November 2019 – The KGP Chronicle

Placement Begins

It is the time of the year when all eyes are towards the IITs – as December hits, so does the placement season at IITs. At IIT Kharagpur with 282 PPOs the Institute is aiming to secure 1000+ placements in less than a week’s time. Already three PSUs have recruited and more are expected in the coming months.

This year several first-time recruiters will visit the IIT Kharagpur campus including top corporate brands like Sony Japan, PayPal, P&G India, Nestle India, Nomura. The Institute will also be welcoming back international recruiters like Apple, Microsoft Redmond, Uber, Amex, Qualcomm, Mercari Japan among others.

“We have taken almost all the last year’s companies on board and some prominent Japanese companies along with two US companies. We are expecting double the offer in international profiles,” said an official at the Career Development Centre of IIT Kharagpur.

Apart from the prominent players which recruited last year, seven more companies are on board for the phase one recruitment at the Institute. Most of the profiles are in the areas of software development and consulting. Though there were apprehensions regarding market conditions, the internship and preplacement offers were highly promising touching all time high figures. Read More

Talking about the current market scenario and its potential impact on the recruitment, Prof. G P Rajasekhar, Chairman at IIT Kharagpur’s Career Development Centre remarked, “The PPO rate is very encouraging. We took proactive measures to attract companies by reviewing our Company Relation Index (CRI) and then upgraded a few companies. We are stretching our wings to accommodate more companies on a given day so that companies do have enough pool of students each day.”

A supposed challenge of 2.30 hours distance from Kolkata airport is also being addressed.

On day 1, thirty companies will be recruiting for fifty different profiles. The students are hoping for a high number of shortlisted candidates during the first week which will indicate the final number of offers made. The phase 1 will continue for 3 weeks in December.

An increasing trend in salary also was observed.

“This was expected especially with software and quant companies offering higher packages,” said an official.

A total of 220 companies have registered for recruitment in the phase one who will be interviewing more than 2000 students who have registered for placement opportunities in 2019-2020. By the end of the second phase about 500 students from Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Dual Degrees are expected to opt out from the placement process.

Sharing the Best

India Today Outlook Millennium Post Times of India The Statesman Times City

IIT Kharagpur and the United States – India Educational Foundation (USIEF) organized a two-day joint workshop for universities in Eastern India themed ‘Igniting Interest to Study in India: Best Practices to Attract Foreign Students on Your Campus’.

USIEF promotes mutual understanding between the nationals of India and the US through the educational exchange of outstanding scholars, professionals and students. The organization has the mandate to organize such outreach workshops to promote both the inbound and outbound flow of students between the two countries.

“Recently we have seen a drop of about 15% in the inbound students to India from USA. We are trying to reach out to universities in India and bridge this gap,” said Dr. Diya Dutt, Deputy Director, USIEF.

The organization has been awarding Fulbright, Fulbright-Nehru, and other prestigious grants and scholarships in almost every academic discipline will now be setting up Nehru Chairs in US universities to enhance interaction not just within the academia but also engagement with the community at large, confirmed Diya.

They are also looking into the scope of improvement in the areas of cutting-edge research and teaching infrastructure and accommodation in which Indian universities can get an edge by meeting the globally accepted standards.

Talking about the initiative, Dean International Relations of IIT Kharagpur Baidurya Bhattacharya said, “We cannot remain an island of excellence. While we have been serving the nation and society it is also our responsibility to join forces with our peer groups, share with them our learning and experience on internationalization and in turn learn from them. Eastern India with its socio-cultural diversity has tremendous potential of becoming a preferred destination for foreign students not just in India but for the entire South Asian region. And the best part is the universities here, have been offering quality affordable higher education which these foreign students seek.”

IIT Kharagpur officials who spoke at the workshop also focused on student facilitation pertaining to admission, terms of degree courses, visa, clearances, insurance etc. and agreements with foreign universities, institutional ranking and international brand outreach activities.

Among the participants were XLRI Jamshedpur, Indian Institute of Engineering Science And Technology Shibpur, West Bengal State University, Presidency University, Jadavpur University, IISER Kalyani and several others. The participants, some of whom were from relatively younger institutions, in an open house were introduced to various initiatives and ideas to improve their international inbound presence. Some of them are already were contemplating on learning from the best practices, such as the idea of Dyuti, a socio-cultural short-term education programme started by IIT Kharagpur in 2019 for foreign students studying in other Indian universities, caught the interest of Dr. Ashis K Pani, Dean Academics of XLRI Jamshedpur who was a participant

Dr. Paramjyot Singh, faculty at XLRI Jamshedpur and a former Nehru Fullbright Fellow said, “these workshops create a great opportunity for knowledge sharing, collaboration and mutual understanding. It’s about we and it’s about a common future for us.”

IIT Kharagpur which is extensively promoting its international outreach to bring in more foreign students for degree and non-degree programmes has already set up a robust international relations mechanism to attract more students.

“Processes, facilities while being the key aspect, most students look for financial support. We launched various scholarship programmes funded by the Institute and alumni especially for SAARC, ASEAN and African students which has I would say affirmatively increased our international student enrolment significantly” added Associate Dean International Relations Anandaroop Bhattacharya.

Eye to the future

Research in the Protein Chemistry Laboratory is aimed at an understanding of protein interactions with small molecules, other proteins and nanoparticles. The increasing use of peptides as therapeutics has prompted us to look into the various aspects of these interactions to try and understand the impact on disease related processes.

A brief outline of the different projects:

Protein aggregation studies: Aggregation studies currently underway involve several proteins as well as the amyloid peptide fragment Ab_25-35which represents the biologically active and toxic domain of the full length Aβ peptide, responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. Inhibition of amyloid fibrillation of the Aβ_25-35 peptide was achieved by adhesion of the peptide on a graphene oxide (GO) surface and treating the peptides with HCTL, an amine oxide osmolyte, and glycerol. Factors that inhibit and accelerate fibrillation through amino acid modifications and electrostatic interactions among the peptide units and additives have also been identified.

Studies with the eye lens proteins: Owing to the loss of native structure due to several factors like ageing, mutations in the genes, oxidation of the proteins, UV induced oxidative damage, the crystallin proteins of the eye lens aggregate, leading to cataract formation. The major polyphenol present in green tea, EGCG was able to prevent tryptophan oxidation of cataractous ocular lens human γ-crystallin in presence of H₂O₂. The discarded emulsion of the eye lens has also been used to prepare biodegradable and biocompatible protein nanoparticles and thin films.

Protein ligand binding: Studies with ribonucleases, such as Ribonuclease A and angiogenin, are underway with synthetic as well as natural inhibitors. Green tea polyphenols behave as noncompetitive inhibitors of Ribonuclease A and angiogenin. Methods are being developed to investigate the angiogenesis potency of the compounds by in vitro and in vivo studies.

Interactions of proteins with gold nanoparticles: Gold nanoparticles are studied for therapeutic use in the targeted delivery of various biomolecules. After introduction of nanoparticles (NP) into biological fluids, an NP–protein complex is formed and the adsorption of proteins on nanoparticles forms a protein corona. A protein corona using HSA and gold nanoparticles has been prepared and the interactions and structural changes are being looked into.

What are the challenges that the research will help address?

Each of the topics deals with a perspective that helps us study the problems from the protein level. For example, we look at the changes in the γ-crystallin protein that have occurred as a result of cataract formation or how the enzymatic and angiogenic activity of angiogenin may be affected with small molecule inhibitors. The model protein Ribonuclease A for the latter studies is also of interest and synthesized molecules are being screened in collaborative research activities. The study mainly focuses on the mode of binding and gives us an insight into the substrate binding site, which provides rational guidelines for the design compounds of pharmaceutical targets to angiogenin. Work with polyphenols and surfactants on the fibrillation of proteins have been initiated to study the amyloid fibrils, the hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. These are small attempts to address common problems from a molecular standpoint.

In what stage of development is this research?

The research conducted is in vitro and at the basic molecular level. It needs to be translated to an in vivo stage to be able to understand it from a physiological point of view. At present work on different projects range from preliminary to mid stage. For example, studies need to be conducted on other variants of crystallins. The ability of the designed compounds to inhibit the enzymatic and/or biological activity would need to be tested in vivo. Film properties need to be enhanced and cell compatibility, cell growth, etc. need to be investigated. However, some of the activities could be taken further at their current status.

What is its future?

There is expected to be an exponential rise in nanomedicinal chemistry which could help resolve critical health issues in future. Studies to analyze or predict and control the fate of drug-loaded nanoparticles and the various biological responses such as fibrillation, cellular uptake, systemic circulation, biodistribution and bioavailability are essential. Potential information about interaction of specific molecules with participating amino acids in the active site or an understanding of the mechanism of amyloid fibrillation process and its inhibition strategies in general are currently underway.

How will the upcoming hospital help this work?

Basic research in the disease arena would require essential samples like blood, tissue samples etc. The study of various compounds/drugs can be performed by comparing the effects on normal as well as cancer cells. The hospital can also provide us with the eye lens emulsion obtained after cataract surgery required for our studies.

Art of Gift, Gift to Art

The Telegraph India Today Hindustan Times Yahoo News Business Standard DevDiscourse Times Now Jagran Josh

IIT Kharagpur’s Academy of Classical and Folk Arts has roped another key patron with US-based alumnus Mukund Padmanabhan donating ₹52 Lakh to this one of its kind outreach unit in the IIT system. The funding is towards building a music auditorium with a digitally enhanced learning environment, conducting thematic workshops on classical and folk arts and engaging teaching fellows.

Plans have been drawn to set up a digital classroom for music training in proscenium setting as distance mode teaching-learning with aesthetic and acoustically appropriate interiors. Two teaching positions are also being created for providing training on classical music and arts on a regular basis.

The Academy will offer training in music, fine arts and the performing arts, and also introduce credit courses in the forms of electives and micro-specializations. Additionally, it will create national and international outreach programs for dissemination and collaborative research on science and technology interventions in Indian classical music and other classical arts. The Academy will also be a hub to create teaching-learning resources for Indian classical music and other classical arts.

“While the Institute will provide the required space we are thankful to Mukund who has come forward to patronize this initiative. This new pedagogy in teaching and learning these classical and folk art forms will go a long way in preserving the core fundamentals of the traditional art form,’ said Subrata Chattopadhyay, Dean Alumni Affairs and Avinash Gupta Chair Professor.

Students of IIT Kharagpur will get the unique opportunity to explore this transdisciplinary program in classical and folk arts. Prof. Pallab Dasgupta and Prof. Joy Sen who are heading this initiative are enthusiastic about introducing students of engineering and architectural disciplines and encourage them to supplement the highly-competitive technical education through the use of artistic talents.

“Students of IIT Kharagpur constitute a rich talent pool of cultural virtuosity combined with exceptional creative intellect. We believe the Academy will open up new forays for expression of this talent, nurtured through a deeper understanding of our unique cultural heritage, and study through the lens of Science and Technology”, expressed the duo.

An MoU signed recently will also involve Mukund’s non-profit organization Guru Krupa Foundation. Dr. Mukund Padmanabhan is an expert in the domain of finance specializing in statistical financial modeling though he pursued his education in the field of Electronics and Electrical Engineering. After completing his B.Tech. from IIT Kharagpur in 1987 from the Dept. of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, he did Masters and Doctoral degrees from UCLA in electrical engineering. Mukund set up Guru Krupa Foundation, a New York-based charitable foundation to support social, educational and cultural initiatives.

Talking about the Academy Mukund said, “IIT is an institution that is known for hosting the best and brightest technical talent in India. Developing and excelling in a modern scientific approach to all things is required to make practical progress and advance our knowledge about the world we live in. However, traditional art and culture are also very important as it defines our history and represents our roots. From my point of view, the newly formed Academy of Classical and Folk Arts at IIT KGP represents a very creative experiment.”

According to him, the Academy serves three purposes – a non-technical creative outlet for the students and staff, enabling traditional forms of creative expression (music and arts) to be examined through the lens of technology and modern science, and introducing future leaders to these traditional art forms, it helps preserve the art forms for posterity.

Mukund’s philanthropic organization Guru Krupa Foundation will be involved in supporting the activities of the Academy. Guru Krupa Foundation has a charter of promoting the acquisition of knowledge, preservation of knowledge that we have already acquired (in the form of our cultural heritage) and also helping the disadvantaged in society.

“Support for the Academy of Classical and Folk Arts aligns well with this charter. In the near term, GKF will provide financial support, for instance, we are already providing support for Academy workshops that are planned for the 2020 year. Besides IIT KGP is my alma mater and it gives me great satisfaction to be able to give something back to the institution that laid the foundation for my professional life. It is my privilege to be able to give back to the institution that laid the foundation for my career,” he said.

The Academy has had additional contributions and support from other alumni, including Arjun Malhotra and Kiran Seth. Arjun and his associates has also been major contributors to the Academy. The IIT Kharagpur Foundation in the US has been actively working towards bringing forward more alumni towards this initiative.

“We are proud to bring alumnus like Mukund Padmanabhan in active engagement with their alma mater,” said alumnus and President of the Foundation, Ron Gupta.

Attempts are being made to collaborate with corporate houses with CSR goals towards preserving the scientific heritage and culture of India in the lines of IIT Kharagpur’s SANDHI programme funded by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India.

Mukund is optimistic about alumni contributions driving areas that break away from the traditional expertise of the IITs.

“Historically, many advances have been made by cross-pollination of ideas. Enabling additional areas in which the traditional expertise of IITians can be applied could lead to great advances in those areas and also develop new applications for traditional expertise. Hence, support for new areas like the Academy of Arts is a good way of paying our dues forward to our alma mater. Who knows where this cross-pollination may lead!” – remarked Mukund.

Photo Credit: University of California, Los Angeles

A New Page in India’s History

Times of India Hindu BusinessLine Hindustan Times Nature Asia UNI DownToEarth NewsLive (North East 24×7) India Today Yahoo News The Hindu Millenium Post India Blooms Deccan Herald NewsClick The Week Dainik Jagran Ahmedabad Mirror Swarajya Asian Age

A breakthrough discovery by a study led by IIT Kharagpur has made the colourful Rann Festival of Gujarat a little more vibrant. The researchers have uncovered the earliest traces of the Old Iron Age which is older than 3000 years in the deep stretches of the Rann of Kutch and the Thar Desert. Most importantly the study reaffirmed the theories of human migration from the west to the east induced by climate change.

The region of Gujarat has been a part of many tales from the times of our mytho-history through various historical periods until modern times. Even the Harappan period can be traced to a few rocky islands in the Kutch region of Gujarat. However, till now the Rann which is a prominent geological feature of Gujarat was devoid of any sign of continued human settlement throughout the Early Iron Age to Early Historic Age (~3100 – 2300 years). The lack of evidence even led archaeologists term this period as ‘Dark Age of Gujarat’.

The recent explorations in the coastal settlement of Karim Shahi region of the Rann near Indo-Pak border, led by Prof. Anindya Sarkar from the Dept. of Geology and Geophysics at IIT Kharagpur, however, have unraveled the secrets behind this curtain of silence. The team has found the earliest evidence of human habitation dating back to 3000 years. They also found evidence of Historic to Medieval (~1500–900 years old) human settlement at Vigakot in the Thar Desert.

“We were conducting geological investigations for finding out the past climate change during and after the collapse of Harappan civilization funded by the INFOSYS foundation and IIT Kharagpur. During our explorations we came across numerous archaeological artefacts strewn over the surface of Karim Shahi and Vigakot,” said Prof. Sarkar.

The most intriguing finding is how the human habitation thrived in such water-deprived inhospitable terrain and survived from Iron Age to Medieval period although major Harappan cities were abandoned by that time, he opined. The researchers also did a total station survey to determine the landscape.

“What seems to be an arid landscape today have indications of an active river system and some amount of rainfall during that period as evidenced from the analysis of sediments, botanical remains like pollens and isotopes of oxygen in fossil molluscan shells,” said collaborator Dr. Navin Juyal from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad.

The researchers also referred to the historical travelogue of Al Beruni of 1030 AD which mentioned the presence of rivers in Kutch.

“Our study suggests that the Rann of Kutch and part of Thar desert were still a hospitable terrain for the sustenance of human settlements from the Early Iron Age till at least medieval times which led to the survival of the civilization under such climate threat situation following the Harappan decline,” he said.

It is long known that from Mature to Late Harappan period (5200 to 3300 years) the number of human settlements continuously increased from the Indus River valley in the west to the Ghaggar-Hakra in the east. This migration following the collapse of the old Indus Valley (Harappan) civilization has been attributed to the decline of monsoon or major droughts by many scientists. But what happened to the people after such collapse? Little is known about the people after the post-urban Harappan period. Some archaeologists believe that there was no demographic collapse as such. Rather populations persisted in smaller less complex settlements dispersed from the original river valleys of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra to more distant areas of the Ganga-Yamuna interfluves or Gujarat and Rajasthan until 3000 years before the present time. In northern India new kind of civilization rose afterward, namely, the Iron Age (or Painted Gray ware) between ~3000 and 2500 years before the present time that was followed by the Kushan period (~1900–1500 years).

“This was indeed a very critical transition, wherein human migration, as suggested by our findings, was far more expansive than thought before. We suspect that the gradual shift of Intertropical Convergence Zone, the main driver of monsoon from west to east over the last seven thousand years, forced people to migrate for greener pastures,” remarked Prof. Sarkar.

An earlier study by Prof. Sarkar on Haryana’s Bhirrana region had shown human migration from west to east due to the weakening of the monsoon. In a way, this created large climate refugees who took refugia were still some little rainfall was available.

“The United Nations framework convention on climate change and high commissioner for refugees in its report warned about such climate refugees due to impending climate change. If it could have happened in the past it will happen in the future too” reminded Prof. Sarkar.

Apart from the climatic conditions and sustenance of the settlements, the researchers have been successful in stitching a critical section of India’s Iron Age history which lay buried under the deep stretches of the Rann. The recovery of artefacts like pitcher, jars and bull figurines and also numerous animal remains like bones, teeth etc. have helped in reconstructing the social subsistence pattern of the region during the study period confirmed co-researcher Dr. Arati Despande Mukherjee from Deccan College PGRI Pune. The earliest evidence of Iron Age found in Gujarat till now was 2500 years old which has now been pushed back by several centuries in antiquity. At Motichher, a place close to Karim Shahi, iron objects, nuggets, and slags have been found and which would need further investigation. The researchers acknowledged the Indian Army for facilitating the explorations. The areas are so remote and close to an international border that no scientific investigation could have been carried out without the permission of the Indian army.

Talking about a probable occupation of those people, Prof. Sarkar remarked, “both Karim Shahi and Vigakot probably acted as trade centers during this time. In fact, at Vigakot we found 1100 years old Chinese Qingbai porcelain probably manufactured in Guangdong province of south China and Sgraffiato potteries of 10th century Persia suggesting it to be a part of long-distance trade between West Asia and China”.

Prof. M.G. Thakkar from Kutch University and a collaborator emphasized the fact that the multidisciplinary study has proven the near-cultural continuity after the Harappans which the experts till now only hypothesized. He also harped on the point that this finding is going to bring Kutch under international limelight.

The findings have been published online in the prestigious Elsevier journal ‘Archaeological Research in Asia’. Download Paper

Graphic Credit: Suman Sutradhar

Dance of the rain

The Hindu, Times of India (Kol), Times of India

Reduced rainfall was among the factors that created multicentennial-scale drier conditions that may have contributed to the Indus Valley deurbanization. Lack of rainfall is believed to have been among the reasons for the social upheaval and the eventual fall of the Tang, Yuan and Ming dynasties of China. Drought interspersed with violent monsoon rains sounded the death knell of the Khmer empire of south-east Asia that flourished between 802 and 1431 CE.

There can be no doubting the profound impact of the abrupt shifts of rainfall on human history – a fact we need to constantly remind ourselves in this day and age of irretrievable climate change. Abrupt shifts in the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation has similarly impacted history in India. For example, bad precipitation is known to have worsened the agrarian crisis that tore asunder the mansabdari system of the Mughals, thereby hastening their fall.

But linking of ISM’s variability to human history in the subcontinent has been limited by the scarcity of high-resolution paleoclimatic data for the period encompassing the last 1000 years or earlier. Researchers at IIT Kharagpur and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun have been able to present high resolution oxygen isotope proxy record from the Wah Shikar cave in Meghalaya that identifies abrupt shifts in the ISM that has had profound impact on human society in the region for the past 900 years.

Given that India has seen extreme precipitation in the recent years that has caused devastation such as the Kedarnath floods of 2013 or the recent floods in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, researchers also believe that we need to investigate the long-term spatio-temporal variability of the ISM in order to understand the complex mechanisms that drive this variability, and therefore help improve predictive capabilities of climate models that help future planning. The speleothem proxy from Meghalaya, believe the researchers, holds crucial answers.

A 233 mm long stalagmite sample (WSS-3) was collected from the Wah Shikar cave. The sample was split into two halves and as many as 465 subsamples were extracted from them at every 0.5 mm interval parallel to the central growth axis. Palaeoclimatic records using oxygen isotope proxy in speleothems from northeastern India have been widely used to understanding ISM variability on millennial time scales. But data have not been derived from such finely divided samples.

“This is what is most definitive in this study,” says Prof. Anil Gupta, who has led the research and pioneered speleothem study in the country. “We took samples from every half millimetre or sometimes even one-third of a mm, and we dated using uranium-thorium time series. Such fine sampling of less time interval means we are covering data at 2-3 years’ interval while most research collect data at 20-30 years’ interval. In fact, we have even captured the drought events of last few centuries,” he added.

The analysis of the data derived from the samples show marked changes in ISM strength over northeastern India during the past 900 years coinciding with intervals of severe droughts and floods in the Indian subcontinent. The data pertains to the three main time slices – Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), Little Ice Age (LIA) and Current Warm Period (CWP). The findings have been corroborated with other proxy time series.

The data shows strong ISM conditions during MCA which is attributed to the warming of climate due to high solar insolation, which pulled the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, northward and strengthened the tropic monsoon circulation (ITCZ is a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth, generally near the equator, where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together). Data collected from caves in central India, northwestern India and western Himalaya corroborate the research team’s conclusion about ISM conditions during MCA.

During LIA, there were three different phases of precipitation in the ISM – all of them related to the cooling of the atmosphere owing to a host of factors – reduction in the number of sun spots, leading to the decreased solar insolation, volcanic forcings, and resultant atmospheric cooling. Each atmospheric cooling interval coincides with dry ISM episodes and long droughts as well as famine in India. Contrary to the earlier record from the same cave, the data collected by the IIT Kharagpur research team suggests reduced rainfall conditions during LIA.

Kailash Cave, Chattisgarh, site of another speleothem study

The abrupt changes in the ISM during the last millennium had large socio-economic impact on Indian society. Several dynasties, such as the Sena in Bengal, Solanki in Gujarat in the mid-13^th century and Paramara and Yadav in the early to mid-14^th century – all of which flourished during abundant rainfall – declined during the drying phases of the ISM, suggesting role of the climate in the socio-political crisis. Weak monsoon meant decline in agriculture and trade, and thereby societal discontent that often resulted in upheaval and rebellions. The researchers suggest that the increase in rain-water harvesting structures in northern India during the period attests to the decline in precipitation.

From the beginning of the 19^th century, the changes in ISM became more abrupt with a rise in atmospheric temperature that coincides with the dawn of Industrial Revolution and enhanced societal developments along with long term astronomical changes. The study says, “An increase in the frequency of abrupt shifts in the ISM during the last three centuries, coincidental with a rise in atmospheric temperature, suggests occurrence of more climatic surprises in future consequent to future rise in the global temperature and subsequently more precipitation in the form of rain at higher altitudes.”

The data from the Wah Shikar cave also indicates increased frequency of extreme rainfall events in India during the Current Warm Period that portends further increase in near future with the rise in global atmospheric temperature. This has already been predicted by the 5^th Assessment Report of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, 2013. The study says that higher rainfall in high altitude regions in the Himalaya will increase the risk of flash floods and landslides as well as reduction in glacier extent that will affect Asia’s water resources and agricultural wealth, consequently harming south Asia’s economy in the decades to come.

Read the paper:

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0031018219302974?token=4A82D920755F48CF72C2E4198AA4766EABD3286DF052C79C66D9D71CC0C27AD4287D44F160CF66F987247634D96165A1

Around the Campus in 60 minutes…

“How big is the campus, and how long would it take to see everything around?” asked an inquisitive voice. Pratyush Bansal, a 9^th grade student from Global Indian International School, Singapore had come as a participant to IIT Kharagpur campus on the event of the Young Innovators Program 2019.

Launched in 2017, the Young Innovators Program or YIP is in its third year with almost three times more participants from India and abroad. With more than a hundred students, the task of touring the 2100 acres campus within an hour was indeed a challenge.

The day was windy with erratic spells of drizzle at regular intervals, owing to a depression over the Bay of Bengal. As the bus just rolled out of the Vikramshila complex, the children were shown the huge, expansive Tata Sports Complex to their left. They were surprised to find a ground as huge as this where IITans play both soccer and cricket.

As the bus moved on its first gear, ADDA was spotted on the right. “What does the word mean?” asked a few. “In the local language, it means casual chit-chat and gossip” replied one of IIT Kharagpur’s student volunteers. Crossing the clock tower on the Tikka Circle, the bus moved on to the Halls of Residence. The constant rustling and mumbling of the students in the bus reminded all of our schooldays, especially the picnics and excursions. One child could no longer contain his excitement – “Can you please show us Sundar Pichai’s department?” he asked. “Yes, of course. But before that, this is where he stayed”, said Rishabh, a volunteer, pointing out to Nehru Hall. The children strained their necks out of the window to get a glimpse. The bus moved on to Madan Mohan Malviya or the ‘MMM’ Hall of Residence. The students’ jaws dropped on hearing the hall capacity of 3000 students!

Completing a round of all the Halls of Residence, the bus took the 2.2 route, going past Jnan Ghosh Stadium, Technology Students Gymkhana, Swimming Pool, Basketball and Volleyball courts and entered the main academic campus. Most students wished to get down for a snap of the main building, but were discouraged by the bad weather. Passing the Central library, the bus crossed ECE, Physics and Mining Engineering Department and halted in front of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering. A few children screamed with glee as they were able to identify Sundar Pichai’s department. Cameras and mobile phones captured numerous shots.

“IIT Kharagpur grows its tea in its campus itself,” remarked Prathmesh, a student volunteer.

“Are there hills in the campus?” asked a participant, given that tea is known to grow on hilly slopes.

Their doubts cleared up as the bus took a turn towards Nalanda complex and stopped briefly near the tea garden. The astonishment on the faces clearly indicated their curiosity to know the science behind tea cultivation on plain ground.

After around 15-20 minutes at the DIY Lab at Ramanujan complex, the children headed to the most sought-after location of the campus – the Nehru Museum. Formerly Hijli Detention Centre, this massive colonial architectural marvel has now been converted into a science and technology museum and attracts both students and teachers alike from schools in the surrounding neighborhood.

“Were there real prisoners in these cells?”

“Hey, just look at the locking mechanism! The inmate can never open this.”

“Goodness! This stone ages back to World War II?”

“What kind of a fighter jet is it? Any idea?”

Questions like these and many more floated around the old IIT building as students waited outside for their turn to visit the museum.

It was an interactive session of sorts inside the museum. The young bunch indulged in different hands-on experiments, which included the flow of solids and liquids in a given medium, the probability curve, rolling contact, the swinging of pendulums, the magnet-testing equipment, the elliptical carom board, the formation and conduction of electricity in clouds and so on.

With the recent launch of Chandrayaan 2, the students found the aerospace enclosure of the museum highly interesting. The principle of aerodynamics and propulsion installed in the equipment in experimental boxes drew the maximum crowd.

The last room of the museum is dedicated to some of the best photographers of the campus – both students and employees of the Institute.

“Are these pictures taken by IIT students?” asked Sanjiv. He represented NSN Memorial Senior Secondary School, Chennai. “Can’t be,” guessed Surya, his teammate, adding, “Where’s the time left for IITians to indulge in hobbies after studying through day and night?” Student volunteers broke into a fit of laughter!

Apart from an otherwise strict academic curriculum, IIT Kharagpur takes pride in having among its students some amazing photographers, filmmakers, a keen Everester or two and others who have dared to ditch regular engineering jobs and chase their dreams instead. The Young Innovators Program seeks to trigger that passion in these blooming minds where they learn to think differently, carve their own path and stand out in the crowd.

It was suddenly time for all to head towards the Kalidas Auditorium for the inaugural program.

Summer Internship Records All-time High

News18

Internship offers for Summer 2020 have crossed the 500-mark at IIT Kharagpur. The internship process which started in August 2019 has been soaring high compared to last year’s figure which was comparatively lower with the closing figure at 461.

IIT Kharagpur’s Career Development Centre has further witnessed an increasing trend in the internship season. More than seventy-five companies have already visited the campus. The most encouraging fact is that the campus has witnessed the participation and presence of all the sectors like IT/Software, Analytics/ Consulting, e-Commerce, Banking and Healthcare though IT/ software.

Career Development Centre (CDC) is optimistic that in the second phase of the Internship process which starts from the second week of January 2020, the Institute can register the highest number of Internships of recent times. Now, the Institute is gearing up for placements which starts from 1st December 2019 onwards.

Also, the pre-placement offers received till now for the placement session of 2019-20 is already close to last year’s final PPO figure of 261.

Talking about the current market scenario and its potential impact on the recruitment, Prof. G P Rajasekhar, Chairman at IIT Kharagpur’s Career Development Centre remarked, “The internship season outperformed the digits that we achieved during the last few years. Also, the PPOs rate is very encouraging. We took proactive measures to attract companies by reviewing our Company Relation Index (CRI) and then upgraded a few companies.”

A supposed challenge of 2.30 hours distance from Kolkata airport is also being addressed.

“We are stretching our wings to accommodate more companies on a given day so that companies do have enough pool of students each day,” he added.

Back in time

It was a homecoming of sorts. As Arjun Varma Kalidindi stood in front of the Chemical Engineering Department in the falling light, his mother, Usha, quickly clicked a few pictures. They had stolen these moments away from their visit to the Nehru Museum of Science and Technology with the members of the 32 teams who had come to participate in the IIT Kharapgur’s Young Innovator’s Program 2019.

They just had to make this detour. Many aeons ago, Arjun’s grandfather – K. Satyanarayana Raju on our rolls, and later Dr. K.S.N Raju – would have walked those stretches many a time with his friends. A wave of emotions gripped the mother and son as they made the trip together. Dr. Raju had passed away in October, 2014. In the fading light of that evening, his grandson, visiting the Department, made a poignant connection with his memory again.

Born in a small village in rural Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Raju grew up to be a passionate educator and writer. He finished his BTech in Chemical Engineering in Andhra University, before coming for his MTech in IIT Kharagpur, which he completed in 1959. He moved on to Panjab University to complete his PhD in 1971. He taught at Panjab University for 28 years. He moved to Libya to continue educating students in Bright Star University of Technology, a premier technical university of the country.

Dr. Raju was involved in active interaction with the industry, taking up projects and executing them with the induction of graduate students onsite in select industries. He was also responsible for developing chemical engineering departments at Panjab University, Chandigarh, B.V. Raju Institute of Technology, Andhra Pradesh, and the Bright Star University of Technology, Libya. Apart from this, Dr. Raju was involved in the curriculum development for several institutions as member of their boards of studies.

In his long and meritorious academic career, Dr. Raju published over 90 papers and articles in international magazines and journals. He supervised research at doctoral and postdoctoral levels, and reviewed publications in international journals and magazines in engineering, including the prestigious Applied Mechanics Reviews of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

He delivered invited lectures on plate heat exchangers at the NATO Advanced Research Institute along with highly distinguished speakers. He also gave onsite courses in industry, covering refineries, gas processing, petrochemical, and fertilizer plants, including lectures on several areas of chemical engineering to trainees and practising engineers in petroleum and petrochemical industry and on international fora. Among books authored by him are Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, and Mass Transfer: Chemical Engineering Practice as a joint publication of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. His other publications include Low Reynolds Number Heat Exchanger Design along with several distinguished authors and an earlier book on Applied Chemistry.

Arjun outside the Chemical Engineering Department

His grandson, Arjun, was at IIT Kharagpur for YIP 2019 with two of his friends, Ashrith Edukulla and Nairit Gupta as part of Team Reignite on behalf of FIITJEE School, Hyderabad. Using Arduino, they had developed a SafeDrive Device, a fully automatic and cost effective device which when attached to cars would inhibit driving if it detected alcohol level in the driver’s breath that was above the legal limit. Armed with ultrasonic sensors, it could also assist the driver in parking the car. The team had gone through several gruelling rounds before being invited to IIT Kharagpur to display their technology.

Back home, Arjun and his mother wrote back, “It was a wonderful experience for us and thank you so much for your hospitality.”

The day of many victories

Times of India, NDTV, Business Standard, The Week, Preptube.in, Hans India, Devdiscourse, College Dekho

Greta Thunberg can take heart. The theme of ‘Energy and Environment’ received top billing at IIT Kharagpur’s Young Innovators Program 2019, with a majority of the participating school students electing to find their own ways to combat pollution and promote conservation. In its third edition, the contest drew students from Classes VIII-X from schools all over India and abroad to brainstorm on the themes of Health and Cleanliness, Hardware Modelling, Product Designing, Disaster Management, Financial Inclusion, as also Energy and Environment. The grand finale of YIP was held at the IIT Kharagpur campus over three days ending on November 10.

The winners: Team Divyang, KiiT International, Bhubaneswar

The team that walked away with the trophy for 2019 was Team Divyang from KiiT International School, Bhubaneswar. Students Pritesh Deb, Divyan Sahoo and Ankit Pradhan designed a green water dispenser for the use of the differently-abled. Operated by foot or body weight through a simple lever mechanism, the user could use the water to take a shower, water plants or bathe a guide dog.

1st runner up: Team Kriyative Bhavanites, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Public School, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

The first runner-up was Team Kriyative Bhavanites from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Public School, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. Siddhanth Yellanki and Shreyas Bhargava won the prize for their activated charcoal smoke filter made from coconut shells and corn cobs that could be fitted on vehicles to reduce emission.

2nd runner up: Team Innovativeloops, Brahm Prakash D.A.V School, Hyderabad

The second runner up was Team Innovativeloops from Brahm Prakash D.A.V School, Hyderabad. P. Pranavaditya, Raj Bhattacharjee and Shreyas Biradar of the team, inspired by the Chandrayan mission, have developed an Astron telescope with 7 plane mirrors set in honey comb structure that can capture bright and high quality image during a space mission.

Among several other notable innovations was Sakhi – a biodegradable sanitary pad – made from natural materials such as cotton, dry leaves, resin and coconut husk by the students of Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, Kolkata. The project won “special mention” from the judges – consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of faculty members of IIT Kharagpur – for its boldness, given the social stigma surrounding the subject of menstruation.

Team Green Trenders from St. Arnolds School, Rourkela

Six teams were selected for the final round and were evaluated for not only the originality of the project ideas and the quality of presentation but also their societal impact. They were Team Green Trenders from St. Arnolds School, Rourkela, who showed how bioplastics can be profitably manufactured from yam starch; Team DL Puram Diamonds from Z.P.H. School, DL Puram, Visakhapatnam, who displayed their eco-friendly disease free and low budget toilet; Team Grow-It from Sanghamitra School, Telangana, who demonstrated a multi-level food manufacturing unit that used sensors to detect the growth of plant and aquatic life.

Team Grow-It from Sanghamitra School, Telangana

A total of 32 teams had made it to the final two rounds that began on November 8 at the IIT Kharagpur campus. The competition, which went international last year, received applications from UAE and ASEAN countries. Two teams from Singapore, and one team each from Indonesia and UAE made it to the semi-finals.

“YIP is not a contest, but a platform where students can showcase their ideas and mingle with others so that greater ideas can emerge,” said Prof. Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Associate Dean, International Relations. What was particularly noteworthy of YIP 2019 was not only the fact that girls were members of almost every team, and that the teams hailed from both international schools and district schools of India, but the quality of thought and superior technology that students brought to the table. Several of the teams had worked with Arduino, and some had even used AI to frame solutions to problems.

Team DL Puram Diamonds from Z.P.H. School, DL Puram, Visakhapatnam

“For 200,000 years, human history has been a story of constant inventions. We are where we are today for our ability to innovate and cooperate. You are the inheritors of this legacy, both good and bad. It is for you to find the way forward, “ Prof. Baidurya Bhattacharya, Dean, International Relations, said to students while inaugurating the YIP 2019 finals. The inauguration saw a Pledge for the Environment being taken by the 300 strong crowd of participants, teachers and parents who attended the event.

“What is important to remember is not only the necessity of innovation, but also the importance of implementation,” said Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, during his inaugural address. IIT Kharagpur’s alumni as also corporate sponsors such as Indigene and ICICI made YIP 2019 such a success.

“Thank you IIT Kharagpur for organizing such an amazing event and on such a large scale. It was good to see schools participating across the globe. I saw a lot of interesting models, and what is most important is the focuss on social challenges,” said Dr Sumeet Ahluwalia, Vice-President of Indegene, who addressed students on the second day of the finals.

Photographs: Suman Sutradhar