This processes the GMT time and converts it to Indian time. 18 Light Emitting Diodes (LED) bulbs give off red, green and blue light to indicate hours, minutes and second hand on a single strip.
Bengaluru :
Six students of Sapthagiri College of Engineering, with help from their faculty designed a clock of 3 feet diameter, which takes the time from the satellite through GPS (Global Positioning System). Much like how location information is enabled through satellites, time information can also be received.
Dr Dinesh K Anvekar, head of Research and Development as well as faculty in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) said, “The chip or micro-controller called Arduino was fed with a programme prepared by the students in C language. This processes the GMT time and converts it to Indian time. 18 Light Emitting Diodes (LED) bulbs give off red, green and blue light to indicate hours, minutes and second hand on a single strip. There are no moving hands like a regular clock.”
The clock was designed in over three weeks and was done during their holidays. Only an uninterrupted power supply is required to keep the clock running. However, solar power-based supply has also been included in the design.
“It is very useful for providing accurate time for the public in railway and bus stations. Maintenance required is very minimal,” he added.With the procurement of materials, the clock costed Rs 10,000. However, if the size is reduced to 1 feet in diameter, it would cost Rs 4,000.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / August 04th, 2019
The Catapult network has decided to focus on Bengaluru to enhance the progress already made in air quality and electric vehicle transition in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru :
British Deputy High Commissioner Dominic McAllister on Wednesday launched a two-year India-UK joint initiative in Bengaluru that would provide a unique air quality measurement system by integrating satellite and sensor data and support India’s transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs). The initiative – Innovating for Clean Air (IfCA) will identify innovations having potential to improve air quality and contribute to a more detailed localised map of the air quality of Bengaluru through the unique combination of satellite and sensor data, including both on-the-ground and mobile data.
The programme will identify relevant challenges around EV-charging infrastructure, grid management and integrating renewable energy to ensure a sufficient, reliable and clean source of power. It will also facilitate opportunities for Indian and UK innovators to collaborate in developing long-lasting relationships to address these challenges.
The programme is led by Innovate UK — part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) — and is funded by the Newton Fund with matched resources from various key partners in Karnataka and India, like Indian Institute of Science, Enzen, Project Lithium, Confederation of Indian Industries, C40 Cities and Clean Air Platform.
Other partners include Citizens for Sustainability, World Resources Institute, Indian Institute for Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), Shakti Foundation, Shell Technology Centre, Global Business Inroads and India Smart Grid Forum. A current UK partner, Earthsense is working in collaboration with the UK Catapults.
The Catapult network has decided to focus on Bengaluru to enhance the progress already made in air quality and electric vehicle transition in Bengaluru.
UK Research and Innovation India (UKRI) Director Rebecca Fairbairn said, “UKRI has been working with India for over a decade, focussing on research that makes a difference to society and to our economies but this is the first time the UK Catapult network, which drives innovation in highly targeted industries has been implemented here and it demonstrates the creativity possible through India-UK partnership.”
British Deputy High Commissioner Mc Allister said, “Such collaborative initiatives are an example of how the UK and India can work as a joint force for good on innovative solutions, and can bring the best of our research communities, academia and businesses together to address shared challenges, such as clean air.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / August 01st, 2019
They used a bioinformatics approach to design protein
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) have designed an anti-microbial peptide (AMP) that, researchers say, can effectively and quickly kill a notorious multidrug-resistant bacterium called Acinetobacter baumannii.
According to a press release by IISc., the bacterium tops the WHO’s list of threats that urgently need new antibiotics because it is “remarkably adept at developing drug resistance”. The release also stated that it is among the six species responsible for most infections in hospitals and health care centres.
In a new study published in Science Advances, IISc. researchers used a bioinformatics approach to design a new short protein (peptide) called Omega76 that can kill A. baumannii by breaking down its cell membrane.
Infected mice treated with Omega76 had much better survival rates. The team also found that high doses of Omega76 given for prolonged periods did not produce any toxic effects. Since it is safe and effective, it is a promising candidate for developing new antibiotics, the researchers say.
Dipshikha Chakravortty, Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, who was part of this research, was quoted as saying, “The significance of A. baumannii infection was not sufficiently understood earlier… It was regarded as just another bug in the environment. It has now become a major threat, especially in the intensive care units.”
The release stated that antibiotics for such infections may soon become ineffective, as resistance to even last-resort drugs such as carbapenems is on the rise.
“They are not entirely safe either; a drug called colistin, which is considered the last hope for multidrug-resistant infections, has been found to cause severe kidney damage,” said postdoctoral fellow Deepesh Nagarajan.
While standard drugs act by “blocking specific pathways or processes in bacterial cells,” bacteria can evolve to gain resistance against such drugs. Nagasuma Chandra, Professor at the Department of Biochemistry, said, “On the other hand, anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) actually punch holes in the bacterial cell membrane. The chances of drug resistance are much lower because they act by multiple ways and cause actual physical damage.”
The researchers plan to improve its design further, and explore clinical uses.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – July 30th, 2019
The Government Higher Primary School in Navarathna Agrahara near Bengaluru Airport, on a 12,000 sqft area, was completely demolished and reconstructed with the help of Ronald Colaco from Dubai.
The Government Higher Primary School in Navarathna Agrahara
Bengaluru :
A first look will make you think it is a private school. It has all modern education tools and infrastructure. This school, 30km from Bengaluru, is changing the way we look at government schools, thanks to an NRI family. For, the general perception is that government schools are not on par with the private ones.
The Government Higher Primary School in Navarathna Agrahara near Kempegowda International Airport, on a 12,000 sqft area, was completely demolished and reconstructed with the help of Ronald Colaco from Dubai.
The Colaco family decided to move to the countryside when they saw the villages nearby struggling to make ends meet. The school was built in 1992 and started off with just four classrooms. Over the years, the infrastructure was not updated nor the building repaired. Often classes had to be held outdoors for fear that the building may collapse any time. Eventually, the school strength fell from 92 to 52. Since there were only a few private schools within a 3km radius, many parents had to pay exorbitant fees.
Ronald Colaco, a businessman, frequents Bengaluru and has a house near the school. The idea of rebuilding the school came to him as several people in the village used to request him to give financial assistance to pay the school fees. His son, Nigel Colaco, oversaw the design, construction and execution of the project. “Villagers used to spend all their savings or borrow money to enrol their children in private schools. I used to get requests from parents to support their children’s education. I decided to build the new government school as a permanent solution,” Ronald Colaco told The New Indian Express.
The school today boasts of 11 well-equipped classrooms, a computer laboratory, a conference hall, sports facilities, staff chambers, 31 CCTV cameras, kitchen and dining hall to provide mid-day meal to the children, a separate washroom for girls and boys, which match the standard of international schools.
THE construction of the school and other infrastructure cost Rs 3.1 crore As of now, the school conducts classes up to grade seven. The remodelled school was inaugurated on Saturday where Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda was the chief guest. Krishna Byre Gowda, MLA, who was present, said efforts will be made to introduce English medium and also upgrade it to a high school in the following academic year. “It took just five months to complete the construction. Being an NRI, I’ve always wanted to give back to the society,” Colaco said.
While the school had only three government teachers, Colaco brought in an additional four teachers. Not only that, the school has now seen 24 new admissions. Colaco has requested more people to come forward and develop government schools. Mahesh Kumar N K, the panchayat president, said, “Now the villagers are happy to see a government school of international standards.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Preeja Prasad / Express News Service / July 29th, 2019
Setty was likely unique in having the audacity to ignore financial worries and get involved in what was still a new and experimental field as an engineering student in Britain.
An Avro 504. Credit: TSRL/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
This wide-ranging column will take as its basis a discussion of a book every month on the history of science and technology, and relate it to a theme of current relevance. Read the other articles here.
On a recent visit to Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, a friend pointed out a small printed display next to a wooden model of an early Avro plane. It showed a man in suit and tie, sporting a drooping moustache and a white turban. The caption identified him as S.V. Setty (1879-1918), an “apprentice and unpaid draughtsman” at A.V. Roe and Company in 1912. It went on to declare: “India regards him as its first aircraft engineer”. This was intriguing; to the best of my knowledge Setty is not a household name in India. I set out to find out more.
Newspapers, websites and online forums have occasionally featured discussions on Setty, but the most detailed account we have of his life is contained in Kashi Viswanatha Setty’s slim volume, The First Indian Aviator: S.V. Setty, published by the Karnataka Arya Vysya Maha Sabha in 1984. Translated from the Kannada, the book gives a timeline of Setty’s life and includes some of his letters in an appendix.
Srirama Venkatasubba Setty (also known as Setti or Chetty) was born in Mysore in 1879 and earned a B.A. from the Maharaja’s College before enrolling in the Engineering College at Guindy, Madras. From Guindy, he transferred to the Thomason College, Roorkee, where he completed his engineering degree with high honours, but missed out on a prized appointment in the Indian Public Works Department (PWD) because he was above the age limit. He did get a job with the Mysore PWD, however. He served until 1909 before going on leave, having won from the Mysore government a scholarship to Faraday House, London, where he studied for a diploma in electrical engineering. This was a sandwich course , and Setty was soon gaining experience at firms in Rugby, Wolverhampton and London. During this time he also became an associate member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
Setty clearly had an appetite for learning. In England, he was attracted to flying and aeroplane design, which were newly in vogue (in the United States, the Wright brothers had made their first successful powered flight in 1903). Extending his leave and procuring loans from some wealthy patrons at home, he joined Avro in 1911 as a trainee pilot and draughtsman at the company’s Brooklands airfield in Surrey. The company, which was among the first aeroplane-makers in Britain, had only been a year old at this point.
At Brooklands, Setty regularly flew in various Avro planes, earning several mentions in Flight , the journal of the Aero Club in Britain. This was an experience few Indians would have had until the end of World War I. Flying took off in India in the 1910s but was mainly the preserve of wealthy princes. Setty was by no means alone in being an Indian engineering student in Britain – but he was probably unique in having the audacity to ignore financial worries and get involved in what was still a new and experimental field, offering little by way of career options in India. It couldn’t have been easy. For one thing, flying in the early days involved mortal danger. For another, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb at Brooklands. On one occasion, when he veered off course, Flight reported, “After two or three straight lines he turned off and ran into the sewage farm. He is a vegetarian, and it is thought that he may possibly have had some irresistible attraction for the cabbages which grow that way.” This may well have been good-natured ribbing but it would not be surprising if it felt like a barb at some level.
In addition to flying, Setty was involved in preparing drawings for various planes being designed at Avro in 1911-12. It is difficult to establish with certainty the exact nature of Setty’s contribution. Documentary evidence from his time at Brooklands is scarce, and Avro’s early records perished in a fire in the 1950s. (Setty’s great-grandson has collected some documents and a medallion awarded to his ancestor, though I have not had the opportunity to look at these in the original.) The most reasonable assessment I have found so far is in a note on Setty prepared by the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, and kindly made available to me by them. Considering various sources carefully, the note concludes that Setty “definitely worked on general arrangement drawings for the Avro Type F” (the first plane with an enclosed cockpit), and possibly “worked on drawings for the original [Avro] Type E”, a biplane – having wings in a double-decker arrangement – that formed the basis for the Avro 500 series. The Avro 504 would play a major part in World War I.
Having received a handsome certificate from Avro, Setty went back to his job in Mysore, leaving England in June 1912. There he was deputed as superintendent of the Mechanical Engineering School in Bangalore. He continued to have an interest in aviation, and with his year-long experience with Avro he was confident that he could build an aeroplane in India. He sought permission from the Mysore government and requested Rs 15,000 in funding. From the estimate of expenses that he enclosed with his request, it appears that he aimed to construct a biplane along the lines of the ones he had worked on in England. The dream was short-lived, however, as World War I broke out and the Government of India disallowed the flying of aircraft in its territory.
Why is Setty not better known? In his lifetime he was not shy of publicity. He was eulogised by the Calcutta-based Modern Review, sent photographs of himself with an Avro biplane to a professional journal and, upon his return to India in 1912, was honoured at gatherings in Erode, Bangalore, Madras, Coimbatore and Kollegal. But what fame he enjoyed was tied to his career in aviation, which had lasted all of one year, and which he had no way of continuing. Still, had Setty lived a long life, his reputation might have grown. But he was denied that privilege: the influenza pandemic of 1918 claimed him before he was forty.
Perhaps it is a mistake to focus exclusively on Setty’s exploits in the air, for he became a prominent citizen of Bangalore and continued to make an impact in other fields. He set up scholarships in his parents’ names; experimented with building a Kannada typewriter; was almost certainly a member of the Freemason Lodge in Bangalore; and was acting professor in the city’s engineering college (he was confirmed in the post shortly before his death).
Trying to identify firsts in the history of technology is often an unrewarding exercise – nor is it particularly useful to invoke individual genius in explaining technological developments. Personal courage, determination and imagination are by no means unimportant – and S.V. Setty had them in good measure – but we would do him a disservice if we saw him in isolation from the world in which he worked. A number of interesting questions beckon.
How did this Roorkee graduate develop an interest in electrical engineering, still a novel subject in the 1900s? In what circles did he move as a student in London, and how did aviation catch his fancy? To what extent did the munificence of the Mysore government and his acquaintances influence the direction of his career? Did Setty’s efforts have a long-term impact on aviation in India? It may have been a coincidence, but when aircraft manufacture eventually took root in India in the 1940s, it did so in Bangalore and with the support of the Mysore government. But that is a story for another day.
Aparajith Ramnath is a historian of modern science, technology and business.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> History / by Aparajith Ramnath / May 15th, 2017
The plight of malnourished and underprivileged children has moved this 15-year-old student who has developed an app to tackle the scourge.
The student, Ayush Gharat, has won worldwide appreciation for his app, mNutrition, and has been invited by the state Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shivananda Patil for a discussion to see how the idea could be implemented in the state.
Gharat is a certified Android developer was inspired to build the app when he saw the struggles of the underprivileged children during a school trip.
“I would be more than happy to hear your thoughts about eradicating malnutrition. I congratulate you on the development of this app and would be interested to see if we can collaborate,” Patil said.
mNutrition helps diagnose malnutrition in children below five years.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has laid down certain guideline for diagnosing malnutrition by comparing the height, weight and age of an individual,” Gharat told DH.
“It can be calculated minor, moderate and severe malnutrition.”
Since the WHO tables could be very complex for an Anganwadi workers and mNutrition can help cut down manual errors in calculation. “Sometimes there’re errors in entering numbers and sometimes the handwriting of those giving the data can’t be understood. mNutrition can eliminate all these,” he said
While malnutrition is affecting two in five children in urban areas, there is very little awareness about the issue, he said.
The class 10 student designed the app, while his parents did the proof-reading. Gharat is also among the participants from across the globe who took part in a competition organised by Google.
How mNutrition works
Anganwadi or Asha workers, who will find the app easy to use, can enter the data such as the child’s height, weight and age to get the level of malnutrition. Gharat hopes to improve the app further to offer solutions for a particular range of malnourishment.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City / by Reshma Ravishanker / DH News Service, Bengaluru / May 27th, 2019
The Old Boys, as they are known, relish a history of sending their own to the armed forces to defend the country.
Martyrs’ family members | shriram BN
Bengaluru :
Wreaths were laid, The Last Post played, followed by traditional memorial band tunes, as they called to rest upon four of their own martyrs. The Old Boys Association of St Joseph’s Boys’ High School, which is one of the oldest alumni associations in the city, marked their 100 years of existence by honouring the post-independence martyrs who were part of their association.
The Old Boys, as they are known, relish a history of sending their own to the armed forces to defend the country. It started with the First World War, until recent battles in independent India. The numbers tally to 360 old boys, who served in various battlefields across the world, some being just teenagers. They recalled the association with pride about their alumna.
On Saturday, on one of their last events for their centenary year, the association inaugurated two plaques in the St Joseph’s Boys’ High School. One at the war memorial, and another in the school, with names of four Indian Alumni – Capt John A Dalby, from 5 field regiment, who was martyred on November 18, 1962 at Jaswanth Garh, during the Sino-Indian War; Major Uday Shankar Ghosh, 13 Sikh Light Infantry, martyred on June 26, 1989 in The Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka; Major Palecanda Atul Deviah, 6 Field Regiment, in operation Meghdoot at Siachen Glacier; and Major Sylvester Rajesh Rathnam, 21 JAT, martyred on August 2, 2002, in operation Parakrama in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir.
Families of the martyrs gathered with the Old Boys and friends at the Memorial Service that was celebrated by the archbishop of Bengaluru, Peter Machado, before paying their respects to the martyrs at the school campus. While the pipe band from the Madras Engineering Group and Centre played Slow March. Families and friends mourned their beloved as the Sappers played the Last Post and the Rouse at the memorial.
Families of martyrs find closure in Old Boys’ ceremony
“It has been a long and heartbreaking journey for me. As John’s oldest daughter I will be eternally grateful to all of you for assisting me to find closure after 58 years,” said Cheryl Dalby, daughter of late Captain John Albert Dalby, SM, 5 Field Regiment.
He was martyred on November 18, 1962, at The Jaswant Garh – Sela Sector in NEFA during the Sino-Indian war. She was addressing the Old Boys Association, St Joseph’s Boys’ High School, honouring four Old Boy martyrs on Saturday, at the school campus. To Cheryl, like the families of other martyrs of the institute, the traditional memorial service was a means of getting closure.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Pearl Marial D’Souza / Express News Service / May 26th, 2019
A gold medallist from Bangalore University lives a dream of helping patients who have suffered from stroke-related disorders. She also hopes to bag the Miss India pageant title this year.
A speech-language pathologist by profession, 24-year-old Eliza Baby is among the very few from her profession to enter the pageant. She has been chosen to be among the 20 in the country to enter the final round of the Miss India Mission Dreams contest. She is the first from her profession to make it to the event.
A topper in academics, Baby bagged gold medals during her undergraduate course in Bangalore University and was also among the high achievers in her post-graduation at the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru. This topper has been working as a speech-language pathologist for six months now.
She hopes to pursue her PhD and her project on Artificial Intelligence to help those affected by stroke has been approved by a university in the United States.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Life in Bengaluru / by DH News Service, Bengaluru / May 16th, 2019
In 1986, Menon came to Bangalore at the invitation of the Bar Council of India to set up the NLS and initiated a new model of legal education — the Five Year Integrated LLB programme. He served as the university’s founding vice-chancellor for 12 years
In the year 1986, Madhava Menon came to Bangalore at the invitation of Bar Council of India to set up the NLSUI.
NR Madhava Menon , considered the father of modern legal education in India, passed away Tuesday night. He was 84. Menon was instrumental in building the prestigious National Law School of India University in Bangalore in 1986.
Alumni from the NLA remember Menon as forward-thinking, and recollect how he referring to NLS as the ‘Harvard of the East’.
Latha Nair, an intellectual property lawyer based in Gurgaon, said, “He was instrumental in setting up NLS in Bangalore. He ensured there were discussions during classes instead of the regular methods of teaching. He brought in a lot of versatility into legal education as he did not teach just Law.“
Nair recalled Menon as forward-thinking, as he often looked at models in the West. “He would refer to NLS as the ‘Harvard of the East’,” she said.
Nikhil Nayyar, who studied in the first batch of NLS, said, “Menon is the one who really started the institution and got it going. He dealt with several challenges, including building infrastructure and dealing with the shortage of funds. The University had a simple start.”
In 1986, Menon came to Bangalore at the invitation of the Bar Council of India to set up the NLS and initiated a new model of legal education — the Five Year Integrated LLB programme. He served as the university’s founding vice-chancellor for 12 years.
Speaking to IndianExpress.com , Vice-Chancellor of NLS R Venkata Rao said, “Menon is like a father figure, we feel orphaned. I would say he is not ‘Menon’ but he is a ‘pheno-menon’.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities / by Darshan Devaiah BP / Bengaluru – May 09th, 2019
Not long ago, a Bengaluru teenage girl went on to impress the best of the golfers. The girl, Aditi Ashok, is now an established player on the Ladies PGA Tour.
Bengaluru :
Not long ago, a Bengaluru teenage girl went on to impress the best of the golfers. The girl, Aditi Ashok, is now an established player on the Ladies PGA Tour.
Two other Bengaluru girls – Rishika Muralidhar and Avani Prashanth – are also dreaming to reach the same heights as Ashok in the coming years.
Muralidhar, 13, has consistently performed in the junior circuit – in India and at the US Kids golf. Recently, she topped the Category B (13-15 years) in the Indian Golf Union Southern India Ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Clover Greens Golf Club. Muralidhar played a fine game of 3-over, 1-under and 2-under over three rounds to complete the tournament with level par. She also had a bogey-free round on Day 3 to emerge on top. In the combined Category A and B standings, Muralidhar was placed third.
“This was my first competition in the ‘B’ category and I felt I did well. The target is to now improve. As the distance of the golf course is going bigger in the ‘B’ category, it will be a challenge to master the strokes but with hard work, I will get better,” says Muralidhar, who trains under Ashok’s coach Steven Giulian. “I will be playing mostly in India for now besides two international competitions and get better.”
Avani Prashanth
The other Bengaluru girl set to impress is Prashanth, a grade seven student of Greenwood High International School, with two wins in two weeks. She won the Category C (11-13 years) at the same tournament. Prashanth played rounds of 3-over, 2-under and level-par to finish with a score of 211 – nine strokes ahead of her nearest competitor. She led the tournament field on all three days and played the only under par round of the tournament in the age category, in a tournament field comprising of 21 players at the start of the tournament.
On Friday, she continued her good run, winning the Category C in the IGU Rotary Karnataka Ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Eagleton Golf Resort. She played rounds of 6-over, 2-over and 4-over to finish with a score of 228, two strokes ahead of her nearest competitor Ananya Garg.
Prashanth, who has been playing golf since the age of three, has been among top five at the US Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst North Carolina in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in U-7, U-8 and U-9 age groups, respectively. She has also been among the top five in US Kids Golf European Championship in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She also won the Order of Merit in 2015 and 2017 by winning all the tournaments conducted by South Zone Junior Golf under the auspices of the Indian Golf Union.
Now, Prashanth aims to better her skills. “I want to represent India at the 2024 Olympics and win a gold medal. I want to become a golfer of repute in women’s golf,” she says.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / May 04th, 2019
