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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

ST.XAVIERS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), PALAYAMKOTTAI

REPORT ON ALL ACTIVITIES (2012-2018)

ACADEMIC YEAR 2013-2014

PHYSICS ASSOCIATION INAUGURATION:

The department of Physics has started the association activities from the inauguration of

the Physics association. The inauguration has been held at Caussanel hall, St. Xavier’s College

on 6th

August 2013. Mr. Krishna Kumar, Engineer (Mobile Services), BSNL, Tirunelveli has

inaugurated the association and delivered the inaugural address on “Important aspects in

Communication” and the presidential address was delivered by Rev. Fr. V. Gilburt Camillus

S.J., The Principal, St. Xavier’s College. The chief guest addressed the current employment

oppurtunities in the field of communication and stressed the necessary higher studies to be

persued.

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SEMINAR:

The department has arranged a seminar on “Recent Advances in Space Technology” in

the College campus on 8th

October 2013. The seminar was given by Mr.Kanniah, Senior

Scientist from Indian Space Research Organisation, Mahendragiri. Our principal Rev. Fr. V.

Gilburt Camillus S.J. has inaugurated the seminar, which was attended by all the B.Sc (I, II and

III yr) and M.Sc (I and II yr) students. The chief guest has discussed the various departments and

the operations/projects carried out in ISRO, Mahendragiri and compared the advancement in

technology across the globe in the field of space research.

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VISIT TO KUDANKULAM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT:

The department has arranged a visit to Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in

which I year B.Sc students along with the staff members have visited the power plant on 30th

September 2013. First, Dr. Pandaram, Scientist at KKNPP has given a power point presentation

regarding the principles, features, design and the safety measures employed in the construction

of KKNPP. Then, the students were taken to the reactor building. The students have visited the

reactors including the core.

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VISIT TO BSNL:

The department has arranged a visit to BSNL, Tirunelveli on 9th

December 2013. The

IIIrd

year B.Sc students accompanied by the staff members have visited. They were exposed to

the different functioning of BSNL like production and the service of landline networks, function

and service of the networks such as GPC, BTS, GPRS, functioning of the broad band section,

optical fiber communication …. Etc

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PHYSCOM 2013-14:

The department of Physics has conducted an intercollegiate Physics meet (PHYSCOM

2013-14) on 24th

January 2014. PHYSCOM was inaugurated by Rev. Fr. Principal Dr. V. Gilburt

Camillus and the valedictory address was delivered by Rev. Fr. Rector Dr. Danis Ponniah.

Students from nearly 20 colleges in Tamilnadu along with the staff members participated in the

competitions designed and planned by the students of our department. The overall championship

was won by the students from Govindammal Adithanar College for Women, Tiruchendur.

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PHYSICS ASSOCIATION VALEDICTION:

The valediction function of the Physics Association held at Caussanel hall on 26th

February 2014. Rev. Fr Danis Ponniah, The Rector and Rev.Fr. Gilburt Camillus, The Principal

have felicitated the function and the Valedictory address was given by Rev. Fr. R. Jesu Michael

Das, The Secretary, St. Xavier’s College. A guest lecture on “Physics in Medicine” has been

arranged and was delivered by Dr.K.Mummoorthy, Department of Community Medicine,

Tuticorin Government Medical College, Tuticorin. This year onwards, it is decided to award the

meritorious student and to help the deserving poor students of the department.

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ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015

PHYSICS ASSOCIATION INAUGURATION:

The Inauguration of Physics Association was held on 12th

August 2014. It was

presided by Rev.Fr.Dr. Gilburt Camillus S.J., The Principal, St. Xavier's College and felicitated

by Rev Fr.Dr. Danis Ponniah S.J., The Rector, St. Xavier's Institutions. Dr.V.Chinna Thambi,

Associate Professor of Sri. KGS Arts College, Srivaikuntam inaugurated the association with his

address on "Chaos and Fractals", very important concepts of Nonlinear dynamics. He

addressed the concept with the real life examples and encouraged the students to choose the topic

as research which has a vital potential in the area of physics and mathematics.

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VISIT TO KUDANKULAM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT:

On 3rd

September 2014, I and III year UG students and II year PG students have visited

the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant along with the Head of Department Dr.S.Paulraj and staff

members Rev. Fr. Dr. Danis Ponniah S.J., Dr. D. Prem Anand, Dr. G. David Rathinavelu, Dr. V.

Sivashankar, Dr. B. Helina, Mr. Augustin and Mr. Christhuraj. It has been a wonderful

oppurtunity for the students to interact with the scientists and visit the plant which they are asked

to visualize via theory. The working of the Plant and the waste water management has been

explained by the scientists of KKNPP.

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PHYSCOM 2014-2015:

The Department of Physics has organized an intercollegiate physics meet (PHYSCOM –

2014) for UG students on 9th

September 2014. There were one hundred and fifty students from

fifteen various colleges actively participated in different competitions frame worked by the UG

Physics students of St. Xavier's college. The competitions were paper presentation, quiz, dumb

charade...etc. The overall shield has been won by students from St. Mary's College,

Thoothukudi.

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ALL INDIA RADIO VISIT:

First UG students of Physics (Batch - I) visited the All India Radio, Tirunelveli on 3rd

December 2014 and Batch – II students have visited AIR on 22nd

December 2014. Two staff

members of the Department of Physics have accompanied the students. The students were taken

to all the sections and explained the functions like recording, receiving and transmitting the

programmes in AIR. Then, amplitude and frequency modulation of audio signals are discussed

with demonstration.

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INDUSTRIAL VISIT TO BSNL:

The department has arranged a visit to BSNL, Tirunelveli on 4th

December 2014. The III

year B.Sc students were accompanied by two staff members. The students were exposed to the

different functioning of BSNL such as the service of landline networks, GPC, BTS, GPRS,

functioning of the broad and section and optical fiber communication. They were explained the

merits of fiber cable over the copper wire for data transmission in terms of data loss.

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STATE LEVEL SEMINAR ON “ADVANCES IN NON-LINEAR DYNAMICS”

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PHYSICS ASSOCIATION VALEDICTION

The valediction function of the Physics Association held at Caussanel hall on 7th

March 2015

along with the valedictory function of the UGC state level seminar on “Advances in Nonlinear

Dynamics” organized by the Department of Physics, St. Vaier;\’s College. Rev.Fr. Gilburt

Camillus, The Principal have felicitated the function and the Valedictory address was given by

Dr. Lional Raj, Head Medical Services, Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital. A cash award was given to

the deserving meritorious student of the department.

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ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016

PHYSICS ASSOCIATION INAUGURATION:

The inauguration of physics association was held on 5th

August 2015. It was presided

by Rev. Fr. Dr. Gilbert Camillus S.J., The Principal, St. Xavier’s College. Dr. G. Hirankumar

Professor of PSN College of Engineering & Technology, Melathediyoor, inaugurated the

association with his address on “Introduction to Solid Electrolytes”. He explained that in

materials science, fast ion conductors are solids with highly mobile ions. These materials are

important in the area of solid-state ionics and also known as superionic conductors. These

materials are useful in batteries and various sensors.

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SEMINAR:

The Department of Physics has organized a one day seminar on 26th

August 2015 at

Fr.Caussanel Hall, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai for the first and second year UG students

of the Department sponsored by the Department of Bio-Technology under Star College

Scheme. The chief guest Dr. P. Kalimuthu, Assistant Professor of Chemistry from The

Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University, Gandhigram delivered a lecture on “Livable

Earth – Use of Solar Energy”. In the lecture, he listed the ways by which the sunlight was

utilized by the nature to nurture the plants via photosynthesis. By mimicking the nature, the

science can also produce energy which is very safe to the environment through artificial

photosynthesis namely by fabricating the Dye-sensitized Solar Cells.

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VISIT TO BSNL:

The Department has arranged a visit to BSNL, Tirunelveli on 3rd

September 2015.

The IIIrd

year B.Sc students accompanied by the staff members have visited. They were exposed

to the different functioning of BSNL like production and the service of landline networks,

function and service of the networks such as GPC, BTS, GPRS, functioning of the broad band

section, optical fiber communication.

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PHYSCOM 2015-2016:

The department of physics has organized an intercollegiate physics meet (PHYSCOM-

2015) for UG students on 10th

September 2015. Nearly 150 Students from 17 various colleges

actively participated in various competitions like paper presentation, quiz, collage, dumb

charade..etc. The overall championship has been won by students from Women Christian

College, Nagercoil.

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STUDENTS TRAINING PROGRAMME

VISIT TO THENMALA ECOTOURISM CENTER

The Department of Physics has organized a one day visit for first year B.Sc. Physics

students to Thenmala on 21st September 2015 as part of the students training programme under

the Star College Scheme. Thenmala is India's first planned eco-tourism destination, which is

gaining popularity due to its unique vistas, bio-diversity and functioning. Situated about 72kms

from Thiruvananthapuram, in the District of Kollam, the Thenmala Eco-Tourism shares its

resources with the famous Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary at the foothills of the Western Ghats.

The students were accompanied by Dr.S.Paulraj, Associate Professor and Head and Staff

members Dr.G.David Rathinavelu, Dr.B.Helina, Assisstant Professors of the Department. The

students experienced and witnessed the wonderful nature and wildlife and were explained the

importance of bio-diversity.

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VISIT TO ALL INDIA RADIO:

First year PG students of Physics visited the All India Radio, Tirunelveli on 22nd

September 2015. Two staff members of the Department of Physics have accompanied the

students. The students were taken to all the sections and explained the functions like recording,

receiving and transmitting the programmes in AIR. Then, amplitude and frequency modulation

of audio signals are discussed with demonstration.

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STAFF TRAINING PROGRAMME

VISIT TO RADIO ASTRONOMY CENTRE, OOTY

The Department of Physics has organized a one day visit to Radio Astronomy Centre,

Ooty for the staff members of the Department of Physics on 12th

October 2015 as part of the

Staff Training Programme under the Star College Scheme. Ooty Radio Telescope is located in

Muthorai near Ootacamund (Ooty), south India. It is part of the National Centre for Radio

Astrophysics (NCRA) of the well known Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) which

is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Atomic Energy. The staff

members were explained the functioning of the radio telescope array and had fruitful discussion

with the resident scientists.

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VISIT TO EQUATORIAL GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY:

The department has arranged a visit to Equatorial Geophysical Research Laboratory

(EGRL), Tirunelveli on 25th

February 2016 for third year B.Sc students. They were exposed to

the multi-disciplinary experiments for the measurements of electric and magnetic fields

originating in the near-Earth environment. Recent advancements regarding the changes in

geomagnetism and various natural phenomena that occur in different layers of earth were

explained.

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Best Paper Presentation award:

On 25th

February 2016, Mr.J.Banjamin SOundarapandian and Ms.V.Vidya of M.Sc

Physics participated and presented papers (Oral Presentation) during the seminar on “Frontiers in

Applied Physics – 2016” (FAP-2016) organized by the Department of Physics, Noorul Islam

Centre for Higher Education, Kumaracoil, Kanyakumari District and won First and Second Prize

respectively for Best Paper (oral) Presentation.

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PHYSICS ASSOCIATION VALEDICTION:

The physics association valedictory function was held on 29th

February 2016.

Dr.Antony Jeevarajan, Principal Scientist from Johnson Space Centre, NASA, USA, addressed

the gathering on the topic “Human Space Exploration: Challenge and opportunities”.

Students were addressed on the selection methods and rigorous training procedures of astronauts

for space explorations and the various challenges faced by explorers during space travel.

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ACADEMIC YEAR 2016-2017

PHYSICS ASSOCIATION INAUGURATION:

The inauguration of physics association was held on 15th

July 2016. It was presided by

Rev. Fr. Dr. V. Britto S.J., Principal of the College. Dr. V.P. Mahadevan Pillai, Professor and

Head, Department of Optoelectronics, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram inaugurated

the association with his address on “Effect and metal doping on semiconducting Nano

structures”. He focused on the fundamentals of nanostructures and the structural, optical,

morphological changes due to the effect of metal doping on the semiconducting nanostructures.

He also discussed the various aspects of application based nanostructure semiconductor devices.

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STUDENTS VISIT TO DISTRICT SCIENCE CENTRE:

On 3rd

August 2016, the department arranged a visit to District Science Centre,

Tirunelveli for students of III B.Sc. Physics. Students were admired by fun science gallery,

popular science gallery, electronics gallery, mirror world and fun science show. Finally students

were thrilled to watch the demonstration of launching of water rocket by one of the staff

members of the Science Centre. They are also explained the live television broadcasting and

experienced the theoretical physics laws through the experiments and instruments.

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VISIT TO BSNL:

The Department has arranged a visit to BSNL, Tirunelveli on 31st August 2016 for III

year B.Sc students. They were exposed to the different functioning of BSNL like production and

the service of landline networks, function and service of the networks such as GPC, BTS, GPRS,

functioning of the broad band section and optical fiber communication. They were explained the

merit of practical application of fiber cable over the copper wire for data transmission in terms of

power or data loss. The visit produced motivations to the students in the field of communication

and created awareness about the present employment vacancies.

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INVITED TALK:

A motivational talk was given by Mr. A. Anto Arokia Raj, Assistant professor of

Chemistry on the topic “Road to Research” for I and II year M.Sc students on 31st August 2016.

Students were given basic ideas for beginning their research carrier. He addressed the need for

basic research against the application oriented research which will add strength to the literature.

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PHYSCOM 2016-2017:

An Intercollegiate Physics meet (PHYSCOM-2016) was organized for UG students on 9th

September 2016. Rev .Dr. Antonysamy SJ, Secretary of the College inaugurated the event.

About 140 students from 15 colleges actively participated in various competitions like paper

presentation, quiz, collage, dumb charade. The overall championship was jointly won by Sarah

Tucker College and MDT Hindu College. Rev Dr. Britto SJ, Principal of the College praised

the prize winners with mementos.

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GUEST LECTURE:

Dr. P. Selvaraj Assistant Professor of Zoology, St. Xavier’s College delivered a lecture

on “Spectroscopy: Principles, Types and Applications” on 21st December 2016 to I and II year

M.Sc Physics students. Students were exposed to importance of Infrared spectroscopy, Nuclear

Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy and Mass Spectroscopy in determining the structure

of a compound.

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VISIT TO EQUATORIAL GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY:

M.Sc students visited Equatorial Geophysical Research Laboratory (EGRL) on 28th

February 2017. Students were explained the multi-disciplinary experiments in measuring the

ionosphere changes, Atmospheric current alterations and electric- magnetic fields originating in

the near-Earth environment. New informations regarding geomagnetism and various natural

phenomena that occur in different layers of earth were explained. At the end of the session a

special lecture was given on coronal changes in the Sun.

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PHYSICS ASSOCIATION VALEDICTION:

The Physics association valedictory function was held on 1st March 2017.

Dr.S.Jayakumari, Assistant Professor of Physics, Sri. KGS Arts College, Srivaikuntam addressed

the gathering on the topic “Philosophical Approach to Physical Concept”. All UG and PG

students were stimulated by the lecture which was correlated practically from the day to day life.

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ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-2018

PHYSICS ASSOCIATION INAUGURATION:

The inauguration of physics association was held on 4th

August, 2017.

Dr.X.Sahayashajan, Professor and Dean of Research from PSN college of Engineering,

Melathidiyoor gave a guest lecture on “Nano Science” which made a better understanding on

the basics of Nano materials. He addressed the need for the exploration of the so called Nano

world, a thrusting and promising area in small scale. This inauguration ceremony helped the

freshers (First year undergraduate students) to comfort themselves in their new environment.

Students from First, Second and Third year UG and First and Second year PG participated

enthusiastically to make the ceremony a grand success.

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INDUSTRIAL VISIT TO HEAVY WATER PLANT:

The students of second year B.Sc physics, visited the Heavy water Plant located in

Tuticorin on 23rd

August 2017. The Engineers and the Scientists patiently explained about the

production of Heavy Water (D2O). Then they attended the lecture of an Engineer in the lecture

hall. The students received the book titled “Developments through the Atoms”, written by

Aravind Kumar and Chithranatarajan of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai.

Then the newly constructed laboratory was visited. The Scientists were given a brief description

about all the equipments and facilities of the laboratory and explained about Nuclear Reactions.

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PHYSCOM 2017-2018:

An Intercollegiate Physics meet (PHYSCOM-2017) was organized for UG students on

22nd

September 2017 by the department of physics. Rev. Dr. Antonysamy SJ, Secretary of the

College inaugurated the event. Approximately 200 Students from 24 colleges in and around

Tirunelveli and Nagercoil have actively participated in various competitions like paper

presentation, quiz, collage, dumb charade. Rev Dr. Britto SJ, Principal of the College distributed

prizes to the winners with mementos.

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