Chirosree Basu, Author at The KGP Chronicle

Nov

26

2019

0 Comments

Eye to the future

EventsAlzheimer's disease, amyloid peptide, cataract, Department of Chemistry, EGCG, fibrillation, IIT Kharagpur, nanomedicinal chemistry, Protein Chemistry Laboratory, UV

Research in the Protein Chemistry Laboratory is aimed at an understanding of protein interactions with small molecules, other proteins and nanoparticles. The increasing use of peptides as therapeutics has prompted us to look into the various aspects of these interactions to try and understand the impact on disease related processes. A brief outline of the different projects: Protein aggregation studies: Aggregation studies currently underway involve several proteins as well as the amyloid peptide fragment Ab25-35which represents the biologically active and toxic domain of the full length Aβ peptide, responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. Inhibition of amyloid fibrillation of the Aβ25-35 peptide…

Nov

20

2019

0 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

Dance of the rain

In-DepthIIT Kharagpur, Indian monsoons, Indian summer monsoon, Meghalaya, Mughals. Little Ice Age, rain, stalagmite, Wadia Institute, Wah Shikar cave

The Hindu, Times of India (Kol), Times of India Reduced rainfall was among the factors that created multicentennial-scale drier conditions that may have contributed to the Indus Valley deurbanization. Lack of rainfall is believed to have been among the reasons for the social upheaval and the eventual fall of the Tang, Yuan and Ming dynasties of China. Drought interspersed with violent monsoon rains sounded the death knell of the Khmer empire of south-east Asia that flourished between 802 and 1431 CE. There can be no doubting the profound impact of the abrupt shifts of rainfall on human history – a fact…

Nov

13

2019

0 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

Back in time

Storiesalcohol, Bright Star University of Technology, Chemical Engineering, FIITJEE, Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur's Young Innovators Program 2019, K.S.N. Raju, Panjab University, YIP 2019

It was a homecoming of sorts. As Arjun Varma Kalidindi stood in front of the Chemical Engineering Department in the falling light, his mother, Usha, quickly clicked a few pictures. They had stolen these moments away from their visit to the Nehru Museum of Science and Technology with the members of the 32 teams who had come to participate in the IIT Kharapgur’s Young Innovator’s Program 2019. They just had to make this detour. Many aeons ago, Arjun’s grandfather - K. Satyanarayana Raju on our rolls, and later Dr. K.S.N Raju – would have walked those stretches many a time…

Nov

11

2019

2 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

The day of many victories

EnvironmentAI, Arduino, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans School, Brahm Prakash D.A.V School, Delhi Public School, Greta Thunberg, Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kharagpur's Young Innovators Program 2019, KiiT International School, Ruby Park, Sakhi, YIP 2019

Times of India, NDTV, Business Standard, The Week, Preptube.in, Hans India, Devdiscourse, College Dekho Greta Thunberg can take heart. The theme of ‘Energy and Environment’ received top billing at IIT Kharagpur’s Young Innovators Program 2019, with a majority of the participating school students electing to find their own ways to combat pollution and promote conservation. In its third edition, the contest drew students from Classes VIII-X from schools all over India and abroad to brainstorm on the themes of Health and Cleanliness, Hardware Modelling, Product Designing, Disaster Management, Financial Inclusion, as also Energy and Environment. The grand finale of YIP was held at the IIT Kharagpur…

Nov

10

2019

2 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

Work some, play some more

EventsAI, Alexa, Amity, Arduino, Bharatiya, Google Assistant, IIT Kharagpur Young Innovators Program 2019, Keystone, YIP 2019

The day started early for the participants of IIT Kharagpur’s Young Innovators Program 2019 on November 9. The stakes were high, and so there was not a moment to lose. By the time the judges trooped in on Day 2 of YIP 2019, the teams were ready by their tables at the Vikramshila foyer. And what a display it was! From live demonstration of how the green dispenser could provide water to the differently-abled, to moving hoover buses on a live model of an urban scene, a mini-model of a greenhouse that can monitor the growth of plant and fish…

Nov

08

2019

2 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

The show begins

Eventsbiodegradable, bioplastics, competition, Energy and Environment, environment, IIT Kharagpur, pledge, school children, Young Innovators Program

The IIT Kharagpur campus came alive today with the arrival of 32 teams of school children from all over India, as well as east and west Asia for the Young Innovators Program. For many of the children and their teachers and parents, it had been a long journey from home, but the excitement of reaching their destination and being part of the milling crowd of participants and guests refreshed them in no time. The children especially got down to the business of knowing each other almost immediately. As the day wore off, it was difficult to believe that some of…

Nov

08

2019

0 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

What’s in my water?

In-DepthAustralia, Dual Doctoral Degree Program, eGovernments Foundation, IIT Kharagpur, Integrated Urban Water Management, MIPA, Orange City Water, Piramal Sarvajal, School of Water Resources, Tata Water Mission, University of Melbourne

Tomatoes grown with the contaminated water of the Varthur Lake of Bengaluru reach the nearby markets of the city every morning and are bought by unsuspecting city dwellers. Almost a decade of civic activism in Bengaluru has not changed anything for either the farmers or urbanites there. Thousands of miles away, Platypuses, a mammal species commonly found in Australia, happily swim near the coast off Melbourne, unaware that beta-blockers are entering their bodies every day from the ‘safe’ treated water discharged from the city. These were some of the many facts brought to light by the Indo-Australia joint workshop on…

Nov

05

2019

2 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

Dream Catcher

StoriesDistinguished Alumnus, Georgia Tech, IIT Kharagpur, Professor Farrokh Mistree, University of Oklahoma

“Farrokh’s passion is to have fun in providing an opportunity for highly motivated and talented people to learn how to define and achieve their dreams.” That is how University of Oklahoma’s Gallogly College of Engineering, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, introduces the incumbent of its L.A. Comp Chair - Professor Farrokh Mistree. When I ask him about this rather unusual passion during his recent visit to IIT Kharagpur, Professor Mistree (1967/BTech/NA/AZ) tells me his life story. That is, his journey from being a student of naval architecture at IIT Kharagpur to holding the prestigious L.A. Comp Chair at the University of…

Oct

30

2019

0 Comments

By Chirosree Basu

Lighting up lives

In-Depthelectricity, electrification, IIT Kharagpur, Micro Solar Dome, MSD, NBIRT, rural poor, SC, ST communities

Economic Times (Rise), Economic Times (Energy World), Business Standard, Republic World, Yahoo News, KGP Chronicle, Odisha Post Although the government of India announced 100% electrification in December 2018, it admitted at the same time that it would continue to identify households left out of the scheme. According to an estimate, around 25 per cent of Indian rural households, that is, more than 45 million people, lack access to electricity. In fact, in some states like Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Bihar, access to electricity is believed to be even lower. The problem is not merely the fact that marginal people – many of them living…

Oct

24

2019

1 Comment

By Chirosree Basu

A composite approach

Uncategorizedaircraft industry, composite materials, flights, Greta Thunberg, IIT Kharagpur, polymer

Had she known it, Greta Thunberg - the teenage Swedish environmental activist who has given up airline travel to cut down on her carbon footprint – would have been doubly upset. The airline industry is far more polluting than she can imagine. The commercial aircraft industry relies on composite materials to produce lighter and more durable aircraft. But a large amount of waste is generated in the production process. Composite materials, or composites as they are commonly known, are a class of materials in which polymers are reinforced with stiff fibres (usually glass or carbon). Carbon fibres can have extreme…