New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) IIT Delhi has taken a creative initiative to bring alive the world of materials science i.e. materials engineering through cartoons, stories and colors. In fact, IIT Delhi has prepared the first of its kind comic book-style brochure for this.
The special thing about this brochure named ‘Delivering a Material Safari Experience’ is that the science in it has been explained through stories and pictures. At its center is a funny and intelligent character ‘Prof. ‘Materials’, which takes an inquisitive student on a ‘safari’ into the world of materials science. They act as guides to take students on a ‘jungle-safari’ journey into diverse areas of materials science, from metals and ceramics to polymers, data science and emerging smart materials.
Through this engaging narrative style the brochure attempts to simplify complex scientific concepts and highlight their connections to the real world. Subtle glimpses of IIT Delhi’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion are woven into the story. IIT Delhi Prof. Jayant Jain says, “This comic book was envisioned to highlight the interesting and entertaining aspects of STEM. Materials engineering is an extremely creative and inspiring field, and we wanted a medium that could appeal to students as well as non-technical readers.
‘Pro. “Through exciting ‘matter’ campaigns, we hope to spark curiosity and showcase the excitement behind understanding the materials that shape our world.” Prof. who led this initiative. R. Lakshmi Narayan said, “The idea behind this was that students should see materials as things that they live with and experience every day. So that the work they do does not seem overly technical but completely natural and logical. Pro. The journey of Matter to the World of Matter will be a new imaginary world through which we are trying to reach out to our young materials scientists.”
The institute says that after this first edition of the comic book, other comic books will be released from time to time as a series, which aims to showcase the essence of the department, its research projects and teaching work through art. This creative initiative is part of the broader mission of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. This involves communicating science in accessible, relevant and inclusive ways. -IANS GCB
