Karaikudi: The 84th Foundation Day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was celebrated at CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, on Monday with a call to strengthen research in Artificial Intelligence, green energy, and indigenous technology.

Delivering the Foundation Day Lecture, Dr G. Aghila, Director, NIT-Trichy, underlined the indispensable role of AI in research and urged young scholars to nurture curiosity in their pursuits. Citing her work in ontology and cheminformatics, she stressed the need for transforming raw data into usable knowledge and highlighted the role of researchers as “informaticians.”

Guest of Honour Dr Surya Moganty, Head of Technology, L&T Green Energy, Mumbai, spoke on the rising demand for renewable energy and emphasised the importance of repurposing critical metals like nickel for green hydrogen production. He called for stronger industry-academia-R&D collaborations to build a circular economy and enhance India's patent output.

In his presidential address, CSIR-CECRI Director Dr K. Ramesha traced CSIR's legacy from Amulspray and indelible ink to COVAXIN and ISRO technologies, and highlighted CECRI's contributions, including titanium anodes for chlor-alkali industries and electroforming for rocket thrust chambers. He urged researchers to pursue the Prime Minister's vision of “Technological Sovereignty” and indigenous production “from chips to ships.”

Over 17,000 visitors took part in CSIR-CECRI's Open Day on September 26-27. The event also saw the release of CECRI's annual report, recognition of long-serving staff, and distribution of awards to students.