Bose Institute Celebrates Its 107th Foundation Day And A Legacy of Historic Innovations!

The renowned Bose Institute marked its 107th Foundation Day on November 30, 2023. As a matter of fact, this day also coincided with the 165th birth anniversary of its visionary founder and the doyen of modern science in India, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose.

The celebration commenced with a profound floral tribute paid at Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose's samadhi at the Rajabazar campus by Professor (Dr) Uday Bandyopadhyay, the Director of Bose Institute, who was accompanied by distinguished guests Professor Paolo Giubellino, Scientific Managing Director of the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, and Mr Joerg Blaurock, Technical Managing Director of FAIR, GmbH, Germany. The guests also visited the century old lecture hall at the campus, which had been conceptualised by the founder; who had been inspired by the Royal Institution, London. They also took a stroll through the historic Jagadish Chandra Bose Museum on campus and appreciated the exhibits on display. Thereafter, the expedition continued to the Centenary campus in Kankurgachi and culminated at the Unified Academic campus in Bidhannagar.

In an afternoon filled with intellectual vigour, Professor Giubellino delivered the stimulating 84th Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture, shedding light on ‘India and Big Science: A Success Path for the 21st Century’. He captivated the audience by echoing the founder's vision of dedicating the 'temple of science', as he called the institute, to the ‘feet of the Lord for the glory of India and benefit of the world’.

Highlighting India's pivotal role in 'mega science,' Professor Giubellino emphasised the significance of the nation’s large scale scientific endeavours. He went on to underline how such ‘mega science’ engagements are taking shape all over the world in areas ranging from multi-messenger astronomy to solution of the world’s energy crisis using thermonuclear power. Professor Giubellino elaborated on the role of these facilities as ‘talent factories’ as they open up opportunities for training the next generation of human resources. He focused on one such multipurpose particle accelerator, the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), which is being constructed at Darmstadt, Germany where India is one of the nine shareholder coT

A number of key components of the accelerator such as power converters, power cables and beam stoppers are being developed and fabricated in India. This facility will serve several communities such as high energy nuclear and particle physics, nuclear reactions and astrophysics, plasma physics, atomic physics and applications and biology and radiation therapy. The profound discussion traced back to the Darjeeling campus, where the project's seeds were sown in the last millennium. A special attention was devoted in the lecture to the current renaissance of nuclear physics and its role in society and our understanding of the universe at large.

Mr Joerg Blaurock, presiding over the event, showcased a compelling video outlining the progress of FAIR's construction. He reinforced the colossal scale of the machine and stressed the imminent installation phase, underlining the critical importance of timely arrival of components including contributions from India.

The function concluded with tokens of appreciation bestowed upon research scholars who presented their work during the 'Recent Trends in Natural Sciences 2023' symposium. In a momentous sideline, Bose Institute, FAIR GmbH, and M/s Siechem Technologies Pvt Ltd inked tripartite agreements for the development and fabrication of power cables and IT and diagnostic cables—a testament to the institute's commitment to advancing scientific frontiers.