The department of Physics PG and UG, in collaboration with Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA) and in association with the Association of Physics Teachers of Mangalore University (APTMU), has organized a two-day workshop titled "Nuclear Radiation: Experiments and Instrumentation" on May 19th and 20th, 2022.

The inaugural session of the workshop began with the lighting of the lamp. The Very Rev. Fr. Jerome Lawrence Mascarenhas, Correspondent of the College, was the President of the inaugural function. The Inaugurator of the Workshop was Dr Yerol Narayana, Professor, Department of Physics, Mangalore University. The Rev. Dr Antony Prakash Monteiro, Principal of the College, and Dr B.P. Ajith Kumar, Former Senior Scientist, IUAC, New Delhi, were the guests of honor.

The president of the function, Fr. Lawrence, said that; Dr. B.P. Ajith Kumar and his team members, Dr. A M Vinod Kumar and Dr. Jithin B.P., are doing a great job by founding their own laboratory instrument company and thereby supplying the instruments to all colleges and industries/laboratories at a very low cost.

In his inaugural address, Dr Yerol Narayana, said that; after getting a high science degree in a particular field from a university or college, it is the responsibility of the individual to spread the roots of science in villages and rural areas of the country.

The guest, Dr. Ajith Kumar, explained the significance and importance of their indigenous instruments over other costly instruments available on the market.

The Principal, Rev Dr Antony Prakash Monteiro, said, "Today laboratory instruments are very costly to buy and sophisticated instruments have to be procured from foreign countries. This is because in India we lack the technological knowledge to manufacture most of the instruments. In this regard, the effort of Dr BP Ajith Kumar and his team is really praiseworthy in developing indigenous technology".

The convener of the programme, Dr AP Radhakrishna, welcomed the guests. The co-convener Dr E Deepak D'Silva thanked all who supported the workshop. Dr. K. Chandrashekar of the Department of Physics was the MC. The prayer was sung by the 2nd year M.Sc. student group led by Pramitha. After the inaugural session, the technical sessions began. On the first day (19th May), the two sessions in the morning were by Dr Yerol Narayana and Dr A M Vinod Kumar (Professor, Physics Department, Calicut University) respectively on "Nuclear Radiation in the Environment and its Measurement Techniques" and "Nuclear Detectors and Their Development". An afternoon session was conducted by Dr BP Ajith Kumar on "Alpha Detection." After that, there was hands-on training on "Source Preparation."

On the second day, May 20th, three technical sessions were held: "Affordable Nuclear Instruments," "Non-enriched Radioactive Sources for Teaching" by Dr B.P. Ajith Kumar and "Gamma Detection and Measurements" by Dr A M Vinod Kumar. In the afternoon, Dr B.P. Ajith Kumar and Dr Jithin B.P. (CSpark Research, New Delhi) did the training session on "Gamma Detection and Measurement-Hands on Training".

The 2-day workshop was concluded with thanksgiving by Dr AP Radhakrishna. There were about 60 participants from various colleges who were actively involved throughout the workshop.