Post 3

The week was already off to a fast start, with no plans of slowing down. On Wednesday we had the opportunity to talk to important people, tour interesting labs and even have some fun in the afternoon. The day started with a zoom call with the Vice-President of NEHIR Himalayan Sansthan, Dr. Neeraj Pant, of which we will be visiting next Tuesday for a three day stay. Through this meeting we got a introduction to the work that is being done by NEHIR non-profit organization in Almora, Uttarakhand. The ultimate goal of our stay in India is to identify a problem, and come up with a solution in cooperation with the community, so this meeting greatly helps us in determining the potential areas we can help. In addition, with the information we learned from the meeting, we will be able to ask more probing questions when we arrive there, which will greatly improve our understanding of the community, including their problems and culture. 

In the afternoon, we toured the Department of Hydrology at IIT Roorkee. Here, the professor gave us a brief presentation on their hydrology program, which is for Master's and PhD students. Most students here studied civil engineering for their undergraduate degree. After the introduction, we visited their lab, where graduate students showed us various machines and explained their work. Some interesting projects include the development of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers, and threads that were hollow in the centre to allow matter to pass through that could be used for air or water filters. It was very cool to see their research!

In the evening, we had the pleasure of visiting the Center for Nanotechnology. We chatted a bit about some of the differences in schooling between in India and in Canada, and then had a tour of their labs. Their labs were packed with machines, which was so cool to see, but what I found most interesting was that each machine served a purpose. This might sound obvious, but as they were explaining each machine, it clicked in my brain that these researchers not only understand what each and every machine does, but also how they work, and how to use them for their research. Although I have always known that researchers are incredibly intelligent people, this really put it into perspective, because while I was just trying to understand the basic concept of the department, they could name each and every machine, what they do, and how they work.

We wrapped up the day by playing badminton with the professors. It provided great stress relief and a fun exercise break from work and meetings. A friendly stranger from Himgiri Apartment joined us midway through! To end the night, we feasted on chicken biryani, courtesy of Professor Bibhuti.