* Four Arts departments-Comparative Literature, Economics, International Relations, Philosophy-have been awarded ASHISS programmes by the UGC* The Department of English received CAS (Centre for Advanced Studies) status from the UGC, the first and only English department in the country to be so awarded* The Departments of Philosophy and Geology received five-year extensions of their CAS status* An MOU has been signed between Jadavpur University and Brainware and it is mentioned in the MOU that the project Impact, Jadavpur will offer a range of job-oriented IT courses in India and abroad in partnership with Brainware. These specialised courses will also be offered to the students of rural India at special concessional fees. * Two final year students of the Dept. of Printing Engineering offered awards by the All India Master Printers' Association* The Centre for Counselling Services and Studies in Self-Development conducted six anti-ragging workshops and a workshop on 'Basic Skills in Psychological Counselling'* The Centre for Cognitive Science organised two workshops on 'Logic and Artificial Intelligence' and 'Logics and Applications'* The newly-formed Sir CV Raman Advanced Centre for Physics and Music has been carrying on its activities in the areas of speech and music* The School of Cultural Texts and Records co-organized two seminars titled 'Orality' and 'Televisuality and New Media'* The Centre for Marxian Studies and the Centre for Ambedkar Studies jointly organized the 45th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics* The Regional Centre National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board organised a state-level workshop on 'Evolution of Joint Forest Protection & Management Strategy & Norms for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands'.

Message from the Vice-Chancellor, Jadavpur University:It is a matter of great pleasure for me that the IIPC is publishing the next issue of its newsletter within four months of the publication of the previous one and more so because it is being published just before the beginning of the year-long Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the University, on December 24, 2004. With the rapidly changing scenario in industry and academia, the need for these two sectors to work in tandem is necessity for the present and more so for the future. IIPC was formed under the aegis of the AICTE, in 1995, to provide a platform for interaction between Industry and University. On the one hand, Industry will utilize the high-quality knowledge and research of the University community to improve the quality of its product or service, to face the challenges of global competition. On the other hand, University will be benefited in the form of greater financial sustainability, awareness of real-life problems of Industry, improved quality of research and human resources as well as better infrastructure development. IIPC, from the day of its inception to date, has continued to grow steadily and has developed close ties with a large number of industries in private as well as public sectors. This newsletter of IIPC serves the purpose of disseminating information about recent activities of the University to the Industries so that probable areas of collaboration may be identified. I cordially invite the Industries to come forward to build ties with us for mutual benefit.

(A.N. Basu)Vice-Chancellor)

Message from CEO, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.Since its inception, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. has been a pioneer and ardent supporter of industry academia interaction globally.As our country consolidates its position as a global player in a knowledge-based economy, innovation will be the dominant, driving factor for economic growth.At TCS, we strongly believe that the culture of innovation can be fostered through close collaboration between industry and academia.TCS has championed this movement by establishing an Academic Interface Programme which has, over the years, provided sustained support to institutions, faculty and students.I am happy to learn that Jadavpur University, with whom we have launched a joint higher education programme, has realized the potential gains of Industry Institute partnership, by forming an Industry Institute Partnership Cell.My best wishes for the success of this initiative.

S. Ramadorai, CEO, TCS

The Indian Paint Research Centre (IPRC), a collaboration of the Jadavpur University and the Indian Paint Association, was inaugurated on 30th July, 2004, by Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, the honourable Speaker of Lok Sabha. The Vice Chancellor, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University and the president of the Indian Paint Association were present in the function amongst other dignitaries. The IPRC aims at catering to the needs of small scale paint manufacturers, large paint users like railways and defence, and foreign vendors of different raw materials who are marketing their products in the East, far East and Asia Pacific region in testing their raw material (pigments, emulsions, antifungal agents, critical paint additives) and products at affordable costs. It is also working on a syllabus to start first college of paint technology in Eastern India, which will be offering 2-year PG degree initially and 3-year diploma course would be introduced later.

Nov- Dec. 2004Vol. 5 No. 2

IPA activities

Chief Coordinator, IIPC :Phone : +91-33-2414-6860Mobile : 98301-08902Fax : +91-33-2413-7121e-mail : iipc@jdvu.ac.in & sdatta_che@rediffmail.com

Edited by the Editorial Board of IIPC and Published by the Registrar, Jadavpur UniversityDesign & Printed by : Vivid Technographics, Kolkata

Director, IIPC :Phone : +91-33-2414-6414Fax : +91-33-2413-6414e-mail : registrar@jdvu.ac.in & rkbju@hotmail.com

IIPC Contacts :Phone : +91-33-2414-6860Fax : +91-33-2413-7121

Industry Institute Partnership Cell

Industry Institute Partnership Cell

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24.12.2004 - 23.1.2005

Inaguration of 50 years Celebration

Inaugural Seminar on Education & the 21st Century

Cultural Programme

News in brief, JU

* The Centre for Welding Technology conducted a national seminar on Weld Integrity* The School of Environmental Studies co-organized a seminar with the Dhaka Community Hospital on 'Arsenic: Developing Countries' Perspective on Health, Water and Environmental Issues' (check about 7e)* The Centre for Refugee Studies received a funding from the UNHCR for a project titled 'Bhutanese Community in West Bengal: A Human Security Perspective'

Courses introduced to support the industrial needs are:

A) Traditional Mode1. Six semister part time course on computer technology.2. VSNL design and micro electronic technology3. Four Seminar M.Tech IT (course ware engineering)4. four Seminar Post Graduate courses on

Nanotechnologyillumination EngineeringPower EngineeringAutomobile Enggineering

B) Multimodal Digital Distance Education Mode1. Six seminar M.Tech IT (Courseware)2. Four Seminar PG Diploma in multimode & Web technology.

Courses Introduce

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Recent years have seen a revival of interest in the application of natural colourants on cotton, silk, wool, jute etc. In the conventional mode of dyeing textile materials, some of the chemical dyes that are used cause environmental pollution, as well as adverse physiological side effects. This has led to the search for safe colouring materials from natural objects like flowers. Natural dyes/colourants derived from flora and fauna are believed to be safe. Natural dyes by virtue of their unique colour/shade and aesthetic characteristics have a potential for high value added fabrics particularly for the export market.

Herbal colour extraction from flower

TEQIP: Distance Education Lab development by INTEL

An International conference on soft matter (ICSM 2004) was held at The Park hotel Kolkata, during 18-20 November 2004 under the auspices of the Indian society for Surface Science and Technology and the Centre for Surface Science, Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

It was attended by 250 delegates from different parts of India and abroad. Distinguished scientists from Japan, Portugal Russia, USA, Germany Australia, Korea, Taiwan, Portugal and Pakistan participated in the scientific discourses and discussions.

The conference deliberations and presentations comprised topics on nanoparticles, colloids and emulsions,

Major Conferences organised: NCSMpolymers, micelles, membranes and bio membranes, monolayers gels and organogels etc. There were 40 invited lectures delivered by eminent scientists from India and abroad. In the scientific poster session, 120 posters were displayed and discussed by young scientists from premier institutions both in India and abroad.

In this conference the Asian Society for Colloid and Surface Science (ASCASS) was formally instituted with its members from different Asian countries. Such an international conference on 'Soft Matter' is first of its kind in India

The Howrah Zilla Parishad has tied up with Jadavpur University and floated a venture to extract dyes mainly from flowers like Ganda, Jaba, Palash, Aparajita etc. Each of these species has yielded a wide range of shades that have been successfully tried out on cotton, silk and wool. A pilot plant is being set up at Anandaniketan in Bagnan, Howrah to begin

1. The solid residue from flowers left after extraction of colouring material may be used as cattle feed or as bio-fertilizer2. The evolved technology can create fresh job opportunities, particularly in rural areas3. The process does not need any sophisticated machinery or imported reactants 4. The technology evolved is extremely cost effective.

West Bengal is the third largest producer of flowers in the country after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Moreover, surveys conducted in flower markets show that only 50% of the total produce is sold and the rest is wasted. Even the sold flowersare thrown away in water bodies after being utilized for various purposes, which cause water pollution and at times accumulates in garbage dumps. The availability of raw material for natural dyes is therefore more as less assured in our state.

production of these herbal dyes. The project was opened for the people on September 19, 2004. Mr. Hannan Mollah, MP from Uluberia, released money from his MPLAD Fund to finance the research. The inherent advantages of the present invention may be summarised as follows:

i) Empowerment of the institutionsii) Establishing effective quatity assurance mechanismsiii) Networking of institutions to enhance capacity, improve quality and promote excellenceiv) Establishing better and cioser linkages with industry and communityv) Increasing access and reducing regional imbaiances.

Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jadavpur University has been selected as a Lead I nstitution under the World Bank assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) of Government of India which has been formulated to meet the necessity of improving the quality of technical manpower in view of the spurt in opening of R & D establishments in high-tech areas of information sciences, software engineering' biotechnology, telecommunication' power management and control etc as well as increasing number of manufacturing units in automotive industries, white goods, entertainment electronics, power control equipment etc. The major objectives aimed by the project include among others.

The 11th International Conference on Neural Information Processing, ICONIP 2004, was organized jointly by Jadavpur University and Indian Statistical Institute, during 22-25, November 2004 at Science City, Calcutta. Out of approximately 275-odd participants who attended the conference, there were about 100 foreign delegates from nearly 30 different countries. The inaugural ceremony featured speeches by Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies, and Prof. Shun-ichi Amari, Director of RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan, who

Major conferences organised: ICONIP

delivered the keynote address. The main theme of this four-day conference was related to the theory and applications of Neural Networks and its allied subjects with special emphasis on Bio-informatics. The conference proceedings consisting of about 220 research articles have been published by Springer (Germany) in its prestigious Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Neural Information Processing, Volume - LNCS 3316) series.

Introduction of battery driven pollution free van rickshaw for rural transportation

Manual Van Rickshaws are the principal mode of transport in rural Bengal. Owing to its very high utility and compatibility with the rural scenario, the number of Van Rickshaw has proliferated massively over last 10 years--from a few ten to a few thousands for every stretch of 100 kms of road in any part of West Bengal. Unfortunately in the case of manual driven

Battery is one of the key components of the battery driven van rickshaw (shown below). Daily charging is necessary and thereby it

van rickshaws it has been observed that the people driving these rickshaws fall ill frequently because of the heavy manual labour. Consequently, efforts have been made by the rickshaw drivers themselves to improvise manual driven Van rickshaws by coupling petrol engines with it. A few such improvised petrol engines are being operated in West Bengal but the running expense of the petrol engine driven Van Rickshaw is about Re 1 per Km., which is rather high and also it is very unstable and ill matched. A much better solution is to introduce battery-powered motor-driven Van Rickshaw which would reduce the running cost as well as increase the monthly income of the Van Rickshaw drivers. In addition, it will eliminate noise, pollution etc. of the petrol engines.

also acts for the generation of employment for the people in rural areas. A project sponsored by the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources, Govt. of India is being implemented in Jadavpur University.

The leading printing machine manufacturer Hydelburge has agreed to sponsor one student from Printing Engineering department of Jadavpur University for the next five years for one week orientation programme every year at the Print Academy, Germany.This envenour is to mark the 50th year of Hydelberg’s presence in India thereby supporting and developing future talent for the industry as a part of Hydelberge India’s commitment to the Indian printing industry.

Future vision/plan of IIPC: IIPC, JU was established in the year 1995 with financial assistance from the AICTE to develop cooperation and interaction between Industry and University for their mutual benefit. Over the years, IIPC, JU has matured and during the period 2003-2004, it has provided consultancy and other support to about 160 organizations in government as well as in public and private sectors all over India. IIPC, JU has plans of providing substantial support to the agricultural sector as well as agro-based industries. IIPC, JU also intends to develop entrepreneurship programmes for all sections of people. It is specially interested in providing technical expertise to small-scale industries and to improve the life of rural and underprivileged people.

Future plan / vision of IIPC, JU

Printing: