Media Release
Mangaluru, Jan 20: 2019 has been designated by UNESCO as the international year of the Periodic Table (IYPT), marking the 150th anniversary of the Mendeleev Periodic Table. To commemorate this, the departments of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies and Research in Chemistry of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), here in association with the Vision Group of Science and Technology, Bengaluru and Pilikula Regional Science Centre organized a one-day programme on the theme 'Vision Periodica' – A Common Language for Science, an intercollegiate fest at Fr Robert Sequeira Hall, LCRI on January 18 for the students of UG and PG colleges in and around the city.
Dr Nithyananda Shetty, professor of Chemistry, NITK, Surathkal was the chief guest. Dr K V Rao, director of Pilikula Regional Science Centre, Mangaluru was the guest of honour. Dr Denis Fernandes, director of the admin block presided over the programme. Dr Ronald Nazareth, coordinator of STAR College Scheme and Divya Deepthi, coordinator of the fest were on the dais.
Welcoming the gathering, Dr Ronald Nazareth said, “Mendeleev revolutionized our understanding of the properties of atoms and created a table that probably adorns every Chemistry classroom in the world. He arranged all the 63 elements then known by their atomic weights, he managed to organize them into groups possessing similar properties. Where gap existed in the table, he predicted a new element would one day be found and deduced its properties like density, radii and combining ratios with oxygen. And he was right. Three of those missing elements Gallium, Scandium and Germanium were found during his lifetime. The discovery of these elements provided the strongest support for his periodic table. And because of his inventions, today we enjoy learning the periodic table of the Chemical elements.”
Dr Nithyananda Shetty in his inaugural address said, “The periodic table is one of the most important tools in the history of Chemistry. It describes the atomic properties of every known chemical element in a concise format, including the atomic number, atomic mass and relationships between the elements. Elements with similar chemical properties are arranged in columns in the periodic table.”
Addressing the audience, Dr Denis Fernandes said, “The IYPT 2019 will bring together many different scientific societies and unions, educational and research institutions, technology platforms, non-profit organizations and private sector partners to promote and celebrate the significance of the Periodic Table of Elements and its applications to society during 2019.”
Addressing the audience, guest of honour Dr K V Rao spoke on the importance of chemistry in everyday life and encouraged the chemistry students to exhibit their talents in this one-day programme on International Year of the Periodic Table.
The programme was an opportunity to explore Chemistry and discover Science as a career, motivate young minds to develop a scientific temper while we celebrate the contribution of Chemistry to Science. The programme was compered by Shravya of first-year MSc at SAC.
The programme included an interactive session, followed by various competitions related to the Periodic Table such as ice-breaker, quiz, Chem Rangoli, Chem Jumbles and designing their own Periodic Table.