAMIL NADU SCIENCE FORUM HELD !
The 15th State Conference of Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF) was held on 2-4 October 2009 at Mettuppalayam, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu. More than 350 delegates participated in the Conference and deliberated on the past work and also on current science & society related topics. The Conference also elected a new General Body and Executive Committee to lead the movement for the next two years. Various leaders who participated in the Conference were Dr.S.Krishnasamy, Dr.Venkatesh Athreya, Dr.T.Sundararaman, Mr.Thomas D.Franco, Mr.Senthamil Selvan, Prof.P.Rajamanickam, Dr.T.Jayaraman, Dr.TR Govindarajan, Dr.TV.Venkateswaran and other TNSF leaders.
The inaugural address was delivered by Dr.Mayilsami Annadurai of ISRO (Chandrayan I & II fame), Vice Chancellor of TNAU, and other local dignitaries. There were also parallel sessions on Education, Health, Agriculture, S&T Popularisation, Right to Food etc.
SOUTHERN REGIONAL MEET OF STATE/DISTRICT ACADEMIC COORDINATORS & EVALUATORS OF NATIONAL CHILDREN'S SCIENCE CONGRESS
The Southern Regional Meet of the State/District Academic Coordinators & Evaluators of the National Children's Science Congress Programme for Improvement of Quality and outreach was held in the Convention Centre of the Pondicherry University from 23rd to 25th of September 2009. This meet was catalyzed and supported by the Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishat (RVPSP), Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and Organized by the Pondicherry Science Forum with technical support of NCSTC-Network.
The meet discussed ways and means to improve the quality of NCSC projects and also to increase the outreach of the programme to all schools in the country. The meeting was attended by Dr.D.K.Pandey, Director, RVPSP, Prof.G.S.Nair from Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Kerala, Dr.U.N.Ravikumar from National Institute of Engineering, Mysore and Dr.P.Pramod from the Salim Ali Institute of Ornithology and Natural History from Coimbatore as resource persons. Mr.Sandipan Dhar from NCSTC Network also participated in the programme. The Meet was inaugurated by Sri.Theva Neethi Dhas, Secretary to Science, Technology & Environment, Govt. of Puducherry and felicitated by Prof.A.Balasubramanian, Director, Culture & Cultural Relations, Pondicherry University and presided by Prof.(Dr).S.Srinivasan, President, Pondicherry Science Forum.
Er.Anuj Sinha, Head & Advisor, RVPSP, DST, Govt. of India took part in the Validictory Programme on 25th September 2009.
The meet was attended by about 120 State/District Academic Coordinators & Evaluators from the states of Andhrapradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Puducherry.
BIOMASS BASED BIOGAS UNIT INSTALLED IN KALANJIYAM, BAHOOR.
A biomass based biogas unit has been installed in Kalanjiyam Centre, Bahoor with technical collaboration of the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Prof.H.N.Chanakya came to Puducherry and gave on-site training for the construction of the unit from August 13th to 16th, 2009. After curing and testing the unit is fully function and is producing biogas from biomass like green dry leaves, food waste etc. The photographs of the unit is available at the Photo gallery of PSF.
4th STATE CONFERENCE OF SAMAM HELD!
Samam - a sister organisation founded by PSF - held its 4th State Conference on August 2nd, 2009 at the NT Mahal, Puducherry. Samam was founded as a post literacy women's continuing education movement in 1992 and is one of the earliest SHG federations in the country. Samam experimented with various micro credit models in the early 1990s and conducted extensive women's Kalajathas and continuing educations programmes. Samam became an independent registered SHG Federation, exclusively of women in 1997.
More than 500 women delegates participated in the Conference which was presided by Ms.A.Hemavathi, President of Samam. The Conference was addressed by wellknown writer Ms.Nandalala, Ms.Balaveni, Manager, State Bank of India, Prof.S.Srinivasan, President of Pondicherry Science Forum as Professor, Department of Paediatrics, JIPMER, Mr.R.Dakshinamurthy, Advisor to Samam.
The Conference elected Ms.Anbarassi Juliet as its new President, Ms.R.Marimuthu as its General Secretary and Ms.M.Valarmathi as the Treasurer.
SOLAR ECLIPSE - JULY 22: A HUGE SUCCESS
PSF, in collaboration with the Department of Science, Technology & Environment, Govt. of Puducherry conducted a very successful programme on July 21st and July 22nd at the Beach road in Puducherry.
On the morning of 21st July, a day before the eclipse, PSF conducted an awareness programme for the early morning walkers on the Puducherry beach road. A large gathering of people were told about the next day's eclipse. In the evening of 21st, a multimedia presentation was given on the importance of the solar eclipse and this was attended a huge gathering.
On 22nd morning, the PSF team was ready with two sets of telescopes and solar goggles. The image of the eclipsed sun was watched by thousands of viewers. The local S&T department distributed solar goggles free of charge for safe viewing of the eclipse. Tea was also provided to viewers on the eclipse time to do away any myths that nothing should be eaten or drunk during that time.
NCSC Guide Teachers' Training Programme 2009.
A one day Guide Teachers' training programme was held at Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School on the 8th of July 2009 for the Pondicherry region. About 80 teachers participated in this one day programme. Earlier the Joint Director of Education, the Officer on Special Duty, State Training Centre, Principal, Peiti Seminaire Higher Secondary school participated in the Inaugural function. Dr.T.Parasuraman welcomed the guest and also explained the objective of the National Children's Science Congress.
The Guide Teachers' training programme for Mahe District was conducted on 17th of July 2009.
The programme for Karaikkal was held on the13th August 2009 and was attended by 67 teachers.
Teachers who wish to register their school teams for the NCSC 2009 may please rush their registrations to the PSF office by post : Address: Pondicherry Science Forum, No.10, II Street, PR Gardens, Reddiarpalayam, Puducherry-605010.
Make Science Programme 2009 Edition
This year's Make Science Programme Exhibition was held on June 24th at the UNESCO, Paris, France. General Jean -Pierre Haignere, French Astronaut was the Chief Guest and he interacted with the Pondicherry Make Science team through Video conference.
The certificates to the Pondicherry team were received by T.P.Raghunath of PSF from Prof.Phillippe Masson, Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Paris, South 11, Paris.
The first prize was awarded to Govt. High School, Koravallimedu, Bahoor, Pondicherry for their project on Mini Weather Station. Three second prizes were also announced to Bharathi Higher Secondary School, Bahoor, Govt. High School, Koravallimedu and Govt. Higher Secondary School, Indira Nagar, Pondicherry.
Information regarding the programme is already put up on the UNESCO WebsitePSF expresses its thanks to all those who have supported the programme. SAMAM holds Regional Conferences.Samam is holding commune wise Regional Conferences. More information is available on the PSF E group with photographs. The State level Samam Conference is scheduled to be held in August 2009.
Stove for Ayurvedic Medicines Constructed!!
Prof. Lokras and Mr.Somsekhar from Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc, Bangalore had visited Puducherry from 11th to 13th June 2008 as part of a new stove being constructed at the Aurobindo Ashram. The highly fuel efficient stove has been already constructed which is specifically designed for very large vessels for making ayurvedic medicines. The visiting team also met and had discussions with Prof.C.L.Gupta of the Aurobindo Ashram, a renowned Solar Energy expert. Prof.C.L.Gupta appreciated the work. We express our thanks to CST for their continued technical collaboration !!!
IYA Quiz Programme to be conducted.
PSF's core team is planning to conduct a Quiz Programme with the theme of the International Year of Astronomy and Year of Science. It may be noted that this year is being celebrated as the International Year of Astronomy and Year of Science. Zonal level competitions will be held culminating into a State Level Quiz programme. Dates and venues will be announced shortly.
One Day Training Programme
on Organic Farming at Kalanjiyam, Bahoor.
A one day training programme Organic Farming was conducted for farmers on the 2nd of May 2009 at Kalanjiyam, Bahoor. Mr.Jayachandran from Chengalpet was the resource person who shared years of his experiments with organic farming with the members of the Kalanjiyam Organic Farmers' Association in Bahoor. Farmers felt that this was a very useful programme for them. The farmers shared their own experiences also with Mr.Jayachandran.
International Women's Day Programme
March 14, 2009.Click here for Photographs from the Programme
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National Science Day 2009: Darwin 200, IYA & Faites de la Science Programme.
National Science Day Celebrations, Darwin 200, Launch of International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) was held at Govt. Middle School, O.K.Palayam, Puducherry on 28th February 2009 at 6 PM.
Mr.P.Thiruvengadam, Editor, Ariviyal Murasu talked about the importance of National Science day. Prof. S.Srinivasan, President, PSF presided over the programme. Ms.A.Hemavathi, Vice President, PSF welcomed the chief guests, students, teachers and other participants. She also briefed about IYA, Darwin and about the Faites de la Science (Make Science competitions) in her welcome address.
The key speaker of the day, Dr.R.Madivanan, (Asst Professor, Bharathidasan Govt. College for Women) delivered a lecture about the history of science of telescopes, of the work of Galileo and the importance of IYA 2009 using a PowerPoint presentation.
As part of the Faites de la Science programme being conducted in Puducherry in collaboration with the University of Paris, South 11 (UPS), France, Mr.D.Chakravarthy, S.A Gr-II of Govt. Middle School, Kariamanickam, Puducherry delivered felicitation address and distributed the seed money to the 12 finalist teams of the Make science competition.
Finally Ms.R.Marimuthu, Secretary, PSF delivered Vote of Thanks.
Around 100 persons including students, teachers and PSF Volunteers participated in the Programme. Images from the Programme can be seen here.
Pasumai Vikatan - CERD Training Programme on Organic Farming.
The leading popular agriculture magazine Pasumai Vikatan organised a three day hands on Training programme on Organic Farming at the Kalanjiyam Training Centre, Bahoor. Leading Organic Farmer Sri.K.Nammalvar was the chief resource person for the workshop. Mr.R.Dakshinamurthy, PSF gave the key note lecture on the first day.
The three days' programme was extremely useful says Mr.Parthiban, a new farmer who is planning to shift to organic farming. The programme laid much stress not only on organic principles, but field level demonstrations, farm design principles etc. also.
A brief report about the workshop is now available for download here.
The details and programme schedule is given in the the Programme List.
Watershed Project in Thadayampatti Watershed sanctioned!
The Final Implementation Phase of the Thadayampatti Watershed Project has just now been sanctioned by NABARD Regional Office, Chennai. Spread over about 1000 ha and comprising 7 villages, this watershed has been a unique experience for us. The CERD team held preliminary discussions with the Village Watershed Committee at Kottaipatti Watershed Office on 12th February 2009. More details will follow later once the project implementation actually starts. CERD had already successfully completed the Capacity Building Phase (CBP) of about 100 ha successfully with the active participation of the villagers. Photographs from the CBP Phase can be accessed here
Update on Make Science Competitions 2009.
February 28, 2009: As part of the National Science Day Programme, the seed-money to the 12 finalist teams were presented on February 28th, 2009. This will enable the teams to complete their projects in time for the finals.
This year's Faites de la Science results have just been announced and the Expert Jury Panel has announced the 12 projects which will go to the finals and will present their findings in June 2009. We thank the University of Paris, South 11, France for their support to the programme. Congratulations to the 12 teams which made it to the finals!. The results of the finalist teams are available here
Discussion on Right to Education Bill.
A one day discussion was held on 17th January 2009 at the PSF office on the proposed Right to Education Bill from 10 am to 1 pm. A follow up discussion was held again on 23rd January 2009 and the final suggestions were finalized and sent to the standing committee constituted.
Meeting of Board of Trustees of CERD.
The annual Board Meeting of CERD was held on the 28th December 2008 at PSF office. Detailed discussion on the ongoing programmes and planning for future was held. A much detailed Board Meeting was scheduled for April 2009 as some of the Board members could not attend the meeting.
CERD gets Award for its work on Fuel Efficient Stoves!!
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, New Delhi (Government of India) and the Renewable Energy Agency, Puducherry (REAP) presented the Energy Efficiency Award 2008 to CERD for its work on fuel efficient stoves/Tawa. It may be recalled that CERD has been installing fuel efficient stoves in Pondicherry in technical collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Technologies (ASTRA), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore for the past one year. The award was given by the Honourable Chief Minister of Pondicherry and was recieved by Mr.T.P.Raghunath, Chairperson, CERD on 23rd December 2008 in a function held at Hotel Ram International.
Inauguration of the Organic Farmers' Association :
5th November 2008, Bahoor, Puducherry.
4th November 2008: Centre for Ecology & Rural Development, Pondicherry Science Forum had, as part of its long years of field extension work have initiated an organic farmers' association of farmers who had shifted to complete organic farming for the last three years. This has been the outcome of PSF/CERD's work in soil fertility management, BIOFARM, various coordinated programmes under DST for innovative and non-chemical farming, our own association with the leading and wellknown pioneers in the area like Mr.Bernard de Clerc, Mr.Ardhendu Chatterjee, Mr.Nammalvar etc.
We are getting none other than the wellknown organic farmer "Nammalvar" to inaugurate the association and the farmers have managed to get the new Chief Minister Mr.V.Vaithilingam to come for the function along with Sri.R.Radhakrishnan, the Speaker of Pondicherry Legislative Assembly. We are just supporting them and they are now equipped to manage their functions completely on their own. The function is scheduled for November 5th from 10.00 am at Soriankuppam Community Hall, (Bahoor) Puducherry and we hope they grow into a larger organisation and will be able to stand on their own legs.
We invite all our well-wishers, friends, members and the general public to this function.
29th Sep 2008: The IYA 2009 e -group link has been added to the IUCAA website and this can be accessed through the link
http://www.iucaa.ernet.in/~iya09ind/india_links.htm.
New files also had been uploaded to the Downloads section http://www.psfcerd.org/User/CERD/ViewDownloads.php
Puducherry: 6th September 2008 : National Workshop on International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) at Puducherry - September 6 & 7, 2008 - Programme Inaugurated by Prof.Tareen, Vice Chancellor, Pondicherry University....
In collaboration with the Indian Institute of Astro Physics, Bangalore and AIPSN, PSF organised a two day workshop on the theme of the International Year of Astrophysics on the 6th and 7th of September 2008 at Puducherry.
The Programme was inaugurated by Prof.Tareen, Vice Chancellor, Pondicherry University at the Conference Hall of the Animal Husbandry Department at 10 am on the 6th Sept 2008. The programme was presided over by Prof.S.Srinivasan, President of PSF and felicitated by Mr.Arunachalam, Director, Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of Puducherry, Dr.Vivek Monteiro, Navnirmiti, Mumbai, Dr.Sabyasachi Chatterjee, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. The resource persons include Prof.P.N.Shankar, Emeritus Scientist, NAL, Bangalore, Dr.T.V.Venkateswaran, Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi, Mr.Papootty, KSSP, Trivandrum etc
More than 50 participants from about 8 states participated in this National Workshop and worked out detailed plans for observing the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
Prof.Tareen also distributed the Certificates and Cash awards to the winners of the 2nd International Edition of the Make Science Competitions which was jointly organised by the Paris University, South 11, France and Pondicherry Science Forum.
September 16, 2008: Bakery Unit at Women's Technology Park, Bahoor, Puducherry: A new batch of women trainees at the WTP have started production at the Bakery Unit at WTP.
PSF Plans a series of programmes on Astronomy: PSF Core group has decided to launch a series of rural S&T communication programmes based on astronomy. This will include slide show lectures, real time sky projections for large audiences, school based programmes etc. For those who wish to host programmes in their localities/schools etc. please contact : cerdpsf@gmail.com
PSF Celebrates its 12th Bi Annual Conference at Karaikkal : June 7 & 8, 2008.
PSF entered its 23rd year since its inception in 1985 by celebrating its 12th Bi Annual Conference in Karaikkal on the 7th and 8th of June 2008. Some of the highlights of the programme were a Video Conference Lecture on Climate Change by Sri.C.E.Karunakaran who gave the lecture in Chennai and the audience could exchange questions and views with him sitting at Karaikkal more than 400 kms away!
There were also a host of other programmes like a popular talk by Mr.Natarajan, Cuddalore (the famous book Ayisha fame) on "Popularisation Science and Science Popularisation". About 8 new books were also released during the occasion.
The new office bearers took charge on the 2nd day. The new President of PSF is Dr.S.Srinivasan, Professor & Head, Department of Paediatrics, JIPMER, Puducherry. Dr.T.Parasuraman is the new General Secretary, Mr.R.Ramesh the new Treasurer. Ms.A.Hemavathi, Ms.K.Chandra, Mr.S.Segar and Mr.Lucas (Karaikkal) are the Vice Presidents. Mr.D.Balu, Mr.S.Murugan, Ms.M.Marimuthu and Mr.T.P.Raghunath are the Sectoral Secretaries.
Make Science Competitions 2008:
Video Filming and Evaluation.
The evaluation of the 12 projects for Make Science Competitions 2008 were held in Orsay, University of Paris on the 26th of May 2008. The evaluation was based on project documentation in the form of films done in Pondicherry and sent to UPS in DVD format. Each team gave a presentation of their projects and this was filmed, edited for a duration of about 10 minutes each. A panel of experts from various branches of science evaluated the projects. The results of the competition for this year will be announced on the 5th of June 2008 at a Live Video Conference which will be shown simultaneously held in UPS and in Pondicherry. PSF will organise the Video Conference at Kalanjiyam Buildings in Bahoor from 11.30 am to 7.30 pm on the 5th June 2008.
Training for Organic Farmers on integrated farming methods and poultry.
A group of 26 farmers belonging to the Organic Farmers' Association participated in a training programme on poulty as part of the integrated biofarming practices which they are following.
Fuel efficient tawa inaugurated successfully!!
A fuel efficient tawa stove for making Dosa/Parotta has been constructed with technical collaboration from Dr.S.S.Lokras and Sri.Somsekhar of the Centre for Sustainable technologies (ASTRA), Bangalore as part of CERD's ongoing work in energy efficient stoves. The stove was successfully fired the owners (M/s.Pranavam Hotel, Kalapet, Pondicherry) are proud owners of the stove who say that they are able to save more 2/3rd of their fuel compared to their old stove. The fuel efficient stove has very low heat radiation, high efficiency and has a heat recovery vessel which gives hot water whcih can be used for cooking of other dishes as well.
See Online Slide Shows from PSF's Blog NEW
New Photo Gallery of Pondicherry Science Forum NEW
Contact address: PONDICHERRY SCIENCE FORUM
No.10, II Street, PR Gardens, Reddiarpalayam, Pondicherry-605010.
Email: cerdpsf@gmail.com
Updated on February 24, 2010
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