The Bose Institute, an institution that played a critical role in the field of science and innovation, celebrated its 108th Foundation Day on 30 November 2024. The event coincided with the 166th birth anniversary of its founder – Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose. The event honoured Bose, the legendary scientist and polymath, for his contribution to the field and to the institution.
Established in 1917, the institute carries forward the legacy created by Acharya Bose and continues to advance Indian science on a global level. The events of the day were a tribute to the scientist, whose investigation of radio waves, microwave optics, plant physiology, and several other research forms a base for contemporary scientific progress.
Speaking on Acharya Bose’s contribution, Prof. Kaustuv Sanyal, Director of Bose Institute, said, “Sir J.C. Bose was a brilliant polymath and a true pioneer in the fields of science and technology, who made significant contributions to physics and biology that continue to impact the world today. To further his research in this diverse field, he invented several groundbreaking instruments like the Crescograph, which he used to measure growth in plants. The device showcases Bose’s innovative approach to scientific enquiry.”
Prof. Sanyal also emphasised Bose’s commitment to advancing education and science. “He was the major force behind the expansion of experimental interdisciplinary science, not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in Asia. He played a significant role in India’s nationalist movement, though not in a traditional sense of political activism; his contribution to science and dedication to Indian education and research helped to inspire and strengthen the movement,” he added.
The day started with the floral tributes at various campuses of Bose Institute in Kolkata, including the main campus at Rajabazar, the Centenary Campus at Kankurgachi, and the unified academic campus in Salt Lake. At the Acharya House, beside the main campus, flowers were placed on the samadhi of Bose, paying respect. The event began with an invocation written by a dear friend of Bose, the famous poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, in 1917 to mark the foundation of the Bose Institute.
The highlight of the day was the ’85th Acharya J.C. Bose Memorial Lecture’, which was given by Padma Shri awardee Prof. Sankar. K. Pal, a distinguished scientist and former Director of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. His lecture was titled ‘Pattern Recognition, Machine Intelligence to Deep Learning and Data Science: Evolution, Challenges and Concerns’.
In his lecture, Prof. Pal focused on the development of the discipline, transcending 50 years, starting from pattern recognition and fuzzy sets in 1975 to image processing, expert systems and AI, knowledge-based systems, neural networks, soft computing, rough technology, machine intelligence, granular data mining, Big data, and much more.
His lecture also emphasised on some granular mining applications, such as video tracking in ambiguous situations in the context of both shallow and deep learning. It is shown how the rough lower-upper approximations in the temporal domain provide an estimate of the object model in unsupervised tracking, even under complete occlusion. This is followed by the new concept of granulated deep learning (GDL). Merits of a G-RCNN (granulated region proposal network) in enhancing the object detection accuracy are featured with applications to real time traffic scenarios. The talk concluded by mentioning some challenging issues and future directions in DL and data science research, including certain concerns for beginners.
At the end of the lecture, Prof. Pal shared his views with The Statesman, “I feel honoured to be a part of this lecture. Acharya J.C. Bose was the first Indian scientist we learned about in school. His legacy is a reminder of how one visionary can change the course of history. The Bose Institute continues to uphold this legacy, inspiring scientists and promoting innovations worldwide.”
The Chairperson’s address was given by a former student of Bose Institute, Prof. Anuradha Lohia, Former Vice Chancellor of Presidency University, Kolkata. In her speech, she remarked, “The institute is not just a place of learning, but a temple of inspiration. Prof. Bose didn’t have children of his own, yet he gave life to countless scientists. He invoked scientists in us; he invoked those of us who are willing to take challenges to seek the truth. If I have an identity as a scientist, it is because of the Bose Institute.”
The 108th Foundation Day concluded with a cultural programme. The foundation day is not just a celebration in the memory of its illustrious founder, Acharya Bose, but also a call for scientists to carry forward the legacy of the institution.
