Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai

[Avinash]

Hi all,

I did a Summer project for 2 months at the Central Leather
Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai. I was there from April to May
2007.

There is a lot of different work going on at CLRI about
various dimensions of Leather Research. My project was in the
department called the Chemical Lab. But I think there would also be
Computational Biology work going on in other departments of CLRI (such
as the Biophysics). Go to the main CLRI website (www.clri.org) and
click on the departments link to look through all and see what you
might like.

I personally got in through contacts. But most of the
Scientists that I met there were really nice and I feel that if you
sent them a sincere email there is a good chance that they will
respond. But when I was there, space was very limited and a Scientist
could at most take 1 student as a summer intern. So that should give
you some idea of what would be your chances of getting a project
there.

There is not a lot of information about individual
scientists available on the website. So you might have to search in
Science direct or something to find more papers and get an idea of a
certain Scientists' work. The Scientist I was working under was mainly
involved in Molecular Dynamics simulations and analysis of the data
from those Simulations. Research on Collagen is also a big thing at
CLRI.

My experience at CLRI was great. I enjoyed my time there. I
was able to learn about the kind of thinking that goes on behind
research. Most of the scientists I met there (I only met around 3 or
4) were very nice people and easy to talk to. And once you get to know
them, they are willing to help out with advice, guidance or
recommendation if you need them.Also, since it is a Government funded
lab as you know there is no fee or anything for doing a project there.

I would definitely recommend CLRI for someone looking for a
place to do their project. Ofcourse depending on what your other
options are. (If I got a chance at NCBS I would prefer that more). But
it is a good place and you will have a good time here.

Hope this helps,

best regards,

Avinash