The Science Forum

The Science Forum of Hindu College, established in 2008 by a group of inspired students and devoted faculty members, is a vibrant and student-driven society with a passion for exploring and promoting the wonders of science. With our motto, Never Stop Questioning, our society aims to foster a deep appreciation for science by organizing myriad of events and exhibits an expansive array of opportunities for students to inculcate passion and interest in the discipline of science.

 

Our Vision

Since its inception, the Science Forum has preserved in upholding its aims-

Research – We promote research culture among the college students. Innovate – We aim to provide an environment to encourage students to think critically and develop new ideas. Educate – We provide learning opportunities to our members from fields of arts and science on the topics of STEM through group discussions, presentations and more. Encourage – We motivate students in application of science and its interface with society.

 

Our Mission

We strive to create an environment to facilitate open dialogue and collaboration among science enthusiasts across the science and non-science departments of the college by organizing intersectional activities. We provide opportunities for our members to broaden their understanding of science beyond the confines of the classroom and engage with the latest advancements in their respective fields of interest. Ultimately, we guide and help students to form a staunch scientific outlook, exemplifying the need of the hour- to defeat curiosity and feed knowledge to the mind.

 

Our annual flagship event, SCIENTIA, held in the end of February each year, is a gran celebration of scientific knowledge and curiosity. It features a wide array of activities, including exhibitions, inter-college science competitions such as paper presentation and quizzes, science demonstrations and speaker sessions by eminent researchers in their respective domain. Through SCIENTIA, we aim to showcase the marvels of science in an engaging and entertaining manner.

Another significant event organized by our society in the 2022-2023 session was AAHAAR -International Nutrition Week Celebration, amassing awareness about nutrition and its impact on overall health and wellbeing. It serves as a platform for students to engage in discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions focused on promoting healthy eating habits and understanding the science behind nutrition.

In addition to these flagship events, we also regularly organize trips for scientific explorations, quizzes to test knowledge and critical thinking skills, as well as speaker sessions and demonstrations by renowned scientists and experts from various scientific fields. We also organise group discussions on contemporary science topics to enable students to enhance their sphere of knowledge by interacting with students from different disciples and building a broad sense with scientific approach.

 

Under the leadership of these dedicated individuals, The Science Forum continues to thrive and inspire students to explore the wonders of science. We are committed to creating a platform for intellectual growth, fostering a spirit of scientific inquiry, and nurturing a community of lifelong learners who are passionate about science. The Science Forum of Hindu College is a dynamic society that promotes scientific engagement and exploration among students . With the support of our talented office bearers, we are confident in our ability to continue inspiring, enlightening the minds of our members and promoting passion in this discipline.

 

Faculty Advisor

Dr Pragati Ashdhir

Office Bearers

President: Nihar Jyothi Kashyap

Vice President: Srestha Dutta Choudhary

General Secretary: Saranya Menon & Aastha Jain

Chief Advisor: Surya Pratap Singh

 

Activities at a Glance

 

April, 2022

25 April, 2022: Results for the Junior Core were declared by the Senior Core (2022-23).

Anantha Padmanabhan and Niharjyoti Kashyap were selected as the Event Heads. Saranya Menon was selected as the Joint Secretary and Rashmi as the Treasurer. Other post holders include Eti Srivastav as the PR Head and Jeet Shannigrahi as the research head.

 

May, 2022

8 May, 2022: The running council hosted a farewell-cum-freshers for the batch of 2022 and 2024.

 

June, 2022

1-30 June, 2022: Commemorating the presence of LGBTQ+ in science, a weekly story series was started on Instagram. Celebrating LGBTQ+ in STEM, the underrepresentation of queer scientists, the legacy of Alan Turing and Inclusivity were the weekly themes.

10 June, 2022: A new media series- Weekly News; was introduced on Instagram. Interesting and present-day news happening in the world of science is brought to the viewers and the content is curated by the members. The rapid changes in the field of science and technology make it really hard to keep up with all the important milestones and events. Our aim is to provide the most important news of the week in crisp and clear manner from verified sources.

18 June, 2022: An intra-society activity, Mematic was held. Mematic was an online workshop held online, where the members were equipped with the technical skills to make science-based memes. Members were then asked to send in entries and winners- first, second and third place were selected by the council based on wit and theme. These entries were also posted on the official page of the society on Instagram. Winners were decided by the council based on wit and theme; first place was secured by Riya Kumari, second place by Anantha Padmanabhan A Pillai, and third place by Sonia Nayak respectively.

28 June, 2022: An ideation meeting for events with regard to Van Mahotsav was held online with the members. The events finalized comprised of selfie activity Naturography, quiz on hydroponics, viz., Hydromaster and a visit to Yogi Nursery.

 

July, 2022

1 July, 2022: A selfie/picture activity by the name, Naturography- Plug into Nature, #KnowThePlant- was conducted by the society during the first week of July. A google form was released where one could upload a picture of a plant or a selfie with a plant of one’s choice and fill a detailed questionnaire about the chosen plant. A template was tailored for the entries to be posted as stories on the Instagram handle of the society. As an exciting and ecologically indulgent activity, it aimed to enhance the collective scientific temper of the general viewers and environmental consciousness.

3 July, 2022: Hydromasters, a quiz on Hydroponics was held on 3 July, 2022, on google forms. The quiz was organized as part of Van Mahotsav celebrations. Over 20 members participated in the quiz which was open for ten minutes. All players-maintained decorum. David, Deeksha Yadav and Ananthakrishnan S won first, second and third place respectively.

10 July, 2022: As part of the Van Mahotsav celebrations, an outdoor nursery visit to Yogi Nursery on 10 July, 2022 at 10 AM was organized to get hands-on experience with varieties of plants and enjoy the nature while at it. The enthusiasm from the members made the visit knowledgeable and entertaining.

 

August, 2022

4 August, 2022: A review article on ‘Demystifying Hyperloop: Revolution in High-Speed Ground Transportation’ by Harjeet Surjewala under the Content Writing wing was published on the Science Forum blog. The review article provided in-depth information regarding different parts of the Hyperloop system, their functioning, their current stage of development and its future prospects including the various infrastructural projects underway for making the system of supersonic land transportation available to ordinary commuters.

17 August, 2022: A review article on ‘Hepatitis C and Nobel Prize 2020 in Physiology’ by Vyshnav CP under the Content Writing wing was published on the Science Forum blog. The article aims to bring knowledge about Hepatitis C, the various aspects of the disease such as symptoms, transmission, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and epidemiology are discussed in proper order. The crucial contribution of Nobel Prize laureates Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Riceto to fight against the blood-borne disease is praised in the article.

 

September, 2022

September 1-4, 2022: After a long haul of online events, the Science Forum successfully held its first offline event of session 22-23, Aahaar – Say Yes to Fit Lifestyle, to commemorate National Nutrition Week.  Members of the Science Forum visited St. Stephens, Hansraj College, SRCC, Ramjas College, Daulat Ram College, Miranda House, Kirori Mal College and Arts Faculty, University of Delhi, to garner responses for a survey on “Eating Habits and Nutritional Levels of the Youth of (North Campus) University of Delhi”, as part of Aahaar. The data was collected by the members through the means of a detailed google form. Over 20+ questions such as dietary preferences, water consumption, vitamins and mineral intake through daily meals, frequency of consuming fast food in a month, exercise and sleep cycle and the psychological aspect of nutrition which includes body image issues and tendency to skip meals.

6 September, 2022: Aahaar was held on September 6, 2022, in Sanganeria Auditorium at 12 pm with Chem Academy - Ved Prep as the title sponsor and DU Beat, Ensemble Media and DU Competition as the media partners respectively. In addition, the society also curated engaging posts such as “Street Food & Healthier Alternatives” and “Analysing Nutrition vs Income Level – to shed light on nutritional disbalance in the world” on Instagram to propagate nutrition awareness.

• Aahaar began with a speaker session by clinical nutritionist and a leading doctor in science-backed nutrition, Shikha Singh. She commenced her session on “Nutrition & Weigh loss” with an engaging game wherein the volunteers would guess the food item by their tactile sense. The session gave way to an all-encompassing view on healthy dietary plans and the post Question-Answer session came through as a fruitful and gripping bout.
• Our second speaker, Ishi Khosla, a clinical nutritionist at Centre for Dietary Counselling in Delhi, began her session at 1pm on “The Science & Art of Eating Right”. Her session piqued critical interest behind the science of eating right, leaving the audience with enough food for thought. This session unfolded the connection between the human brain and the human gut, and how essentially the gut is the second brain. After her talk, she answered various questions put forward by the attendees.

We had a turnout of 200+ students, from various DU Colleges and a variety of educational background, who engaged in extensively in Aahaar. Kumar Sourav, from BA Sanskrit H, cheered the audience after speaker sessions with his lively performance. The event was then wrapped up by a sequence of electrifying band performances showcased by Aria, the Western Music Society of Hindu College.

• The rapid fire and quiz session, with themes revolving around various facets of Nutrition, were held laterally in the Conference Hall, Hindu College at 2pm. The exclusive “NutriGeek” was organized in collaboration with Manthan Quizzing Society, Hindu College. The nutrition quiz witnessed participation from Hindu College, Ramjas College, IIT Delhi, Gargi College, Miranda House and more with 80+ registrations and active participation from the aforementioned institutes on the event day. The first prize of ₹ 1000 went to Team Oakgrovian, comprising of members Uttam Kumar and Uttam Kumar. The runner up, Team Seekers, comprising of members Abhay Kumar, Aayush Dash and NV Keerthana, secured ₹ 500.
• A food stall was set up near the Sports Complex to promote meal plans among the students. Adjacently, a game stall was set up where players could toss a ring over a range of healthy food variety such as protein bars, healthy spreads, etc. The game involved of throwing rings of varying sizes onto items such as breakfast cereals, spreads, protein bars, milkshakes and more from afar to win them.

11 September, 2022: A food donation drive with Robin Hood Army, North Delhi officially wrapped up Aahaar. The Robin Hood Army with their motto “Serve the Hungry Citizen”, is a volunteer based NPO where they collect surplus food from restaurants and donate it to the lesser fortunate sections of the society. On September 11, 16 members of the Science Forum along with the volunteers of RHA North Delhi visited the underprivileged areas near the Tibetan Colony, Majnu Ka Tila. A donation desk was established in the college on 6 September to collect food supplies. Even our members contributed duly to the same by bringing biscuits, juice boxes and breads for the drive. It was donated to an estimate of 100+ labourers and children. The donation drive was followed by a recreational visit to Majnu Ka Tila where the members bonded, sharing pivoting moments of that day.

19 September, 2022: Forms were released for the inductions of second and third years, following which the interviews were held for over a week, after shortlisting the applications by the Senior Core members.

23 September, 2022: An ideation meeting was held providing opportunity to the members to share topics and ideas for group discussions and intra-society activities.

 

October, 2022

3 October, 2022: The list of newly inducted members was released.

4-10 October, 2022: Commemorating World Space Week, a series of posts on the theme was published on the social media handles of the society. A book review on the popular science book, Cosmos written by astronomer and Pulitzer prize-winning author Carl Sagan. More informative posts on World Space Week was published; topics included space outreach and education, space and sustainability.  

8 October, 2022: We held an intra-society event, Crossmos- a crossword puzzle activity, to commemorate Space Week 2022.

• The event was hosted by Niharjyothi Kashyap, the event head of the Science Forum. Questions were tailored based on space, astronomy, physics and general knowledge, intended to quiz the members on space trivia and to boost existing awareness. The activity began at 2pm and the puzzles were distributed to the members who were paired up into groups of two.

• Results of Crossmos was announced the next day with Chirag Singh and Jeevan securing first, Adithya K Sumesh and Dhanish K T as runners up. Special mention was made for Anjali, Surya Pratap, Ananya Krishna, Ananthakrishnan S and Swathi S Nair.

9 October, 2022: A webinar was held by Chem Academy, title sponsor of Aahaar on IIT-JAM and saw a turnout of 50+ Science Forum members. The session was informative and proved beneficial from the feedbacks.

12 October, 2022: The orientation of the inducted members was held at 2pm in the college. The core introduced the functioning of the society; which was followed by a fun icebreaker session.

16 October, 2022: An ideation meeting to ideate social media series to post was held. Weekly News series, FACTomics, Know Your Doctor and blog posting were finalized. Sneha V and Muskan took over posting factomics, Rupinder Kaur and Ankit volunteered for the weekly news series and Nishtha and Akhshay volunteered for Know Your Doctor. FACTomics is the social media series where we amalgamate facts and comics together to clarify the most-commonly assumed assertions using science. Our FACTomics series paves the way for inculcating an easy understanding behind most day-to-day observations.

 

November, 2022

4 November, 2022: A group discussion was conducted on ‘Can Religion and Rationality Co-exist?’.

• It was a topic-based group discussion where the members actively contributed their opinions, which formed the structure of the discussion. Some interesting ideas were put forth by the members. One among was owing to our limited experience, doubts and uncertainties arise but with faith, we find meaning despite ambiguity.
• These ideas elevated the discussion to something out of the scope of what science explains, to realise how everything is an amalgam of philosophy, science and belief.

 

December, 2022

9 December, 2022: Orientation was conducted to introduce the first years of batch 2025/2026 about the functioning of the society. A media presentation was shown and discussed by the core members.

14 December, 2022: The board of the society was redecorated after a long haul.

• The members put forth creative ideas to redecorate the board and SPACE theme and the undertakings of our society- the Science Forum was finalized. Surya Pratap and Sameeksha were the artists.
• Rashmi, Niharjyoti Kasyap, Aditi Kaushik, Akshay and Bittu Sharma were other active volunteers.

16 December, 2022: The society started recruitments for all students of batch 2025/2026. A Google form was generated to facilitate the same. The recruitment process consists of two rounds- an application form through which a number of candidates will be shortlisted and a personal interview session which was held offline.

{Note: There was a halt in the functioning due to Winter Break}

 

January, 2023

21 January, 2023: First years were recruited into the Science Forum form different departments.

23 January, 2023: Group Discussion on Genetic Engineering in Human Beings.

 

February, 2023

1 February, 2023: Ideation meeting on Scientia- our Annual Festival.

7 February, 2023: A workshop took was conducted to train students on Content Writing and writing research review articles. A part of the workshop also addressed graphic designing and video editing for content creation.

15 February, 2023: The Science Forum had set up three stalls for Founder’s Day- Innovation, Research and the DBT Scheme Stall in coordination with the DBT Star College and Hindu College Faculty.

{Note: The activity of Science Forum slowed down in March due to the University Exams of 2025-26 Batch.}

 

April, 2023

6 April, 2023: Our annual festival- Scientia’23 was organized. It was an amalgamation of fun science games and stalls with engaging competitions where participants were a mix of various DU colleges. We invited Sir Ashu Ghai- the CEO of Science & Fun for his science magic show. Some cultural performances were also included in the event layout for the fest.

16 April, 2023: Termination and Probation List was released on the basis of members’ attendance and overall contribution in the society.

19 April, 2023: A celebratory meeting was held for the success of Scientia’23 in the evening. Members commemorated the day by cutting a cake and sharing snacks and drinks. Some games were played to keep it engaging.