Bangalore to host India Nano summit in December

India's technology hub, Bangalore will host 'India Nano' summit Dec 4-5 to showcase research and development and applications in nano-science and nano-technology, an official said Monday.

"There is no part of human life that is not touched by nano-science and nano-technology, which deal with structures and materials on the scale of a nanometer, a unit of spatial measurement equivalent to one billionth of a metre," Karnataka Science and Technology Secretary Srivatsa Krishna said at a preview of the summit's seventh edition here.

Organised by the science and technology department in partnership with the academia and industry, the two-day mega event will feature an international conference, product and technology expo, tutorials, research industry collaboration hub, nano for the young programme, a poster session and excellence awards.

With the focal theme of 'Nano Horizons' the summit will deliberate on the extensive use of advanced materials in energy, food, healthcare, medicine, nano fabrication and new areas such as oil and gas, devices and sensors, scanning probe microscopy, surface treatments and coatings.

"According to Global Insight, a US-based economics organisation, market potential for nana-technology and nano-materials is estimated to be $3 trillion in 2018 worldwide, touching every aspect of human life," Srivatsa said.

Demystifying nano-science, eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna C.N.R. Rao said using nano-technology, researchers create artificial photo-synthesis in a laboratory to replicate the natural phenomenon of plants and leaves for a variety of applications like hydrogen.

"As the US is set to launch a national mission in nano-technology, we should explore collaborations to reap the benefits of joint research projects in advance materials," he said.

With financial support from the central and state governments, the state's vision group on nana-technology is setting up a centre for nano and soft matter science in the Nano Institute coming up on the city's outskirts at a cost of Rs.50 crore.

Currently, the premier Indian Institute of Science, the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and Centre for Biological Science in Bangalore are actively involved in the development of nano-science and nano-technology.

"The national nano mission of the central government is helping us in promoting nano-science and nano-technology as a sunrise sector for the academia, industry and research institutions," Rao said.

Asserting that nano-technology was gaining recognition the world over as one of the most important technologies of the future, Karnataka Science and Technology Minister S.R. Patil said the nascent field would have a far-reaching impact on diverse fields such as agriculture, food, medicine, healthcare, environment, electronics, renewable energy, biotechnology, IT and material sciences.

"The Nano Institute will be developed into a hub under the guidance of Rao and a Nano Park will be built with an incubation centre to promote nano-technology based start-ups and industries in the state," he added.