Mapusa: The Department of Chemistry at St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa, organized an educational visit for its third-year BSc students to the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Vasco-da-Gama on October 16, 2025. The visit aimed to provide students with an insight into India’s scientific initiatives in the Polar and Southern Ocean regions.
During the visit, students had the opportunity to interact with researchers and learn about the institute’s wide-ranging activities, including the Indian Antarctic and Arctic Programmes and Southern Ocean studies. The team was also taken on a guided tour of NCPOR’s advanced laboratories such as the Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) Lab, Polar Biology Lab, Geology Lab, and Cryobiology Lab. Scientists demonstrated the working of various high-end instruments and discussed their applications in environmental and polar research.
The interactive session sparked curiosity among students, who showed keen interest in pursuing short-term research projects at NCPOR to gain hands-on experience in the field.
The field trip was coordinated by faculty member Mr. Mahesh Nair under the guidance of Ms. Kathleen Pinto, Head of the Department of Chemistry. The visit offered students valuable exposure to real-world scientific research and strengthened their understanding of how chemistry contributes to exploring Earth’s extreme environments.
