Guest lecture by Prof. A. B. Gupta

Report

Event: Guest Lecture by Prof. A.B. Gupta

Date: March 2nd, 2023

Time: 11:00 AM -12:00 PM

Venue: A V Hall

Target Group: UG & PG students, and Ph.D. scholars

No. of participants: 107

Objective: The objective of the lecture was to enrich the students with the knowledge of basic tenets and attributes of research communication, to educate and motivate participants about the philosophy and scope of trans-disciplinary research

The Department of Chemistry at IIS (deemed to be University) celebrated National Science Day on March 2nd, 2023, with a guest lecture by Prof. A.B. Gupta, MNIT, Jaipur, on ‘The Philosophy And Scope Of Trans-Disciplinary Research With Special Reference To The Field Of Environmental Sciences’. The lecture was attended by all the faculty members, UG & PG students and PhD scholars.

Prof. Gupta began his lecture by highlighting the importance of research in his life and how it has led him to make significant contributions in his field. He encouraged the participants to think globally and work towards the betterment of society through their research. He emphasized that one should not be deterred by their degree and should strive to make the change they want to see in the world.

He then went on to showcase some of the projects that he had worked on, including the early estimation of the second and third waves of the coronavirus. He stressed the intimate connection between science, technology, and society, and how one cannot exist without the other. According to him, science and engineering go hand in hand, and observations play a crucial role in research.

Prof. Gupta also talked about the value of Indian scientists in the world and how they have made significant contributions to various fields of science. He emphasized that observation is the key to research and that one must implement their observation into their research papers.

In the next part of his presentation, Prof. Gupta shared his philosophy of integrating environmental hygiene with personal hygiene for good health. He shared an example of how poor water quality was affecting the health of children in Rajasthan, and how he worked on removing fluoride from the water using the Nalgonda process. This process was first adopted for domestic use in the United Republic of Tanzania, and the progress resulted in getting fresh water to 3500 villages of Rajasthan.

Prof. Gupta also talked about the major foulants found in water, such as calcium carbonate, which has reduced marine life to a significant extent. He shared the solution to this problem, which is the aragonite form of calcium carbonate, depicted through SEM, leading to the reverse solubility of it with temperature.

In the end, Prof. Gupta discussed the problem of nitrate toxicity and its associated health risks such as diarrhoea, infant mortality rate, and asthma attacks due to intense coughing. He emphasized that researchers should not only rely on methods for the reliability of their results but should also use their brains to analyze the data.

Outcome: The lecture was informative and provided valuable insights into the philosophy and scope of trans-disciplinary research in environmental science. It highlighted the importance of observation and research in creating a better society and emphasized the need for researchers to think globally and work towards the betterment of society through their research.