Three laboratories of the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) - ECM Lab, Cellulose Lab, and Bio-Imaging Lab, in association with the Creative and Advanced Research-Based On Nanomaterials Laboratory (abbreviated as CARBON) organised a Science Outreach event on 23rd July 2019, Tuesday.
The event of Science Outreach was organised under the Indian National Young Academy of Sciences, which is commonly known as INYAS, for a group of thirty students of the Chirec International School of Hyderabad.
All the students were given a presentation about the ongoing research in all of these four laboratories so that they could get an overview of it which was followed by visits to the labs. The students were also given a demonstration of several high-end research equipment like confocal microscopy, electrospinning, battery cycler, and UV-visible spectroscopy.
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The students were also given exposure to the synthesis of various biomaterials and bacterial cellulose. They enjoyed the live-cell imaging in these demos. In the Carbon lab, the students got to learn about nanofibres based sanitary napkins and recycling of polystyrene waste for saving the environment. They were also given a briefing about the fabrication of candle soot based electrodes used for Lithium-ion batteries.
An informal session was arranged for the students after the lab visits in which they interacted with all the research scholars and Professors working in these labs. They were apprised about several career opportunities for them, especially in the field of science. The teachers said that all the students were very excited about the outreach programme and it definitely encouraged them in considering a career option in Science.
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The Associate Professor from the Carbon Lab of IIT Hyderabad, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Sharma, told about his commitment towards organising such activities and outreach programmes that can benefit the young minds. The ECM lab in-charge, Dr. Satyavrata Samavedi, said that it is a privilege and a responsibility for them to inculcate scientific temper in the minds of young students.