Masters' programme in nano-technology @ Anna Univ

Anna University has become the first institute in the country to introduce a masters' programme in nano-technology, Vice-Chancellor D. Viswanathan said at the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering Technology (CIPET) here on Friday.Delivering the convocation address, he said the programme would commence this year with a Rs. 10 crore assistance from the Central Government.

Nano-composite materials have a variety of applications, including solar energy, packaging and insulation.He later gave away degree certificates to the first batch of M. Tech. students to have passed out from CIPET, which introduced the post-graduate programme in plastics engineering in 2004.Use of plastic, a non-biodegradable substance, was on the increase. In India alone, the amount of plastic used in a year had shot up from 1.8 million tonnes in 1995 to about 5 million tonnes currently. Among the recycling possibilities it offered were `plastic roads', said Dr. Viswanathan.

Molten plastic when mixed with hot bitumen would form a protective coat over it after the road is laid and reduce damage due to rain, remaining stable up to 55 degrees Celsius, he said.This increasing use of plastic demanded that the industry stop merely absorbing technology and start technology innovation, said K.A.R. Subramanian, Director General, CIPET.The M. Tech. programme is being run in affiliation with the Anna University and would provide trained managerial-level manpower to the plastic industry, said a press note.