The virtual Open Day in progress
CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, celebrated an Open Day on 6 October 2021, to commemorate the 80th Foundation Day of CSIR. On this occasion, special talks by CSIR-NCL scientists were organised for the schools and undergraduate students under the CSIR Jigyasa Student-Scientist Connect programme.
In his welcome remarks, Dr Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR-NCL, shared anecdotes on the formation of the CSIR and its constituent laboratories and informed about the crucial role played by the legendary scientists and leaders at that time. Earlier, Dr Wafia Masih, Coordinator of the programme, welcomed the speakers and the audience. She also introduced the speakers to the participants and moderated the programme.
In the first talk, Dr Rakesh Joshi a Scientist from the Biochemical Sciences Division, rendered a special talk on ‘Insect pest: Journey from friend to foe.’ He revealed the impact of global warming and climate change on turning insects into pests. He discussed reports and literature that insects are feeding more and reproducing faster because of global warming. Due to this, insects are expanding into new geographic areas, resulting in agricultural productivity loss by excessive infestation or causing plant diseases outbreak.
He discussed the negative impact of excessive use of chemical insecticides on our life and the environment and emphasized that we have to come up with effective and eco-friendly insecticides. He discussed his ongoing research at CSIR-NCL about using biological agents or natural molecules to control insect pest growth. Dr Joshi encouraged young students to study insects as they are causing crop damages, spreading diseases, but also serve as food sources for future generations.
Dr Anuya Nisal, a Scientist from the Polymer Science and Engineering division, delivered the second talk on ‘Silk: from textiles to medical applications.’ She helped the students understand the term “SILK” and also correlated the chemical composition of silk to the properties of the silk material. Dr Nisal also shared some interesting work on silk that has been pursued at National Chemical Laboratory.
