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IASTA 2012 Conference: A Brief Report

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IASTA 2012 Conference (December 11-13, 2012): A Brief Report
IASTA 2012 conference, organized jointly IASTA and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, recently concluded in Mumbai, India. It brought together researchers, students and technologists to discuss recent advances in various fields of aerosol science and technology over three days. Nearly 200 papers were received, of which 173 were accepted oral presentations. These papers covered seven broad topics, viz. "Aerosol Characterization", "Aerosol Fundamentals", "Aerosol Instrumentation", "Aerosol Remote Sensing", "Aerosol Climatic Effects", "Nuclear and Radioactive Aerosols" and "Aerosols in Health and Agriculture". The key note address on “Multi-functional nanohybrids for cancer therapy” was delivered by Prof. (Dr.) Dhirendra Bahadur of IITB, Mumbai. Besides the contributed papers, four invited talks summarized the recent advances and highlighted the future needs in four important sub-disciplines of aerosol research. Dr. M. M. Sarin (PRL, Ahmedabad) focussed on the carbonaceous aerosols, particularly the secondary organics, while Dr. B. K. Sapra (BARC, Mumbai) highlighted some of the critical issues in nanoparticle measurements. Prof. A. Jayaraman (NARL, Gadanki) summarized the state-of-the-art remote sensing techniques to study aerosol characteristics and discussed the future requirement to further advance our understanding of the problem. Dr. Naresh Kumar (University of Miami, USA) provided insights into the influence of sporadic environmental interventions in redistributing pollutants and its possible impacts on regional climate and human health.

The conference attracted large participation from the industry, where several state-of-the-art instruments were exhibited. Alfatech Services representing Grimm Aerosol Tecnik, GmbH displayed Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer and Optical Particle Counter. TSI Instruments India Pvt. ltd. representing TSI Incorporated, USA showcased Nano-SMPS, Aerosol Generators, Primary flow calibrators and Bio-aerosol sizer.
Shri. K. Doraisamy, Vice-Chairman, AERB giving the Inaugural Address

Tesscorn Systems India Pvt. Ltd. representing several companies (e.g. Cambustion Ltd., UK; Digitel Elektronik GmbH; Droplet Measurement Technologies, USA; Ecotech Pty Ltd., Australia; MSP Corporation, USA; Palas GmbH; Sunset Laboratory Inc., USA) displayed SMPS, Centrifugal Particle Mass Analyzer, Ecotech's Air quality Monitoring Systems, MOUDI sampler. MK Teknology Pvt. Ltd. representing Palas, GmbH exhibited Fog Generator, while DEKATI Ltd., Finland was represented by Swan Environmental West Pvt. Ltd. Aerosol generating system by Aerodyne Research, USA was displayed by Mars Bioanalytical Pvt. Ltd. Aethalometer and Particle aerodynamic Size Separator (PASS) were showcased by M & G Analyzer Systems representing Magee Scientific, USA and Electronic Enterprises (India) Pvt. Ltd. respectively.

One of the highlights of the conference was award distribution ceremony to encourage participation of young students.

In the "oral presentation" category, Mr. P.M. Shamjad from IIT Kanpur and Ms. Rajeshwari Raut from BARC, Mumbai bagged 1st and 2nd prize, respectively. The 3rd prize was shared by Ms. Poonam Tyagi from JNU, Delhi and Mr. Sushant Das from IIT Delhi. In the "poster presentation" category, 1st prize went to Mr. G. Harikishan from IITM, Pune, while the 2nd and 3rd prizes went to Ms. Aswathy, E.V. from IIT Madras and Mr.V.Ravi Kiran from NARL, Gadanki.
Dignitaries at the inaugural session


Participants viewing the research posters


Dr. B. K. Sapra (Secretary) and Shri. Arshad Khan (Treasurer) presenting mementos to the participants of the Exhibition on behalf of IASTA













More information on IASTA 2012 conference is available online at:
http://www.iasta.org.in/IASTA2012
© 2013 Indian Aerosol Science and Technology Association