Asia's first horizontal type transmission electron microscope built by a team of scientists from Kolkata in the 1940s was showcased for public display at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) on Wednesday.

The unveiling of the microscope to the public marks a two-day international conference of electron microscopy, which began on Wednesday.

"The equipment on display reflects the rich scientific heritage of the country as well as West Bengal," the convener of the conference, SINP's Arun Kumar Pal said.

The equipment was built in two years by a team of scientists led by N.N. Dasgupta, a well known biophysicist associated with the SINP and University of Calcutta.

"Dasgupta not only built the equipment along with fellow scientists, but also did research work in biophysics with the help of the equipment, and published papers in science journals," Pal said.

"By putting the equipment on display we want to show budding scientists and students that we were on par with the rest of the world in the development of the electron microscope even five to six decades ago," Gautam Kumar Dey, president of the Electron Microscope Society of India (EMSI) said.

The conference has been jointly organised by SINP and EMSI and will witness participation of 400 people from across the world engaged in electron microscopy.
(Agencies)
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04 Jul 2013, 05:40 PM