Category Archives: Science & Technology

Plainfield South High School sophomore creates, programs self-driving car

Amazing Feats, Education, Green Products, Karnataka (under research project), NRI's / PIO's, Science & Technology, Transport, Videos, World Opinion, , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA  / Illinois,  U.S.A

Amaan Khan, 15, to travel to national competition

Photo provided
Photo provided

Plainfield :

A Plainfield South High School sophomore is traveling to a national science competition, after he created and programmed a self-driving car.

Amaan Khan, 15, will compete this week in the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Maryland, after winning the Illinois Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) in March, according to a news release from Plainfield District 202.

Khan created and programmed a self-driving car that can drive within designated lanes, stop and go at lights and avoid obstacles.

He won a $2,000 college scholarship and free trip to the national competition. He is one of two students from Illinois heading to Maryland to compete Tuesday through Saturday with 93 students from across the nation.

Competitors must submit a research paper and present their projects before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers.

Khan became interested in robotics and artificial intelligence last year, after he built a voice-controlled toy car. He took online college courses and watched college lecture courses and YouTube videos to teach himself computer programming.

“As I was learning I kept building the project,” Khan said. “I’d learn one thing, implement it, learn another thing and implement that.”

Patrick and Samantha Scanlan, PSHS science teachers, have supported Khan along the journey.

Samantha Scanlan helped Khan register for the contest. Patrick Scanlan helped Khan polish his oral presentation.

“[Khan] knows what he wants and seeks out the resources to do it,” Patrick Scanlan said. “And if there’s something he needs to learn, he’s able to figure out what he needs to be successful.”

The JSHS is designed to challenge and engage students in science, technology, engineering or math.

To see Khan’s car in action, visit youtube.com/watch?v=3dEgJ7sz6XA.

source: http://www.theherald-news.com / The Herald-News / Home> Local News  / by The Herald-News / April 30th, 2018

Why China is eyeing an Indian mechanic’s car that runs on water

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Green Products, Science & Technology, Transport, World Opinion, , ,

MADHYA PRADESH :

44-year-old car mechanic Mohammad Raees Markani from Madhya Pradesh has invented a car that runs on water.

This 12th pass took five years to develop the final product. The car runs on acetylene gas, which is formed from a chemical reaction between calcium carbide and water. Raees now has a patent for his water car. According to Mirror, Raees has been modifying an 800 cc engine for the last five years – and now believes he has made the scientific breakthrough. The eco-friendly car uses a mix of water and carbides.

Raees who has been a mechanic for the last 15 years told Mirror, “The gas is used for several industrial purposes including welding and portable lighting for miners. But in my case, I am using it to propel the car engines . I have made other changes to the engines, which helps the overall performance of the car. So basically, it is just about the water.”

“The market for environmentally friendly cars is getting bigger and automobile companies around the world are looking for eco-friendly ways to reduce pollution. So a car like mine can be a good alternative. It costs close to nothing to operate and it is environment friendly,” added Raees.

Image : Pultan
Image : Pultan

The Chinese automobile companies have invited Raees to develop the idea further. All the companies that are interested in Raees’s water car project will have to meet his one condition – any plant to make new cars will be established only in his hometown in Madhya Pradesh. “I want things to change in my hometown. So this is where my work should continue,” Raees stated.

Also, watch the video on Raees by History.

source: http://www.yourstory.com / YourStory / Home> Think Change India / April 11th, 2016

MD Student Danish Imtiaz Receives Marilyn Koering Award

Education, NRI's / PIO's, Science & Technology, , , ,

NEW DELHI / TAMIL NADU / TELANGANA  / Minnesota – Washington DC, U.S.A. :

DanishImtiazMPOs20may2018

For many in the lecture hall during the 9th Annual Marilyn Koering Award ceremony, devoted teacher, research scientist, mentor, and patient advocate Marilyn Koering, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), was an inspiration.

“She had a tremendous impact on my life,” said Koering’s sister, Susan, who travels from Minneapolis Minnesota each year to present the award. “Going to the same college, going into the medical world … she was an inspiration to me.”

The award is presented each year by Koering’s sister to the first-year medical student with the highest overall grade in the anatomical sciences. This year, Danish Imtiaz earned that distinction.

“I feel extremely honored to receive this award in the name of the esteemed Dr. Koering,” Imtiaz said, adding that her legacy will inspire him to continue exploring the anatomical sciences.

“I would like to thank Dr. Koering’s family for the award,” he said. “And also, I would like to thank the anatomy and histology professors at GW SMHS for their excellent instruction. I hope to continue to work hard and learn more about the anatomical sciences from them.”

Kenna Peusner, PhD, professor of anatomy and regenerative biology at SMHS, organized the award and introduced the speakers at the assembly. Peusner said that Marilyn Koering was dedicated to her students, teaching histology to more than 5,000 GW medical and graduate students. For 34 years, Koering taught in the classroom and labs at the SMHS until her retirement in 2003. She passed away in 2008 after a fierce battle against malignant melanoma.

“After Marilyn was diagnosed with melanoma, she fought the cancer for 21 years through essays, appearances on television, addressing cancer support groups, and writing letters to pharmaceutical companies and the federal government to gain support for patients who volunteered for experimental treatments,” Peusner recalled.

Mary Ann Stepp, PhD, professor of anatomy and regenerative biology at SMHS, who knew Koering both as a member of the faculty and as a student, spoke on her remembrances.

“When I came here and entered the Anatomy Department, the Chairman … saw my weaknesses in the anatomical sciences, so I was assigned to learn histology with the first-year medical students,” Stepp explained. “So I sat in the classroom with the medical students, and got to know Marilyn not only as a faculty member, but as a mentor. She was an excellent teacher; she really cared about making sure that the students understood what they were doing and how to do it well.”

During the ceremony, Susan Koering told a story of her 6-year-old grandniece, whom she said Marilyn would have loved. One day, she asked the young girl what she wants to be when she grows up. Her response: “A mommy.”

“I said, ‘Well, OK, but how about a scientist?’ And then about a month later I asked again ‘What are you going to be when you grow up?’ This time she said ‘a scientist,’” Koering said to laughter.

source: http://www.smhs.gnu.edu / GW, George Washington University, School of Medicine & Health Sciences / Home> News / by Katherine Dvorak / April 23rd, 2018

Bhatkal students awarded ‘Best oral presentation award’ at International Conference on Desalination

Business & Economy, Education, Green Products, Science & Technology, , ,

Bhatkal, KARNATAKA :

AbdulBaisMPOs19may2018

Bhatkal :

Bhatkal lad Abdul Bais Kadli, secured Best Oral Presentation Award during the International Conference on Desalination (InDACON-2018) on 20th April 2018 at National Institute of Technology, Tiruchinapalli, Tamilnadu.

Abdul presented his paper entitled ‘Optimisation and Modelling Of Desalination Of Water Using Biological Waste By Rsm And ANN’ during the event and secured the award.

The event was organized by National Institute of Technology, Tiruchinapalli, Tamilnadu at their campus on 20th and 21st April 2018.

Abdul Bais is a student of 8th semester chemical engineering at Siddaganga Institute Of Technology, Tumakuru and was representing his college in the event.

He is also a alumni of Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen Bhatkal where he completed his high schooling and Pre-University education, he was also a recipient of the prestigious academic award of the institution ‘Viqare Islamia’ in 2012 his teachers and management and Anjuman expressed their happiness over Abdul’s achievement and congratulated him while also wishing him luck for his future endeavors.

(Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Shaikh Zabi)

source: http://www.bhatkallys.com / Bhatkallys.com / Home> Bhatkallys News / by Shaikh Zabi,  Bhatkallys News Bureau / April 23rd, 2018

A blood donors’ directory from MGU

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Science & Technology,

Kochi, KERALA :

The initiative involving students is part of its social outreach programme

As part of its social outreach initiative, Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) will soon come up with an online blood donors’ directory involving its students.

The Blood Donors’ Forum will be part of the portal — nss.mgu.ac.in — being developed by the internal IT cell of the varsity. “The project forms part of the social commitment and civic engagement that the varsity would like to take forward. The public can access the directory by clicking the Blood Donors’ Forum link on the portal,” said K. Sherafudeen, Syndicate member and convener of its finance committee.

BloodDonorsMPOs19may2018

Students of various affiliated colleges and varsity departments can submit their blood groups to the programme officer of the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit in each institution. The officer will be responsible for including the names of students on the portal. Mr. Sherafudeen said the names of students would not be revealed, but those requiring blood could contact the programme officer. The public could check the list of students in each blood group category online. The contact number of the officer will be available on the website. The NSS official in each college will be responsible for bringing together students willing to donate blood.

The portal will have facilities to include details on the functioning of NSS units, which will be linked online. Principals can log in and appoint programme officers, who can enter the portal by typing password and username.

The portal will have NSS camp details, monthly attendance report, fund details, and the audit report. The notice board on the website will update the developments in NSS units.

The NSS department in the varsity can verify details on a real-time basis. It will have facilities to manage the NSS department fund and generate NSS certificates. The online facility will help in speeding up the process of awarding grace marks to students enrolling in NSS.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by G. Krishnakumar / Kochi – May 12th, 2018

Life lessons learnt from a gaming console

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Sports, World Opinion, , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Passion and dedication is the key towards success. Whatever you choose to do, you must do it wholeheartedly. Winning or losing is secondary, what matters is participation.

habeebullahKhanGamerMPOs01may2018

Bengaluru :

Passion and dedication is the key towards success. Whatever you choose to do, you must do it wholeheartedly. Winning or losing is secondary, what matters is participation. This is what gaming has taught me,” says the 21-year-old Habeeb Ullah Khan from Hyderabad.

He started gaming full-time in 2014. He had to cope with studies, career and gaming simultaneously. He says, “I was part of a boot camp in Delhi without any kind of financial support. I’m glad I have made it so far.”

After he finished his B.Com, he realised that it was time to follow his passion. “My cousin used to play national tournaments. I always had a competitive spirit within me, but didn’t know how to nurture it. With help from my cousin, I ventured into professional gaming,” says Habeeb.

He started playing Counter Strike Global Offensive initially, but later chose DOTA-2.

Over the past three years he developed a team — Wipeout, which includes four other members.

He has participated in 30-40 national tournaments. He won six tournaments last year, such as Taiwan Excellence Gaming and The Indian E-Sports Championship.
He is known as ‘CLown (K)’ in the virtual world and practices 14 hours a day. Team Wipeout also practices every day whenever they are free. They maintain separate schedules for gaming and other activities.

He says, “Gaming is similar to outdoor sports. The more you practice, the more skilled you become. It involves coordination and quick thinking. E- Sports (electronic sports) is a great community where you grow as a person. There is no hectic schedule, unlike other professions.” He has learned patience, focus and anger management.

He suggests that the aspiring gamers should not get de-motivated by failures. He cites his own example and says, “My journey in the gaming world has been a roller coaster ride. I have failed numerous times, but I never stopped learning. I’m successful today because of my failures.”

Talking about the gaming field in India he says that gaming is still not considered as a career. He says, “The youth should be encouraged to take up gaming as a profession. One should not think about losing. Winning and losing is a part of life. You will always gain valuable experience. Although E-Sports does not have adequate resources right now, over the next few years it will gain momentum. It has wide scope and rewards well.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Tech / by Ivy Chatterjee / Express News Service / April 13th, 2018

ShareChat founders, all UPites, figure on Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia list

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, ,

UTTAR  PRADESH :

Founders of social media platform ShareChat — hailing from Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Ghaziabad — have made it to the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2018 list. The list features young disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs across Asia, all under the age of 30.

Left to right: Farid Ahsan of Lucknow, Bhanu Pratap Singh of Gorakhpur and Ankush Sachdeva of Ghaziabad. (Handout image)
Left to right: Farid Ahsan of Lucknow, Bhanu Pratap Singh of Gorakhpur and Ankush Sachdeva of Ghaziabad. (Handout image)

Founders of social media platform ShareChat — hailing from Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Ghaziabad — have made it to the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2018 list. The list features young disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs across Asia, all under the age of 30.

The Forbes website reads: “Farid Ahsan, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Ankush Sachdeva met as students, and in 2015 they created ShareChat, an online local language-based social media platform.”

All three are alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K).

Farid Ahsan, 25, of Lucknow, Bhanu Pratap Singh, 26, of Gorakhpur and Ankush Sachdeva, 24, of Ghaziabad developed the vernacular social networking application ShareChat as a technology led start-up based out of Bangalore.

According to information mentioned on the Forbes website, the youngsters’ aim was to share the social media experience with speakers of South Asian languages, Hindi and Punjabi, allowing them to make profile, upload content and establish followers.

“Their app is used by eight million users monthly. Currently, they have raised $23.6 million from investors such as SAIF Partners and Xiaomi,” reads the website.

Speaking on how their platform was designed to cater to the needs of the Indian internet users, Farid said, “ShareChat is changing the way in which the next set of billion Indian users consume the internet through their multi-lingual user-generated content platform and cutting-edge technology infrastructure. It is the first social network that gathers geo-specific data on Indian content on a large scale and leverages a highly data-oriented approach to cater to the diverse needs of the Indian internet users.”

Bhanu added, “ShareChat app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and used in various regional languages. It allows users to create posts, follow people, consume multimedia content, interact with other people through comments and share things with various other communication platforms in an easy way.”

Calling the application intuitive and convenient, Ankush said, “ShareChat aims to optimise social media content for Indian users and become a unique problem solver for the mass vernacular audience in the country.”

Backed by strategic investors, ShareChat has an established user base of almost 30 million users spread across the country and provides the platform in 14 languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Kannada, Assamese, Haryanvi, Rajasthani and Bhojpuri.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Rajeev Mullick, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / April 14th,2018

Mohammed Hanish assumes office as KMRL chief

Business & Economy, Leaders, Science & Technology, Travel & Tourism, , , , ,

KERALA :

Kochi :

HaneeshMPOs17apr2018

The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has a new chief.

APM Mohammed Hanish took over the reins on Thursday as Elias George bowed out from the top job after successfully completing five years with Kerala’s prestigious project. After assuming office, Hanish said his primary aim will be to smoothen the path ahead for KMRL. “Our main focus will be the extension of Kochi Metro up to Tripunithura.

Along with that, we will also launch the second phase of the project, from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to Kakkanad.

Another project we are carrying forward is the Water Metro, which is expected to revolutionise the transport sector in Kochi,” Hanish said.

However, the newly appointed managing director of KMRL said there are certain challenges in front of KMRL. “These include the land acquisition hurdles,” he said.”We need to speed up the land acquisition proceedings for completing the project in a time-bound manner. I believe my experiences with the Kerala Roads and Bridges Development Corporation (RBDCK) and PWD will help me in achieving the goals. Kochi Metro is, of course, a prestigious project and I’m happy to become a part of it.

The work culture, as well as the office environment, is quite different at KMRL. The young brigade consisting of vibrant staff members is the real strength of KMRL.” The outgoing MD, Elias George, said the new chief will have to undertake some key challenges, including the second phase of expansion of Kochi Metro.

“Personally, I will say that my tenure with KMRL as its MD is one of the most satisfactory jobs that I have undertaken in my whole career,” he said.

Hanish, who also holds the top position with Supplyco, had served as the nodal officer for the FIFA U-17 World Cup matches in Kochi.

He is also the officer-in-charge of the Kochi Smart City Mission.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Express News Service / November 03rd, 2017

Indian Scientists Led by Muslim Woman Succeed in Making Hydrocarbons with Microbes

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

All India, NEW DELHI :

From left — Scientists Shriessh Srivastava, Syed Shams Yazdani, Zia Fatma and Tabinda Shakeel studied the phospholipid pathway of E. coli . (Photo – The Hindu)
From left — Scientists Shriessh Srivastava, Syed Shams Yazdani, Zia Fatma and Tabinda Shakeel studied the phospholipid pathway of E. coli . (Photo – The Hindu)

New Delhi :

A team of scientists at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi has successfully experimented with the use of microbes in making hydrocarbons.

The scientists “have succeeded in engineering the metabolic pathway of Escherichia coli in such way that it would synthesise hydrocarbons of carbon chain length 15 and 17, which are the fundamental components of diesel,” says a report in The Hindu.

The results of the study, conducted by four researchers of microbial engineering – Shriessh Srivastava, Syed Shams Yazdani, Zia Fatma and Tabinda Shakeel – were recently published in the Journal of Metabolic Engineering.

“Few cyanobacteria are known to produce a low quantity of alkane. So we put the genes responsible for this production into the laboratory bacteria. But then the production was very minimal. So we took the approach of in-silico metabolic pathway, and finally over-expressed a gene (zwf gene) and removed few genes from E. coli which resulted in significantly high hydrocarbon production,” explained Zia Fatma, Postdoctoral researcher and first author of the paper.

Dr Syed Shams Yazdani, from Microbial Engineering group and corresponding author of the paper said: “Currently, most of our need for fuels is met by non-renewable crude petroleum. Few countries have commercialised biodiesel made via transesterification of vegetable oil, but they can only be blended in the proportion of 5-20% with diesel and are not compatible with the supply chain,” says per. “The production is currently only at the lab level. We have to integrate the engineered plasmid into the genome and go for mass production. We are working to bring about a ten-fold increase in the production and at the same time bring down the cost of the new product.”

source: http://www.caravandaily.com / Caravan Daily / Home> Editor’s Notes / Caravan News /  April 01st, 2018

Doctors of Royapettah Hospital bring out a book on toxicology

Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Science & Technology, ,

Chennai, TAMIL NADU :

ToxicologyMPOs26mar2018

Doctors of the Department of Internal Medicine at Government Royapettah Hospital have brought out a book, Manual of Toxicology — An Indian Perspective, which, they say, will fill a lacunae in the knowledge about poisons.

“Most toxicology manuals are silent on many of the Indian posions, as they have been written from a western perspective. This book is based on our experience treating cases involving toxins,” says Dr. A. Shaik Sulaiman Meeran, one of the doctors who spearheaded this book project.

Dr. P. Paranthaman was the editor-in-chief. Dr. Sulaiman, Dr. A. Samuel Dinesh and Dr. D. Venkateswaralu served as associate editors and Dr. P. Raja as co-editor. The book has been brought out by Chess Educational Publishers.

Dr. Sulaiman says that knowing the sources of danger will prevent accidental ingesting of poisons or strikes by venomous reptiles and insects.

Knowing where to seek help will be a crucial factor in recovery.

He says snake bite cases from the southern suburbs, which include Tambaram and surrounding areas, parts of Old Mahabalipuram Road and East Coast Road are common. Anti-venom serum for treatment of bites by cobra, viper and krait is available. Government general hospitals have them.

Residents of semi-urban areas can face the problem of snake bikes, it is available in primary health centres, he says. Here is a word of caution. “Ninety percent of the sea snakes are poisonous and there is no anti-venom serum for them. Only supportive treatment can be given. Sea snakes are sometimes found near fishermen’s settlements. They get entangled in fishermen’s nets and are brought ashore. There is always a high possibility of finding them near fishermen’s hamlets on East Coast Road,” says Dr. Sulaiman.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / March 23rd, 2018