The Department of Chemistry, St. Michael’s College, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India in association with Government College, Kottayam, Kerala, India and Inter University Instrumentation Centre (IUIC) Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India organized International Conference on Photochemistry and Sustainable Energy (ICPSE 2019) during October 16-19, 2019 at Camelot Convention Centre, Alleppey. The programme was supported by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Collegiate Education Department, Government of Kerala. The focus of the conference includes, Organic Electronics, Alternate Renewable Energy, Photochemistry, Fuel Cells, Photovoltaic Materials and Devices etc. Scientists from various countries such as, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, USA and Poland participated and delivered valuable talks in the conference.

As part of this program, we have arranged a pre-conference named ‘Meet the Scientist’, an interactive session between the eminent scientists and students of scientific aptitude from various schools and colleges. The session is expected to provide a platform for the students to talk with research scientists on an informal basis and to explore their views on science and technology.

The Third National Seminar on Recent Advances in Photochemistry (NSPC 2019) was held on 21st and 22nd of February 2019. The Seminar was cosponsored by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology & Environment (KSCSTE), Thiruvananthapuram. The official meeting was presided by Msgr., Rev. Fr. Pious Arattukulam, Vicar General of Alappuzha Diocese and the inauguration was done by Prof. K. Girish Kumar, Head, Dept. of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, (CUSAT). Inaugural ceremony was followed by a key note address by Prof. K. Girish Kumar. The first invited talk of this session was on the applications of ultrafast spectroscopy by Dr. Karunakaran Venugopal, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This was followed by the next invited talk by Dr. Reji Varghese of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on supramolecular chemistry with DNA. The second session consisted of two invited talks. Dr. Beneesh P.B, from National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Suratkal gave the first invited talk. The title of the talk was “Sustainable Synthetic Routes in Organic Chemistry”. The next topic on “Developing Chemo Sensors for Detection of Hazardous ions” was handled by Dr. A. Sreekanth of National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Five oral presentations were carried out which included presentations from teachers as well as research scholars of other institutions.

The first session of the second day started with an invited talk by Dr. Radhika Thankappan of C-MET, Thrissur. The talk was mainly focused on the next generation application and opportunities of Photochemistry. This talk was followed by the talk on “C-H Bond Activation by Fe and Mn-Oxo Systems: Guiding Rules for Reactivity” by Dr. Deepa Janardanan, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod. Dr. Prinson P. Samuel from Christian College, Chengannur gave the last talk of the series on the topic cyclic alkyl amino carbene stabilized complexes with low coordinate metals. After the session, oral presentations were conducted. Dr. P. Manoj, Head, Department of Chemistry, St. Michael’s College, Cherthala presided over valedictory functions and certificates were distributed.

NSPC -2019 witnessed the participation of around 150 members including scientists and research students. It was a good platform for knowledge dissemination among the participants and for the scientists and researchers and to share their novel research findings. The successful completion of the third series of this national seminar has also instilled a drive in the organizers in continuing this series again over the coming years.

The Department of Chemistry, St. Michael’s College, Cherthala & Centre for Environment Education and Technology (CEET), Kottayam jointly organized the International Conference on Membranes from September 30 – October 3, 2017, at Camelot Convention Centre, Alleppey. The programme was supported by Kerala State Council for Science Environment and Technology (KSCSTE, Thiruvananthapuram) and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, India. The focal theme of the conference was Membrane Science and Technology which also included sub themes like development of green materials based on membranes, membranes in water purification, air purification, desalination, medical applications of membranes, development of carbon capture membranes (in the context of climate change), alternate energy using fuel cells etc. Scientists from across the globe like Italy, Russia, Germany, Japan, Denmark etc. participated in the seminar and provided deep insight into the fundamental aspects of membranes and their modifications, as well as in the environmental and biological applications. The conference was inaugurated by The Finance Minister of Kerala, Dr. Thomas Issac. The Minister discussed on the various problems faced by the district in water treatment and waste management and its recycling. He also emphasized the need for the employment of proper scientific measures for this purpose. The role of educational institutions like St. Michael’s College in this filed was also clearly mentioned. Prof. (Dr.) C. T Aravindakumar, School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, addressed the gathering. The function was presided by Dr. V. Mathew, Principal of the college. Dr. K. Usha welcomed the gathering. The proceedings of ICM 2017 were released by the college manager Rev. Fr. Nelson Thaiparambil by handing over to Dr. Giovanni Golemme, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials University of Calabria, Italy. The session ended with a vote of thanks by Dr. P. Manoj, Head of the Department of Chemistry, St. Michael’s College.

The five plenary sessions which followed the inaugural day were handled by Dr. Giovanni Golemme (Italy), Dr. Lalit Vashishta (Mumbai), Prof. Hiromitsu Takaba, Dr. S. Sridhar (CSIR, IICT) and Dr. Jayshree Ramkumar (BAARC, India). In the evening the dinner was hosted at the St. Michael’s College open air auditorium along with a colorful Kathakali performance, the traditional art form of Kerala for the delegates and seminar participants. The Bishop of Aleppey Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Athipozhiyil, Vicar General Msgr. Pious Arattukulam, Aroor M. L. A. Adv. M. Arif, District panchayath secretary, retired staff of the college and various dignitaries in and around the campus attended the function. The plenary sessions on 02-10-2017 were conducted by Dr. Denis Roizard (France) and Dr. Andreas Kaiser (Denmark). Young researchers and students of various colleges presented their papers on research findings. There were also poster presentations by different scientists and research students during the conference. A boat trip was conducted for the seminar attendees in the evening through the Aleppey backwaters. The final day of the conference included two plenary sessions handled by Dr. Mikihiro Nomura (Japan), Dr. Ulhas K. Kharul (Pune). The valedictory function started at around 4.00 pm in the evening. The conference witnessed the participation of a number scientists and research students from within and outside the country. It was a platform for the researchers to share and contribute their knowledge on novel research findings. There was a meeting of the delegates of the conference with the Finance Minister of Kerala Dr. Thomas Isaac during the last day of the conference. The conference team visited the aerobic waste treatment plant of the district. The meeting discussed the various methods which could be adopted for the water treatment and purification methods. As coir industry was one of the major sources of income of the Aleppey District, measures were planned and arranged to separate the main water pollutants arising during coir manufacture. As an outcome of the conference, a proposal on waste water treatment occurring during coir manufacture was submitted to the finance minister jointly by the School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam and Department of Chemistry, St. Michael’s College, and coordinators of the seminar.

The Second National Seminar on Recent Advances in Photochemistry (NSPC 2015) was held on 3-4, December 2015 in association with Nanotechnology and Advanced Material Research Centre, C.M.S. College, Kottayam. The Seminar was cosponsored by Nanotechnology and Advanced Material Centre (NAMRC), CMS College & sponsored by University Grants Commission (UGC), India.

Delegates from different universities and colleges were heartily welcomed to the college Seminar Hall for the inaugural session. Meeting was presided over by Dr. Mathew V, Principal of St. Michael’s College and Inauguration was done by Prof. V. Ramakrishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram. Rev. Fr. Solomon Charanghat, Manager of St. Michael’s College and Dr. P. Rajagopal, Director, Nanotechnology and Advanced Material Research Centre, C.M.S. College, Kottayam were present for the meeting. Inaugural ceremony was followed by key note address by Prof. V. Ramakrishnan.

The first technical session was chaired by Dr. Halan Prakash from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Goa. The first lecture of this technical session was by Dr. V. Sadasivan, University College, Thiruvananthapuram and his topic of lecture was Inorganic Photochemistry. Second Invited talk of this session was by Dr. K.S. Satheesh Kumar from University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram on the topic Emerging Research Fronts in Photochemistry using Citation Network Analysis.

After the lunch break, the second session started and was chaired by Dr. V. Sadasivanfrom University of Kerala. This session consists of three Invited talks. The first talk was by Dr. Edamana Prasad from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai. The title of the talk was “Photophysical Properties of Self assembled Systems”. This talk was followed by an invited talk on Photochemistry and Advanced Oxidation Processes by Dr. Halan Prakash from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Goa. The Last invited talk of this session was by Dr. Prakash Chandran from N.S.S. College, Kottiyam on FRET and Biological processes.

On second day (04-12-2015), the first invited talk of the session was by Dr. Mahesh Hariharan from IISER, Thiruvananthapuram. His lecture was based on the strategies to reduce the rate of charge recombination in bulk heterojunction solar cells. This talk was followed by invited talk on Light Harvesting Dendrimers by Dr. Zeena S. Pillai from Amrita Viswa Vidyapetham, Kollam. The morning technical sessions were continued with short presentations of teachers and students from different colleges. Seven delegates from various institutions presented their papers.

There was a meeting of young scientists from different colleges/institutes and that was a platform where they discussed about the emerging trends in the field of photochemistry. The major discussion was the sharing of instrumentation facilities available in the neighboring colleges which will help the research students working in various colleges/institutes. After the meet, valedictory function started and Dr. P. Manoj, Head, Department of Chemistry, presided over the function and certificates were distributed.

NSPC -2015 witnessed the participation of around 160 members including scientists and research students from various institutes. The program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion from institutions and organizations, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. In addition to premier talks, the seminar has designated time for poster sessions from various institutions. The feedback from students and researchers was the driving force for pursuing the seminar series. again, over the coming years.

The First National Seminar on Recent Advances in Photochemistry (NSPC 2013) was held during 5-6, December 2013 in association with Inter University Instrumentation Centre (IUIC), M.G University Kottayam and sponsored by University Grants Commission (UGC), India. Resource persons from reputed institutes, Pro. C.T. Aravindakumar (School of Environmental Sciences M.G University Kottayam), Dr. T. S Anirudhan (School of Chemical Sciences, University of Kerala), Dr. Halan Prakash (Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Goa), Dr. Mahesh Hariharan, (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram) (IISER), Dr. Joshy Joseph (National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram), Dr. Vipin Ipe Thomas (Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, United States of America) Dr. Valerie Baslon, (Universite de Montreal, Canada) were handled various sessions.

The seminar was focused on advances in Solar Energy Conversion, Photocatalysis, Environmental Photochemistry, Photo induced Energy and photon transfer, Photobiology etc. NSPC 2013 reflects the overlap of multi-disciplinary field with Photochemistry, Material Chemistry, Photobiology and Environmental sciences. Offering a fertile ground and stimulating conditions for cross-disciplinary exchange of knowledge among researchers, students and more experienced scientists is one of the many assets of the NSPC series.