This book gives a flavour of the Indian response to modern science by analysing the lives and careers of four scientifically influential personalities in Bengal. His analysis of the careers of two scientists, J. C. Bose and P. C. Ray, and two institution builders, Mahendralal Sircar and Asutosh Mookerjee, brings to light the issues related to science at a time of colonialism and nationalism. Scientists often had to depend on British institutions for legitimation and funding, while also supporting the nationalist cause for greater autonomy. One of the central claims of this book is that the protagonists aimed to contribute to a modern world science, one based on a strong sense of universalism. They did not aim to construct any alternative sciences, though they did express and apply their work by drawing on their cultural heritage. This makes Science and National Consciousness a work of particular relevance today, when a homogenous, instrumentalist and totally Western conception of science is being globally accepted.

The book Ganga: A Scientific Study is based on an Integrated Research Programme carried out by 14 Universities located in the Ganga Basin sponsored and funded by the Envioronment Research Committee and The Ganga Project Directorate, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, New Delhi. The Ganga, one of World's major rivers, has been venerated as the holiest and is bound with countless beliefs and faiths especially in India and adjacent countries. Its water has traditionally been regarded as an inexhaustible gift of nature. Recent experiences do not, however, warrant such a complacency. The water resources are strained to a non-sustainable level due to rapid population explosion, urbanisation, development of agriculture, industry, livestock and power production in the Ganga basin. The hydrobiological quality of water has deteriorated and yet no concise, valid supporting evidence was available in a comprehensive manner covering the entire river. This book is an attempt towards this direction. For the first time a picture of the Ganga is available with its physico-chemical and biological charateristics, the severe pollution stress and causes to which its water is subjected to, the contents and quality of water and possible remedial measures. An account of algae including pollution sensitive and tolerant species, besides bio-indicators is available. A possible modelling exercise has also been included. A microbiological assay and the bacteria present in the river water is also given. This book, in short, is a synthesis of what the Ganga is at present in respect of its hydrobiology, pollution load, and some aspects of hydrology.

SCIENCE AND EMPIRES: FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM TO THE BOOK Patrick PETITJEAN, Catherine JAMI and Anne Marie MOULIN The International Colloquium "Science and Empires - Historical Studies about Scientific De velopment and European Expansion" is the product of an International Colloquium, "Sciences and Empires - A Comparative History of Scien tific Exchanges: European Expansion and Scientific Development in Asian, African, American and Oceanian Countries". Organized by the REHSEIS group (Research on Epistemology and History of Exact Sciences and Scientific Institutions) of CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), the colloquium was held from 3 to 6 April 1990 in the UNESCO building in Paris. This colloquium was an idea of Professor Roshdi Rashed who initiated this field of studies in France some years ago, and proposed "Sciences and Empires" as one of the main research programmes for the The project to organize such a colloquium was a bit REHSEIS group. of a gamble. Its subject, reflected in the title "Sciences and Empires", is not a currently-accepted sub-discipline of the history of science; rather, it refers to a set of questions which found autonomy only recently. The terminology was strongly debated by the participants and, as is frequently suggested in this book, awaits fuller clarification.

Investigates the complex social processes involved in the introduction and institutionalization of Western science in colonial India.

The Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Opto-Electronics and Applied Optics, OPTRONIX 2016 is an effort to promote and present the research works by scientists and researchers including students in India and abroad in the area of Green Photonics and other related areas as well as to raise awareness about the recent trends of research and development in the area of the related fields. The book has been organized in such a way that it will be easier for the readers to go through and find out the topic of their interests. The first part includes the Keynote addresses by Rajesh Gupta, Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; P.T. Ajith Kumar, President and Leading Scientist Light Logics Holography and Optics, Crescent Hill, Trivandrum, Kerala; and K.K. Ghosh, Institute of Engineering & Management, Kolkata, India. The second part focuses on the Plenary and Invited Talks given by eminent scientists namely, Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, University of Waterloo, Canada; Motoharu Fujigaki, University of Fukuii, Japan; Takeo Sasaki, Tokyo University of Science, Japan; Kehar Singh, Former Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India; Rajpal S. Sirohi, Tezpur University, India; Ajoy Kumar Chakraborty, Institute of Engineering & Management, India; Lakshminarayan Hazra, Emeritus Professor, Calcutta University, India; S.K. Bhadra, Emeritus Scientist, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, India; Partha Roy Chaudhuri, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India; Navin Nishchal, Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, India; Tarun Kumar Gangopadhyay, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, India; Samudra Roy, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India; Kamakhya Ghatak, University of Engineering & Management, India. The subsequent parts focus on contributory papers in : Green Photonics; Fibre and Integrated Optics; Lasers, Interferometry; Optical Communication and Networks; Optical and Digital Data and Image Processing; Opto-Electronic Devices, Terahertz Technology; Nano-Photonics, Bio-Photonics, Bio-Medical Optics; Lasers, Quantum Optics and Information Technology; E. M. Radiation Theory and Antenna; Cryptography; Quantum and Non-Linear Optics, Opto-Electronic Devices; Non-Linear Waveguides; Micro-Electronics and VLSI; Interdisciplinary.