Department of Chemistry organizes various event like National/International Seminar, Invited Lectures of eminent Scientists, National Science Day Celebration, Mendeleev Commemorate Day Celebration and etc., to encourage the students to learn via various platforms. In addition, the department has initiated to release Chem Frontier – newsletter during the academic year 2020-21 to summarize the academic activity of the Chemistry Department every year.

PG Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College organized a webinar on Fundamentals and Career Opportunities of Chemistry Students on 22-07-2021 in order to provide career guidance to UG/PG students. Mr. GM Srinivasan, B. Tech, Founder -Sriluck Paints, Harur -Dharmapuri district delivered his lecture by highlighting the various job opportunities available in various branches of chemistry. About 125 students attended the program (90 students through Google Meet and 35 students via YouTube Live Streaming). He also interacted with the students and gave many ideas to get the job in various companies and also highlighted the various entrepreneurship opportunities in various fields of Chemistry.

PG Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College (Autonomous), Karumathur, Madurai has organized International Virtual Conference on Expanding Frontiers in Chemistry EFC- 21 on 11th and 12th November 2021. Prof. S. Thayumanavan, Department of Chemistry and Head, Director, Center for Bioactive Delivery, Institute for Applied Life Sciences, USA delivered a talk on ““Synthetic studies on Calothrixin B analogues and their in vitro cytotoxicity”. Dr. Muthu Ramalingam Bose, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida, USA delivered his talk on “Synthetic studies on Calothrixin B analogues and their in vitro cytotoxicity”. Dr. Prabha Ibrahim, Chief Technology Officer, Blade Therapeutics, South San Francisco, USA delivered her talk on “The Role of Chemistry in Small Molecule Drug Discovery and Development”. Prof. A. Sakthivel FRSC, FICS, Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry, Central University of Kerala, Kerala -671320 delivered his lecture on “Hydrotalcite based materials as potential catalysts for biomass model component to value added chemicals”. Dr. S. Abraham John, Director, Centre for Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram delivered his lecture on “Unusual reactivity of graphene quantum dots and their silver nanoparticles composite with heavy metal ions”. Dr. M. Jaccob, Assistant Professor (DST INSPIRE Faculty Fellow) Department of Chemistry, Loyola College, Chennai delivered his talk on “The role of theoretical methods on exploring the mechanism of chemical reactions”. A total of 52 participants from other institutes presented their research work virtually and 155 students from Chemistry Department, AAC were attended the program. The abstract of the conference with ISBN number (978-93-91987-20-6) was also released during the conference. the whole program was live streamed at MTH, Arul Anandar College in addition to YouTube live streaming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeVP5PEt7aA&list=PLt7bOgK9yL-urYc6CGGGChW0KkjmG8REc).

Prof. ARV scholarship was initiated for M.Sc. Chemistry Students by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Ph.D., Senior Scientist, USA, Dr. Prapha Ibrahim, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, USA, Prof. S. Ponnudurai, HOD of Chemistry (Retired), H. H. Rajah’s College, Pudukkottai – 622 001 in the previous academic year. This year, Prof. S. Ponnudurai gave the scholarship to Mr. Sunil dass and Ms. Alphonsa Rainy for the second year on 02-09-2021. In addition, Prof. ARV fellowship was also given to Mr. Arun Pradeepan and Mr. Vijayan, I M.Sc. Chemistry on 17-03-2022.

Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College is celebrating National Science Day every year Since 2018. This year, National Science Day & Mendeleev Commemoration Day was celebrated on 09-03-2022 at Gnanarathinam Hall between 2.00 and 4.00 pm. 4 eminent speakers namely Dr. S. Jegatheeswaran M.Sc., Ph.D. Research Scientist, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, PR China, Managing Director, BioMe Live Analytical Centre, Karaikudi, Dr. J. Ananda Raj M.Sc., Ph.D. Scientist, BioMe Live Analytical Centre, Karaikudi, Dr. A. Pandikumar M.Sc., Ph.D. Scientist, CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi and Dr. P. Boomi M.Sc., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Bioinformatics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi were invited as special guests. Dr. A. Pandikumar delivered a lecture on “Solar Hydrogen Production: Way to Achieve Net-Zero Carbon Emission” and highlighted the importance of hydrogen energy in the future. Dr. P. Boomi talk about “How to Protect from Communicable Diseases?” and talk elaborately about the communicable diseases like corona. Speech competitions and drawing competitions were conducted for science students of Arul Anandar College to exhibit their talent and prizes were given to the winners on the valedictory function of CHEMFEST 2K22.

Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College organized CHEMFEST 2K22 – An intercollegiate competition on 23-03-2022. Various college from all over Tamilnadu were invited to participate and exhibit the talents of students. Various events like CHEM PRESENTATION UG, CHEM PRESENTATION PG, CHEM QUIZ UG, CHEM QUIZ PG, CHEM POSTER MAKING, CHEM SONG, CHEM MEME, CHEM CONNECTION and the multitalented competition Mr. / Ms. CHEMIST were conducted. Total of 16 colleges with 178 students were participated this event. Thiagarajar college (Aided), Madurai won the overall championship.

In order to facilitate students, faculties and researcher to share or learn knowledge during the pandemic, PG Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College (Autonomous), Karumathur, Madurai has organized International Webinar on Photocatalyts and Electrocatalysts on 29-07-2020 between 10.00 am - 12.00 pm. Dr. Prabhakaran Arunachalam, Assistant Professor, Electrochemical Science Research Chair, Chemistry, Science College, King Saudi University, Riyadh - 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dr. N. Clament Sagaya Selvam, Research Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea has been invited as Resource Persons for the International Webinar. Dr. Prabhakaran Arunachalam presented the topic entitled "Advanced Materials for Electrochemical and Photoelectrochemical Applications" and Dr. N. Clament Sagaya Selvam presented the topic entitled "Electrocatalysis for Sustainable Hydrogen Fuel Generation: Fundamentals and Application". Almost 100 participants were attended the webinar via live streaming in YouTube. The whole webinar was recorded in YouTube (https://youtu.be/afbQkvcslNk).

PG Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College (Autonomous), Karumathur, Madurai has conducted National Level Online E-Quiz on Fundamentals of Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry on 20-07-2020 at 11.00 - 11.30 am. Almost 120 participants in each quiz were attended from all over India. The answer key for both the quiz along with the explanation for each question were prepared in video format by Dr. M. Amalraj and has been shared to all the participants as YouTube link.
https://youtu.be/Ddq7775nJY0 for Fundamentals of Chemistry
https://youtu.be/HTMeShhHm9E for Advanced the Chemistry

A new scholarship program was initiated for M.Sc. Chemistry Students by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Ph.D., Senior Scientist, USA, Dr. Prapha Ibrahim, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, USA, Prof. S. Ponnudurai, HOD of Chemistry (Retired), H. H. Rajah’s College, Pudukkottai – 622 001 on 15-2-2021 to honor his professor Prof. Dr. A. R. Venkitaraman, Professor and Head (Retired), Department of Chemistry, The American College, Madurai.

Rev. Dr. Godwin Rufus S.J., Principal, Arul Anandar College welcomed and thanked Prof. S. Ponnudurai and his spouse for the campus for inaugurating Prof. Dr. A. R. Venkitaraman Scholarship. Dr. S. Rayappan, Assistant Professor and Head, introduced the two students deserved for receiving the scholarship to Prof. S. Ponnudurai. Then, Prof. S. Ponnudurai and his spouse were honored with a shawl by Rev. Dr. Godwin Rufus S.J., and Dr. N. Savitha Devi. Further, Prof. S. Ponnudurai shared why he initiated Prof. ARV scholarship and also explained why he choose the students of Arul Anandar College for this scholarship. Then, he gave a cheque of Rs. 25,000/- to each Mr. Sunil dass and Ms. Alphonsa Rainy, I M.Sc. Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College. Finally, Dr. S. Rayappan, thanked Prof. S. Ponnudurai, his spouse, and the management to inaugurate the scholarship program. Rev. Fr. Anbu. Vice Principal, Dr. A. Sundararaj, Deputy Principal, Dr. Duraisingam, Vice Principal were present during this inauguration of scholarship program.

Every year, February 7 is celebrated as Periodic Table Day. Dmitri Mendeleev is the father of the periodic table because his 1871 table was the first to show periodicity and his birthday is celebrated on February 8 every year. In order to honor Dmitri Mendeleev, PG Department of Chemistry, Arul Anandar College (Autonomous), Karumathur, Madurai has initiated to celebrate Commemorate day of Dmitri Mendeleev – The Father of Periodic Table from 2020. In this year, PG Department of Chemistry has organized a program to celebrate the Commemorate day of Dmitri Mendeleev and also to welcome I M.Sc. & I B.Sc. Chemistry students on the campus on 10-2-2021 at 11.30 am at AV hall, Arul Anandar College, Karumathur. In addition to the celebration, new scholarship program was also initiated during the program. The program began with an invocation followed by the welcome address by Dr. S. Rayappan, Assistant Professor and Head. He also highlighted the scholarship program that would be initiated by Dr. S. Ponnudurai. The inaugural address was delivered by Rev. Dr. John Pragasam S.J., Rector, AAC and highlighted the contribution of Dmitri Mendeleev in developing the periodic table. He also thanked the Guest of Honor Dr. S. Ponnudurai, Retired Professor, Department of Chemistry, H.H. The Rajah’s College, Pudukkottai and his spouse for inaugurating the new scholarship program for PG students in the Department of Chemistry. Then, the Guest of Honor Dr. S. Ponnudurai motivated the students with his inspirational words and highlighted the reason for starting the scholarship program. Then, Dr. M. Amalraj, Assistant Professor, AAC gave a special lecture on the topic entitled “Why Mendeleev is Father of Periodic Table?” and highlighted the extraordinary prediction of Mendeleev in formulating the periodic table. Then Mr. S. A. Deva Prince, Assistant Professor, AAC gave a special lecture on “An Introduction to Periodic Table” and explained how to write the modern periodic table and to classify various elements into s, p d and f block elements.

Chemistry Association, Department of Chemistry organizes National Science Day Celebration at February 28, every year since 2018. This academic year, the celebration of National Science Day was coupled with Women’s Day celebration on 9-3-2021. Prof. Dr. V. S. Vasantha, Registrar, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai was invited as guest of honor for the program. The program began with an invocation. Dr. N. Savitha Devi, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry delivered the welcome address. Rev. Dr. John Pragasam S.J. Rector, Arul Anandar College felicitates the program and introduce the guest of honor. Prof. Dr. A. Sundararaj honoured the guest of honor with a memento. Then, Prof. Dr. V. S. Vasantha delivered her lecture on Electrochemical Biosensors. In addition, she highlighted the inspiring women in science to motivate the girl students to go for higher studies and explained the various job and higher education opportunities with scholarship available in India. Dr. M. Amalraj delivered the vote of thanks.

Conference aims at providing a platform to students, researchers and academicians to share knowledge and ideas in their respective field. Having this objective, The Department of Chemistry of AAC has been organizing the conferences on "Expanding Frontiers in Chemistry (EFC)" every year since 2001 which received overwhelming responses. The conference aims to bring different ideologies under one roof and providing the opportunities to exchange ideas face to face in order to establish research relations. As part of the celebration of Golden Jubilee for Arul Anandar College and Ruby Jubilee for Chemistry department, we have organized a one-day UGC sponsored International Seminar on Expanding Frontiers in Chemistry-19 on 13th September, 2019 at Arul Anandar College, Karumathur. Around 80 participants including national and international participants, research guides, research scholars and post-graduate students had actively participated. This proceeding of the conference (ISBN number: 978-93-86712-89-9) has been documented with utmost care and released. Prof. Dr. K. Pitchumani. Prof. Dr. K. Pitchumani, Vice Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Dr. T. Mohan Das, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Central University of Thiruvarur, Tamilnadu and Dr. M. Saravanan, Professor, College of Health Science, Mekelle University, Ethiopia were invited as key-note speakers.

Workshop was conducted to encourage students to prepare for competitive exams like CSIR-NET/GATE Examinations. The Department of Chemistry organized a workshop on NET/SET/GATE in Chemistry on 10th March 2018 at Arul Anandar College. PG students of Arul Anandar College and Students from outside colleges attended the workshop and got benefited.

ChemFest-2k19 is an interdepartmental competition conducted by the Department of Chemistry to bring out the talents from the students of different colleges. Some of the brain storming events are conducted such as Chem Quiz, Chem Meme creation, Chem Turncoat, Chem Presentation, Chem Rangoli, Chem Adact and Mr./Mrs. Chemistry. More than 300 participants from 30 colleges have participated in the event on 19th December 2019. Overall Championship Trophy was also given to the college who scored more points in the chem competitions.

Invited Lectures

1. IL1: Chemistry association was inaugurated on 16-9-2019 and Dr. Prabhu, Assistant Professor, Nallamuthu Gounder Mahalingam College, Pollachi gave a lecture on “Introduction to Natural Products”.

2. IL2: Invited International Lecture on “Modern Drugs” in commemorate the birth anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev (Father of Modern Periodic Table) was organized on 10th February, 2020. Dr. Manoharan Ramasamy, Global Head, Process Analytics Center of Excellence, Global Pharmaceutical Operations, Merck and Companies, West Poing, PA-19486- an illustrious alumini of Arul Anandar College (First B.Sc. Batch, 1982) delivered a lecture on Modern Drugs.

3. IL3: To celebrate National Science Day- 28 February 2020 and also to celebrate the valedictory function of Chemistry Association, an invited lecture was arranged on 28th February 2020. Dr. M. Rajendran, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry, SVN College, Madurai delivered a lecture on “Computation Quantum Chemistry”.

In addition to the above-mentioned activities, Orientation program to UG and PG freshers, Welcome Party for freshers, Farewell to Senior students, NET/SET/GATE (NSGC) workshops, Chemdraw training programs and etc., were organized by the Department of Chemistry for the students.

Chemistry association is an active association functioning exclusively for the benefit of the students. Arranging Invited Lectures, Science Day Celebration, Celebration of Mendaleev's Birthday Celebration, Organizing Quiz, speech competitions are the key-functions of chemistry association. In addition, the students are encouraged to attend Seminars, Workshops and Symposia and various inter-collegiate competitions. They are also encouraged to present their project research work in National and International Conferences.