Day 2: J&K Women Science Congress 2024

Jammu Feb 12– The second day of the JK Women Science Congress 2024 unfolded with a series of engaging sessions, flash talks, and insightful presentations, highlighting the significant contributions of women researchers in the field of science and technology.

The day kicked off with an inspiring session comprising seven flash talks by young women researchers from the University of Jammu and the University of Kashmir. Each presentation, spanning diverse domains of science and technology, was followed by interactive question-answer sessions, fostering vibrant discussions. Prof. Arun Bharti, H.O.D. Physics, University of Jammu, chaired the session, with co-chair Prof. Veenu Kaul from the Dept of Botany, University of Jammu, and rapporteur Dr. Sandeep Arya from the Department of Physics, University of Jammu.

A session chaired by Prof. Farooq A. Masoodi, Dean Academic Affairs, University of Kashmir, featured an enlightening talk by Dr. Kanchan Kour, Senior Director-Breast Surgery, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for women in the field of medicine. The next session was chaired by Prof. Farooq A. Masoodi; Food Science & Technology, Dean Academic Affairs, University of Kashmir and co-chaired by Prof. A.S Jasrotia; HoD of Department of Remote Sensing & GIS , University of Jammu. Dr. Somnath Koundal; Associate

Professor, Department of Geology, University of Jammu was the Rapporteur of the session. The enlightening talk by Dr. Kanchan Kour; Senior Director-Breast Surgery, Breast Cancer Breast Services, Cancer Institute Medanta-The Medicity, Gurugram was presented. She talked on the topic “Women in Medicine-To be or not to be” wherein she emphasized that women are being called the nurturers but there should be proper work-life balance and women are no less than a man if provided equal opportunities.

The next talk was presented by Prof. Bindu A. Bambah; Senior Professor, School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad. She talked on the topic “Factors affecting Gender equality in the sciences”.  She emphasized that many few women opt for physical sciences even now due to certain stereotypes. So, society needs to be fixed, not women.

The third session was chaired by Prof. Bindu A. Bambah; joint faculty in  the Center for Women’s Studies. Prof. Kamal K. Kapoor; Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Jammu and Dr. Geeta Sharma; Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, University of Jammu was the co-chair and rapporteur respectively.

The talk was presented by Prof Gautam Menon, Dean, Research and Professor of Physics and Biology, Ashoka University, Sonipat on the topic “Why should we think about climate change”. He emphasized that everyone should know what climate changes is and aware the audience about SWATI portal launched for women in science to address the gender gap.

The next talk was delivered by Prof Paramjeet Khurana; Senior Professor, Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi on the topic “ Plant genomics for climate resilient crops”.  She emphasized that training and learning never ends in one’s life and focused on agriculture and food security.

The 4^th session was chaired by Prof: Yashpal Sharma, Coordinator, UGC-SAP (DRS II) Department of Botany University of Jammu and co-chaired b y Prof. Susheel Verma, HOD Botany. Dr. Chinmoye Maharana, Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Jammu was the Rapporteur.

The talk was delivered by Prof. Karoline Faust, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Belgium by online mode on the topic “Top-down and bottom-up exploration of the human gut microbiome”. She explained that Gut community dynamics in controlled conditions is highly deterministic. One of her Indian students also talked about her work on gut microbiome.

Prof. Neelu Jain Gupta, Professor and Head, Department of Zoology and Ex-Head, Department of Hospital Administration, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh delivered a talk on the topic “Molecular underpinnings of circadian lifestyle are deep-rooted in Indian Knowledge system”. She focused on how ancient lifestyle should be incorporated into the modern lifestyle.

The poster session was conducted and evaluated by eminent researchers from various branches.

This was followed by flash talks and oral talks by young researchers and the session was chaired by Prof. Neelu Jain Gupta, Professor and Head, Department of Zoology and Ex-Head, Department of Hospital Administration, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh and co-chaired by Prof. Vivek Gupta, Former Head of Department of Physics, University of Jammu. Dr. Shallu Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics was the rapporteur.

The next oral talk session by young researchers was chaired by Prof. Seema Langer, Professor and Head, Department of Zoology, University of Jammu and co-chaired by Prof. Piyush Malaviya, Professor & Head Department of Environmental Science, University of Jammu. Dr. Skarma Nonzom, Assistant Professor Department of Botany, University of Jammu was the rapporteur of the session.

The last oral talk session by young researchers was chaired by Prof. Pankaj K. Srivastava, Professor , Ore Geology in the Department of Geology, University of Jammu. The session was co-chaired by Prof Susheel Sharma, HOD Electronics. Dr. Skarma Nonzon, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, was the rapporteur. The technical sessions were coordinated by Dr. Sheetal Ambardar, Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu.

Adding a touch of cultural enrichment, the evening concluded with a musical performance by versatile singers Deepali Wattal, Sonali Dogra, Mukteshi Sharma, and Rahul Wanchoo, orchestrated by Prof. Sanjana Koul, Convener, Cultural Committee, JKWSC.