Somaiya Vidyavihar University (SVU) in association with Somaiya Trust is organising a public lecture on "Science Education in India: An Uncertain and Challenging Future" on 13 October 2024 from 02:45 PM - 03.30 PM at Sakarben Karamshi Somaiya Sabhagruha, K J Somaiya College of Engineering in Mumbai.

The lecture will be delivered by Padma Bhushan Prof P Balaram, Chair Professor, TIFR - National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore. The event will be presided over by Samir Somaiya, Chancellor, SVU & President, SVV. Prof Balaram will talk about the current status and future roadmap of science education in the country. 

Prof Balaram is a distinguished Indian chemist known for his extensive contributions to the field of bio-organic chemistry and molecular biology. He served as the Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, from 2005 to 2014.

Prof Balaram got his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Pune University and a Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. Balaram completed his PhD in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, USA. He then pursued postdoctoral research at Harvard University with Nobel laureate Robert Burns Woodward.

His research primarily focuses on the structure, function, and design of peptides and proteins. He has made pioneering contributions in the study of peptide conformations and synthetic biology. His work on the secondary structure of peptides, protein folding, and structural biology is highly regarded. He is known for employing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy techniques in studying biomolecular structures.

He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

Professor Balaram is widely respected for his mentorship of students and young scientists, many of whom have gone on to have successful research careers. He is known for his emphasis on scientific rigor and clarity of thought in research. His leadership, coupled with his scientific acumen, has had a lasting impact on Indian science, particularly in the field of chemical and biological sciences.

On behalf of SVU,  Vice-Chancellor Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai invites the interested participants to attend the lecture and gain insight on the science eduation.  

Interested participants can RSVP to Dr Daly Davis, Associate Professor at daly@somaiya.edu