Dabholkar to head leading physics body founded by Abdus Salam

India-born Dabholkar, 53, will succeed Fernando Quevedo in the role in November, according to an ICTP announcement welcomed by the London-based family of Salam, who passed away in 1996 after a path-breaking career in theoretical physics.

Dabholkar is the second Indian appointed to the position after Katepalli Sreenivasan, who was Quevedo’s predecessor. (Photo: International Centre for Theoretical Physics)

Atish Dabholkar, a theoretical physicist known for research on string theory and quantum black holes, has been appointed the next director of the Italy-based International Centre for Theoretical Physics founded in 1963 by Nobel laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan.

India-born Dabholkar, 53, will succeed Fernando Quevedo in the role from November, according to an ICTP announcement welcomed by the London-based family of Salam, who passed away in 1996 after a path-breaking career in theoretical physics.

Dabholkar is the second Indian appointed to the post in ICTP history after Katepalli Sreenivasan, who was Quevedo’s predecessor. Dabholkar is currently the head of the High Energy, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics section of ICTP based in Trieste, north-east Italy.

Ahmad Salam, son of Abdus Salam, said: “The four directors since my father have been from developing countries and have been first class physicists in their own right. But more than this the nationality of the director is totally irrelevant”.

‘Dabholkar a strong physicist, has empathy and understanding’

“The fact that he (Dabholkar) is a strong physicist and has empathy and understanding, and background from the developing countries is key. Naturally we are delighted the steering committee has chosen a renowned physicist and someone who knows the ICTP family and system so well”.

“We are delighted to welcome Atish and look forward to working with him on the Spirit of Salam Award and supporting Atish in any way that we can”, Salam added.

Dabholkar’s research includes investigations that build on Abdus Salam’s Nobel-winning work on electroweak unification: “Salam’s work was an important milestone leading to the questions I’m working on”, he says.

Winner of the 2006 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Science and Technology, Dabholkar is a graduate of the IIT, Kanpur, and earned a PhD in theoretical physics from Princeton University, followed by postdoctoral and research positions at Rutgers University, Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology.

Until 2010, he was a professor of theoretical physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, and has been a visiting professor at Stanford University and a Visiting Scientist at CERN. He joined ICTP in 2014 on secondment from Sorbonne Université and the National Center for Scientific Research.

‘Great honour to be chosen as ICTP’s next director’

Dabholkar said on his appointment: “It’s a great honour and responsibility to be chosen as ICTP’s next director. ICTP is a dynamic organization with a very high level of research and a unique global mission for international cooperation through science”.

“It was envisioned as an international hub for excellence in science and as an anchor for building scientific capacity and a culture of science around the globe. This vision remains valid today, more than 50 years since its founding, but requires flexibility to meet changing realities and priorities.”

The ICTP said Dabholkar’s appointment comes at a time of its expansion. Over the past 10 years, the current director, Quevedo, has reinforced its commitment and contribution to world-class theoretical physics research by hiring more researchers and creating new research initiatives in quantitative life sciences, high performance computing, renewable energies and quantum technology.

“Directing ICTP is a once in a lifetime opportunity due to its unique mission and its big impact in developing countries. I am glad that when I leave in November the institute will be in very good hands,” said Quevedo.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/dabholkar-to-head-leading-physics-body-founded-by-abdus-salam/story-WoPMeDfyr9JK54OjXW8V2K.html (Accessed on August 2, 2019)

The Most Valuable College Majors Are Where The Jobs Are

A shortage of data science and analytic skills stands out as one of the nation’s most urgent of skill gaps.

New job postings in the field are expected to reach more than 2.7 million by 2020, according to 2017 a report from the Business Higher Education Forum and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).

In a direct response to the growing impact of computing and data in an ever-changing digital world, universities across the nation are opening schools, forming research centers and offering new data-driven majors to meet the demands of the workforce. And they are betting that students will follow.

To read the full article, please visit:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mariaclaracobo/2019/07/31/the-most-valuable-college-majors-are-where-the-jobs-are/#39c162d278a0 (Accessed on August 2, 2019)

UGC moots open book exams, case studies, question bank

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/ugc-moots-open-book-exams-case-studies-question-bank/articleshow/70474614.cms (Accessed on August 2, 2019)

Indians top contributors to fake journals, UGC to crack down

Stop considering publications in predatory journals to hire teachers: Panel

Alarmed by the rise in Indian research contributions to fake journals, a UGC committee has recommended stern measures to preserve academic ethics and deter plagiarism.

The panel constituted to recommend ways to improve university research in India has proposed to the government to stop considering publications in predatory journals or presentations in predatory conferences for academic credit for selection to teaching positions, confirmation, promotion, appraisals, award of scholarships or academic degrees or credits in any form.

“Research publications only from journals indexed in CARE Reference List of Quality Journals should be used for all academic purposes,” the committee has said in its report to the HRD Ministry, which has placed the document in public space for wider consultations. The expert committee report records alarming trends in respect of deteriorating research at university level in India.

Although it shows that the number of admissions to PhDs has almost doubled between 2010 and 2017, it also reveals that the purpose of higher enrolment at research level is the rule that mandates a PhD for teaching assignments in universities.

The report notes that the mandatory requirement of publications in journals/conference proceedings for award of doctoral degrees and as a metric in evaluating faculty under the overall academic score is resulting in a proliferation of predatory journals and conferences, which have abandoned classical peer review as a method of quality control.

• 11,000 Total fake journals

• 35% Articles by Indians

• Maximum articles in engineering journals, followed by biomedicine and social sciences

• Year          :     PhD admissions

• 2010-11  :     77,798

• 2017-18  :    1,61,412

• Maximum enrolments in science, engineering and technology, followed by social science and humanities

Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/indians-top-contributors-to-fake-journals-ugc-to-crack-down/811604.html (Accessed on August 2, 2019)

Indian academics have contributed 35 per cent of all articles published in various kinds of fake journals lately, says the report, adding that independent sources have identified over 11,000 fake journals. Studies have also found that from a total article volume published in predatory journals, the large share is of articles in engineering journals, followed by biomedicine and social sciences. “Plagiarism and data manipulation are issues of great concern, which damage the credibility of research emanating from our institutions. This has to stop,” the committee said.

CURRENT STATS

10% growth/yr

UGC proposes sweeping changes in PhD admissions, course module

The suggestions have been put together by a four-member committee, headed by former Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, director P Balram.

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NEW DELHI: India’ university education regulator has proposed radical changes in the way research scholars are enrolled and PhD programmes are conducted that include a mandatory two-stage selection process even in private institutions and compulsory internships with policy organisations during the course period.

Through the proposed minimum standards and procedures for the award of M Phil and PhD degree regulations, the University Grants Commission wants to ensure that research scholar should have at least 55 per cent marks and get enrolled through a national or state or university level entrance test.

The suggestions have been put together by a four-member committee, headed by former Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, director P Balram. The panel was tasked with recommending ways to improve the quality and standard of research. The regulations, compiled by the committee, have now been released in public domain by the UGC before they are notified.

The committee, in its report, has noted that while the number of students opting to pursue research doubled from 77,798 in 2010- 11 to 1,61,412 in 2017-18, the percentage of PhD enrolments showed a declining trend in government-run institutes — both central and state — as well as institutes of national importance such as the IITs.

The number of enrolments in private deemed universities, on the other hand, has risen significantly.

“This may have a reflection on the quality of research produced at the doctoral degree level,” the committee noted.

It highlighted that the primary reason for this surge is mainly due to making PhD as one of the pre-requisites for entry for faculty positions in universities and also for career advancements.

Educationists have welcomed government intervention to raise the quality of research in India.

“It’s a matter of shame that in a country of nearly 1.35 billion so little quality research is happening that could be acknowledged globally,” said a professor of mathematics at Zakir Hussain College in Delhi University.

Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/aug/02/ugc-proposes-sweeping-changes-in-phd-admissions-course-module-2012882.html (Accessed on August 2, 2019)

ACTIVE USERS OF THE LIRC July 2019

ACTIVE USERS OF THE LIRC

(1^st July to 31^st July 2019)

 All the below Active Users are eligible for one extra library card for the month of August 2019

Sr. No.	Member	No of Transactions
1	SHETTY DARSHIT GEETANAND SHILPA SHETTY	35
2	BERYL BONIFACE JUSTINA	31
3	THAKUR VIRAJ SUBHASH SNEHAL	30
4	ANGCHEKAR MADHURA GAJANAN POOJA	29
5	CHAVAN POOJA SANTOSH SUPRIYA	28

Prominent scientists warn that 5G could pose health hazards

Call for measured steps noting that it could also affect environment adversely

Several eminent scientists in the country have begun a crusade to caution the Government against rushing into auctioning of spectrum for the industry to roll-out 5G technology based services in the country.

These scientists are campaigning, writing letters to Government and Parliamentarians and other opinion makers.

The list of such concerned scientists includes well-known names such as:

1. Prof V S Ramamurthy, former Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology

2. Dr T Ramasami, also a former Secretary of DST and a former Director-General of CSIR

3. Prof Girish Kumar, Deparment of Electronics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, who has written a book on EMF radiation hazards

4. Dr L V Krishnan, former Director of Safety Research and Health Physics Programmes at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam

5. Dr P C Kesavan, a noted radiobiologist and a former Dean, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi

6. Dr R S Sharma of Indian Council for Medical Research, Delhi, who has studied RF radiation effects on rats

7. Dr Mahadevan Srinivasan, a former atomic scientist at Baba Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

BusinessLine spoke to many of them. Their message is simple: look before you leap. They fear that as the Government prepares to auction the airwaves to raise an estimated Rs 6 lakh crore, commercial interests might override, even overrule, prudence.

These scientists could have taken a cue from a similar campaign of scientists in Europe, who have started a web-based “5G appeal” -- so far, 244 scientists have joined the appeal. The website, 5gappeal.eu, lists out their names.

A quick look at the 5G appeal

The appeal states:

“We the undersigned, scientists and doctors, recommend a moratorium on the roll-out of the fifth generation, 5G, for telecommunication until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from industry.”

After describing in detail how 5G could be harmful, the appeal “urges” the governments of the EU countries to take all reasonable measures to halt the 5G RF-EMF expansion until independent scientists can assure that 5G and the total radiation levels caused by RF-EMF (5G together with 2G, 3G, 4G, and WiFi) will not be harmful for EU-citizens, especially infants, children and pregnant women, as well as the environment.

The public domain today abounds with videos on ill-effects of 5G. Dr Martin Pall, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at the Washington State University, USA,says that “putting in tens of millions of 5G antennae without a single biological test of safety has got to be the stupidest idea anyone has had in the history of the world.”

Now, Indian scientists have begun to lend their support in favour of comprehensive studies on possible deleterious effects of 5G on health of humans and environment.

What is 5G and why could it be harmful?

Beginning in the early 1990s, successive generations—or ‘G’s—of wireless technological advancement have improved communications in the world.

Wireless technology works by sending signals that are transmitted as energy waves. One established way of expressing the nature of waves is in terms of how many ‘crests’ and ‘troughs’ are generated per second, or frequency—this is expressed as ‘hertz’.

Now, while technologies from 2G in 1991 to 4G in 2008 have used waves of progressively increasing frequencies up to 2.5 Gigahertz (GHz). Then comes 5G, where the frequencies go up to 90 GHz.

Data riding on such fast waves get transmitted quickly—that is why you should be able to download a full 3D movie in half a minute, play video games better and link-up all the appliances in your house to your mobile – so that you can, for instance, switch on your AC from your mobile ten minutes before you arrive home.

But the question that is being raised is - how would it affect a person’s health and well-being?

For sure, such questions have come up before, even in the context of 3G and 4G, but this time around the voices are shriller because the risks could be significantly higher.

Dr L V Krishnan cautions that beam 5G radiations on some rats or humans is not enough. Ill effects of radiation often shows up after a time lag. Even if humans are shown to be safe, the effects on flora and fauna must be comprehensively studied, he says.

Krishnan and others point out that there are many instances where birds and animals have died where 5G experiments have been conducted. The connection between the deaths and 5G has not been proved, but has not been disproved either.

A need for comprehensive studies

“There must be a road map, and the roll-out could be done guardedly, in phases,” Krishnan told BusinessLine.

Radiation is of two types—ionizing and non-ionizing. Gamma rays and X-rays are ionizing, they are so energetic that they rip break atoms in our body and cause cancer. Sunlight and waves from TV sets are non-ionizing, they are okay.

Defenders of 5G point out that the 5G radiation is non-ionizing, hence safe. “That is rubbish,” says Dr Kesavan, pointing out that even UV rays from the sun are non-ionizing, but they do cause cancer.

One video on 5G’s harmful effects wonders if the recorded fall in sperm count in males has something to do with cell phones kept in pockets. “We bathe our genitals in radiation all the time,” it says.

The scientists are at pains to stress that they are not alarmists, nor anti-technology Luddites.

“We have to convince the powers that be in India that during test phase prior to introducing 5G as a regular technology, government, medical commission-monitored cell biology measurements must be mandatory, says Dr Mahadevan Srinivasan.

“I am all for giving people the benefit of technology,” say Dr T Ramasami, “but we must do comprehensive studies to ensure that people are not harmed.”

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/scientists-caution-government-to-go-slow-on-5g-roll-out/article28737197.ece (Accessed on July 29, 2019)