The Inter-University Accelerator Center (IUAC) has developed India’s first 1.5 Tesla superconducting MRI magnet system, a key component of the MRI machine. As the component is currently being imported, it will help develop India’s first indigenously built MRI machine which will be much cheaper than the current market price.
This was disclosed today as IUAC celebrated its 34th foundation day. Speaking on the occasion Prof.Avinash Chandra Pandey, Director of IUAC said that IUAC is one of the first Inter-University Centres to be set up by the University Grants Commission.
Its main function is to set up accelerator-based research facilities for researchers from Universities, Research Institutes, and National Laboratories in the fields of Nuclear Science, Material Science, Radiation Biology, Atomic Physics, and many other fields. The organization has so far produced 1500 doctorate students. Prof Pandey said that IUAC has been also involved in various projects including the space mission Chandrayayan and is now working on a project to study the changes that the human body undergoes when humans come back after space missions.
Prof Pandey said that IUAC was an organization that had accomplished the Make In India mission successfully by developing a series of scientific products but the main contribution of IUAC had been in the field of Nuclear Physics.
During his keynote address Mr.Atul Dinkar Rane, Director General, of the BrahMos missile program of the DRDO said that there had been many instances after Independence when third-world countries had tried to deny India various scientific technologies. But now the country has gained scientific expertise in various fields. Mr.Rane said that the goal of the country should be to become technologically superior so that for self-reliance the country does not need to import any technology.
He enumerated the various missile technologies like Agni, and Prithvi which India had developed indigenously, and also said that the BrahMos Missile developed in collaboration with Russia was one of the most successful supersonic missiles that could be used by all three forces.
Bhushan Nadda during his presidential address said that IUAC had made remarkable progress during the last thirty years and had been successful in attracting young minds of the country towards joining the science stream.