Date:11/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/11/stories/2008101159130300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

University to have new facility for life sciences

Second institution to have one after JNU in New Delhi

Focus will be on collaborative research
and training in frontier areas
University Grants Commission sanctions
Rs. 10 crore

MADURAI: Madurai Kamaraj University on Friday became the second university in the country to have an exhaustive facility for life sciences.

It will focus on collaborative research/ training in frontier areas through a centre called ‘Networking Resource Centre in Biological Sciences.’

The University Grants Commission has sanctioned Rs. 10 crore to the university for implementing the project. The other university chosen for a similar facility in life sciences is the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

A. Gnanam, former Chairman of National Assessment and Accreditation Council, formally commissioned the centre on Friday.

“The MKU will do mentoring activity and promote basic sciences. It will bring research scholars, teachers and students together from different institutions in the country,” said S. P. Thyagarajan, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras, who is a member of the MHRD-UGC Empowered Committee on Basic Science Research.

According to Dr. Thyagarajan, the empowered committee had recommended some national strategies for promotion of research in basic sciences and establishing networking centres for different disciplines was one among them.

Ten centres

Totally, 10 networking centres are being established in India for physical sciences, chemical sciences, life sciences, material sciences and mathematical sciences. Each discipline will have two centres and for life sciences the selected universities are MKU and JNU. Each centre will be provided Rs.10 crore by the UGC.

P. Gunasekaran, Chairperson, School of Biological Sciences, MKU, said the centre would host researchers in life sciences from other institutions besides conducting summer and winter schools.

“The networking centre in MKU will be like a think-tank in the field of life sciences. It is appropriate that the Government of India recognised Madurai Kamaraj University for this facility,” Prof. Gnanam said in his inaugural address.

Madurai Kamaraj University Vice-Chancellor R. Karpaga Kumaravel, in his presidential address, said the university would work towards achieving the objectives of the networking centre and “we are happy that our university is awarded a national status and is entrusted with a major responsibility through this centre.”

Dr. Karpaga Kumaravel recalled the significant contributions made by S. Krishnaswamy who founded the Department of Biological Sciences in 1966, who went on to become MKU Vice-Chancellor.

P. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Alagappa University; M. Lakshmanan, former MKU Vice-Chancellor; and VR. Muthukaruppan, former Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University; spoke.