Keralites to receive Science Communication Award

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Writer of children’s literature and engineer K K Vasu, journalist V T Santhosh Kumar and science teacher U Najma, the three Keralites who have been selected for the National Awards in Science and Technology Communication for 2011, will receive the honours on February 28 in New Delhi, during the National Science Day celebrations.Vasu won the award for his outstanding efforts in science and technology communication in both electronic and print media.  He had designed, written and presented more than 500 telefilms and documentaries which have been telecast on Doordarshan, Victers and  private channels.His films on energy loss in homes had won Kerala State Electronic Media Award and one on Lighting hazards had won the Kerala State Children’s Film Festival award. He is an empanelled director of Doordarshan, SIET Kerala and C-DIT. Among his achievements include the national and Kerala Sahitya Award-winning book ‘2+1=2’ in English and Malayalam, SPCS award-winning book ‘Apayam’, and the novel ‘First Rank’ which won the Bhima Sahitya award last year and International Book Fair award.Vasu has 30 volumes of fiction besides 10 on engineering constructional design to his credit. He had designed, constructed and successfully commissioned the control panel for the first offshore wave energy project of IIT Chennai and Delhi. He belongs to Vattanthra of Thrissur district. V T Santhosh Kumar, chief sub-editor of Mathrubhumi, won the award for his translation of  ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’, a noted work by Bill Bryson, and various science essays. He belongs to Vallikunnu of Malappuram District. U Najima is presently engaged in the Thrissur Corporation waste disposal project. She has won the state award in project competition for teachers eight times. A native of Thrissur, she had represented India in the Manila International Science Congress. The award consists of Rs 1 lakh, a memento and a citation.