Khagol Bulletin # 132 (Apr 2024) - ENG

| 18 | KHAG L | No. 132 - APRIL 2024 A Pedagogic Workshop on Astronomy, As t rophys i cs and Cosmo l ogy was organised by ICARD, Gauhati University (GU) in collaboration with the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre of the Astronomy Centre for Educators, IUCAA during 4th to 10th January, 2024. The major goals of the workshop were to (a) enrich college and university teachers with new deve l opmen t s i n as t r onomy, a s t r ophy s i c s and c o smo l og y, ( b) familiarise them with methods of teaching va r i ous t op i cs on as t ronomy and astrophysics included in the newly introduced syllabuses while implementing the National Education Policy, and (c) build l ong-term academi c re l at i onsh i ps between the participants and resource persons of various fields delivering talks in the workshop. The workshop brought together 30 participants involved in Group photograph of the participants in the workshop on Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology held at Gauhati University. Pedagogic Workshop on Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology: A Faculty Development Programme at Gauhati University Astronomy Centre for Educators Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre astronomy teaching and research in various colleges and universities of the North-Eastern region and nearby states. The inaugural talk of the workshop was delivered by Dhruba J Saikia of IUCAA which covered recent advances and prospects in the era of multi-messenger astronomy. It was attended by Hiralal Duorah, retired Professor of Physics, GU and the former Vice-Chancellor of the University who f ounded t he GU Obs e r va t o r y and introduced astronomy and astrophysics in colleges of Assam and in the University. Resource persons from Gauhati University, IUCAA, Assam University, Dibrugarh University, Tezpur University and Cotton University delivered interactive talks on stellar astrophysics, observational astronomy, solar system, galaxies and the intergalactic medium, gravitation and cosmology. The workshop had rigorous hands-on sessions which included usage of Stellarium, analysis of astronomical data through SDSS Sky Server and other virtual observatory tools and visualisation of concepts in stellar astrophysics through Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). An observation sess i on i n the Gauha t i Un i ve rs i t y Observatory was also organised. Another interesting component of the workshop was a series of short talks delivered by the participants on topics which they are teaching. These talks were presented in front of the resource persons who interacted with the participants. The workshop was coordinated by Sanjeev Kalita (ICARD Coordinator, GU), Dhruba J Saikia (MMTTC, ACE, IUCAA) and Sowgat Muzahid (IUCAA). Astronomy, Science and Society A workshop on the theme of Astronomy, Science and Society, was organised on 19th and 20th January 2024 at the Ma r a t h a V i d y a P r a s a r a k S ama j ' s Commerce, Management & Computer Science (C. M. C. S.) College, Nashik, by the Maharashtra State Faculty Development Academy (MSFDA) and the Astronomy Centre for Educators of IUCAA. The objectives of these workshops which are often held in smaller towns of Maharashtra are to bring the excitement of astronomy and science to faculty members across disciplines and also discuss broader issues related to science and society such as inclusiveness and non-discrimination. D u r i n g t h i s w o r k s h o p P r a k a s h Arumugasamy described the scales of the Universe, Moupiya Maji recounted the story of black holes, Jameer Manur introduced them to the night sky, while Dhruba J Saikia gave an overview of radio and x-ray astronomy and highlighted recent developments in India. In a separate talk,