By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 24: A three-day international conference on ‘Advances in Chemical Sciences – II (ACS – II)’, organised by the Department of Chemistry NEHU, Shillong, was inaugurated on Wednesday as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Department, which saw the attendance of 150 participants and 30 notable experts, both national and international.
The opening ceremony on Wednesday was attended by Pro-Vice Chancellor, NEHU, Prof S Umdor as the chief guest, Prof H Ila as guest of honour, and Prof RB King from the University of Georgia as the special guest and keynote speaker.
In his address, Prof Umdor highlighted the importance and relevance of chemistry, the central science which is intricately associated with all the applied sciences.
He ended his speech with a cautious note on some of necessary evils of chemistry that is contributing to many material pollutions such as plastic. He urged the scientists gathered over the conference to deliberate upon development of sustainable development strategies as mandated by United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Prof H Ila, one of the funding teachers of the Department and renowned women scientist of India from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research, Bangalore, shared the memories and activities of the department in its formative years. Prof AK Chandra, Dean of the School of Physical Sciences; Prof G Bez, Head of the Department of Chemistry, and Prof RL Nonglaw, the convener of the conference, welcomed all the participants and described the background of the conference.
About 30 distinguished scientists, including Prof B King (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA), Prof G Niu (Beijing Institute of Technology, China), Prof R Gupta (Delhi University), Prof S Bhattacharya (Jadavpur University) from India and abroad are participating in the event. Along with them, about 150 student participants from different parts of India and the Northeastern region will take active participation in this three-day event.
The conference also features two memorial lectures in the name of Prof (L) MK Chowdhury and Prof (L) H Junjappa to commemorate their contribution in the legacy of the Department and advancement of Chemistry as a whole.
