Loyola College Chennai - Chemistry Alumni Blog

Dr JN Reddy, the Memory King

2009-05-12T17:41:00.005+01:00

Many (pre 1997) would remember Dr J.N. Reddy, ex-Professor of Chemistry at Loyola who quit teaching to dedicate his time at Max Academy, an institution he founded in 1993.

MAX is the only organisation to present the World’s Biggest Memory Show and World’s First Ever Memory Fair. A Study Chair - First of its kind in India. In the last 15 years MAX Academy trained over 70,000 People in 870 Workshops.

Lovely pics of Loyola Chapel before renovation ..

2009-05-12T17:31:00.006+01:00

Thanks & credit to Jagannathan @ Flickr

BSc 2005 - 2008 batch: Registered user list

2009-05-12T17:06:00.002+01:00

Name: Ajit.G.Warrier
Batch: 2005-2008 Chemistry
Email: ajith_warrier1987[at]yahoo.com
Top teacher: G.Ramamurthy,Dr. Kannappan
Living now: Doing my M.sc at AMRITA VISHWA VIDYAPEETHAM,KOLLAM,KERALA

TC Batch: Registered user list

2009-05-12T16:56:00.002+01:00

Name: Karthik C
Email: khick4[at]gmail.com
Top teacher: Govindrajan (SGR)
Old Friends: Manoj, Jacob, Titu
Living now: US

Paper published by 2 gems of Loyola :- NSG & Fr LMY in 1956

2009-05-12T16:35:00.005+01:00

Came across a paper published by Dr. N.S. Gnanapragasam & Rev. Fr. Lourdu Yeddanapalli in J. Chem. Soc. (1956) 4934 - 4943, DOI: 10.1039/JR9560004934

A snapshot of the article can be seen here

Dr O.M. Sreedharan passes away !

2008-10-11T08:47:00.006+01:00

It is with deep regret and sorrow we announce that Dr O.M. Sreedharan (fondly called OMS), passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in the early hours of this morning, Saturday, October 11, 2008. Dr Sreedharan is an alumnus of Loyola Chemistry and student of Rev. Fr. Yedannapalli. Until his retirement few years ago, Dr OMS headed the Thermodynamics & Kinetic division of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam. He has been a pillar of strength & support for the PhD scholars at Loyola Chemistry before and after his retirement from IGCAR and further was instrumental in establishing MoU between Loyola and IGCAR.

May his soul RIP +

International conference on Sensor-Development

2008-10-08T19:33:00.002+01:00

International conference on "Recent Trends in Sensor-Development for the Assessment and Management of the Environment”

8 - 10, January 2009

More details here

This conference is organised by Loyola Institute of Frontier Energy (LIFE), an interdisciplinary research forum at Loyola.

Dr S. Samikannu (SSK) passes away from cancer

2008-10-08T19:17:00.004+01:00

Dr S. Samikannu, Professor of Chemistry, passed away on 19th Sep after battling cancer. He had died while Rev. Fr Peter (Secretary, Loyola College) was praying at his bedside. Dr SSK will be fondly remembered for his articulate teaching of electrochemistry. May the good Lord grant eternal rest to him.

A tribute to Dr SSK can be found here

Dr K.S. Nagaraja (KSN) leaves Loyola..

2008-10-08T18:59:00.005+01:00

Dr KSN has availed VRS and retired from Loyola College on 31st July 2008. He was one among the few faculty members actively involved in research and his departure is a great loss for Loyola and the department in particular. He has also close associations with LIFE, an interdisciplinary research institute at Loyola. Dr Nagaraja has guided ~ 10 PhD scholars and countless MSc and MPhil students. Let’s wish Dr KSN great success in all his future endeavours.

Loyola receives A+ Accreditation from NAAC ...

2006-11-11T15:10:00.000Z

The executive committe of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), on the recommendations of the duly appointed Peer Team has declared Loyola College Chennai as Accredited at A+ level (90-95 grade) on 17/10/2006

Christ the King Church : Your generosity is solicited...

2006-11-11T15:05:00.000Z

The Church of Christ the King in the premises of Loyola College, Chennai celebrates its Platinum Jubilee. On this momentous occasion, the Church will be undergoing renovation to restore this magnificent edifice to its former glory. The restoration committee has estimated a budget of Rs.1 Crore for a complete renovation of the Church. As the Budget is beyond the slender resources of the college, we earnestly request all Alumni/ae, well-wishers and philanthropic-minded people, to send your contributions and make this project a success. Drafts or Cheques should be made in favour of The Principal, Loyola College, Chennai - 600 034, Tamil Nadu, India, Tel: 91-44-28178200

Prof. NSG passes away ...

2006-11-11T14:53:00.000Z

Message from Dr DPS :- Dear Friends, With profound sense of sadness, I inform you that our dear professor, Dr NSG passed away on 17/10/2006. The last journey took palce on Sunday, 22nd, Oct from 30/2, 3rd st., State bank colony, Virugambakkam, Chennai-26 (Ph:044-23766894) around 10 am. May his SOUL rest in peace!

Loyola College won the top honours Themes...

2006-04-16T15:19:00.000+01:00

The presentation by a student team from Loyola College won the top honours in an inter-collegiate paper presentation organised by department of economics of D.G. Vaishnav College here recently. The themes for the presentation were "Need for entrepreneurship" and "Export and import policies in the present scenario." The judges found the presentation by G.R. Rohan and Thoudam David of Loyola College as the best.

Source: The Hindu (18/03/2006)

Loyola offers Dip in TV Technology

2006-04-16T15:00:00.000+01:00

Ace Loyola College & Good News Television offer a comprehensive one year Diploma Course in Television Technology. The course is divided into three trimesters.

In the first trimester students learn all aspects of Television Production, Techniques and Management. They move on in the second trimester, to specialise in one of three areas on TV Scripting and Direction, TV Camera Technology, TV Editing. In the final trimester, each student does an independent project of high professional standards. The training centre in fully equipped with video production & recording studio with latest equipments .The Director Rev. Dr. Francis Peter S.J. Ace Loyola and Good news Television, oversee the training, keeping in mind the latest inputs required to meet the challenges in the television industry.

Source: Sify (06/04/2006)

Loyola College students set for Guinness bid

2006-04-16T14:50:00.000+01:00

Loyola College students are hoping to find their college a place in Guinness Book of Records. Until now, it has found a place only in the Limca Book of Records.

Undergraduate students of the Tamil Department in Loyola College will stage 13 plays from the Old and New Testaments for 48 hours from April 11 to 13 in a bid to beat the current Guinness record holders in the same segment. Ten students will stage the plays at Bertram hall in the college from 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Currently, Thisaigal Cultural Troupe of Madurai holds the record for staging plays without a break.

Source: The Hindu (10/04/2006)

Loyola bags Rs. 1.4 crore in research funds...

2006-03-30T18:28:00.000+01:00

Loyola secured Rs. 1.4 crore in research income for the year 2005-2006. A total of Rs. 13967194 was given to the faculty through various research grants.

A whopping Rs. 95 lakhs went to the Department of Chemistry this year. A FIST grant to the tune of Rs. 34 lakhs will provide new instrumentation facilities at the department. Prof. KS Nagaraja added two research projects from DAE and DST to the tune of Rs. 38 lakhs. Prof. V Alexander continued his grant-hunting and secured Rs. 23 lakhs.

Well done!!

Benefactors shoulder Loyola...

2006-03-30T18:09:00.000+01:00

Loyola has received some significant donations this year. Ms. Renuka Iswariah has donated Rs. 50 lakhs for the new Physics Building. Mr Kalanidhi Maran of the SUN TV has donated Rs. 3 lakhs for the improvement of Loyola College Library through his SUN Foundation. A further donation of Rs. 2.5 lakhs came through various sources.

Source: Fr Principal's annual report 2005-06

Loyola Awards for 2005-2006

2006-03-30T17:49:00.000+01:00

Dr. T.N. Ananthakrishnan Research Award for Arts Teachers for the academic year 2005-06 is presented to Dr. D. Lazar, Dept. of Commerce. Rev. Fr. L. Yeddanapalli, SJ Research Award for Science Teachers for the academic year 2005-06 is presented to Dr. P. Sagayaraj, Dept. of Physics. Rev. Fr. Racine, SJ Research Award is given to Prof. T. Pathinathan and Ms. M. Chris Monica, Dept. of Mathematics. The ‘Good Samaritan Award’ (given to the most deserving person who helps others at the time of their need) goes to Tony Prakash, ( 05-PH-47) of I Year B.Sc. Physics.

Another Chemistry alumnus shines in US

2006-03-21T18:40:00.000Z

Prof. PALANI-RAJAN KADAPAKKAM, a B.Sc. Chemistry graduate (1977) from Loyola is serving as a Professor of Finance at the University of Texas at San-Antonio. It is really a huge jump from Chemistry to Finance and his CV speaks his success.

Dr J. Ratnakar joins Southwestern University Medical School

2006-02-22T13:42:00.000Z

Dr James Ratnakar has joined the Southwestern University Medical School, Texas as a Postdoctoral fellow to work on MRI applications. Dr Ratnakar obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Madras through Loyola College, Chennai under the supervision of Prof. V. Alexander. His thesis title was "Synthesis and relaxivity studies of gadolinium (III) complexes of biomacromolecule appended polyazapolycarboxylates macrocycles”. Dr Ratnakar worked as a Research Fellow in a DAE project at Loyola and also has a Masters degree in Chemistry from Bishop Heber College.

ERI is 9th best institution in Biotechnology in India

2006-02-22T13:31:00.000Z

Entomology Research Institute (ERI) of Loyola College, Chennai has been rated the 9th best institution among all private and publicly funded institutions of higher learning in the field of biotechnology in the country.

The institute was founded in 1964 by professor T. N. Ananthakrishnan, and while its name reveals its original focus of studying insects, through the years the institute has widened its scope to bring the rural people and especially farmers to work in a more environmentally friendly way. The present director is Fr. S. Ignacimuthu, SJ, who has a doctorate in genetics and has done extensive work in insect-plant interaction.

Fr Xavier Alphone SJ appointed as UGC member

2006-02-21T15:08:00.000Z

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has appointed Rev. Fr. Dr. Xavier Alphonse SJ of Loyola College Chennai as a Member of University Grants Commission (UGC) for a term of three years from 8 Feb 2006. Fr. Alphonse SJ also heads the Madras Centre for Research and Development of Community Education (MCRDC), Chennai and is the former Principal of Loyola College (1992-1995).

Resource centre at Loyola for 'special needs students'...

2006-01-23T17:20:00.000Z

Loyola College has launched a resource centre to take care of the needs of its special students in collaboration with Vidya Vrikshah, an organisation for the differently-abled. Envisaged as a model for higher learning institutions elsewhere, the Resource Centre for the Differently-Abled will provide a full range of solutions to address the special needs of the 48 visually challenged students of the college. It will also put in place a mechanism for mobilising voluntary services of the student community to serve the diverse needs of the special youth.

Loyola students Vikas Munoth and Akhilesh Malani, both visually impaired, gave a brief demonstration of `Jaws' software applications, while Raja along with his sighted peer Mohanansundaram showed why the Indian language software developed by IIT Madras bagged the President's medal for the best IT solution for the disabled last year. "Jaws' software versions were donated by U.S.-based NGO Anne Foundation, while the Katpadi-based Worth Trust donated five computer application kits.

Source: The Hindu

A short CV of 'Padma Shree' Dr Paul Ratnasamy

2006-01-16T17:37:00.000Z

Dr Paul Ratnasamy was a PhD student of Rev. Fr. LM Yeddannapalli and here is his career history.

Dr. Paul Ratnasamy was born on June 11, 1942. He had his higher education (B.Sc. 1961, M.Sc., 1963 and Ph.D., 1967) at Loyola College, Madras. He subsequently joined the Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam, New York as a Post doctoral fellow with Prof. D. Rosenthal (1967-69) and then moved to the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium as a research associate under Prof. J.J. Friplat (1969-72).

Before joining NCL in 1979, he spent few years at Indian institute of Petroleum, Dehra Dun and one year at the University of Munchen as a Senior Humboldt Fellowto work with Prof. H. Knozinger. He established the Catalysis Division at NCL in 1980 and was its Head until he took over as the Director in 1996. He stepped down on his superannuation in June 2002.

Dr Ratnasamy has made substantial contributions to both fundamental research and the application of catalysis. His research has resulted in the publication of over 160 papers in international journals and about 125 patent applications (Including 35 granted outside India). He has supervised the thesis of 20 Ph.D. Students.

Dr. Ratnasamy has received several honours in his career. These include the Vasvik Award in 1982, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1984 in Engineering Sciences, K. G. Nalk Gold Medal in 1989, Bangur Memorial Award in 1989, Om Prakash Bhasin Award in 1992 and Viswakarrna Medal by the Indian National Academy in 1994, The President of India Honored Dr Ratnasamy with Padma Shree in 2001. Dr. Ratnasamy is a member of all the distinguished academies in science in India and the Third World Academy of Science, Trieste, Italy. More recently, Dr. Ratnasamy has been honored with the Srinivasa Ramanujam Research Professorship of the Indian National Science Academy for the period 2004-2009.

Thanks: ncl-India.org

Loyola Alumni Directory...

2006-01-13T19:16:00.000Z

The Loyola Alumni Association has launched its Alumni database. Alumni members can look up their details or search for information on their batch-mates. A search can be made on the alumni database by keying in any of the four options provided namely, alumni no, name, course or subject. Click the link below to be navigated to the Loyola College Alumni home.

Directory Link