Annual Report 2004-2005

DST Scientific Institutions

Agharkar Research Institute, Pune (1946)

The objectives of the Institute are: 1) to carry out basic research that would generate information on various life processes using plant, animal and microbial systems, 2) to carry out applied research of national importance and transfer the technology to the industries, 3) to assess the nutritional problems of humans and devise strategies for improvement of health, 4) to improve the productivity of crop plants for sustainable agriculture, 5) to disseminate the scientific knowledge through appropriate media like publications, popular articles, technical bulletins and conferences. The Institute has 40 research scientists and an equal number of supporting staff. The Institute is recognized as a post-graduate centre of the Pune University and around 40 students are pursuing their research leading to Ph.D. degree. The identified thrust areas are : Developmental biology & genotoxicity, Human nutrition in health & disease, Pheromones and Semiochemicals, Palaeobiology, Microbial Process Development, Microbial Biotechnology, Microbial Biodiversity, Crop Improvement, Plant Biotechnology, Biodiversity and bioprospecting of plant genetic resources, Fungal Biodiversity and applications. Highlights of work undertaken in these areas are given below:

Major Scientific Achievements & Highlights

Microbial Diversity Studies

• Methanogenic archaea have been isolated from the Lonar lake, a unique ecological niche;
• Haloalkaliphilic bacteria revealed two rare species;
• Bacterial diversity from acid mine drainage with low pH and high toxic ion concentration was investigated using molecular tools like DGGE and TTGE;
• A bacterium isolated from thermal springs in Western Maharashtra was found to produce thermolysin type enzyme having potential for production of Aspertame, an artificial sweetner;
• Biodegradable polymer produced by a bacterium was identified as PHB-co-PHV copolymer;
• The extracellular protease produced by Bacillus cereus was found to be useful for bating operation of leather processing;
• Dehairing enzyme from an unknown bacterium was found to retain a better structure of the hide and was selected as a lead enzyme based on tannery evaluation;
• Among the various herbal naphthoquinones, plumbagin was the most effective curing agent of antibiotic vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, a food poisoning organism. Juglone and Lawsone also showed such curing ability;
• An integrated microbial and physical adsorption process was developed for removal of arsenic from ground water and has been scaled up to treat 1000 L water. The process (Figure 10.1) has been patented;
• Biosynthesis of nanoparticles is optimized and scaled up. In-vitro toxicity and biocompatibility of nanoparticles for use in medicine was studied;
• A phytoremediation process for remediation of atrazine affected soils was developed using a bacterial culture and vitiver plant.
• Aerobic and anaerobic biofilm treatment method was developed for degradation of AOX compounds from waste-water of paper and pulp mill; and
• A database of 6000 microbial cultures from Western Zone of India has been prepared for National Biodiversity Development Board.

Nutritional Studies

• Simple anthropometric indices were attempted for screening individuals from urban affluent population who are at risk of any of the non-communicable diseases;
• In adolescent obesity studies, systolic blood pressure was significantly higher for obese children compared to non-obese, in every age group;
• In a study of early life under nutrition and its effect on risk for adult diseases, it was seen that overall prevalence of high blood pressure and high fasting sugar was more in males, while dyslipidemia was more in females; and
• Extract of honeybee propolis was shown to possess anti-microbial and plasmid curing activity.

Developmental Biology

• A substance which promotes development of chick embryonic heart was identified from the perivitelline fluid of embryos of horse shoe crab. A patent application has been filed jointly with NIO, Goa and NCCS, Pune, for this novel utility.
• In studies related to heart developments, it was shown that the cells in the heart forming region, even at stage 4, carry signals and information to form heart, even when they are transplanted into a non-heart forming region (Figure 10.2).

Crop Improvement

• A bread wheat variety MACS-6145 possessing excellent grain quality and resistance has been notified for NEPZ under rainfed conditions;
• Breeder seed production programme of soybean (300 qtls.) and wheat (160 qtls) was undertaken; and
• Two grape varieties e.g. Oval White and Italian eliquina were promising for their drought tolerance. Five hybrids, H-255, H-577, H-584, H-1016 and H-1384 were promising for fruit quality.

Plant Biotechnology

• In studies on identification of markers linked to gluten strength in durum wheat, 4 protein markers, 1 STS marker for low molecular weight glutenin and 2 microsatellite markers showed significant association with the trait and explained 7-34% variation in the trait value. All the major loci affecting gluten strength were located on chromosome 1B; and
• The studies of the members of the family Graphidaceae have resulted into the identification of a large number of species of Graphis and allied genera and preparation of taxonomic accounts of genera hitherto unreported from India. 450 lichen specimens were collected at various forest localities. Antioxidant and antityrosinase potential of in vitro cultured lichen Usnea ghattensis was studied. 334 endophytic fungi were isolated from six medicina plants and several of these showed antimicrobial potential.

Plant Biodiversity Studies

• Preserved forests from Konkan and Junnar areas were evaluated using IUCN criteria;
• The germination percentage of Bombax seeds was achieved upto 75-90% using various pretreatments;
• DNA profiles of 65 accessions of Carissa were evaluated with ISSR markers;
• The ethanol extract of Dalbergia lanceolaria, Abutilon indicum and Morinda cetrifolia exhibited antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity in-vitro. The former two plants also exhibited antidiarrheal activity.
• One patent on “Process for preparing anti-juvenile hormones useful for controlling red cotton bugs, Dysdercus koenigii” was sealed; and
• 45 research papers were published in national and internationaljournals.

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (Aries), Ainital (2004)

The Institute is devoted to basic scientific research at the highest level in frontier areas of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Atmospheric Physics including Climate Change. ARIES came into existence on March 22, 2004. The longitude of ARIES locates it in the middle of about 180 degree wide longitude band having modern astronomical facilities between Canary Islands (~ 200 W) and Eastern Australia (~1570 E). Because of this and existence of good astronomical sites, even 1-2 meter class optical telescopes can make a unique contribution to many astronomical research, particularly involving time critical phenomena. For example, time series observations of astronomical objects sometimes require a 24 hour coverage to understand the complex phenomena e.g. pulsation of white dwarfs. The bservations, which are not possible in Canary Island or Australia due to day light can be obtained. The principal research interests lie in the fields of photometric studies of galaxies, planetary physics, solar activity, spectroscopy of the sun, star clusters, stellar energy distribution, stellar populations and stellar variability. The scope of activities includes: promoting, guiding and carrying out front-line basic research through establishing front ranking facilities, providing interactions and making accessible the state-of-art facilities to other institutions including universities, conducting research programmes leading to Ph.D. degrees and arranging advanced level schools and workshops, and to conduct science popularization programmes with particular reference to astronomy and space sciences.

There were limited facilities like 104-cm, 56-cm, 52-cm and 38-cm optical telescopes, Cooled CCD Cameras, Spectrophotometers, Photoelectric photometer, 15-cm Solar Telescope. Since the take over by DST, steps have been taken for developing the research as well as infrastructural facilities. The GRIMM aerosol spectrometer, athelometer, Micro top-II, Sun Photometer and Ozonometer and CCD Camera have been purchased. The back end instruments like filters, gratings, controllers, UPS and batteries and infrastructural facilities like computers, vehicles, EPABX were organized.

Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow

The Institute is dedicated to promote research on the academic and applied aspects of Palaeobotany (fossil botany). The main research work is concerned with the understanding of plant evolution through geological time. Emphasis has been to derive knowledge about the diversification of Precambrian life, diversity, distribution and inter-basinal correlation of Gondwana and Tertiary floras, coal quality and to understand the interaction between the climate and changing scenario of vegetation in Quaternary period. The Institute worked in collaboration with many Institutions.

Major Scientific Achievements and Highlights

• Palaeobiological remains studied from the Sirbu Shale Formation (Bhander Group in MP) and Tarenga Formation (Raipur Group in Chhattisgarh) suggest Pre-Vendian and Vendian age respectively;
• Recovered a rich assemblage of akinetes from the Mesoproterozoic Jaradag Fawn Limestone (Semri Group) exposed in the Son Valley. The biological remains in Olive shales are the oldest level of their report in the Vindhyan sediments;
• Plant fossils and palynofossil assemblages from various coal-bearing Gondwana sequences were analysed and compiled for interpretation of floristic evolution and palaeoecology and for biostratigraphic dating and correlations;
• Recovered for the first time the frond of Botrychiopsis sp and Rubidgea– leaf from Satpura Gondwana Basin, megaspore assemblage from Early Permian Barakar Formation of Umrer Coalfield, and Podocarpoxylon wood from Bansa Bed of Jabalpur Formation;
• Observed three distinct types of evidences of insect-plant interaction in the flora of Rajmahal Basin, and recorded algal mats and bryophytic remains from the Isoetites-rich locality of Cretaceous sequence near Than (Gujarat);
• Recovered palynological assemblages comparable with Middle-Late Jurassic and Early Miocene miofloras from Indus Suture Zone. Also identified a new fossil palm Amesoneuron hemisiensis) from the Hemis Conglomerate (Ladakh Himalaya);
• Examined the economic suitability of certain coals from Rajmahal and Wardha basins by studying the organic microconstituents. Tertiary coals of Assam and Meghalaya and lignites of Neyveli have also been studied to observe their maceral characterization;
• Investigated plant fossils and palynoflora from various tertiary sequences for stratigraphic zonation and correlation. Reported for the first time fossil ascocarps made up of closely placed hyphae from chert sample of Deccan Intertrappean beds of Mohgaon Kalan (MP), and fossil fruit of Dipterocarpus from tertiary sediments;
• Noticed considerable variation in pollen grains having affinity with the family Arecaceae in general and Nypa in particular from Akli Formation (Barmer Basin);
• Recorded several zonal markers of calcareous nannofossils from a continuous sequence (Langpar-Therria formations) from Meghalaya, suggesting a strong potential for demarcation of the Danian-Selandian boundary;
• Late Quaternary pollen analysis from mangrove-dominated part of Andaman Island shows similarity in mangrove evolution with that of dataset obtained from Asia-Pacific, eastern Indonesia and northern Australia;
• Indicated two fold climatic oscillations, i.e. cold and humid to warm and humid by analyzing pollen from Long lake sediment core near ice shelf NW of Schirmacher Oasis (Antarctica) dated back to 2000 yrs BP;
• Ancient plant economy observed from some archaeological excavation sites of UP have brought out considerable information on agricultural economy and other botanical remains;
• Tree ring analysis data of cedar from western Himalaya shows high variability in premonsoon summer temperature since 16th century as compared to the early part of the series reflecting unstable climate during the Little Ice Age Period;
• Recorded medicinal uses of about 192 plant species from Shahdol district (MP); and Worked chronology of palynologically analysed samples, besides developed a Fortran program that calculates the Radiocarbon age of a sample from the counting data of Quantulus counter.

The research yielded 125 research papers, 68 scientific abstracts, and 22 reports/articles. 35 scientists and some technicians were deputed to attend various national and international conferences/seminars/ workshops held in the country.

Collaborative Activities

• Under MOU with ONGC, a project on Palynostratigraphy and source rock potential studies of Siwalik and Subathu sediments of Himachal Pradesh has been undertaken;
• MOU has been signed with Coal Wing, Geological Survey of India for palynological, petrological and plant fossil studies from various Lower Gondwana coalfields of the country; and
• With the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (Andhra Pradesh), a mission oriented collaborative project on coal seams of Godavari Valley Coalfield has also been initiated.

Other Initiatives

Information and Knowledge Dissemination

• The Institute has gifted fossil specimens to certain educational institutions of the country;
• Latest literature on Palaeobotany was disseminated through a bi-monthly bulletin as well as on web-site;
• Institute journal “The Palaeobotanist” Volumes 52 and Newsletter (June-2004) have been published;
• Herbarium has been enriched with the addition of a variety of plant specimens collected from Sahdol district (MP);
• The researchers from other organisations have made use of the Museum, Library and Herbarium facilities; and
• The Institute is also rendering time-to-time technical assistance and consultancy services to various organizations.

Bose Institute, Kolkata (1917)

The research activities were pursued through departments of Biochemistry, Biophysics, Botany, Microbiology, Chemistry and Physics and research sections on Animal Physiology, Environmental Science, Immunotechnology and Plant Molecular & Cellular Genetics. The available scientific infrastructure at Bose Institute also comprises the Acharya J.C. Bose High Altitude Research Centre at Darjeeling and experimental field stations at Falta, Madhyamgram and Shyamnagar. Additionally, DST has approved the formation of a National Facility on Astroparticle Physics & Space Science under the IRHPA Scheme. The Department of Biotechnology has accorded the status of a Centre of Excellence to the Bioinformatics Centre of Bose Institute. The Council of the Institute has approved the formation of three Centres of Advanced Study on Structural Biology and Drug Development, Plant Stress Biology and Astroparticle Physics & Space Science. During the year, over a hundred research papers were published in the most competitive peer-reviewed international and national journals and scientists have received recognition in the form of fellowships of the National Science Academies, as well as the Third World Academy of Sciences. More than 10 doctorate degrees have been awarded on the basis of student research.

Major Scientific Achievements & Highlights

• Biochemistry

Activities included studies for the basic understanding of gene expression in plants and bacteria, plant and animal biotechnology, yeast and parasite molecular biology, structure-activity relationship proteins and structural biology. The Biochemistry department has a long and continuing tradition of studies on the ë cl repressor as a model system of gene regulation, and tubulin, a structural protein in eukaryotic cells comprising microtubules. Recently, crystal structures of proteins in the Protein Data Bank have been analysed for better understanding and several models of macromolecular assemblies deposited in model-building studies. The process of chromosome transmission in yeast continued to be studied using mini chromosome maintenance mutants. The parasite molecular biology studies have shown that both Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba invadens routinely accumulate polyploid cells during their respective cell division cycles.

• Biophysics

The major theme of the Biophysics Department is to study structure, function and dynamics of biomolecules. The research interests are mainly focussed on proteins, nucleic acids and small pharmacologically active compounds. The use of X-ray crystallography, spectroscopic techniques and computer-aided modelling has provided structural and dynamical information and its correlation with function of biomolecules. Several crystal structures of pharmacologically important molecules have been determined.

• Botany

The major goal is to improve crop productivity using conventional and modern techniques, where genes with elite characters particularly those endowed with biotic and abiotic stress tolerance are identified and located in wild relatives, with an objective to incorporate those in cultigens of rice, Brassica, Beta and Chenopodium using breeding, tissue culture and genetic engineering techniques. Significant contributions were (i) attempts to introduce genes encoding the fragrance of Basmati Rice to normal cultivar spices, (ii) approaches made to develop salt tolerant, drought tolerant species of plants, (iii) use of plants as "bioreactors" for production of various types of useful essential oils, plant growth hormone and industrial chemicals, (iv) plant tissue culture to produce monoclonal varieties of plants for large scale propagation, and (v) identification of major species of mangroves for forestation programme in the rapidly degrading ecosystem of Sunderbans.

• Chemistry

Activities are centred around studies on biomolecules. The major objective is to understand the chemical and biochemical nature of these molecules and gain information about their roles in biological processes. Broad research programmes of the department are : (i) chemistry of natural products, (ii) structure-function relationships of proteins, lipids, prostaglandins and biomembranes, and (iii) medical biotechnology.

• Microbiology

The problem areas addressed were parasitic and bacterial infections, drug design, detoxification, plant-microbe and mineral-microbe interactions. Significant contributions were made in the fields of (i) Vibrio cholerae and Leismania organisms to develop diagnostic tools, (ii) Search for new microbes for pesticide degradation and biological nitrogen fixation, (iii) Microbiological production of useful biochemicals, (iv) Development of methods for waste treatment to produce useful commodities, such as lactic acid, xylulose, xylitol, leather de-hairing enzymes, extraction of metals, etc., and (v) Molecular understanding of events which trigger defence mechanisms.

• Physics

The research was carried out on (i) functional characteristics of the superheated dorp detector developed in the department for the detection of energizing particles and radiation, (ii) Polymers, ferroelectrics and diffusion measurements in liquids, (iii) elastic scattering studies, (iv) study of quantum spin systems providing valuable insight on the physical properties of interacting many body systems, (v) quantum information and communication, (vi) cosmology/astrophysics, and (vii) intermediate energy nuclear reactions. Atmospheric physics research at the Darjeeling Campus was intensified.

• Animal Physiology

In addition to the activities on understanding basic amphibian, piscine and invertebrate physiology, reproductive physiology, drug research and nutrition, the research work was also directed towards studying biochemical mechanism of hormonal induction of brain signals, the immuno-pharmacological balance in diseased state, growth factor-mediated signalling pathways in cancer and the mechanism of chemo-preventive and anti-cancer properties of phytochemicals, such as Curcumin and Tea polyphenols.

Under the activities of other research sections, consultancy was provided to Quality Control, Monitoring and Control of Environmental Pollution at the local and national level; and studies were undertaken on white spot syndrome associated baculovirus affecting shrimp aquaculture in India.

Centre For Liquid Crystal Research, Bangalore

Major Scientific Achievements and Highlights

New Materials/Phases for liquid crystal displays

Realization of the biaxial nematic phase and its transition to a biaxial smectic A phase has significance in fabricating new types of liquid crystal display devices. Various systems like metal complexes, rod-disc combinations, cyclic molecules etc. were explored and through experiments using various techniques, the first occurrence of the biaxial nematic phase and its phase transformation to a biaxial smectic A phase has been established.

Novel photonic switch employing a liquid crystalline material

Liquid crystalline material exhibits a change in the sign of the dielectric anisotropy switching from a positive to a negative value at a certain crossover frequency. By application of an electric field, this phenomenon can be used to alter the orientation of the sample between two orthogonal directions leading to a large change in the optical transmission characteristics of the medium. It was demonstrated that this feature can be realized by an unpolarized UV beam, owing to the photoisomerization of the constituent azobenzene molecules. Possible usage of this for optically driven display devices and image storage applications are suggested.

Polymer template approach

Anisotropic gels are novel systems obtained by in-situ photopolymerization of mesogenic molecules in the presence of low-molar non-mass photoactive liquid crystals. Here the liquid crystal molecules are not chemically attached to the network and therefore the network can retain the structure (or the alignment) that existed before the polymerization. It is further known that the presence of network can drastically alter the properties of the non-reactive liquid crystals. The first in the series of efforts to introduce liquid crystal materials having novel properties, into such a gel atmosphere has been achieved and has led to a novel method of confining a photoconducting liquid crystalline material using a polymer template approach.

Influence of restricted geometry on bond-orientationally ordered systems

The liquid crystalline smectic hexatic phase is the first physical realization of the bondorientationally ordered phase predicted by the dislocation-mediated theory. The smectic phases are described by a one-dimensional mass density that is known to be of a purely sinusoidal nature. In other words, the picture that the molecules are in exactly equidistant planes is far from correct. Consequently, only the first harmonic arising from the layering is prominent in X-ray diffraction and even the second harmonic reflection is either completely absent or when occurs, has three to four orders of magnitude lower intensity than the main peak. However, investigations revealed significantly strong second harmonic pointing to the fact that the layering is much better defined in this system, unlike the usual description of pure sinusoidal mass density.

Liquid crystals for microelectronic devices

A unique class of discotic LCs derived from tris(N-salicylideneanilines) existing exclusively in their C3h and Cs keto-enamine tautomeric forms have been discovered, exhibiting columnar phases in which the proton and electron interact with each other through the H-bonding environment. Remarkably the core-core separation is quite small in these systems making them promising materials for many proposed electronic devices.

Magnetic susceptibility measurements

SQUID-based magneto susceptometer has been installed. Techniques and sample preparation methods are being developed for confining the fluid-like liquid crystalline material in the SQUID
environment.

Indian Association For The Cultivation Of Science, Kolkata (1876)

The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) has been continuing its efforts for excellence in scientific research. The various scientific activities and achievements are summarized below:

Major Scientific Achievements and Highlights

Materials Science

• Different nanoforms of In2O3, ZnS, CdS and FeS2 (nanowires, nanorods and nanoribbons) were synthesized by vapour-lquid-solid (VLS) and solvothermal techniques and characterized;
• Some technologically important materials like nanocrystalline GaN and SiO2-Ag nanocomposites were deposited using high pressure multi-target magnetron sputtering system;
• Some new nonlinear optical (NLO) materials have been synthesized based on amino acids and urea complexes and were found to be very promising for fabrication of NLO devices;
• Novel microporous and mesoporous materials with different framework topologies (SiO2, metal oxides, metal phosphates etc.) have been synthesized using hydrothermal method with possible application in catalysis;
• Transport and dielectric properties of nanoconfined conducting polymers within the interlayer spacing of layered solids were studied at low temperature and high frequency. Giant dielectric constant was observed in organic – inorganic oxide nanocomposites with possible use in the development of microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices;
• X-ray powder profile, based on recently developed methods, has been applied to materials upto nano-level. This has yielded nature and distribution of lattice defects, small crystallite size and anisotropic strains;
• Solution-grown single crystals in the pure and doped form (magnesium sulphate hepta hydrate & KDP) have been studied by etching and micro-hardness measurements to reveal the quality of the crystals;
• In the study of intense field molecular processes, incorporation of the high lying electronic states of D2 + resulted in new features in double differential energy-angular distribution for MPD fragments useful for control. Also, realistic results have been obtained for high harmonic generation from H2⁺;
• A DMRL sponsored project on ‘Development of Computational Methodologies for Thermodynamics of Multicomponent System using Cluster Variation Method’ has been initiated. Under this project, electronic structure and phase stability of Nb doped Ti2Al intermetallics is being investigated, using the package developed recently. These alloys have potential applications in aerospace industry; and
• A state-of-the-art Beowulf Linux Cluster is under installation in the Materials Simulation Laboratory as a part of the Centre for Theoretical Studies.
  

Solid State Physics

• A new optical transmittance measuring system to study different optical properties of ferroelectric liquid crystal has been developed;
• Bismuth selenide nanostructures have been prepared and characteristic physical properties are being investigated;
• A model structure of praseodymium tartrate complex was obtained using the direct space Monte Carlo approach based on step-scanned intensity data of X-ray powder photograph;
• With an aim to study relaxation mechanism of Ag+, Li+ etc. ions in glassy materials, several tellurite, molybdate and vanadate glasses of different compositions have been prepared and relaxation spectra recorded;
• Investigations were carried out to find if multilevel conduction switching can be achieved in organic semiconductor based devices and it was shown that conductance switching in organic semiconductors is a molecular phenomenon;
• Fabrication and characterization of photodetectors based on organic materials are in progress; and
• GaN powders have been synthesized at different temperatures. Structural characterization by XRD was done. Synthesis of GaN nanowires was taken-up.

Spectroscopy

• A pair of new substituted benzimidazole derivatives was identified to show excited stateintra/inter molecular proton transfer and the involved mechanism of zwitterions/anion formation was established;
• Microheterogeneous media have been used to enhance the survival duration of charge separated species (one of the key requirements for developing artificial photosynthetic devices);
• Investigations on Langmuir-Blodgett thin films of processible conducting polymers were carried out;
• Design and fabrication of layer-by-layer sequential adsorption instrument were made. The studies were in progress on the mixture of FLC with photoreactive polymer for defect free LCD;
• Investigations on organometallic-doped polymeric films and on surface cells of pure organometallic materials for applications in optoelectronic devices; and
• Generalized expressions for coherences and populations have been derived for threelevel
  lambda system to study the effect of replenishment, detuned transitions and strong field coherences on lasing without Population Inversion.

Theoretical Physics

• Particles, Strings and Cosmology:The split supersymmetry scenario has been studied in detail and the masses of particles predicted. A modular invariant supergravity scenario of a string motivated model has been considered for supersymmetric dark matter signatures. The lightest neutrino with good detection prospects and reasonably good relic density has been found to satisfy the recent limits for cold dark matters. The identification of string junction states of pure SU(2) Seiberg-Witten theory as B-branes wrapped on a Calabi- Yau manifold has been discussed and the pronged strings identified with triangles in the underlying triangulated category.
• Statistical and Condensed Matter Physics: Spin transport is a system of two dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interaction and is a topic of great current interest. The charge-spin diffusion propagator, which will play a vital role in spin transport has been calculated in the diffusive regions. A particular method of global optimization is one in which time dependence is introduced in the potential energy landscape. A toy model illustrating the efficacy of this procedure has been solved where the time dependence is such that the potential in a Langerin equation evolves from a harmonic oscillator form to a double well form. The shear thinning of a viscoelastic critical fluid has been calculated. This will be tested when the data from a recent NASA shuttle is analysed. Scaling has been studied in the coding and non-coding DNA sequences.
• Atomic and Molecular Physics: The phenomenon of electron capture to the continuum has been studied theoretically for the first time in the framework of Coulomb distorted eikonal approximation.

Energy Research Unit

• Development of amorphous, micro-/ nano-crystalline silicon thin films and solar
  cells:
  Single junction solar cells have been fabricated with nano and microcrystalline silicon films and 6.6% efficiencies have been achieved on small area. a-Si:H solar cells fabricated with argon dilution show 7% stable efficiency on 1cm2. Effort is being made to apply these in an industrial solar module production system. Upgradation of the existing prototype production line for double junction a-Si:H solar modules is continuing. An agreement has been signed between IACS and Diviya Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd. for the commercialization of the a-Si technology developed at IACS under the MNES/DST Project;
• Development of transparent conducting oxide films by magnetron sputtering:
  Aluminum doped ZnO films have been developed on glass. High resolution TEM and SEM are being used for structural studies and study of surface texture of the TCO films. Up-scaling of the ITO coating process for aircraft windshield and formation lamps is being pursued. The required specification for ITO coating on 30 cm x 30 cm cast acrylic substrates has been achieved. Large area deposition of ITO samples on canopy material has been achieved;
• Development of nano-silicon structures by PECVD:
  The existing old PECVD system is being renovated and a new plasma-CVD system with facilities for nano-crystallization will be set up;
• Development of multi-layer oxide films as transparent IR reflector:
  A transparent IR reflector has been developed. Attempts have been made to explain the transmission and reflection characteristics of the multilayer films from the optical properties of individual layers. Computer modeling is presently being used to understand and explain these characteristics. The thickness of individual layers and their number are being optimized with the aim of achieving complete transmission cut-off of all wavelengths greater than 800 nm; and
• Computer modeling of solar cells:
  The existing detailed computer code for modeling the electrical and optical characteristics of amorphous silicon PIN solar cells (ASDMP) is being extended to simulate also PIN solar cells having micro-crystalline silicon and nanocrystalline silicon intrinsic layers. Modifications are also being made to the program to make it capable of modeling “Hetrojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer (HIT)” solar cells.

MLS Professors’ Unit

• Crystal channels in Na-4 Mica have been used as templates to grow inorganic nanofibres of CdS and PbS respectively. The thermal expansion mismatch of mica and PbS causes high pressure to be generated which leads to a semiconductor to metal like transition;
• Detailed dielectric relaxation spectra have been delineated for the interfacial amorphous phase in copper core–copper oxide shell nanocomposites in gel-derived silica glasses; and
• Nano core-shell structures have been grown in silver oxide – silver and copper oxide – copper systems respectively. It has been shown that in these composites there is a metal to non-metal transition in the silver/copper nanoshells when their thickness is less than 2 nm.

Biological Chemistry

• Amyloid-like fibril forming peptides are being investigated in great details. Peptide based very potent organo gelators has been discovered and studied meticulously;
• Catalytic efficiency of tripsin and lipase will be determined along with the concentration of water-pool composites and aggregate sizes in the cationic water-in-oil microemulsions of hydroxylated surfactants;
• The bioenergetics of cardiac and malignant cells has been studied. Creatine, present in normal cardiac cells has been identified as a natural protective agent against the possible cardiotoxic effect of methyl glyoxal, a potential anticancer agent;
• Cross reactivity by immunoblot of ELISA between allergens of three fishes, viz., rohu, hilsa and pomfret with patient sera showed about 30% common epitope;
• Production of gluconic acid from deproteinized whey by immobilized Aspergillus niger has been done; and
• Removal of chromium from wastewater by biomass of fungus isolated from leather industries’ effluent has been studied.

Inorganic Chemistry

• Synthesis of ferromagnetic copper(II) chains involving azido bridge, the semiquinonecatecholate based mixed valence iron complexes, macrocyclic compounds with entrapped rare earth ions and copper(II) complexes of sterically constrained phenol-based ligands with butterfly structures;
• Excited state properties of photoluminescent copper(I) and ruthenium(II) complexes;
• Magnetic properties of Cu(II)-V(IV) coupled system and dimolybdenum(IV) complexes of diazo anion radicals;
• Mimicing copper(II)-zinc(II) site of bovine erythrocyte suyperoxide dismutase (SOD); and
• PM3 calculations on the aquo ions of various metal ions. Calculations establish interesting relationship between the experimental acid dissociation constants for the metal aquo ions and the gas phase enthalpy change for the proton dissociation process.

Organic Chemistry

• Synthesis of bio-active natural products, novel methods of carbon-carbon bond formation by metal-mediated reactions and transition metal induced radical reactions;
• Stereocontrolled synthesis of an allelopathic sesquiterpene and 1-oxopherruginol and shonalol;
• A novel approach to the synthesis of Cabovir, an anti-HIV drug successfully tried;
• Evidence obtained for stereocontrolled formation of excimer in naphthalene analogues of Chalcones;
• Synthesis of tri-substituted tetrahydrofurans;
• A novel application of Indium(I) iodide for the cleavage of diaryl selenides and sulfides and subsequent addition of chalcogenide anions to electron-deficient systems has been developed;
• More novel applications of indium monoiodide and indium trichloride for carbon-carbon bond formation and rearrangement have been revealed;
• Ionic liquids have been used both as catalyst and reaction medium for Michael reaction and protection of functional groups;
• A new approach to asymmetric induction in 2+2 cycloaddition reaction has been refined for complex target molecules;
• A mild and efficient allylation of aldehydes mediated by titanium(III) species has been developed;
• SET pathway in tributylstannyllithium addition to alkynyl Fischer carbene complexes have been accomplished;
• Synthesis, structure elucidation, electrochemistry and ROMP-activity of new ferrocenyl analogues of Grubbss’ metathesis catalyst have been studied; and
• Pyrazole-tethered arylphosphine ligand and Pyrazole-tethered Schiff bases as ligands the for Suzuki reaction have been developed.

Physical Chemistry

• Investigation on structure and dynamics of molecules;
• A set-up of Femtosecond Laser national facility for studying time resolved spectroscopy on ultrafast time scale has been developed;
• Slow solvation dynamics in binary solvent mixture and in molten globular state of a protein and the temperature dependence of dynamics have been investigated;
• Proton transfer reactions of some ortho hydroxy Benzoic acid have been studied;
• New many body methods for quantum mechanical calculations of molecular structure have been developed;
• Genetic algorithm based techniques for diagonalization of real symmetric matrices developed and tested on standard problems;
• A new kind of instability leading to pattern formation in reaction-diffusion system has been demonstrated; and
• Parallel computation facility is being set up using a Linux-based PC cluster under a DST sponsored project.

Polymer Science Unit

• Synthesis of near monodisperse polymers: By atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method amphilic diblock and triblock copolymers have been prepared and characterized.
• Conducting polymers: Conducting properties of poly (3-alkyl thiophene) cocrystals wetre measured which showed anomalous temperature dependency of conductivity. DNA – poly (o-methoxy aniline) composites were prepared with DNA conformation intact.
• Supra molecular organization: Supra molecular organization of poly (vinylidene fluoride) solution to produce thermoreversible gels has been studied. New supra molecular polymer from camphor sulfonic acid and dimethyl formamide has been prepared.
• Nanostructured polymers: Core-shell nanoparticles with well defined polymer shell have been prepared by ATRP method. Size tenable magnetic (Fe3O4) nanoparticles using polyelectrolytes has been prepared. Poly (3-alkyl thiophene) – clay nanocomposites were studied and both exfoliated and interlamellar clay tactoids are observed in the nanocomposites. Conductivity of the nanocomposites remains same and storage modulus is enhanced by 200% in the viscoelastic region.

Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore (1971)

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) is devoted to the study of astronomy, astrophysics and allied subjects. During the last decade, the Institute has identified a site of superlative quality at Hanle, a remote place in south east Ladakh where at an elevation of 4500 meters above the mean sea level, now stands the Indian Astronomical Observatory, the world’s highest. The Observatory is at present equipped with a new technology 2 meter optical telescope, named the Himalayan Chandra Telescope. It is remotely controlled from the Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) at Hosakote, near Bangalore.

Major Scientific Achievements and Highlights

The 2m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) is now available to the astronomical community at home and abroad. The year began with the third of the 4-month cycles of the telescope time allotments. The telescope is remotely operated on a regular basis from the CREST, with three focal plane instruments at the ports- HFOSC, IR-ICAM and 1k x 1k Imager. While the dark and gray moon periods are oversubscribed, the bright moon nights with lower demand are used partially for preventive maintenance of the HCT, site characterization, training and observatory programmes. From CREST, related data, including that on the GPS stations installed at the IAO, Leh and Hanle under the DST sponsored National Network of GPS Stations in India is being analysed/archived. A web-based All Sky Camera designed and fabricated by the Michigan Technological University has been offered for installation at Hanle for support during remote observations and educational activities. Data archiving software has been developed for the HCT data by the Virtual Observatory, India (IUCAA & Persistent Systems, Pune) under a project of Department of Electronics. It is undergoing user tests. The trial runs of the vacuum coating plant were carried out at Hanle in August 2004 to evaluate its performance.

In collaboration with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the work on the HAGAR (High Altitude Gamma Ray) Telescope has progressed well. Discussions are underway with the BARC High Energy Astrophysics team to collaboratively undertake the development of a bigger project- Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment (MACE) at Hanle. This telescope with an effective area of ~ 320 m2 is expected to achieve an energy threshold of ~15 GeV at Hanle altitudes.

The Ultraviolet Imager Telescope (UVIT) payload for ASTROSAT satellite mission has several subsystems besides the main optics collecting light from space and each of these has been under design/development. Work on the MGK Menon Laboratory for Space Sciences has started at CREST. The facility for testing components, established in the clean room at IIA is being commissioned. The fabrication of the half size model of the UVIT telescope optics has been completed. This optics will be used as a model for the study of scattering by the telescope optics. Hence, the micro-roughness of both the primary and the secondary mirrors has been achieved to within 20 Angstroms.

As a part of the collaboration between IIA and INPE, Brazil, a 32 channel digital correlator built at IIA was interfaced with the 5 antenna system situated at the INPE campus at San Jose and observations of the Sun at 1.5 GHz with 4 baselines were made for about 6 months to study the performance of the system. The imaging capabilities of the Gauribidanur radio heliograph were enhanced by introducing tracking system in the antennas thus enabling continuous observations of the Sun and the calibrator for more than six hours.

Work on the polishing of the VHHR sun shield panels for the INSAT 3D satellite has been progressing well. The Long Trace Profilometer (LTP) for the metrology of Synchrotron Beam Line Optics, Version II is being built, to be shortly supplied to CAT, Indore. This development will place India on the world map of LTP builders.

Simultaneous efforts have been made to develop/make and further improve the focal plane instruments for use at the telescopes in the optical, infrared, radio and gamma ray windows.

Many other research activities undertaken in all areas of Astrophysics were related to : Sun during the rare event of the Transit of Venus across the disc of the Sun on June 8, 2004; correlation between Indian Monsoon rainfall and the solar irradiance; speckle-grams of close binary stars; chromospherically active stars; T Tauris and brown dwarfs; evolutionary sequence within the hydrogen deficient stars’ group; modelling of dust fans of the Comet Wild2; motion of panspermia and spores in multi-star systems; planetary nebula NGC 6886; effects of dust scattering in expanding spherical nebulae; abundance analyses of RV Tauri variable stars; nebular remnants of the nova GK Persei studied with the HCT in the optical and with the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope in the radio; nucleosynthesis and galactic chemical evolution; new lithium rich K giant stars; sunspot configurations found related to triggering of solar flares; dynamics and heating of the magnetic network on the Sun; first far UV observations of the Orion nebula; double charged pion production; scattering of polarized radiation; coronal mass ejections (CME) and CME shock evolution; stellar captures by black holes in the centres of galaxies; GeV-TeV gamma rays from gamma ray burst sources; irradiation effects in two dimensional geometry in close binary stars; head-on collisions between a disk galaxy and a spherical one; studies of solar coronal holes etc.

Other Initiatives

The members of the Institute published 92 research papers in journals and in conference proceedings and 5 monographs/chapters in books.

International Collaborations

The programmes undertaken included Indo-French project entitled ‘Carbon fluxes in India and Central Asia, Indo-French programme on ‘dynamics of solar and stellar interiors-seismology and activity’, teaching activity at universities and colleges, and Indo-Mexican collaborative programme with the Institute of Astronomy, UNAM, Mexico.

Graduate Training Program

There are 18 Ph D students at various stages of their work. One student was awarded the Ph D degree by the Indian Institute of Science, while two others have submitted their theses to Bangalore University. Additionally, 15 M.Sc./B.Tech. students are undergoing training.

Public Outreach

Venus transit (Figure 10.3), popular lectures, articles in print media, visits by public and school/ college students to the various campuses, visits by distinguished scientists and personalities.

Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai

The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) is devoted to the study of different facets of Geomagnetism and allied fields. Scientific activities of the Institute, are divided into three areas: (1) Observatory and Data Analysis, (2) Upper Atmospheric Sciences, and (3) Solid Earth Geomagnetism. The activities undertaken during the year 2004 -2005 were as under:

Major Scientific Achievements and Highlights

Geomagnetic Observatory Network in India

The Alibag Magnetic Observatory, which started functioning in April 1904, completed one hundred years of continuous monitoring of the geomagnetic field this year. The Colaba-Alibag Observatory has been recording geomagnetic data, spanning more than 160 years. Besides the Alibag observatory, IIG now operates eight other magnetic observatories at locations with geographic latitudes extending from Tirunelveli, close to the southern tip of India, to Gulmarg in the north.

Solar cycle 23 had its sunspot maximum in April 2000 but with a secondary peak occurring in November 2001. The powerful solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that occurred during October-November 2003 clearly demonstrate the possible geo-effectiveness of solar activity two years following the solar maximum. A M3.2/2N flare erupted from sunspot region 501(N00E18) at 0723 UT on November 18, giving rise to a CME travelling at a speed of 1100 km/sec. The shock front from this CME impacted the earth’s magnetosphere on November 20, resulting in a Storm Sudden Commencement (SSC) at 0803UT as seen in the ground magnetic field records at locations ranging from the equator to the latitude of Sq focus. A sudden impulse of ~ 100nT at Tirunelveli (TIR) and ~ 40nT at Alibag (ABG) was recorded. The enhanced magnitude of the SSC, over the equatorial station is due to the effect of the shock occurring around local noon, which causes an equatorial enhancement of the effect. The interplanetary magnetic field parameters |B|, By and Bz from ACE satellite located at a distance of 240 RE showed the manifestation of the storm process as a result of the large magnitude of Bz following the southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (Figure 10.4).

World Data Centre (WDC)-IIG

Indian magnetic data bulletins for the years 2000 and 2001 are in press and the final hourly value data are available in computer readable form until 2003. Quarterly prompt report of magnetic data depicting the Equatorial Electrojet strength is prepared on regular basis for use in scientific investigations. Amplitudes and ranges of magnetic storms for all the Indian stations are computed and forwarded on a monthly basis to World Data Centre, Colorado for inclusion in Geophysical Data Bulletin.

WDC website development work is in the final stage. Initially, hourly values of the magnetic data from the Indian Observatories have been prepared for the web mode. Once the logistics required for transmission and domain facilities are put in place, the WDC (IIG) website will be launched. Work of digital imaging of the old magnetic records of Colaba and Alibag observatory is in progress. As per the request from IAGA, raw images for the period 1901 to 1920 have been deposited with WDC, Kyoto, which will be put on the web after incorporating appropriate formatting and scale factors. Regular work of providing archived data (in digital format) to the interested organizations and scientists is continued. Conversion of data CDs received from other WDCs to contiguous data files for supporting the website format preparation is on.

Antarctic Geomagnetism

IIG is operating a magnetic observatory at Maitri, the Indian Antarctic station. Observations with a digital fluxgate magnetometer (DFM), a 30 MHz riometer, and a proton precession magnetometer (PPM), as well as air-earth current measurements are being carried out at this station on a regular basis. The data collected at Maitri is used for studying storm-substorm relationship.

A second DFM was installed at Dakshin Gangotri ice shelf during the last Antarctic expedition, to operate as an unmanned observatory. Another DFM will be installed at Gruber Mountains (south of Maitri) during the expedition commencing December 2004. The three magnetometers located at the vertices of a triangle with sides of 100-200 km will enable a study of the movement of overhead auroral current systems. The Institute plans to upgrade this station to World Magnetic Observatory standards by adding absolute measurements.

During the last two expeditions, in collaboration with Geological Survey of India, IIG has been using the Global Positioning System (GPS), for crustal deformation studies and movement of polar glaciers in and around the Schirmarchar oasis area in east Antarctica.

Scientific Services provided

• Ten Landing and five Datum compasses from various departments of Indian Navy were calibrated at magnetic observatory Alibag. The correction certificates for the same were delivered to the concerned departments for checking and calibrating aircraft compasses to a higher degree of precision, demanded in modern navigation.
  
• A magnetic airfield survey was undertaken on the request from Naval aircraft yard, Juhu, Mumbai for their navigation facilities.
  
• Digital data required by ONGC Ltd. for application of diurnal correction in the processing of their marine magnetic data was supplied.
  
• Geographic co-ordinate measurements using GPS units were provided as per the request from New Customs House, Mumbai. Geographic location points were measured accurately up to 7 decimals for various locations in Nhavasheva, Uran, and Navi Mumbai.
• Copies of magnetograms and hourly values were supplied in computer readable format to other scientific organizations and Universities on a regular basis.

Upper Atmospheric Sciences

As part of a collaborative work with the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Japan, an extensive analysis of simultaneous radar data on winds around the mesopause region (~86 km) available for seven years between 1993 and 1999 from the tropical sites, Tirunelveli (8.7N, 77.8E) and Jakarta (6.4S, 106.7E), has been carried out during this period. The maritime continent, Indonesia, is a convectively active region, and favours generation of a variety of waves including non-migrating tides. Latent heat release in deep convective clouds is an important source of energy and momentum for these waves. An important result of this exercise is that lower atmospheric processes with a significant inter-annual variability are capable of generating similar variabilities in the tidal wind fields at mesopause heights. The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an important driver of inter-annual variability for a variety of parameters in the lower atmosphere. For the first time, the present work provides an evidence for an El Nino signal in the tidal wind fields in the mesopause region both over Tirunelveli and Jakarta. Possible physical mechanisms linking these different atmospheric regions are being examined.

Partial Reflection Radar at Tirunelveli

Magnetic data collected through the Oersted satellite data has been used to study the longitudinal structure of the seasonal, local time and day-to-day variability of the equatorial electrojet. Upgradation of the partial reflection (PR) radar at Tirunelveli was completed. While PR radar data from Tirunelveli continued to yield valuable results; gravity wave variability was studied from the winds data from Kolhapur. Fabrication of tilting filter photometer has been completed with precise motorized filter tilting – initial sky scans reveal poor sensitivity of the OH filters. IIG is participating in the ongoing middle atmosphere dynamics programme (MIDAS) with the partial reflection radar winds data forming an important ingredient in the success of this national collaborative programme.

Total Electron Content from GPS Signals

Dual frequency observations of Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals at a large number of stations extending from Mumbai in the West to Aizwal in the East, and Delhi in the North to Trivandrum in the South during April to June 2004 were used to calculate the vertical total electron content at these locations covering different regions of India. These will be incorporated into a model of total electron content distribution in the ionosphere over India, which should be useful for GPSbased navigation, and also to study space weather effects. It has been found that significant scintillations are observed on GPS L-band signals recorded near the anomaly crest in the Indian region only when the turbulence level in equatorial spread F irregularities, derived from spaced receiver observations of UHF scintillations at an equatorial station, is sufficiently high.

Long Period Magnetotelluric Studies in Lakshadweep Islands

Deep electromagnetic imaging of the Indian Lithosphere is being carried out with the aim of determining the electrical character of the LAB beneath cratons, mobile belts, and collision zones and to map the sub-crustal structures and their relation to the tectonic evolution of the crust. Long period MagnetoTelluric (LMT) and Deep Geomagnetic Studies (DGS) have been carried out in Gujarat and Lakshadweep Islands.

First deep continental study in the Lakshadweep Islands on the northern part of the Chagos- Laccadive Ridge (CLR) was recently done in the form of a mini magneto-variational array study.

Night time geomagnetic transient variations recorded at five island stations have been subjected to robust regression analysis to derive transfer functions. The induction arrows over wide range of periods are dominated by island effect. The residual induction arrows, obtained after accounting for the island effect by recourse to thin-sheet modeling (Figure 10.5 a, 10.5b). The increase in the longitudinal conductance from north to south can be attributed to the degree of partial melting with younger age of volcanic intrusion to the south. In conclusion, magneto-variational studies over Lakshadweep islands support the hypothesis of hotspot origin for the northern part of CLR.

Magnetotelluric Studies in North-Eastern Himalayas

Magnetotelluric data were collected over a 140 km long linear profile passing through the main central thrust (MCT), main boundary thrust (MBT), and the Himalayan foothill thrust (HFT) in the Sikkim and West Bengal region. The HFT and MBT are separated by less than about 10 km in this region. The two dimensional geoelectric structure inverted using the tensor decomposed response functions shows a north dipping low resistivity layer subducting beneath the MBT and HFT up to depth of about 5 km (Figure 10.6 a and 10.6 b). This corresponds to the Late Tertiary Siwaliks and more recent sediments, subducting northward along the MBT and HFT respectively.

Tectomagnetic Studies

Tectonomagnetic study in Jabalpur-Kosamghat area is an ongoing project. Second phase of the repeat survey was carried out during February-March 2004. Using Proton Precession Magnetometers (PPMs) of the sensitivity 0.1nT, simultaneous measurements of total magnetic field at the base station (at Seismic Observatory, Jabalpur) and all total 70 roving stations (Jabalpur-Mandla-Seoni- Lakhanadon-Narsinghpur) were carried out. Data analysis was carried out during June-September 2004. The second phase data were subtracted from the first phase (March-April 2003) data. Preliminary data analysis throws some light on magnetization distribution in study area. Future repeat surveys will bring out fruitful results.

GPS Studies

GPS campaigns have been made in NE India, Uttarkashi and Antarctica regions. Data have also been collected at IIG’s permanent sites viz. Nagpur, Pondicherry, Tirunelveli, and Kolhapur and analyzed to yield site coordinates, velocities and baselines. To give insight into the dynamics and future behavior of the Schirmacher Glacier (East Antarctica), two GPS campaigns were made during 2003 and 2004. GPS data collected at 21 sites have been analyzed to estimate the site coordinates, baselines and velocities in ITRF2000. The velocity of the sites is found to lie between 1.9 - 10.9 ma-1 in NNE direction and the average velocity of the ice stream over the study region is 6.2 ma-1. The site velocity distribution is spatially correlated to the surface undulation gradients, crevasses, and is influenced by the blockage of Schirmacher Oasis (Figure 10.7). The velocity is low as compared to the velocity of the other Antarctica glaciers. The reason for the low velocity may be that this glacier (driven by gravity) is resisted by friction from clean undulated bedrock (as is evident from many nunataks) and sides.

Other Initiatives Public Outreach

The year 2004 being designated as the Year of Scientific Awareness by the Government of India, a five-day Science Exhibition was held at Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai during 20-24 November 2004. Eleven major scientific institutions in Mumbai, including IIG participated in this exhibition. For this exhibition, IIG had put up a display of posters depicting the science of Geomagnetism and allied fields and backed them up with audio/visual presentations.

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