A three day national conference on Progresses in Material Science Research(PMSR 2020) was organized by the Department of Physics, Dibrugarh University on February 4-6, 2020. The conference was sponsored by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Oil India Limited (OIL), Excel Instruments and Punjab National Bank.The inaugural session was held in the Indira Miri Conference Hall of the Dibrugrah University. The session which was anchored by Dr Bulumoni Kalita began with a lighting of lamp ceremony. It was followed by the welcome address delivered by Dr Pankaj Dutta, Head, Department of Physics, Dibrugarh University and the Convener of the conference. He began his speech with a brief introduction of the organizing department and hoped that the conference would be able to provide a platform for the young researchers of the region to interact with some of the best minds in the field of material science.
Inaugurating the conference, the Honourable Vice Chancellor, Dibrugarh University, Prof. Ranjit Tamuli emphasized on the importance of material science to bridge the gap between limited source of materials and their ever increasing demand. The inaugural address was followed by the release of a Book of Abstract Volume, a collection of the summaries of various research papers to be presented during the conference. Professor B.R. Sharma, Dean, School of Science and Engineering, Dibrugarh University performed the honours.
Professor Amitava Patra, Professor, School of Materials Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, delivered the Keynote Address titled “Nanomaterials for Efficient Light Harvesting Systems ”. Professor Patra is one of the most prominent figures in the field of Material Science in India.His lucid explanations of the subject combined with his unique interacting skills mesmerized all sections of the audience, be it the students or the experts alike. It was a very rare opportunity for the budding researchers of the region to listen to a researcher of this class. A short question-answer session was also organized after the completion of the talk. The inaugural session eventually concluded with vote of thanks offered by Professor Kalyan Bhyuan, Department of Physics, Dibrugarh University. Apart from the participants from various part of the country, the ceremony was also attended by many past and present faculty members, officers, research scholars and students of different disciplines of Dibrugarh University.
As many as nine experts in the field of material science: Prof. A. Patra (I.A.C.S, Kolkata), Prof. A. Khare (IIT Guwahati), Prof R.C. Deka (Tezpur University), Prof. P. Deb (Tezpur University), Dr P. Poddar(N.C.L, Pune), Dr S. Bedanta (NISER, Bhubaneswara), Dr D. Sarma (Dibrugarh University), Dr.R.Sarma (Tezpur University), Dr M Bordoloi from NEIST, Jorhat were delivered their talks during the three day conference. A total of 52 scientific papers were presented by the participants during the conference. Altogether eight oral presentation and one poster session was organised for the presentation of research works of the participants.