Vice Chief of the Air Staff Inaugurates the 63rd Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine
Bengaluru, December 5. Air Marshal SP Dharkar, Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) inaugurated the 63rd annual conference of Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine (ISAM) at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bengaluru today. The three days conference, themed ‘Collaborate for Research’, portrays the determination of the Aerospace Medicine Society to explore new horizons with collective efforts of associated partners and yet remain connected to origins.
The Vice Chief of the Air Staff, in his inaugural address emphasized the criticality of collaboration in achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ in the defence forces. He also felicitated the young academic achievers in Aerospace Medicine. Air Marshal Rajesh Vaidya, Director General Medical Services (Air) delivered the presidential address highlighting various collaborative achievements of the medical services of the Indian Air Force.
The prestigious Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee Memorial Oration, instituted in the honour of the first Indian Chief of the Air Staff, was delivered by Dr VR Lalithambika, Professor of Practice, Dept of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras and Distinguished Scientist, former Director Directorate of Human Space Programme (DHSP) ISRO. Her-jalk on the topic ‘The Next Giant Leap: My reflections on India’s Human Space Flight Programme’, introduced the delegates to the space domain, in addition to apprising them about the country’s pioneering steps in human space exploration. Her oration followed.
Dr Naresh Trehan, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma (Retd) and Mr Syed Kirmani, who have delivered this prestigious oration in earlier editions of the conference.
The Air Vice Marshal MM Srinagesh Memorial Oration, instituted to honour Air Vice Marshal MM Srinagesh, an eminent luminary in the field of Aviation Medicine and popularly known as the ‘Father of Aviation, Medicine’, was delivered by Wing Commander Karthik Kalyanram (Retd) from Rishi Valley Rural Health Centre. He spoke on ‘Effective Strategies for low resource settings: Insights gained from my IAF journey’, portraying innovative and sympathetic application of his IAF experience to provide health care to the needy rural population.
Other highpoints included ‘The Jemi Harmusji Framji Manekshaw Panel’, featuring guest lectures by notable experts including Dr SL Vaya, Project Head at Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA), Rashtrya Raksha University, and Dr Hanumantray Baluragi, Director, Directorate of Human Space Programme (DHSP), ISRO. Scientific deliberations on a variety of topics like Aviation Medicine, Space Physiology & Medicine, and High Altitude Physiology formed part of the conference, offering valuable insights into operational Aerospace Medicine. The conference celebrated the multi-faceted discipline of Aerospace Medicine and showcased the innovative efforts of IAM in furthering aerospace medicine initiatives in India.
