NIT Andhra Pradesh conducts online GIAN course for PG students

TADEPALLIGUDEM: The National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh is conducting a short-term online GIAN course on ‘Risk and Life Cycle Assessment of Engineered Nanoparticles in the Environment’ between March 14 to 18, 2022.

The course is open to students pursuing post-graduate degrees in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology and researchers from government organizations including research and development laboratories and private firms. Also, faculty from academic institutions from Engineering and Life Sciences interested in risk assessment can also join this online course, NIT Andhra Pradesh said in a press statement.

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This online course is organized by the Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Andhra Pradesh and sponsored by Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN), Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Highlighting the unique aspects of this online course during the inaugural session on March 14, CSP Rao, Director, NIT Andhra Pradesh, said, “At present, various Nanomaterials (NMs) are widely used in different fields of application and found in various consumer products. Nanoparticles can undergo a number of potential transformations that depend on both the properties of the ENM and the local environment, such as aggregation, dissolution, oxidation, sulfidation, and other surface alterations. These transformations complicate our understanding of their long-term fate and implications are still relatively poorly understood. Concerns about the potential environmental risks induced by the exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENM) are growing.”

Further, Rao added, “Although many benefits of NMs applications in various sectors have been reported, the widespread use of NMs in development and applications may exhibit potential health and environmental risks which might not yet be fully understood. There is also a concern on the environmental sustainability of NMs pathways contributing to environmental problems. Accordingly, this course will provide a detailed insight and I strongly feel that this course attempts to fill this void.”

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Dinesh Shankar Reddy, registrar NIT Andhra Pradesh, presented an overview about the progress and evolution of NIT Andhra Pradesh to the participants during the inaugural session.

Vinoth Kumar Raja, the coordinator of the Institute’s GIAN section highlighted about the GIAN initiative and the importance of Indian faculty collaborating with the foreign faculty in skill building.

Addressing the online course, Brajesh Kumar Dubey, Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, said, that Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have found applications in over 3000 consumer products with new applications being identified on a daily basis.

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“These man made nanoparticles can reach various sources such as soil, surface water, sub-surface water etc. This scenario leads to exposure of ENPs to humans and have risk of affecting the human health. This course will therefore focus on understanding the risk associated with ENPs in living systems,” the institute said.

The primary objectives of the course are as follows.

i) Exposing participants to the fundamentals of ENPs behavior in different environmental matrices including water and soil;

ii) Understanding the chemistry behind the interaction of ENPs with microbes, characterization

techniques to elucidate interactions, and evaluation of toxicity; and

a. Enhancing the capability of the participants to:

b. Determine the Concentration of ENPs in Aqueous Environment.

c. Risk Assessment, Risk Communication and Risk Management

d. Life Cycle Analysis

The participants of this course will understand the concepts outlined above, through lectures and case studies.