A ‘Workshop on the Recent Progress in Microalloyed Steels with High-Strength and Toughness’ was organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and the Indian Institute of Metals, Kharagpur Chapter. The workshop was based on the project being investigated at IIT Kharagpur on the development of vanadium microalloyed high-strength steel in collaboration with the Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Ranchi, and with support from the Vanitec Limited, UK. The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Chandan Chakraborty, Head, Electrical Engineering, along with Prof. Karabi Das, Head, Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering. Mr. Nirvik Banerjee, Executive Director, RDCIS, SAIL, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
A special session was conducted by Chairman Dr. Vinod Kumar, CGM, RDCIS, SAIL with a keynote lecture by David N Crowther, Technical Consultant, Vanitec Ltd. About 75 delegates attended the workshop including several executives from the steel industries along with the faculty members and research scholars from IIT Kharagpur and the other academic institutions. Technical Sessions were conducted by Chairman Prof. Siddhartha Das, Managing Director, STEP, IIT Kharagpur and Chairman Mr. Arunava Dasgupta, CGM, ISP with senior officials of SAIL
Prof. Karabi Das extended cordial welcome to the delegates at the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and emphasized the long tradition, contribution, and strength of this institute in metallurgical research.
In his lecture, Prof. Chandan Chakraborty mentioned the importance of steel technology for nation-building and conveyed the potential and desire of IIT Kharagpur to become the prime hub for steel technology and related research in the country, in collaboration with the steel industries.
Mr. Nirvik Banerjee, Executive Director, RDCIS, SAIL, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. He emphasised the urgent need of the Indian Steel Sector to achieve carbon net neutrality for ensuring sustainability and requested the researchers to focus on this area.
Mr. Banerjee covered all the important areas where the Indian steel industries require immediate technological support. Dr. David Crowther, Technical Consultant, Vanitec Limited, UK, delivered the keynote lecture highlighting the importance of vanadium microalloying for application-specific steel development.
Dr. Vinod Kumar, Mr. Arunava Dasgupta, and Mr. Abhijit Dutta, the General Managers from SAIL elaborated on the development of high-strength microalloyed steels by different production units of SAIL.
Dr. Sudipta Patra from IIT BHU and Prof. Debalay Chakrabarti from IIT Kharagpur delivered lectures on the fundamental aspects of microalloyed steels. Thus, the workshop covered the industrial processing and development of advanced grades of steel for important applications such as structural, automotive, energy, engineering, naval and defence to support the “Make In India” initiative of the Govt. of India, as well as the fundamental aspects of microalloying related research in steel.
Finally, the attendees had an extensive discussion during the valedictory session and decided on the pathways for academia-industry collaborative research on the development of advanced steel for a sustainable future. The distinguished delegates who attended the event concluded that such a workshop is hardly organized with almost equal participation from the academia and the industry and it can pave a milestone to set up the collaborative research ecosystem on steel technology in India.
Inputs by: Prof. Debalay Chakrabarti, Associate Dean, R&D, IIT Kharagpur
Email : debalay@metal.iitkgp.ac.in
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
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