The fifth edition of Bangalore Nano, organised by the State Department of Information Technology & Biotechnology, got underway on Thursday.
Held under the auspices of Vision Group on Nanotechnology, the two-day flagship event will see internationally acclaimed subject experts debate on a range of issues concerning the sector.
The conclave, which has attracted over 160 international and Indian companies, will touch upon topics such as research, technology, development, skills requirement and risks.
Further, it will focus on advanced materials, aerospace and defence, besides business opportunities in nanotechnology, electronics, energy and environment among others.
‘Nano contribution’
Incidentally, the Bangalore Nano National Award was presented to Prof G U Kulkarni of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced and Scientific Research in Nanoscience.
In his acceptance speech, Kulkarni said his output in the field, both in quality and
quantity was still ‘nano’, while thanking his teachers and mentors like C N R Rao for their support.
Addressing the plenary session, Department of IT, BT & S&T Principal Secretary I S N Prasad observed that Bangalore had over 400 R&D centres, both in public and private sectors, besides boasting of the largest number of PhDs and doctorate holders.
Prof A K Sood of the Department of Physics of the Indian Institute of Science noted that the conference was different in that it maintained a fine balance between academia-industry-research and the government.
Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physical Sciences, lauded the City’s talent pool of young scientists and students.