VIGYAN SAMAGAM: Pushing the Frontiers of Science

VIGYAN SAMAGAM: Pushing the Frontiers of Science in its final leg at the National Science Centre Delhi.

After its successful showing in our centre the Nehru Science Mumbai, where it all began on 17th May, 2019, Visvesvaraya Museum, Bangalore and Science City, Kolkata, the Vigyan Samagam exhibition, which show cases India’s first-ever, global Mega-Science Projects on one single platform, finally arrived on its last leg in Delhi. This exhibition, a joint collaborative effort of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), was inaugurated on the 21st January, 2020, by Dr Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office; Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy (DAE); and Department of Space, in the August presence of several distinguished scientists from India and abroad including Dr R Chidambaram, Secretary DAE and DST and others. 

 “Almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to the progress in science”. This statement, by Bertrand Russell, succinctly describes the importance of science for human society. The Vigyan Samagam exhibition that has been opened at the National Science Centre, Delhi, which presents the frontiers of science research in seven mega global science projects, in which India is a partner,  is aimed at creating an awareness about the frontiers of science research and the cutting edge technology that is used in these research projects among the public in general and students in particular. This exhibition presents in layman’s language, what these projects are and how are they likely to shape and benefit human society.

The mysteries of our universe stretches from an extreme unseen universe of subatomic particles - quarks, muons, positrons, Higgs Bosons (god particle, discovered at the LHC, at CERN, Geneva) etc. - to the extreme, beyond the observable, unseen macroscopic universe. The quest for study and understanding of such extreme scales of universe and its nature has become a necessity for scientists in their endeavour to collectively aim at pushing the frontiers of science. For eons we have taken science for granted. Notwithstanding the fact that technologies - the application of science - are inextricably linked to our day today lives, we hardly ever try to hazard a guess to even remotely understand from where do these benefits come from and who sowed the seeds of science for unravelling the secrets of nature at its deepest and farthest, to shape our understanding of nature’s marvels to harvest its technological applications for benefitting human society. A look at the history of science reveals that giant leap towards modern society was shaped by human understanding of the universe and its governance. 

The need for research on pushing the frontiers of science has led to international collaboration in pooling of men and material resources and establishing global partnerships. And the resultant outcome is the Global Mega Science Projects, in which India is also a partner. To show case the significance of such Mega Science Projects, particularly the Indian contributions in these projects, three Government of India institutions; Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology and the National Council of Science Museums, have joined hands to present the first ever “VIGYAN SAMAGAM”, an exhibition of seven mega science projects and a plethora of events, panel discussions, debates, programmes etc. involving the best of scientists from India and abroad and other stakeholders in the field, including industry. The exhibition is aimed at creating interest in science among the public particularly among the students.

 From the dim millennium of prehistory science has been central to human progress and civilisations across the globe including majorly ancient civilisations like India have benefited from scientific pursuits. The progress towards harvesting scientific knowledge for modern society was kick started when Galileo aimed his telescope to look beyond our Earth and Newton began to unlock the secrets of the gravitational force that govern our universe at the macro level. Ever since, scientists have continued to strive to provide answers to many of the mysteries of the universe, and with that knowledge the human race has achieved incredible benefits. All of this has underpinned our technological adventure into the 20th Century. Our understanding of the building blocks of matter – atoms – brought about the next technological age - the computer age, undoubtedly the most impactful invention from this science was the Nobel prize winning discovery of the humble transistor in the middle of the 20th century. Transistors shaped the Silicon Valley and without the transistors it perhaps would have been impossible for us to have computers, smartphones or any electronic devices, which we see all around us today. The digital technologies, which are an offshoot of fundamental research at the quantum level have ushered in modern technologies that can assist in further unravelling the mystery of the universe at its deepest and farthest, which the seven mega science projects featured in the Vigyan Samagam exhibitions are set out to achieve and India is privileged to be a major partner in each of these global mega science projects.

From powering the industrial revolution to sparking the digital and information era and unlocking the secrets of the stars, researching and pushing the frontiers of science has underpinned our technological adventure into the 21st Century. Now that we are at the cusp of entering the third decade of this century it is befitting that global partnerships, with India as one of the partner, have been cemented to further push the frontiers of science. The Vigyan Samagam, ongoing exhibition at the National Science Centre, Delhi, showcases seven mega-science projects, which are pushing the frontiers of science and in each of these projects India is collaborating with other international scientific bodies. These projects include, Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), Square Kilometer Array (SKA), Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). In the years and decade/s to come, these projects and the research findings from them are sure to bring about a paradigm shift in our understanding of our universe and in the process this understanding could further benefit human society and help us in achieving the much awaited sustainable and millennium development goals, which have been set by the U.N.

The primary objective of this mega event is to spread a message that all developments in science and fundamental research in basic sciences leads to new knowledge and will hopefully provide scientific capital. The mega science projects create an opportunity from which the practical applications of knowledge can be drawn for the benefit of society, this is all the more relevant today than ever before and history has shown that basic research is the pacemaker of technological progress.’

The Vigyan Samagam exhibition is supplemented by unprecedented number of lectures from the best of scientists, other outreach educational activities, demonstrations and quizzes. For details of the exhibition and the ongoing lectures and events please see;

www.vigyansamagam.in

Jai Vigyan, Jai Hind