Media Release

Mangaluru, Feb 28: Believing in the essence of taking education beyond the walls of a classroom and making learning life-oriented, St Agnes College on February 27 organized a one-day lecture series on 'Popularization of Sciences'.

The seminar which was a joint venture by the departments of Botany, Chemistry, Microbiology, Physics and Zoology, sponsored by DBT-CTEP, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, brought together scientists, researcher scholars, academicians, students and laypeople interested in Science from in and around the city.

The event began with an inaugural programme that included a thought-provoking and insightful keynote address on 'Sustainable Management of ecology and environment in Western Ghats: Strategies and Challenges' by Dr T V Ramachandra, coordinator, Energy & Wetlands Research, IISc Bengaluru. He urged the audience to sustain nature by taking care of the forest cover. Through his research, he proved that there consists a deep relationship between the landscape, water availability and biodiversity. He
inspired the audience through his examples of how he brought about a change in the landscape of various regions in Mangaluru and Bengaluru. He said, "The educational system has to be restructured to institutionalize biodiversity documentation, especially using student power from high school and undergraduate levels with due academic credits given to the participants."

This was followed by a lecture on 'Eco-friendly Lifestyles and Health Benefits' by Dr Prashantha Naik, Professor and chairman of the department of Biosciences, Mangalore University.

An enlightening and exciting session on the need and importance of adopting sustainable practises was given by alumna, Dr Smitha Hegde, Professor, NITTE Centre for Science Education and Research, Mangaluru.

Thereafter, an interesting lecture was delivered by Dr Subrahmnaya Bhat, Associate Professor, department of Chemistry, Manipal University, Manipal on 'Nanomaterials: the Science of the small' on the description and applications of nanoparticles.

The day of scientific amalgamation came to an end with a valedictory programme. Fr Dr Leo Dsouza SJ, director of Laboratory of Applied Biology, St Aloysius College, Mangaluru, the chief guest inspired the audience by his message that asserted that the protection and conservation of the earth is an everyday responsibility of every human. Through our little ways, he urged for mother earth and in turn the whole world to be taken care of.

Sr Dr Jeswina AC, principal, Dr Geetha Nazareth, coordinator- Star College Scheme, Emima, dean of Science and Mariola Pinto, staff convenor of the event were the other dignitaries of the day.

The audience carried home rich and varied inputs on the diverse fields of Science that served the objective for the lecture series.