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Nthe annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014
g pointYAnnual Reunion
Saturday October 11, 2014
The Princeton Club
15 West 43rd
Street, New York
VTAVTA
CUSTOM SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN AND SUPPORT
RECORDS MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
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Transforming Business. Enhancing Careers
With Best Complimentsfrom
SUNRISE SYSTEMS INC.16 Pearl Street, Metuchen, NJ 08840
email: [email protected] : (732) 603-2200www.sunrisesys.com
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY
Welcome Messages
Dr. Sivaram (Ram) Chelluri
President, IITBAA-GNY
3
Prof. Devang Khakhar
Director, IIT Bombay
4
Sandeep Pandya
President, IIT Bombay Heritage Fund
5
Reunion Banquet Program
Saturday, October 11th
2014
7
Acknowledgements 7
Brief Biographies
Dr. Robert Hariri
Chairman, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics
8
Dr. Subhash Khot
Professor, NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
8
News & Happenings
Research & Development at IIT Bombay
Prof. Prasanna M. Mujumdar
Dean R&D, IIT Bombay
9
IIT-LI Chapter Formation & Picnic
Jude Netto ‘66
16
WHEELS. A Triveni Sangam: Water, HealthCare, Lifestyles
Sanjay Daswani, Habitat for Humanity (India) et al
18
The GNY Summer Picnic − A Photo Essay
Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange, New Jersey
Photo credits Subodh Batra ‘72
23
Milestones in The Spoken Tutorials Project
Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, IIT Bombay (ChemE)
28
Features
My Trip to India
Sidhant Srivastava
24
Emotions vs. Reason. A Speck of Wisdom from the Bhagwat Gita
Sushil Bhatia ‘66
25
Trading Places
Akshay Joshi, IIT-B Class of 2015
27
1
In T
his
Issue
The IIT Bombay Alumni
Association
Greater New York
Chapter
President
Sivaram (Ram) Chelluri ‘74
Vice President
Sushil Bhatia ‘66
Treasurer
Subodh Batra ‘72
Trustees
Gaurang Master ‘66
Ruyintan (Ron) Mehta ‘70
Ex-Officio Directors
Vinay Karle ‘96
Kumar Shah ‘70
Other
Active Volunteers
Brijesh Agarwal ‘85
Kicha Ganapathy ‘67
Annina John ‘97
Sreedhar Kona ‘97
Shirish Nadkarni ‘83
Uday Nadkarni ‘78
Jude Netto ‘66
Jignesh Patel ‘92
Vikas Tipnis ’74
Designated Editor
& Layouts
Vikas Tipnis ‘74
Actual Editing
A Team Effort
Cover Photo
Unnamed Current Student
at IIT Bombay
Ng pointY
The IIT Bombay Alumni Association − Greater New York (IITBAA-GNY) is a not-for-profit 501c(7) tax-exempt entity,
incorporated in the State of New Jersey, on July 19th
2000, under New Jersey's Nonprofit Corporation Act (Title
15A).
Our Mission: To help promote the personal development and professional advancement of its members; to
contribute to the growth and development of IIT Bombay; and to facilitate community service and philanthropy by
its members.
Officers of IITBAA-GNY are elected to 2-year posts by a ballot open to graduates of the Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay (IIT-B) registered at iitbombay.org, and whose profile is associated with the NY Chapter. All
work performed by officers and volunteers for the benefit of IITBAA-GNY is pro bono.
Contact us at [email protected]
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 3
RECONNECT, REMINISCE, RELIVE. HONORING OUR PAST, SHAPING OUR FUTURE
On behalf of the IITBAA-GNY Executive Committee (EC) team and the entire alumni group, I am
pleased and honored to welcome you to the 2014 Reunion. I hope that you and your guests will
take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect with your friends and fellow alumni.
How time flies. it seems like just yesterday that the EC took office, in January 2013. We have had
two exciting years. As with any volunteer organization, we have had our share of hurdles and
challenges juggling priorities, schedules and time. I must therefore congratulate our EC team and
active volunteers on their dedication and perseverance at arranging outstanding programs and
keeping the IITBAA-GNY Chapter dynamic and vibrant.
Here is a list of our well-attended professional and social events since January 2014:
Professional & Networking Events
Energy Finance, February 20th
, Bombay Palace, New York
Aakash Tablet & Distance Learning. Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, June 30th
, Bombay Palace NY
Partnering Sponsor, PM Narendra Modi’s Public Reception, Sep 28th
, Madison Square Garden
Social Events
A Summer Picnic, June 21st, Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange, NJ
Happy Hours & Monthly Meetings, 2nd
Thursdays, alternately in NJ and NYC
Upcoming Marquee Events
A Career Fair, Sponsored by Forrest Solutions Group – November 2014
A Families & Friends Holiday Party – December 2014
At last count we have in excess of 800 active e-mail addresses of Bombay-IITians in the greater
New York area. Despite this number, we can claim a steadfast group of mere 10 to 15 active
volunteers! Surely there are more of us with talent, enthusiasm and a love for our beloved IIT
Bombay in the area?! I urge you to come forward and lend us a hand, share with us your ideas for,
and your interest in, our local Chapter and the alma mater.
An important question that begs asking is, “what do we alumni want?” That is, besides catching up
with our classmates and coequals, trading stories of our successes and failures, and making new
acquaintances. Above all, we should revel in that IIT Bombay is an acclaimed educational
institution not only in India, but is also renowned internationally. A claim buttressed, for instance,
by the IMU’s recent award of its prestigious Nevanlinna Prize to alumnus Subhash Khot ‘99, now a
decorated professor at NYU. Let’s join hands to ensure that the world-class professionals and
resources at IIT Bombay that nurtured intellects the likes of Dr. Khot’s, are not only sustained, but
further improved. Our alumni Chapter strives to better understand and prioritize the wants and
needs of its members. I invite you to connect with us, give us your input, and guide us in serving
our collective interests better.
This reunion is our opportunity to reconnect with classmates, reminisce with our campus
contemporaries, and start forging new partnerships. Let us relive the IIT Bombay experience in the
company of our esteemed visiting faculty members.
Best regards,
Sivaram (Ram) Chelluri, MTech (ME) ’69, PhD (ME) ’74
President, IIT Bombay Alumni Association − Greater New York Chapter
IITBAA - GNY Chapter President’s Message
Welc
om
e M
essage
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 4
IIT Bombay Director’s Message
Welc
om
e M
essage
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY
Greetings from the IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation as you host your 15th
annual reunion
event. IIT Bombay Alumni Association Greater New York Chapter (IITBAA-GNY) has a long
and distinguished history of being among the most active chapters in the US. The chapter has
hosted large conferences, happy hours, professional events, summer picnics and of course the
annual banquet.
For IITBHF, the year 2014 was marked by growth and elevated activity levels of chapters,
continued contributions by alumni to IIT Bombay, and increased engagement with US
universities and industry, in research collaborations and exchange programs. Over 1,100 alumni
around the US have participated in a chapter activity this year, reaching a new high! Uniquely,
we had 2 events focused primarily on women alumni. By this year’s end we are on target to
host over 60 events in 11 cities.
A team of 15 IIT faculty members including Director Devang Khakhar, Deputy Director Hari
Pandalai, Dean ACR Ravi Sinha, Dean R&D Prasanna Mujumdar, Dean IR Rajiv Dusane will
visit 6 cities in the US, meeting alumni, potential faculty candidates, US universities leadership
and US corporate CXOs.
Our collaboration with Applied Materials is flourishing. Applied Materials has over 30
employees stationed at IIT Bombay doing joint research in various areas of electronics,
materials and chemistry. They have also contributed over $10 million worth of cutting edge
equipment, and are helping IIT Bombay build a world class nano-manufacturing center.
Generous grassroots support from alumni like you has helped important initiatives at IIT
Bombay: named-Student Scholarships, Research & Teaching excellence awards, Hostel Alumni
Team Stewardships (HATS), and Young Faculty Awards, to mention a few. The profile of
students entering the IITs has changed in recent years. Over half the students come from
economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This coupled with the increase in tuition fees (Rs.
90,000 per year) has led to an urgent and critical need for scholarships at IIT Bombay. We
need nearly 1200 scholarships today. Our endeavor is to ensure that no student is denied an
IIT education for lack of financial resources. I encourage you to do your bit to help fund these
endeavors.
IIT Bombay continues to strive to maintain ever higher standards of excellence while more than
doubling student enrollments. New infrastructure and faculty members are needed to support
this rapid pace of growth, while staking our place in global standings. Our alma mater needs
our support in all the ways that we can manage – through monetary contributions, with our
time, helping with collaborations with industry and universities, and so on.
Please join your fellow alumni in building a global network of IIT Bombay alumni, students
and faculty by participating regularly in your local Chapter and IITBHF activities. In doing so
you will not only help IIT Bombay, but you will also help your own career and business
prospects, renew old friendships, and make new ones.
Visit www.iitbombay.org for more information and news from IIT Bombay, IITBAA, and the
IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation.
Sandeep Pandya, BTech (ME) ‘86
President, IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation
5
IIT Bombay Heritage Fund President’s Message
Welc
om
e M
essage
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY
Check-in
NETWORKING 11:30 am
Opening Remarks
Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, CONSUL GENERAL OF INDIA, NEW YORK 12:00 pm
IITBAA-GNY Update
Dr. Sivaram (Ram) Chelluri PRESIDENT, IITBAA-GNY 12:10pm
Recognize IIT-B Exchange Students at The Cooper Union New York
Anita Raja Associate Dean, The Cooper Union 12:20 pm
Felicitate Dr. Subhash Khot
IMU’s 2014 Rolf Nevanlinna Award Winner
PROF. RAVI SINHA DEAN (ACR), IIT BOMBAY 12:45 pm
Lunch
NETWORKING
CASH BAR OPEN 01:00 pm
Keynote Address
DR. ROBERT J. HARIRI CHAIRMAN, CELGENE CELLULAR THERAPEUTICS
Q&A
02:00 pm
02:45 pm
Call for Volunteers for IITBAA-GNY
JUDE NETTO ‘66 EX-PRESIDENT, IITBAA-GNY 03:00 pm
IIT Bombay News & Update
PROF. DEVANG KHAKHAR DIRECTOR, IIT BOMBAY
Q&A
03:10 pm
03:40 pm
Wrap-up
VIKAS TIPNIS ‘74 EX-PRESIDENT, IITBAA-GNY 04:00 pm
7
To
day’s Pro
gram
It takes a village …
Running an organization is no single-handed endeavor. Organizing and operating a volunteer alumni
Chapter in fact takes, as the saying goes, a village worth of dedicated, hard-working and persevering
individuals. The now 15-year old community of IIT-B alums & spouses, their children, friends, colleagues
and co-workers have earned our gratitude. Kudos, and thanks!
Ackno
wle
dgem
ents
Brijesh Agarwal ‘85
Subodh Batra ‘72
Sushil Bhatia ‘66
Ram Chelluri ’74
Kicha Ganapathy ’67
Shirish Nadkarni ‘83
Uday Nadkarni ’78
Jignesh Patel ‘92
Kumar Shah ‘70
Vikas Tipnis ’74
Noorali Sonawalla ’77
Azmina Sonawalla
Sunrise Systems Inc., 16 Pearl St., Metuchen, NJ
Jamshed Bharucha, President
Teresa Dahlberg, Dean (Engg), Chief Academic Officer
Anita Raja, Associate Dean
David Greenstein, Director of Programs
The Cooper Union, 41 Cooper Square, New York
Annina John ‘97
Vinay Karle ‘96
Sreedhar Kona ‘97
Gaurang Master ‘66
Ron Mehta ’70
Jude Netto ‘66
A SPECIAL THANK YOU FOR HOSTING OUR BUSINESS MEETINGS:
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 8
Robert J. Hariri, MD, PhD
Chairman, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Celgene Cellular Therapeutics
Brie
f Bio
graphie
s Dr. Hariri is considered a visionary serial entrepreneur in biomedicine. The
Chairman, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of one of the world’s
largest human cellular therapeutics companies, Dr. Hariri has pioneered
the use of stem cells and biomaterials to treat a range of life threatening
diseases. His activities and experience includes academic neurosurgeon at
Cornell, executive, military and defense scientist and surgeon and aviator
and aerospace innovator. Dr. Hariri has 100 issued and pending patents,
has authored over 100 published chapters, articles and abstracts and is
most recognized for his discovery of pluripotent stem cells from the
placenta and as a member of the team which discovered the activity of
TNF (tumor necrosis factor). Dr. Hariri was recipient of the Thomas Alva
Edison Award in 2007 and 2011, and has received numerous other honors
for his many contributions to biomedicine and aviation.
Dr. Hariri is also the Founder and Chairman of Myos Corporation, a bionutrition and biotherapeutics
company and the Vice-chairman and Co-founder of Human Longevity, Inc., a genomics and cell-therapy
company.
Dr. Hariri serves on numerous Boards of Directors including Myos Corporation, Provista Diagnostics and
Bionik and is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Columbia University School of Engineering &
Applied Sciences and the Science & Technology Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons; as
well as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, which is
awarded by the X Prize Foundation. Dr. Hariri is also a Trustee of the J. Craig Venter Institute and the
Liberty Science Center and has been appointed Commissioner of Cancer Research by New Jersey
Governor, Chris Christie. Dr. Hariri received his undergraduate training at Columbia College and
Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and was awarded his M.D. and PhD
degrees from Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Hariri received his surgical training at The New
York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center where he also directed the Aitken Neurosurgery Laboratory and
the Center for Trauma Research.
Subhash Khot completed his BTech from IIT Bombay in 1999, and a PhD
from Princeton University in 2003. He is currently a professor in the
computer science department of the Courant Institute of Mathematical
Sciences at New York University. His prior appointments were at the
Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton; the Georgia Institute of
Technology; and the University of Chicago.
Dr. Khot is engaged in research on the theoretical and mathematical
aspects of computer science. Earlier this year, the International
Mathematical Union awarded Dr. Khot their prestigious annual Rolf
Nevanlinna prize. He is also the recipient of a Young Alumni Achiever
Subhash Khot, PhD
Professor, Courant Institute of Mathematical Science
New York University
Award from IIT Bombay in 2011, the Alan T. Waterman Award by the National Science
Foundation in 2010, the Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship in 2005, and the Sloan Fellowship
2005.
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 9
New
s &
H
appenin
gs“I dream of an IIT that never forgets it has a
tryst with excellence” − Prof S P Sukhatme in
Y-Point, The Alumni Magazine of IIT
Bombay, Summer/Fall 1999
R&D at IIT Bombay has evolved and
flourished over the decades since the
Institute’s inception in 1958. True to its vision
and mission, the synergy of academics and
research across all departments, centres and
interdisciplinary groups has catapulted the
Institute into the illustrious circle of world-
class institutions. Apart from offering sound
science and technology solutions to various
government sectors, industry and to society,
IIT Bombay pursues basic research leading to
knowledge generation that lays the
foundation for empowering us as a nation to
be technologically confident and self-reliant.
The Institute places special emphasis on
research and development in all areas of
science and engineering. A major proportion
of R&D is undertaken through external
funding sponsored by various government
bodies, industry, research foundations and
multi-institutional consortia including
international partners. Increasingly, research
projects are becoming multi-disciplinary in
nature and several new research Centres have
been established in recent years with the
participation of large groups of faculty
members from several departments. Many
technologies have been developed that have
been transferred or licensed to external
agencies. Entrepreneurship is also actively
supported.
There is increasing awareness on campus
about intellectual property (IP) arising from
research and development efforts and related
issues. Well established policies and processes
are in now in place for IP ownership,
protection and deployment. All interactions
with external agencies are facilitated, guided
and supported by the Industrial Research and
Consultancy Centre (IRCC), which was
established in 1975 as the nodal unit
responsible for managing and coordinating all
activities relating to R&D at the Institute, on
behalf of all our internal stakeholders.
R&D Today at IIT Bombay
Prof. Prasanna Mujumdar
Dean R&D, IIT Bombay
IIT Bombay at a glance
Academic units: 15 Departments, 9
Centres, 3 Interdisciplinary Programmes
and 1 School
Faculty: 580 full time + 100 part time
Students: 9000 (55% PG ; 2500 PhD)
Number of postdoctoral scholars: 40
Degrees awarded in 2014: 2256
PhD degrees awarded in 2014: 216
Research publications in 2013: 1500
Research project staff: 750
R&D funding for FY 2013-14: 35 million
USD
Patents filed in 2014: 39 (till August)
Technology Transfers /Deployment: > 130
Total companies incubated: 55
Research Funding
IIT Bombay has significant growth in R&D
funding in the last decade. During the last five
years, R&D receipts grew at a compounded
annual growth rate of over 24%. Out of the
total 35 million USD received in the year
2013-14, 30 million was received for more
than 480 sponsored projects, about 5 million
USD were received for nearly 600
consultancy projects; and the rest came from
royalties and equipment usage.
R&D work continues to be supported mainly
by government bodies accounting for 78% of
receipts while industry accounts for 18% and
other agencies, 4% of the total. The Institute
provides internal funding for supporting
faculty research, student research and
competitive activities, research
internships/fellowships for PhD students,
upgrading of central and national research
facilities and information dissemination
activities amongst others. Additionally, the
Institute’s research is recognized by peers and
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 10
society at large, in the form of award grants
conferred upon faculty, students and groups;
for example, Innovation in Science Pursuit for
Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Grant by
Department of Science and Technology, the
IBM Award, the Microsoft Award; Gates
Foundation Award, the Swarnajayanti
Fellowship the Yahoo! Research Award and
the J C Bose Fellowship amongst others in
different departments.
The Research Community
“Science is People” ~ Prof Alan G
MacDiarmid, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry),
2000
Undoubtedly, IIT Bombay’s most valued asset
is its research community. Faculty members
at the Institute are well recognized around
the world for their achievements in research
and education. Their involvement in research
and their consulting activities, lead to a
number of research papers published in
leading national and international journals.
Several faculty members serve on selection
committees as reviewers on editorial boards
of leading journals and on the boards of
leading institutions and governmental
agencies. Many of them also serve as advisors
and members of Boards of Directors of
various companies. A number of faculty
members have been recipients of prestigious
national and international awards, fellowships
and other distinctions such the Padma Shri,
the Infosys Prize, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
Prize, and the Vasvik Award, to name a few.
Over the years, IIT Bombay has witnessed a
steady increase in the number of students
choosing to do research and earn their
doctoral degrees.
Around 2500 students are currently working
on various topics across disciplines for their
PhD degree. Students have designed and
developed innovative products and processes
many of which have won coveted prizes at
various competitive events. A few of these are
highlighted later in this article.
Corresponding to the growing R&D output
by faculty and students, expectedly, there has
been a steady increase in IP protection. Over
the last seventeen years, 412 Indian patent
applications (75% of these in the last seven
years), 98 foreign patent applications (US,
EU, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Brazil, Gulf) and 78 PCT applications have
been filed. Of these, 78 Indian and 34 foreign
patents have been granted so far.
0
100
200
300
2008 2009 20102011
20122013
72.8102.3
179.8 189.9
293.5
215.5
Year
Ru
pee
s (i
nC
rore
s)
R&D Funding
0
100
200
300
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
200179 179
173 180 175
216
Year
No
: of
Ph
Daw
ard
ed
PhD Graduation Statistics
Year
No
: of
Ph
Daw
ard
ed
PhD Graduation Statistics
0
20
40
60
80
2008 2009 20102011
20122013
2014
14 16
46
67 71
59
39 (till Aug)
0
No
.of
Ind
ian
pat
ents
fil
ed
Year
Growth of Indian Patent Applications
Research Facilities
IIT Bombay is well equipped with excellent
research laboratories and infrastructural
facilities including a voluminous Central
Library and an advanced Computer Centre.
Many of the advanced instruments and
computational facilities are national resources.
The Sophisticated Analytical Instruments
Facility (SAIF) caters to the instrumentation
needs of various educational
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 1 1
institutions, R&D laboratories and the
industry. Apart from the National, Central
and Institute facilities which can be availed of
by any researcher in the Institute, every
department is also self-sufficient vis-à-vis
facilities specific to it. In a bid to continually
create and upgrade R&D infrastructure to
meet the ever-increasing demands, nearly fifty
new equipment worth about 19 million USD
were sanctioned during the past three years,
based on the recommendations of the
Institute Research Infrastructure Funding
Committee.
Glimpses of R&D
Far from having an exclusive sphere of
influence, the benefits of our research and
development activities have pervaded diverse
aspects of national life, the industry and
society, percolating all the way down to the
common person. Some examples are given
below, a few recent and others of enduring
value.
National R&D Programmes
IIT Bombay has contributed to several major
national research programmes in frontier
technology areas such as Energy, Information
and Communication Technology, Space and
Defence, Integrated Rural Development,
Healthcare and Urban Development.
Energy: Supported by the Ministry of New &
Renewable Energy (MNRE), The National
Centre for Photovoltaic Research and
Education (NCPRE) was set up in 2010 as part
NCPRE include characterization, modeling,
simulation, silicon solar cell fabrication,
energy storage and new materials.
Additionally, the One Million Solar Urja
Lamps (SOUL) Initiative has been mooted
under the National Clean Energy Fund along
with other funding sources to reach out to
students in remote rural areas and conduct
training workshops in assembly, usage and
strategies to reach target beneficiaries.
An important accomplishment in consortium
with a number of other organizations has
been the setting up of the National Solar
Thermal Power Testing, Research and
Simulation Facility. With a financial outlay of
8 million USD from the MNRE, a grid-
connected 1 MWe Solar Thermal Power plant
has been designed, installed and
commissioned at Gurgaon, New Delhi.
Additionally, an oil test rig for testing solar
concentrating collectors has been
commissioned and simulation software has
been developed for scale-up studies.
Consortium members in this project include
Tata Power, TCE, L&T, KIE Solartherm,
Clique, Solar Energy Centre and KGDS.
of the Jawaharlal Nehru
National Solar Mission
of the Government of
India.
The aim is to make solar
photovoltaics cost
effective so as to meet
the energy needs of the
country. Activities of the
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 12
Integrating new engine and renewable fuel
technologies, a unit was developed at the
Cummins Engine Research Facility at IIT
Bombay to support sustainable development
and electrify villages. This unit allows a diesel
engine to run smoothly on straight vegetable
oil while conforming to emission standards.
The project was awarded as ‘Most Innovative
Energy Saving Product’ under the ‘CII
National Awards for Excellence in Energy
Management’ in 2010.
Information & Communication Technologies:
The Ministry of Human Resource
Development, GOI has funded several ICT
projects including ‘Integration Tools for
Teacher-Student Empowerment’. Using ICT as
an enabler, the goal is to train ~150,000
teachers in various subjects through
workshops and projects. This is an inter-
disciplinary and inter-institutional project
including other IITs and academic institutes.
As part of the National Mission on Education
through ICT (NME-ICT), several synchronous
and asynchronous modules have been
designed and developed that include the
“Teach 10,000 Teachers” program for
enhancing teaching skills of engineering
faculty, development of an interactive web
portal for open source e-content, ProxyMITY
– a multimedia lecture integration tool,
Clicker – a student response system for class
rooms, Aakash Tablet – a convenient
educational tool and Spoken Tutorials for IT
literacy and employment.
In the telecom sector, the TTSL-IITB Centre of
Excellence in Telecommunication (TICET) was
set up jointly with Tata TeleServices Ltd
(TTSL) and the Department of
Telecommunication with a sanctioned outlay
of 8 million USD. The key research areas
include broadband wireless access network,
rural-centric wireless communication systems
and applications and
multimedia
information processing.
Indian and
international patents
have been filed and the
technologies were successfully deployed by
Tata Technologies Ltd on a desired platform.
Similarly, low cost and power-efficient High
Speed Ethernet Switch Routers developed at
the Institute and manufactured by ECIL are
being successfully deployed / tested at
different sites by the Mahanagar Telephone
Nigam Ltd, RailTel and National Knowledge
Network.
Space & Defence: The ISRO-IITB Space
Technology Cell established in 1984 promotes
advanced research related to space
technology. About 100 projects have been
sanctioned till date on a wide spectrum of
areas including Satellite Control, Composite
Materials, Space Medicine Cryo-cooling,
Rocket Fuels, Satellite Communication,
Rocket Engines and Design of Sensors. The
National Centre for Aerospace Innovation
and Research (NCAIR) is a joint initiative of
IIT Bombay, Boeing, the Department of
Science and Technology, GoI and the
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd with a total
sanctioned outlay of 5.4 million USD.
Research at this Centre aims to provide
economically viable and sustainable solutions
to aerospace manufacturers.
IIT Bombay has developed a set of Cryo-
Cooler Technologies which have applications
in defence, space, surgical techniques, medical
imaging and MagLev trains. Another device
with defence and security applications
developed at the Institute is the Cantilever e-
Nose for Explosive Detection. This is a low
cost but extremely sensitive device made of
piezo-resistive polymer that can detect RDX
and TNT in parts per billion quantities and
has integrated wireless transmission capability.
Healthcare: A Healthcare Consortium has
been formed at IIT Bombay with multiple
partners including leading hospitals, cancer
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 13
research centres, medical technology
companies and NGOs to enhance
collaborative R&D in basic biology, drug
discovery, diagnostics, bio-nanotechnology,
materials and devices, biochemical
engineering and computational biology.
There are a number of on-going collaborative
projects among consortium members apart
from the hosting of seminars and workshops.
Some of the other healthcare related R&D
outputs include a Portable Polysensor Device
to monitor water quality; low cost, high
quality Knee Mega-Prosthesis to circumvent
amputations in bone tumor cases; and a
Carbogen Gas Inhaling Apparatus for stress
relief for people working in high-noise
environments such as aircraft hangars, ship
engine rooms, traffic islands, firing ranges,
factories etc.
Urban Development: The interdisciplinary
Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (C-
USE) was inaugurated in September 2013 with
a mandate to improve the quality of urban
life through research activities aimed at
management of cities. The Centre is a
member of the Centre for Urban Science and
Progress (CUSP), a New York based
international consortium.
Frontier Areas: The Centre of Excellence in
Nanoelectronics (CEN) was established in
2006 as a collaborative project between IIT
Bombay and the Indian Institute of Science
(IISc), Bangalore with a sanctioned outlay of
21 million USD. The objectives are to
undertake cutting-edge research in
nanoelectronics and create facilities that can
be used by researchers all over India, to
generate technically qualified human
resources and to develop commercially viable
technologies for the industry.
CEN has set up state-of-the-art
nanofabrication facilities, undertaken research
projects with social relevance leading to
prototype development, conducted successful
Indian National User Program (INUP) for
access to users across the country and
published more than 200 papers in high
impact journals and international conferences.
R&D for Society:
“Concern for man and his destiny must
always be the chief interest of all technical
efforts. Never forget it in your diagrams and
equations.” ~ Albert Einstein
The design and development of devices,
packages and strategies that directly relate to
the people has been an important R&D thrust
at IIT Bombay. There are a wide range of
products including tools and technologies for
the village industry and craft sector,
educational and communication aids,
products for alleviating problems of those
with disabilities, devices for extending the
benefits of computer technologies to rural
communities and other useful innovations for
the common person.
IIT Bombay and the Industry:
“Industry enriched with R&D is an important
index of national growth” ~ Dr. APJ Abdul
Kalam at the 34th Convocation Ceremony,
1996
The Institute interacts with industry through a
number of modes in the domains of both
research and education. The all-around benefits
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 14
of research associations formed with shared
goals cannot be overemphasized. Pooling of
talent, resources, funding and facilities has
resulted in a win-win situation for IIT Bombay
and its industry partners.
IIT Bombay engages with external agencies in
the following ways: Consultancy Projects
which are generally of short duration having
clear-cut deliverables and are aimed at solving
specific problems of the industry; Sponsored
and Collaborative Projects of longer duration
(2-5 years) for new knowledge generation in
emerging areas; industry sponsorship of PhD,
MTech and Dual Degree students to promote
research and develop human resource;
funding of Facilities and Labs to help build
infrastructure; instituting Chair Professorships
for faculty in recognition of their contribution
in research and teaching; conducting
continuing education programs in areas of
interest to the industry; licensing of
technologies for commercialization and other
modes for mutual benefit.
Close association with industry has resulted in
the formation of several Centres of Excellence
and Consortia to pool resources and enable
cutting edge research in emerging areas. A
few examples are highlighted.
The Applied Materials Manufacturing
Laboratory is a joint initiative of IIT
Bombay and Applied Materials Inc. under
an endowment of over 12 million USD to
promote research in nano-electronics,
nano-manufacturing and solar
photovoltaic technology. A state-of-the-art
Chemistry Lab for Energy and
Nanoelectronics (CLEAN) was set up in
2011 as part of this initiative.
The PowerAnswer Lab, a joint project of
IIT Bombay, Tata Consultancy Services and
Tata Consulting Engineers was established
to bring the benefits of IT, such as 24x7
availability, flexibility, modularity and
process efficiency to the power sector. The
lab successfully delivered the webSTLF
technology to Tata Power and
webNETUSE to Central Electricity
Regulatory Commission.
The Yahoo! Hadoop Cluster Lab provides
access to a cluster of servers running
Yahoo! open source Hadoop software and
web data to help conduct research on
search-based technologies.
The TCS-IITB Research Cell has been set up
as a natural consequence of long term
collaboration under multiple modes of
interaction. Nine projects have been
initiated in different areas of ICT, design
and electrical engineering.
SOME TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 15
Innovation by Students
The nurturing research culture at the Institute
has inspired and motivated its talented pool
of students to innovate, create new products,
processes and designs, and to come up with
creative and novel solutions to existing
challenges. The Institute facilitates such
activities and provides faculty mentor(s) and
financial support in addition to other
administrative help A few student initiatives
are mentioned here.
A first in India, Project Biosynth is a
student effort to install a self-sustained
biodiesel producing plant in which waste
vegetable oil is used to generate biodiesel.
This project won an award for
‘Outstanding research in the Field of Green
Chemistry and Engineering’ at the
Industrial Green Chemistry Workshop held
in Mumbai in 2009.
Matsya – an autonomous underwater
vehicle won the ‘Best Autonomous
machine and Most Innovative Design
Award’ in 2011 at ROBOCON, the Robotic
Contest.
As part of the Solar Decathlon, an
international competition, students of IIT
Bombay along with those from Rachna
Sansad’s Academy of Architecture, Mumbai
designed and constructed a 700 m2
house
powered entirely by solar energy. An
interdisciplinary research effort by a team
of 70 students from 13 different disciplines
including PhD, postgraduate and
undergraduate students participated in the
event held at Versailles, France in July
2014.
The IIT-B Racing Team participated in
three international competitions against
globally reputed universities in the design
and engineering of amateur high
performance race cars using the four race
cars developed by them.
In the electric cars category, IITB’s EVo 3.0
was one amongst only 9 cars (out of 27)
to finish the endurance run at Formula
Student UK’14. The team’s electric car EVo
3.0 was also judged as one of the best in
the design documentation segment of the
competition.
With a mission to acquire new knowledge
in satellite technology, IIT Bombay
students have designed and built Pratham,
a nano-satellite in the 10 kg class to
measure Total Electron Count (TEC) of the
ionosphere. They have worked to develop
skills and expertise through various phases
of the project including design, analysis,
fabrication, testing and launching the
satellite into orbit through ISRO.
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 16
Technology Business Incubation
“I strongly support SINE as entrepreneurship
is the root of economic development” ~ Mr.
Rahul Bajaj, former Chairman, Board of
Governors, IIT Bombay at the inauguration of
the Technology Business Incubator on April 28,
2005
IIT Bombay actively supports
entrepreneurship among faculty and students
through the Society for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship (SINE). SINE widens the
scope of the Institute’s research activities by
enabling commercialization of IP generated,
through entrepreneurial ventures. Out of a
total of 55 companies incubated in the
Technology Business Incubator till date, 29
companies have graduated from the
incubator, 17 are currently present in it and 9
have folded up. Based on information
gathered from the companies, about 1100 to
1200 jobs have been created till date through
entrepreneurship and/or start-ups. The
businesses of these companies cover a diverse
spectrum of technology areas including
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Artificial
Intelligence based consumer analytics,
Geographical Information Systems and image
processing, intelligent audio applications,
among many others.
The Road Ahead
To live up to the Institute’s motto of
Dnyanam Paramam Dhyeyam (Knowledge is
the Supreme Goal), IIT Bombay strives
continually to better its performance and
achieve excellence in every sphere of activity
to serve as role models worthy of emulation.
The Institute believes in diversifying and
moving beyond traditional models to do
research that makes a difference to the
stakeholders, to the industry, to the nation
and to the society in general.
Acknowledgement
The assistance of Ms. Prema
Prakash, freelance science writer
and editor, in writing this article
is sincerely appreciated.
This year we launched IIT Long Island (IIT-LI) an
all-IIT alumni chapter. It will be led by Paresh
Shah IIT-KGP ’91, Saurabh Bhargava IIT-B ’97,
with yours truly in a mentoring role. We
started the year with two luncheon meetings.
A novel feature of this chapter is the active
participation of the spouses of alums. Swati
Bhargava and Shimul Shah took charge and
organized a summer picnic, including the
planning, cooking, and the running of activities
for the day. We guys did some significant
“heavy lifting” of our own too. We brought in
the beer, then proceeded to guzzle copious
amounts of the brew while extolling the virtues
and privileges of an IIT heritage!
On September 27th
Vijay Alreja IIT-B ’80 hosted
us at his factory offices for our first business-
networking event on “Technologies of
Tomorrow”. Anurag Purwar IIT-K ’95 spoke
on Robotics and Narayan Menon IIT-D’83
presented his expertise on Wireless services.
Over 40 IITians, wives and children attended
this event. After lunch, Vijay conducted us on a
plant tour, describing the commercial X-ray
equipment developed for various clients, from
Con Edison to Homeland Security.
Our next event is a Diwali family dinner on
November 1st
at Cotillion restaurant, where we
are planning to give our children an
opportunity to showcase their talents.
New
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H
appenin
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IIT-LI Chapter Formation & Picnic
Jude Netto, IIT-B ‘66
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 17
The IIT-LI Networking Event Sep 27th
at V J Technologies
We at IIT-LI would like to build our membership roster and need your assistance. If you know of alums
in the Long Island area, including from Queens and Brooklyn, please email Jude Netto at
[email protected], or visit us at https://sites.google.com/site/iitliny/home
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 18
In a series of workshops hosted by WHEELS, in
collaboration with AAPI and HFH, it was
evident that there is a close symbiotic
relationship between clean drinking water, rural
healthcare projects and sanitation. While IIT
alumni in Hyderabad, with support from WGF
had adopted Clean Drinking water projects,
AAPI had initiated their SEVAK project to
deliver affordable healthcare to villages in
Gujarat and HFH had designed and developed
plans for implementing inexpensive toilets in
rural areas. As the following report suggests,
there are considerable synergies in working
together to deliver technology driven solutions
for improving rural lifestyles and well-being.
These programs are in-line with the objective
for ‘giving back’ and meeting the challenge
offered by President Abdul Kalam at the PanIIT
event in 2006 when he asked IIT alumni to
demonstrate their ability to “solve problems by
doing things and improving living conditions in
India”. Shortly after this gauntlet was thrown at
IITians, a small group of IIT alumni zeroed in on
six areas that were crying out for global
solutions and formed WHEELS.
WATER and Healthcare including sanitation
are the first two spokes of WHEELS. A
sustained effort is needed to be able to
deliver technology based solutions to
problems associated with clean drinking
water and good healthcare. Supporting clean
sanitation projects will help to improve (L)
Lifestyles in rural parts of India. In our quest
to provide such assistance we intend to
continue our efforts to work collaboratively
with organizations like AAPI and Habitat for
Humanity India. We are looking forward to
the enthusiastic support of all the IITs and
their alumni in our pursuit for “technology
enabled philanthropy” and seeking
“common solutions to common problems”.
W for WATER: IIT Bombay alums in Hyderabad
and New York continued their efforts in the
past year. By funding through WHEELS, they
developed and started operations at Clean
Drinking Water Plant (CDWP) # 2 in
Nandikandi village in Telangana, India. Civil
works and equipment have been delivered to
two more locations, Eradindi and Dupally
villages in Telangana, for plant start ups in
November 2014. Conceptual planning has been
completed for a 5th
plant in Tungaturti,
Telangana to begin operations in mid-year
2015.
WHEELS has also authorized funding for a
CDWP project in an impoverished part of
Panchmahal district in Gujarat for start-up in 3rd
quarter of 2015. Overall, WHEELS intends to
fund 10 such clean drinking water plants in the
next two years. By fine tuning and developing a
repeatable CDWP model, using Reverse Osmosis
(RO) technology has been successfully
implemented at a very low initial cost while
delivering drinking water at an extremely low
cost of Rs. 2 per 20 litres to the villagers.
The financial model for the CDWPs works as
follows:
Erected Cost for 1,000 litres/hour CDWP:Rs.
400,000 - $6,700 at current US$/Rs rate.
WHEELS funded donation: Rs. 300,000;
India donors: Rs. 50,000; Local village: Rs.
50,000.
In Telangana, and hopefully in Gujarat, the
electricity to run the plant is free.
The operating cost for system, operator
salary and membrane
replacement/maintenance is less than Rs. 2
per 20 litres of drinking water.
The recommended charge to villagers is Rs.
2-3 per 20 litres
WHEELS. A Triveni Sangam: Water, Health, Lifestyles
Sanjay Daswani, Habitat for Humanity (India), Hiten Ghosh IIT-KGP ’58,
Vikas Khurana MD, SEVAK Project, Ruyintan Mehta IIT-B ’70,
Thakore G. Patel MD, SEVAK Project, Madhusudan Reddy IIT-B ’74,
Suresh Shenoy IIT-B ‘72
WHEELS is an acronym for Water, Healthcare, Energy, Education, Lifestyles (rural and urban) and
Sustainability. The WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF), incorporated in 2013 as a US non-profit
charitable foundation created by IIT alumni, welcomes collaboration with American Association of
Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the Habitat for Humanity (HFH)-India Builds program.
New
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the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 19
To reach our goal of 10 CDWP projects by the
4th quarter 2016, a budgeted amount of
$61,000 is required. There is a $20,000
matching grant for the program, so for every $3
contribution there is $1 already pledged.
The suggested model for future CDWP projects
is as follows:
a. Select a recipient village with severe
contamination of its drinking water source.
But the village must have at the very
minimum a steady supply of water. Ideal
village size to be 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants,
but not greater than 10,000.
b. A steady supply of electricity is required for
at least 6 to 8 hours per day. Extremely
remote villages not connected to a
powergrid would require solar energy at a
higher installation cost.
c. As part of the site location survey, first
locate and convince a respected and
educated local village leader, who is willing
to sponsor the project and act as its
“Godfather”.
d. For financial modelling, make the village a
stakeholder with the local villagers funding
10 to 12% of the total project cost. The
balance to be funded by socially conscious
individuals in the US and India, and,
donations channelled through WHEELS.
e. Water, Health and Sanitation are
interrelated. WHEELS intends to incorporate
the SEVAK project along with clean,
inexpensive toilets program teaming up
with Habitat for Humanity.
THE NANDIKANDI PLANT THE HAVELI GHANPUR PLANT
o FLUOROSIS IS AN ENDEMIC DISEASE PREVALENT IN
20 STATES OUT OF 35, PUTTING NEARLY 66
MILLION PEOPLE AT RISK.
o PER AN AIF STUDY, NEARLY 50% OF VILLAGES
DON’T HAVE A SOURCE OF CLEAN DRINKING
WATER
o 70-100% DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED IN ANDHRA
PRADESH, GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN.
o 40-70% DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED IN BIHAR,
NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI,
HARYANA, JHARKHAND, KARNATAKA,
MAHARASHTRA, MADHYA PRADESH, ODISHA,
TAMIL NADU AND UTTAR PRADESH
o 10-40% DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED IN ASSAM,
JAMMU & KASHMIR, KERALA, CHHATTISGARH
AND WEST BENGAL, WHILE THE ENDEMICITY FOR
THE REST OF THE STATES IS NOT KNOWN.
SAFE DRINKING WATER ISSUES IN INDIA
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 20
One village of around 2,000 people in each of
the 26 districts in Gujarat was selected. A SEVAK
with an average education of 12th
grade and
above was identified in each of these villages for
training and education.
Gujarat state was divided into 4 regions and a
coordinator with graduate level education was
appointed for each of the regions.
All SEVAKs were brought to Vadodara –
Gujarat’s 2nd
largest city and were provided
with lodging, boarding, training and other
support including teaching assistance from the
Government Medical College, Vadodara. The
training program was for 10 weeks including
one week in Ahmedabad for environment,
sanitation and leadership education. Sevaks
were given competency tests in health
education, glucometers, BP and training the
trainer.
SEVAK Project training is also supported by the
former Queen of the Princely State of Baroda,
who is the Chancellor of M.S. University in
Gujarat.
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who
was previously the Chief Minister of Gujarat
State, has also approved this project.
Workings of SEVAK Project: SEVAKs screen
villagers their respective 26 villages, for diabetes
and hypertension and record other health issues.
They educate the villagers about the merits of
having a house toilet and smokeless stoves
ventilated to the outside.
A SEVAK EDUCATION SESSION
A SEVAK SURVEY & DATA GATHERINGH for Health: India is undergoing an
epidemiological transition with both non-
communicable and chronic diseases becoming
the leading causes of death. Four studies in
Tamil Nadu and Gujarat showed marginal
access to health care. 70% of India lives in the
villages with over 750 million people and the
importance of educating and delivery of
healthcare to this large Indian base in its
resource-poor settings is an urgent and also a
viable issue.
The SEVAK Project is a model for access to Care
in Rural India using local resources. SEVAK
envisions training one person per village of
around 2,000 in healthcare, sanitation and
lifestyle modification education. This individual
screens the village population including
pregnant women for diabetes, hypertension,
chronic diseases, and immunization and provide
lifestyle modification education.
The individual named SEVAK becomes the single
point of contact for all healthcare of the
villagers by forming a liaison with the
community health clinic, district hospital and the
private practitioner. A local person who lives in
the village and does the SEVAK work has an
immediate buy-in from the villagers. Another
objective is to identify, encourage and train
retired army personnel from the village who
have the basic training for a disciplined
approach to delivering healthcare.
The SEVAK Project is based on Dr. Thakor
Patel’s vast experience as a retired US Navy
Captain and on the U.S. Navy model of
Independent Duty Corpsman.
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 21
SEVAK coordinators meet in Vadodara once a
month and visit the villages they are responsible
for once every two weeks. Sevaks meet in
Vadodara quarterly and brainstorm ideas and
lessons learned in the field. They are also given
refresher training by the medical college faculty.
In the future, video teleconferencing and
education at the village level for healthcare and
sanitation is also planned.
SEVAKs are paid Rs. 2,500 per month and the
SEVAK coordinators Rs. 5,000 monthly.
The SEVAK Project is a 3 year pilot to
demonstrate that preventive health works in
villages by identifying those with diabetes and
hypertension at an early stage. Such a model has
NOT been tried as a system.
Currently a SEVAK project has been
implemented in Guyana, South America.
For more information visit www.sevakproject.org
A TRAINED SEVAK CHECKING FBS
The SANITATION CRISIS IN INDIA: India tops
the global list, with 597 million people resorting
to open defecation.
Here are sobering statistics according to
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme
for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP), 2014:
1 billion people in the world practiced open
defecation in 2012.
1.5 billion did not have access to improved
sanitation in 2012. 82% live in just 10
countries.
Open defecation numbers by country (millions):
1. India: 597
2. Indonesia: 54
3. Pakistan: 41
4. Nigeria: 39
5. Ethiopia: 34
6. Sudan: 17
7. Niger: 13
8. Nepal: 11
9. China: 10
10. Mozambique: 10
11. Rest of the World: 182
Habitat for Humanity India. HFH India has
been operating in India for over 30 years
serving over 54,400 families through FY14.
HFH India has pledged to build 100,000 toilets
by Gandhi Jayanti, October 2nd
2015. Since
sanitation is an integral part of healthcare,
WHEELS is contemplating providing support for
building up to 100 toilets in each of the
locations where a Clean Drinking Water plant is
erected.
(contd.)
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 22
The total cost of constructing a sanitation unit
(toilet), plus the most essential Behaviour
Change Campaign (BCC) is, on average, Rs.
22,000 ($354).
The Behaviour Change Campaign (BCC) is a
critical component of helping rural communities
understand the need for toilets and the huge
health impact of the sanitation unit (toilet) on
the family and the immediate environment. Just
installing the hardware toilet, without a
ssimultaneous campaign of BCC, is futile.
Teaming up with Habitat for Humanity India
greatly enhances the success for these projects as
their BCC campaign has demonstrated that it
can capture the “heartware and mindware” of
the communities where these toilets are erected.
Good sanitation provided by clean toilets has
multiple benefits in the rural Indian context.
First, it helps overcome waterborne diseases
such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid. Second,
a well constructed, clean, enclosed toilet
provides privacy and safety for women, when
they don’t have to defecate in the open.
In one study, it was determined that women
starve and do not consume liquids during day
light hours because they are unable to defecate
in the open and must wait till it is dark! This has
a direct adverse impact on women’s health in
rural areas. Finally, a toilet helps create a clean
environment. It helps mitigate ground water
pollution and contamination of agricultural
produce.
The Indian Government has provided a goal of
providing total sanitation to every household by
2019 through the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”
initiative In his 2014 Independence Day speech,
PM Narendra Modi emphasized ‘dignity for
women’, and asked everyone to help build
separate toilets for girls in schools across the
country by next year. The Government aims to
build 800 million toilets and an appropriate
network of sewage systems across the country.
For more information visit www.habitatindia.in
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY
ChickenBurgers
23
A Photo Essay
photo credits Subodh Batra ‘72
New
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EAGLE.ROCK
RESERVATION
We
stO
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ng
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June21st
2014
Ha
mbu
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s
Volleyball
Cack!
BINGO!BINGO!
Cack!
HotdogsHotdogs
Treasure
Hunt
Cricket
VeggieBurgersVeggieBurgers
kielbasa
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 24
Features
I was born in the US and have lived here all
along but all my relatives are in India and going
there is always special. This time I went to India
for the fourth time and it was great − from
going to the Taj Mahal, to the Qutub Minar, to
seeing my extended family. I had so much fun. I
am writing about when I got to India and what
I did and learned there.
Arriving in New Delhi. My mom, my little
brother and I went there in August. My Dad
followed us about two weeks later. When we
got out of Delhi airport, it was like a sauna! It
was so burning hot that I thought I was going to
melt. My uncle, my mom’s brother, was to pick
us up but unfortunately he was late. When he
eventually arrived, seeing him I felt elated and
thought, “finally!” Arriving at my uncle’s place it
was much better. There I played with my two
cousins, one of whom is only four months old
and very cute.
Visiting the Taj Mahal. We took a newly built
freeway to go to see the Taj Mahal from Delhi.
My uncle told me that before the freeway was
built, going to Agra used to take more than half
a day, but we got there in just one and a half
hours. The road was like the best road I had
seen, even in the US. And the Taj Mahal was
magnificent – actually I thought it defined
magnificent! At the Taj Mahal I learned many
things, such as why was it built, how long it
took to build it and what was it made of. The
day we went there it was blazing hot again
(making the airport situation feel mild and
“cold”). Still I wanted to see it. We went inside
the building and I was amazed – I mean the
walls weren’t painted white, they were carved
from marble stones. I was so impressed, I will
never forget visiting one of the seven wonders
of the world, the Taj Mahal.
Going to Lucknow: When we, along with my
Dad, arrived in Lucknow, I was very excited to
meet his side of the family. After all, he has two
brothers and three sisters – and between them I
have eight cousins! At my uncle’s house many of
them came to meet us. All of them are older
than my brother and me. To be specific, the
youngest one is 17 years old (yeah, you can
imagine!). Both me and my brother were so
pampered there. I was on my cousin’s PSP
game system all the time. We also went to
Kukrail, home of a type of alligator called the
ghariyaal, my younger brother loves all types of
animals and he had wanted to go to Kukrail
ever since he saw ghariyaals at the Bronx zoo
when he was a toddler. Ghariyaals are from
North India and are called as such because of a
thing on their beak that looks like a pot.
In Lucknow I also went around on a bike. Yes,
my cousin-brother has a really cool bike, and
my parents let me go on it as long as we were
careful; I held on to my cousin tightly. I was
very sad to leave Lucknow because everyone
was so nice to us.
(continued on page 26)
My Trip to India
Sidhanta Srivastava, 10 years old
L to R: Cousin Ishan, our peripatetic author Sidhant Srivastava, and his younger brother Anirudh
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 25
The Background. Some time ago, I worked at
a large corporation. One day, over lunch
with some friends and colleagues, somehow
the conversation turned to the Bhagwat Gita.
One of them, a very good friend, mentioned
that he spends at least half an hour everyday
reading a couple of pages from the Gita; and
that he had been doing this since he was
about 10 years old. Now this guy was a PhD
in pure mathematics from a prestigious
university, working in a Fortune 100
corporation. This piqued my curiosity as I had
not been brought up in a religious
environment. On the other hand I had
observed over the years that religion had
caused divisions among communities in South
Asia; the partition of India being the most
glaring example of it. I expected that with his
reading of the Gita over such a prolonged
period of time, surely he had finished reading
it. Why then, I asked him, did he persist in
reading it over again.
His answer was an eye opener. He said he
had indeed read it several times over.
However, he claimed, every time he reads it,
he gets new insights! I had never heard of
such a phenomenon before. So I decided to
read the Gita and assess for myself what he
was talking about. If a person with a science
background vouched for it thusly, there must
be something in it for him to spend his
valuable time on it every day.
The Next Step. Although I was skeptical I
bought myself a copy of the Gita and started
reading it. I was expecting it to be full of
sermons: Krishna claiming Godhood, advising
on right from wrong, and how people ought
to run their lives. To my utter surprise I found
it to be very logical, and something that I
could relate to. As I read on, perhaps no
more than a page at a time, I found it to be a
consistently logical treatise, with clarifications
of life’s situations, without the sermons I had
been expecting. In a matter of weeks I was so
impressed that my own analytical mind took
over. In addition to the reading, I began to
ponder why I was being so impressed.
The Insight. It was not long before I had my
first insight. I realized that even though the
Gita was reportedly written nearly 3,000
years ago, human nature described in it still
holds true. We have our emotional moments,
and we have our logical analytical moments.
When we are under the influence of strong
emotions, our reasoning goes out the
window. For instance, how often we act out
of anger and take an action only to later
regret it when we are sober? And then comes
the inevitable reflection, “what in the world
was I thinking?”
Now, if someone made these observations
3,000 years back, and wanted others to
benefit from it, what were his options?
Writing instruments and media as we know
them now were not yet in existence. And a
lecture delivered to an audience would soon
be forgotten.
My Hypothesis. I believe that Vedvyasa
muni, the putative author and composer of
the Bhagwat Gita, had the foresight to present
and deliver the message via an allegory as the
medium. People were more likely to listen
and pay attention to a story. Parents and
grandparents are known to enjoy telling
inspiring stories to their children and
grandchildren; even teachers use narratives in
teaching. Every effective public speaker starts
their presentation with a story.
As wars between kingdoms were fairly
common and citizens held their kings in high
regard, this was chosen as a backdrop for the
allegories. The epic story in the Gita, of the
Kauravas and the Pandavas – culminating in
Arjun finding himself in the battlefield unable
to lift his bow to wound or kill his own kith
and kin, of whom he held fond memories
since childhood -- is but a means to portray a
man overcome by deep conflict, doubt and
emotions, unable to make rational decisions.
(continued on page 26)
Emotions vs. Reason: A Speck of Wisdom from the Gita
Sushil Bhatia, IIT-B ‘66
Features
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 26
Back to Delhi. After Lucknow we came back to
Delhi, where we had a lot of fun again. My
uncle lives in an apartment complex and all the
kids from the buildings used to come down in
the evenings to play soccer or cricket. My
brother and I both bought a bat, balls and
wickets to bring back to the US. We also went
to the Qutub Minar and Rashtrapati Bhawan
(President’s house), which was so grand.
Leaving India. Of course I knew we had to
leave, though I didn’t want to. After we said
good bye to everyone and when we got on the
plane I thought of something: even though US is
much cleaner than India, it feels very lonely
compared to how I felt in India. In India we
had a lot of family, whereas in the US we don’t
get to meet so many close relatives. I really miss
all the people I met in India and who were so
nice to us.
And finally I felt bad because in India we were
on vacation, we went out a lot. But the week
we came back to the US our schools were going
to start.
In conclusion. India was a great place, from
everywhere we went to every one we met, it
was full of joy. I will surely miss India.
Sidhant Srivastava is 10 years old, in fifth grade at Livingston NJ elementary school. He is a black belt in
Taekwondo, with several medals in tri-state Taekwondo competitions to his credit. He enjoys all sports, and
avidly follows the NFL games with his dad Sharad Srivastava MTech (ME) ‘97. His most recent acquisition,
during this India trip, was a cricket kit. He was introduced to the sport at the GNY picnic last year, and playing
with his own well-oiled bat, he is looking forward to taking on the GNY-eleven at our next outdoor event.
Features
My Trip to India
(continued from page 24)
In Arjun admitting to Krishna that he was
unable to take on the fight, is the message that
the first step in addressing emotional strife is to
admit this to ourselves, then seek good counsel.
No one else may take initiative on behalf of the
pained, for surely that will backfire. We have
seen evidence of this in modern times. People
joining Alcoholic Anonymous are required to
own up to being an alcoholic at their very first
meeting, and that they are seeking help to rid
themselves of the addiction. Alcoholic
Anonymous however may not recruit them
proactively or against their will.
Next we note Krishna and Arjun in a dialog.
Krishna neither instructs nor orders Arjun to
fight. He engages Arjun in measured, deliberate
steps, to each of which Arjun can relate, and
agree. In our modern world we see this tactic
used by good salesmen at their practiced
process. They break it down into palatable,
consumable steps, and get prospects to agree
along the way before continuing on to the next.
In conclusion. Awareness of just these two
principles has significantly changed my life. I
have a much better sense of my emotions. And
I now have fewer occasions to act unreasonably
or less than rationally.
I have also noted that the message of the Gita
has potentially universal appeal. Every human
being can benefit from it, irrespective of
religious belief, race, color, age, gender,
national origin or sexual preference (trust I
haven’t left out any diversity?). The word
‘Hindu’ did not exist at the time of Vyasa’s
writing of the original Gita. As a story, Vyasaji
made it simple enough for children and
laypersons to relate to. As a religious book, it
may have, on the one hand, spread the word to
some, but it would surely have proved limiting
in reaching people of different faiths and beliefs.
Lastly, by regarding the Gita merely as a story
or as a recounting of historical events, we miss
the underlying messages from which our daily
lives stand to benefit.
Author’s Expiation: The views expressed in this feature are strictly my own. I do not wish to offend
anyone, or challenge anyone’s faith or beliefs. My sincere apologies if I have inadvertently done so.
Emotions vs. Reason: A Speck of Wisdom from the Gita
(continued from page 25)
Features
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 27
Features… And then I was no longer a student merely at
the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
(IIT-B), but an international student at a world-
renowned school in America!
I was at my desk during my summer internship
when they called about my selection for the
exchange program. It didn’t quite hit me until
the last day − when I was supposed to catch the
flight to New York − what it really meant. I did
not want to leave my parents, my friends, her
− how could I? They were my life. I wanted to
explore the world, sure, experience cultural
diversity and most of all study abroad. But then
perhaps I wasn’t ready for this. Afraid of leaving
those threads and relationships, I came here,
still!
So one day, settled in our (two fellow exchange
students) little apartment (well, our beds and
tables, some space to walk by, and the kitchen)
I was having this conversation with my Dad
over Skype, about my experiences to-date,
about classes, about life here in New York, and
before long, it turned into one of the most
expensive calls I’ve ever made. Here's how it
went ...
“Liked any girl yet?!” My mouth agape, head
bowed, I blurted, “No!” I’ve been living away
from home for nearly 5 years now, and was
expecting my stay abroad to be no big deal for
my parents. A Girl?! This was one of the most
important questions they had about this visit.
They inevitably have this mental picture of me,
when I return, emerging from Terminal 3 in
Mumbai, holding hands with a strange
American girl. I gently reassured them, then
quickly changed the subject.
“So, how are the classes?” I told him that the
classes here are much the same as at IIT-B in
terms of the hours spent on lectures; but here
there usually are only about 10-20 students in a
class, depending on the course. Classes here are
3 hours long and are scheduled once a week for
a 3-credit course compared to a 1 hour class
thrice a week at IIT. “And the assignments?” I
told him that I was doing okay and that they
aren’t very hard, which is true. To assess the
progress of students and set a target for the
course, the faculty here give assignments bi-
weekly, or if you’re unfortunate,
weekly assignments per course. This was a bit
of a shock. At IIT we got assignments quite
infrequently.
Then came, “the students, the faculty. How
are they?” I was expecting this one, and I
had an answer ready. “Astonishingly
incredible!” I said. I told them that the
students here aren’t as intimidating as those
back at IIT, (mostly as cover for my low
grades) but they are more organized and
attentive to homework assignments. And they
are as competitive as we used to be during
our JEE preparation days. Even though IIT has
one of the best faculties I have seen, the
faculty here is just as good as at IIT. The big
difference is the smaller class size, which
provides for more personal attention, more
openness and less strictness and formality. I
told him that I was welcomed by every
faculty member for the courses I was taking
and that they respected the institute I came
from. I’m the “IIT-bro” here!
The Cooper Union in New York is housed in
a very modern building that contains all the
labs, classrooms and auditoriums − all
equipped with the best possible equipment.
However, I don't think any place could ever
beat the serene, scenic beauty − and the
heritage − of my IIT Bombay campus.
He asked me, “any difficulty interacting with
students, the staff, or in general?” What he
really wanted to know was whether I was
able to speak proper English, or not? Duh!
I told him that everyone here is so nice to
each other and everyone smells good. I told
him after a pause, that I did take a bath every
day! Since everyone knew I was a foreign
student, all of them were especially nice to
me and Cooper students assisted us in case of
any difficulty, whether in academics or
extracurricular. I told him stories about some
of my outings with friends and how friendly
everyone is here. Ordinary NYers are nice
too. They will help you with directions on the
street and will greet you and treat you well.
Just like our Mumbai! You get accustomed to
this after a while.
Trading Places
Akshay Joshi, IIT Bombay, BTech Class of 2015
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY 28
I’m currently taking 5 courses in the Electrical
department here at The Cooper Union. Since
this is an undergraduate school with only a few
Masters Programs, almost all of my courses are
at the graduate level − meaning with more
complexities. Well, IIT has prepared us to face
whatever comes our way.
“And,” he asked me, “New York! How is it?
Are you liking it?” Yes, I am! Its vibrant,
insomniac nature reminds me a lot of Mumbai.
It is probably one of the most expensive cities in
the world. But the views, the city infrastructure,
roads, public transport, all-night food joints and
the splendor of Wall Street and Park Avenue
justifies it all, I think. I still haven’t gotten a
chance to roam around much, thanks to the
over-friendly professors with an assignment
ready every week, but I do hope to explore
every chance I get, at least until I go
bankrupt. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity
any student could get!
One thing I didn’t expect though was such a
low M/F gender ratio in the classes. It’s
almost the same as we have at IIT-B! Maybe
even less. Cooper is one of the elite schools in
this engineering, and perhaps that explains it.
But there are girls outside classes! In the
elevators, the hallways, roads, shops, offices
and driving cars -- practically everywhere but
in the classrooms! (So, is my parents’ prime
anxiety justified then?!)
There has been a lot of alumni involvement
in making this exchange program possible,
and I’d like to thank them all for their
kindness and generosity.
So there’s my story. I hope it never ends!
Akshay Joshi is a fourth year undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay; he is
one of four IIT-B exchange students this Fall semester, at The Cooper Union, New York. He likes to
write his heart out about everything that affects him deeply. The mysteries of love and its aspect,
particularly interest him. Besides writing, he enjoys playing table tennis and trying out new foods.
With a developing interest in photography and writing better, he hopes to publish his works some
day.
New
s &
H
appenin
gs
Milestones in the Spoken Tutorials Project
Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, IIT-B (ChemE)
Total number of page-views since we launched the webpage has exceeded 4 million.
Total number of page-views since Jan 1st
2014 has crossed 2 million. We estimate close to 3
million page-views by this calendar year-end.
The average time spent on our page is up, and close to 15 minutes.
The bounce rate from our webpage has dropped below 20%.
Finally, since the start of this calendar year, i.e. in under 9 months, we have trained 2.37
lakh students, thereby surpassing our original projection of 2 lakh trainings in all of 2014! I
now expect we will reach 3 lakh student trainings by this year-end.
Congratulations!
the annual reunion magazine of iit-bombay greater NYchapter alumni vol. 2014Ng pointY
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