BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday called upon experts to look for nanotechnology-based solutions in areas of food, energy and water along with waste management.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 7th Bengaluru India Nano meet here on Friday. He said, “A significant spin-off of nanotechnology is development of diagnostic sensors and lab-on-a-chip technology, which may soon become an important part of efforts to improve global health care. I call upon the scientists to come up with tangible nanotechnology-based solutions for food and energy security, water purification, medicine and health care, besides waste management.”
The Chief Minister said the government proposes to establish a state-of-the-art Nano Park in Bengaluru, which will have a Nano Incubation Centre with all necessary infrastructure. The Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences is being established in Bengaluru with financial support from the Centre under the Nano Mission, for which the State government has already allocated 14 acres of land on Tumkur Road, he said.
Siddaramaiah stressed that the ultimate purpose of all science and research should be to address the huge challenges faced by the common man. He called upon Bharat Ratna Prof C N R Rao to move the Union Department of Science and Technology to hasten its development work.
Dr Shantikumar V Nair of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (University) Amrita Centre for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine, Kochi, was awarded the Prof C N R Rao Bengaluru India Nano Award for his work by the C N R Rao Foundation. The award carries a purse of `50,000.
Prof Stuart Parkin, director of Max Planck Institute, said Prof Rao has been the nucleus of much of the work in nanotechnology in Bengaluru and India. “While new materials can solve many challenges, my work is in similar areas. The future of nanotechnology in India looks bright. The era of silicon, that has lasted four decades, is coming to an end,” said Parkin.
Science and Technology Minister S R Patil said, “The next big revolution will be nanotechnology. It is expected to tackle problems facing humanity in healthcare, renewable energy, food, clean water, environmental problems and so on.”
‘Hydrogen is fUEL OF THE Future’
Bengaluru: Work is on in Bengaluru to produce hydrogen, a fuel of the future, in the lab of Bharat Ratna Prof C N R Rao using semi-conductors as catalysts. Prof Rao, who spoke on ‘Artificial Photosynthesis and the Generation of Hydrogen by Water Splitting’ at the Bengaluru India Nano, said, “The area of Artificial Photosynthesis is grabbing attention all over the world and has its applications in reducing carbon dioxide levels and generating hydrogen gas which will be the future fuel driving the world.” There is a huge grant of $60 million for the research on artificial photosynthesis in America, he said.