Continuing the journey with Valsa

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad is conducting, the second season of its residential science camp in memory of Late Prof. M. C. Valsakumar, former Professor of Physics and Dean Student Affairs at IIT Palakkad. Prof. Valsakumar, Valsa to his friends, was an excellent researcher, an extraordinary teacher and above all a humanist. Spreading his passion for science is our way of continuing the journey with him. IIT Palakkad will select 30 students from schools across Kerala and Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu. The goal of the camp is to instil a spirit of inquiry and critical thinking, and love for science and mathematics in students. This camp would also provide a platform for interactions between students from various parts of Kerala and researchers at IIT Palakkad. There will be interactive sessions on various topics in science, engineering and mathematics, and several hands-on sessions in labs where scientific concepts will be introduced through experiments.


The camp will run uninterrupted from May 22 - 31, 2023.
Food and accommodation will be provided in the IIT hostels which are inside the campus.

Programme Highlights

Lectures, demonstrations, hands-on workshops, puzzles and lot more!

Eligibility and Application Process

Student should be currently studying in Class XI (Eleven) in Kerala or Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu and should be in one of the science streams. The application is to be submitted online at https://squest.iitpkd.ac.in/. It has to be accompanied by scanned copies of a bonafide certificate from the Principal and the 10th standard mark list. The bonafide certificate format can be downloaded from the same link. Selection will be made on the basis of 10th standard marks in Sciences and Mathematics and, an evaluation of the answers to the ‘Quest Questions’ in the application form. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The last date for receipt of applications is 28 February 2023 10 March 2023. The list of selected students will be published on the institute website by third week of March 2023 second week of April 2023.

Important Dates

Last date of receipt of online applications

February 28, 2023
March 10, 2023

Announcement of list of selected students

Third week, March 2023
Second week, April 2023

Dates of the science camp May 22 - 31, 2023

The list of selected candidates

 

About IIT Palakkad

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are autonomous public institutions of national importance for higher education in engineering, science and technology. IIT Palakkad was announced by the Government of India in 2014. IIT Palakkad currently has two campuses – Nila Campus at Kanjikode and a temporary facility at Ahalia Integrated Campus, Kozhippara. IIT Palakkad is fully residential with separate hostels for girls and boys. There are five boys hostels & one girls hostel in Ahalia Campus and three boys hostels and one girls hostel in Nila campus.

Contact: For further queries please send a mail to sciencequest@iitpkd.ac.in

About Valsa

Prof. M. C. Valsakumar ( 1952:2019 )

Prof. M. C. Valsakumar was born in Pinarayi, Kannur district in Kerala. He was an alumnus of Government. Brennen College, Thalassery and Department of Physics, University of Calicut. Soon after his M.Sc (1975- with gold medal) he joined BARC Training School, Mumbai. Since then he worked at IGCAR, Kalpakkam till he superannuated as Outstanding Scientist and Head of Materials Physics Division, IGCAR in 2012. Soon after he retired from IGCAR he was invited as a Distinguished Professor at School of Materials Engineering/Science, University of Hyderabad. In June 2015 he accepted the invitation to join IIT Palakkad where he served until March 2018. Prof. Valsakumar was a versatile researcher. He published more than 160 research articles in reputed journals. Many scientists and various university students completed their PhD under his able guidance. Some of his seminal works on open quantum systems and statistical mechanics became landmarks in those areas. His research interests spanned across quantum field theory and computational materials science. He was also an expert in high performance computing and was instrumental in developing dedicated computational facilities at IGCAR.

Prof. Valsakumar was an inspiring teacher with a deep understanding across various disciplines. He was adored by his students.