Bhubaneswar, September 19, 2015: Steel behemoth Tata Steel today launched the ninth edition of its Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2015-16 programme.
Odisha Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology Dr Pradip Kumar Panigrahy launched the programme at State Secretariat here today in presence of C.J. Venugopal, Principal Secretary of the department, Sudarshan Das, Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Arun Misra, Vice President, Project Gopalpur and Managing Director, Tata Steel SEZ, Manikanta Naik, Chief Resident Executive, Tata Steel, Bhubaneswar.
YATS, the prestigious competition for school students from Std VIII to Std X of Odisha, aimed at inspiring budding talents to explore the mysteries of space and develop interest in fundamental science.
Dr Panigrahy, besides unveiling the information booklets on YATS 2015-16 also formally launched a dedicated website on YATS.
YATS is being organised annually since 2007 to acknowledge the exemplary contribution of Pathani Samanta, the legendary astronomer of Odisha and to encourage youngsters to display their talent in scientific innovation and concepts though preparation of models on various themes of space science.
To participate in the competition, students can contact their School Principal/Headmaster/Headmistress, Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar or log on to http://www.valueabled.com/yats.aspx .
The competition encompasses three rounds of selection. In the preliminary round, students need to send a write-up on ‘Building a Base on Mars’ within a word limit of 500 words, either in English or Odia. The write-up can be sent to the planetarium office or be uploaded on the digital link mentioned above, by school authorities by October 15, 2015.
Selected students will be nominated for participation in zonal camps to be held at Jajpur, Keonjhar, Joda, Berhampur, Balasore, Belpahar, Jeypore and Bhubaneswar with their models on the same theme in the second round.
Upon selection of best models at zonal camps, the students have to exhibit the models at Bhubaneswar in the finale where twenty best students would be selected and felicitated on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Pathani Samanta on December 13. They will be taken on an exposure trip to one of the centres of ISRO subsequently.
