Molecular Alchemy: Making graphene from graphite

Are you curious to find out what people in white lab coats and goggles do all day?

87 students from 7 schools and 8 teachers from Chennai attended the event organised by Science outreach to schools, Chennai chapter at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. This event was organised to give students an insight into the exciting world of research. The event hosted talks by eminent scientists in Materials research, Chemistry and also a live link from Armagh observatory, where Dr Aswin Sekhar gave the students a virtual tour of the observatory. There was also hands on session where the kids extracted DNA from bananas and made Graphene, which was a big hit with the students. The students also had the opportunity to interact with Prof. M.S.Swaminathan, the Indian father of green revolution. The event also saw a video lecture by Nobel Laureate, Prof V Ramakrishnan, who answered questions asked by students across India in a short interview. Alemelu-Mangai Education trust and ProQuest limited were the official sponsors of the day, with contributions from well-wishers towards refreshments. Royal Society of Chemistry, India and Cell EXPLORERS, National University of Ireland, Galway, sponsored the hands on workshop.

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