Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, former Director, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Department of Computer Science and Engineering have been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri Award (2013) by the Government of India for their distinguished contribution to the field of Science and Engineering.

Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande, Department of Mechanical Engineering was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri Award in the category of Science and Engineering. Prof. Dhande was born on 14th February, 1948. He did his BE in 1969 from the University of Poona from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and PhD in 1974 from IIT Kanpur from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Prof. Dhande served as Dean, Research and Development from 1999 – 2001 and as Director of IIT Kanpur from 2001 – 2012.
Prof. Dhande was the founder director of PDPM Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur. PDPM IIITDM Jabalpur is a beneficiary of the protocol signed by the Prime Ministers of India and Japan. Prof. Dhande has established another new Institute, the Indian Institute of Saddlery Technology and Export Management (IISTEM) at Banther near Kanpur under the aegis of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in order to develop the traditional technology available in the region. He has been assisting the Indian government by preparing the vision documents and charters for the Indian Institutes of Science for Education & Research (IISER) at Pune and Kolkata. He served as a part-time member of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Prof. Dhande has worked in the field of Computer Aided Design, Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Tooling and Reverse Engineering. AUTOLAY, an innovative CAD technology that he developed for the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency is used by several aircraft manufacturers around the world and is also used for the construction of light combat aircraft in India.
Prof. Dhande has received several honours and awards like the “Distinguished Alumnus Award", College of Engineering, Poona University (1997), Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, New Delhi (2002) and Fellow of the IETE, (2003).

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Department of Computer Science and Engineering was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri Award in the category of Science and Engineering. Prof. Agrawal was born in Allahabad. He did his BTech (1986) and PhD (1991) from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kanpur. After a brief stint at Chennai Mathematical Institute, and the University of Ulm as a Humboldt Fellow, he joined the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kanpur in 1996 and is the Dean of Faculty Affairs as well as the Dean of Resource Planning and Generation.
Prof. Agrawal works in theory of computation; specifically, in complexity theory, algorithmic number theory and algebra. His best known work is in algorithmic number theory: along with two of his students, he designed the first deterministic polynomial time algorithm for testing the primality of a number. He has also made important contributions to the Isomorphism Conjecture: a conjecture that postulates that all NP-complete sets are essentially identical. He has shown that for a large subclass of NP-complete sets the conjecture indeed holds, and that under a plausible hypothesis, the entire conjecture is true. More recently, he has been working on the Polynomial Identity Testing problem: given a polynomial as a sequence of addition and multiplication operations, check if the polynomial is non-zero. This problem has an efficient randomized algorithm, but no deterministic one is known. He has shown that a deterministic, black-box algorithm (a black-box algorithm ignores the input structure) for this problem yields a lower bound in arithmetic complexity, and has formulated a conjecture that results in separation of VP from VNP, the arithmetic analogues of the classes P and NP.
Prof. Agrawal is an editor of the journal “Theory of Computing and Computability”. He is a Fellow of several academies: Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS), Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and Indian National Academy of Engineers. He is a recipient of several awards including the Clay Research Award (2002), the ICTP Prize (2003), the Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Kanpur (2003), the S. S. Bhatnagar Award (2003), the Meghnath Saha Award (2003), the Godel Prize (2006), the Fulkerson Prize (2006), the Infosys Prize (2008), the G. D. Birla Prize (2009), Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in Mathematics (2010), the Humboldt Prize (2011), and the H. K. Firodia Award (2011).

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New Chair Professors

D. N. Wadia Chair Professor: Prof. S. K. Tandon, former faculty member, Department of Geology, University of Delhi has been selected as the D. N. Wadia Chair Professor, sponsored by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
Homepage: http://www.du.ac.in/index.php?id=270&fmember=2354&cid=417

 

Ministry of Steel Chair Professor: Prof. Dipak Mazumdar, Department of Material Science and Engineering has been selected for the Chair Professorship sponsored by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. Homepage: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~dipak/

 

 

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Honours and Awards

Prof. Ashok Kumar, Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering has been selected for the TATA Innovation Fellowship from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

Prof. M. Ramamoorty, former faculty member, Department of Electrical Engineering, who is currently visiting the department received the Malviya Excellence Award in Power Systems.

Prof. Mukesh Sharma, Department of Civil Engineering has been awarded the Kong Ha Award for Excellence in Air Quality Management.

Prof. Vinod Singh, Department of Chemistry, currently Director IISER Bhopal has been awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Banaras Hindu University for the year 2012.

Prof. Arvind K. Sinha, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Psychology.

Prof. S. C. Srivastava, Department of Electrical Engineering received the Academic Excellence Award 2012 at the 17th National Power Systems Conference held at IIT BHU, Varanasi, for his exemplary contribution in the field of power engineering.

The Golden Jubilee Reunion of the 1962 batch was formally inaugurated on 23rd November, 2012 by Prof. Indranil Manna, Director, at the outreach auditorium. Nearly 35 alumni from India and abroad took part in the reunion. There were presentations by Prof. Manindra Agrawal (Dean, Resource Planning and Generation and Officiating Dean of Faculty Affairs), Prof. Ajit Chaturvedi (Dean, Research and Development), Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi (Dean of Academic Affairs) and Prof. A. K. Ghosh (Dean of Student Affairs). The alumni were told about the changes that the Institute has undergone over the years, such as the construction of new hostels, academic buildings and sports complex. The alumni in turn shared knowledge of the latest advancements in their respective fields of work. The second day began with the planting of saplings on the campus followed by a group photography session in Park 67. The guests were then taken for a campus tour. The fun and frolic continued with lunch being served outdoors. This was not the end to the excitement and joy, as cultural programmes were organized during the evening. Before the day ended, the ex-students made it a point to speak with students presently studying in the institute. The message to students during the interactive session was that hard work and a die-hard spirit are necessary to achieve ambitions. The reunion came to an end on the third day with the felicitation ceremony and lunch for the former students and their families at the residence of the Director.

 

The Silver Jubilee reunion of the Batch-of-1988 was held from 26th – 29th December, 2012. The alumni were determined to enjoy every single minute of their much awaited reunion, and were undeterred by the icy winds and plummeting temperature. More than 75 alumni from across the globe took part in the reunion. A late night walk around the campus was followed by a late night bulla session at the Visitors Hostel Lawns on the 26th. On 27th morning the alumni went around the campus cycling, walking, running and jogging and after breakfast interacted with the Heads of Departments, visited their departments and went around the academic area. In the evening they played a soccer match between the old-time Hall 2 and Hall 3 residents. Later there was a concert by Ankita Mishra (finalist of Indian Idol 3) followed by the reunion dinner and the inevitable late night bulla session. On 28th morning yoga, meditation, jogging and cycling around the campus was arranged for the alumni and their families. After the inaugural function and the photo session the alumni interacted with the Deans and went for a picnic lunch at the mango grove. They also interacted with the current students and gymkhana representatives while their families were taken for a bus tour of the academic area. In the evening the alumni and their families were entertained by the IITK band. Some other activities much enjoyed by the alumni were antakshari, a visit to the Astronomy Club's newly developed Planetarium, a trip to Bithoor, an Aloo Paratha breakfast, a visit to their hostel rooms and phatta cricket.

The "batch of 88" has contributed more than one crore towards their batch fund to support their alma mater. This is the first time a batch fund has crossed the one crore threshold. Mr. Nishith Mohan (coordinator of the event) organized the batch reunion and helped in fund raising with incredible energy and enthusiasm. The Batch-of-1988 have donated towards the following activities: Noida Extension Center, naming of Squash Court as "Batch of 1988 Squash Court-Contributed by Shiv & Uma Kapoor (Parents of Rishi Kapoor)", Opportunity School, Vivekananda Samiti, Students Emergency Fund, Prayas and Tinkering Lab.

 

The Annual Global Conference on Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation (AGCETI) was held from 7th – 9th December, 2012. AGCETI is an event organized annually with long term prospects in the field of entrepreneurship. The conference focuses on providing participants with real opportunities to help them find real growth. The 3rd AGCETI 2012 was held at IIT Kanpur in association with the International Management Institute, New Delhi, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), New York, USA and National Entrepreneurship Network, Bangalore. The conference saw active participation from a large number of countries including UK, Indonesia, Portugal, Norway and Austria. The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi (Dean, R&D).

The Inter IIT staff sports meet was held from 27th – 31st December, 2012. The Meet had the eight most popular sports in the country - Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Table Tennis, Volleyball, Tennis and Football in both individual and team based categories. In the men's events, IIT Kanpur won the Gold in Badminton and Basketball, Silver in Cricket, Shot put and Javelin throw and Bronze in Football, Volleyball, Discuss throw, 1500 m race and 4 x 100 Relay race. In the women's events, IIT Kanpur won the Gold and Silver in Shot put, Silver in Badminton, Bronze in the 200m Race and in Table Tennis. IIT Kanpur, however, won the second position while IIT Delhi won the General Championship.

Prof. Manohar Prasad, Department of Mechanical Engineering, was born on 24th January, 1942 in a small village in Bihar. He got his BTech in Mechanical Engineering in 1965 from Bihar College of Engineering, Patna (now called NIT Patna). Thereafter, he joined the Mechanical Engineering Department of IIT Kanpur as Associate Lecturer in 1966. While serving at IIT Kanpur, he completed his MTech in 1969 and his PhD in the area of energy conversion in 1976. Prof. Prasad retired from the Institute in 2004.
Prof. Prasad passed away on 15th January, 2013 in Kanpur. He is survived by his wife, son, two daughters and grand-children.

The Institute expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family of Prof. Prasad and prays for the peace of the departed soul.

Noida Convention Center: The Institute had acquired 5 acres of land in Noida sometime ago with the aim of making a small convention center there for supporting outreach activities. The plans for the center are ready and the foundation laying ceremony was performed on 4th December in Sector 62, Noida. A detailed map of the location is at: http://goo.gl/WuVtb and the plan of construction at: http://goo.gl/WiH0h.

 

New York Office: The Institute has set itself an ambitious target to reach a strength of 500 faculty members from its current strength of 352 by the year 2020. This is a very important and essential requirement since the student population has grown from 3000 to nearly 6000 and will get close to 7000 over the next few years. The Institute has initiated a number of steps to achieve this target like the establishment of KIRAAN (Kanpur IIT Research and Academics Network), a network of alumni academicians to help identify potential faculty, led by Prof. Raj Bordia (University of Washington). Another initiative is the establishment of an IITK office in New York. This office will support KIRAAN, besides helping the Institute in a number of other activities, e.g., fund raising, R&D alliance with industry and universities, and student exchange, internships, and placement. The office is located on William Street (next to Wall Street) in Manhattan, and the space is generously provided rent-free to the institute by Mr. Sanjiv Khosla (BT/CSE/1986). He is also planning to use the office as an on-site tech accelerator for startups and project ideas by our students.

 

Mobile App.: The Institute, along with the Alumni Association, launched a mobile app. on both iOS and Android platforms during the Pan IIT meet held in Kolkata in December 2012. The app. is meant for alumni, students and staff of the Institute and will have search for alumni (both local and global), news about IITK and alumni, information about Institute events like batch reunions, Antaragni etc., links to the institute Facebook and LinkedIn groups, facilities for updating one's profile, and making donations. The mobile app. has been made possible due to the efforts of Mr. Salil Dave (BT/EE/1986), of Microsoft Corporation who is also the vice president, Alumni Association and a team of professionals from Ever True (www.evertrue.com).

Bhoomi Pujan of a New Lecture Hall Complex was held on 17th January, 2013. Prof. Indranil Manna (Director), Prof. S. C. Srivastava (Deputy Director) and Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi (Dean, Academic Affairs) performed the puja. Several faculty and staff members were present on the occasion. This lecture hall complex will have 3 lecture halls, one with a 600 seats capacity and the other two with a capacity of 400 seats each.

 

 

The Opening Ceremony was held on 9th September, 2012 at the NEW SAC. It had various events spread over the day, starting with a duathlon that comprised of running and cycling. It saw participation from around 350 students and a few faculty and staff members. The duathlon was followed by refreshments and an Air Show by the Aeromodelling Club. A stick-bomb was used for the inauguration of the ceremony by the then Director, Prof. Sanjay G. Dhande and Deputy Director, Prof. S. C. Srivastava. The council exhibitions were inaugurated and then the audience proceeded to see the nukkad naatak “Sab Chalta Hai” produced by the Dramatics Club. There were performances also by the Music Club, the Dance Club and Prayas. It was good to see seniors and juniors performing together at these events. Former Deans of students' affairs were also invited and their blessings sought.

Laugh it out: A stand-up comedy event "Laugh it out" was organised on 25th September 2012. The idea behind the event was for it to act as a stress buster for the students after the midsems. For about three hours, comedians like Mr. Sunil Pal, Mr. Raja Rancho, Mr. Irfan Malik and Mr. Ali Hasan charmed the whole gathering with their jokes and punches. The event was hosted by comedian cum anchor Mr. Rajan Shrivastav and was attended by more than 5000 people, including a large number of faculty members as well. Although one of the invited performers, Mr. Nitin Gupta (Rivaldo), could not come due to medical reasons, the show managed to keep its audience in splits of laughter.

Visit by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: The scale of the events marking the Gymkhana Golden Jubilee Year got considerably raised by former President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's visit on 25th October, 2012. During his visit he also went to the airstrip to see the aerostat made by IIT Kanpur students, faculty and ADRDE. He spoke about his life both as a student and as a teacher and exhorted the audience to work towards the upliftment of society and the legacy they would like to leave behind. He also recited a small poem titled “I will fly and fly” and ended his speech with a solemn oath. The DM and the DIG, who happen to be our own alumni, were also present on the occasion. Despite the event being organised during the midsem break, the main auditorium was packed to capacity and the rest of the hopeful audience was directed to L7 and L16, where the event was being screened live. The session was followed by a high tea for everyone.

The 48th Inter IIT Sports Meet 2012 was held from 17th – 24th December, 2012 in Roorkee. The Aquatics meet was held from 2nd to 5th October. A 150 strong contingent participated in the meet. Mr. Subedar Major Vijay Kumar, Silver Medalist in London Olympics, 2012 was the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony. The Inter-IIT Sports Meet is held annually every December among the seven Indian Institutes of Technology and is hosted by any one of the IITs in turn. An Inter-IIT Aquatics Meet is held separately as part of the main Meet each year preceding the main Inter-IIT Sports Meet. A General Championship is awarded to the team that shows the best performance in both the Inter-IIT Sports meet and the Inter-IIT Aquatics meet combined. The event encompasses twelve of the most popular sports in the country, in both individual and team based categories.

With its eye on the GC every institute puts its players through a hard and rigorous selection and training program, as a result of which you see only the best pitting themselves against the best. IIT Kanpur stood 4th in the race for General Championship in the boys and the girls category, climbing up by one position from last year in both the categories. The Athletics team won the overall championship after a gap of nearly 20 years.

The final results of IIT Kanpur are as follows:

Gold - Athletics
Silver - Squash (boys team), Table Tennis ( boys team), Badminton (girls team), Volleyball (girls team)
Bronze - Tennis (boys team), Swimming (boys team), Basketball (girls team), Table Tennis (girls team)

 

With the aim of promoting goodwill and solidarity among IITs and encouraging excellence in competitive sports, the Inter IIT Sports meet was started in 1961 at IIT Bombay. Due to the Chinese aggression it was cancelled for the following two years but was restarted in 1963 at IIT Kharagpur. Since then, it has been held every single year in December at all the IITs by rotation. Nearly 2500 plus students participate in the Sports Meet. The coveted “General Championship” is awarded to the team with the best performance.

 

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Being inside a planetarium and thus being closer to the heavens has been a memorable experience for most of us. It is an experience which is very close to watching the clearest of night skies. The planetarium is a room which has a large spherical dome to facilitate spherical projection which can showcase the animated night sky and the wonders of the cosmos. Accordingly a low cost planetarium was in our mind and it was proposed as a student project. We envisaged that we would use a mirror projector system, consisting of a single mirror and a projector for projecting over a curved surface as in the spherical dome, which would project a variety of images on the screen. This would be housed in a hall that can accommodate 20 people. The geodesic design, which is like the model of a football but has triangles as its basic building blocks, offered the best option for the construction of the dome. After constructing the dome, we decided to make triangular sections of cloths with laces to fit the cells by tying it to the connecting rods. The mirror projector system that we opted for consisted of a normal projector and a convex lens. The projection over almost the entire surface of the dome was achieved by placing the mirror projection system at the rim of the spherical dome. This allowed the light from the projector to fall on the surface of the mirror and then get projected over the surface of the dome as shown in the given ray diagram below.

Our future plans include acquiring a better mirror for the projector to improve the quality of the images. We also plan to design the warping software, which will allow movies and documentaries to be projected on the screen. We also plan to project anaglyph 3D images on the screen. With the help of anaglyph 3D glasses, such a projection would give realistic images of various objects and photographs. We also have plan to automate the projection system. One of the dream projects is to build a simulator. The planetarium's curved screen can provide a 3 dimensional vie marking it seem as if you are a part of it. We plan to design maps in such a way that when projected on to the dome it will simulate some real world and by using a joystick we will be able to move inside it. The computers can aid us by allowing us to make any kind of virtual world we can think of from the microscopic scale to a galactic size. Using software, we can also determine how stars will appear from other planets, for instance from Mars.