Bhubaneswar: More than 1,000 school students from across Odisha participated in a day online programme to celebrate the Tata Steel Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2020 on Sunday.
Held in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar, the initiative aims to identify and encourage the talents of school children in the field of astronomy and space science.
The annual event, which has been organised since 2007, also aims to popularise the contributions of legendary astronomer from Odisha, Pathani Samanta, among school students.
Organised on the occasion of the 185th birth anniversary of Pathani Samanta, the event saw school students enthusiastically participating in knowledge-sharing workshops and interactive sessions with experts in the field of astronomy and space sciences.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who attended the ceremonial closing ceremony as the chief guest, said, “YATS has proved to be a befitting homage to the great son of Odisha, Pathani Samanta, to attract more and more students to the field of astronomy that he was so passionate about.”
The CEO & MD of Tata Steel, TV Narendran, mentioned the company’s “long and illustrious” association with Odisha. “Apart from setting up industries in the state, Tata Steel has been associated with several cultural and community initiatives. One of them is the YATS programme,” he added.
Thanking the participants, the Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Laxmidhar Das, said, “Odisha has produced a number of great astronomers and out of them, Pathani Samanta was the most talented and versatile. This programme of YATS organised on his birth anniversary is a fitting tribute to the great son of the soil.”
Among others, Odisha’s Science & Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, Principal Secretary, Science & Technology Santosh Kumar Sarangi and Vice President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel Chanakya Chaudhary also spoke on the occasion.
