President's Message

Respected Members,

Warm Greetings!

At the outset, let me record my gratitude to each and every one of you for elevating me to the prestigious position of President, ASSET, which was previously served my respected seniors and stalwarts in the field of Separation Science.

Today, world witnesses an incredible advancement in science and technology wherein there is no field where separation science is not involved. Research in the field of separation science plays a pivotal role in all sciences particularly in life sciences, physical sciences, earth sciences and applied sciences like engineering, medicine etc. Separation technologies that evolved from the basic research are used in every industrial sector which includes chemicals, pharmaceuticals, materials production, electronics, energy, natural resources, food etc. Separation science and technology has made outstanding contributions to mineral extraction and processing which in turn paved a pioneering role in protecting environment.

Separation science plays a crucial role in devising reliable schemes for wastewater and industrial effluent treatments. Remediation of water pollution is another area where separation science has been contributing immensely. We could witness the availability of potable water treated from contaminated water particularly with fluorine, arsenic etc. in rural areas. Membrane based separation technologies made stupendous contributions towards resolving the challenges associated with water purification.

In nuclear science, separation science is involved in every part of the technology, say, starting from the separation of ores, extraction of nuclear materials, fabrication of fuels, quality assurance of fuels and reactor materials, post irradiation examinations, production of heavy water, recycling of spent fuel and nuclear waste management. Separation science is inevitable in the enrichment or in the production of several isotopes for the use of nuclear medicine. In addition to the conventional both physical and chemical separations employed for separating isotopes, Laser Separation is the emerging separation technology as it has many advantages in the separation of isotopes.

The Association of Separation Scientists and Technologists (ASSET) binds the Scientists and Engineers across the country through its various activities for the cause of achieving novel and efficient separations in various sectors of science and technology that would take the country to a great height in all its achievements. Some of the important scientific endeavors of ASSET are the DAE-BRNS Biennial Symposium on “Emerging Trends in Separation Science & Technology, popularly known as SESTEC series of symposia, Theme meetings, Half-day Seminars, ASSET-Special Lectures, Padma shree Dr. Srikumar Banerjee Memorial Lecture and ASSET-Day invited talks etc.

ASSET encourages the young scientists by bestowing awards, namely, Thermax-ASSET Best Ph.D. Thesis Award and Thermax-ASSET Best M.Tech. Award every year. In honour of the late Dr. Priyanath Pathak, “Dr.P.N. Pathak Memorial Award” has also been instituted to honor a senior scientist in recognizing his/her extraordinary accomplishments in the field of separation science and technology. ASSET also encourages the budding scientists, who are mostly the research scholars, with best paper presentation awards during SESTEC symposia.

ASSET has been receiving unwavering support over the past 20 years from our respected seniors and great visionaries like Prof. M.M. Sharma, Dr. A. Kakodkar, Dr. S. Banerjee, Prof. R.A. Mashelkar, Prof. J.B. Joshi, Prof. G.D. Yadav, Prof. A.B. Pandit, and many others. I express my gratitude to the previous ASSET presidents, including Prof. V.K. Manchanda, Prof. K.L. Ramakumar, Prof. B.S. Tomar and Prof. P.K. Pujari, Prof. P.K. Mohapatra and other senior office holders Prof. T.G. Srinivasan, Prof. N. Sivaraman, Prof. C.P. Kaushik, and Prof. S. Kannan, for their steadfast backing.

I am grateful to Dr. P.G. Jaison and Dr. Brahmananda Rao (Vice-Presidents), Dr. Aishwarya Soumitra Kar (Gen.Secretary), Dr. Rubel Chakaravarty (Treasurer), Dr. Sumana Pal (Jt. Secretary), Dr. Rajesh Gujar(Jt. Treasurer), Dr. Arijit Sengupta (Editor) and the other EC members for shouldering the responsibilities.

I am thankful to all the Life members of ASSET for their unconditional support in all the endeavors of ASSET and request them to kindly bring the young separation scientists and engineers under the ASSET umbrella. I seek your wholehearted support and ideas to continue the ASSET’s efforts to encourage the professionals in the field of separation science and technology.

With warm regards

Jeyakumar Subbiah
Head, Radiochemistry Division
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre &
Professor in Chemical Sciences
Homi Bhabha National Institute