HT Correspondent
JORHAT, July 5: The 6th DN Barua Memorial Lecture 2023, which was a part of the first DN Barua Memorial Tea Colloquium, was delivered at the Tocklai Tea Research Institute at Cinnamara here on Wednesday by Professor (Dr) Parameswar Iyer, director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.
A Tocklai official stated that Professor Iyer, in his lecture on the topic ‘IIT Guwahati, at a Glance’, spoke about the diversification initiatives of the institute into the domains of healthcare and education.
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He spoke on the recent advances made by IIT Guwahati in nanotechnology, machine learning, AR, and VR. Iyer also highlighted the indigenously designed supercomputer at IIT, Guwahati, which is capable of making advanced calculations in a matter of milliseconds.
The IIT, Guwahati director expressed his desire for scientific collaborations with TRA Tocklai in several research and development areas.
Held in memory of the late DN Barua, one of the most decorated scientists of Tocklai and a stalwart of tea science, the colloquium featured 18 scientific presentations from young scientists and researchers of the Tea Research Association (TRA).
The event was attended by TRA Chairperson Nayantara Palchoudhuri, who is also the ITA chairperson; former TRA Chairman and noted planter PK Bezboruah; TRA Director, Dr A Babu; several past and present scientists of TRA Tocklai; six distinguished judges from various agricultural and educational backgrounds; tea planters; representatives of tea associations; and several guests from in and around Jorhat.
The colloquium saw participation in two separate categories: the first category for TRA scientists and the other for research fellows and research assistants. In the scientists’ category, Sarbani Roy secured the first position, Dr Sangeeta Borchetia the second, and Dr Abhay Pandey clinched the third position.
In the research fellows and assistants’ category, Shubham Datta secured the first position, Diksheeta Sharma the second, and Rupjyoti Das bagged the third position. All the winners were awarded prize money along with a memento and a certificate. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks offered by Dr B Chakravarty, Administrative Controller of TRA.
The Tea Colloquium was conceptualised as a platform that fosters scientific temper amongst young researchers and those enthusiastic about technological innovation. It was conceived as an annual event to provide young scientists and researchers the opportunity to hone their presentation skills by being judged on certain key parameters such as expression, diction, and depth of knowledge on the chosen subject.
While the memorial lecture was already an annual fixture for the better part of the past decade, it was brought under the umbrella of the Tea Colloquium to provide a more enriching experience to both the audience and the participants, the Tocklai official added.
