Govt to include nano technology in school syllabus: ‘Nano T10' conference opens

: Government will consider about the idea of including lessons on nano technology in school curriculum that is being revised in view of implementation of the equitable standard education in the State, Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for School Education said.
Delivering the presidential address at the inauguration ceremony of three-dayInternational Conference on ‘Novel Applications of Nano Technology' nick named ‘Nano T10' at Aruani Engineering College here on Thursday, Mr. Thennarasu said “some delegates suggested inclusion of nano technology in school curriculum, and I ask D. Arivuoli, Director, Centre for Crystal Growth, Anna University, to give suggestion in this regard and we are ready to consider it.”
He said that vision for nano technology can be found in ancient Tamil literature itself. “While Tirukural has brought down the size of verses from earlier forms of 10-15 lines into 2 lines by pruning unnecessary words, another poem lauded Tirukural as potent as seven oceans placed inside an atom by piercing it. They have imagined piercing an atom which is now measured to be 0.1 nano meter in size,” he said.
“Nano technology is applicable in myriad fields such as medicine, robotics, construction and automobile etc. Today it is difficult to find one field where nano technology is not applicable. There are apprehensions about nano technology which critics say would harm human body. Such apprehensions would not help development. Even when European rulers introduced train in India people expressed apprehensions,” he said.
“If academia, industry and government coordinate and reach at a tripartite agreement vis-a-vis nano technology we can do wonders,” he added. Later speaking to us he said “we are planning to include lessons on subjects like stock exchange, finance, Panchayat raj etc. in school curriculum. Now we would consider including nano technology in this series at higher secondary level.”
R. Lawrence, co-director, Division of Psychiatry Research, Zurich University, Switzerland, in his inaugural address said that drugs are available for Alzheimer's disease, an aging disorder, but they don't reach right area in the brain and hit right target molecule there.
Nano technology can help in developing a strategy to target the drug to hit the right molecule, he said.
K. Venkateshwara Rao, Head, Centre for Nano Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, in his special address said “Everything can be made in some way better, stronger, cheaper, and easier if engineered and manufactured in nano scale. As the technology advances, by 2030 single electron is going to play the role of a transistor.
Then you can imagine how small the size of the computer is going to be. It is called nano computing or quantum computer. A 22-year-old boy got the professor post in IIT - Mumbai because of his research in quantum computing.”
E.V. Kamban, Managing Director of the college delivered the welcome address. Sidhartha Hazari, Tulane University, USA, Dr. Arivuoli of Anna University and G. Kameshwar, of Tata Consultancy Services spoke. Vice Chairman of the college E.V. Kumaran, Convenor, NanoT10, S. Ragupathy, were among the participants. Principal M. Arumugam delivered the vote of thanks.