Quote of the Day
“Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream.”‐ Khalil Gibran
“बीता कल आज की याद है, और आने वाला कल आज का स्वप्न।”‐ खलील जिब्रान
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Think and Act Now
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is called ‘Bardo’. When a person is about to die, the chief Lama holds his hand and chants the Bardo. It is similar to Ishavasya Upanishad shlokas that say, “May this life enter into the immortal breath”, chanted when a person dies. “This body will become ashes, you are not the body! The body is ending in ashes, but you are going to the other sphere — mingling with the vital breath.” And then, a message, “Remember, remember what we are doing here; remember what we are telling you, remember O Intelligence, remember that You are the Supreme Spirit, that You are free! Mingling with the immortal breath, go!” When a person understands that at some point all his worldly activity will cease, and he says to himself, “Let me think that all this has already ceased. Then how would I lead my life?,” he will then live accordingly. Fire has always been a symbol of the spirit. Before the matchstick was invented, fire had to be lit by rubbing dry flint and fire came from a spark. A prayer to Agni says, “Lead us along the auspicious path to prosperity.… Prosperity, not only in this world but also after death. Agni, lead us unto prosperity. Take away all sins from us. Take away all deceitfulness from us. Burn it to ashes and we shall offer many prayers unto you forever! We shall continue to burn all our bad karma in you, O Agni! Destroy our bad karma, turn all our bad deeds to ashes and lead us to the path of prosperity.”
Source: Economic Times, 3/09/2019
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Engineering students develop technology to print without using ink, toner
They have come up with a Plasma Carburization Inkless Printing Technology that can print on paper without using any kind of toxic, consumable and expensive inks or toners.
Aura Labs team of SRM Institute of Science and Technology has developed a prototype of an inkless printing technology machine.
The brains behind the invention are Shilpa Thakur (MTech, robotics, dept. of mechanical engineering, SRM KTR) and Shylesh Srinivasan (BTech, dept. of electrical and electronics engineering, SRM) They plan to float a startup in a few months’ time once the prototype is perfected for commercial applications. They have come up with a Plasma Carburization Inkless Printing Technology that can print on paper without using any kind of toxic, consumable and expensive inks or toners.
The technology is perceived to be very effective in reducing the generation of plastic and e-waste. “We used plasma energy to carbonize the paper surface instead of chemical inks and toners which pose health hazards when discarded,” said Srinivasan.
Aura Labs of SRMIST was awarded the Chairman’s Award, the First Prize at IICDC conducted by Texas Instruments India, DST India, IIM Bangalore and My Gov India for the Best Innovation and Technological Impact.
Source: Hindustan Times, 21/08/2019
STEM careers in India continue to experience gender gap
Nearly 84 per cent Indians believe STEM jobs are important to the country’s future
As the world faces a skilled workforce gap, the careers in STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) continue to face a gender gap in India, a survey said on Wednesday.
While nearly 84 per cent Indians believe STEM jobs are important to the country’s future, fewer Gen Z respondents said they felt encouraged to pursue a STEM-based career than millennial respondents, said the survey by global technology and engineering company Emerson.
“Half of respondents said STEM careers in India continue to experience a gender gap, with women lagging behind,” the findings showed.
With technology accelerating many industries, the skilled workforce gap is growing. Nearly 87 per cent Indian respondents said they believe companies should do more to train and prepare their STEM workforce.
“As automation and technology become truly ingrained in our workplaces and schools, there’s a growing urgency to prepare the workforce with STEM skills that will be critical to the continued strength of the global economy,” said David N Farr, Chairman and CEO, Emerson.
“We want to lead the charge in making strategic investments that will provide both the current and future workforce with the right skillsets to succeed in one of the many tremendous careers made available through STEM - from software development to new technologies in manufacturing,” Farr added.
There is widespread support of boosting STEM awareness and education --according to 96 per cent Indians, they consider STEM education important to the country’s future.
Despite this universal understanding of the importance of STEM, fewer than half of respondents believe their country is ahead in STEM education.
Creating an environment where everyone is encouraged to pursue STEM can help address this perception in India - and contribute to growing the global STEM workforce, said the survey.
Empowering more qualified workers of both genders to explore a STEM career could have a significant impact on the workforce gap.
Of the women who said they were not encouraged to pursue STEM careers in India, 41 per cent attributed this missed opportunity in the workforce to stereotypes that STEM careers are for men, and 44 per cent highlighted a lack of female role models in the field.
Source: Hindustan Times, 21/08/2019
P C Mahalanobis: Data scientist, nation builder
This renowned scientist, statistician helped formulate the blueprint for India’s industrialisation. He also founded Indian Statistical Institute and devised the Mahalanobis distance.
Born in Calcutta to Probodh Chandra and Nirodbashini on June 29, 1893, Prasanta Chandra Mahalabonis was the eldest of six siblings. His grandfather Gurucharan was involved in the Brahmo Samaj and was a follower of Debendranath Tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore. He was encouraged to pursue intellectual interests quite early in his life.
After passing out of the Brahmo Boys School, he joined the Presidency College and graduated in physics in 1912. He travelled to England where he joined the King’s College, Cambridge, for further studies. There, he met the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan and was deeply influenced by him.
Career
He worked for a while at the Cavendish Laboratory with physicist CTR Wilson. He returned to India and was appointed professor of physics at the Presidency College in 1922. He taught there for three decades but the job did not stop him from pursuing his new found interest in statistics He formed a group that was interested in statistics. Later, that core group expanded and eventually, the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was founded in 1932. In the next year, he launched Sankhya: The Indian Journal Of Statistics, a milestone in the history of science in India.
He also established the National Sample Survey in 1950 and set up the Central Statistical Organisation to coordinate statistical activities. He became a member of the Planning Commission in 1955 and continued in that capacity till 1967. In 1959, the ISI was declared as an institute of national importance.
Major contributions
Mahalanobis devised a measure of comparison between two data sets, now called Mahalanobis distance. Widely used in the field of cluster analysis and classification, he first proposed it in 1930 in the context of a study on racial likeness.
Later, he introduced innovative techniques for conducting large-scale sample surveys, calculated acreages and crop yields, using the method of random sampling. He devised a statistical method called fractile graphical analysis, used to compare socio-economic conditions of varied groups. He introduced pilot surveys, advocated the usefulness of sampling methods and included topics such as public opinion, consumer expenditure, crop acreage and plant disease.
In 1923, he married Nirmala Kumari, daughter of educationist Herambhachandra Maitra. His birth anniversary is celebrated as the National Statistics Day. Totally dedicated to his profession, he remained active with research work till the very end of his life. He died on June 28, 1972, a day before his 79th birthday.
Honours, achievements
Considered the father of modern statistics in India, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1968. He was also conferred a large number of awards by international organisations, underscoring his stature as a luminary in his sphere.
He chaired the UN Sub-Commission on Sampling (1947-51) and became fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, UK, in 1954. Top statistical organizations in erstwhile USSR and the United States also honoured him, as did the King’s College, Cambridge.
.He was the backbone behind India’s second five-year-plan (1956 - 1961) which laid the blueprint for industrialisation and development in India. It was a period during which hydroelectric projects and five steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur, and Rourkela were established, coal production increased, more railway lines were added and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Atomic Energy Commission of India were established.
2.In England, Mahalanobis was introduced to the journal Biometrika. Intrigued by it, he brought the complete set of the journal to India. In 1933, ISI brought out Sankhya - a journal along the lines of Biometrika.
3.The actor Shazad Latif portrayed the character of Mahalanobis in the 2015 movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity, which was based on the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the math genius whom he was influenced by.
He analysed 60 years of data regarding the floods in Odisha and published his findings in 1926. This analysis later formed the basis for construction of the Hirakud dam on the Mahanadi river.
Source: Hindustan Times, 20/08/2019
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)