The Chemistry workshop offers a comprehensive exploration of fundamental laboratory techniques and principles crucial for conducting experiments safely and effectively. Participants delve into various aspects such as meticulous record-keeping, ensuring laboratory safety, and adept handling of glass and plasticware. Emphasis is placed on precision in measurements, understanding the significance of significant figures, and mastering techniques for volume and mass determination.
The workshop further delves into the importance of pH in chemical analysis, utilizing natural pigments as indicators and employing methods like pH paper and meters for measurement. Practical applications involve measuring pH levels in common substances like food items and household cleaning liquids. Participants engage in hands-on experiences with separation processes, including understanding solubility variations with temperature and conducting crystallization experiments with substances like NaCl and CuSO4. Additionally, extraction techniques are demonstrated through the separation of components in pharmaceuticals. Distillation techniques, including their dependence on pressure and relevance in various industries, are explored.
The workshop also covers chromatography methods for separating plant pigments and food colors. Further demonstrations include fluorescence phenomena and colour changes using mixtures of fluorescent materials. Chemical reactions, both inorganic and organic, are showcased, including the isolation of curcumin from turmeric and hydrolysis experiments comparing it with vanillin. Through these practical exercises, participants gain invaluable insights into the fascinating world of chemistry
| Organization/Institution | Position | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore | - | 1989-present |
| IIT Kanpur | - | 1988-89 |
| University California, Berkeley | Postdoctoral Research Associate | 1986-87 |