Secondary Aerosol Formation and Growth-2023

The University of Hyderabad (UoH) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FINLAND) organized an international symposium on “SecoNdary Aerosol FormatioN and GrOwth-2023 (NANO-2023, www.nano2023.com) during March 13-14, 2023 at Dr. Zakir Husain Lecture Hall Complex. The event was hosted by the Centre for Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS), School of Physics (SoP).

With growing concern for the Government of India and of Conference of the Parties (COP), discussion over the years and geo-political situations, the demand for process-level understanding of the climate change problems and a sustained open discussion on the needed technological solutions to the envisaged problems are must. With a paralleled approach, this symposium initiates such open discussions and brainstorming of the process-level understanding of climate in India. This is the first symposium of its kind and is focused on synthesizing the current process-level understanding of secondary aerosol formation, recent advances in measurement techniques and modeling of nanoparticles, and their implications for air quality, health, and climate.

The Chief Guest for the inaugural ceremony was Shri. Sanjeev K Varshney who is the Adviser and Head of International Cooperation, DST, GoI. In his inaugural address, he emphasized the importance of international tie-ups in science and technology in India. The main thrust areas to focus should be on the impact of pollution on human health, incorporating advanced quantum computing and better models for better prediction of the climate system and integrated approach through partnership. He also stressed on the possible funding opportunities for science and technology available and on the collaboration between countries. He concluded on a special note on how to pass down the Earth in a better condition than what was given to us through better approaches that make science useful to society.

The Guest of Honour, Honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof B J Rao addressed the gathering by pointing out the novelty of the topic of secondary aerosol and that small particles are a reflection of specialty and not criticality. The challenges that the world faces now are large compared to a few decades back. There is rapid growth with respect to GDP of every nation and aerosols are a byproduct of such changes which causes grave damage to the health of humans. Resilient measures should be adopted and more people need to be facilitated to understand the crux of the problem. Dealing with such focused and deep problems together with partnerships can enable us to take forward this newly identified niche to give impactful publications and to identify this current symposium as a legacy that initiates such innovations.