Students exhibit science projects at Holy Home School in Guwahati. Picture by Eastern Projections

Technical fiesta

Assam Engineering College celebrated its annual technical-cum-cultural fest, Pyrokinesis 09, with great enthusiasm and gusto last week.

The festivities were spread over three days. On the technical front, a new event, Robotrikz, was introduced to showcase robotic designs created by robo-enthusiasts of the region. It was held at the new Multi Disciplinary Centre of the college and proved to be a great success.

The regular technical events were also popular. Big Gyan, a seminar hosted by Arun Chattopadhya, a professor at the Nano-Technology Centre of IIT Guwahati, stressed on the need to encourage nano-technology research in India.

Interactix, a technical workshop, was hosted by ex-DRDO engineer Sumit Agarwal who gave an interesting talk on airborne surveillance technology available in India and the need for indigenously developed technologies. Code War, a coding contest, saw participants from various technical institutes battle over their program code writing skills.

Grey Matters, a quiz, has always been one of the premier events of Pyrokinesis. This time it was hosted by quizmaster Vikramaditya Choudhary who kept the audience transfixed with his witty questions.

The energy behind Pyrokinesis has always been the rock competition, Pyrotechnix. It brings together bands from across the region who battle it out in the “clash of symphony” for the crown. Mohit Chauhan, a famous singer and a member of the band Silk Route, entertained the crowd.

Workshop

The resource person of the workshop, Christy Williams, the WWF programme co-ordinator of Asiatic Elephant and the Rhinos of Asia, gave an informative lecture on Asiatic elephants under the theme, Wanted Alive! The Asiatic Elephant in the Wild.

Kashmira Kakati, a renowned primatologist, talked about the biodiversity hotspots of South East Asia, including the Indo-Burma region. She also gave a live demonstration on the installation of camera trap photography in jungles and about its utility in modern day wildlife researches. She gave tips to students on how to become a successful wildlife researcher, on wildlife courses and job opportunities.

Chit chat

A workshop on trauma management was held at INC College on February 17. A team from Academy of Trauma, Guwahati, comprising orthopaedic surgeon Dr Utpal Kumar Tamuly and anaesthetist Dr Biraj Saikia, effectively conducted the session. The workshop dealt exclusively with casualties of manmade disasters and how to take proper pre-hospitalisation care of the victims.

The methods and procedures of first aid and basic life-saving training were explicitly dealt with and imparted with the help of demonstrations and illustrations.