News Magazine -2009 - Chemical Engineering Department - IISc

ChemicalEngineeringAssociationMagazine 2009Department of ChemicalEngineeringIndian Institute of Science

A Few words from theeditors…After an year of waiting the CEA magazine is back with a bang.It has grown both in terms of quality and quantity of thearticles and poetry published. What started off as just anewsletter has now become the most important non-scientificpublication of the department.We all know the famous saying that goes as “Well begun is halfdone”. There cannot be a better beginning in this season ofinterviews than an account of a few interview encounters ofone of the most experienced faculty members of our department.Global warming being a serious threat to the society, we havedecided to include “GREEN” articles…not one but two of them(though not in the same ecological senses).Tired of being a Chemical Engineer? This year’s edition hasarticles solely dedicated to those who are looking forinspiration for a career elsewhere. We being a primarilyresearch oriented department, we cannot risk not having“research oriented” articles in our annual magazine, can we?This department is filled with romantics, philosophers andacademicians. Put all these different personas together andyou end up with a potpourri of talents, ranging from verses ofsoulful poetry to works of art that depict the various coloursof life.This year although we have tried to give the magazine aninformal outlook; we have also included a news section havingall the events of the last one year pertaining to thedepartment. So happy reading!Abhinandan Chiney and Deepali Patroi

ContentsArticles Author PageInterviews and me Prof.K.S.Gandhi 1Reduce, reuse and recycle Balakrishnan 4Why we like the color green? M. Hulgi 6The otherwise famousChemical Engineers Dr.P.T.Raghuram 7The story of a youngresearcher Annonymous 9"जूता" - एक वलंत शोध वषय S.S.Chauhan 10PoemsPoetThe last poem Sharad Sontakke 13सपने S.S. Chauhan 14vaao kaoOna qaI ÆÆ ÆÆ Alok Dwivedi 15The Jungle Law Kushal Tripathi 17SketchesArtistMemories Deepali Patro 18Panghat Deepali Patro 19An account of the AlumniMeet held on May 10, 2009 Sanjeev K.Gupta 20Sayonara!!! M. Hulgi 25Placements 2008-2009 27CEA Executive Committee 2009 29iii

Interviews and meThe season for interviews will be on sooner than later and Ithought that I will share a few of my experiences with you. I wasborn in an era where interviews were not required to admit a childinto Play School. It was very fortunate for me. So, I was admittedto school and sailed all the way through graduation without beinginterviewed.My first interview was for admission into MTech in IIT Kharagpur. Inthose days, that was THE destination for all Bachelors degreeholders in chemical engineering aspiring to study more. I suspectthat there was a serious academic consideration behind this: theduration of the course was one year while in other places it wastwo. Who says that all things change? Anyhow, I went in for beinginterviewed and there was a big panel of professors. You don’trealize (or do you?) now, but I was then a very confident young man.I wont admit it even now, but I think the sole basis for theconfidence was not what I did know, but what I thought others didnot know. My interview began in the usual way of making thecandidate comfortable and let me tell you it was totallyineffective! Then the real questions were fired. I was asked whatwere the typical velocities employed in heat exchangers usingliquids. I casually asked: “Double pipe or shell and tube?” Theysaid: “You choose.” I had a smattering knowledge of optimization. SoI said that really one does not have to specify, that velocitiesfall out of optimal design. To be truthful now, I knew at that timethat there was a figure, but I was not certain whether it was 40 or4 or 0.4, though I knew the units: ft/sec. Besides, I was seeking toshow off my knowledge. Anyhow, the panel did not bite this. Theysaid that heat exchangers have been designed for a long time, andthere must be some number. I was however not willing to give up, soI said that those are antiquated methods. The panel also was notwilling to give up, so they said, OK, but what is the ball parkfigure. Then I made the fatal error. I said that one can look up ina book. The panel was very prompt in their reply. They said go home1

and DO look up. As I just stepped out of the room, I heard lots ofguffaws. I won’t give anything for guessing the outcome of theinterview!The second interview I faced, for obvious reasons, was for a job. Imust say that it was a sweet interview since when I went in, theyasked me to show my degree certificate, and that was it! Alwayschoose companies in a hurry to hire. That is how I successfullyended up in a paper mill. As it turned out, I will have to writeseparately about it, I decided to try once again higher studies. SoI applied to IIT Kanpur for the position of Senior TechnicalAssistant. As I learnt much later, that staffs are affectionatelyreferred to as senior tech asses. My interview started badly. I wasasked if I knew any chemical technology. I of course had to say Yes!Then I was asked if I knew any plastics. Remember, this was wellbefore the days of the movie Graduate. Anyhow, I confidentlyreplied: Bingham plastics. The questioner was aghast at my reply.But a surprising thing happened at that time, a rheologist wasthere, and his eyes lit up. For a while, my interview went off as asong. Then it happened. It always happens when your interview isnicely humming! Others got restless and suggested that I may beasked something else. So, someone asked me if I knew what second lawof thermodynamics was all about. I felt like I was hit by a bomb.You might wonder ’Who would not?’ The answer is: ’Interviewers’.Anyhow, I had to face it. I said that the second law states thatentropy of the universe always increases. These kinds of answershave several draw backs. One should know a few more intelligentlines and not just that one. So, I got stuck when one of them asked:’Have you heard about isentropic processes?’ I was struggling. Iwould have looked more foolish if I said that I have not heard theword isentropic process, since they would have asked me to guessmeaning of the word, which was obvious. Sometimes luck smiles onthose being interviewed also. And, some body noticed that too muchtime was taken on me, and that they should call the next one. As Iwas leaving the room, I heard some protests, and IIT Kharagpur beganlooming large on my mind. Fortunately, I was selected, and my lifetook a firm turn for the better. My luck held on for long and I did2

not have to face an interview till I was to join PhD program. Itwas not really an interview since I was already selected, but it wasto advise me about my course work. I was asked what my favoritesubject was and I replied fluid mechanics. I was asked a few basicquestions, and then came this question. One of them said that he hadtwo identical hoses out of which water was coming out at exactly thesame speed. He said that he will align the hoses perfectly so thatthe jets of the fluid will flow toward each other. What would happenthen? Really I did not know. I said that gravity is there, and hewas very helpful and asked me to neglect it. I tried to dissuade himby saying that water might spill all over him. But that did notwork. I could not manage to tell that a sheet of water will form.You know what: I had to take several courses on fluid mechanics,though a few friends do say that all of it had the same effect on meas that of water flowing over a duck’s back.My luck held on for long and I did not have to face an interviewtill I was at the end of my PhD programme. I wanted to join IITKanpur, and had applied there. I knew one good thing about them:they could offer jobs in absentia. However, I was not sure of theresult, and so I thought I should look for another job (does itsound familiar?). I went for an interview with a company. I wasworking on molecular theory of viscosity of polymer solutions butthe interviewer was familiar with continuum rheology. It alwayshappens like that! So he asked me if I was dealing with the secondnormal stress difference and so on. I imperiously said that basicsabout viscosity should be first understood from a molecular viewpoint before going onto such “secondary” things. I then explained tohim what I was doing. It looked like he was listening intently. Hesaid that Mike (my PhD adviser: Prof Mike Williams) and I wereawfully smart, all I talked was very impressive though it sort ofwent over his head, but he will get back to me later. I smiledbenignly and came away. Later on I was told that it is the Americanway of saying that I did not get the job. Fortunately I was asked tojoin IIT Kanpur.3

The most interesting thing happened when I joined IIT Kanpur. As ithappens, the junior most faculty get the onerous responsibilities.(Beware junior faculty! Be prepared to become president of CEA.) Iwas made in charge of advising students about placement! But by thistime, I was secure and was prepared to follow the dictum of BernardShaw: Those who can, DO; those who can’t, TEACH. I thought about theprocess and understood that the interview is all aboutcommunication. To understand what the other wants to find out, tellothers what skills you have, and get them to see your strengths butmanage to give a glimpse, but only a glimpse, of your weaknesses.And of course keep your cool. Once in a while you get stumped too.But here cricket has a lesson for all. Imagine a tear away fastbowler hurling the red cherry at you. You put a confident footforward, the ball swings late, and just misses grazing your bat. Thefast bowler is glaring at you, muttering ’You lucky so and so’, andmaking you feel that you should walk away in shame.But, you hang on and who knows you may hit the next ball for astraight six, the ultimate ignominy to any quickie!Prof.K.S. GandhiMay 30, 2009Reduce, reuse & recycleJust the way I snooze off my waking alarm, our society is callouslyignoring all the signals from eminent environmentalists, shoutingNGO`s and every individual with little conscience.4

Nature is balancing a huge and really complicated web of food,hydrological, mineral ... cycles. We are a part of this messycontraption. We do not know how, where and what might come and hitus when we unknowingly disrupt a delicate balance between any twosimple moieties of the huge system. I would like to quote thispertinent dialogue from the movie MATRIX - part 1 "Smith toMorphius: You don’t belong to mammal species. Mammals reach anatural equilibrium with its surroundings…but you humans keepmultiplying till all natural resources are consumed. The only wayyou can survive is by shifting to a new area. There is anotherorganism in this world with similar pattern of survival. A Virus."This is so true. Municipalities and corporations that treat thewastes by sanitary landfill technique will eventually run out ofland. So why don’t we make 'reduce reuse & recycle' as our lifestylemantra? After all, catwalk without fur coats is not a sin. When theearth becomes hotter than manageable limits, don’t expect a supermanto lift and keep it near Krypton. It is high time to focus oninventing technologies that can repair the damage already done. Whyshould I use my energy and material resources on finding a thermallystable material with high tensile stress, elasticity, blah-blah thatis to be exclusively used(of course, it will be protected by apatent) for Barbie`s heels? I handle all my exams with last minutestudy. Any society is just a collection of individuals. It appearsthat even the society is going to look into these issues only afterSOS calls... but there is a key difference... unlike me who has aJan term if I fail in Aug, mankind as of now has only one earth tolive.BalakrishnanM.E. 1 st year5

Why we like the color green?Well other than the fact that the best basketball team has thecolor green (for the people who don’t know it’s the Boston Celtics)and the US dollar bill is green in color, why do the best of thebest all around the world leave their family, friends and most ofall their identities to go to the United States? Is it because ofthe world class education, “research facility”, life style or is itbecause of the “obvious” interest in the fairer opposite sex?I have given it a lot of thought and I have realized that it isbecause of the “American dream”. The dream that we see in themovies, we hear about in success stories of how people who come with5 $ and end up being the CEO of a billion dollar company. It’s ourinner belief that we are all rock stars and fame is our destiny.Don’t we all go sit in our bathrooms and dream of becoming rich andfamous? This dream is what drives us to USA because we all believethat we are going to make it big, so we all go there and toil ourback off for the green dollar bills, work for half our worth for 6-7years… all to get the green card because we all believe that somedaywe will get that big break there. And I don’t blame anyone for thatdream, that’s a great dream to pursue, but dreaming less and doingmore is what we need to do. Didn’t Mr. Ambani come from filling gasto being one the richest man in the world and he did that in India,there are so many other examples out there in different countries.Japan has the most success stories after the USA. My advice to allfellow “green” followers (I confess to being one of them) is stopfollowing and start taking charge and get out there and be the bestyou can be. Don’t wait for miracles to happen, make it happen, forcedestiny to change because you are good and no one can take that fromyou. Love what you do, not ‘plastic love’ but the kind of love thatmakes you do it despite all preconceived notions. It is tough toknow what you want to do because we have all been brought up to bethe number 1 in the rat race, the toppers in our class…we all wantto get the highest salaries, get into the best universities and bethe most successful man in the world.6

Just an afterthought, someone was explaining to me a few days backhow awesome and reputed his professor is and how lucky he is to geta PhD under him. I asked him if he liked the work he did and hedidn’t have any answer. It’s tough to get a chance to do what youreally like, but we need to take the decision and we need to take itfast. I have found what makes me happy and I am working towards itand honestly it’s the best feeling ever. Yes, I am employed butstill looking for a better job but I know what I want to do and whatI like and there is nothing like it for me most importantly. Thebiggest mistake is not trying- so try now otherwise tomorrow youwill be 40 and a father of two kids and then you cannot do much.I am not sure if I am writing this to motivate myself or justbecause I saw an inspirational movie but all I know is someone toldme many years back “Success is a journey not a destination”.Madhusudan HulgiM.E. 2 nd yearThe otherwise famous Chemical EngineersHarsha Bhogle: Cricket commentator. B.Tech from Osmania UniversityRoberto Goizeta: Former chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola. Had chem.engg degree from Yale UniversityPadamsree Warrior: Vice President – Motorola - IIT Delhi and CornellUniversityDolph Lundgren: Acted in Rocky IV movie. Chemical engineer from RITStockholm and Univ of Sydney.Alex Lowe: Mountaineer. Montana State University7

Giulio Natta: Graduated from Polytechnic of Milan. Noble Laureate inChemistry.Adam Osborne: University of Delaware. Developed the PC in 1981John (Jack) Welch Jr.: Former chairman and CEO – General Electrics;University of Massachusetts and IllionoisLinus Pauling: Oregon State University. Noble LaureateNagesh Kukunoor: film maker (Hyderabad blue etc)-Georgia Instituteof Technology.Y.G.Mahendra: Tamil Film Actor (mostly comedy role) A.C.CollegeTechnology, ChennaiK.Anji Reddy: Drugs and Pharmaceutical Industrialist – Ph.D. fromNCLShreenivas: Singer(Tamil/Malayalam/Hindi) . Chem Engg from UDCTMumbai (now UICT)Karan Grover: TV Actor – Chem. Engg. College not clearMukesh Ambani: Reliance Industries. Chem. Engg from MumbaiRichard Hu: Singapore former finance minister – Chem. Engg. Collegenot clear.Albert Ruddy: Movie producer – City college of New YorkTerrace Howard: Actor- Pratt Institute (NYC)Of course the list may be ……..more.Compiled by Dr.P T RaghuramCourtesy: IIChE Kolkata Powerpoint file received by BRC andWebsearch8

The story of a young researcherYoung researcher comes to IISc. His starting days :His Views: Hey, I am glad to do research in this premier institute.I will be great one day and do well to the citizens of my everlovingmotherland “INDIA”.Friend: Hey!!! Where are you from? Where have you done your masters?Researcher: From a university.Friend: The voice of Hey changes to Ho…… (In his friend’s mind howhe could come to IISc)Researcher: Questions arise in his mind by seeing his friend’sconvoluted face. Am I eligible to do Ph.D.? The first answer comesto the mind “Yes I can, why not? I cleared the interview in front ofhighly intellectual professors” I must be positive, researcherreminiscence the words of great man Abdul Kalam ‘I can do, we cando’.Course work: The other students of the class were from differentpremier institutes. Classes started and the young researcher was notup to the mark. His colleagues started vibrantly interacting in theclass. The allegiance researcher questioned once again “Can I do”?“Yes” comes the answer after studying the article ‘Life of youthicon at the age of sixty… Amitabh Bachchan’.Family: “At the age of twenty eight what are you doing man? Is ittime for doing your research? Your father is going to retire? Whydon’t you go for job? Why don’t you settle in life? See yourchildhood friends are earning money and they are well settled, whatare you going to do with your research?”Researcher: “Oh my god? Whom do I have to remember now? AmitabhBachchan or Abdul Kalam. I have to do something. Let me do research,first concentrate on the work which I came for.”After finishing the course work, he accessed himself, what he hasachieved so far. He came to know that the things which he usually9

thought of to be good were just average. That made his thirst toacquire knowledge even greater and he started chanting in his mind“let me try try try try…”Research work starts: The researcher entered the area which he wasnot good at, but the words ‘I can do, we can do’ inspired him toenter this field. The blatant mistakes committed by the researcherirritate the professor, but the professor being benevolent, helpedhim to continue his work. Days passed without any results. Hethought ”What should I do….. and the story still goes on………The moral of the story is “The man is inspired by words from greatmen”. Whether this researcher can become a great person and inspireothers or he has to quit research due to his incompetence still haveto be found out.Anonymous"जूता" - एक वलंत शोध वषय (“Shoe” - A hot research topic)अरे कु छ सुना आपने हमारे धानमंी जी भी जूते का शकार हो गए है | जाज बुश क चलाई गयी इस परंपराका चलन अब भारत म भी आम हो गया है | तो म सोचता हूँ क जब जूता इतना स हो ह गया है तो यन इस वषय पर पी.एच.डी. ह कर ल जाए | मने तो अपनी शोध (research) क सूची (index) भी बना लहै | तावना (acknowledgement) म आज तक िजन िजन को भी जूते या चपल खाने का सौभाय ाहुआ है, सभी का धयवाद ापन कया जाएगा, क इह क ेरणा से म इस शोध वषय पर काय कर रहा हूँ |और िजन यय ने इन पर जूते बरसाए, उनक हमत क भी दाद देनी ह पड़ेगी | ये तो रह तावना कबात और मने अपने थीसस को पांच भागो म वभािजत कया है | तो पहला अयाय , जैसा क हर एकथीसस म होता है : परचय |10

जूता - एक परचयअब जूता कोई परचय का मोहताज तो है नहं, लेकन थीसस का नयम होता है तो वो तो पूरा करना हपड़ेगा, वरना मेरे गाइड को अछा नहं लगेगा | अब िजतने भी मुहावरे (idioms) जूते के उपर है वो तोलखने ह पड़गे | जैसे जूता पड़ेगा तो अल ठकाने आ जायेगी , जूता सुंघा दो , जूते घस गये है लेकन कामनहं हुआ , अभी तक तू मेरे जूत म ह है , मेरे जूते पहनने क कोशश मत कर , दूसरा जूता गरने काइंतज़ार करो , पुराने जूत जैसे मजबूत बनो , जूते क नक पर रखो अगैरह- वगैरह | जूता तो सयता(civilization) के ारंभ से ह महवपूण (important) रहा है | उसका थान पाँव म होने के साथ साथ लोगोक दल म भी है - भय क प म | पहले जमाने म पंचायत ने पांच जूते मारने क सजा द तो इसे बहुत बड़ाअपमान समझा जाता था , लेकन अब तो लोग सुखय म आ जाते है | लो जी चलते चलते मल गया न एकऔर पी.एच.डी. का वषय - जूते और सुखया (headlines) |दूसरा अयाय : आम आदमी और जूताभले ह बडे लोग जूते से डरे या न डरे , लेकन आम आदमी अब भी बहुत डरता है और आज कल जो भीघटनाएं सपूण व म हो रह है उससे तो और यादा चंतत हो गया है | अब तो वो जूते का नाम लेने से भीडरता है | अब या कया जाए कु छ ख़ास मौको पर जूते तो खरदने ह पड़ते है जैसे शाद का समय | शाद मदुहे के पास दो ह रंग क वाइस होती है काला रंग या लाल रंग और वो भी चमडे का | भारतीय समाज मसालय ारा जूते चुराने क रसम (custom) - अब इसी से अंदाजा लगा लिजये क कतना महव है जूतेका | लेकन मेर एक बात समझ नहं आई क सालया दुहे के जूते ह य चुराती है और कु छ य नहं |लो मल गया एक और पी.एच.डी. का वषय : जूते और सालया | अब जब देश भर म चुनाव हो रहे थे तोचुनाव आयोग ने एक और नयम पारत कया था क कोई भी चुनाव समय सीमा के अदर जूता नहं खरदेगा, अगर कोई खरदता है तो उसे शपथ-प लख कर देना होगा क वो कसी पर जूते का उपयोग नहं करेगा |इससे आम आदमी को चंता और बढ़ गयी |तीसरा अयाय : जूता खाने वाले क मानसक अवथाअब जब जूता खाने वालो क संया म अयशत बढोर हो रह है तो उनक मानसक अवथा का भीअययन जर हो गया है | तो पहला जूता खाया बुश जी ने और आचय उहने इसे बड़े ह शांत वभाव से11

हण कया | तो उनक मन म या चल रहा था - सबसे बड़ा ये है | तो इसका उर उहने खुद ह देदया, जूते मारने वाले को माफ़ कर | तो इससे पता चलता है क वे जूते खाने के बाद बड़े ह सन (elated)थे सोच रहे थे क जैसे ह रापत पद से हटा तो ये घटना घट , तो कम से कम अब म मीडया म दस दन तोछाया ह रहूँगा और उहने इसे सामाय घटना करार (declare) दया | तो इससे पता चलता है क वे जूताखाने के बाद बड़े ह खुश थे | अब बार आती भारत के नेताओं क | चुनावी परय म अडवाणी जी ने ,चबरम जी ने , मनमोहन जी , मोद जी ने जूता खाया और जूता मारने वालो को माफ़ भी कर दया | तोभाइय इसका मतलब ये क वे भी खुश थे क चलो स हुई | अब तो म इस इतजार म हूँ क कब जूताराजनैतक मुा बने और पी.एच.डी.का वषय भी - जूता : एक राजनैतक मुा |चौथा अयाय : जूता मारने वाले क मानसक अवथाअब कोई जूता खा रहा है तो कोई खला भी रहा होगा , इसका भी अययन जर है क उसने जूता य मारा, या दमाग म चल रहा था , कह इसके पीछे अलकायदा का तो हाथ नहं , कह इसके पीछे कसीराजनैतक पाट का तो हाथ नहं और कह जूता पाकतान से तो नहं आया !!! चाहे जूता खलाने वाला आमआदमी ह य न हो लेकन उसे इन चीजो से जोड़ कर देखा ह जाएगा | भारत के अनुसार तो जूता अगर कसीने खाया है तो उसमे पाकतान का ह हाथ होना चाहए , और भारत क जासूस ढूँढगे क जूता पाकतान केकस शहर म बना , कं पनी का नाम या था अगैरह- वगैरह | तो इसी के चलते एक वषय और मल गया नापी.एच.डी. के लए 'भारत म जूते ' पाकतान क भूमकापांचवा अयाय : जूते का भवयअब भवय कसने देखा है , लेकन जब जूते का वतमान इतना वैभवशाल रहा है और वतमान इतनागौरवशाल तो इन आंकडो से नकष नकलता है क इसका भवय भी उजवल रहेगा |शव संह चौहान12

The last poemI still remember when I was bornthe place where my life was startedthe beautiful girl and her kind handshappy faces of my family and friendsI still remember my parentswho gave me the blessings of happinessbut lost them early with my friendsfew men took us long way in trainI still remember my childhoodwhen I bent to catch a butterflybut lost my hand inside a gateunknowingly closed by my rude MasterI still remember my wifewho was so caring about mebut unfortunately not herepassed away few deacades beforeI still remember all of themwho demolished our old housebut created a beautiful gardenthanks to themI still remember to tell youwho I ambut I think you will know melooking at the news in newspaper tomorrow"Fall of a 500 year old giant Banyan tree"(Read: Times of India, 16 May 2009, Page 6)Sharad SontakkePhD student13

सपनेलोलोग सपने य देखते हैपूरा करने का साहस नहंफर य सोचते है हर एक बातजो उनके काबू म नहंफर पछताते है सोच सोच करफर रोते है, पता नहंलोग सपने य देखते हैन जाने य सब खुश हैअपने अपने सपनो मऔर नहं टटोलना चाहतेहककत क जमीनय उड़ना चाहते हैजब खुद ह कु तर दए है परसपनो म बसाना चाहते है महलटू टते है, जब खुलती है आँखफर भी न जानेलोग सपने य देखते हैदन म भी सभी सोये हुए हैखुल आँख म सपने संजोये हुए हैपता है हककत, टू टते है सपनेसपनो क उडान को14

काबू म रखने क कोशशअब बीती जाए ये घडी भीटूटने को है आँख के सपने,फर भी पता नहंलोग सपने य देखते हैशव संह चौहानM.E. 2 nd yearvaao kaoOna qaI ÆÆ ÆÆmaOMnao kuC doKnaa caaha¸pr kao[- idKa nahIM.maOMnao ]sao CUnaa caaha¸pr kao[- qaa nahIM.naa jaanao @yaUÐ mahsaUsa huAa¸kao[- maoro pasa KD,I hOkhtI hO ÁsaaoAao mat jaagaao¸saarI duinayaa Baaga rhI h¸O Baagaa¸o tuma BaI Baagaao.[tnaI rat khaM BaagaÐU ÆÆ[tnaa AcCa Balaa saaoyaa hUÐ15

@yaUÐ jaagaUÐ ÆÆ]sanao mauJao ihlaayaa¸ jabardstI jagaayaa¸iKD,kI tk laayaI AaOr idKlaayaI¸rat ko tIna bajao qao pr¸Sahr ko Aaifsa baajaar ABaI BaI sajao qao .saD,kaoM po laaoga Baagato qao naa jaanaokba saaoto kba jaagato qaoÆÆpr yao iksako pICo Baaga rhoM hOM[tnaI rat @yaUM jaaga rhoM hOMÆvaao jaaor sao hMsaI zhaka lagaa[-pr Apnao AasaUM iCpa na payaI.$pyao pOsao [jjat Saaohrt saflata¸ko ilayao yao Baagao jaa rhoM hOM.AaOr mauJao CaoD,o jaa rho hoOM.maOM caaOMka¸ ]sao CaoD,a¸kdmaaoM kao vaaipsa maaoD,amauJao naIMd Aa rhI qaI¸@yaa matlabaÆduinayaa iksao CaoD,o jaa rhI qaIÆmaOM ifr sao Aa ko laoT gayaa pr¸Aba naIMd nahIM Aa rhI qaI¸baocaOnaI saI Ca rhI qaIsaba kuC tao qaa .pr Saaint nahIM qaI16

vaao jaa caukI qaI¸vaao jaa caukI qaI .Aalaaok iWvaodIM.E. 2 nd yearThe Jungle LawForget me always and forgive me not,For what I have done & for what I have notStill life goes on with that single thought,It is a battle which is meant to be fought.If you win, then you are the most after sought.And if you lose then you will be always caught.It is the jungle where the fittest survive,And those who hit the bulls eye in a single shot.It’s about lion and not the goat,Who hits sixes & never plays a dot.Not for those who ever seek comfort,But for those who even survive the drought.Kushal TripathiM.E. 1 st year17

MemoriesDeepali PatroM.E. 1 st year18

PanghatDeepali PatroM.E. 1 st year19

An account of the Alumni Meet held on May10, 2009The institute was founded on May 27, 1909 with the extraordinaryvision of J. N. Tata. To commemorate one hundred years of existenceof the institute, a large number of workshops and symposia have beenorganized in the institute at the department and the divisionlevels. The institute organized IISc Centenary Conference (13-16thDecember, 2008), one of its kind, to showcase the institute. Thiswas attended by a large number of alumni from India and abroad.Our department organized a workshop-cum-symposium on `MolecularSimulations: Applications in Engineering Sciences' during May 6-9,2009. This was followed on May 10 by one day long Alumni Meet. Thismeet, perhaps the first of its kind, was attended by a large numberof our alumni, many of whom came from far off places all over thecountry with their own arrangements. Somebody drove in a car fromChennai, someone else took bus both ways from Hyderabad in the monthof May, another one stayed in a hotel in Majestic to attend theMeet, and so on. There are many other unrecognized efforts of thiskind which made this Alumni Meet a great experience. The departmentsalutes this spirit among its alumni and it proud of them!This write up is intended to provide you a brief account of theAlumni Meet.The planning for the Alumni Meet began quite early. Considering thatthis was perhaps the first occasion to ask the alumni formally fortheir feedback on how we had trained them, the Alumni Meet focusedon just two issues---Student Learning and Alumni-DepartmentInteraction.The Alumni Meet opened with the get-together dinner on May 9th onthe department terrace. Prof. Ganapathy Ayappa's menu and theexotic setting provided by the caterer were the main topics ofconversation during the dinner. A number of people felt that thedinner was among the best ever organized in the department. TheMeet opened formally the next day (Sunday) morning in Faculty Hall20

with Sanjeev's address. He likened the department to a mother whoraises her youngest ones with all the care and ignores the olderones, but decides to call them after many years, and they all comerunning, which is an indication of the bond that exists between thedepartment and its alumni. Prof. Prabhu (the present Chairman of thedepartment) next welcomed all the alumni. He cited the comingtogether of Swami Vivekananda and JN Tata, two men with disparateinterests, as the genesis of IISc. Prof. Prabhu hoped that ouralumni with very disparate interests would also come together forthe common cause of taking and guiding the department to newerheights.These opening addresses were followed by session on `Learning fromPast, Present, and outlook for Future'. This session had talks fromProf. M. Ravindram on development of infrastructure in thedepartment, Prof. M. S. Murthy on evolution of research areas, Prof.Govindrao on role played by the department at national and statelevel and the legacy of Prof. N. R. Kuloor, Dr. Lakshmanan onstudent-faculty relations, Prof. G. M. Shahshidhara on life outsidethe department, Prof. S. S. Lokras on industrial and societalinteraction of department, and finally Prof. K. S. Gandhi on rapidlychanging teaching and research environment and the department'sability to respond to it. Prof. R. Kumar, who was away in Franceduring the Meet, was missed by most of the participants. Thesetalks not only covered the above specific issues, but they alsobrought back for many alumni the old memories of the institute, theresearch culture in the department and the unique student-facultyrelationship that existed during a certain period.The next session on Student Learning was organized by Dr. Manjunath(GE). It had six talks (Dr. Rajganesh, IITK; Dr. Siva Kumar, GE;Dr. Manjunath, GE; S. Suresh; Preeta Datta, ME student;Dr. C. Ramakanth). The talks covered various aspects of learning:courses, research training, and soft skills. One outstandingmessage of this session was that the department alumni are widelyknown for their very strong analytical abilities and technicalcompetence, and the need to strengthen soft-skills, for example, theability to convince team leader or team members of the usefulness of21

their idea or merit in their comments, and the skill required tofinally take it to a stage where it makes a difference. The alumniin the audience presented their view points. Some of these touchedupon issues such as a mix of experimental and theoretical work inPhD work, low visibility of the department because of our smallsize, learning from student colleagues through informal seminars,etc. There was more than forty five minute long participation fromthe audience, before Dr. Gopalkrishna (Jubiliant) and Dr. Ganesan(Dow), who managed various pulls and pushes in this very livelysession quite delicately, closed it for lunch. Lunch was served inthe Main Guest House lawns.The second session on Alumni-Department Interaction was organized byDr. Sivakumar (GE). It had seven talks (Dr. KVS Ramrao, Reddy's ab;Dr. C. Lakshmanan, ITC; Dr. Tulasi Lakshami, Shell; Gururaj, GECapital; Prof. KS Rajanandam, MSRIT; Prof. Narendra Dixit, IISc;Girish, PhD student). These talks covered various aspects ofdepartment-alumni relationship and the role alumni can play infurthering the outreach of the department in attracting motivatedand talented students for its academic programmes. The perceptionof the department among the stake-holders in the country wasdiscussed. Once again, the perception that IISc graduates aretechnically very competent, but needing further support in terms ofsoft-skills to make impact in industry was reinforced. The activeparticipation of the alumni in imparting soft skills to the currentstudents was suggested by several alumni. Identification of anindustry mentor from among our alumni for each of our ME/Researchstudents could boost department-alumni interaction in a big way.Some members brought out the need to identify one or two cleargoals, and work towards them in mission critical mode. Suggestionswere also made for the department to organize events (such asquizes, design contests, etc.) for undergraduate students so as togain certain degree of visibility among them. As with the previoussession, this session also saw very active participation from theaudience for about forty minutes, before Prof. Kesava Rao (IISc) andDr. L. Srinivas Mohan (Fluent) closed it for a short coffee break.22

The last session, conducted by Sanjeev and Siva Kumar, sought tobring out an action plan. It was decided that although the alumniof our department have not met formally before, the bond with thedepartment has remained strong. The time has come to take thisgoodwill and affection of our alumni to complement the efforts ofthe faculty in imparting training to our students. The agreed uponaction points are:1. Formation of a core committee, presently consisting of Siva Kumar(GE), Manjunath (GE), Tulasi (Shell), Prasad Naidu (IBM), R.Chandrsekhar (Pondicherry), Girija, Kesava Rao, Narendra Dixit, andSanjeev Gupta.2. Girija to moderate a mailing group on Google and managedepartment alumni group on Linkedin.3. Quarterly talks from the alumni over the next year.4. Faculty to identify non-core areas which are essential but can beaugmented with the help of alumni.5. Alumni to organize industry visits of ME/Research students.6. The core committee should bring out Newsletter regularly.Prof. Prabhu proposed vote of thanks at the end. All theparticipants then walked down to the department for high tea andposter session. Posters were prepared by students to highlight theresearch work in progress in the department. These seemed to haveserved the intended purpose quite well, as several alumni were seenglued to the posters even after it became dark!Sanjeev K. Gupta23

Sayonara!!!One whole year of tenure, I am trying to cut it down to one wholeparagraph. Here it goes. All my batch mates geared up forpreparations of CEA Symposium and CEA (interesting☺) nite. Thecommittee put up a great show with all the things in place and ontime on that particular “THE DAY”. All this happened in one day andwe had to wrap up all the fun and get going with our project work.But this is not an end to all the fun. We got going with wellorganized CEA talk by Shakuntala Narsimhnan on INDIAN CONSUMER ACTS.We soon had arranged for trip to Savan Durga hills (hell asdescribed by people who couldn’t trek without help). In mean time wegot long awaiting T shirts done. In the end, the committee couldshow great caliber and executed all the plans with the help of theCEA President (Prof Dixit) and all my batch mates successfully.Thanks CEA for giving me a wonderful opportunity to serve the CEAfor span of one whole year.Madhusudan HulgiSecretaryCEA Executive Committee 200925

Placements 2008-2009NameDegree Company/InstitutionAlok Dwivedi M.E. HoneywellMadhusudan N M.E. TVS MotorsHulgiMohana Rao D M.E. BHELPreeta Datta M.E. GE, NCSU (PhD.)Rajesh M.E. Tata SteelT. Rama Subba M.E. TRDCReddySai Krishna G. M.E. SmartanalystSettyShivendra Singh M.E. BHELChauhanD. Surya M.E. Yahoo IndiaSundara RamanVinod Kumar K M.E. TVS MotorsForam Thakkar PhD. Tata SteelParthasarthyPhD. CMax, HoneywellGoswamiAnki ReddyKathaAteeque AAGMalaniMahesh VarmaJayantaChakrabortyC. VenkataRamana ReddyPhD.PhD.PhD.PhD.PhD.USTI,Polytech’Marseille(PDF)Univ. of Massachusetts(PDF)NIT Nagpur (Faculty)School of ChemicalEngineering,Purdue (PDF)Queen’s Univ,Australia(PDF)27

CEA Executive Committee 2009President: Prof. Narendra M. DixitVice President: Sharad ShontakkeSecretary: Kushal TripathiJoint Secretary: BalakrishnanTreasurer: Lalita Kanwar29

Department of Chemical EngineeringCentenary Conference and CEA Trip30