IIT Gandhinagar marked 'National Science Day' by organizing scientific demonstrations for students.

IIT Gandhinagar commemorated ‘National Science Day’ on its grounds today by organizing an ‘Open Day’ with various interactive activities and scientific displays for secondary school and college students. To appreciate, experience, and enjoy the marvels of Science, around 1000 students from 15 schools and 200 college students from 6 educational institutions and universities from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and the surrounding areas visited the IITGN campus.

With the support of the Royal Society of Chemistry, IITGN organized a range of demonstrations and activities with the intention of popularizing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and motivating students to pursue STEM careers. The demonstrations conducted by the institute’s undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD students illustrated scientific concepts through activities such as viewing the black spot on the Sun with a telescope, studying the properties of dry ice, creating ice cream using liquid nitrogen, understanding robotics, exploring climate change, producing oxygen, the disappearance of styrofoam, ping pong ball explosions with liquid nitrogen, electromagnetism, the wire loop game, and exploring the concept of hydrogel with a peek inside a diaper.

Prof. Sivapriya Kirubakaran, Dean of Student Affairs, elaborated on why this event was held, saying that it serves as a beneficial experience for students and gives them the motivation to keep going in Science. National Science Day is a great opportunity to inspire young learners to explore the amazing world of Science. Attendees could observe the projects that students have created throughout the year and be encouraged to approach STEM topics in an imaginative manner.

Mr. Mahesh Tripathi, a Physics teacher from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, commented that the experiments conducted were quite stimulating for the kids and they were pleased to see them. He believes that the experiments can spark the students’ interest and encourage them to explore more. The event was concluded with a lecture on “Development and Innovations in Pharmaceutical Industry” presented by Dr. Rajamannar Thennati, who is the Executive Vice President and Advisor to the Managing Director as well as Head of High-Impact Innovations and Sustainable Solutions at Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Dr Rajamannar spoke to the students and highlighted the importance of innovation in Chemistry and drug discovery. He said that in any field, understanding and expertise are critical to making progress. He further mentioned that life sciences requires thinking outside the box and having the courage to try something even if it might initially sound foolish, as this could be the path to success. He praised India for being the “Pharmacy of the World” and encouraged the younger generation to become passionate about making more things happen in India beyond just getting a job.