Bhubaneswar: Experts from across the country and other parts of the world in the emerging field of material science, engineering and technology assembled to exchange knowledge and ideas on latest developments in the field of materials for circular economy and technology at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here recently.
They were attending the first International Conference on ‘Recent Advances in Materials for Circular Economy and Technology (RAMCET-2024) organised by the Department of Chemistry of the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), faculty of SOA’s engineering and technology, held on November 15 and 16.
The conference, jointly organised by SOA, Institute of Chemical Technology-IOC, Bhubaneswar and Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, focused on the science, engineering and technology of sustainable materials using the principle of 6Rs—reuse, recycle, redesign, remanufacture, reduce and recover.
“The selection and engineering of materials is a critical component for developing a circular economy model the objective of which is to enhance the life of products, facilitate the repurposing of items and prevent the waste materials from re-entering the production lines,” the speakers said.
Experts from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Italian National Research Council, University of Thailand, Bangkok, University of Pisa, Italy, Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, University of Southern Denmark, IIT Delhi, IIT Jammu, IIT Guwahati, National Council for Cement and Building Materials, Vedanta Limited, FACOR and ITC took part in the proceedings.
Dr. Anil Prasad Dash, Director, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, DRDO, Pune, who was the chief guest at the inaugural program of the conference, emphasized the need for research and innovation in universities to make education more relevant.
The inaugural lecture was presented by Prof. Daniele Santoni of Italian National Research Council. Prof. Aniruddha B. Pandit, Vice-Chancellor, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, Prof. Sitikantha Mishra, Pro-Vice Chancellor, SOA, Prof. Pradip Kumar Sahoo, Dean, ITER, Prof. Sujata Mishra, Head of Department of Chemistry and Chairperson of RAMCET-2024 and Dr. Rambabu Dandela and Dr. Binita Nanda, both Convenors of RAMCET-2024, also spoke.