Faculty, staff and students at the Amritapuri campus had the rare opportunity recently to attend a series of lectures by Swami Anubhavananda Saraswati, who is renowned world-wide for his expositions on Vedanta and Indian thought.
 

Sharing valuable insights with his audience in the packed auditorium hall, Swamiji first spoke on Success and Well-Being in Life, later expounding upon Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita.
 

Outlining the reasons for lack of success, Swamiji made many observations. “Our life is full of desires. We are always burdened with thoughts such as, I want this, or I want that. Fulfillment of desires alone cannot bring fulfillment in life.”
 

Emphasizing the importance of meditation, Swamiji said, “Success is only possible if we are well organized inside. We should spend some time daily organizing our mind. This is only possible through meditation. One who is not integrated within, cannot have the right understanding. Such a person will tend to misunderstand everything.”
 

In addition to combating the burden of desires and meditating regularly, Swamiji stressed that putting the right effort was important to achieve success.
 

“Get fully involved in the work, but keep your attention on the quality of your mind. The grace of the Lord goes to those who put efforts. Once you have discovered your field of work, be on a war footing.”
 

Outlining that our scriptures have described three types of people, he said, “There are those who keep imagining that the work is very difficult and hence never initiate anything. There are those, who are very inspired to start something, but lack the commitment to sustain it. And then, there are those, who may face difficulties, but the more the difficulties, the greater is their determination.”
 

Swamiji highlighted a couple more attributes of a successful person. “We should have the ability to take decisions quickly. When in doubt, sit with your eyes closed in front of the Lord and pray. Your inner voice will guide you. Slowly, over time, you will develop this faculty.”
 

“Also, never, never complain about anything or anyone.”
 

Swamiji is popularly known as the Be-Happy Swami. His happiness was infectious as he easily shared jokes and parables, making his audience laugh. As he proceeded to discuss Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita, he noted, “Once you have heard the Gita, you will lose your freedom to be miserable. According to the Bhagavad-Gita, yoga is not about twisting our bodies. Rather it is the ability to refuse being miserable, under any circumstances.”
 

“Be happy always. Begin your day in an inspired manner. You will ever be successful.”
 

“Don’t be serious in life. Be sincere.”
 

Students, staff and faculty members overwhelmingly expressed their gratitude at having had the opportunity to attend the talks.
 

“Swamiji’s talks were really enlightening; they made me think,” stated Vishnupriya M. Nair, third-year BTech student of Computer Science and Engineering.
 

“Swamiji made us laugh and think at the same time,” said Nikhil Menon, final-year BTech student of Mechanical Engineering.

“His words touched my heart. I look forward to more such sessions in our college,” added staff member, Sruthy Anand.
 

Dr. Shantikumar Nair, Professor and Director, Amrita Centre for Nanosciences and Dean of Research, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham recently delivered an oral presentation at the largest international physics gathering in the world.
 

Organized by the American Physical Society (APS), the congress was convened in Denver, Colorado during April 13 -16, 2013.
 

APS is a non-profit organization, headquartered at College Park, Maryland, USA. Its physics-related activities extend to the fields of academia, research and outreach.
 

Dr. Shanti’s paper was titled Relativity of Scale: Emergence of Quantum Behavior from Space-Time Geometry and Its Implications.
 

This Amrita talk was the only presentation from India. It was scheduled in the session titled, Classical and Quantum Gravity.
 

“My paper shed light on the principles of relativity of scale that relate the nature of the space-time background to the mass and size of a particle relative to the observer,” stated Dr. Shanti.
 

Originally developed by Laurent Nottale, an astrophysicist and researcher at a French observatory near Paris, the principles of scale relativity attempted to unify quantum physics and relativity theory.
 

In general, Nottale’s theory developed in the early 1990s has not been widely discussed in the scientific community. Some scientists maintain that Laurent Nottale deserves the Nobel Prize in Physics for postulating this important theory.
 

“My study showed that quantum behavior can evolve from the dynamic space-time background of general relativity. In principle then, it is possible to construct a complete quantum theory based on general relativity,” explained Dr. Shanti.
 

His paper was the first in the world to associate the origin of quantum mechanical behavior to the space-time geometry in the local region of very small particles.
 

“Around sufficiently small particles space-time can be substantially curved giving rise to time dilation and space contraction effects as with particles moving at high velocities. The forces calculated from the space-time geometry are fully consistent with known electromagnetic forces, suggesting that this can be a new approach to unify the quantum world with the macroscopic world governed by general relativity,” stated Dr. Shanti.
 

“For the simple case of the hydrogen atom, the electromagnetic force and electron charge could be predicted in terms of these changes in space-time geometry,” he further added.
 

The groundbreaking work was well received by physicists at the meeting. The April 2013 meeting was attended by over 1200 delegates from around the world, including physicists, scientists and journalists.
 

Postgraduate and undergraduate scholars at the Amrita School of Dentistry won several best paper awards at a state-level Talent Hunt recently conducted at the Royal Dental College, Trichur.
 

The Talent Hunt was conducted by the college’s Forum for Advanced Studies and Continuing Education Program.
 

Drs. Hridya Jayaprakash, Manisha Sunil, Swathi Shankar, Drisya Soman, Devika Krishnan (all currently interning at the Amrita School of Dentistry) and Ms. Parvathi Vijay (final-year BDS student) all won best paper awards in the undergraduate category.
 

The significant role of age estimation in forensic dentistry was discussed in Dr. Hridya’s paper titled Teeth Never Lie About their Age. The paper highlighted various methods of age estimation using teeth in prenatal period, the first decade of life and after the first two decades.
 

The diagnostic role of exfoliative cytology (a simple, inexpensive screening procedure used for diagnostic purposes) in oral cancer was discussed in Dr. Manisha Sunil’s paper titled Exfoliating Cells – The Cancer Detectors – A Personal Experience.
 

A rare case of dentigerous cyst (jaw cysts commonly manifesting in the second and third decades of life) in a one-year-old boy was presented by Dr. Swathi Shankar in her paper titled A Rare Case of Dentigerous Cyst in a One-Year-Old.
 

Dr. Drisya Soman’s paper titled A Single Cell to be an Emerging Hope reviewed the knowledge relating to stem cells with emphasis on the isolation of the dental pulp stem cells and their uses.
 

Ms. Parvathy Vijay’s paper titled Neonatal Lines as a Linear Evidence in Infanticide shed light on the fact that by demonstrating the presence of neonatal lines (growth lines in tooth enamel), one can distinguish whether a child died before or after birth and approximately how long the child lived after birth.
 

Dr. Devika’s paper was titled State-of-the-Art Mandibular Reconstruction.
 

In the postgraduate category, the best paper awards were bagged by Drs. Deepa S., Thara Aravind, Neethu Suresh, Keerthy S. Menon, Remya K. S., Navanith Renahan and Tessa Paul.
 

In her paper titled Museum Specimens: Quest for an Odourless Preservation, Dr. Deepa wrote about plastination, an alternative efficient modality for preserving specimens. “Such specimens can be touched, do not smell or decay and even retain most properties of the original sample for many years.”
 

Dr. Thara’s paper titled Magic of Colors: Diagnostic Conclusion through Optical Illusion discussed the vital role of colors in the field of diagnostic pathology.
 

The role of green tea in boosting periodontal health was discussed in Dr. Neethu Suresh’s paper titled Green Tea and the Periodontium. Use of green tea inhibits the growth of periodontal micro-organisms, reduces bad breath and gingival inflammation and inhibits bone resorbtion.
 

Dr. Keerthy Menon’s paper was titled Build the Trust over Iontophoresis in the Management of Tooth Sensitivity – A Clinical Study and Dr. Remya’s paper was titled Plantibodies : An Adjunct to Periodontal Therapy.
 

Dr. Navanith Renahan’s paper explored the infinite potential of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in dentistry and its application while Dr. Tessa’s paper presented a case report of a patient who lost his sight in an industrial chemical accident and regained his vision with the help of modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis.
 

The winners acknowledged the support and guidance received from their Professors at the School of Dentistry viz., Drs. Balagopal Varma, P. Jayachandran, Rakesh S., Mahija Janardhanan, Vindhya Savitri, Angel Jacob, Ravi V., and Ushas P.
 

The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Coimbatore campus conducted a two-day workshop on Wind Energy: Resource Assessment and Simulation during May 22-23, 2013.
 

Organized in association with the Amrita Student Chapter of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, the workshop attracted participation from 36 participants, including graduate and undergraduate students from various engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu.
 

The workshop began with addresses by Dr. T. N. Padmanabhan Nambiar, Chairperson and Dr. K. K. Sasi, Vice-Chairperson of the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering which provided an overview of electricity generation from wind energy in India.
 

The inaugural speakers informed delegates about resources available at the Amrita Wind Energy Center, the first such academic center nation-wide that is supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
 

“We have hardware demo units for wind turbines and generators as well as the software required for wind power analysis. These will be of immense help to students conducting research on wind energy conversion,” stated Dr. Sasi.
 

Thereafter, the technical sessions began with delegates first learning about Wind Resource Assessment from S. R. Mohanrajan, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
 

Elaborating on how to assess the availability of wind power in a given site, and thereby estimate the annual energy production and distribution of wind energy generation during the year, Mohanrajan also explained how one would choose the right generator.
 

Leading participants through hands-on sessions, he explained the use of statistical models (including Weibull Distribution) for the estimation of annual energy production.
 

The closing session of the day was led by T. Prabu, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering who demonstrated the use of lab tools such as WAsP, WindPRO and WindoGrapher for wind resource assessment. This lab session focused on micro-siting.
 

Day Two began with Dr. V. Vanitha, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, eloquently explaining the history of development of electric generators for wind power.
 

Comparing the merits of using various generators, she also addressed power quality issues of wind farms. Explaining the Indian Wind Grid Code (IWGC) approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), for scheduling, forecasting, connection code and operating code, she provided important insights regarding wind farms.
 

The final session of the workshop was led by M. Jisma, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, who provided an overview of Matlab/Simulink tutorials for Grid-Connected Wind Electric Generators. Delegates learned modeling and simulation of various components of a Wind Energy Generator (WEG) system including the turbine, gear and generator.
 

“Both, lectures as well as hands-on sessions, were very interesting. Thanks to the organizers and we look forward to more such interactions,” shared enthusiastic participants.
 

“Our main objective was to explain the tools and techniques in wind energy studies through comprehensive lectures and lab classes. Through the study of wind power conversion, resource modeling and computer simulation of wind turbine generators, we are happy to note that workshop objectives were met,” stated the organizers.
 

The Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) recently approved two student project proposals from the Amrita School of Engineering, Bengaluru for sponsorship under its Student Projects Program 2012-2013.
 

This 36th edition will provide support for BTech and MTech projects that are relevant to society and help in development and demonstration of useful technologies by students.
 

The two Amrita student projects selected to receive funding are Automatic Garbage Bin – Waste Segregation System and Flow Visualization over Different Aerodynamic Bodies in the Wind Tunnel.
 

Final-year BTech students of Mechanical Engineering, Upendra Shenoy M., Gadicherla Sreeram, Vissa Surya Sasank and Akarapu Ajay Krishna Reddy have teamed up to build the automatic garbage bin.
 

Prashanth B. N., Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering is playing a pivotal role, mentoring and guiding these students.
 

The second project on flow visualization is also led by final-year BTech students of Mechanical Engineering, Aneesh Ravikumar, Mohammad Irfan, R. Madan and Siva Sembian. Here, Dr. S. R. Nagaraja, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering is providing guidance.
 

“Our automatic garbage bin can help with effective waste management at the locality-level. Even though segregation of waste at source has been mandated in our city, practically we find that laborers have to do it manually. The implementation of our system would be preferred in such cases and would result in a lower cost as well. Academic institutions, offices and small / medium enterprises can implement these as well,” explained student members of the first team.
 

The students plan to use processes and techniques of magnetic separation, air classification, density separation to implement their proposed system. They visualize different chambers in the garbage bin with automatic release doors to segregate the waste in three stages.
 

“If food waste is not mixed with the other types of waste, then the major components of the municipal waste stream are paper, plastic and metal. Most of this waste, if properly segregated, can be recycled. These materials span a wide range of bulk densities and moisture content, resulting in a wide range heating values, hence burning is not recommended,” the students explained.
 

Meanwhile, the second team is getting ready to undertake flow visualization experiments using various aerodynamic bodies in a low-speed wind tunnel.
 

“Our wind tunnel has a test section of 250 mm x 250 mm and a blower with capacity of 10450 m3/ hr. A pitot tube will be fabricated for flow velocity measurement. Different NACA airfoils will be fabricated as well, along with a mounting stand, to adjust the airfoils at different angles of attack. A jet smoke will be generated to aid the flow visualization experiments. The lift and drag forces, acting on various aerodynamic bodies will be thus measured,” student team members explained.
 

But what will be the practical use of their work?
 

“A major problem faced by physicists and engineers working with fluids is the identification of various physical parameters responsible for the phenomena in fluid dynamics. This makes it almost impossible to accurately simulate or mathematically model the phenomenon theoretically. Engineers need a method to reliably test their designs. For this, we are practically recreating the fluid phenomena affecting the objects,” the students explained.
 

“Flaws in design pertaining to aerodynamics can be identified using a wind tunnel. A wind tunnel can also be used to observe and record data from fluid phenomena more easily. We will use the wind tunnel for demonstrating the effect of change in angle of attack on stream line flow over aerodynamic bodies. This can be used for aerodynamic design of various components/products,” the students added.
 

The Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) is a professional council under the University Grants Commission (UGC) that monitors higher education in the Indian systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani in India.
 

Formed under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, the council came into being in 1971.
 

It was constituted under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act (Act 48) of 1970.
 

The council frames and regulates curriculum and syllabus at undergraduate and graduate levels to ensure quality education and help make students into successful practitioners.
 

Every five years, the council selects new board members who serve during the tenured period.
 

Recently, the council unanimously selected Br. Dr. Sankara Chaitanya, Medical Director, Amrita School of Ayurveda as its honored board member.
 

Br. Dr. Sankara Chaitanya’s selection to the esteemed national council marks a first for Amrita.
 

“It is a matter of great pride for all of us. We are excited that Amrita School of Ayurveda is represented in the national council and has the opportunity to help steer the path of holistic medicine in this country,” stated Registrar, Dr. Krishnamoorthy.
 

When asked about his views on the present state of Ayurveda education in the nation, Br. Dr. Sankara Chaitanya expressed hope at its resurgence, adding some important insights.
 

“Students should focus on making Ayurveda a part of their lives. Only then, will they truly experience its remarkable values, and treat the diseased effectively,” he stated.
 

“The need of the Gurukula system of education of ancient times is felt even in this modern scenario,” he noted.
 

Br. Dr. Sankara Chaitanya had the opportunity to discuss these points and others at great length with the CCIM President, Dr. Veda Prakash Tyagi, when he visited the Amrita School of Ayurveda in March 2013.
 

Dr. Tyagi had expressed his deep desire for making Ayurveda the first choice of treatment for people in the Indian society. “I feel a little dejected at seeing the current state in various colleges across the country, where there is lack of discipline, malpractices in the examination hall and absence of value-based education,” he had pointed out.
 

“Quality education should be our motto. We should aim to raise the standards of education in Ayurveda. This will also help enhance the recognition and appreciation of Ayurveda globally,” he had emphasized.
 

Dr. Tyagi had spent a day in the serene campus of the Amrita School of Ayurveda. He had also visited the ashram across the backwaters to meet with Chancellor Amma. Overall, he was very impressed by the amenities and facilities provided for students at Amrita. He happily noted the sense of discipline that prevailed and the morals that were inculcated.
 

As a member of the CCIM for the past 20 years, Dr. Tyagi has been a recipient of the Ayurveda Choodamani Award by the Uttar Pradesh Ayurveda Sammelan. He was elected as President of CCIM in July 2012.
 

“Dr. Tyagi is the first CCIM President to visit our institution. We have had 6 Presidents thus far,” shared Dr. Unnikrishnan, Principal, Amrita School of Ayurveda.
 

During his trip, Dr. Tyagi also visited the Amrita School of Biotechnology, Amrita School of Engineering and Amrita School of Arts and Sciences on the same 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.
 

“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.
 

“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.
 

The Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Bengaluru campus organized a two-day national workshop on Trends and Developments in Signal Processing and Applications (TDSPA-13) during April 27-28, 2013.
 

Signal processing may be applied to sensor data, images, sound or electromagnetic radiation. Using applied mathematics and electrical engineering concepts, the signals, perhaps spatially varying, are analyzed with measurements over time.
 

“Overall, the workshop helped generate more interest in signal processing and inspired participants to work towards their interest area with renewed vigor,” stated Dr. Shikha Tripathi, Chairperson, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering.
 

On the first day of the workshop, Dr. Hema A. Murthy of IIT Madras addressed the delegates. Speaking on Group Delay Processing of Speech Signals, she stressed the need to exploit their potential for development of speech systems.
 

“Traditionally, information in speech signals is represented in terms of features derived from the short-time fourier analysis. In this analysis, features extracted from the magnitude of the Fourier Transform (FT) are considered, ignoring the phase component,” she remarked.
 

“Although the significance of the FT phase was highlighted in several studies over the past three decades, the features of the FT phase were not fully exploited due to difficulty in computing the phase and in processing the phase function. The information in the short-time FT phase function can be extracted by processing the derivative of the FT phase, i.e., the group delay function,” she added.
 

The work finds applications in areas such as speech and speaker recognition.
 

Another address was delivered by Lokesha H. of National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru. Speaking about Active Noise Control (ANC), a signal processing solution for noise mitigation in aircrafts, he elaborated on how to measure noise and the effects of high-intensity noise.
 

“Not only is ANC used in aircraft cabins for filtering our noise to reduce disturbances, it is also used in infant incubators,” he noted.
 

Dr. Sitaram Ramachandrula from HP Labs dealt with various applications of speech and image processing and innovations made by his organization.
 

“Applications for signal processing based novel interaction concepts for increasing IT usage in India are Voice-Based-Interaction and Paper-Based-Interaction,” he explained.
 

Dr. Narayana Dutt from IISc, Bengaluru, focused on nonlinear processing techniques for the analysis of biomedical signals in his talk, making delegates aware of the role of Electroencephalography or recording of electrical activity along the scalp.
 

“The different types of dynamic states of the brain are eyes closed / eyes open, sleep stages and meditation,” he highlighted. Various types of brain signals processed and dynamics of the brain during various mental activities were highlighted.
 

“The retina has a vital role in the functioning of the eye. Glaucoma is one of the major reasons for blindness,” stated Dr. M. R. Bhatt of Forus Health Pvt Ltd., speaking on Retina Image – A glimpse into the diagnosis of chronic diseases and challenges in image analysis.
 

“The eyes are windows to the heart and the brain in the literal sense, as noting down activity of the eye can tell us about the health of the person,” he added.
 

Other eminent speakers included M. R. Keshorey from CAIR, DRDO; Charles Domnique from T. P. Vision; Manjunath V. Joshi from Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar and Srevats Laxman from S. T. Microelectronics who together covered topics such as speech processing, music feature extraction using digital signal processing, applications of image processing and computer vision, DSP applications in video post-processing and demodulators.
 

Hands – on sessions led by Cranes Software professionals used TI DSP kits for real-time applications.
 

“All sessions inspired participants to inculcate the underlying concepts, rather than merely cramming up text book knowledge. On the whole, workshop delegates gave us very good feedback,” shared Dr. Shikha Tripathi, Chairperson, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

“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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.”
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

“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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

The Amrita Clinical Skills Simulation Center was inaugurated at the Health Sciences campus by the Honorable State Minister for Industries and Information Technology, Sri. P. K. Kunhalikutty on February 26, 2013.
 

“Students will now do medical procedures on mannequins before performing on real patients. I congratulate Amrita for setting up such a technologically advanced simulation center,” stated the Honorable Minister, during the inaugural ceremony.
 

The center will be dedicated to promoting hands-on medical education to help improve clinical skills of educators and students.
 

“By the introduction of the unique simulation center, we are moving one step ahead in developing new teaching methodologies in the field of medical education,” stated Dr. Prathapan Nair, Principal at the Amrita School of Medicine.
 

“At the center, we will use mannequins for teaching and training basic and advanced surgical skills and various non-invasive procedures,” added Dr. M. Gopalan, Head of the Department of Medical Illustrations, and in charge of the new Amrita Clinical Skills Simulation Center.
 

Mannequins are life-size human-like figures and are already in use as virtual patients at Amrita to impart medical education. These virtual patients allow students to make diagnoses and arrive at therapeutic decisions with the help of interactive computer simulations.
 

“Our mannequins accurately mimic anatomical structures with electronic devices to auscultate a normal or abnormal heart, lung and abdominal sounds and give realistic tactile impressions for abdominal palpation of normal/abnormal liver, spleen, intestines and all pelvic organs,” explained Dr. Gopalan.
 

“We will use mannequins with programmed clinical conditions instead of using real patients for the purpose of teaching and training. Also the students can engage in repetitive practice with increasing levels of difficulty,” he underlined.
 

This Amrita Center will also offer training in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedic procedures such as intra-articular injections and trauma care, emergency medicine, anesthesia and general medicine.
 

Automated delivery mannequins to simulate a normal delivery, abnormal and obstructed labor in obstetrics and gynecology are available. So are baby mannequins for learning neonatal care. Surgical procedures such as incisions, suturing, intravenous and intramuscular injections, laparoscopic examinations and surgery itself can be performed on the mannequins.
 

A hands-on workshop on different basic and advanced techniques was offered to postgraduate students and faculty members of various clinical specialties post the inauguration of the Center.
 

An Amrita paper titled Unearthing the Roots of Colonial Forest Laws: Iron Smelting and the State in Pre- and Early-Colonial India was published in Economic and Political Weekly during February 2013.
 

The magazine published in Mumbai by Sameeksha charitable trust includes both scholarly research as well as information about current events. First published in 1949 as Economic Weekly, it has enjoyed a rising subscriber base over the years.
 

The paper was and co-authored by Dr. Amalendu Jyotishi of the Amrita School of Business and Dr. Sashi Sivramkrishna of the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management, Bengaluru.
 

The authors offered an alternative narrative of India’s environmental history by focusing on traditional iron melting rather than the usually-discussed agrarian village economy. “Till date iron-smelting was somehow ignored by environmental historians,” shared Dr. Amalendu.
 

“This article breaks new ground and is really an advance in historical scholarship…,” commented the Economic and Political Weekly reviewer.
 

“Traditional iron-making in India used about sixteen kilograms of charcoal for a kilogram of iron and to produce a kilogram of charcoal required four to seven kilograms of wet wood. Consequently, to produce a kilogram of refined iron needed about sixty to hundred times its own weight in wet wood,” elaborated Dr. Amalendu Jyotishi.
 

The wet wood was obtained, of course, by cutting down forests. During the pre- and early-colonial times, the feudal state asserted its rights over mines and forests. Iron was required for making weapons. The colonizers were transforming India’s economy into a war economy.
 

The advent of the colonial rule brought about a competition for natural resources, resulting in ecological destruction in mineral-rich forest regions, which continues across the world even today. These were the conditions that paved the way for statutory forest laws.
 

“The colonial state, in pursuing its own commercial and military objectives, considered the traditional smelter as a competitor for resources and even perhaps a militaristic threat. It is through this multilayered perspective of environmental and military history intertwined with the anthropology of iron smelting, that we can unearth one of the roots of statutory forest laws,” explained Dr. Amalendu.
 

Initial thoughts on this topic were presented at a Conference on Legal Pluralism in the University of Cape Town in September 2011. A more developed version was presented at the International Conference and Workshop on Legal Pluralism in Natural Resource Management that was organized by the Amrita School of Business in March 2012.
 

“We hope to build on this work by adding more interesting dimensions, especially relating to indigenous communities. Similarly we are also working on charcoal economy from energy economics perspective,” revealed Dr. Amalendu.
 

A symposium on Advances in Clinical Radiobiology was organized by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Amrita School of Medicine during February 23 -24, 2013.
 

The symposium shed light on the current radiobiological concepts being used in the field of modern radiation oncology practice.
 

Distinguished speakers and faculty from all over the country and abroad, in addition to Amrita faculty, delivered lectures.
 

Radiobiology is the study of the effects of ionizing radiation on living tissue. Ionizing radiation includes photons (x-rays and gamma rays) and particle radiation (electrons, protons, neutrons, carbon ions, alpha particles, and beta particles). This can kill cells or change genes. This principle is used in radiation oncology to treat cancers and tumors.
 

Radiation physicists and oncologists determine and select the type, energy of radiation and technique of radiation treatment most suitable for treating a patient’s cancer.
 

Dr. Sanjay S. Supe, Associate Professor of Radiation Physics at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology spoke on radiobiological models. “The move towards individually-optimized treatments will need mathematical modeling to achieve its full potential,” he emphasized.
 

Radiobiological modeling is a field wherein one tries to predict either a response rate or complication rate for a particular radiation therapy using a mathematical model.
 

“These models can only show you the path. You have to correlate your clinical findings with these models and try to adjust the dose of radiation accordingly,” cautioned Dr. Arun Chougule, Professor of Radiation Physics at SMS Medical College, Jaipur.
 

Dr. Arun further discussed the concepts of nominal standard dose, cumulation radiation effect, time dose fractionation, tumor significant dose, linear quadratic model and extrapolated tolerance dose.
 

Dr. Issam El Naqa, Associate Professor of Medical Physics at McGill University, Montreal, Canada elaborated on hybrid imaging for radiotherapy. He stated that multimodality systems (PET/CT guided radiation therapy and combined PET/MRI) can produce images from different and complementary imaging techniques which can be fused together to yield better results for treatment.
 

Speaking on the benefits of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), Dr. Paul B. Ravindran, Professor of Radiation Physics at CMC Vellore, stated that IMRT has potentially higher cure rates and fewer side effects with a complication-free survival for patients.
 

Others who spoke at the symposium included Dr. Rajesh Kinhikar, Medical Physicist at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. Arun S. Oinam, Medical Physicist at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; Mr. Raghavendra Holla, Medical Physicist at Amrita; Mr. Dayanand Sharma, Radiation Physicist at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai.
 

Final-year students of BTech (Chemical Engineering) at the Coimbatore campus, Dharani Sundara Rajan, Mythreyi Unni and N.S. Santhosh recently won the second prize in the 7th edition of the prestigious Young Innovators Choice Competition.
 

Organized annually, this year the competition was part of the Young Researchers Conference at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai during January 10-13, 2013.
 

“In the competition, we were expected to solve real-life technical challenges. Eleven industry participants together defined twenty-one problems for us to solve. We could pick any one,” shared the winning Amrita students.
 

The problems embraced varied disciplines of pharmaceuticals, materials science, biotechnology, in addition to chemical engineering. Mentors from companies such as Reckitt Benckiser, Reliance Industries, Aarthi Health Care, United Phosphorus Industries, etc. helped guide the students.
 

A total of 147 teams from across the country participated in the competition.
 

The Amrita students chose a problem related to the isolation and large-scale production of a compound, hydroxy-methyl-furfural (HMF). The compound is of growing importance in today’s world due to its potential availability from carbohydrates such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, cellulose and insulin.
 

“Renewable energy is the need of the hour and various derivatives from biomass might play a major role in substituting petroleum resources. HMF has the potential to serve as a sustainable supply for fuels and chemical intermediates,” shared the Amrita students.
 

The students conducted an extensive literature search using the library and internet facilities that were provided. On Day 3, they proposed their winning solution to a panel of experts from Reliance Industries.
 

“We proposed the use of a solid acid catalyst, HBEA zeolite (Si/Al = 15) in ethylene glycol as the reaction medium. The catalyst would play the dual role of facilitating the dehydration of the fructose as well as retention of water within its network, thus reducing the formation of Levulinic acid and Humins that could arise due to rehydration of HMF,” the students elaborated.
 

Their solution hinged on two steps; process intensification of the reaction and product isolation. An extractive reactor was proposed that would integrate both steps.
 

“We took care to choose a catalyst that would have good reusability until the need arose for its regeneration. We proposed cyclic catalyst regeneration via the thermal swing process using two packed beds of the same material which could function in a cyclic and alternating manner, thus allowing simultaneous reaction in one and regeneration in the other. Considerably reduced formation of byproducts (Levulinic acid and humins) was anticipated due to the use of the zeolite catalyst. HMF yield up to 91 % was reported by researchers who had investigated this under optimum operating conditions,” the students explained further.
 

“Final step of purification of the HMF could be carried out using a pure silica bed,” they finally noted.
 

The winning students received a cash award of Rs. 10,000, medals and certificates.
 

“We are happy to have received the second prize in this contest. This achievement is not only ours but also that of the faculty of our department who trained us to think out of the box. We received much encouragement from them. We felt as if we were on the top of the world when we received the award,” they joyfully added.
 

“I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.” The Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar thus portrayed the vast landscape of her continent, shaped alternatively by floods and droughts since time immemorial.
 

While that majestic landscape evokes poetic expressions in some, for others it presents a formidable challenge. Especially, for engineers involved in sustainable water management. As the driest continent on the earth, with a population growth that is double the world average, Australia’s fresh water supplies are now further threatened due to global warming. Water scarcity looms large as a threat.
 

“Past management practices, often guided by inappropriate government policies based on insufficient data have resulted in over-allocation of our river waters and aquifers, changed water flows, resulted in land clearing, algal blooms and inland salinity,” explained Professor K. Baskaran, Associate Dean (International) , Chair (Civil Engineering) at Deakin University, Australia.

Prof. Baskaran was visiting the Amritapuri campus of Amrita university, where he spoke to students and faculty members about Sustainable Water Management. The lecture was organized by the Amrita Center for International Programs.
 

Water recovery and reuse, smart water management practices and innovative treatment technologies were three complementary strategies forming the holistic approach Dr. Baskaran outlined for mitigating water scarcity.
 

“In order to contribute to sustainable management of urban water resources, relevant scientific research must be undertaken in partnership with community, industry and government,” the expert pointed out.
 

He further pointed to the need of modeling biofilm growth and disinfectant decay in order to maintain quality in water distribution systems. For water recovery from industrial and urban sources, he recommended membrane technologies. For remote communities with little or no access to the power grid, solar-powered membrane applications, he stated, were especially suited. In addition, he highlighted engineered wetland systems for wastewater treatment.
 

Suggesting bioremediation using microalgae and other floating aquatic plants for heavy metal removal of contaminated water ways, he provided details of one of his research projects that is using algal-bacterial biofilms to enhance nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment lagoons. Some advantages of algal-bacterial biofilms are their availability at reasonable costs, their high surface-to-volume ratio and longer durability.
 

“Improve the reliability of water supply by using water from a range of supply options (for example, desalination plants). Improve water efficiency and reduce water use to ease demand. Include integrated water cycle management and encourage appropriate pricing of water,” Dr Baskaran finally summarized his integrated approach to ensure the security of his continent’s water resources.
 

Reducing the distance one has to travel in a vehicle can help decrease carbon emissions caused by combustion of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel.
 

Heuristic methods and genetic algorithms inspired by natural evolution can help find solutions for transportation problems where such routing aspects and client needs come into play.
 

Dr. S. P. Anbuudayasankar of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Amrita’s Coimbatore campus explored such methods in his thesis titled Unified Heuristics for a Class of Complex and Practical Routing Problems in Logistics.
 

This won Dr. Anbuudayasankar the best thesis award at the Fourth Conference on Global Advances and Innovations in IT and Management in Gwalior.
 

Dr. Anbuudayasankar developed the unified heuristic methods during his doctoral work completed at Amrita, under the guidance of Dr. K. Mohandas, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Amrita University and Dr. K. Ganesh, Knowledge Specialist, Supply Chain Management, McKinsey Knowledge Center India Pvt Ltd.
 

Dr. Anbuudayasankar obtained his PhD in 2011. Besides presenting his results at international conferences on logistics and supply chain management, he also published papers in noted national and international journals.
 

“In evolution, the most suitable genes in a generation are selected to be passed on to the next generation. Genetic algorithms also similarly aim at finding the best solution from a given population of solutions,” explained Dr. Anbuudayasankar.
 

“In Operational Research, Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) are two most widely studied optimization problems. The goal in both is to help reduce the total distance traveled by a vehicle, while at the same time satisfying the needs of the customer,” he added.
 

In order to find optimal solutions to variants of TSP and VRP, Dr. Anbuudayasankar suggested not only the use of genetic algorithms but also simulated annealing, the latter referring to the task of finding an acceptably good solution in a fixed amount of time.
 

His studies marked a solid contribution to the field of business management, and are expected to lead to better business practices. Logistics and distribution problems are usually currently solved by mental calculations and quick judgments.
 

“My study considered different types of TSP and VRP such as multiple vehicles problems, workload balancing, simultaneous and mixed loads, constrained capacity and forced backhauls. These variants, complex by nature, are normally encountered in practice, but have so far not received much attention. They pertain to different fields of logistics such as Balanced Logistics, Reverse Logistics, Distribution Logistics and Urgency Logistics for application in both manufacturing and service industries,” Dr. Anbuudayasankar elaborated.
 

“By addressing a vital component in the domain of Logistics and Distribution Management, my thesis contributed to Academics by filling a research gap; to Technology by providing a decision-making tool to improve productivity; and to Society by potentially helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he concluded.
 

Dr. Anupama R., Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at the Amrita School of Medicine won the best paper award at the recently-concluded annual conference of the Association of Gynecologic Oncologists of India.
 

The winning paper was titled Brain Metastases in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer – Multimodal Treatment Including Surgery or Gamma-Knife Radiation is Associated with Prolonged Survival.
 

Epithelial ovarian cancer is a malignant disease of the ovary; the disease mostly presents in advanced stages.
 

“Brain metastases from epithelial ovarian cancer are extremely rare but their incidence has been rising recently due to new and improved therapies that improve the survival rate of patients,” Dr. Anupama explained.
 

Her study explored the influence of different treatment modalities on survival rate in patients with brain metastases resulting from epithelial ovarian cancer.
 

The study indicated that prolonged survival may be obtained by adopting multimodal therapy including gamma-knife radio surgery or surgery for the brain metastases. Gamma-knife radio surgery is a type of focused radiation therapy used to treat tumors of the brain. Tiny beams of radiation are used; overall the treatment is seen as safer than conventional brain surgery.
 

Shedding light on the survival rate in patients who underwent multimodal treatment including gamma knife radiation or surgery, Dr. Anupama stated that the average survival after onset of brain metastasis was 24.5 months in patients who had multimodal treatment compared to 4.5 months in patients who did not have any targeted treatment.
 

“In targeted treatment only the tumor is targeted, and not the normal tissue. For example, here when we are using gamma knife radio surgery or brain surgery for the brain lesions, only the diseased tissue is removed. Non-targeted treatments would be whole-brain-radiation, where the entire brain would receive radiation along with the tumor or chemotherapy where the whole body would receive the toxic medicines meant to kill the tumor, thus destroying normal tissues also,” Dr. Anupama elaborated.
 

Dr. Anupama conducted her study during a four-month training in robotic surgery at the Gynecologic-Oncology Centre of McGill University, Canada during March– June, 2012. She was supported by a scholarship of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society for her training abroad.
 

“In my study, I was able to incorporate data from the Jewish General Hospital under McGill University; Sichuan University, China and also from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi. Hence it became a study which included patient treatment information from three different countries,” she stated.
 

In October 2012, Dr. Anupama had also traveled to Vancouver to participate in the Conference of International Gynecologic Cancer Society where she presented a paper on Malignant Ovarian Germ Cell Tumors based on her research at Amrita.
 

We congratulate Dr. Anupama on her achievement.
 

The eighth Amrita Head and Neck Oncology Teaching Program (AHEAD) was organized during February 15 – 17, 2013 at the Health Sciences campus.
 

The program was jointly undertaken by the Department of Head and Neck Oncology at the Amrita School of Medicine, the Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology (FHNO) and the Anti-Tobacco Movement at Amrita.
 

The program was inaugurated by Shri. Hibi Eden, Honorable MLA. The inaugural session was built around the theme, Tackling Tobacco, The Silent Killer.
 

In his keynote address, Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Head and Neck Surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, noted that only five percent of those addicted to tobacco are able to quit using it completely, even after clinical interventions.
 

“Ninety percent of head and neck cancers are caused by consumption of tobacco. Tobacco is the number one cause for stillbirth and the reason for fifty percent of cardiovascular diseases and eighty percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases,” he outlined.
 

Honorable Justice K. Narayana Kurup, Former Judge, High Court of Kerala and Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Madras stated that the right to breathe fresh air was inherent in our constitution.
 

“You must tell anyone who smokes next to you that it should not be done and is punishable according to section 4 of the Control of Tobacco Products Act that prohibits advertising and regulates trade and commerce, supply and distribution of tobacco products.”
 

During the days of the teaching program, topics such as management of tumors and cancers of the thyroid and parathyroid glands, salivary glands and neck, oral cavity and oropharynx, maxilloethmoid complex, larynx and hypopharynx were discussed by several experts.
 

Dr. Hiran K. R., Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at Amrita elaborated on the different types of salivary gland tumors including pleomorphic adenoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, acinic cell carcinoma, polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma and salivary duct carcinoma.
 

Dr. Chandrasekhar Rao, Surgical Oncologist from Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad spoke on the role of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the management of neck malignancies.
 

Dr. Subramania Iyer, Professor and Head of the Department of Head and Neck Oncology at Amrita discussed the prevalence, nomenclature, pathogenesis, evaluation and management of carcinoma of unknown primary.
 

Others who lectured included Dr. Moni Abraham Kuriakose from Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore; Dr. Arun P. from Tata Medical Center, Kolkata; Drs. Sudhir Nair and Prathamesh Pai from Tata Memorial Cancer Research Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. Pranay Gaikwad from CMC Vellore; Dr. Daxesh Patel from HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd, Bangalore; and Dr. Surij Salih from Malabar Cancer Centre, Kannur.
 

About 200 postgraduate scholars from various clinical disciplines such as ENT, surgical oncology, maxillofacial surgery, radiation and medical oncology from all over the country participated in AHEAD 2013.
 

“AHEAD – the national update on head and neck cancers held annually at Amrita is a platform for us to learn more about the subject from veterans in the field,” remarked Dr. Alice, a postgraduate scholar in oral and maxillofacial surgery, who attended.
 

The Amrita School of Arts and Sciences organized a two-day national conference on Security Monitoring during February 15-16, 2013 in collaboration with the Computer Society of India.
 

A. Unnikrishnan, Associate Director of Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, NPOL-DRDO, Kochi inaugurated the conference. Sampoojya Swami Poornamritananda Puri, General Secretary, Mata Amritanandamayi Math was present, to bless the inaugural ceremony.
 

“With increased reliance on the internet by individuals, businesses of all sizes and governments, it is imperative that we use tools and techniques to prevent, detect and correct cyber threats in near real-time,” stated conference organizers.
 

“The entire national and global economy now depends on the secure operation of interconnected infrastructure in banking and finance, education, healthcare and power distribution,” they outlined.
 

“As we start to utilize cloud computing, social media and the mobile internet, the attack surface is increasing, breeding new grounds for cyber attacks,” they further added.
 

S. Mukhopadhyay, General Manager, State Bank of India; Dr. V. Radha, Assistant Professor, Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, Hyderabad; Dr. M. Sethumadhavan, Professor, Amrita Center for Cyber Security and Dr. Jayaraj Poroor, Chief Technology Officer, Amrita Research Labs were among the keynote speakers at the conference.
 

Technical talks covered topics such as concepts in cryptography, managing a large business network, security aspects with respect to the banking industry, enterprise security monitoring, emerging technologies for mobile security monitoring and malware.
 

There were focused workshops on web applications, internet security and secure application development. These were led by industry professionals from organizations such as eBay India Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore; i-Human India Pvt. Ltd, Chennai and CSC Independent Testing Services.
 

Other speakers represented the government and academic bodies.
 

Overall nearly 250 delegates participated, including research scholars, undergraduate and post graduate students.
 

“The general feedback from participants was very good. Most felt that the demos and workshops conducted were fairly interactive and instructive,” shared the conference conveners.
 

“Helping convene the conference provided us an opportunity to share our experiences and knowledge with experts from various domains. It was a fruitful knowledge sharing process. All-in-all, it was a remarkable experience,” they concluded.
 

Amrita alumnus Dr. Vijay Prasad Sivan along with other researchers at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) recently made a breakthrough that is expected to significantly advance research in soft electronics and industrial sensing technologies.
 

Together, the team working at RMIT’s Platform Technologies Research Institute developed droplets of liquid metal coated with nanoparticles. “This novel platform provides a natural interface between metallic conductors and nanomaterials so that one can better exploit the properties of nanomaterials,” explained Dr. Vijay.
 

“The possibilities of this new platform appear to be amazing, as these droplets overcome the limitations of liquid metals,” he added.
 

Dr. Vijay graduated from the Amrita’s Coimbatore campus in 2001 with a BE degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering.
 

After graduating from Amrita, he enrolled at Bharathidasan University for a master’s degree in Information Technology. In 2003, upon the completion of his master’s program, he was accepted at RMIT for pursuing a doctoral program.
 

Dr. Vijay is currently at RMIT, working as Research Fellow in the Micro Platforms Group of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research work is funded by Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO), Australia.
 

Dr. Vijay has published the results of his research in several international journals. He has also presented the same at international conferences around the world.
 

The results of the nanotech breakthrough were first reported in the January 2013 issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Advanced Functional Materials.
 

Elaborating on the results, Dr. Vijay explained, “The nanoparticles provide a casing to the normally surface-adhering liquid metal particles, allowing them to bounce back easily. These functional nanoparticles form a semi-solid coating on liquid metals.”
 

“This new, flexible, conductive nano-coating lets liquid metals keep their form by transforming under high pressure and then springing right back. Also by having a functional material as a coating, the liquid metal can be used as a transistor. Any damage in the circuit can be self-healed easily.”
 

“We call these liquid marbles. The marbles are like flexible ball bearings that can endure high impact and temperature, and operate like semi-conducting systems.”
 

Commenting on further research possibilities, Dr. Vijay mentioned, “We look forward to exploring the potential of liquid metal marbles in a range of applications. They could be used in optical sensing as heavy metal sensors; also they have a high sensitivity to gas.”
 

“I am happy to have come upon this breakthrough. A great deal of credit goes to my mentors, co-workers in my interdisciplinary team and to my family members, who have enabled me to get this far,” he stated.
 

“I am proud to be an Amritian. During my college days, I used to sit in the back of the class and was not performing very well academically. However, things changed in my final-year of the BE program, when Prof. Devarajan A. T. of our department told me that it was good to ask questions. Even if one did not know the answers, one would be inspired to search for them. I guess, that was what finally made me take up research. I still do not know the answers for all questions, however, I am engaged in searching for them.”
 

By some estimates, Germany is one of the most active research partners for India in science and technology, second only to the US. In recent times, approximately 13% of all Indian publications in international journals have been co-authored with German scientists.
 

The 5th Indo-German Symposium in Frontiers of Engineering will be hosted in Hyderabad this year during March 14-17. As in previous years, it will be co-organized by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST).
 

Participation in the symposium is limited to the top 30 scientists from both countries and is by invitation only.
 

Major topics to be discussed in the symposium this year will include clean water, engineering for natural disasters and hazard management, inorganic-organic bio-hybrid materials and power electronics.
 

From Amrita, Dr. Maneesha Ramesh, Director, Amrita Center for Wireless Networks & Applications is invited to attend the symposium.
 

The Center is known for its successful deployment of a landslide prediction system based on wireless sensors in the Munnar region of Kerala. The Government of India has invited the Amrita team to deploy such systems in the Himalayas and the North-East areas of the country prone to frequent landslides.
 

The symposium will facilitate the disbursal of residence allowances to Indian scientists for working visits to German research labs for upto 30 days, to be exclusively funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
 

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, co-founded by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is Germany’s leading academic cooperation institution. The foundation is named after researcher Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). Some celebrate his South American journey during 1799-1804 as the real discovery of the continent.
 

“Nature herself is sublimely eloquent. The stars as they sparkle, fill us with delight and ecstasy. And yet they all move in orbits marked out with mathematical precision,” he is believed to have once remarked.
 

This world-view also found support in his emphasis on interdisciplinary sciences. He believed that biology, meteorology and geology all determined the existence of specific plants in specific locations in the world.
 

Today, the foundation named after him has spawned an international network of cooperation of several thousand scientists, including some 50 Nobel Laureates. Amrita is proud to participate.
 

CanServe – a cancer support group initiative of the Department of Oncology at the Amrita School of Medicine was inaugurated by Sri P. Rajiv, MP, on the occasion of World Cancer Day on February 4. To be managed by cancer survivors and a dedicated group of volunteers, CanServe will support cancer patients in their fight against the disease.
 

Dr. Vijaykumar, Professor and Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology elaborated on the importance of a support group for cancer care.
 

“A newly-diagnosed cancer patient has the fear of death, disfigurement or just fear of the unknown. Many patients seek treatment late due to some of these fears. Some may want alternative remedies. Maybe they have heard of people dying from cancer or having many problems associated with the treatment itself. They may not have seen people who have been cured or who have had successful treatments.”
 

“We felt that if more people come forth to declare that they have been successfully treated, newly-diagnosed patients will become less fearful. Through CanServe, we hope to increase awareness and motivate patients to seek early treatment.”
 

“There are studies that show that an overall positive outlook has a favorable impact on the success rate of the treatment. Through CanServe, patients can interact with formerly afflicted people, now cured and healthy and regain hope. Such patients can accept the treatment more easily.”
 

CanServe will be led by its President, Mrs. M. J. Ushadevi, herself a breast-cancer survivor. She also spoke to us about the objectives and the planned activities.
 

“We will interact with patients and give them moral support during the various stages of their treatment. Our mission is to create awareness among people and help them realize that cancer is curable when detected at an early stage.”
 

“We want to ensure that no one faces cancer alone.”
 

Canserve is actively supported by Amrita faculty and staff members. Ms. Anila, Medical Social Worker at the Department of Oncology, shed more light on this aspect of the initiative.
 

“With the aim of educating family members of the patients and the general public, CanServe members have begun learning more about the disease and its treatment methods from our medical personnel. They intend to take their knowledge and insights to schools, colleges, resident associations and working groups so as to increase the overall awareness about cancer and its treatment methods,” she said.
 

At the inauguration, Mr. Rajasekharan, a survivor of tonsil cancer and Mr. M. Krishnan, who survived larynx cancer, shared their experiences. As members of CanServe, they motivated others in the audience to consider joining the group.
 

“By sharing our own experiences and providing support and courage to other patients, we have the feeling of giving back something worthwhile. This should help make our lives more meaningful,” they said.
 

Students from the Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore recently came up with an innovative idea of using a regenerable adsorber bed as an alternative to expensive membranes for possible use in the case of renal failure.
 

Renal failure refers to that medical condition wherein kidneys fail to adequately perform their task of filtering waste products from the blood stream.
 

The students’ novel idea won them the first prize in a national contest organized by Titan’s Innovation Council. Undergraduate students from all over India submitted their innovative ideas meant to benefit people at the bottom of the economic pyramid, to participate in the contest.
 

“Dialysis treatment is very expensive, with average costs of Rs. 20,000 per month. In India, less than 10% patients are able to avail such treatment facilities, both due to cost and logistical reasons. Dialysis units have expensive membranes for selective removal of uric acid. Most patients with renal failure cannot afford them,” the students explained.
 

Elaborating on their project that seeks to develop a regenerable adsorber bed as an alternative to expensive membranes, they explained, “The novelty in our idea is in the usage of adsorption as the main separation technique. This method makes use of an adsorber that can be engineered to efficiently expunge toxins while allowing other essential elements in the blood stream to pass through.”
 

“A semi-permeable membrane has a fixed life, and needs to be constantly replaced. For the adsorber, our proposal is to regenerate it, so that the need for replacement is eliminated. Moreover there is no need of a solvent or a dialysate,” they added.
 

The students are working with this idea for their final-year project, hoping to finally make a Regenerable Adsorber for Haemodialysis.
 

The team includes Alvin John, Amrutha Lakshmi, Dharani Sundara Rajan, Mythreyi Unni and Santosh N.S, all final-year BTech students of Chemical Engineering. The winning students received a check of Rs. 30,000 for their innovation; they were also offered an opportunity for placement with Titan Industries.
 

The Indian Society of Hemodialysis estimates that 1.5 lakh patients annually suffer with kidney failures in India. Most of them do not live longer than five years, due to the acute shortage of dialysis units in the country.
 

“I am extremely happy about the success of the students. They did a thorough literature survey on what works and what doesn’t. They were really inspired by the idea of providing health care at lower costs to those at the bottom of the pyramid. Of course, the idea has to be proven after conducting experiments and preliminary testing. The next four months will be critical,” informed Dr. Udaya Bhaskar Reddy Ragula, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, who guided the winning students.
 

The World Health Organization recognizes the existence of some 20,000 medicinal plants on this planet today, all having a wide range of therapeutic properties.
 

The isolation, characterization and standardization of the bioactive principles in these plants is an active area of research. Scientists expect to find new drug leads as they investigate more and more plants.
 

For example, antimalaria drugs were developed from the extract of the plant known as Artemisia Annua. Knowledge about the healing properties of this plant existed in China for thousands of years.
 

Now a new book series on Medicinal Plants published by the Daya Publication House, New Delhi, will provide comprehensive information about current developments in this area.
 

The book will feature two chapters by Dr. Zeena Pillai of the Amrita Department of Chemistry at Amritapuri in collaboration with Dr. Beena Joy, Principle Technical Officer, Agroprocessing and Natural Products Division, NIIST, Trivandrum.
 

The first chapter titled Embelin: A Lead Molecule for the Future? focuses on the antibacterial properties of the derivatives of Embelin.
 

“Embelia Ribes, the plant seeds containing Embelin, are naturally available in Kerala. They are used in various Ayurvedic formulations and in the medicinal soup known as marunnu kanji in Malayalam, which is prepared during the rainy month of Karkitaka,” Dr. Zeena explained.
 

“Embelin is receiving much attention in recent years due to its biological and physiological properties such as antihelmintic, antifertility, antitumour, analgesic, amtimicrobial, anti-inflammatory. Ceratin derivatives of Embelin give better results than even the widely-used antibiotic drug, Streptomycin,” she pointed out.
 

In the chapter, the process of isolation, characterization and standardization was explained. Usually the dried berries are crushed into powder and subjected to solvent extraction, using a mixture of various organic solvents like hexane and ethyl acetate. The crude product is recrystallized from cold hexane yielding orange flakes of embelin. The characterization is carried out by spectroscopy. Various derivatives can be prepared by simple chemical reactions.
 

Elaborating on the challenge of synthesizing natural compounds, Dr. Zeena added, “The medicinal properties of bioactive compounds can be enhanced by properly derivatising (transforming) them with simple chemical reactions but usually they are obtained in very small amounts only.”
 

The second chapter contributed by the duo was titled Chemoprofiling and Antioxidant Activity Studies of Shilajit – A Herbal Composition. Shilajit is a mineral commonly found in the Himalayan region, formed in those specific climatic conditions over many centuries, from remains of plant life. Ancient Indian scriptures ascribe many wonderful powers to Shilajit for tackling many ailments of the body and mind. As a powerful antioxidant helping delay ageing, it is an essential ingredient of popular ayurvedic preparations such as Chandraprabha Vati or Chavanprash.
 

“Antioxidant studies have shown that Shilajit is useful for diabetics not only because of α -amylase inhibition, but because its liquid extract is strongly active. The chemoprofiling of these active extracts has shown the presence of different organic compounds,” Dr Zeena shared.
 

P. Subramaniam, Assistant Professor at the Amrita School of Communication presented a paper titled The Usage of Visual Ethnography in Tribal Identity – A Case Study of Indigenous Tribes of Nilgiris, South India at the Conference on Anthropology and Sustainability in Asia during December 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.
 

The conference was organized by the Pacific Rim Education for Sustainable Development Alliance Foundation, Japan.
 

“Visuals can represent culture effectively. Every culture has to be visually documented for future reference. Visual ethnographic documentation is helpful to describe community attributes,” he specified.
 

The research study explored the importance of visual ethnography as a method for delineating tribal identities. “Various cultural aspects of primitive tribal groups in Nilgiris, India were captured visually and the visual data was analyzed through ethnographic coding sheets. The visual markers were helpful in establishing tribal identities,” he explained.
 

Meanwhile, Dr. A. Balasubramanian, Assistant Professor at the Amrita School of Communication also presented a paper around the same time at the Annual Conference on Globalization, Local Media and Social Issues organized in Tirunelveli, India.
 

The paper titled A Study on Media Coverage of Globalization in Indian Retail Industry analyzed the role of media in the growth of global entrants in the Indian Retail Sector.
 

“Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail markets in India is of concern to investors. The Indian retail sector is highly fragmented and the unorganized sector has around 13 million retail outlets that account for over 95% of the total industry. However, during the past few years, considerable growth has been seen in the organized segment,” he reported.
 

“As per Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) 2011, high saving and investment rates, fast growth in labor force and increased consumer spending make India’s retail environment highly favorable; India has the fourth spot in the GRDI,” he added.
 

Dr. A. Balasubramanian presented another paper titled Institutional Preparedness for E-Governance in Indian Universities at the International Conference on Information Technology, E-Government and Applications in Abu Dhabi, UAE during September 2012.
 

The research paper aimed to understand the institutional preparedness for e-governance in Indian universities from the perspective of teaching faculty. Since Amrita uses AUMS, a completely automated management system, Dr. Balasubramanian had the advantage of seeing first-hand the benefits provided by such a system.
 

“The application of technology the world over, has brought about radical changes. With rapid technological change, the Indian education system is being challenged to adapt,” he highlighted.
 

Showcasing films and documentaries about disability issues, the tenth edition of the South Indian film fest, We Care, was hosted at Amrita School of Communication at the Coimbatore campus on January 25, 2013.
 

Jointly organized by Brotherhood, a socio-cultural organization based in New Delhi, and working for the differently-abled and National Trust, an autonomous organization of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, the festival aimed at creating awareness among youth and upcoming media professionals.
 

The festival with the theme Dignity and Justice for All was also supported by the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
 

The fest drew participation from over 100 delegates, including many filmmakers and academicians. Members of NGOs such as Reach – Swasraya, Action on Disability and Development India (Add-India) also attended.
 

Addressing the delegates during the inaugural ceremony, popular Tamil TV actor and filmmaker Mr. Vijay Adhiraj shared valuable insights. “The cinema industry is very competitive today. If you’re making a movie for one crore, prepare to spend another crore on marketing. Passion is the key. Step forward boldly, chase your dream, and if you have the passion, you’ll get there,” he remarked.
 

Another noteworthy address was delivered by Mr. Satish Kapoor, Founder Director of We Care International Documentary Film Festival. “The fest is soon going to be an important advocacy tool for the United Nations Information Centre that is looking to tackle the problem of disability in society over the next decades,” he noted.
 

“An impaired person may be disabled, but people need to understand that the disabled do not need our pity but our compassion. Through We Care, we hope to have people really care,” he added.
 

Eleven films and documentaries made by professionals and social activists from the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, were screened. The best were selected to compete at the national festival and later possibly be screened at Doha, Dubai and France, as part of the We Care International Documentary Film Festival.
 

Dr. P. Subramaniam, Fest Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Amrita School of Communication, shared his thoughts.
 

“In July 2011, the ninth edition of the film fest was successfully organized at our campus. Last year’s undertaking gave us encouragement, and we were able to make this year’s fest a grand success. Our initiative was well appreciated by the NGOs and all other participants. Under the patronage of the Mata Amritanadamayi Math, we have been actively involved in promoting social causes,” he stated.
 

“We have also produced a short film in this category titled Indifference. The film won a Special Jury Award in New Delhi,” he recalled.
 

The postgraduate students and interns of the Amrita School of Dentistry won several awards at the recently concluded 45th Kerala State Dental Conference 2013. The conference was hosted by the Indian Dental Association during January 11 – 13, 2013 in Thrissur.
 

Over 2500 delegates drawn from the dental fraternity of the state attended the conference.
 

Presenting in the postgraduate scientific paper series, Dr. Anuradha P. of the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics and Dr. Anna Serene Babu, of the Department of Prosthodontics, both at the Amrita School of Dentistry won the first and second prizes.
 

Dr. Anuradha’s paper was titled Clinical Applications of Digital Volume Tomography.
 

“High-resolution digital volumetric tomography (DVT) has been designed for dental applications like localization of impactions, cysts of the jaws, root canal configurations, implant planning, periodontal bone defects, measurement of bone support in cleft cases, etc. The advantages include increased accuracy, higher resolution, scan-time reduction, dose reduction and lower cost,” explained Dr. Anuradha.
 

Dr. Anna Serene Babu’s paper titled Occlusion in Implant Dentistry – Current Concepts, presented a literature review of occlusal guidelines currently followed in implant prosthesis procedures to attain long-term stability.
 

“In dentistry, occlusion means how your teeth come together. By following occlusal guidelines, the clinician is able to minimize overload to the implant bone interface, thus reducing the failure rates of implants,” elaborated Dr. Anna.
 

First and second prizes in the undergraduate poster presentation series were again claimed by Amrita. This time intern teams of Dr. Aditya Nalluri / Dr. Manisha Sunil and Dr. Devika R. Krishnan / Dr. Saumya Singh, scored.
 

Dr. Aditya Nalluri and Dr. Manisha Sunil won the first prize for their poster titled Tooth Eye – See the World Through Your Teeth. The poster showcased the prosthesis placed in the eye of blind patients, which consisted of a section of the patients’ own tooth and surrounding bone, which helped in restoring vision to some extent.
 

Dr. Devika R. Krishnan and Dr. Saumya Singh won the second prize for their poster titled Needle Sticks – Strike With No Warning.
 

Dental healthcare professionals are at risk of infections caused by various microorganisms such as hepatitis B and C viruses and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmitted through needles and syringes.
 

“Injuries maybe caused during injection of local anaesthesia, or during recapping and disposal of or disposal of needles and syringes. Our poster presented a review of this biohazard; risk factors, prevention and post-exposure management of needle stick injuries,” stated Drs. Devika and Saumya.
 

We congratulate all the winners.
 

A Comprehensive Parkinsonism Clinic and Autonomic Lab Services were inaugurated at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences by Shri V. S. Sivakumar, Honorable State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, on January 22, 2013.
 

This Clinic is the first such institution in the state of Kerala to offer a multidisciplinary approach for diagnosing, managing and improving the life of patients afflicted with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.
 

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder, which leads to tremors and results in difficulty with walking, movement and coordination.
 

“During the initial stages of the disease, only motor symptoms manifest such as tremors, rigidity, bradykinesia, etc. These can be managed effectively to some extent with the help of medications alone. But as the disease progresses, complications appear in the form of dyskinesia, dystonia, freezing and frequent falls. In addition, a plethora of motor symptoms also appear in the form of parasthesia, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, dementia, genitourinary and gastrointestinal problems,” explained Dr. Rani Nair, Professor of the Department of Neurology.
 

“To manage these symptoms, we require the services of a multidisciplinary team. The advantage is that the already incapacitated patient need not be transferred from one department to another for multiple consultations. Also the members of the team can effective interact and plan necessary interventions required,” she further elaborated.
 

At the Clinic, the services of various specialists will be available under a single roof. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, physiotherapists, geriatricians, speech therapists, swallowing therapists, dieticians and medical social workers will work with one another.
 

Dr. Dilip Panicker, Professor and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery spoke about the role of the neurosurgeon in the management of Parkinson’s disease.
 

“A small but definite group of patients do benefit from surgical intervention. It is not a curative treatment but in selected patients we can definitely modify the course of the disease and can make them more comfortable. It may even be possible to reduce the medications in some of these patients by surgery.”
 

Parkinsonism Clinic and Autonomic Lab will function as a part of the Department of Neurology. The Autonomic Lab offers comprehensive, state-of-the-art testing facilities to determine the presence, severity, distribution and localization of the dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system.
 

Sampoojya Swami Poornamritananda Puri blessed the inaugural ceremony. Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences; Dr. Prathapan Nair, Principal, Amrita School of Medicine; Dr. Anand Kumar, Professor and Head of the Department of Neurology; Dr. Sanjeev Singh, Senior Medical Superintendent, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences also spoke at the inaugural function.
 

Final-year students of BTech (Electronics and Communication Engineering) Ananthakrishnan P. R. and Deepak Dileep recently won a cash award of $1000 when they secured the third prize in the Mentor Graphics University Design Contest.
 

The nation-wide competition organized by Mentor Graphics Inc, a US-based multinational corporation specializing in electronic design automation, attracted the participation of 253 student teams from 191 institutions across India.
 

The contest was organized in India for the third consecutive year. Online rounds preceded the final evaluation. IIT Kharagpur bagged the first prize that included a cash award of $3000 and East West Institute of Technology, Bangalore, took home the second prize and a cash award of $2000.
 

All contestants submitted designs of Digital Access Controllers, that could be used to gain access to secure locations with a pass-code.
 

“We designed the system from the basic knowledge we obtained in the VLSI elective course: Digital Logic Design using HDL,” the students explained.
 

This course was taught by Assistant Professor Rajesh Kannan Magalingam, who mentored the students as they aspired to make the winning design.
 

“It was excellent to work with Ananthakrishnan and Deepak. They formed a great team. They won this coveted award because of their dedication and perseverance. Before undertaking the project, the students only knew about Design Methodology in theory; through this they received the opportunity to actually apply the theory learned.”
 

The students’ access controller had two modules – Keypad Controller and Access Controller. The former was designed to interface with the physical keypad of the system. This passed input to the latter, which determined whether the correct pass-code was entered by the user or not. If the pass-code was wrong, the system was designed to sound an alarm.
 

“We designed the entities with the help of state machines and verified their working with timing diagrams,” the students explained.
 

Students from any technology streams could participate in the contest which was meant to also provide insights into how design teams from different disciplines and different regions of the world approached common design problems.
 

“Winning the third prize brought us great joy. It has motivated us to take up more challenges in the future and also explore this subject in greater depth. To participate in a design contest was an entirely different experience for us. It provided an exciting platform for us to apply what we had learned in our curriculum to design an actual system,” the students summed up.