Tag Archives: DRDO

Canada’s York University and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation

Leave a reply

York University (Ontario, Canada) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation according to a Nov. 10, 2012 article in The Hindu Business Line,

The agreement will facilitate the two partners to pursue collaborative defence research in the areas of advanced materials, nanotechnology, life sciences, bio-informatics, chemical and biological defence, sensors, and others. Both sides have planned a number of joint projects in the time to come.

The Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Chief of the Defence Organisation, V.K. Saraswat, and Robert Haché, Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, signed the pact during the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New Delhi.

Elsewhere in the article, York University is described as a research centre for Canada’s Dept. of National Defence specializing in chemical and biological defence, counter-terrorism, and something called ‘soldier as a system’ (I believe it has something to do with wearable computing).  Interestingly, I haven’t found any information about this MOU on the York University website or a federal government website. As well, I wasn’t able to find any information about York University’s DRDC research centre status and/or its defence research specialties. All of the information I’ve found has been on Indian news websites.

India’s military considers nanotechnology

Leave a reply

In the interest of some balance I’m highlighting a nanotechnology workshop that was held for the Indian military. (It turns out the US military isn’t the only military force interested in nanotechnology.) From the Nov. 30, 2011 news item on Nanowerk,

A two-day National Workshop on Nanotechnology for Defence Applications (NWNDA-2011) concluded today in New Delhi. The event marked the Golden Jubilee of Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), a premier institute of the Defence Research & Development Board (DRDO), working on development of solid state devices for defence needs.

A sustained and dedicated research over the past few years has led DRDO to development of products that are currently at different stages of maturity. To realize deliverable products, product engineering and technologies for up-scaling are essential components in the product development process, a collaborative and coherent approach is being worked out. This workshop is an important and crucial platform for realization of this objective.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, who appreciated the work being carried out by DRDO in the field of Nanotechnology, particularly in the field of sensors and composites.

More details at Nanowerk.