Prakash Lab at Stanford University to provide microscopes to Indian students.
Sreekanth A Nair
Indian students will soon be able to take a peek through their own microscope, thanks to an initiative by Indian government’s Department of Biotechnology.
The department will soon distribute Foldscope – a low-cost paper folding-microscope – developed by Prakash Lab, a research group at Stanford University working in the field of engineering and physical biology.
The Foldscope will be provided to the students of selected colleges under the Star College scheme.
The letter of intent was exchanged between the Department of Biotechnology and the Prakash Lab in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to USA recently.
Foldscope is an origami based print-and-fold optical microscope that can be assembled from a flat sheet of paper. It requires no external power and can survive being dropped from a three storey building or stepped on by a person. It has been developed by Dr. Manu Prakash, an Indian-origin assistant professor at Stanford University.
“Our vision is to bring a microscope into the hands of every single kid in the world” said Prakash.
It all started with a tweet from Secretary, Department of Biotechnology Professor K Vijay Raghavan to Dr Prakash on August 12 this year: ‘Hi, can we discuss using Foldscope widely in India? I am at the Dept of Biotech, Govt of India’.
Prakash responded immediately welcoming it and a Skype call followed subsequently. Prime Minister’s office also responded enthusiastically to a call requesting for support.
A rapid communication through the social media played a crucial role quickly paving the pathway for the letter of intent to spread the low technology widely through Department of Biotechnology’s network.
Professor Vijay Raghavan said, “Partnering with Prakash Lab’s Foldscope is an exciting new adventure for the Department of Biotechnology. It is a citizen science at its best”.