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2 DTU TIDINGZ
www.dtutimes.dce.edu
Adieu Prof. P. B. Sharma
A
farewell was organised for our former
Vice Chancellor, Prof. P.B. Sharma,
in the Senate Hall of our college on
22nd July, 2014. The event was organised
to honour Prof. P.B. Sharma’s immense
contribution towards making
our university what it is today. The chief
guests for the event included K.L. Chugh,
Chairman, ITC; Prof. Pankaj Jalote, Vice
Chancellor (Officiating), DTU; Shri R.P.
Aggarwal, Chairman, B.O.M. and Mrs.
Sharma, wife of Prof. P.B. Sharma. The
farewell was attended by most all the faculty
members along with students from
the present as well as past batches. Every
chief guest gave a speech on how crucial
Prof. P.B. Sharma’s role was in the betterment
of our college and also mentioned
how great things are expected from our
university in the future. Prof. P.B. Sharma
himself spoke about the situations he
faced as a Vice Chancellor and the challenges
that we need to overcome in the
future. His words of wisdom enlightened
and inspired one and all.
DTU ranked in Top 10 Engineering Institutions
DTU,
one of the premier engineering colleges
of the country has constantly upheld
innovation and has improved in standards by leaps
and bounds over the years since its inception as Delhi
Polytechnic in 1941. It is one of the top institutions in terms
of academic excellence, research facilities, placements and
co-curricular activities. This reflects in the fact that DTU
has regularly featured in the top engineering institutions of
the country from various sources and across all avenues. In
the recently released college rankings, our college has yet
again secured a place in the list of the top 10 engineering
colleges of India. The surveys, done by major media giants
and analytics firms, lay down markers that offer a glimpse
into the future of the Indian youth which will hence reflect
the future of India too. In the India Today-Nielsen survey
of engineering colleges, our college has been ranked 9th
overall. In the The Week-Hansa survey, it has been ranked
10th overall.
The India Today-Nielsen survey is done by subjecting every
institution to scrutiny by various corporates, academicians,
deans and principals from colleges by means of a structured questionnaire of 100 points. These 100 points result in the perceptual rank of a
college which contributes to 40% of the overall rank. Based on the research done, colleges are then awarded their factual ranks. Factual ranks
contribute 60% to the overall rank. The overall ranks are then tabulated and released. What is noteworthy is that DTU achieved a factual rank
of 6. The The Week-Hansa survey employs a similar method; the only difference being in the weightage given to the factual and perpetual ranks.
Such comprehensive ranking processes ensure that it’s not just reputation that our college is living up to; it is constantly growing and improving
on the calibre of students joining the industry after studying here. These surveys are a testament to the fact that our college will surely scale
greater heights in the years to come.

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CAMPUS BUZZ
3
Faculty
Development
Program organised
A
Faculty Development Program (FDP) was
organised by the Department of Mechanical,
Production and Industrial & Automobile Engineering
in the campus from 14th to 18th July 2014. The
FDP was based on ‘Precision Manufacturing: Technology
for a Better Tomorrow (PMTBT-14)’ and
was funded by Technical Education Quality Improvement
Program-II (TEQIP-II). Prof. Naveen
Kumar, HOD and Prof. Vikas Rastogi, Professor
were the Chairman and Co-Chairman of the program
respectively. The program was coordinated by
Dr. R.S. Walia, Associate Professor and the co-coordinated
by Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Associate Professor;
Dr. Pushpendra Singh, Associate Professor
and Dr. Qasim Murtaza, Assistant Professor. The
main objective of the program was to create awareness
on various precision manufacturing technologies
like micro and nano machining and finishing
operations, green manufacturing, modern coating
techniques, advanced welding and casting processes,
rapid manufacturing etc. The FDP also aimed
at imparting fundamental as well as an advanced
knowledge of some of these areas to potential users,
teachers and researchers. In addition to that, the
course aimed at providing a brief introduction to
optimization techniques, scope of alternative energy
for manufacturing. The lectures were delivered
by experts from reputed IITs, NITs, leading industries
and R&D organisations. The program was attended
by the faculty of a number of AICTE/UGC
approved engineering institutes and also by experts
from the precision manufacturing industry.
Team UAS receives
accolades at SUAS 2014
The unmanned aerial vehicles team of our
college, UAS DTU secured the overall
third position at the recently concluded
12th Annual SUAS Competition organised
by AUVSI in Maryland, USA. Narrowly
edged out by the teams of North Carolina
State University and Cornell University
on overall rankings, UAS DTU managed
to come first and second in the Journal
Paper and Oral Presentation rounds of the
competition, respectively. The team has
been awarded a trophy and a cash prize of
$3850 as well.
This year’s concept revolved around
carrying out tasks with the scenario that the
U.S. Forest Service requests intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance through
a UAS to perform a search-and-rescue
mission after a huge forest fire in Idaho has
spread to 100,000 acres. Challenges included
detecting infrared (heat) signatures, a
communications relay challenge and a
payload drop, where they tried to drop a
plastic canister near a particular target.
A total of 34 teams from more than 10
countries had participated in this year’s
competition, making it the toughest
edition so far. The student team currently
comprises of 20 inter-disciplinary students
from diverse engineering courses, devoted
to developing an indigenous technology
for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. It functions
with the goal to reduce India’s reliance on
foreign products and Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles.
DTU CanSat participates in annual CanSat Competition
DTU CanSat participated in the annual
CanSat competition held in Texas from
13th to 15th June 2014. The competition
is organised by the American Astronautical
Society and is sponsored by NASA
JPL and Goddard Centre.
The aim of the competition was to send a
payload placed in the body of the CanSat
and retrieve it from a height of 500m after
a rocket has placed it there. Apart from the
safe retrieval of the payload, the CanSat
pressure, altitude and measure impact.
The biggest challenge faced by the team
was to make a CanSat which could do all
this and also weigh less than 600 grams.
The team performed extremely well, being
a first time competitor and finished the
competition at an international rank of 28
out of the 65 participating teams. Though
still in the rookie stages, DTU CanSat has
proven that with time it will turn out to
be a must watch team of the University.
also had to transmit live time data like
Students attend ASES Stanford Summit
A
team of four students from our college
attended the ASES (Asia- Pacific
Student Entrepreneurship Society) Stanford
Summit from April 5th to April 11th,
2014 held at the Stanford University, California.
The team comprised of Akash Jain,
4th year, EP; Deepali Kansal, 4th year, CE;
Himanshi, 4th year, PSCT and Smridhi
Gupta, 3rd year, MC. They attended lectures
and workshops by esteemed entrepreneurs
including Naveen Jain, Gary Tang
and Prof. Richard Dasher. They visited the
Google Headquarters, Silicon Valley and
the Plug and Play Tech Centre as a part of
the Summit. The team was appreciated for
their participation in various B Plan and
Pitch competitions.

4 COVER STORY
www.dtutimes.dce.edu
change
is good
Chirag Arora, 2nd Year, ECE;
Prateek Singhal, 3rd Year, EEE
Abhishek Dhyani, 3rd Year, PSCT;
Aradhana Gahlaut, 3rd Year, ENE;
Kunal Mathur, 2nd Year, MTech(CD).
DTU
is a great university,
period. There is no
debate over that. Ever since being
granted the university status, it has
undergone rapid expansion, both in
terms of infrastructure and students.
The manner in which the college
administration has managed the
increase is appreciable. However, there
are some necessary facets of higher
education which could be incorporated
in the system to further improve campus
life, making our time here more fruitful
and memorable.
Academics and Research
Research forms an integral and
fundamental part of any sciences
program. Some general groundwork
can be arranged to help the students
who wish to pursue a Masters degree
right after graduation in the form of
research-based electives, preferably in
third year, which would help students
when applying to foreign universities
and develop curiosity in a previously
unenthusiastic student. Also, a lot more
would be willing to take up researchintensive
curriculum if the hard work
put into their projects would facilitate
better grades. There should be a choice
to take up a minor course alongside
our branch of engineering. This means
taking up majors in Computers with
Psychology, or a course in Quantum
Mechanics even though you’re from
the Chemistry Department.
The aim should be academics
accompanied with practical models for
the eye to see and the mind to grasp.
Multimedia, samples, demonstrations
within the classroom walls are
supportive to an interesting lecture. It is
these tools of insight that differentiate
between the walls of a classroom and
those of a well; between intellectually
rewarding conditions and those
impeding creativity.
The CGPA System
Relative scores and grading have
often led to polarized opinions when
discussed in any educational sphere
and has become a recent cause
of hue and cry in DTU. The most
prevalent argument in its favour is the
disadvantage that absolute percentage
offers to a student when he/she applies
to a foreign university for higher
education. There is no universal
formula for conversion of a percentage
score to a grade point and it cannot be
ascertained that the conversion will
be fair and representative. Also, on a
strictly empirical basis, it can be argued
that some engineering branches are
more scoring than others. A CGPA
would also help create a level playing
field.
The counter arguments include
reduction in incentive, as with
any grading system and that many
universities have their own assessment
system and require just the percentage
score. But, in the long run, it would
offer more advantages than the preexisting
percentage system which
is not considered a true measure of
one’s academic competence due to
differences in course content and
marking schemes between branches
and even universities.
Social Responsibility
Understanding one’s social
responsibility might not be as important
for some as developing other facilities,
but if we don’t uphold our duty towards
our institution, existing problems could
escalate with troubling consequences.
As you enter the university gates, you
see an obvious change from the hustle
and bustle of Bawanaland to the clean
and organised lush streets of DTU. We
have a beautiful campus and it’s up to
us to maintain it. We must make use
of the ample litterbins segregated into
biodegradable and non-biodegradable
wastes which should be emptied at more
regular intervals. We pride ourselves to
be equipped with the latest innovations
in the country and so, must bend more
towards rainwater harvesting and
resource recycling which can greatly

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COVER STORY
5
reduce our need to rely on commercial
sources, as have the solar lighting
panels placed on many streets in the
campus. Turning off all lights, fans and
air conditioners when leaving a room
is not just a civil thing to do, but also
necessary for energy conservation.
A world class university is not just
limited to academic, technological and
extra-curricular advancements but also
includes all-round development of each
student as an individual.
Inter-College Events
DTU participates in various festivals
and sports meets across the country,
be it at BITS Pilani, IIT Kanpur and
IIT Jodhpur, Delhi University and
the other institutes in Delhi. Many a
times, the college sports and cultural
contingents return victorious, having
made their place in the national circuit
and established healthy relations with
fellow institutes. However, organizing
our own inter-college meets would
give us an edge and let the name of
DTU weigh more in the eyes of the
country’s competitive education sector.
Literary events such as debates, writing
competitions etc should also be focused
on. As with other colleges, we must build
a stronger cultural base along with the
pre-existing emphasis on academics.
at home,” and it’s not the class of the
company that matters as long as it has
something to contribute.
The Student Attitude
When we look at the current generation
of students in India, a lack of passion
in their field of choice is daunting. It is
very true that our preferred course is
compromised when it comes to choosing
a better college. However, it’s not the
end of the road; there are a trillion areas
to explore out of which some specific
avenue is bound to fascinate you.
In present times, a lot of focus is put
on developing a strong CV rather
than building a character with varied
interests and a strong skill set. This HAS
to change. It’s better to be a person with
“diverse skills” than being a robot with
“specialized abilities”. Not only because
most CVs are not the most honest
reflection of quality of work but also
because recruiters look for an overall
personality. Don’t do community service
just because it’ll look good; do it with
a sense of purpose greater than a piece
of documentation. Be driven towards
procuring knowledge in all forms that
enriches your personal skill set. Focus
on that to better yourself rather than
just your prospects of landing a job.
ones. Internships in industries relevant
to the proposed thesis of a research
scholar must be incorporated in the
post-graduate curriculum.
The fervour to create, to make something
happen in a competitive yet celebratory
manner, lasts only as long as college life
does. Most of us come from schools
which didn’t provide such exposure
and opportunities, and rest assured,
corporate life will not either. It’s only
these four years where we have the time
and energy to experience the madness
of running around on the penultimate
day, working as a team, trying to make
everything fall into place. The adrenaline
rush, the butterflies in the stomach
before going on stage, representing our
college or group is truly inexpressible.
Any scientific community is best known
by its innovations and publications,
University-Industry
Collaboration
DTU has signed MoUs with government
organizations such as INMAS (DRDO)
and DMRC, as well as private companies
like Samsung India Electronics Ltd.
This step towards “University-Industry
Partnership” instils our faith in our
reputed university but there is a need to
spread its wings and reach out to wider
avenues.
For example, DTU is located in Bawana
- a hub of plastic industries - and could
take advantage of the sprawling plastic
manufacturing units. This could provide
the perfect opportunity for students
from the PSCT Department to witness
their textbook knowledge come to life.
As the saying goes, “Service begins
Post Graduate Requirements
In its quest to become a premier
institution not only in academics but
also research, DTU has been introducing
new post-graduate courses which are
relevant, both to the Society as well as the
Industry, but without a corresponding
increase in resources.
Our library has a rich collection of books
and journals from various reputed
publishers. But, many of these journals
can be accessed only on the University
intranet as the access is IP based. It
would be helpful if the library could be
made accessible 24X7 via a username
and password, as is the case with some
reputed universities.
Accommodation is yet another problem
for research scholars. As their work
is more research-based rather than
on lectures, there is no fixed time as
to when they leave the lab. Imagine
dragging yourself home after hours,
all exhausted, only to return the next
morning. Therefore, providing hostel
accommodation for all research scholars
is imperative.
Internships have been incorporated
in the curriculum of under-graduate
courses, but not in the post-graduate
and college is the best place to find
like-minded people to collaborate on
projects, be it tech or non-tech.
But what most of us also have is a lack of
initiative and respect for these activities.
We are too engrossed in either oblivion
or apathy. We do not care to explore,
to put in that extra hour, to make a
real personal contribution, despite the
fact that this brings invaluable laurels
and prestige to the institution and
helps paint its name on a larger canvas.
This attitude is not universal, for we
regularly hear about our fellow students
participating in and winning all kinds of
competitions, getting invited to summits
and other universities to showcase their
innovations, getting their research
papers published in noted journals and
sometimes even representing India
abroad; the possibilities are endless.
All it takes is initiative; to enquire, to
perspire. After all, with all our collective
talents and aspirations, eight pages of a
DTU Times edition shouldn’t suffice to
cover all that we conquer.

6
Battle for Innovation
www.dtutimes.dce.edu
Being budding engineers, we all like to argue that our branch is the
best- both in terms of innovation and in making our lives miserable.
Keeping the misery aside, how about listening to arguments of all
branches based on Innovation?
Tech Crunch 2014
COE/SE/IT
So you thought Facebook acquiring Whatsapp, Microsoft’s
intense layoffs and Dropbox’s massive hiring
spurt and startup acquisitions would be all doing
the headlines this year?
Not really, for this is also the year of breakthroughs
in programming languages. Apple’s Chris Lattner
has introduced Swift, a language compatible with
Apple’s existing infrastructure that is designed for
coding plain and the simplest of mobile apps with a
clever tool called “Playgrounds” which offers an unusually
effective way of teaching yourself how to
code. Facebook is also trying something similar with
a language called Hack and Google is exploring this
ground with Go. Mozilla is doing much the same
with a language known as Rust.
Another technological quantum leap comes to the
fore from Oculus VR, which was bought recently by
Facebook for $2 billion. It’s going to release Rift –
an affordable virtual-reality headset for playing ultra-immersive
video games. The technology follows
the movement of your head in real time; lean in to
take a better look at a virtual flower or look to the
skies to gaze at a virtual cloud, and your mind is
drawn into the simulation. It seems everyday a new
technology comes up in this sector.
-Akanksha Bindal, 3rd year, COE
Big Time for Big
Data
MCE
With digitalization of the world, the days of stacking
files in overloaded cupboards are long gone. The
advent of the IT boom saw records being kept in
the electronic form and with growing data, the task
that lies ahead is to exploit the potential captured in
these BIG data.
‘Big data’ is a term generally used for any collection
of data sets, the magnitude of which is so large that it
becomes difficult to process and analyze with manual,
hand data management tools or even conventional
data processing applications. The use of high
performance analytics is running high in demand.
Business informatics, finance, public health, meteorology,
genomics, complex simulations in physics,
biological and environmental research, combating
crimes, analyzing road traffic; big data analytics has
made its way in almost every field.
Ever wondered how the products you browsed on
Flipkart or Amazon appears in the advertisement
corner of your Facebook profile? Big Data Analytics.
Special softwares and languages are designed especially
to deal with big data such as R, IBM SPSS,
SAS, MATLAB and RapidAnalytics which utilize
even more advanced statistical techniques.
-Shreya Shankar, 3rd year, MC
NANOBIONICS
Back to the Basics
BT
Technology is not only designed and created by human
beings, but also greatly inspired by them and
their abilities. There is no more intricate and elegant
computational system than the human brain.
The interesting development however, is the integration
of biology and electronics. We’re talking neurons
embedded on silicon chips and silicon chips embedded
in living cells. Science fiction? Scientists have in
fact accomplished both of these experiments successfully
and the opportunities are boundless. Imagine a
“smart cell” inside your body able to study your cells
individually and in turn carry out through organic
actuators, a comprehensive cure, far more efficient
than a “shot-in-the-dark” medicine for a number of
rare disorders. Imagine a set of programmed neurons
embedded in the brain predicting further impulses
and channelizing them correctly to combat neurological
and psychiatric disorders. With Moore’s law
getting harder to realize and Silicon running out of
steam, maybe a biological computer, which is just a
few nanometers large, is a good way to go.
-Varun Grover, 3rd Year, ECE
An Electrical Switch
for Magnetism
EE and EEE
Switches are devices that control the flow of electrical
signals in a circuit. The magnetic field lines are a
work of the flowing electrical signals controlled indirectly
by electrical signals. Magnetic domains provide
a magnetized medium for the storage of data
in the form of non-volatile memory like hard disks,
pen drives etc. Researchers at MIT have found a
new way of controlling the motion of these magnetic
domains and changing their state. This method
consumes virtually no power and the switching
of the magnetic states is done by simply changing
the applied voltage with no magnetic field and once
the switching change is done, it stays stable.
“For hundreds of years, if you had a magnetic material
and you wanted to change the direction in which the
material was magnetized, you needed another magnet,”
This new work has changed this age old paradigm.
This technology has helped simplifying magnetic
storage methods along with making reading and
writing data a minimal power consuming process.
-Garima Mishra, 2nd Year, EEE

www.dtutimes.dce.edu
Battle for Innovation
7
Interferometric Modulator Display (IMOD) is a
technology used in electronic visual displays that
can create various colors via interference of reflected
light.
The IMOD element, which is the core building
block of the display technology, includes two stable
states. On application of a small voltage, electrostatic
attraction pulls the plates together and light
is absorbed, causing the element to turn black. The
device includes a deformable reflective membrane
and striking of ambient light on the structure causes
it to reflect on the top of this membrane.
IMOD, due to its bistable nature, uses very less power
and can work on a large temperature range. The
deformable IMOD screen switches 1000 times faster
than the traditional ones. Also, due to its excellent
contrast ratio, it is highly readable.
Given the energy efficiency, low costs and easy-toeye
nature of IMOD display, it is easy to presume
that it is here where the future of visual display lies.
-Yatharth Rana, 2nd year, ECE
IMOD Visual Display
Technology
ECE
Every device is getting smart, so why not a smartcar?
Imagine approaching an intersection as another car
approaches you from the other side. Your car gets
a signal from the other car that it’s directly in your
path and warns you of the potential collision or even
hits the brakes automatically to avoid an accident.
There are two developing technologies which will
make this a reality – V2V and V2I.
Google has also tested self-driving cars which record
the images of the road. The computerized maps can
view road signs and find alternative routes and see
traffic lights before they’re even visible to a person.
Augmented Reality GPS system could highlight the
actual lane you need to be in and show you where
you need to turn down the road without you ever
having to take your eyes off the road.
-Ankur Shukla, 3rd year, ME
Science Fiction
or Reality?
ME/AE/PIE
The property of materials to return to their original
shape by providing the right stimulus is called Shape
Memory Effect (SME) the polymers which exhibit
SME properties are known as Shape Memory Polymers
(or SMPs).
SMPs are classified into 3 categories based on the
type of stimulus required to induce the SME – thermo-responsive
SMPs (stimulus is applied by heating),
photo-responsive SMPs (stimulus is applied using
light of different wavelengths without heat) and
chemo-responsive SMPs (stimulus is applied using
chemicals such as ethanol).
SM foams are used in robotics where they are used
to provide an initial soft pretension and by cooling,
these grips can subsequently make a shape adaptive
grip. SMPs are also used in making helmets and karate
suits. The biomedical applications of SMPs are
still limited, but they are used in various devices such
as punctual plugs and in intraocular lenses. SMPs
can be used in the automobile and aeronautical industry
like Artificial Muscles and Outer Space Self
Deployment Systems.
-Shashwat Kishore, 2nd year, PSCT
Shape Memory
Polymers
PSCT
What if I told you that a dome half the size of that
of Taj Mahal can be built today in a matter of weeks
and that too from a month’s salary?
Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology
have developed a completely new concept of “Inflatable
dome”, an extremely economical and quick technique
of constructing a complex symmetric dome.
A flat slab is cast using low-grade concrete, consisting
of segments with wedge-shaped spaces in
between. Once the slab hardens, the air cushion
placed below the segments is inflated. A steel cable
passing through the segments around the dome
tightens when air is filled, thus lifting the concrete
from the centre and bringing the segments together
and closing the gaps. The one-storey high is ready
in just under 12 hours! In the end, the shell can be
plastered and finished, thus producing a structure as
stable as those built from conventional techniques.
This breakthrough has made way for construction
of more ambitious free-form structures.
-Ishan Shankar, 3rd Year, CE
Taj Mahal, in
your backyard
CE/ENE
Scientists have discovered new sponge like silicon
material that could run lithium ion batteries for a
longer time. Earlier Carbon was used as an electrode
but silicon has retention power 10 times that
of carbon. With this new material, Si also gets the
room to expand without breaking. So, look out for
more efficient batteries in coming days.
According to many scientists, the next biggest discovery
that could change the world is the quantum
computer. Scientists have developed a photonic router-
a quantum device based on single atom that enables
routing of single photons. Photons don’t interact
with each other; hence they are the most promising
candidate for communication between quantum systems.
For various purposes, UV radiations are required
through optical fibers but they tend to damage traditional
optical fibers. Scientists have now created a
new type of hollow-core optical fibers. Light passes
through it without damaging it and having acceptable
losses.
-Vaisakh Nair, 2nd year, E.P.
Physics, Physics
Everywhere
EP

8
COLOURS GALORE
www.dtutimes.dce.edu
Faculty Advisors:
N.S. Raghava, Asso. Professor and Head, CC
Dr. Ruchika Malhotra, Asst. Prof, SE
Alumni Advisors:
Dhruv Sapra, Batch of 2014
Madhurima Baral, Batch of 2014
Student Team
Student Head:
Damini Goel, 4th Year, PIE
Editor-in-Chief:
Namrata Yadav, 4th Year, EE
General Secretary, Head of Design
and Web Development:
Garvit Gupta, 4th Year, EE
Student Advisor:
Isha Gupta, 4th year, EE
Associate Editors:
Shubham Sharma, Ankit Kumar,
Prateek Singhal
Assistant Editors:
DTU TIMES TEAM
Parag Saxena, 4th year, ECE
Creative head:
Arihant Kuba
Reporters:
Satyarth Praveen, Mohd Fahad, Deepak Malyala,
Aditya Tripathi, Nisha Yadav, Raghav Sharma,
Shashwat Kishore
Designers:
Sirali Chandolia, Saurav Agrawal, Arpit Gupta,
Gaurav
Illustrators:
Ajay Yadav, Himanshu Gupta, Aditya Dhiman, Mohd
Irshad
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