FACULTY and students at DAV University got a rare opportunity to interact with Professor Kapil Hari Paranjape – one of the pioneers of Algebraic Mathematics in the world. Professor Paranjape, who was the Convener of a two-day Academies’ Lecture Workshop on Algebra and Number Theory said that a teacher could only play his role as a motivator in the process of learning.
Prof Paranjape was interacting with students at the workshop organized by DAV University in collaboration with Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Science – three major scientific organizations in India. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr A K Paul, Vice-Chancellor while DrJasbir Rishi, Dean (Academics), DrRekhaKalia Bhardwaj (Registrar) and Dr Raj Kumar, organizing secretary of the workshop were also present.
Professor Kapil Hari Paranjapewas awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2005 – the highest science award in India – for outstanding contributions in the field of algebraic geometry. Professor Paranjape’s achievements included about eight-year stint at different visiting positions at California Institute of Technology between 2001 and 2009. At present, he serves at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali.
Other highlights of the workshop included workshops and activity sessions on the advancement in mathematical research and its application in real life. The experts said that Mathematics had been influencing life of every individual and the world managed by smart devices including personal computers could not function in the absence of mathematical calculations.
Another noted algebraist Dr Dinesh Khurana from Panjab University said that Mathematics had always evoked curiosity and fascination among brilliant minds of the world.The modern world owes its existence to Mathematics to a large extent. Citing example of prime numbers, he said that they have mesmerized scientists and the experts across the world. They have been working relentlessly to discover biggest prime number. The biggest prime number discovered till date has 22338618 digits. A prime number is a number which cannot be divided by any other number. Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) – a collaborative project of volunteers to search for prime numbers – has been in the process of finding even bigger prime numbers.
Professor Chanchal Kumar from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali discussed complicated pure mathematical concepts like “Group Actions and Their Applications”.Dr Amit Kulshrestha from IISER Mohali said spoke on Matrices and Quadratic Forms.