News and Events

 
 
 
 
May 7, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

Dr. Renjith R. Pillai, Chairperson and Veena Suresh, Teaching Assistant, both of the Department of Social Work recently collaborated with Bri. Meera SR, Lecturer in Sanskrit, Amrita School of Arts and Sciences to present a paper on Amrita Sanjeevani.
 

The paper titled Instilling Social Responsibility in Undergraduate Students: Amrita University Model was presented at the Second Annual Conference on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Social Responsibility: Empirical Evidences of Best Practices in Bangalore, India.
 

This conference was organized by the Centre for Social Research (CSR), India in association with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Christ University, Bangalore.
 

Amrita Sanjeevani is the student seva association at Amritapuri campus. Guided by the motto, pray with your heart and serve with your hands, the association organizes youth camps, awareness campaigns and workshops. The association also sponsors the education of several children through its activities and organizes fund raisers for the needy.
 

During festivals such as Diwali and Onam, student members volunteer at orphanages, schools and old age homes.
 

But above all, the association passionately embraces and promotes eco-friendly living. Its members tend to an organic garden in their free time in the evenings and weekends.
 

“Our members see beauty and value, where others see trash,” the association office-bearers proudly note.  

They oversee the efforts to create greeting cards, pen stands, bracelets, key chains and wall hangings, from waste materials carefully retrieved and restored.
 

Inspired by the work of Amrita Sanjeevani, the co-authors of the paper studied its social activities, assessing the level of social responsibility inculcated among students.
 

“In our study through random sampling using a questionnaire, taking a population of sixty students, we could see a significant increase in the level of social responsibility among students after becoming associated with the activities of Amrita Sanjeevani,” they shared.
 

“The program is definitely helping students develop more awareness of their dharma towards the community and environment, and imparting noble values to young minds,” they added.
 

“This model can be replicated in other educational institutions,” they underlined.
 

Amrita Sanjeevani has a new Serve-an-Hour initiative also, wherein students undertake different service activities during their free time on the week days, for at least an hour, guided by their teachers, who volunteer for this non-academic endeavor.
 

“Amma always remind us to include sneham (love) and seva in the blueprint of all programs. Through her own satsangs, our Chancellor is constantly seeking to create awareness about environmental and societal issues,” explained Bri. Meera.
 

“We are proud of the fact that our university was appreciated at the conference for these socially responsible activities. The organizers encouraged other colleges to also consider implementing such initiatives,” she added.
 

 
 
 
 
May 4, 2013
School of Business, Coimbatore
 

“How do you see the market research industry evolving?” Dr. Swathi Bhima was asked.
 

“The arrival of netnography where the free behavior of individuals is studied using social media like micro-blogs, forums, online discussion boards, etc. has not only improved the scope for doing more research, but has also made it cost effective,” she answered.
 

As second-year MBA student at the Amrita School of Business at Coimbatore, Dr. Swathi was representing India at the annual Asia Pacific Area Conference (APAC) of the European Society for Opinion, Marketing and Research (ESOMAR).
 

The conference was organized in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during April 7-9, 2013.
 

A dentist by training, Swathi was interested in the field of management even prior to joining the Amrita School of Business. “The highly qualified faculty members at Amrita pay attention to each and every student and are down-to-earth in their interactions,” she noted.
 

Dr. Deepak Gupta teaches Marketing at ASB. He encouraged Swathi as well as several of her classmates to apply. “Based on CVs and academic performance, a shortlist of second-year MBA students was submitted to ESOMAR,” Dr. Deepak shared.
 

Telephonic interviews were conducted, post which Dr. Swathi was selected among a number of other Indian candidates as the sole Indian student facilitator for the conference. This entitled her to receive a stipend that made it possible for her to attend the international conference.
 

It was Mr. Pravin Shekhar, an ESOMAR council member and a well wisher of Amrita who first recommended Amrita students to ESOMAR six years ago. Since then, Amrita MBA students have had the honor to represent India at this forum several times – Megha Agarwal (Singapore, 2008), Deepa Bharathi (Beijing, 2009) and Jaisurya Pavithra (Melbourne, 2011).
 

At the conference this year, Dr. Swathi was part of a team that helped facilitate delegate networking.
 

When asked about her own aspirations, Dr. Swathi said, “I look forward to a career in the field of market research, specifically qualitative research. I would like to focus my research in the healthcare sector, because I believe that a colossal gap prevails between the needs of the people and the products and services being offered to them in this sector.”
 

The theme of the conference was Asia on the Move. Dr. Swathi described her time in Vietnam as the experience of a lifetime.
 

ESOMAR, founded in 1948, is a world association for market, social and opinion researchers. Although it began as a regional association within Europe, today it has over 4900 members in 130 countries. For its annual conferences, ESOMAR selects the best students, designating them as Networking Facilitators. This initiative is aptly termed, Future Talent Meets Industry.
 

 
 
 
 
May 2, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

“Seeing the kind of research that Amrita University does, I will say that yours is an institute with a difference. Yours is an institute devoted to very high quality science and technology, research and development for social benefit, and you bring values to education.”
 

Padma Shri Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India made these remarks at the inaugural ceremony of recent Campus Day celebrations at the Amritapuri campus. Currently Professor at IIT Madras, Dr. Jhunjhunwala leads the Telecommunications and Computer Networks group (TeNeT) there.
 

“This institute is developing some of the best technologies that I have seen, such as video-based tools for education, virtual experiments and technology for enhancing vocational skills. Some extraordinary technology is being born here. It is still at an early stage, but this is not something you will easily find in most other institutes in our country,” he added.
 

Advising the graduating students, Dr. Jhunjhunwala said, “Amrita not only teaches technology, but also values, directly and indirectly. It talks about service to the nation, and motivates you to adapt your life as service to humanity. I want to say that you should also think about service to your alma mater, post graduation. Because if you strengthen an institute like this, society will change, the nation will change. It’s up to you, who are graduating to give back to your institute and make the change possible.”
 

Continuing to advice, he emphasized, “Whatever job you get, convert it into a loving action. This will transform your job, your motivation will become very different.”
 

Swami Amritaswaroopananda Puri’s benedictory address earlier touched on the same theme, where he recalled that Chancellor Amma constantly reminded us to remain centered in the heart.
 

“Our heart is the vital factor and the most important ingredient to transform and transport all our work and our entire life to another dimension – the dimension of joy, happiness, bliss and love,” Swamiji said.
 

“The absence of this is what makes things boring and dry, and ultimately leads to unhappiness and discontentment. So, without your heart in the work that you do, it will remain as labor. It will tire you, exhaust you, and leave you utterly empty,” Swamiji pointed out.
 

“Let us perform our actions in a prayerful manner and contribute to the future,” he further outlined.
 

The guest of honor, Prof. H. A. Ranganath, Director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), echoed the sentiments of the previous speakers. “Amrita provides a holistic education to students. With divine blessings, I am sure that the university will bring laurels to the country and become an important model in higher education,” he stated.
 

“Across the global level, we need to have Indian institutions in the academic ranking lists. Amrita has all the ingredients and the critical mass to move forward and aspire to a rank in the global lists,” he emphasized.
 

Recalling the mission Amma outlined when the university began, Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor, Amrita University, shared, “Our goal is to take what the rest of the world might consider as ordinary students and transform them into extraordinary students during the course of their studies here.”
 

He highlighted Amma’s goals for the university for the coming years. “Amma’s message to us, is to make the university into the top research university internationally, particularly by emphasizing on research that has a strong flavor of direct societal benefit.”
 

He outlined policies and mechanisms that were put into place recently towards this lofty goal. Every masters student, henceforth, would be required to publish a paper in a refereed journal and/or present at a top conference, in order to fulfill program requirements. Doctoral students will be expected to publish one paper a year at least, post their comprehensive exams. Appraisal for faculty members will take note of the number of publications and funded projects.
 

“The goal is to have every student and faculty member become involved in research that has some impact on society at the grass roots level,” he noted.
 

Awards of Excellence and Certificates of Appreciation were given to outstanding researchers. Campus magazine Amritarpan and the first issue of the campus newsletter Samved were released.
 

The evening function saw several heart-felt farewell speeches from graduating students. The day ended with cultural programs featuring songs and dance presentations.
 

With eighty acres of land and two million square feet of built-up area, the Amritapuri campus has five schools viz. engineering, arts and sciences, biotechnology, ayurveda and management. Research centers jointly oversee funded projects worth over Rs. 100 crores. There are over a 100 PhD scholars at the campus working towards their doctoral degrees.
 

 
 
 
 
April 27, 2013
School of Dentistry, Kochi
 

At the recently concluded Kolkata Annual Research and Medical/ Dental International Congress (KARMIC 2013), Amrita interns from the School of Dentistry, won the best scientific paper award.
 

Organized by the Indian Medical Students’ Association and supported by Indian Council of Medical Research, Doctors Academy Manchester, UK and Indian Institute of Emergency Medical Services, the congress was organized at Kolkata Medical College during April 12 – 14, 2013.
 

The winning paper titled State-of-the-Art Mandibular Reconstruction was authored by Drs. Devika R. Krishnan and Saumya Singh
 

The scholars presented the case report of a 21-year-old male patient who had undergone treatment at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. Their paper highlighted the reconstruction of his mandibular defect caused by ameloblastoma, using 3D virtual images, rapid prototype model and free fibula flap.
 

“Ameloblastoma (a benign but aggressive bone tumour of the head and neck region) frequently affects the mandible (lower jaw) causing bony destruction and swelling. The tumor is generally managed surgically. Earlier, surgical resection usually resulted in loss of form and function of the mandible with poor esthetical outcomes. With the advent of reconstructive microsurgery, this has been reduced significantly,” stated the scholars.
 

Elaborating further, they explained, “The patient presented complaints of pain and swelling in the right side of lower jaw since one month. Biopsy report suggested plexiform ameloblastoma. 3D virtual images were created using CT scan images, which were then converted to a model using rapid prototyping technique.”
 

“This model was used as a template to bend the reconstruction plate that served to hold the fibula bone flap in place and anchor it to the native mandible. The fibula bone flap comprised of a piece of bone and tissue removed from the leg to reconstruct the jaw. Later, right hemimandibulectomy (surgical removal of one-half of the mandible) with reconstruction using free fibula flap was performed using the pre-bent plate.”
 

“Meticulous preoperative planning with virtual images, using rapid prototype models and free flap reconstruction allowed for optimal reconstruction. The patient is now disease-free at one year follow-up.”
 

Dr. Devika R. Krishnan also received the best presenter award for making the presentation. Both awards were presented by the chief guest of the congress, Nobel Laureate Professor Robin Warren.
 

The interns were guided by professors from the Departments of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Public Health Dentistry at Amrita. They expressed their gratitude to their mentors Drs. Subramania Iyer, Sherry Peter, Latha P. Rao, Ravi V., Ushass P., and Mathew O. Mampilly.
 

 
 
 
 
May 4, 2013
School of Arts & Sciences, Mysore
 

In order to ensure more efficient access to government schemes, a 12-digit unique number is being provided to every citizen of the country under the Aadhaar program. It is being overseen by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and aims to establish an effective means to easily authenticate and verify identities online, anywhere and at anytime.
 

As of March 31, 2013, UIDAI had issued unique numbers to 31.19 crore people after recording such biometric details as finger prints and iris scans, in addition to photographs. According to UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani, formerly with Infosys Technologies, UIDAI would complete the task of capturing biometrics and issuing unique numbers to 60 crore people by 2014.
 

Over 25,000 enrollment stations set up by UIDAI across the country in a public-private partnership mode are making this gigantic task possible. There are huge budgetary allocations, as well as formidable logistical and technological challenges.
 

With an intention to delve deeper into different dimensions of this unique undertaking, a national seminar on Managerial Challenges in Implementing the Aadhaar Program was organized on April 26, 2013 by the Department of Management and Commerce, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Mysore campus.
 

Over 120 delegates participated in the seminar, presenting papers on various Aadhaar related issues such as legal, IT-related, logistical and budgetary in parallel technical sessions.
 

Invited guest Prof. K C Belliappa, Former Vice-Chancellor, Rajeev Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh pointed out implementation problems experienced by the Aadhaar program, which was meant to especially serve those at the grass roots level.
 

Dr. Dharani Devi Malagatti K, Superintendent of Police & Deputy Director, Karnataka Police Academy, Mysore observed, “The huge collection of biometric data for Aadhaar can be usefully utilized by the police and other departments too,” referring specifically to the capture of fingerprints.
 

“Aadhaar is for residents of India and not for citizens of India,” clarified Dr. S N Prasad, Education Consultant. He highlighted the problem wherein two or more cards were issued with the same Aadhaar number.
 

Major General S G Vombatkere, in his special lecture, questioned whether the implementation of Aadhaar was an invasion into a citizen’s privacy.
 

Dr. Bhamy V Shenoy noted that Aadhaar had the potential to become a game changer, leading to improvements in the public distribution system. “Aadhaar can help plug the massive misuse of subsidies also,” he added.
 

“We are planning to send the suggestions culled from the paper presentations to the UIDAI,” seminar organizers shared.
 

During the valedictory session, Prof. B Shivaraj, Chairman, Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences, University of Mysore, stated, “It is the duty of the government to provide its citizens some proof of identity. This initiative should have been taken soon after independence.”
 

The seminar was open to academicians, students and any interested citizen wanting to learn more about the Aadhaar program.
 

 
 
 
 
April 22, 2013
School of Business
@ Amritapuri, Kochi and Bengaluru
 

Extreme weather events may have a very different impact on the population exposed. While a hurricane overriding the East Coast of the United States might cause only a few casualties, a cyclone of similar magnitude may result in thousands of deaths in South Asia.
 

According to the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change, it is the differences in the adaptive capacity of a community that result in such different outcomes. Its main determinants are economic wealth, access to technology, education, infrastructure, institutions and equity. Such factors tend to be weaker in less developed regions, and consequently the ability to cope with extreme events is less.
 

In view of the growing number of extreme events worldwide, due to climate change, sophisticated social research methods are being developed to assess and ultimately improve, a specific region’s adaptive capacity.
 

Dr. Amalendu Jyotishi, Associate Professor, Amrita School of Business, Bangalore campus and Dr. Sushanta Kumar Mahapatra, Associate Professor, Amrita School of Business, Kochi campus will participate as co-investigators in a research project titled The Role of Rural Institutions in Enabling Adaptation to Climate Change in the Agricultural Sector across Different Ecosystems in India.
 

Other researchers involved are Dr. G. Sridevi, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Hyderabad (principal investigator) and Dr. Satyasiba Bedamatta, Assistant Professor, Center for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
 

For the study, the Indian Council for Social Sciences Research (ICCSSR) approved a grant-in-aid of Rs. 7,00,000.
 

“The poor are forced to live in susceptible regions, which expose them to either floods or droughts and different diseases, as compared to wealthier people. Our study intends to compute vulnerability covering climatic change, demographic and social, occupational, common property resources and agricultural dimensions across different ecosystems in India. It also proposes to analyze the adaptive capacities across different ecosystems, social groups, different farming systems, etc,” the researchers explained.
 

The ultimate aim of the project is to construct a vulnerability index for ecosystems and rank each ecosystem in terms of their performance on the index. The aim encompasses understanding various types of existing rural institutions and how these could be strengthened for the overall use and management of all ecosystem services, in rural areas.
 

Another ASB project focussing on climate change received an ICSSR grant of Rs 5.2 lakhs. Titled, Globalization, Climate Change and Urban Public Finance: An Empirical Study of Bombay and Delhi Municipal Corporations, the two-year project will be led by Prof. Shyam Nath of the Amrita School of Business, Amritapuri campus.
 

 
 
 
 
April 17, 2013
School of Engineering, Amritapuri
 

Second-year BTech students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Amritapuri Campus, Abhay Sengar, Abhiram C. Anil, Rahul Krishnan and Vivekanand Mishra, recently won the second prize in a nationwide aeromodelling competition.
 

The competition AirStrike was part of the fifth edition of the technology and astronomy festival (Techno-Astro fest) of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Trivandrum, organized during March 22-25, 2013.
 

The Amrita students received a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 for their design and fabrication of a remote controlled airplane.
 

Competing with 40 other student teams, the Amrita team was asked to design a craft weighing under 700 grams. The teams could specify the total weight and power of the aircraft, keeping it within 1 metre fuselage and wing size. Use of electric motors was to be in line with the specifications provided.
 

The aircrafts were to fly to specified spots in the shortest possible time and land safely in the landing zone.
 

The Amrita students designed a craft with 98 centimeter fuselage and wing size, weighing 410 grams. The working of yaw, roll and pitch; the craft’s three axes of movement, was well demonstrated. It is the combination of these three controls that enable an airplane to effectively maneuver itself.
 

All shortlisted teams were invited to participate in the aero show. The aircrafts showed off various stunts as they flew around specified routes, turned towards the landing area, flew below and above ropes tied at fixed heights, finally landing safely in the landing zone.
 

“We performed well and scored 185 points. The team which topped, comprised of final-year students of IIST, Trivandrum; it scored 250 points,” commented the winning Amrita students.
 

These students received support from second-year BTech student Ashwath, of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, to make all the electrical connections.
 

“We have been working on aeromodelling planes and had developed 5 – 6 models. This was the first competition we took part in and it was a good learning experience,” the enthusiastic students shared.
 

The fact that the students were only in the second year of their BTech program and were not even enrolled in an Aerospace program, adds further merit to their achievement.
 

“I feel immensely pleased to know that our students of Amrita secured the second prize for their brilliant, innovative developmental work. This shows that indigenous ideas can be practically implemented successfully,” stated Dr. Ganesh Udupa, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering.
 

“We also sincerely pray to the Divine for all our Amrita students to bring laurels to the University and achieve the best in their lives, serving society with their intellectual capabilities,” he added.
 

 
 
 
 
April 15, 2013
School of Engineering, Amritapuri
 

The M.Tech. program in Power and Energy was begun last year at the Amritapuri campus. Already students are making news, as they win best paper and poster awards at conferences.
 

Recently Kiran P. and Ravikrishnan G., second-year M.Tech. students, won the best paper award at the International Conference on Global Innovations in Technology and Sciences organized in Kottayam, Kerala during April 4 – 6, 2013.
 

The conference was sponsored by the Solar Energy Society of India, Society of Automotive Engineers, Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers and Computer Society of India. Of 650 papers received, only about 250 were accepted.
 

Amrita M.Tech. student Syam M. S. won the best poster award at the same conference.
 

“We have high expectations from our students. One requirement is that the work completed for their M.Tech. dissertation is of such quality, that a resulting paper can either be presented at an international conference or published in an international journal,” explained Dr. P. Kanakasabapathy, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, who guided the students.
 

“I appreciate the hard work put forth by the students and congratulate them for their achievement,” he added.
 

The winning paper authored by Kiran and Ravikrishnan was titled Fault Analysis and Digital Protection of Busbars Using Curvelet Transform Based Approach.
 

A busbar is an integral part of a power system. It is a key component in substations.
 

“The reliability and stability of a power system depends on the efficiency of busbar protection scheme. Our proposed protection scheme uses curvelet transform based analysis. Curvelet transform overcomes the weakness of wavelets in higher dimensions and better captures curve singularities and hyper plane singularities of higher dimensional signals,” explained the students.
 

They tested their proposed algorithms by modeling the busbar in Simulink, simulating various fault conditions.
 

“The signal analysis was done by using wrapping-based fast discrete curvelet transform. The results obtained clearly showed the feasibility of implementing a busbar protection scheme using our proposed approach,” the students outlined.
 

Meanwhile Syam was working with Sreejith Kailas T., Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering on cuk converters. His poster was titled Grid Connected Two-Stage Photovoltaic System Using Cuk Converter.
 

He proposed a two-stage photovoltaic system that could increase or decrease the voltage level from that output at the first stage. Such a system could be effectively used for standalone systems to power remote villages. It could also be used in grid connected systems. When the solar power is abundantly available, the excess power could be injected into the grid. At other times, the user could take power from the grid.
 

“For tapping solar power, single-stage or two-stage topology can be employed. The former results in greater power losses. The two-stage system is more efficient and its cost as compared to the battery, which seems to be major cost for large systems, is also less,” explained Syam.
 

Syam analyzed the proposed system using MATLAB. “I found that current ripples at the output of the cuk converter were less. Thus this model can also achieve better power quality,” he concluded.
 

 
 
 
 
April 11, 2013
School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri
 

With its rich tradition of silk saris, India is the world’s largest consumer of raw silk. Most of the silk it uses, India also produces. But some is imported. Import of cheaper raw silk poses a threat to indigenous sericulture.
 

In 2011-12, for instance, about 20% of the total consumption of over 28000 tonnes was imported, mainly from China, the world’s largest producer of raw silk.
 

Sericulture, the rearing of silkworms for silk production, is a labor-intensive agro-based industry which provides additional income to marginal farmers in India, especially women.
 

In the recently presented Union Budget, customs duty for import of raw silk was raised from five per cent to fifteen per cent. This move will help improve prices for producers of raw silk in the domestic market.
 

The Indian government also plans to encourage farmers to take up sericulture on larger scales, by providing incentives to support rearing houses, modern rearing and irrigation equipment.
 

“Silk production in India needs an improvement in quantity as well as quality as compared to other silk-producing countries,” emphasized Dr. Asoke Banerji, Distinguished Professor, Amrita School of Biotechnology.
 

Dr. Banerji’s research on bioactive lead compounds led to the isolation of plant extracts namely ecdysterone, juvenile hormone analog (JHA) and moulting hormone (MH). These compounds known to impact insect growth could have very positive implications for sericulture in India.
 

The isolation of JHA and MH was completed in the phytochemistry laboratory of the Amrita School of Biotechnology. The isolated compounds resulted from bioprospection among the Western Ghats flora, in Wayanad District, Kerala. Sri Sreejit Mahadevan, Associate Professor at S N M College, Ernakulam currently posted at the Amrita School of Biotechnology under UGC’s faculty improvement program is assisting with the work.
 

“Sreejit was instrumental in identifying Sri Sashi, a progressive farmer, who was ready to undertake the risk for our trials. A six-month pilot study was conducted during July 2012 – December 2012, at two sericulture farms in Kuthannur Panchayath and Kannadi Panchayath, both in Palakkad District, Kerala,” explained Dr. Banerji.
 

“Now many other farmers are showing interest to try out our preparations. The aim is to develop and transfer technology for efficiently utilizing the two compounds for the benefit of poor sericulture farmers of Kerala,” he added.
 

“Bivoltine refers to those species that have two broods in one year. Bivoltine double hybrids (FC1 & FC2) were brought in the second instar stage from Chawki Rearing Centre of the Central Silk Board and grown in field conditions. Temperature was maintained at around 23 C and humidity was adjusted to about 75 % relative humidity. Mulberry leaves of Victory 1 genotype from a periodically watered garden were fed liberally three times a day,” Dr. Banerji explained.
 

Elaborating further, he added, “Mounting of larvae is a cumbersome process and requires a lot of care and labour. If the cocooning is not synchronized, the larvae which are late in cocooning may damage the already cocooned shells by urinating on them, changing the colour to brown.”
 

“In our experiments we found that MH at 10 ppm hastened cocooning. 90% of larvae matured and started spinning within 18 hours from time of spraying. A 15-25 % increase of individual cocoon weight was obtained with a 2-3 ppm JHA concentration,” he specified.
 

“JHA can be used in sericulture for yield improvement. In the geographical regime and the bivoltine variety studied, a 1-3 ppm concentration can bring about a considerable increase in economic returns. MH is highly active in hastening larval maturation and reducing the mounting time. Both compounds are recommended for the sericulture farmer’s benefit, since plants are readily available and the preparation of the spray costs almost nothing,” Dr Banerji concluded.
 

 
 
 
 
April 8, 2013
School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri
 

“All organisms have the capacity to remove damaged cells from the body by programmed cell death known as apoptosis,” noted Dr. Nandita Mishra, Assistant Professor, Amrita School of Biotechnology at Amritapuri.
 

Having completed her PhD from the Department of Biotechnology at IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Nandita engaged in post-doctoral research at the Health Sciences Centre of the University of Texas in San Antonio, USA, before moving back to India to join Amrita University.
 

Dr. Nandita recently received funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India for a research project titled Paraptosis: A Newer Approach to Target Cancer.
 

This three-year project will also see the involvement of research scholars such as Ms. Divya Nedungadi.
 

“Cancerous cells escape the programmed cell death pathway and are resistant to many existing therapies and drugs. Our studies will investigate the use of natural products to kill the drug-resistant cancerous cells through paraptosis,” Dr. Nandita stated.
 

The phenomenon of paraptosis also follows the programmed cell death pathway. Unlike apoptosis, however, it is characterized by the formation of large vacuoles in the cell cytoplasm and the swelling of mitochondria.
 

Although apoptosis has been extensively studied, paraptosis has not been investigated as much.
 

Dr. Nandita will study and screen natural products previously isolated and characterized by Prof. Asoke Banerji’s team in the Phytochemistry Laboratory of the Amrita School of Biotechnology. Work has already begun with breast cancer cells.
 

“Cancerous cells grow faster and hence need to synthesize new proteins for their survival, when compared to normal cells. These are more susceptible to misfolding and aggregation,” explained Dr. Nandita.
 

Elaborating further, she added, “Proteins need to fold in the proper shape for their activity. If they misfold, they aggregate inside the cells and form large cytoplasmic vacuoles in the rapidly dividing cancer cells.”
 

“This mechanism of misfolding and aggregation is also responsible for neuronal cell death in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinson’s etc. We are exploring the possibility of using this phenomenon for cancer treatment,” she highlighted.
 

Dr. Nandita’s proposed study is directed towards the identification of new natural compounds that would induce cytoplasmic vacuolation mediated cell death. “We hope to find out their mechanism of action on cancer cells,” she underlined.
 

 
 
 
 
April 18, 2013
Health Sciences Campus, Kochi
 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated April 7 of every year as the World Health Day. To commemorate this year’s World Health Day, the Student Nurses’ Association of the Amrita College of Nursing organized a series of panel discussions at the Health Sciences Campus.
 

The discussions were based on 2013 World Health Day theme of High Blood Pressure. Eminent doctors from various clinical specialties from the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences participated.
 

The first session was organized on April 6, 2013. Dr. Anand Kumar, Professor and Head, Department of Neurology; Dr. M. Gopalakrishna Pillai, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Dr. Alexander John, Professor, Department of Community Medicine and Dr. Ravidranath Kammath, Head, Department of Holistic Medicine spoke. Panel discussions were moderated by Prof. K. T. Moly, Principal, Amrita College of Nursing.
 

Outlining the basic facts of high blood pressure, Dr. M. Gopalakrishna Pillai discussed the techniques that were used to measure blood pressure accurately, the investigations to be carried out and benefits of anti-hypertensive therapy. Dr. Alexander John elaborated on the reasons for considering hypertension as a major public health issue and the preventive measures to be taken.
 

Shedding light on the role of the brain in helping maintain normal blood pressure, Dr. Anand Kumar discussed management measures to be adopted for a hypertensive patient having suffered a cerebrovascular accident.
 

“Ayurveda mostly concentrates on educating patients on the risk factors of hypertension to help overcome them,” observed Dr. Ravindranath Kammath.
 

“According to the World Health Statistics 2012, 1 in every 3 adults worldwide has raised blood pressure. The proportion increases from 10% in age range 20 – 40 years to 50% in the 50s,” noted Prof. K. T. Moly. She also highlighted the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan and National High Blood Pressure Education Program.
 

A second session followed on April 10, 2013. This time the panelists included Dr. Gopal. S. Pillai, Professor and Head, Department of Ophthalmology; Dr. Arun Menon, Professor, Department of Endocrinology; Dr. Hisham Ahamed, Department of Cardiology and Ms. Dhanya R. Dharan, second-year student of M.Sc. (Nursing). The session was moderated by Dr. V. N. Unni, Professor and Head, Department of Nephrology.
 

Dr. Gopal S. Pillai stated that eye is the only organ where one can directly observe the early changes due to hypertension. Dr. Hisham Ahamed explained the various types of hypertension and its effects on heart while Dr. Arun Menon explained secondary hypertension in detail.
 

“The panel discussion raised our awareness of the causes and consequences of high blood pressure. We could also understand that for many people, lifestyle changes are sufficient to control blood pressure,” noted the student participant.
 

 
 
 
 
April 2, 2013
School of Dentistry, Kochi
 

The Short-Term Studentship Program initiated by the Indian Council of Medical Research awards a stipend of Rs. 5,000/- per month for a period of three months to encourage new medical and dental graduates to pursue research.
 

Drs. Devika R. Krishnan, Sruthy Sara Varghese and Urmila, currently interning at the Amrita School of Dentistry, were chosen to receive this stipend in 2012, for their research projects.
 

Now, having completed their respective projects, they accompanied Dr. K. N. Unni, Principal, Amrita School of Dentistry, to Amritapuri recently, so they could inform their Chancellor Amma.
 

“We had the privilege to meet our Chancellor. Amma was so happy; she appreciated our work and said she was happy to note that we were serving society through our research. She suggested that this should be a continuing process, to make our lives meaningful,” happily shared the three research scholars.
 

Amma was also appreciative of the fact that the students received much support from their faculty and Principal. The research scholars later expressed their gratitude to faculty from the Department of Public Health Dentistry at Amrita who mentored them. They acknowledged especially the support and guidance received from Drs. Joe Joseph, Seby J. Gardens and Shamaz Mohammed.
 

Dr. Devika’s study was titled A Study on Infection Control Practices among Dentists in Edapally, Ernakulum, Kerala.
 

Her study assessed scientific knowledge dissemination regarding infection control and extent of compliance among dentists with regards to their day-to-day practices. “My research showed that there is a clear need to improve the existing situation. Emphasis on continuing education about infection control procedures through seminars for all oral care workers is a must,” she underlined.
 

Dr. Sruthy Sara Varghese’s study titled Perceived Stress, Sources and Severity of Stress among Medical and Dental Undergraduates at Kochi shed light on the severity of stress borne by those students during their academic life.
 

“The undergraduate medical and dental curriculum requires a lot of hard work by the students,” stated Dr. Sruthy. Her study revealed that the majority of medical students in the study sample perceived their living conditions and academics to be very stressful.
 

“In the light of these findings, it is suggested that relevant psychosocial measures be adopted in the medical educational set-ups,” she recommended.
 

Another study by Dr. Urmila tested the association between tobacco usage and recurrent ulcers. This study was titled Recurrent Aphthous Ulcers among Tobacco Users Attending Tertiary Care Hospital in Kochi.
 

 
 
 
 
March 28, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

The Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications, recognized for its deployment of the first-ever wireless network system for predicting landslides, is now extending its developmental activities into yet another highly topical field. This time, the origin of the calamity to be prevented, is not in the world outside but inside. Inside our own minds. The growing number of cultural and ethnic tensions, resulting from social prejudices and preconceived notions.
 

Sanskar, an interactive Android app, developed by Mr. Rahul Krishnan from the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications under the guidance of Dr. Maneesha Ramesh was shortlisted among the top five finalist applications in the 2012 Create UNAOC Challenge, an international competition for app developers that sought to introduce new avenues for intercultural dialogue.
 

The challenge was sponsored by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in collaboration with the MIT Education Arcade. The names of the finalists were announced at the UNAOC Global Forum in Vienna, Austria during February 27-28, 2013.
 

An initiative of the United Nations, UNAOC was begun in 2005 with the aim to improving mutual understanding between nations, cultures and religions and countering forces lead to polarization and its extreme form, terrorism. Among the priority areas of the Alliance are education, youth, media and migration.
 

Accordingly, as part of the challenge, developers around the world were encouraged to create new apps and games in support of issues such as gender equality, youth development, migrant integration, religious pluralism, better understanding among individuals of different cultural and religious backgrounds and biased media representation of cultures and religions.
 

“Our app Amrita Sanskar helps one explore new cultures promoting harmony through acceptance. The app uses magazine-style presentation and animated videos to demonstrate understanding and acceptance in eighteen different cultures from around the globe. Each unit is followed up with quizzes to assess the amount of material covered and measure newfound respect for the culture. Users are also invited to share their intercultural experiences and stories via the app, to collaboratively build a database of cultural knowledge,” explained the app creator.
 

Broadly defined, the Sanskrit term Sanskar means culture. It refers also to a process, which transforms a person into an ideal, conscious personality through inculcating human values and controlling negative mental tendencies.
 

“We were inspired to develop this app by our Chancellor Amma, the world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. During her address at the UNAOC forum in Shanghai, China, last year, Amma emphasized the importance of respecting, understanding and accepting other cultures as the basis for bringing harmony among all world civilizations,” explained Dr. Maneesha Ramesh.
 

“When we engage others with respect, understanding and acceptance, then we will be able to communicate at the level of the heart,” Amma had said in her Shanghai address. Amma also warned that efforts at coexistence fail when we claim ‘We are all one,’ but disrespect each other’s ancient customs and traditions.
 

She, who also supports the use of new technologies for education, had added, “coexistence is possible only when culture and modernization are in balance.”
 

 
 
 
 
March 23, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

Grow Smart @ Amrita is a project spearheaded by the Serve-an-Hour initiative of the first-year students of the Schools of Engineering and Arts & Sciences at Amrita University’s Amritapuri campus. The project was officially launched on March 22, World Water Day 2013.
 

The students picked the project to play their part in helping meet the objectives of the UN’s International Year of Water Cooperation.
 

Emulating their Chancellor Amma’s love for nature, they created the unique Bottle Garden, a hanging flower garden near the mess hall on campus that uses recycled bottles as planters.
 

Now, going one step further with Grow Smart, they will begin growing organic vegetables in such planters. The self-irrigating planters that conserve water were unveiled as the project was launched.
 

“Our Chancellor often encourages us to grow our own organic vegetables. Now, through our project we will have triple benefits of organic gardening, recycling and water conservation,” shared the excited students.
 

The self-irrigating planters are a unique innovation, testimony to the students’ enthusiasm to care for Mother Nature. With 2-liter PET bottles cut into half, a hole punctured in the cap and a wicking fabric inserted that helps draw water up for the plant to grow, the students referred to these as sub-irrigated planters.
 

Water is added to the base of the planter, which can also remain submerged in a water container.
 

“From the top, add about three cups of damp soil and mix it with a handful of organic fertilizer or compost. Plant a seedling or sow seeds and water lightly from the top just once, to settle them in,” the first-year students explained to their seniors.
 

“Through capillary action, water keeps the soil moistened. This way of watering not only cuts down on water use but also helps prevent plant disease. It is a big time saver as well,” the students enthusiastically added.
 

They proudly showed off the fruits of their labors over the past few weeks – baby spinach, brinjal and tomato plants – growing in these planters.
 

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Work organized a one-day workshop for its students who learned about the role of water and the biodiversity it engenders, in maintaining the health of ecosystems.
 

“Biodiversity helps regulate natural systems – air, water, soil and helps to maintain a diverse genetic pool. The greater the biodiversity, the more resilient we are to environmental change,” explained Ms. Devayani Khare, Project Manager, Western Ghats Biodiversity Group, speaking to the students.
 

In their field trip to nearby wetlands, students learned more about water being a shared resource and collaboration being the key to properly managing it.
 

“Let’s play our part,” the reaffirmed, expressing their solidarity once again with the global community on World Water Day 2013.
 

 
 
 
 
March 18, 2013
Amrita School of Business
@ Bengaluru campus and Kochi campus
 

Amrita School of Business, Bangalore, in partnership with the Department of Management Sciences, State University of New York organized a national-level management fest, Aykya, during March 1-2, 2013.
 

The word Aykya refers to unity or harmony in Sanskrit.
 

Earlier, the Amrita School of Business at Kochi had organized its annual B-fest Asthra during January 7-8, 2013.
 

Both fests emphasized Chancellor Amma’s eco-friendly messages.
 

“Our fest theme was Urban Waste Management and we are proud to say that we could successfully integrate our theme into our events. Even our campus decorations were made from waste materials. Our registration desk was fitted from an old Fiat car. Our Amala Bharatham Campaign was showcased to all participants. Faculty members backed us every step of the way,” shared student organizers of Aykya.
 

Leading up to the fest, a clean-up campaign was organized on February 24. Together, the Amrita faculty members and students cleaned the entire stretch leading from the college premises to the gate of Wipro Technologies.
 

On March 1, the B-Fest saw participation from over 500 participants who represented over 20 colleges, some of them from other parts of India. They competed in about 20 different events that represented the traditional management specializations of Marketing, HR, Finance and Operations. Chakravyuh quiz contest, Click-O-Graphy online photography competition, Bid 2 Win that simulated the ambience of an IPL auction proved to be highly popular.
 

Pitch Shot, the business plan pitching event was conducted in association with Amrita Technology Business Incubator.
 

“All of the events were up to the mark. The hospitality was great. We are so delighted to have come and are very impressed at the same time,” shared some enthusiastic participants.
 

Earlier, Asthra had attracted the participation of over 200 students from different institutions. A fest highlight was the Leadership Summit that saw participation from over 50 delegates who represented different companies.
 

Fest partners included EVM Group, EVM Nissan, Federal Bank, Mahindra, Panasonic, AC City, EVM Volkswagen, Kalyan Silks, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Asset Homes, VNM Jewel Crafts Ltd., Thomas Cook, Startup Village, Mentor Edge, Technopark, Micro Small Medium Enterprises, Indian Angel Network, Idhayam, Nirapara, Red FM and Pizza Hut.
 

“As the signature event of the fest, the Leadership Summit rolled out the carpet for globally recognized corporate leaders, providing a platform for B-School students to learn from them,” fest organizers stated.
 

Inaugurating the Leadership Summit, Honorable Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly, Mr. G. Karthikeyan, quoted Amma’s example, as the ideal leader.
 

“Among all the B-Fests we have participated in thus far, Asthra was the best. It provided us with great exposure. Having come all the way from Bangalore, we definitely have gained a lot. We are taking back precious memories to our college and will share them with our friends and classmates,” stated participating students from Christ University, Bangalore.
 

 
 
 
 
March 27, 2013
Amrita Schools of Engineering, Bengaluru and Coimbatore
 

The Amrita Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Bengaluru organized a two-day workshop on Computer Architecture and High Performance Computing during March 15-16, 2013.
 

At the same time, the Amrita Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Coimbatore organized its third edition the National Workshop on Computer Vision and Image Processing.
 

“Our workshop was focused on computer system architectures, parallel architectures and parallel processing, and brought researchers up to speed on the latest advances. Hands-on training on architectural tools and CUDA environment for programming on GPGPUs was provided,” noted organizers from Bengaluru.
 

Over 30 delegates participated. Dr. S. K. Nandy, Professor from IISc, delivered the key note address on Hybrid Computing. “We should now focus on overcoming the utilization wall through temporal dimness and spatial dimness,” he pointed out during his lecture. Researchers from BITS Pilani came online to lead a session on Compiler Optimization and Support for Multicore Architecture.
 

Meanwhile, organizers at Coimbatore were a little amazed with the overwhelming response to their workshop.
 

“We were initially expecting participation from about 75 delegates only. But nearly 120 delegates registered, both researchers and PG students,” they shared.
 

Most sessions at this workshop were led by Amrita faculty. Dr. Latha Parameswaran spoke on Image Processing – Introduction and Applications, inspiring student aspirants to consider research in this field. Subsequently, Dr. K.A. Narayanankutti lectured on Image Foresting Transform, providing a detailed overview of transform domain techniques and current research ongoing in the field of graph theory related to image processing.
 

Hands-on sessions were the highlights of both workshops.
 

At Bengaluru, delegates learned about ASIC front-end implementation flow for making CPU chips. Ms. Bhargavi Upadhyay of Amrita provided an introduction to GEM5, a simulator for Multicore. Architectural simulators and simple scalars kept them busy. GPGPU architecture and heterogeneous computing was also highlighted. A panel discussion on research opportunities in Architecture and High Performance Computing wrapped up the proceedings.
 

Meanwhile at Coimbatore, hands-on sessions on MATLAB were supplemented by demos of various projects ongoing and completed at the new Amrita-CTS Innovation lab. The projects made use of advanced equipment such as a Kinect, an IP Camera and BeagleBoard. Dr. Kumar Rajamani, formerly at Amrita and now at GE, Bengaluru provided hands-on training on medical image analysis.
 

 
 
 
 
March 15, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

The cultural association of the Amritapuri Campus, Samskriti, organized a panel discussion titled Violence Against Women on February 19, 2013.
 

High-profile participants included Dr. Balakrishnan Shankar, Associate Dean, Amritapuri Campus and Dr. Praveen Arathil, Psychiatrist, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.
 

The duo was joined by Shri. C. P. Nair, IAS, Former Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, Mrs. Saritha David Chunkath, Advocate, High Court of Kerala and Mrs. Rekha Menon, popular TV anchor and Media-Head, Asia Pacific, US Technologies.
 

“It is estimated that every 22 minutes, a woman is brutally raped somewhere in our country. The number of crimes reported is only a fraction of the rapes that really happen,” stated Shri. Nair.
 

According to statistics compiled by National Crime Records Bureau a total of 2,28,650 incidents of crime against women were reported in the country during 2011. Of these, there were 8550 cases of sexual harassment, 42968 cases of molestation and 80 cases related to trafficking. There were 8618 dowry-related deaths and 99135 cases of cruelty by husband and relatives.
 

The women panelists Mrs. Saritha and Mrs. Rekha emphasized that the issue at hand was the empowerment of women and that was the responsibility of the whole nation.
 

The Manu Smriti was quoted. “Where women are honored, divinity blossoms; and where they are dishonored, all action remains unfruitful.”
 

The Amrita participants on the panel emphasized Chancellor Amma’s words.
 

Amma says, “A woman is not weak and should never be considered so, but her natural compassion and sympathy have too often been misinterpreted as weaknesses. If a woman draws on her power within, she can become a source of courage and discrimination. Our male society should sincerely help her realize and acknowledge her latent strengths.”
 

By popular demand, a panel discussion was organized soon again, this time by Amrita Sanjeevani student association.
 

The panelists included faculty and staff from the different Amrita schools and departments viz. Dr. Balakrishnan Shankar (Associate Dean), Dr. Jyothi (Department of Mechanical Engineering), Dr. Manjula (Dept of Electrical Engineering), Dr. Sreekala (School of Biotechnology), Dr. Priya (Department of Social Work) and Mr. Ranjith Kavunkara (Department of Social Work).
 

Chancellor Amma’s words again marked the discussions.
 

Amma says, “Parents should teach their sons both the need to protect and to respect women. These days many men are like one-way roads; they need to become like highways, allowing women to also move forward alongside them … unless we raise our children with these values, no real change will ever take place.”
 

Amma’s responses to an interview conducted by the Outlook Magazine in the wake of the gruesome Delhi gang rape were also discussed.   Read More »
 

At the Coimbatore Campus, an interactive session was organized on International Women’s Day at the initiative of the Departments of English and Sciences.
 

Are women aware of their own potential? Are women in a unique organization such as ours aware of their strengths? Are women empowered enough to face challenges in their personal and professional lives? Participants pondered on such questions, drawing on the wisdom in our scriptural texts as they sought the answers.
 

 
 
 
 
March 13, 2013
School of Dentistry, Kochi
 

Drs. Keerthy S. Menon and Tessa Paul, first-year postgraduate scholars of the Department of Periodontics at the Amrita School of Dentistry won accolades at the 12th Postgraduate Convention of the Indian Society of Periodontology.
 

The convention was organized at ITS Dental College in Greater Noida during March 1-3, 2013.
 

Dr. Keerthy won the third prize for her paper presentation in the clinical research category while Dr. Tessa Paul received a consolation prize. In all, the conference saw the presentation of over 700 scientific papers.
 

Dr. Keerthy’s paper was titled Comparison of the efficacy of iontophoresis and desensitizing tooth paste in the management of dentinal hypersensitivity – a clinical study. The study compared two different treatment modalities for dentinal hypersensitivity, one through iontophoresis and the other using desensitizing tooth paste.
 

Dentine hypersensitivity results in swift, sharp pains arising from exposed dentine, typically in response to stimuli such as hot, cold, sweet or citrus fruits. Dentine is one of the four major components of teeth other than enamel, cementum and pulp. The sensitivity can be caused by several factors including wear and tear, decaying teeth or exposed teeth roots.
 

“It is also a common clinical problem in patients undergoing periodontal therapy,” noted Dr. Keerthy.
 

Iontophoresis is a technique wherein a small electric charge delivers a medicine or other chemical through any tissues (skin, teeth, etc). Iontophoresis using fluoride gel is commonly employed in the treatment of hypersensitive dentine.
 

Dr. Keerthy explained her study.
 

“A total of thirty dentine hypersensitivity sites were selected from different patients who visited the periodontal clinic at Amrita. They were divided into group A and B. Group A patients were given fluoride gel iontophoresis and group B, commercially available desensitizing tooth paste with 5% potassium nitrate.”
 

“After the study period of two weeks, the results were statistically analyzed and it was proved that iontophoresis provided better relief for long-term dental hypersensitivity; it was also more convenient for patients as it was a single visit procedure.”
 

“Iontophoresis proved to be of considerable promise in the management of dentinal hypersensitivity.”
 

Dr. Tessa Paul’s paper that won a consolation prize was titled Modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis using healthy periodontium – a boon to the blind.
 

Modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (bone tooth corneal prosthesis) is the use of patient’s own single rooted tooth with surrounding alveolar bone for repairing the optical lens. In diseases with severe ocular surface inflammation, chemical injury and dry eyes this technique has been found to be more successful than other purely synthetic prosthesis.
 

Dr. Tessa presented a case report of a patient who lost his sight in an industrial chemical accident and regained his vision with the help of this technique.
 

“The alveolar bone with periodontal ligament and periosteum wrapped with blood vessels established connections with surrounding tissue in the eye and became the patient’s new cornea helping restore vision, she elaborated.
 

Both scholars expressed their gratitude to their mentors at the Amrita Department of Periodontology.
 

“Drs. P. Jayachandran, Professor and Head; Angel Jacob, Associate Professor; Rajesh Vyloppillil, Reader; Anuradha Bhaskar, Assistant Professor helped us immensely with our research. Our special thanks also to Dr. Pramod John, Professor and Head, Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology and Mr. Deepak K. S., Department of Statistics,” they said.
 

 
 
 
 
March 11, 2013
School of Engineering, Coimbatore
 

“Which government institution was chosen by the Indian Railways to sell its tickets, following the success of its online portal?” quizmaster Giri Balasubramanium tossed up this question.
 

Recollecting that the post office was now also selling flight tickets, Amrita students Vishal R. and S. Bharqdwaaj Rajan took a chance. Tentatively they answered, “India Post.”
 

They were right! The correct answer enabled the team to become the first to qualify for the ninth edition of the Tata Crucible Campus Quiz Competition 2013 from Coimbatore.
 

A knowledge initiative of the Tata Group, the business quiz annually attracts participation from students of not only management, but also engineering and other disciplines.
 

For instance, the Amrita students who qualified, are in the final-year of their BTech program in Chemical Engineering and Electronics & Communication Engineering at Coimbatore.
 

The singular qualification earned the Amrita students a cash prize of Rs. 75,000.
 

They will now proceed to Bangalore to compete in the zonal finals. The top two teams from each zone will battle it out for the top spot at the national finals scheduled for April 14, 2013 in Mumbai.
 

This will mark the culmination of what has come to be the largest inter-collegiate business quiz competition in the country. This year the contest is being organized in over 30 Indian cities.
 

VK Prasad, General Manager, Taj Vivanta, Coimbatore was present at the qualification round in Coimbatore. Applauding the teams for their sterling performances, he presented the prize to the winning Amrita team.
 

Among those who participated in Coimbatore were nearly 300 students from colleges not only in Coimbatore but also the towns of Erode, Tirpur, Salem, Namakkal, Nilgiris, Karur, Hosur and Ooty.
 

These students all competed in the preliminary rounds where they grappled with questions on breakfast brands, company logos and famous business leaders, among other topics.
 

“It was a very good learning experience,” stated the winning Amrita students.
 

“Thanks to Quizkrieg, our quizzing club that we are a part of. The regular practice at the club helped us immensely,” they added.
 

The quiz club meets every fortnight; members take turns to conduct quizzes. Once in a while, quizzes are organized on specific topics.
 

“As members, we are happy when we have the chance to participate in quiz competitions conducted in and around the city. Lately, Amrita teams have been performing very well,” the winning students summed up.
 

 
 
 
 
March 16, 2013
Health Sciences Campus, Kochi
 

Blissful Little Hearts, a parent support and advocacy group for addressing their emotional and rehabilitative needs, if they had children ailing from heart diseases, was inaugurated at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences by Sri. V. K. Ebrahim Kunju, Honorable Minister for Public Works, Government of Kerala, on March 9, 2013.
 

Jointly supported by the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at Amrita and Children’s Heartlink (a US-based non-governmental organization), Blissful Little Hearts was the initiative of the parents of those children who received treatment for heart defects at Amrita.
 

Mr. Bimal Roy, a parent representative, elaborated on the planned activities, at the inauguration.
 

“We will conduct educational workshops and sessions for children and their families on various aspects of care of heart defects including the psycho-social and adaptive problems, stress management and rehabilitation into mainstream life including schooling and adult life issues. We also plan to conduct free medical camps.”
 

“This is a much needed venture for supporting affected children and their family members as they face a number of challenges,” remarked the Honorable Minister during the inaugural address.
 

The logo of Blissful Little Hearts was jointly released by the Honorable Minister and Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director, AIMS.
 

Dr. R. Krishna Kumar, Professor and Head of the Department of Pediatric Cardiology; Dr Rajesh Pai, Additional Medical Superintendent; Dr. Suresh G. Nair, Professor and Head of the Department of Anaesthesiology; Mr. Boban Francis, Member of Blissful Little Hearts and Ms. Veeralakshmi Rajasekhar, Representative of Children’s Heartlink also spoke.
 

Two parents enlightened the audience about the experiences they had while their child underwent heart surgery and the challenges that faced then.
 

The Pediatric Cardiac team at Amrita has been in the forefront of providing care for children with heart defects in India for over a decade. More than 10,000 children with various types of heart defects have undergone treatment thus far.
 

“Heart diseases are common birth defects affecting infants and young children. This is the first time in the country that such a support group is being launched. It is hoped that this would serve as a bridge to connect health care professionals with patients and their families,” stated Dr. Balu Vaidyanathan, Professor at the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at Amrita.
 

More than forty children participated in the inauguration, together with their families. They participated in a drawing competition, the best smile competition and innovative games such as toffee-gathering. The winners received prizes from the Minister.
 

 
 
 
 
March 14, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

Thousands of students, faculty and staff of the Amritapuri campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham joined residents of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math to form a human chain that extended over a few kilometres this International Women’s Day on March 8, 2013.
 

“There may be external differences between women and men, but the indwelling consciousness is one.”
 

“We cannot say a country is developed when women cannot walk freely without fear in the night.”
 

“Our mother is our first teacher.”
 

Holding aloft placards and banners with such messages that directly reflected their Chancellor Amma’s teachings, the Amrita fraternity expressed silent solidarity with women all over the world on this day.
 

Both men and women alike participated in the human chain. They pledged to help stop violence against women and help ensure that women have a chance to contribute equally for the development of society.
 

Students performed street plays depicting the social challenges faced by women in contemporary India. They sang songs and highlighted Amma’s message calling for society to impart values to children at an early age, to foster feelings of respect and appreciation for women.
 

Earlier, during the inaugural ceremony for the human chain formation, Arjuna award winner Smt. S. Omana Kumari, Karunagappally Deputy Superintendent of Police Jayasankar and Karunagappally Panchayat Vice Chairperson Ms. Laxmi Mohan spoke.
 

Volunteers of Amrita Yuva Dharma Dhara, the youth wing of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math also joined in as the human chain extended from the town of Karunagappally to the village of Vavvakkavu.
 

Meanwhile, in Calicut district in northern Kerala, a unique initiative aimed at empowerment of women, also started on this day.
 

Seven women got together to begin a unit that would not only fulfil orders from customers for custom-made and fabric-painted silk sarees, cotton dresses, bed sheets and t-shirts but also impart skills to other women desirous of receiving the training.
 

These women received their training at the Amritapuri campus from staff of AMMACHI labs.
 

“We learned brush strokes, 3D painting, corn liner work, vegetable painting, glue techniques, all through the computer. Based on the orders we receive, we definitely aim to expand further,” the women happily shared.
 

SEE ALSO

Image Gallery
 

 
 
 
 
March 7, 2013
School of Communication, Coimbatore
 

The Amrita School of Communication (ASCOM) recently received Indy’s Award for having the best academic curriculum for mass communication. The award was handed over at the seventh edition of Indy’s Awards in Mumbai on February 14, 2013.
 

Indy’s Awards of Excellence annually honor those who have made an impact in the fields of mass communication, marketing communication, advertising, branding and public relations.
 

This year, ASCOM was joined by industry stalwarts TCS, Aditya Birla Minacs, Infosys BPO, Wipro BPO and Metlife Global, in receiving awards for contributions in respective fields.
 

Winners were selected by a committee constituted by the Stars of Industry Group, which consulted data from social media as well, to make the award decisions.
 

“This is indeed a great honor. It was quite unexpected because we had not even nominated ourselves for the award. I believe the award is in recognition of the excellent curriculum that ASCOM has and our experienced faculty. We equip our students not only for the industry’s present-day requirements, but also for the future,” commented Mr. P. Jayaram, Chairperson, ASCOM.
 

ASCOM is one of India’s first mass communication institutes to have adopted the UNESCO model curriculum for its B. A. (Mass Communication) program. Courses offered include those in Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism and Documentary Production, News Media and Design and Integrated Marketing Communications.
 

The curriculum is annually updated annually by a team of industry specialists and academicians.
 

ASCOM was recently invited to become part of the UNESCO Open Educational Resources Platform. At an invite-only workshop by UNESCO in Hyderabad in June 2010, experts assessed its curriculum along with that of six other universities in Asia.
 

In addition to B. A. (Mass Communication), ASCOM also offers a two-year M. A. program in communication with multiple specializations. In addition, a post-graduate diploma program provides students an opportunity to make a lateral entry into the M. A. program, in the second year.
 

Ms. Anitha Ramachandran, ASCOM alumnus, currently working with CNBC TV, Mumbai, received the award on behalf of ASCOM at the Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai.
 

“It is very satisfying to know that the organizers have recognized ASCOM for its contribution to the field of education,” stated Ms. Anitha.
 

“What was most satisfying, of course, was to learn that feedback from our former students and alumni had also contributed in our being chosen to received the award. Having Anitha Ramachandran receive the award on our behalf was our way of saying thank you to our alumni,” stated Mr. Jayaram.
 

 
 
 
 
March 5, 2013
Department of Social Work, Amritapuri
 

Wayanad district, in north-eastern Kerala, has a high percentage of tribal population. Communicable diseases, malnutrition and anemia are rampant here due to different reasons.
 

Infant as well as maternal mortality is higher than in the rest of the state. Some folks believe that this is due to the unsafe practice of home delivery among the tribals.
 

Parvathy V., final-year student of MSW (Master of Social Work) from the Amritapuri campus recently presented a paper that explored home delivery practices here based on observations made during her internship at the Amrita Kripa Charitable Trust, Wayanad.
 

The presentation won Parvathy the best paper award (for students) at the 31st Annual National Conference of the Indian Society of Professional Social Work organized at Kasturba Medical College in Karnataka.
 

Parvathy’s winning paper was titled Incidence of Home Delivery Among Tribals in Wayanad.
 

“The support and guidance of Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan and Dr. Ajitha Kumari, both medical officers at Amrita Kripa, helped me successfully complete my study,” she stated.
 

Parvathy found that although statistics made available by the National Rural Health Mission showed an average of 96% for institutional delivery in the country; in Wayanad, nearly 20% of the women delivered their babies at home.
 

“Most of these women are less than 30 years old. If they had access to a medical institution, and gave birth there, under the care and supervision of trained health care providers, the risk of maternal and child mortality would definitely be less,” she added.
 

Parvathy conducted her study with the help of the patients that came to Amrita Kripa to seek treatment and medical help.
 

She concluded that the incidence of home delivery would drop automatically, once medical facilities became more accessible to those living in remote areas. Then quality maternal and child health services would also become more ubiquitous.
 

“Having won this best paper award, I now have the confidence to venture more into such areas of health among the vulnerable and explore more to provide effective interventions,” Parvathy stated.
 

She expressed her gratitude to Dr. Renjith R. Pillai, Chairperson, Department of Social Work for having motivated her and guided her in the venture.
 

In addition to Parvathy, Lekshmi Vimala and Anitha S. of the same class, also presented papers in the aforementioned conference.
 

Lekshmi’s paper was titled Stress and Coping Among Adolescence in Kerala and Anitha’s paper was titled Self Esteem Among Adolescents of a Rural School in Kerala.
 

 
 
 
 
March 7, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
 

Students at the Amritapuri campus came together once again to host the second edition of the multiFest Vidyut. This year’s fest attracted participation from over 4000 students who traveled from 18 different states around the country to attend.
 

Most workshops and events organized by students of the Schools of Arts & Sciences, Biotechnology, Business and Engineering were centered on the theme of sustainability. The fest aimed at promoting awareness of low-carbon options for growth.
 

The fest was inaugurated on National Science Day by Swamini Krishnamrita Prana, through the symbolic lighting of a lamp. Invited guests included Sivathanu Pillai, R&D Director of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. and Nanda Kumar, CEO of SunTec Business Solutions.
 

At the inaugural ceremony, all speakers emphasized the need to embrace spiritual values.
 

As the fest rolled on, over the next three days, delegates attended workshops, contested in over forty events and browsed the exhibition stalls. They competed with each other, learned from each other and struck up new friendships. The festive premises saw them lounging around, and often heading to the food court, that offered up delicious arrays.
 

“The township planning event was one of the best events I participated in,” shared a contestant, afterwards. Organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the event called for the designing of an imaginary town in India that had a minimum population of 5000 people and zero waste.
 

“Zero waste is imperative for sustainable living. When we throw something away, the loss is not only of that object, but also its embedded energy which represents all the energy it took to make that object,” the contestant added.
 

Other popular events included coding contests, robotic wars and treasure hunts. Technical paper presentations were organized in the fields of biotechnology, computer science, electrical engineering, electronics engineering and mechanical engineering.
 

In workshops, participants learned some interesting facts.
 

“800 million Indians still use traditional fuels. Of the 1.4 billion people in the world who have no access to electricity, our country accounts for over 300 million.”
 

Workshops on diverse topics such as Rubik’s Cube, Hydroponics, Haptics, 3D Gaming and Scripting, Business Incubation and Ethical Hacking saw enthusiastic participation.
 

“All workshops were impressive, we learned about things we weren’t aware about earlier,” shared workshop participants.
 

The fest exhibition proudly displayed not only innovative creations of Amrita students, but also those of students who came from other colleges. Many brought their models to be exhibited; they had worked on these outside of class hours.
 

A GSM-based wireless energy billing system, a semi – automatic fish scale removing machine, an e-coat with inbuilt sensors and detectors to help the visually-challenged move around without depending on anyone else, were only some of the creative displays.
 

Students of Sastra University displayed a sensor system for potential deployment under roads. “These sensors would collect vibrations caused by vehicles and convert them into power,” they explained.
 

By no means were they the only ones offering up such out-of-the-box energy solutions. Harvesting energy from the human body, from movements of walking, running and even breathing, other students displayed their E-Harvesters.
 

Participants also had the opportunity to work with traditional sources of renewable energy. In an event, they were asked to make a wind turbine coupled with a DC generator to provide output of AC current. In another event, participants generated electricity from a module of solar cells to light up a 60 watt bulb.
 

“The events were challenging and well-thought out. They gave us a chance to think, explore and even deepen our understanding of fundamental concepts,” stated enthusiastic participants.
 

 
 
 
 
February 28, 2013
School of Medicine, Kochi
 

Dr. Ravi Sankaran, final-year postgraduate scholar at the Amrita School of Medicine won the second prize for poster presentation at the 41st Annual National Conference of the Indian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
 

The conference was organized at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore during January 31 – February 3, 2013.
 

Dr. Ravi Sankaran’s poster titled Infant Spine Injury in Disguise described the case of
a one-month-old infant diagnosed with apparent bilateral Erb’s palsy and subluxation of the cervical spine at C5 – C6.
 

When there is a misalignment within the seven uppermost vertebrae of the spine, the resulting condition is known as cervical vertebral subluxation. Although rare, it may manifest when the mother’s labor is difficult. Bilateral Erb’s palsy refers to the paralysis of both arms caused by either traumatic or obstetric injury to nerves near the neck and shoulder (brachial plexus).
 

“In this case, the baby was born through complicated breech delivery,” stated Dr. Ravi.
 

Most babies are born in a head-down position that allows for a normal birth. But if the baby is breech, meaning, the baby is lying with the bottom downwards making the delivery complicated, the baby’s body becomes susceptible to injuries.
 

Dr. Ravi elaborated on the particular case.
 

“This baby had a paucity of bilateral arm movement. In absence of any improvement, the baby was brought to the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Amrita. On examination, we found that reflexes were absent in the biceps and brachioradialis and sluggish in the triceps. Reflexes were present in the knees and ankles and the tone of both legs was normal.”
 

“Investigations such as nerve conduction studies, x-ray and magnetic resonance imaging, revealed preganglionic upper trunk brachial plexus injury (injury to the nerves near the neck and shoulder), subluxation of the cervical spine at C5 – C6, and pseudomeningoceles (abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid).”
 

“The diagnosis was C5-C6 subluxation with bilateral Erb’s palsy, a rare case that has not been described before. Here, the patient was treated with contracture prevention methods, orthotic management. We performed surgery at 3 months and the baby wore 3 months of bracing support.”
 

“Post treatment, the baby has continued to show normal growth.”
 

The scholar acknowledged support received from his mentors, Dr. Surendran K, Professor and Head of the Amrita Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Dr. Ashok Pillai, Associate Professor in the Amrita Department of Neurosurgery.