MAHENDERGARH, 01.08.24-On the birth anniversary of Prof. D.D. Kosambi, the Central University of Haryana (CUH), Mahendergarh inaugurated the Kosambi Vigyan Mahotsav. The event commenced with an international seminar series, where the Honorable Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tankeshwar Kumar, officially launched the Mahotsav by lighting the ceremonial lamp and performing Saraswati Puja.
In his address, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tankeshwar Kumar emphasized the importance of Indian traditional knowledge and the significant contributions of Indian scientists. He stressed the role of interdisciplinary research in comprehending the complexities of the world and discussed how scientific approaches can be applied to interpret historical events, citing examples from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Dr. Dinesh Kumar Gupta, Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary and Applied Sciences (SIAS) and Convener of the program shared his experiences with multidisciplinary approaches across various fields, including library science, and spoke about Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, another Indian scientist with expertise in diverse areas, much like Dr. D.D. Kosambi. Dr. Gupta also elaborated on Dr. Kosambi’s contributions to Indian history, mathematics, statistics, and genetics.
Afterward, Dr. Rupesh Deshmukh, the Organizing Secretary of the event, presented the schedule for the eight-day Mahotsav. He provided details about two hands-on workshops organized by Dr. Humira Sonah, a well-known expert in plant genomics. The first workshop will focus on Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), QTL mapping, and genomic selection, while the second will offer hands-on experience in genome editing in plants. Dr. Kanti Prakash, Head of the Department of Nutrition Biology, and Dr. Pawan Kumar Maurya from the Department of Biochemistry, are also serving as organizing secretaries for the Mahotsav.
The first talk of the seminar series was delivered by Dr. Ashvarya Laxmi, a renowned scientist from the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi. She discussed the significance of plant root architecture for crop improvement. The second talk was given by Dr. Durgesh Tripathi from Amity University, who spoke about the role of silicon in plants and the potential of silicon fertilizers to enhance crop yields.
At the conclusion of the first session, Dr. Namrata Dhaka proposed a vote of thanks, and the session ended with the national anthem. The inaugural program was attended by over 150 researchers and students. Notably Prof. Surender Singh Head, Department of Microbiology, Dr. Dinesh Kumar Head, Department of Pharmaceuticals science, Prof. Antresh Kumar, Dr. Mulaka Maruthi, Dr. Saurabh Saxena from Biochemistry, Dr. Tejpal Dhewa, Dr. Umesh Kumar, Dr. Vidyullatha Peddireddy from Nutrition Biology, Dr. Inderjeet Kaur, Dr. Ram Gopal Nitharwal, Dr, Ravi Kumar from Biotechnology and many other eminent faculty were present.