IIT AND KOTA

On its way to developing an ultra-sensitive low cost explosive detector, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, will soon unveil an "e-nose" that will be several times stronger than a dog's olfactory power. This device, which is also informally called 'E-dog' by the developing team, will find out traces of RDX that existing machines fail to point out. It will be able to detect RDX from 1.5 feet. The e-nose, which uses a sensor coated with nano materials, is currently under development. V Ramgopal Rao, chair professor at the department of electrical engineering, IIT-Bombay and principal investigator at the institute's centre of excellence in nano-electronics, spoke about the device on the sidelines of the 8th Chandigarh Science Congress (CHASCON) at Panjab University on Wednesday. CHASCON is being organized by PU in collaboration with various leading educational and research institutions of the Tricity. The Electronic Nose, or E-dog, is the result of

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2014 released a comprehensive list of top 200 universities around the world in a range of popular subject areas. Four Indian institutes including IITs in Delhi and Mumbai, are among the global top 50 in 30 disciplines covered. IIT-Delhi achieved country's highest position, ranking 42nd in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. IIT-Bombay stood 49th in electrical engineering and 50th in civil engineering, IIT-Madras achieved 49th in civil engineering. Apart from this, Indian Institute of Science was ranked 46th in materials science. The annual QS World University Rankings by subject is a comprehensive guide to the world's top universities and using data on reputation and research citations, it highlights the rankings of 200 top universities in the world for 30 individual subjects. However, the lack of quality education in arts, humanities and social sciences continue to be a concern and therefore, no Indian unive

The search for the body of Sahil Jalan, an IIT-Kharagpur student suspected to have drowned in the Cauvery at Mekedatu, about 95km from Bangalore, ended unsuccessfully on the fourth day on Wednesday. District authorities confirmed that the body of the fourth-year architecture student was not found, despite expanding the scope of the search. Kuldeep Jain, assistant SP, Channapatna, said: "We formed five teams today, comprising personnel from the National Disaster Response Force and the fire department searched more than 20km of river. We didn't find the body till evening and had to suspend operations. We'll resume the search tomorrow (Thursday)." On Tuesday, the district administration had even got an Indian Air Force helicopter to search for the body. Sahil and four of his friends had gone on a trip to Mekedatu, where he was sucked in by deep currents. He had come to Bangalore in December last for a six-month internship with an architecture firm.

About 8,000 IIIT students at Basara staged a 'rasta roko' in front of the institute accusing the authorities of not allowing an ambulance into the campus immediately after one of its students jumped off the hostel building around 7.30am on Sunday.  A final year engineering student, S Nagaraju, 23, of IIIT committed suicide by jumping off his hostel building at Basara town in Adilabad district. The student died while being shifted to the hospital.  Vehicular traffic on Nirmal-Nizamabad main road came to a halt for about three hours as the students alleged that security personnel stopped the ambulance for about 20 minutes outside the institute for permission from higher officials leading to a 45 minute delay in shifting a severely injured Nagaraju, left on the campus without any medical attention, to a hospital. The ambulance was allowed inside only after they got permission from the OSD, IIIT, said students. Although thousands of students study at the institute, there is no hea

A major fire was reported at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Delhi campus on Monday.  According to reports, the fire broke out after a low explosion in the Chemistry lab and then it spread to a nearby hostel located in one of the blocks on the campus. The fire brigade department was immediately informed and at least seven fire tenders were rushed to the campus to douse the fire.  The fire has now been fully contained and all are said to be completely safe.  However, what caused the fire is still unknown. 

A 38-year-old driver working with Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT-Indore) committed suicide by consuming poison over alleged sustained mental harassment by colleagues and seniors, here on Sunday afternoon. Ashok Billaure, a resident of Moosakhedi-Indore, has been working as a contractual bus driver at IIT-I . He consumed poison and went to the institute being run from the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) campus at around 2.30 pm. After he started vomiting inside the institute premises, his colleagues rushed him to MY hospital, where doctor declared him brought dead, said sub inspector at Bhanwarkuan police station and investigating officer, Y S Kushwah. The police subsequently recovered a suicide note purportedly written by him from his pocket. The suicide note written in Hindi language, mentions sustained mental harassment by his transport supervisor Kulwant Singh Bhatia, Bhatia's son Harsimran and two other IIT employees -- Kailash Ajmeri and Narendra Yadav

A 16-year-old girl was raped twice in a day by two different persons in Kota city on Friday. According to the police, an acquaintance took the girl — a 9th class student — to his friend’s room in Keshavpura area of the city where he later raped her. After the accused dropped the girl near a private school, another acquaintance named Ravi Nagar (23) offered to help her after learning of the incident. Ravi took the girl to his computer training institute where he raped and later locked the girl inside. The girl called up his father and brother who informed the Dadabari Police Station and was later rescued. The police lodged case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and are looking for both the accused.

Fast-growing startup WhatsApp was the talk of tech town on Thursday after social media giant Facebook announced a $19 billion buyout of the mobile-messaging application. While the deal created an instant global buzz, an Indian took centrestage in the aftermath. Having crossed 450 million active users, WhatsApp’s business head Neeraj Arora (35) has had a lot on his plate in the past few months. He told an Indian business news channel in November last that WhatsApp had no plan of selling out to Facebook or Google. Now, with a stunning price tag of $19 billion for a company that employs just 55 people, Arora’s portfolio has grown remarkably. Arora has two US patents to his credit — methods and systems for email attachment distribution and management and second for an email integrated file delivery. According to Arora’s LinkedIn profile, he takes care of  “all things business at WhatsApp”. He has previously worked at Google as a senior member of the corporate development

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said Manipur will soon establish an IIIT in Senapati. An Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) will be set up in Senapati in Manipur under Public Private Partnership (PPP), Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has said. A delegation of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Develpment has recently visited the state and discussed establishing of an IIIT in the state, Singh said at a function here yesterday. “The state government is doing its best to sign an agreement with the ministry before imposition of Code of Conduct for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Management studies is all set to reach new heights as students at the doctoral level in IIT Madras (IIT-M) will have an opportunity to pursue their research at an international level. From the new academic year, IIT-M will offer a joint doctoral degree programme in collaboration with the University of Passau, Germany. The two institutions will jointly train doctoral researchers who will be awarded two doctoral degrees: a PhD from IITM and a doctorate from the University of Passau. Announcing the partnership, Baskar K Ramamurthi, Dean, Academic Courses, IIT-M, said that the chances of this programme being successful are quite high. “There will be enough productivity to result in research papers, and the research will provide institutional benefit as well,” said Ramamurthy. Students initially admitted to the PhD programme will have an opportunity to visit Germany twice for a 6 month periods while scholars from the University of Passau will have similar stints at IIT-M. Faculty ex

The Indian Institute of Technology- Madras  (IIT-Madras ) invites applications for recruitment at 6 various posts for 'MUDX' project on "CoE of MoUD (phase II) performance evaluation study of sewerage treatment plants sanction". Eligible candidates can apply latest by  February 24. Post Details: No. of posts:  6 Post names : 1.    Senior project officer:  2 posts 2.    Project officer:  2 posts 3.    Project assistant:  1 post 4.    Project technician:   1 post Educational qualifications required: 1.    For the post of senior project officer : Candidates applying for this post are required to possess a Ph.D. degree in water waste related issues. Also, candidate should have an experience in waste water treatment plants, should have good communication skills and should be an expert in report preparation. 2.    For the post of project officer:  To apply for this post, candidate should have done M. Tech in environmental engineering/ chemical engineering/ biotech

'Born a he, now a she’; that’s how an article in InsIghT, an in-house magazine of IIT Bombay, is titled. The piece is about a 2011 graduate from the institute, who recently wrote to her alma mater, asking the authorities to re-issue her certificates, changing the honorific title from ‘Mr’ to ‘Ms’, as she had recently undergone sex reassignment surgery — from male to female. The institute assisted the student without any hassles. The turmoil “Five years at IITB had greatly changed my priorities. When I had entered the campus, I was just a girl trapped inside a male body trying hard to live up to expectations. But after years of living and interacting with the people here, I knew that I should rather strive to be happy. I knew that I had to make the transition and let people know,” the alumnus says in the article. When she contacted IIT, her experience was very good, “The professor that I spoke to was really nice and showed me a lot of support. I am very, very thankful to him. I

Indian Institute of Technology  Bombay, invites applications for 5 posts of Senior Research Fellow (SRF - 1 post), Research Assistant (RA1 - 2 posts), Senior Project Technical Assistant (SPTA - 1 post), and Junior Research Fellow (JRF- 1 post) available with four different projects. Last date to submit the application is February 28, 2014. Total Vacancies:  5 Names of the Posts: Senior Research Fellow (SRF) - 1 Research Assistant (RA1) - 2 Senior Project Technical Assistant (SPTA) - 1 Junior Research Fellow (JRF) - 1 SRF for Biosciences and Bioengineering project Job Code: P (11-1) Project Name: P. Falciparum TGS1: Functional Analysis in Splicing and Telomere Biology Eligibility: Post Graduate (PG) Degree in Basic Sciences & NET qualified Or Graduate in Professional Courses and GATE or equivalent qualification or M. Sc. in any area of Life Sciences including Microbiology/Biochemistry/Biotechnology. Knowledge of recombinant DNA technology, biochemistry and basic bio

A 17-year-old student allegedly hanged himself after being scolded by his mother for not taking his IIT preparation studies seriously. The police said the incident happened on Monday evening, when the boy, Rishabh Pandey, was alone in his Godrej colony home in Vikhroli. Officers added that Pandey was a first year science student. The police had not found any suicide note till the time of going to press. The Parksite police station is conducting further investigation in the case.

Students must spare one-hour time for their body and brain daily for fitness and a innovative mind, said professor GC Nandi, director in-charge at the inaugural ceremony of Asmita- the three-day annual sport meet of Indian Institute Information Technology, Allahabad on Tuesday. Professor Nandi lighted the ceremonial lamp to inaugurate the first ever sports meet organised by Students' Gymkhana, at Sports Ground on Tuesday morning. He congratulated the students for organising the first ever sports event at IIIT Allahabad. Hundreds of student participated in the march past which was followed by 200 metre boys/girls heats, Shotput (girls/boys/ faculty-staff), Biscuit Race and Spoon Marble Race (50 mtrs), 1,600 m (girls/boys/faculty-staff), 200 m finals(Girls/boys), 400 m(heats) (girls/boys/faculty-staff), 4x100 m Relay(Heats) (girls/boys/faculty-staff) and 4x400 Relay(Heats) (girls/boys/faculty-staff) events. Dr Manish Singh, sports coordinator conducted the event along with the Gym

IIT Bhubaneswar,  has invited applications for its 'Post Doctoral Fellowship' programme for the academic year 2014. Students can apply online by visiting its official web site. Eligibility: Consistently good academic record, followed by a Ph.D. degree in the relevant fields in Engineering/ Science/ Humanities. Candidates with Ph.D degree within the past two years, will be considered. Application should include: Detailed CV One-page summary of Ph.D. work Two-page research proposal One-set of copies of publication. How to apply: *  After online submission, students need to print a hard-copy of the completed application form (the online portal will allow the students to print after successful electronic submission of their application). They need to attach all relevant enclosures and send the application packet to: Officer-on-Special Duty (Academics) Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar Toshali Bhawan, Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar - 751 007 *  The hardcopy of

In an endeavour to improve country’s surveillance system, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has launched a major initiative for designing and building unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The three types of UAVs planned are flapping wing, fixed wing and quadrotor. The applications envisaged are surveillance, aerial photography and disaster management. One of the projects aims at developing a small sized fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) that could, in the future, be upgraded to a solar powered system. “This will be a fixed wing platform which will be designed in such a way that future modifications can be easily incorporated. It will be easily modifiable in future to a renewable energy based system, specifically solar powered,” said Dr AK Ghosh who is leading the fixed wing project. Additionally, flapping wing micro/mini air vehicle research is an ongoing sponsored activity of the Unsteady Aerodynamics Laboratory of the institute, supported by several agencies.

A paste to fight malnutrition! Yes, that's precisely what a team of researchers at IIT-Kharagpur has developed. It is food in a tube, rich in micronutrients, minerals, vitamins, proteins and all dietary needs, in the form of paste, which, the researchers feel, will be an effective tool to fight severe acute malnutrition between kids of six months to six years. It can also be an occasional snack, or breakfast, but don't use the product as a full meal just yet, the team warns healthy adults. Further research is set to broaden the scope of the product. "In rural India, 55% children in that age bracket are severely malnourished, while it is 45% in the urban population. This problem is not only India but an alarming scene in many developing and developed countries. According to a joint UN report, 15% of these afflicted children require med attention. The remaining 85% can be treated with diet therapy. It was in this context that we developed this product that will provide n

An IIT Roorkee student allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan inside his room in the hostel premises at Roorkee in Haridwar, police said today. 25-year-old Udai Tanajirao Biradare, a second year M.Tech student at IIT Roorkee was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room yesterday, Circle officer Renu Loheni said.  Biradare hailed from Latur in Maharashtra, she said.  Police have recovered a suicide note from the spot which says the victim was taking the extreme step as he had let down his parents who had expected him to become a doctor.  

After learning about UPSC’s recent announcement of increasing attempts to appear in Civil Services Exam, for all the categories of candidates, Mathematician Anand Kumar of Super 30 fame has come forward with his similar request of increasing number of attempts for students to be able to qualify in IITs. Kumar urged the union HRD minister MM Pallam Raju, by writing him a letter for introducing a similar` opportunity for students to be able to qualify the JEE advance examination. Through letter that Kumar has addressed to the union HRD minister, he requested the ministry to also take the initiative to increase the number of chances for JEE aspirants as well. He urged ministry to consider his request, particularly for the underprivileged sections in the rural areas, since the students from those regions are hardly able to undergo quality schooling like students in urban areas. He added that students from rural areas begin with their preparations late due to dearth of opportunities. Anand

In a bid to encourage its students to develop green technologies for the campus, the  Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur  has sanctioned Rs.1.45 crore under its Innovation Challenge Grant. The grant is a research initiative under the Vision 2020 programme of the institute. Both undergraduate and post-graduate students will participate in the venture that will be funded in phases. "The students will come up with new  green technology  solutions for the campus and successful ideas will be implemented. The total funding amount is Rs.1.45 crore," Anirban Dhar, assistant professor  Department of Civil Engineering   at IIT-Kharagpur, told IANS Tuesday. "It is expected that the students will come up with innovative and implementable  technological  solutions for water, energy,  environment -related problems of our campus within reasonable time period," he said. Only successful ideas will be given further funding to move forward with their projects to prototype lev

The highest offer was a Rs. 1.3-crore package from an international company Tech giant Cognizant came up with 27 offers — the maximum by a company — at the placement season of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), this year. At the end of the first phase of the placement drive that began on December 1 last year, 906 offers were made by 231 companies that visited the campus. A total of 786 students have been placed so far. The IITs have jointly decided to not reveal the names of the students with the highest offers. However, the highest offer was a Rs. 1.3-crore per annum package. Eight students received offers worth more than Rs. 77 lakh per annum from international companies, mostly based in the United States. The highest domestic offer this year was of Rs. 48.68 lakh per annum, and 35 students received offers above Rs. 20 lakh per annum. Four companies gave more than 15 offers to the students and Cognizant topped the list with 27 offers. Samsung Research

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, has started earth sciences department. It was recommended by the institute's Academic Senate in its December meeting and later approved by the Board of Governors. Prof Rajiv Sinha has been appointed head of the department for three-year tenure, said IIT-K director Prof Indranil Manna. The entire non-teaching staff, space, laboratory, equipment and teaching load of geosciences group of civil engineering department has been transferred to the new department, the director added. "The aim behind starting this department is to produce a new breed of geoscientists in the country who would seek interdisciplinary solutions to earth science problems," said Prof Manna. The department will offer PhD programmes in earth sciences. PhD students of Prof Rajiv Sinha will move to the earth sciences department. MTech first-year students of geosciences programme will also move to the new department. The department will focus on the study o

More than half the number of  IIT-Madras  students, who were eligible for placements, secured jobs in the first phase of  placement  season this year. The highest offer made to a student stands at $210,000. IIT-Madras students get 906 job offer 2014                A release from the institute said 231 companies that visited the campus made a total of 906 offers and 786  students  were placed. The first phase of the institute's placement season began on December 1, 2013, and ended on January 16, 2014. As many as 1,426 students registered for placements this year, of which 55.12% were placed. Eight students were offered jobs with pay packages exceeding $125,000 a year, while 35 students received offers with pay packages more than Rs20 lakh a year. The highest domestic offer is Rs 48,68,000 per annum. Four companies have given more than 15 offers to the students of IIT-Madras. They include IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions (27 offers) and Samsung Research India, Bangalore

The latest models launched at the 12th Auto Expo 2014 are by now common knowledge among vehicle enthusiasts but few are aware that IIT Delhi has successfully tested India's first biogas-fuelled passenger car.  Biogas-fuelled car a reality                     Compressed biogas was tested on a regular CNG car for over 15,000km. The best news was for the environment — the emissions were lower than CNG. Also, existing CNG vehicles need not undergo any modification to be compatible to CBG.  The water-scrubbing-based biogas upgrade and compression/bottling system developed at the campus is now patented with IIT-D, promising a green and low cost fuel for automobiles and cooking. The project is being developed by Biogas Development and Training Centre, Centre for Rural Development and Technology, IIT Delhi, and is being sponsored by ministry of new and renewable energy.  "IIT-D has developed a small scale biogas upgrading system using water scrubbing technology (20 m3/h sy

An Indian-origin engineer, who works for the Texas-based Systems & Materials Research Corporation, claims to have developed a 3D printer that can print food and pizza for astronauts on long missions.  Anjan Contractor, a mechanical engineer, had won a $125,000 grant from NASA last year to create a prototype 3D printer aimed at providing nutritious and delicious foods to astronauts in space instead of canned and freeze-dried pre-packaged foods they currently use. According to Fastcoexist.com, Contractor's goal was to print a pizza with his 3D printer - and it looks like he has succeeded.  The printer would be able to lay out all the starches, proteins, fats, texture, and structure, spraying on flavour, smell, and micro-nutrients at the end, said Contractor.  It took about 70 seconds to cook the pizza after the 3D printer finished doing its thing, added Contractor in his YouTube page.  

Satya Nadella puts Manipal institute on world map Not so long ago, a section of netizens took umbrage at a view that MIT refers only to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and that Manipal Institute of Technology has no right to use it as an acronym. The elevation of Satya Nadella to the top job in Microsoft should bury those insinuations. Not that MIT ever lacked in recruiters. Barring Facebook and Google, many top recruiters have been regular visitors here during placement season. But the Nadella factor will weigh in more heavily now. "The media blitz should get us more visibility and elicit a peep from companies which have not had a look at us till now," says Giridhar Kini, associate director, industrial liaison and placements at MIT." MIT director Vinod V Thomas couldn't agree more. "We have had a good number of ambassadors who have given us leverage. MIT attracts quality students and Nadella lends credence to this." Last year, MIT had

The best talent pool of engineers is in Delhi, Bihar and Jharkhand, while those from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are least employable, said a report. Employability for IT product roles in Delhi is as high 13 per cent and as low as 1 per cent in Chennai, says the National Employability Report of Engineering Graduates, 2014 by Aspiring Minds. Bangalore with 3.7 per cent employability emerges as the best amongst southern and western cities in the IT product sector, it added. Tier III cities cannot be neglected from recruitment perspective as at least one out of every six engineering colleges is in a tier III city, the study said. Around 12 per cent of engineers employable in IT services are in tier III cities, an absolute number of about 13,000. "Our National Employability Report in its latest edition goes deep in to the employability of engineering graduates, their capability, qualifications and aspirations," Aspiring Minds CEO Himanshu Aggarwal said. Looking