Image: Dr. Arun Varshneya with AIGMF dignitaries, students and teachers.
At the invitation of The All India Glass Manufactures’ Federation (AIGMF), Dr. Arun Varshneya, President of Society of Glass Technology (SGT), United Kingdom and supported of the International Year of Glass 2022 (IYoG) held interactive sessions with students from St. Thomas School and Delhi Technological University on 30 November in Delhi.
The programme at the school saw a participation of around 300 students from 9th and 11th standards and the topic chosen by Prof. Varshneya was ‘Stronger Glass Products’ and an IYoG overview.
A tribute was paid by the Eco-club students, teachers, Prof. Varshneya and the AIGMF to Mahatma Gandhi, who used to walk at the St. Thomas school grounds, by holding glass bottles with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (clean India campaign) logo (adopted from the spectacles of Mahatma Gandhi by the government of India) and the IYoG logo.
Prof. Varshneya made the sessions very interesting over some simple experiments which created a lot of enthusiasm amongst the students. Mr. Purvish Shah, Office Bearer of AIGMF and Director of the Gopal Glass Works Ltd. in Ahmedabad, gave an overview on the Indian glass industry and Mr. Vinit Kapur, AIGMF Secretary, highlighted the importance and need of building academic and CSR linkages for environmental and health reasons.
Thomas’ Girls Sr. Sec. School, Mandir Marg, New Delhi said: "Students were very happy to discover the magical world of glass. They learnt many facts and were eager to engage in knowing the properties, types and career prospects. We deeply thank Dr. Arun Varshneya, Mr. Purvish Shah and Mr. Vinit Kapur to help students understand that glass can transform our future and help us build a sustainable tomorrow. Thank you to the entire IYoG team for an engaging experience ‘Glistening Glass for a Greener Tomorrow’".
Prof. Varshneya is also President of Saxon Glass Technologies as well as Professor of Glass Science & Engineering, Emeritus, at Alfred University, New York, USA.
His recent interview in Glass Worldwide (exclusive preferred AIGMF journal in association with Kanch) can be read at https://www.glassworldwide.co.uk/pdf-issues/message-president.
Prof. A.S. Rao, Head, Department of Applied Physics, Delhi Technological University enthused: “A Technical Talk by Prof. Arun Varshneya was organised by the Department of Applied Physics in association with The All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation on Nov 30, 2022. Prof. Varshneya interacted with our students showcasing the growing importance of glass and its popularity in packaging and building material. He has covered the topics from fundamentals to advances in glass science and technology. Discussions were carried on the further technical cooperation and research collaborations in Glass Science and Technology with the support of AIGMF. Thanks to Prof. Varshneya, Mr. Purvish Shah and Mr. Vinit Kapur for their presence at DTU. We have received overwhelming responses from the students within a short time. Dean (Academic-PG) Prof. Rinku Sharma, Faculty Members and Research Scholars have attended the program. More than 80 members participated to make the event a grand success.”
