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MILLION-DOLLAR tech centre for IISc
Prashanth G N TNN
Bangalore: A multi-million-dollar technology centre for knowledge sciences is set to be Bangalore’s New Year gift. In a collaboration that could be a first, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, the University of California, Santa Cruz and Infosys are in talks to set up a $1-million knowledge sciences research centre at IISc. The $1-million facility will turn into a $10-million one in phases. The brain behind the project is Ram Akella, an IISc alumnus and professor, Tech Services, UC Santa Cruz, who heads a major computer technology centre at the university. Akella told TOI: “We are also in talks with IBM and Yahoo and the government to help us establish the technology centre. Three US varsities will also join us later. Our university-industry-government collaboration could be India’s first.”Akella said he was looking at the centre to create a tranformational impact on knowledge services in India and globally in financial, healthcare, service centre management, CRM and BPO affairs. The centre is also looking at “search technologies and data plus text mining for web and knowledge management”. Akella is very passionate about what IISc should do:“We’ve to innovate and invest by picking new interdisciplinary areas which have societal impact — like Knowledge Sciences (fusing machine learning and data mining with business management), climate change, Earth sciences.” “The integration with international universities and the US industry will enable the institute to develop world-class research capability and achieve major international collaborations and impact,” says Akella. Akella has been to the Ivy leagues such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and to Infosys in India. A model he suggests is the success of Stanford — a university that has been giving rise to some of the finest tech start-ups in the US. In fact, one of the offshoots of the proposed centre is creating new entrepreneurships. “The Society for Innovation and Development has done wonderful work at IISc. We would love to build on this culture. I’ve seen MIT and Harvard. If I look back at what IISc has done and what it can do, I can safely place IISc is in the top 20 of the world.” More muscle to IISc The proposed tech centre will add to the existing research undertaken in the Computer Science Applications Centre and the Supercomputer Education and Research Centre. Together, the three centres can build a culture of IT start-ups similar to the one in Stanford University. Applications in nanotechnology will also be a focus for the new centre as IISc already has a state-of-the-art nano centre coming up.
Times of India Dated15th December 2008 page-5

Our DREAMS are our VISION
K J Rao Professor Solid State and Structural Chemistry IISc Bangalore
Indian Institute of Science will soon be 100 and enter its second century. Its founders wanted it to be the John Hopkins of India. A centenary is the time to ruminate on its future. Here is a glimpse of the vision of a material scientist about the big science IISc should contemplate, to measure up to its reputation. There are at least three commitments of IISc. The first is to carry out research in frontier areas of science (includes technology) in the pursuit of excellence. The second is to help the country find solutions to its problems through the application of science and technology. The third is to provide human resource of the best kind to the nation through imparting training at the highest level, in various branches of science. The vision of big science is embedded in the first two. Some of our gifted faculty strives for excellence in research all the time, and it is their only goal. Stimuli for their work comes from unpredictable sources; new research reported from somewhere else, conference discussion, inherent curiosity, intuitive flashes and many others. They are unmindful of the eventual use of their research. One thing they do is to push the frontiers of knowledge, and in the process, bring enormous fame. IISc has only to continue to attract such bright faculty and provide all forms of support to their activities. IISc should go for international faculty hiring to fulfil this vision. Our vision of big science can help the country in tackling its well-nigh insatiable energy needs. We should look beyond solar and wind powers as future energy sources and examine controlled nuclear fusion (like Bussard-type clean inertial electrostatic confinement fusion of proton and 11B which gives only helium and energy). We should examine if microwave power from space can be harnessed economically. Providing drinking water for a sixth of the global population who reside in India is a serious challenge. Discoveries in nanoscience should be exploited for efficient water purification, particularly to make it arsenic and fluoride free. We have to develop energyefficient and carbon-free transportation, since global warming is a real and immediate threat. It needs out-of-the-box thinking to find solutions. Can compressed air and liquid CO2-operated engines provide economically viable and carbonfree urban transportation of the future? Some day our bio-scientists may invent a bug that gets magnesium from sea water very efficiently, and our technologists design engines which burn solubilised magnesium! Remember, the enthalpy of Mg oxidation is one of the highest. Carbon neutral energy sources are needed urgently. We must genetically engineer new algae. Algae can synthesize huge quantities of lipids, 60% of their dry mass, at very high rates. Algae culturing requires only marginal land and small amounts of water and fertilizers. We should also develop strategies for carbon sequestration, into our layered minerals, into our oceans and into carbon (grapheme) itself. Cancer and diabetes are on the rise at an alarming rate. Can we make drug molecules which make the body cells let in sugar without requiring insulin? Can we synthesize cancer cell busters which enter and destroy cancer cells using nano-technology routes? Why not! Our strength is a century of robust tradition and a faith that it can do the impossible. Our dreams are many and they constitute our vision. VIGNETTES Bhabha’s cosmic rays In 1940, Homi Bhabha accepted the position of a Special Reader for six months in the department of Physics at the Institute, on an honorarium of Rs 2,000, and delivered a series of 25 lectures on cosmic rays. At that time, Nobel laureate R A Millikan of the California Institute of Technology also delivered a course of four lectures on ‘Experimental Methods and Results of Cosmic Ray Research’. Centenary run today The Bangalore chapter of IISc’s alumni association will hold a ‘Science & technology run’ on Sunday to celebrate the institute’s centenary. The run will start from the main building at 8 am. Participants will include the IISc fraternity and students of science and engineering colleges (The writer is professor, solid state and structural chemistry unit, IISc)
Times of India 6th page 7th December 2008

C N R Rao Chairnan Scientfic Advisory Council to Prime Minister of India
The Indian Institute of Science is the oldest and best postgraduate research institute of India, comparable to the Weizmann Institute in Israel, where there are only post-graduate students. There is no question that the Institute provides the best environment to carry out good research, and extraordinary freedom, independent of the rank of a faculty member. But this is history — what can we expect in future? The institute has to ensure that its position in the world is not only secure but also improves. In this age of competition, when all countries in the world, specially those in Asia, are competing for their place in the sun, we have to do everything to see that Indian institutions are also in the reckoning. In this respect, I do not see any other institution in India which qualifies to be amongst the top 20 or 50 scientific research and teaching institutions in the world. While I do not believe in competition where one is conscious of it all the time, thereby ruining the style of functioning as well as the very objectives of research, it is important that serious and constant efforts are made to improve quality and maintain our pursuit of excellence by supporting and promoting good ideas and bright, committed people. The institute has to plan new types of courses and educational programmes, which will promote higher education at the advanced level and research efforts of the faculty more effectively. I would encourage inter-disciplinary areas, like materials. Although there is some materials research going on, the quality as well as quantum of research are not sufficiently high. It will remain important and crucial as long as humans live. The institute should take up those areas which are closely related to the pressing problems of mankind, such as energy, water, climate and environment. The institute could offer major support for research on solar energy, hydrogen energy, fuel cells and batteries and related subjects, and even offer rewards for those who come up with real solutions that would help the country and world at large. We need to worry about water — not only availability and distribution, but also safe drinking water. With respect to climate change, we should improve our modelling capabilities and work on experimental approaches related to sequestration and beneficial conversion of carbon dioxide and related problems. IISc and industry have always been related. In fact, many years ago, a silicon plant was set up based on the technology of the institute. Many industries have benefited by their association with the institute. However, in future, we must see that Indian industry comes to the institute to support research in a big way. An important venture could be to establish a new organization within the institute, similar to ITRI in Taiwan. ITRI deals with training, education and research directed towards technological innovation. Young people educated in the institute come out with new ideas by the end of their two or three-year period, many of which become products and technologies. This would be a challenging task if IISc can produce future innovators. When we look at science today and the status of science at large, it becomes clear that it requires an entirely new approach. Indian Institute of Science could give serious thought to the kind of training and education we need to provide young people, so that at the end of their Bachelor’s degree in science and engineering, they are capable of taking up challenging problems related to society, industry and science. Such a new curriculum has to be planned very carefully. Most countries and institutions have not succeeded in providing the best kind of education suited to present and future needs. It will be worthwhile for the institute to plan a new inter-disciplinary undergraduate programme where students after Class 12, come to the institute to take up studies in diverse areas, which eventually help them work at the cutting edge, and also make major innovations for the advancement of science and engineering. I envisage courses that minimize compartmentalization of subjects like chemistry (organic, inorganic, physical etc.), physics and biology, and also attempt to bring about unity of all sciences. Engineering should be a significant component of such a curriculum.To accomplish many of these objectives, the institute has to have a large dedicated faculty, whose recruitment will be an important task. PM will open IISc celebrations Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the country’s premier scientific and research institution, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here on Wednesday. Security has been tightened at the campus. Singh, who will be arriving by noon, will launch the year-long celebrations planned by the Institute, and also unveil the centenary commemoration stone. Security has been beefed up, keeping in view the Mumbai attacks, and also the December 28, 2005 terror incident, when an assistant professor was killed and four others injured. VIGNETTES The Hopkins connection The Baltimore Sun on May 19, 1899, carried a news item with the headline: ‘The Hopkins, His Model’ and a small blurb ‘A Parsee Millionaire will Found a University in India along the same lines’, referring to Jamsetji Tata’s interest in adopting the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, as the model for the proposed university (IISc). John Hopkins University had the unique distinction of being the first university in the world founded as a post-graduate institution. Ramsay’s right choice Writing on why the new institute was best set up in Bangalore, Ramsay observed, “The town of Bangalore does not present the same distractions as Bombay, Calcutta or Madras; but it is the seat of a geological survey, of an agricultural section, and of a government college; and these would furnish a certain nucleus of scientific society, which could not fail to be congenial both to the staff and the students of the new institute.” The Kolar Gold Fields, other mineral deposits of the state, its climate that would make it possible to work with energy during the greater part of the year, clinched the issue. (The writer is chairman, scientific advisory council to PM)
Times of India 5th page 3rd December 2008

PORTALS OF EMINENCE
P Balaram Director IISc
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was conceived as a ‘research institute’ or ‘University of Research’ by Ja m s e t j i Nusserwanji Tata, in the twilight years of the 19th century. A long period of almost 13 years was to elapse from the initial conception in 1896, to the birth of the institute on May 27, 1909. The early history of the institute is a fascinating chapter in the story of higher education and scientific research in India. The cast of characters in the drama that led to the establishment of the Institute includes, in addition to its charismatic and generous founder J N Tata, figures from the pages of Indian history. There is Swami Vivekananda, whom J N Tata befriended on his famous voyage to the United States, the Maharaja of Mysore, Shri Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and his mother, then acting on his behalf, and Lord Curzon the Viceroy of India, whose first task on arrival on December 31, 1898, was to receive a draft proposal prepared by the Provisional Committee set up to plan the establishment of the Institute. The plan was shepherded through many difficult years by Burjorji Padshah, a close associate of J N Tata. Unfortunately, J N Tata died in 1904, unaware that his vision would indeed be realized a few years later. When the British government finally issued the Vesting Order in 1909, an unmatched experiment in higher education and research was launched in India. IISc is the first example of a public-private partnership in this country; an institution, whose evolution over a century is testimony to its robust foundations. The Institute occupies nearly 400 acres of prime land in Bangalore, generously donated by the Maharaja of Mysore in March 1907. The contribution from the princely state of Mysore was the decisive element in determining the location of J N Tata’s proposed institution. Remarkably, in a gesture unmatched in the annals of private philanthropy in India, Tata did not wish his name to be associated with the Institute. His dream was to create an institution that would contribute to the development of India. The name, Indian Institute of Science, which was finally chosen, reflects in every way the wishes of J N Tata. Visitors to Bangalore who seek out IISc still have to ask local residents for directions to the ‘Tata Institute’ — recognition that Jamsetji Tata’s act of generosity has remained undimmed in public memory. The Institute began with only two departments: general and applied chemistry and electro-technology. The first director, Morris W Travers, began the task of organizing the Institute shortly after his arrival in India at the end of 1906. Travers began the construction of the main building, which is one of Bangalore’s landmarks today. The departments of organic chemistry and biochemistry together with the library, were among the earliest to be established. The physics department came into being in 1933, when C V Raman became the first Indian director of the Institute. In the century that has passed, IISc has grown to become India’s premier centre for research and post-graduate education in science and engineering. Its evolution over the past 100 years has mirrored the development of science and technology in India. A long history, a strong tradition of academic research and an ambience that favours scholarly activity have been important elements in making the Institute a most attractive place for students and faculty. As the Institute has grown, several new areas of research have been established, many of them for the first time in India. The Institute’s departments in fields ranging from biochemistry to aerospace engineering have served to nucleate research and development in both the public and private sectors. The faculty and alumni have been responsible for establishing and spearheading many new institutions and programmes in the country, reflecting a major contribution of this centre of learning to national growth. Homi Bhabha conceived the idea of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and an Atomic Energy Programme, while working in the department of physics. Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of India’s space programme, was an alumnus. Following his premature death, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was built by the farsighted leadership of Satish Dhawan, who simultaneously held the position of the director of the Institute with the greatest distinction. The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kharagpur was established by J C Ghosh, who was director of IISc in the critical period 1939-48, during which much of the activity in engineering was initiated. Many of India’s most distinguished scientists have been associated with the Institute as students or faculty. Notable among them are G N Ramachandran, Harish Chandra, S Ramaseshan, Brsahm Prakash, A Ramachandran, C N R Rao and R Narasimha. Alumni of the Institute head many major organizations in India and abroad. The Institute offers a variety of Master’s degree programmes in engineering, an integrated (post-BSc) programme in sciences and PhD programmes in a wide spectrum of disciplines in science and engineering. Research laboratories are wellequipped, and many national facilities are housed here. The library and computational facilities at the Institute are amongst the best in India. A major programme for modernizing laboratories is under way, catalyzed by a special grant provided by the government of India in 2006. The face of science and engineering research has been changing rapidly over the past few years. In approaching the second century of the Institute, many new activities have been initiated, notable among them are the inter-disciplinary PhD. programmes in mathematical sciences, chemical biology, earth system science, nanoscience and nanotechnology and nanoengineering for integrated systems. To live and work at the Institute is a special privilege. Anniversaries are an occasion for both celebration and introspection. In reflecting on the past, present and future of the Institute, in this centenary year, an exchange between Morris Travers, the first director, and Lord Willingdon, the then Viceroy, is worth recounting. Willingdon went around the Institute in June 1914 and said: “I had no idea that there was anything like this in India.” Travers responded: “There is nothing like it in India; and nothing better in Great Britain.” In ensuring that this sentiment is true, a great deal of work remains to be done. Meeting of MINDS The IISc Centenary Conference is being organized from Dec 13 to 16, 2008, to mark 100 illustrious years in science, technology and innovation. The conference will be marked by several important events focusing on the Institute’s contributions to fundamental and applied scientific research A ‘ROMANCE’ FOR JRD Jamsetji conceived three great schemes — university, hydro and steel projects — as necessary for India’s progress, and decided to make himself personally responsible for their implementation, hopefully within his own lifetime. Unfortunately, only around 10 years actually remained — he died in 1904. Fortunately, his two sons, particularly his eldest, Dorabji, undertook to pursue them, and successfully brought them to life by 1911. At Jamsetji’s own request, the new university was not to carry his name and it was simply called The Indian Institute of Science. The hydro-electric project was established in 1910 and the steel plant started functioning in 1911. “I felt for a long time that the romance and saga of the creation of these great schemes, and of the struggles he encountered in their formulation with such dignity and patience, was a story that needed to be told...” — J R D Tata in his foreword to the book In Pursuit of Excellence: A History of the Indian Institute of Science by B V Subbarayappa (The writer is director, IISc )

Times of India Page Five 3rd December 2008