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Annual
Report – 2007 Indian National Academy of
Engineering (INAE) was established in 1987 to promote the advancement of and
excellence in the practice of engineering and technology and the related
sciences and disciplines. It is a 'peer' body of the most distinguished
engineers from the entire spectrum of engineering profession in the Government,
R&D Laboratories, Academia and Industry. The Academy undertakes programmes on
technology policy issues of national concern and recommends measures for
appropriate action by policy makers, planners and administrators for the
overall development of the country. One
of the objectives of the Academy is to encourage inventions, scientific
investigations and research to promote their application for development of all
sectors of national economy. The salient
aims and objects of the Academy are given below.
Seminars/Conferences International Conference on Engineering Education
The INAE Conference on
“International Engineering Education” supported by Council of Academies of
Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS) and IIT Madras was held on Prof MS Ananth, Director, IIT
Madras while welcoming the participants in the Inaugural Session, expressed
that in recent decades, there have been significant changes driven by
environmental issues, stake-holders diversity, opportunities that exploit
developments in Information and Communication Technology and the forces of
globalization. Further he brought out that the increasing competition among the
students for good quality education entails the risk of rapid commercialization
of the education scenario. Such a risk can be contained by pre-competitive
cooperation among institutions in different countries across the globe. The
engineering academies also have an important role to play in this regard. Prof
R Natarajan, Co-Chairman, International Advisory Committee mentioned that in
recent years, several National Academies of Engineering have identified
Engineering Education as one of their major issues of concern. Some of the
themes include: development and education of engineers; enhancing and promoting
engineering education; increasing attractiveness of engineering education and
retention of students; quality of engineering education offerings; promoting
industry-institute interaction; research and PhD education and engineering
education and engineers for the XXI century. Dr Anil Kakodkar, the Chief
Guest of the event and Past-President INAE during his Inaugural address brought
out that the linkages between academic,
national laboratory and industry activities are important. INAE has
several programmes to nurture these linkages. He mentioned that we must
emphasize on a holistic approach to Education, Research & Development and
Technology. He expressed confidence that some important conclusions would
emerge out of the deliberations to the larger benefit of the engineering
community as a whole. Dr William C Salmon, Secretary, CAETS then gave a brief
overview of CAETS. Dr PS Goel, President INAE during the Presidential Address
welcomed the delegates from CAETS. He said that engineering education is an
important subject of immense relevance to the community. From an Indian
perspective we do not have a problem of attracting young students to
engineering education. He expressed concern that the young engineers are drawn
to the software industry and that we do not get adequate engineers to work in
core disciplines. The shortage of qualified Academicians in engineering
institutions is also a matter of concern. He also mentioned that there is a
need to identify the issues that need to be taken up at different levels, so as
to address these problems. On the first day there were
four technical sessions on the themes: Engineering Education for the XXI
Century; Country-Specific Issues in Engineering Education; Industry and GATS
Perspectives in Engineering Education and Domain-Specific Issues in Engineering
Education. On the second day four sessions were held on Globalization and
Consortium Research Issues in Engineering Education, Emerging challenges and
Opportunities in Engineering Education, Excellence, Equity and Ethics in
Engineering Education and Issues of Significance in Engineering Education. The
conference concluded with a Valedictory function in which Prof R Natarajan
summed-up the Conference proceedings. Seminar on “Commercialization of Indian
Technologies in Chemical Sector –Successes and New Opportunities”
The Seminar
on “Commercialization of Indian Technologies in Chemical Sector –Successes and
New Opportunities” was held on
The seminar
was a joint initiative of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and
Indian Chemical Council (ICC) with several S&T departments of Government of
India, leading R&D and academic institutions as Associate Agencies. The unique features of this seminar are
assessing the strengths and weaknesses of public-private partnerships for
R&D commercialization in India through an analysis of case studies of
completed and ongoing projects supported by government agencies by a panel of eminent experts and a technical
session exclusively to deliberate on incentives and support mechanisms required
for future technology development programmes in India. The seminar was formally
inaugurated by Dr. G. Thyagarajan, Chairman, Supreme Court Monitoring Committee
on hazardous waste management and addressed by Dr. PS Goel, President, INAE,
Dr. KV Raghavan, Coordinator, INAE and D. Dutta Gupta, President, Sri DP
Mishra, Director General and Sri Samir Somaiya, Chairman (Western Region) of
ICC. The first technical session
focused on six case studies of public-private partnership for R&D scale up
and commercialization programmes supported by DSIR, CSIR, DRDO, TDB, SID and
ARCI. They cover pharmaceuticals,
antibiotics, chemicals from agro-wastes, CFC substitutes and surface coatings
sectors of industry. After analysing
their funding, monitoring and technology transfer mechanisms, the three member
expert panel consisting of Dr. G Thyagarajan, Dr. W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller
(R&D) of DRDO and Dr. Hameed Bhombal of Aditya Birla Group identified the
techno-managerial factors responsible for successes and failures in the above
programmes and the nature of changes to be brought in to strengthen the
R&D-industry linkage. The role of
academic institutions was also discussed. The 2nd Technical
Session provided an opportunity to selected R&D and academic institutions
to highlight their available technologies for commercialization to the
prospective clients. More than 50
technologies pertaining to speciality, organic and high energy chemical sectors
were presented. Experts from NEERI,
The third technical cum panel
discussion session focused on new incentives and support mechanisms needed for
strengthening public-private partnerships for R&D commercialization during
11th Five Year Plan period.
Dr. KV Raghavan, Chairman, RAC, DRDO made a keynote presentation on
global and national scenarios pertaining to technology support mechanisms. The situation in An exhibition cum technology
Buyers and Sellers event was organized on the sidelines of the seminar. Good level of interactions took place for
evolving new partnerships. INAE-JNU Symposium on “Biology Inspired
Nanotechnology” A joint INAE-JNU Symposium on
“Biology Inspired Nanotechnology” was held on The invited speakers were from diverse areas engaged in the
field of Nanobiotechnology in Prof. Sneh Anand, Centre for
Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, During the Inaugural Session, Dr.
Prasenjit Sen welcomed all the participants and gave introductory remarks about
the Symposium. Dr. MJ Zarabi,
Vice-President, INAE delivered the Inaugural Address and spoke about the need
for out-of-box thinking to use biology as a tool to synthesize electronic
functions. To achieve this, he suggested
research in the area of nanomedicine.
The challenge, according to Dr. Zarabi, for nanoelectronic circuits is
to effectively reduce the number of components per function. The solution can be sought by evolving simple
and elegant methods not impeded by classical theories in a fresh approach to
the challenge. Thereafter, Prof. Sneh Anand briefly spoke about the activities
of INAE. Prof. Yash Pal, Chancellor, JNU and a Fellow of the Academy spoke about
Contract Research Organization’s inability to generate IPRs. He spoke of the need to evolve different
yardsticks for supporting different laboratories developing technology at the
high end with special credit reserved for “novel research” and not for reverse
engineering. Dr. BB Bhattacharya of
Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata described diagnostic biochips to
integrate microarrays on miniaturized test sites in two dimensions. The biochip architecture is a continuous type
digital microfluidic based, for delivery of nano-litre volume of fluids through
a network of micro channels etched on a chip.
Dr. Prasenjit Sen, Associate Professor,
After presentation by invited speakers, a
panel discussion was also held in the evening.
National Frontiers of
Engineering (NatFOE): Young Engineers Interactive Meet The National Frontiers of
Engineering Symposium was launched by the INAE in 2006 as its annual flagship
event. It brought together about 40 outstanding engineers (ages ~30-45) from
companies, universities, and government labs to discuss leading-edge research
and technical work across a range of engineering fields. Having seen the
success of this event, it was decided to make this as an annual event of the
Academy. The Second National Frontiers of
Engineering Symposium was organized by INAE in collaboration with IIT Kanpur
and IIT Delhi on March 31- The Symposium proved to be a beginning of an effort to
groom leaders of technology of diverse fields for future. It certainly provided
a forum to showcase the interdisciplinary nature of modern day engineering.
Such Symposia are expected to promote interdisciplinary approaches across fields
and establishment of contacts among the next generation of engineering leaders. The Grand Finale of the event was
a meeting of all the participants with His
Excellency Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, President of Seminar on “Recycling for
Electronics and Automotive Industry” Indian National Academy of
Engineering organized a seminar on “ Recycling for Electronics and Automotive
Industry” at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education , Mumbai on Dr PS Goel, Secretary , Earth
Sciences and President, INAE presided over the inaugural session. Dr R
Chidambaram, PSA to Government of India and former Chairman, Atomic Energy
Commission delivered the inaugural address. Shri AK Anand, Scientific
Consultant in the Office of PSA , former Director, Reactor Projects Group, BARC
and Convener of the seminar briefed on the background and motivation behind
holding the seminar. Dr S Banerjee, Director, BARC welcomed the dignitaries and
delegates. Shri BB Biswas, Head, Reactor Control Division, BARC and Secretary
of the seminar proposed vote of thanks. The second session was devoted to
Auto Industry and was chaired by Dr Chidambaram. In this session, the following
presentations were made:
The third session was devoted to
Electronics Industry and was chaired by Dr S Banerjee. In this session , the
following presentations were made:
The fourth and the concluding
session was a panel discussion session to evolve a consensus on the recycling
issues and to generate a recommendation to the government. The policy
recommendations of the Seminar have been sent to the Planning Commission,
Ministry of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Information
Technology and Department of Science & Technology for follow-up action. Joint Workshop between INAE and
Technological Sciences and
Engineering (ATSE) on “Remote Sensing” The Joint Workshop between INAE
and ATSE on “Remote Sensing” was held on Lecture by Prof. Herbert Gleiter,
Foreign Fellow of INAE Prof. Gleiter has made seminal
contributions to the areas of intercrystalline interfaces and nanostructured
materials. He pioneered in the 1980’s the synthesis, the studies and the
technological applications of this new class of materials called
nanocrystalline or nanostructured materials. He has been one of the key figures
in promoting Materials Science and Solid State Physics in Germany, Europe and
internationally by founding new research institutes, initiating new research
programmes, promoting international co-operation and by his contributions to
numerous scientific committees and Academies. In his enlightening lecture he
spoke about the State-of-the Art technology in the field of nanostructured
materials namely metamaterials and their possible applications in the future. A lecture on “Nanostructured Materials:
A Field, Created and Still Driven by New Ideas” by Prof.
Herbert Gleiter, Director emerit., Institute of Nanotechnology, Research Centre Karlsruhe, Federal Republic
of Germany and Foreign Fellow, INAE was held at
1700 hrs. on Wednesday, Dr PS Goel, President INAE
formally admitted Prof. Herbert Gleiter
into the Academy as a Foreign Fellow, during the Induction Ceremony which was
held after lecture.
Forthcoming Seminars/Workshops/Symposia 2008
International
Conference on Advances in Manufacturing Technology (ICAMT-2008) An International Conference on
Advances in Manufacturing Technology (ICAMT 2008) will be held during Seminar on “Water Resource
Management” The INAE Seminar on “Water
Resources Management, Role for Water Sector in Conference on “Railway Vision
2030” INAE Conference on Railways
Vision- 2030 will be held on Feb 29- Workshop cum Symposium on
"Electromagnetic Fields Bio-Interactions, Applications and
A Workshop on “Electromagnetic
Fields Bio-Interactions, Applications and Mobile Computing: Electromagnetic Pollution”, jointly organized
by INAE, JNU and Microwave Applications Society of India will be held on
Symposium on
‘National Frontiers of Engineering (NatFOE)
The National
Frontiers of Engineering Symposium was launched by the INAE in 2006 as its
annual flagship event. It brings together about 40-50 outstanding engineers
(ages ~30-45) from companies, universities, and government labs to discuss
leading-edge research and technical work across a range of engineering fields. Convening
engineers from disparate fields and challenging them to think about
developments and problems at the frontiers of areas different from their own
leads to a variety of desirable results. These include collaborative work, the
transfer of new techniques and approaches across fields, and establishment of
contacts among the next generation of leaders in engineering. The format of the
symposia encourages informal collective as well as one-on-one discussions among
participants. The NATFOE Symposium is planned to be held during April 2008. Workshop on Assistive Technology
(Technology for Assisting the Physically and Mentally Challenged People)
The Workshop on
Assistive Technology (Technology for Assisting the Physically and Mentally
Challenged People) will be held during May 2008. The focus of the workshop would be two fold:
to create awareness among the NGOs and organizations working towards the cause
of the disabled, about how technology can be useful towards providing better
service and to exchange ideas and information among the technologists working
towards development of cost effective indigenous technology. The workshop would
have three sessions, besides the inaugural session on the themes: Need
specification from NGOs and other organizations; Technology sessions from
academia, industry and R&D labs and a summary meeting or Panel discussion
to formulate action plans. The thrust of the workshop would be on work done for the orthopedically handicapped,
the visually handicapped, Speech and Hearing handicapped, Children with Mental
and Learning Disabilities, children with Neuro-Motor Disorders such as Cerebral
Palsy.
The INAE Seminar
on “Ocean Technologies” is scheduled to be held in September 2008 at Academia-Industry Interaction AICTE-INAE Distinguished Visiting Professorship Scheme The Indian National Academy of
Engineering (INAE) launched a Distinguished Visiting Professorship (DVP) Scheme
jointly with AICTE in 1999. The Scheme envisages promotion of
industry-institute interaction by facilitating the dissemination of knowledge
through the expertise of experienced and knowledgeable persons from industry to
integrate their rich industrial experience with technical education. The Scheme
has received very enthusiastic response from industry and engineering research
institutions over the years. A total of 100 Industry experts
have been selected under the subject scheme which includes experts from
Industry as well as DRDO/DAE/DOS Labs.
During the visits to the Engineering Colleges, Industry experts have
delivered lectures on the state-of-the-art of industry, guided students
projects and helped in curriculum development keeping in view the changing
needs. The 10th meeting of
the Steering Committee of the AICTE-INAE Distinguished Visiting Professorship
scheme was held on After deliberations, out of 21
nominations received, the Committee selected fifteen industry experts as per
details given below. Out of these,
thirteen joint proposals from the Industry and Institutions have already been
received.
INAE-AICTE Distinguished Industry Professorship A new scheme in the reverse
direction named as INAE-AICTE Distinguished Industry Professorship has been
instituted recently. Under this scheme,
faculty from Engineering Institutions will spend a short period of 1-2 months
during summer in industry to contribute to the industry as well as gain
exposure to the industrial environment/requirement. For engineering faculty,
this would provide the opportunity to learn about the State-of-the-Art
technologies and get exposure to current industrial and commercial practice.
This would make the teaching relevant to the industrial realm and add to the
realism of the courses taught in engineering institutions. The interaction with
captains of the industry will lead to bringing new and innovative ideas,
thereby enhancing credibility of the teaching imparted at the institution. The
faculty can enhance and update the basic theoretical knowledge of the engineers
in industry by interacting with them, solving problems and conducting short
courses relevant to the concerned industry. The advanced research and
technological inputs given by the visiting faculty can be thus gainfully
utilized by the industry. This can initiate the development of longer-term
relationships between the institution and the industry, by way of joint
projects, joint student practical training programmes, research and consultancy
contracts, donation of equipment and software to the institution and placement
of students.
The following three nominations
were selected under the subject Scheme.
17th CAETS Convocation The 17th CAETS
Convocation on “Environment and Sustainable Growth” held on
INAE delegation comprising Dr. PS Goel, Dr. Sanak
Mishra, Dr. Baldev Raj and Prof. R
Natarajan participated in the subject Convocation. Dr. Baldev Raj gave a
presentation on “Current Status of Nuclear Energy in
Promoting Excellence in the
Field of Engineering Life Time Contribution Award in
Engineering2007 This award is given to an eminent
Indian citizen who has made most distinguished contributions in the field of
Engineering / Engineering Research / Technology, which have brought prestige to
the nation and regarded as landmarks of technological development of the
country. Dr. CG Krishnadas Nair, Honorary President, SIATI; Vice-Chancellor,
MATS University and Dr. BN Suresh, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,
Trivandrum have been selected for Life Time Contribution Awards
in Engineering 2007. Prof. Jai Krishna and Prof. SN
Mitra Memorial Awards 2007 These awards are given to an eminent
engineer, engineer-scientist or a technologist for one or more of the
following: a.
Academic and scholarly achievements in any discipline
of technology b.
Outstanding research in engineering and technology and
application thereof. c.
Outstanding contributions in the management of
education and research in engineering d.
Outstanding achievements and contributions in the
Indian industry, engineering services or engineering projects Prof Jai Krishna Award is given
from among the disciplines of Engineering Section I (Civil Engineering),
Engineering Section III (Mechanical Engineering), Engineering Section IV
(Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology), Engineering Section VII (Aerospace Engineering) and Engineering Section
VIII (Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering) and Prof S N Mitra
Memorial Award is given from among the disciplines of Engineering Section II (Computer and
Information Technologies), Engineering Section V (Electrical Engineering),
Engineering Section VI (Electronics & Communication Engineering),
Engineering Section IX (Nuclear Power and Energy Technologies) and Engineering
Section X (Interdisciplinary Engineering
and Technology). Prof. DV Singh, Former Director
of IIT Roorkee and Former Vice-Chancellor,
INAE Young Engineer Award 2007 The Academy in 1996 instituted
INAE Young Engineer Awards for excellence in design and technology transfer,
innovative development and engineering research. The scheme has attracted
nominations of bright young talent in the country and has become a prestigious
national award since then. So far, 107 young engineers have been conferred this
Award and their early recognition has encouraged the best upcoming talent to make
innovative engineering and technological contributions for our national
development. The nominations for this award
for the year 2007 were sought from INAE Fellowship, Engineering institutions,
R&D Labs during March 2007. Out of 65 candidates including 12 carried over
from the previous years, 21 were shortlisted by the Sectional Committees in
their meeting on The following candidates have been selected for INAE Young Engineer
Award 2007 :-
Innovative Student Projects Award
2007 The Academy has instituted
‘Innovative Student Projects Award’ since 1998 to identify innovative and
creative research projects undertaken by the students at three levels, B.E./
B.Tech, ME/ M.Tech and Ph.D in Engineering Colleges. The Scheme envisages joint
projects among Industry, Research Laboratories and Academic Institutions. Ninety six nominations
received, at Doctoral level (19), Master’s level (27) and Bachelor level (50)
were examined by the Steering Committee on The shortlisted candidates
gave presentations of their work before the Selection Committee on The following candidates have
been selected for Innovative Students Project Award 2007. Ph.D. level
M.E./M.Tech level
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