The Department of Chemistry organised a One Day Workshop on “Structure Determination of Compounds by Spectroscopic Techniques – A Problem Solving Approach”on 28th October, 2016. The Workshop was greatly useful in throwing light on those concepts which were considered to be difficult to learn in the regular classroom. The expertise of the Resource Persons helped the students to understand the various concepts in the realm of spectroscopy.
The Workshop commenced with the Lighting of Lamp by Prof. M.V. Basaveswara Rao (Professor, Dean, Krishna University), Sri K.S. Appa Rao (Treasurer), Dr. S. Sankar (Principal), Prof. V. Narasimha Rao (Director), Dr M. Sivanadh (HOD, PG Department of Chemistry & Organising Secretary) & members of the workshop. The program was started with Vandemataram.
Smt. K. Subhashini, Lecturer, PG Department of Chemistry welcomed the Dignitaries.
Dr S. Sankar, in his Presidential remarks said that this is great opportunity for the students to learn a new concept as envisaged by the UGC. This could be categorised under the student exchange programme. He said he would be looking forward to hearing the feedback of the students in the evening. Prof. V. Narasimha Rao outlined the opportunities in Chemistry and touched upon some basics of Operations Research.
Dr Sivanadh requested the participants to the expertise of the Resource Persons in the different sessions of the workshop.
Sri K. S. Appa Rao said that A.N.R. College Committee is always ready to promote such learning initiatives and felt that the workshop would give a chance to learn the latest developments in the subject. In ANR College, he said, “such events are felt as highly valuable”. He felt that the Department of Chemistry is making the College proud by organising such a workshop.
Prof. M.V. Basaweswara Rao, outlined the opportunities galore available to students who completed U.G. or P.G. degrees with Chemistry and pointed out the demand for skilled persons in Pharma Industries. He said that Spectroscopy is an emerging area for Chemistry students and explained its applications in Pharma Industries. He made the students realize the importance of this workshop and such academic events. He congratulated the Organisers and the Management for arranging this workshop on such a grand scale.
The Inaugural Session concluded with Vote of Thanks by Ms. D. Vimala Kumari.
The First Session led by Dr I.V. Kasi Viswa Nadh from K.L. University, Vaddeswaram, Guntur District, was a cheerful time for the students. They not only understood the prime concepts behind the working of UV-Visible Spectroscopy, but also enjoyed the time with the various entertaining instances that happened in the career of the eminent scientist. Dr. Viswa Nadh talked in great detail about the basic ideology behind the UV – Visible spectroscopy. He led the class to higher levels of understanding the topic, He also discussed many questions and structure related problems of importance in UV- Visible Spectroscopy. His talk was followed by a clarification of doubts in which several students participated.
In the Second Session, which was organised after lunch, Dr. Sivanadh talked on the basic principles of NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) Spectroscopy and how the method can be manipulated in many ways to derive fruitful results in elucidating the structure of molecules. Interpreting such spectra seemed to be the difficult thing as far as the analyst is concerned and Dr. Sivanadh did a wonderful job in teaching the students on how to make effective use of data from an NMR experiment. He presented the talk in the simplest way possible, right from square one. He made sure that all the points were understood by the students. He introduced some study materials to the students, like ‘Organic Structures from Spectra’. He discussed various questions in NMR spectroscopy with the participants. He also pointed out the various pitfalls that could occur while attempting such problems. There was also good participation from the students’ side, making the session very interactive towards the ending of the talk. Dr. Sivanadh answered the questions of the students clearly.
The last session was occupied by Dr V. Sree Ram from AG & SGS College, Vuyyuru. He started the session with his lecture on IR Spectroscopy. He was very cautious in explaining the basics upon which this technique was built on. He stressed on the importance of IR Spectrum. The lecture was focussed mainly on the basics of the technique and in providing clear explanation on the various processes incorporated in acquiring an IR Spectrum for a particular compound.
The last lecture was followed by a concluding speech by Sri T.V.V. Satdyadev, PBS College, Vijayawada. This was followed by distribution of certificates to participants.
In their feedback the students said that the workshop was not only useful in understanding the various concepts prevalent in the field of spectroscopy, but also, very inspiring, as the Resource Persons shared their valuable experiences.
We thank the Management for the financial support to the workshop and special thanks to K.S. Appa Rao, Dr S. Sankar, Prof. V. Narasimha Rao for their valuable suggestions for conducting workshop. We also thank the non teaching staff of Chemistry Department, office in-charge Sri Kaza Srinivasa Rao, PG Librarian Smt. B.S.S. Padmaja who contributed to the arrangements of the workshop. It is my duty to thank the Managements and Departments of various Colleges who sent their students for participation in workshop. We also thank the students for their enthusiasm and asking for such events of longer duration in the days to come. The student volunteers from the Department of Chemistry made this event successful and I thank them for their co-operation and hard work.