KATHMANDU, Nov 2: With slogan ‘Our young scientists: our strength, our hope’, the sixth Asia Pacific Conference of Young Scientists (APCYS 2017) is all set to kick-off from November 1 to 5 at Park Village Resort, Budanilkantha. This mega conference is being hosted for the first time in Nepal by the Research Center for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST), Tribhuvan University.
The five-day meet is being held with the objective to promote scientific research and innovation among students from the school level. Prof Dr Rameshwar Adhikari, executive director of RECAST and chairperson of APCYS 2017, said, “A country without science cannot progress. We have business potential in hydropower, herbs and solar energy among others. However, we don’t have a favorable environment for scientific research on those sectors. We aim to encourage students to pursue science and technology through the conference.”
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According to Jyoti Giri, conference organizer and assistant professor of Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, participants for the conference have been selected from 11 countries, including Nepal, on the basis of their scientific projects. As many as two dozens of scientific projects by the participants will be judged by a jury panel on the basis of their presentation and the scientific relevance of their projects.
Though the conference title says Asian Pacific Conference of Young Scientists, it will also have participants from across Asia Pacific, including Russia, Slovenia and Thailand.
Mert Ege Arici, one of the participants from Turkey, has a project about ‘Development of Lectin Affinity Hydrogel Membrane Systems for Antibody Recognition’. Talking about his project, he said, “If you have a disease, you need to go through an antibody therapy. The therapy costs 400 Euros for six weeks. But with my project, one will need to pay only two dollars for the antibody therapy.”
Bisnu Shrestha, a student of Durbar High School, is scheduled to give a presentation on ‘Oligodynamic Action of Traditionally Significant Metals on Bacteria’. His project is based on an experiment that traditional copper utensils are bacteria free. He wants to prove through that project that traditional utensils are more hygienic than the modern ones.
The previous editions of APCYS were organized in Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and India.
