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On behalf of Jenner club of the Department of Microbiology, J.J. College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Pudukkottai, a special lecture programme was conducted on 22.07.2019. Dr. K. Panneer Selvam, Head, Department of Microbiology, M.R. Government Arts College, Mannargudi, delivered a speech on “A Frugal Science Invention – Design, Function and DBT Funded Project Scheme Outcomes of Foldscope”.
In his speech he gave an introduction about “Frugal” meaning simple and Plain and costling little. He explained about the invention of Foldscope which is the ultra-affordable, Paper Microscope. Designed to be extremely portable, durable and to give optical quality similar to conventional research microscopes. Foldscope brings hands-on microscopy to new places! He showed the comparison between Compound Microscope and Foldscope images. A Foldscope is an optical microscope that can be assembled from a punched sheet of cardstock, a spherical glass lens, a light emitting diode and a diffuser panel, along with a watch battery that powers the LED.
It was developed by Manu Prakash and designed to Cost less. It is part of the “Frugal Science” movement which aims to make cheap and easy tools available for scientific use in the developing world. Origami is important in manufacturing the foldscopes because the foldscopes made use of the basic principles of origami and by that, it is responsible for ending all the pieces line up and for it to be lined and fit together.
In his lecture, he highlighted the importance of Foldscope. The Gorden and Betty Moore Foundation funded the “Ten Thousand Microscopes” project under which Prakash Plans to give away 10,000 Foldscope kits to interested parties, including students research. The projects eventually expanded to 50,000 Foldscope Kits. He also explained the design, components and usage such as CAD layout of Foldscope paper components on an A4 sheet, Schematic of an assembled Foldscope illustrating panning, Cross-sectional view illustrating flexure-based focusing, Foldscope components and tools, Different modalities assembled from colored paper stock, Novice users demonstrating the technique for using the Foldscope and demonstration of the field-rugged design, such as stomping under foot. Finally, he concluded that “A Microscope in every Pocket” is the motto of DBT.
PG and UG Students of Microbiology and Biochemistry actively took part in the discussion. Earlier Dr. P. Jeevan, Head, Department of Microbiology welcomed the gathering and Dr. M. Poornima, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, proposed Vote of Thanks.