Maths dept. NIT & Assam Academy of Mathematics celebrates International Mathematics Day in Silchar

March 17: The Dept. of Mathematics, NIT Silchar in association with Institutions’ Innovation Council (IIC 4.0) and Assam Academy of Mathematics Cachar District Branch celebrated the International Day of Mathematics and 3rd Research Scholar Day at NIT Silchar on 14 March, 2022 with a day-long sequence of events and activities. The worldwide celebration of this day is led by the International Mathematical Union and the theme for this year is “Mathematics Unites”. 14 March written in MMDD format is 3-14, which represents the first three significant digits of the irrational number Pi (π).

The inaugural session of the event was presided over by Prof. Sivaji Bandyopadhyay, Director, NIT Silchar in presence of Prof. Srimanta Baishya, Dean (R&C), NIT Silchar, Dr. Ganti Ramesh, HOD Mathematics, NIT Silchar,Prof. Rajat Gupta, President IIC 4.0, Prof. M. Ali Ahmed, Dean, Planning & Development, NIT Silchar, Dr. Wasim Arif, Convener IIC 4.0 and Dr. Debashish Sharma, General Secretary, AAM Cachar District. The inaugural session was virtually graced by Prof. Madhavan Mukund, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute as the Chief Guest and by Prof. Debraj Chakrabarti, Professor of Mathematics, Central Michigan University, USA as the Guest of Honour.

The session began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp followed by the felicitation of the dignitaries. Speaking on the occasion, the dignitaries highlighted the importance of mathematics in various fields ranging from science and technology to humanities, commerce and industry. The event was attended online and offline by around hundred and twenty teachers, students and research scholars from various institutes namely, NIT Silchar, Gurucharan College, Cachar College, CCJC Palonghat HS School, KV ONGC, T.T. College and DIET Karimganj. Prof. Sivaji Bandyopadhyay, Director, NIT Silchar in his inaugural address narrated that mathematics is essential in all technological developments including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and other computing applications today. He congratulated all the participants and declared the event ‘OPEN’.

The first keynote address was delivered online by Prof. Debraj Chakrabarti, Central Michigan University on the topic “The flat earth society: Conformal Mapping through the ages”. The second keynote address was International Day of Mathematics 2022 & 3rd Research Scholar Day Dept. of Mathematics, NIT Silchar in association with Assam Academy of Mathematics, Cachar District Branch delivered online by Prof. Madhavan Mukund on the topic “Computing as a Mathematical Science”. The post-lunch session began with a motivational talk by Dr. Santan Kumar, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Mathematics, NIT Silchar on the theme “Mathematical Innovation for Science and Technology”. It was followed by a presentation on “Research and career opportunities in mathematics at NIT Silchar and other institutes” by Mr. Rishab Mittal, Research Scholar, Dept. of Mathematics, NIT, Silchar.

The final presentation was an Innovative Mathematical Activity on Pigeonhole Principle by Dr. Debashish Sharma, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Mathematics, Gurucharan College, Silchar. The Valedictory Session was presided over by Prof. Rajat Gupta, President, IIC 4.0, NIT, Silchar in presence of Prof. Srimanta Baishya, Dean R&C, NIT Silchar and Dr. Ganti Ramesh, HOD Mathematics, NIT Silchar.

The General Secretary of AAM Cachar District, Dr. Debashish Sharma announced that as a part of its effort in popularizing mathematics, the AAM Cachar District has constituted cash awards to be given every year from 2020 onwards to the students having excellent results in Mathematics as a major subject in B.Sc. and M.Sc. courses under Assam University and NIT Silchar.

Cash prizes and certificates were awarded for the year 2020 to Ms. Annesha Sen and Ms Ankita Purkayastha for 1st and 2nd ranks in B.Sc Mathematics Honours, Mr. Chinmoy Deb and Mr. Abhi Das for 1st and 2nd ranks in M.Sc. Mathematics under Assam University and Ms Afsana Zannat Ahmed and Ms Sakshi Gupta for 1st and 2nd Highest marks in M.Sc. Mathematics under NIT Silchar.

The valedictory session ended with the distribution of certificates of participation to all the students who attended the event by Prof. Rajat Gupta and Prof. Srimanta Baishya. The vote of thanks was conveyed by Dr. Kedar Nath Das, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Mathematics, NIT, Silchar. All the students and participants have enjoyed the entire day full of innovative mathematical activities and wish to celebrate the day in future with the same spirit and enthusiasm.