Young Researchers Announced For The Indo-German Grand Science Slam

Online, October 11, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The German Embassy New Delhi and the German Research Foundation (DFG) have announced the six finalists who will present their slam topics at the Indo-German Grand Science Slam to be held on Saturday, 27th October 2012 at the Millennium Indraprastha Park, Sarai Kale Khan.

The call for participation was made in early September and the response was fantastic with a total of 46 applications received from leading young researchers in top institutions all over India including University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Patna, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, Manipal University, Anna University Chennai, Bangalore University and University of Hyderabad, among others. The Grand Science Slam also received entries from Indian researchers of prominent universities abroad such as Technical University Darmstadt, University of Oxford, University of Hohenheim-Stuttgart, Rheinische Friedrich -Wilhelms -Universität Bonn and Cluster of Excellence-South Asia Institute Heidelberg.

The names of the young finalists who will be presenting their research are Ms. Japleen Kaur Pasricha (Jawaharlal Nehru University), Dr.Sajad H. Ahanger (Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad), Mr. Ahan Dalal (University of Hyderabad), Mr. Bidus Kanti Das (Indian Institute Of Technology Kharagpur), Mr. Vikas Shabadi (Technische Universität Darmstadt) and Mr. Debdoot Sheet (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur). The topics they will be presenting include Contemporary German Pop literature: Christian Krachts "Faserland"; Uniting Boundaries and Dividing the Empire; Can a Plant Biologist make a Farmer smile?; Don't waste a 'waste'; Nano-electronics, Spintronics, Multiferroics; and, Ultrasonic Histology, respectively.

Slammers were invited to submit their entries from medicine/physiology, "green" life sciences, physics/mathematics, geo sciences, chemistry and process engineering, informatics and social sciences. Out of these 46 entries, an eminent Jury in Germany shortlisted the best six that will get to present at the Grand Science Slam. Each slammer will get five minutes to present their research in a simple, fun and creative format, which will be followed by a five minutes Q&A session with the jury and the audience. Two winners decided by a jury collectively with the audience will be awarded a fully paid learning opportunity to work in the research group of an eminent researcher in Germany.

On that occasion, the German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner said: "Germany and India are perfect partners - also in science and research. The Indo-German Grand Science Slam unites young bright minds from India and Germany and shapes the Indo-German cooperation of tomorrow. The upcoming Indo-German Urban Mela, the inauguration of the German House for Science and Innovation in New Delhi and the Grand Science Slam are landmarks in our bilateral science and research relation."
Speaking on the selection process, Dr. Torsten Fischer, Director, German Research

Foundation (DFG), the official coordinator of DWIH New Delhi, says, "The quality of applications we received for this Indo-German Grand Science Slam in India has been fantastic. It reflects the potential of India's research community and the promising future of Indo-German research collaboration. The selection was based purely on quality and relevance to area of science selected."

As one of the highlights of the "German Year in India 2011/2012", the Grand Science Slam will also mark the inauguration of German House for Research and Innovation in New Delhi (DWIH New Delhi), a 'one-stop-shop' for students, researchers and potential partner institutions on higher education, research landscape and funding sources in Germany. German House for Research and Innovation in New Delhi (DWIH New Delhi) is an initiative of the German Government with the support of the Federal Foreign Office (Auswartiges Amt - AA) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung - BMBF) for increasing cooperation between German and Indian academic and scientific communities. Four DWIH have already been established in Sao Paolo (Brazil), Moscow (Russia), New York (USA) and Tokyo (Japan).

For more details or to speak with any of the finalists, please contact:

Ruchika Christ
Public Relations
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
German Research Foundation
Tel. +91.49224905, Ruchika.Christ@dfg.de

Dr. Niklas Wagner
Press and Communication Department
German Embassy New Delhi
Tel: +91.1144199247, niklas.wagner@diplo.de

Kim Remmawi
Gutenberg Communications
Tel. +91 9818332638, kim@gutenbergpr.com