DAYA News Bureau, 23rd November 2023: The 4th Marie Curie – Meghnad Saha Science Conference was organized on 22nd November 2023 by the social welfare organization Durgapur Adda Young Association. The conference was held at Netaji Bhavan in Durgapur Steel Township.
In the presence of more than two hundred 8th to 10th grade students from eight schools in Durgapur, along with the teachers of the schools and several common people, three eminent scientists presented the content of this year’s Nobel prize-winning physics, chemistry and physiology research in very simple words.
The students of the schools that participated in this conference are; Steel Carmel School, Ispat Nagri Meghnad Saha Secondary School, St. Peter’s School, Bidhannagar Girls’ High School, St. Michael’s School, Jemua Vadubala Vidyapeeth, Durgapur Public School and Bidhannagar Boys’ High School.
As the first speaker, Dr. Ranjit Das, in his 1-hour speech, shed light on the discovery of electron dynamics and the successful creation of attosecond pulses of light that fetched Pierre Augustini of America, Ferenc Krautz of Hungary, and Anne Elhuiler of France the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics.
As the second speaker, Dr. Shreyasi Gupta, in her 50-minute speech, discussed the discovery of nucleoside base modification that fetched Catalin Carrico and Drew Weissman the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology; she further elaborated as how these discoveries could lead to highly effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
As the last speaker of the conference, Dr. Paulmi Roy, in his 1-hour speech, presented the research related to quantum dots and nanoparticles by Mungi Bawendi, Louis E. Bruce and Alexey Yakimov, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year.
The secretary of the organization said in his speech that the main aim of this program of Durgapur Adda Young Association is to develop science consciousness among the students and make them aware of the latest development in the field of science.
At the end of each speaker’s speech, the speakers answered the students’ questions about the topic of discussion. The quality and quantity of students’ questions in this section attest to their eagerness to learn. Each topic discussion and doubt clearing session was followed by an “open-to-all” question and answer session.
In this whole day long conference lunch was arranged for all by the organization.