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Tropical Rainforest will Survive the Future global warming: finds IIT Kharagpur study

The tropical rain forests (TRF) like Amazon or Western Ghats are considered as “the lungs of the planet”, contain about 200-300 petagram (10¹⁵) or approx. 1/3^rd of the total atmospheric carbon and plays a crucial role in modulating the global carbon cycle, biodiversity and hydrological cycle. The 2023 AR6 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns if the CO₂ emission and global warming continues unabated the TRF community may altogether collapse much before the end of this century, and will drive a global catastrophe affecting nearly 800 million people worldwide. However, scientists are sharply divided on this issue. Predictions made through climate-vegetation models suggest that just a 2˚C increase in mean annual temperature could increase the respiration rates and push trees to their photosynthetic threshold causing their mortality. This will be compounded by increased extreme events like variability in rainfall, droughts and wildfires. Yet others think that over longer time scale plants will adapt to these changes by changing their diversities or invading into favourable climate zones. This has indeed been found in the Andes where low elevation warmer region trees are invading into the colder higher altitude region. In the Himalayas the Rhododendrons blooming time is slowly changing. The only way to test these contradicting predictions is to study the evolutionary record of the TRF plant community and the climate in the past when the earth went through natural warming phase due to high CO₂ emission.

Position of Indian landmass 56 million years back with location of Vastan, Gujarat (Yellow asterisk)

A team of scientists from IIT Kharagpur, Calcutta University and University of Western Ontario have studied detail records of TRF in sediments from Vastan coal mines of Gujarat deposited in coastal lagoons around 56 million years back. India was a tropical island then surrounded by oceans and Himalayas were yet to form. The period is known as Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) when global carbon dioxide rose to >1000 ppmv, an abnormally high level that the future global warming might reach. The PETM is the most rapid global warming event known in Earth’s history. An amount of carbon approximately equal to the total modern fossil fuel reservoir was released in the ocean-atmosphere system due to release of carbon stored in sea-floor sediments. The coal layers in Vastan are nothing but a spectacularly fossilized tropical rain forest containing huge amount of plant and pollen remains as well as variety of mammals and insects those lived in these forests. In fact, world’s earliest mammals evolved here due to this climate shift at PETM.

The Coal beds of Vastan that was once a dense tropical rain forest

“The study took several years of field and laboratory investigation. We had to date the sediments to confirm its PETM age and collected samples at centimeter intervals, analyzed the pollens to understand how the TRF community evolved in response to such extreme global warming. To understand how the climate changed during this super-greenhouse globe we analyzed isotopes of carbon in the plant organic matter and developed special techniques of measuring isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in micron size clay mineral kaolinite that precipitated in these lagoonal water. The climate was also monitored by analyzing oxygen isotopes in fossil teeth of small horse-like ungulate mammals those once roamed in these forests,” said Prof. Anindya Sarkar, the lead researcher of IIT Kharagpur. The study has just been published online in prestigious El Sevier Journal Global and Planetary Change.

Fossil remain of plant that grew during the super greenhouse earth

“Pollens are widely dispersed by air and water, resistant to decay and are invaluable indicators for reconstructing ancient biomes. Evidence of huge diversity (70 families and 256 taxa) of dense tropical rainforest trees like Sal, Mahogany, Palm, a variety of evergreen and mangrove plants are preserved in the sediment and coal beds of Vastan. No wonder that such rain forest harbored diverse animals including ancestors of early horses, snakes and insects,” said Prof. Subir K Bera of Calcutta University, an expert in ancient plants and co-author of the paper.

Pollens of 56 million year old rain forest trees

“We found a large anomaly in carbon isotopes exactly at 56 million year. This was such a characteristic signal for a super greenhouse globe with very high atmospheric CO₂. The hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions in clays depend on land temperature and amount of rainfall and act as snapshots of past climate. Likewise, the isotopes in fossil teeth record the history of what water animals drank. As the CO₂ began to increase, the land became abnormally hot >40^oC. But to our surprise we found that the temperature came down to ~30^oC during the later period, almost similar to today. The rainforest not only survived but also diversified during and after this global warming phase,” said Arpita Samanta, a former PhD student at IIT Kharagpur currently Assistant Professor at Asutosh College, Calcutta and the lead author of the paper.

An extinct fly preserved in tree amber of Vastan (photo courtesy Dr. H.S. Rana, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow)

“What helped the rainforest’s survival? We critically looked at the rainfall pattern and found that the warming intensified the rainfall and that possibly brought down the temperature. We call it rainfall buffered temperature. The increased rainfall and lowered temperature sustained these ancient rainforests of western India,” said Dr. Melinda K Bera, an isotope expert who painstakingly developed the novel clay based thermometer and a co-author.

“The Vastan record is unique in many ways. This is the first record of how tropical rainforest responded to elevated levels of CO₂ and global warming in the past. The only other available record is from Neotropical South America. Vastan data shows that globally tropical plant community responded in tandem. Second, the increased rainfall during this super greenhouse earth exactly supports the IPCC prediction of intensified precipitation regime in case of a future extreme 4^oC warming of the planet. Vastan is an ancient analogue of what our future greenhouse earth can be. Fossil fuel emission has increased the CO₂ from pre-industrial level of 280 ppm to ~421 ppm in 2024. Climate models suggest that a doubling of CO₂ will intensify the atmospheric circulation and consequently the rainfall. Nature already did experiment in the past that has lessons for us to learn. Many experts believe that the climate change due to such fast rate of global warming is now irreversible and collapse of rainforest or ocean biosphere is just imminent. The Vastan record shows that there may be some hope. At least the rain forest may take the heat stress and survive,” added Prof. Sarkar.

Reference: The Temperature-Precipitation Duel and Tropical Greening during the Early Eocene Greenhouse Episode by Samanta A. et al., Global and Planetary Change, Available online 16 October 2024, 104603:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818124002509

Media Coverages:

Times of India	UNI
The Hindu	Statesman
Uttarbanga Sambad	Biplabi Sambad Darpan

Uttarbanga Sambad

Coalfield Mirror

By : Prof. Anindya Sarkar, Department of Geology and Geophysics, IIT Kharagpur
Email: sarkaranindya@hotmail.com

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India’s Climate Challenge: Increasing Population Exposure to Compound Extreme Events

How is the growing population currently being affected, and how will it be impacted in the future by climate change-induced compound extreme events? This study delves into exposure of the Indian population to compound precipitation-temperature extremes, specifically hot-dry and hot-wet extremes. The study reveals an increase of over 10 million person-years of exposure across various regions in India. In densely populated areas, the increase in hot-wet extremes has been more pronounced compared to hot-dry extremes, a trend that is expected to persist into the future. The research identifies the Indo-Gangetic plain and southern coastal areas as future hotspots.

India being world’s most populous country and sixth most vulnerable to climate extremes, faces escalating climate challenges. The country’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture intensifies the repercussions of increasingly frequent dry spells and heavy rainfalls, a result of erratic precipitation patterns observed since the beginning of the 21st century. Further exacerbating the crisis, India has been warming steadily since the 1980s. This rise in temperatures has led to a spike in heatwaves, causing substantial human fatalities and posing serious threats to health, agriculture, and natural ecosystems. The simultaneous or successive occurrence of these temperature and precipitation extremes, known as compound extremes, poses a greater societal and environmental risk as compared to their individual occurrence.

The journal paper titled “Population Exposure to Compound Precipitation-Temperature Extremes in the Past and Future Climate across India”, authored by Prof. Rajib Maity, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Harald Kunstmann, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and Ms. Subhasmita Dash, Research Scholar, IIT Kharagpur provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of climate change on the Indian population through the lens of compound extremes. The research, published in Journal of Hydrometeorology under the American Meteorological Society, delves into the increasing number of compound extremes events due to climate change and their societal consequences in terms of population exposure.

The study specifically focuses on compound precipitation-temperature extremes (hot-dry and hot-wet) across India, a region characterized by a wide variety of climatic regimes and significant variation in population density. Utilizing a copula-based statistical approach, the researchers evaluated changes in population exposure to these compound extremes in the past i.e. 1981-2020 and project future changes for the periods 2021-2060 (near future) and 2061-2100 (far future), under different future warming and socioeconomic development scenarios.

In recent years, from 2001 to 2020, India has experienced a notable increase in both hot-dry and hot-wet extreme weather events, surpassing the frequencies observed in earlier decades. The study highlights that densely populated regions in India are expected to experience more adversity due to the hot-wet extremes in the future as compared to the hot-dry extremes. Considering both hot-wet and hot-dry extremes, the influence of climate is identified as the predominant factor towards the increase in exposure. This emphasizes the crucial role that climate change plays in amplifying the population exposure to compound extremes in a warmer future. Regions like the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the southern coastal areas are identified as future hotspots with maximum increases in exposure under projected warming and population scenarios.

This study explores the population exposure to an increasing number of hydroclimatic extreme events owing to the warming climate. It is well agreed that the extreme events are increasing in terms of frequency as well as intensity due to climate change and that the exposure to compound extreme events (concurrent occurrence of two or more extreme phenomena) affects population, ecosystems, and a variety of socioeconomic aspects more adversely. The results indicate an increase of more than 10 million person-year exposure from the compound extremes across many regions of the country, considering both near and far future periods. The increase is as much as sixfold in many parts of the country, including the Indo-Gangetic Plain and southernmost coastal regions, identified as the future hotspots with the maximum increase in exposure under all the projected warming and population scenarios. The study helps to identify the regions that may need greater attention based on the risks of population exposure to compound extremes in a warmer future. It underscores the critical need to confront climate-related challenges arising from increasing exposure to compound extremes in India.

Prof. Rajib Maity Ms. Subhasmita Dash
Department of Civil Engineering Research Scholar
IIT Kharagpur IIT Kharagpur

Publication:
https://www.uni-augsburg.de/en/campusleben/neuigkeiten/2024/04/15/climate-hotspots-in-india/

Inputs By : Prof. Rajib Maity, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
Email: rajib@civil.iitkgp.ac.in

Edited By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

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You care for us, now let us take care of you

On June 19, 2021, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur had come forward to provide ration packets to 2000 Covid Lockdown affected poor people in and around the campus, with the generous contributions of $1 million received from its alumni.

Besides being thankful to the alma mater for such an orderly management of the Covid-19 support program, the president of IIT Kharagpur Foundation USA, Ron Gupta mentioned, “The IIT Kharagpur Foundation alumni are indebted to you all for distribution of the needed supplies to our workers who help the students during their stay. We urge to continue with this program periodically, as needed. The Foundation will continue to support as necessary”.

“We will continue to support the lockdown affected jobless and needy people as long as the impact of COVID- 19 pandemic lasts”, added Prof Virendra Kumar Tewari, the Director of IIT Kharagpur.

To get to know more, please visit the video links given below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U2RY7v14Er2K4Mi2zUg_P6a0aZWUE9XM/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LaBJ3GmFir4GZNuxqUEmPsOhIqoqbEY5/view?usp=sharing

Contact: Paramita Dey, Junior Assistant

Email: media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282004

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.

A composite approach

Had she known it, Greta Thunberg – the teenage Swedish environmental activist who has given up airline travel to cut down on her carbon footprint – would have been doubly upset. The airline industry is far more polluting than she can imagine. The commercial aircraft industry relies on composite materials to produce lighter and more durable aircraft. But a large amount of waste is generated in the production process.

Composite materials, or composites as they are commonly known, are a class of materials in which polymers are reinforced with stiff fibres (usually glass or carbon). Carbon fibres can have extreme stiffness while the polymers hold together the fibres and distribute the stress. When combined together, composite materials are created that can be 10 times stronger than Aluminium but only half as heavy. Not surprisingly, composites today are the preferred material in the aviation industry to make aircraft. A Boeing 787 airplane, for example, contains 50% by weight of composites, which is about 32,000 kg of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP).

Micro-CT Image processed view single prepreg strand after manufacturing of composites

But composites are usually manufactured by cutting the prepreg (short for pre-impregnated fibre) into desired shape; laying the cut outs in desired shape and subjecting the layup to heat and pressure leading to consolidation. A large amount of waste is generated in the form of skeleton of left over prepreg and out of specs prepreg rolls.

Currently, airline production of Boeing and Airbus leads to estimated waste of about 4 million lb/year of cured and uncured prepreg annually. This is a highly engineered expensive material which is dumped or burnt. With the automotive industry poised to consume more carbon fibre (and generate additional production scrap), recycling and reuse of composite production waste will soon be essential.

At IIT Kharagpur, we have been involved in developing easy manufacturing methods to use the in-process waste and fabricate composites with reasonable properties. The adopted approach has been to cut the prepreg scrap into rectangle strands and use different layup methods to create laminates which are subject to a combination of heat and pressure for consolidation.

Modelling of stochasticity and randomness in composites –random orientation and spatial location

This is a challenging process that includes accounting for the partial cure of the prepreg, the variable shape and size of the strand, and deformation during the consolidation.

Different layup methods have been tried and the relation between the proposed layup technique and mechanical performance parameters has been derived. It is clearly evident that there is strong dependence of the final properties on the manufacturing routes chosen.

We have been trying to determine the optimal shape of the strand through a mix of computational and experimental studies. Apart from improving the properties, we would also like to reduce the variability of properties across different laminates. Also pertinent is the selection of the possible products for the composites created by waste.

Modelling of fiber matrix damage in short fiber reinforced composites. A mean field homogenization based method was developed and FE models were used for validation

Certain performance characteristics of the composites have been found comparable to Aluminium. So we are confident that some viable semi-structural application can be discovered for the composite generated from waste.

The Composites Group at IIT Kharagpur in fact is working towards increasing the applicability of composites by integrated approach to both the manufacturing and mechanics of composites. In general, the research in manufacturing and mechanics of two composites are like two tracks of a railway line, they run parallel to each other but rarely meet. This situation is not ideal as the mechanical performance depend significantly on the manufacturing process parameters. The composite group is actively trying to break this mind-set and have a holistic view on composites. The group at IIT Kharagpur has experience with a wide spectrum of research in the field of composites from basic science to applied engineering.

Apart from the reuse and recycle of composites, we are dealing with ‘Stochasticity in microstructure’. Unlike prevalent engineering materials like Aluminium or Steel which are homogenous, composite materials are inherently heterogonous. Dealing with this heterogeneity is problem of fundamental importance as the properties of the composite depend on the length and orientation distribution of the composite. Also important is the randomness of the spatial location of the fibres.

We have developed analytic methods for homogenization and localization of short fibre reinforced composites which account for the spatial randomness of the fibre location. The modelling results are then validated against full finite element (FE) models. Creating random microstructure for FE model building is another area of interest for the group. We have implemented and automated various random microstructure techniques like random sequential adsorption algorithm. Recently, there have been attempts to use machine learning methods for the same.

Colorful image of voids present in strand composites, derived using Micro-CT and image processing. Red and blue colour denotes large and small voids respectively

Proper industrial deployment of composites also necessities that proper design and simulation protocols are developed for fatigue and other performance attributes. Short fibre reinforced composites are a class of composites which have fibre having small aspect ratio (20-50), which is usually injection moulded. Injection moulding is a manufacturing process where pre-compounded matrix with glass fibre is injected into a mould under high temperature and pressure. As the matrix flows into the mould, it carries the fibres along with itself leading to different fibre orientation distribution (FOD) at every point. The FOD in turn affects the static and fatigue properties.

While homogenization techniques are more or less well established, the same cannot be said of fatigue and damage. We have been trying to derive simple methods to predict the fatigue and damage properties locally as a function of the FOD with required number of input parameters as few as possible.

Test rig for fatigue testing of industrial component in a horizontal fatigue testing machine

The ultimate aim in this activity is to be able to reduce the amount of testing required before industrial deployment of composite component can take place. Currently, industrial practice is extensive testing and design based on hit and trial. Increased confidence in simulation can help replace physical tests in lab by virtual testing in computers, thereby reducing significantly the design cycle time as well as cost.

A similar hybrid multiscale approach has been envisaged for 3D printed short fibre reinforced composites and the project has been recently sanctioned by IIT Kharagpur via the Institute Scheme for Innovative Research and Development (ISIRD) scheme.

Owing to the large scale adoption of composite materials by various industries, there is therefore a growing need for trained engineers with expertise in composite materials. The group is actively researching methods and techniques for improvements in the training and pedagogy of composite for the next generation as well.

The group has developed an app (named Composite Express) which is aimed to help master basic concepts of design and micromechanics of unidirectional composites in a fun and engaging manner. The app is designed like a game, where there are different levels each introducing newer concepts and complexities about design of continuous fibre composites.

Going forward

Professor Tony McNally, Director- International Institute for Nanocomposites Manufacturing; Director-National Polymer Processing Centre of WMG, was the Chief Guest at the International Conference on Advances in Polymer Science and Technology (APSRT) being held at IIT Kharagpur between September 24-27 by the Rubber Technology Centre of the Institute. He spoke to KGP Chronicle on the legacy of Lord Bhattacharyya and WMG’s long relationship with IIT Kharagpur.

On Lord Bhattacharyya and WMG:

Lord Bhattacharyya with Margaret Thatcher (Courtesy: WMG website)

Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya was the Founder of the WMG in 1980 at a time when British industry was in dire straits and needed help. He was a man before his time. He was a visionary. He had the idea of merging academic excellence with industrial relevance so that the results of academic research could be translated quickly and, more importantly, industries could get the help of universities quickly. He had this idea at a time when many were not interested. So he approached the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick. Lord Bhattacharyya, along with a secretary, started WMG and here we are 40 years later with 10 buildings, tens and millions of pounds in turnover, 300 PhD students, 300 post-doctoral researchers and about 2000 staff and internationally focussed units.

Over the decades, Lord Bhattacharyya built relations with industrial partners and leading companies. Most of the early successes were with Indian industry – Tata Motors for example. He was great friend of Ratan Tata and following from that success he started working with companies like TVS in India. But the key contribution he made in UK was that he brokered the purchase of Jaguar Land Rover by the Tata group, thereby creating thousands of jobs in the UK that are in existence today because of Lord Bhattacharyya’s contribution. That is a tremendous legacy to leave.

Eventually, Lord Bhattacharyya’s services came to be of great demand by other industries,other universities around the world and particularly by other governments. He ended up being advisor to many governments – South Africa for instance- over many years. The model that he adopted is being discussed in great detail by other countries, such as in Australia, which is looking very closely at this model of co-location of industry with an university department.

The other major contribution of Lord Bhattacharyya was in teaching, particularly teaching for industry. He set up many courses related to the needs of industry – supply chain, logistics, manufacturing systems engineering, engineering management and so on. As a consequence, today there are 13-14 different executive courses run by WMG which are very popular. The other model he introduced was designing bespoke engineering programs for companies. There are many people who work in companies who have not been able to go to universities for some reason. What he used to do is design programs from the scratch so that employees could attend university – one week per month they would study at the university and the other weeks of the month be with the company. This proved to be very popular. WMG has implemented this model while working with Jaguar, with Tyson Technology.

Overall, the contribution is immense in terms of the opportunities he gave people, like myself, also the model which is now being adopted across the world on how to transfer research to industry, how to train industry or transfer skillset that the industry really needs..

On WMG’s collaboration with IIT Kharagpur:

Prof. McNally at the International Conference on APSRT, where he was Chief Guest at the inauguration function

Lord Bhattacharyya was very proud of being an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. I joined WMG six years ago, and since then have been witness to an integrated system of PhD programs, Masters and UG programs. Then there is also the UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) link with IITs, especially IIT Kharagpur, and there is a drive for collaboration to focus on global challenges like clean water, energy, sustainability, recycling and electrification of transport. And this is an area that IIT Kharagpur, WMG and Tata Group, especially Tata Motors are very much focussed on. As I speak, there is a delegation from IIT Kharagpur at WMG looking at the battery facility.

So the plan on electrification of vehicles is already moving and the reason why I accepted the invitation to come to the International conference on Polymer Science and Rubber Technology is that we wanted to do exactly the same kind of research with new materials, polymers and rubber technology, functionality, and intelligent materials. The Rubber Technology Centre at IIT Kharagpur is globally famous, long established, with its alumni spread all over the world, occupying top positions in universities and industry. Unfortunately, UK has not invested greatly in rubber technology in universities, so it makes sense to collaborate with the best.

Prof. McNally delivered his plenary lecture at the APSRT conference on ‘Composites of Functionalized 1D/2D Nanomaterials and Polymers

WMG also has collaboration with IIT Kharagpur in autonomous vehicles. WMG is working on driverless cars and driverless transport. WMG is also an international partner of IIT Kharagpur’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing. Also, we have students of IIT Kharagpur come over WMG for internships and Masters. This has been historically in the case of Metallurgy but now we are looking at Joint PhDs as well.

On carrying forward Lord Bhattacharyya’s legacy:

Lord Bhattacharyya’s shoes are very difficult to fill because he was unique. It would be a silly thing to even try to do that. We will carry on as usual. But there is, I believe, a vast influence missing. As a university we will try to get another person of similar standing who had influence in the government, around the world, and in industry and try to possibly continue with the legacy. The groundwork is set and the foundations are strong. Lord Bhattacharyya used to meet professors every month and his favourite phrase during that time was ‘consolidate’. Nobody could stand still and his directive was “go, go”, “build, build”. If you hear that once a month it becomes instilled in you. So that mentality is there. In that sense, we will continue to build on the foundations. But we need someone as influential as Lord Bhattacharyaa so that we can have that kind of presence globally.

Banner and Pics of Prof. McNally: Suman Sutradhar