First patent granted to SRM University-AP

Title of the Patent: A Process for Preparing Magnesium Foams

Patent applicant: SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh

Patent Application number: 202041001715

Date of Filing: 14/01/2020

Date of Publication: 24/01/2020

Date of Grant: 16/08/2021

Prof GS Vinod KumarProf G S Vinod Kumar and his PhD Scholar Mr Dipak Nandkumar Bhosale from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has brought the first granted patent to SRM University-AP. The patent titled “A Process for Preparing Magnesium Foams” is on the novel processing of Magnesium alloy foams via molten metal route. Metal foams are the class of novel ultra-lightweight and high strength materials used for engineering structures. Under the light-alloy category, Magnesium alloys possess greater challenges to foam and the inventors Mr Dipak Bhosale, PhD scholar and Prof Vinod Kumar (PhD supervisor) of Dept. of Mechanical Engineering have come up with a novel process to foam Magnesium alloy effectively. The patent was filed on January 14, 2020, and granted on August 16, 2021. It is indeed commendable that the patent grant is obtained in just 16 months from the date of application.

Metal foam is a cellular structure consists of solid metal with gas-filled pores. The pores can be sealed (closed-cell foam) or interconnected (open-cell foam). The present patent relates to a process for the preparation of closed-cell Magnesium foams using dolomite [CaMg (CO3)2] as a blowing agent (gas source), through a liquid metal route. The inventors have demonstrated economical and naturally occurring mineral dolomite to be an effective blowing agent for preparing magnesium foams and in-situ formed MgAl2O4 (spinel) particles as the stabilizing agent during stabilization of foams. The Magnesium foams produced by the process of the present disclosure have a good expansion, lower density, uniform pore size distribution and polyhedral pore structure. Through the present process Magnesium foams with 88% porosity 0.20 g/cm3 foam density was obtained. Magnesium foam is an attractive material that exhibits a unique combination of mechanical, physical, thermal, electrical and acoustic properties. It has high strength to weight ratio, good compressive strength and high energy/shock/vibration/sound absorption efficiency. Owing to these properties the magnesium foam finds potential in lightweight structural applications, sound-absorbing, energy and vibration and shock damping application.

School of Entrepreneurship and Management Studies, SRM University-AP is organising an interactive session by the faculty with prospective students of the MBA program. Prof R S Desikan and Dr A V S Kamesh will elaborate on the latest trends in management education on September 08, 2021, at 04.00 pm.

The Department of Management has a team of outstanding faculty with extensive experience in their respective fields of expertise. General MBA, MBA (Data Science) Business Analytics, and MBA in Banking and Financial Services courses provide outcome-based education with contemporary curricula designed by reputed academicians and industry experts. The department aims to nurture entrepreneurs and game-changers who create a competitive advantage for new-age businesses and governance. Graduates from the department are placed in top companies throughout India.

The speakers will enlighten the audience in detail about the MBA Programs offered by the university and focus on potential career opportunities for the graduates who study the MBA (General/BFS/Data Science) specialisations at SRM University-AP.

Join this engaging webinar on September 08, 2021, at 04.00 pm to know how MBA at SRM University-AP can shape your career in the ever-changing business environment.

Register here: https://srmap.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__UbYvSyvRKexu3pP36HHYA

Yuvraj Tankala and Joseph K Paul from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SRM University-AP has successfully bagged a cash prize of $1750 at the Datastax Hackathon held from Dec 2020 to Feb 2021. The duo formed the “Team Hexagon” and demonstrated their full-stack AI monitored online classroom and examination portal project at the international competition conducted by Datastax. It powered the innovative data apps to the Home Depot, T-Mobile, Intuit, and half of the Fortune 100 companies.

Rakuten India Enterprise Private Limited conducted this 24-hour challenge competition amongst 7000+ participants. Based on three rounds- 1) Ideation Phase 2) Build Phase 3) Finals-winners were decided. Each team comprised of one to four members and they were allotted various themes such as Mobile and Web Development, Web Analytics, Platform Development and Backend Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

While briefing on the project, Team Hexagon elucidated, “We were excited to participate in the competition and immediately started working on the project. After outlining the base of the project, we were assured that it could create a positive impact during this unprecedented time of Covid-19 outbreak. The education system is facing tough times while managing online assessments. We introduced an AI model-based monitoring system for examiners and examinees involved in the evaluation process. The application follows the head and lip movements of the examinee by considering the various parameters. It tracks the head movement in two axes (up-down and right-left) and warns the examinee to concentrate on the screen. In a similar way, it follows the lip movement and alerts the examiner when found any abnormal movements in between assessment”.

Yuvraj and Joseph presented their project before Technology Business Incubator’s panel, which was shortlisted from 34 other proposals. Under this programme, they went under rigorous training for 12 months and received the felicitation of industry support, seed funding, innovation fund support, industry connectivity with the key players in the market. Winning over the competitive challenges has given the duo high confidence to work on multiple projects and plan to lead off a venture after the completion of academic years.

The Freshmen Orientation Programme-2021 is thoughtfully designed to provide students with a holistic induction in academics and beyond academic matters. With the pandemic and other stressful things surrounding us, it has become crucial to take care of our mental health. Surprisingly, even today, many people do not understand the importance of mental health and the need to visit a specialist to keep it sound. Today, this critical issue will be discussed by Ms Shipra Dhingra, Psychologist and Art Therapist. On Thursday, September 02, 2021, she will deliver an address at 2.30 pm on “How to know if you need help”.

Shipra Dhingra is an expressive art-based therapist licensed by UNESCO-CID and Fortis Healthcare, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi. She has completed her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Amity University, Noida. She is also working as a Counselling Psychologist cum journalist cum mental health advocate. Shipra Dhingra, a versatile woman, has also founded Happyness Peddler, an initiative to fight the stigma attached to mental health and spread awareness. Ms Shipra has been associated with the COVID-19 helpline for helping people go through these difficult times.

In the next chapter of Freshmen Orientation Programme-2021, SRM University-AP takes the initiative to introduce the students to the need for Sports and extracurricular activities. Dr K Vaithianathan, Director-Sports, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, will interact with students on Friday, September 03, 2021, at 12 noon.

Dr K Vaithianathan has more than 47 years of experience. He did his bachelor’s and master’s in Physical Education from ACPE, Madurai University, followed by a PhD from Annamalai University. He has also done PGD-Yoga and MSc-Yoga from Annamalai University.

Dr K Vaithianathan began his career as a Physical Director in Erode Arts College. He later worked as a faculty in Alagappa College of Physical Education and Pondicherry University. He has also worked as Head, Professor and Director at Annamalai University. He also worked as the Vice-Chancellor of TamilNadu Physical Education and Sports University, Chennai. He joined SRM Institute of Science & Technology as the Director-Sports in 2013 and has brought many laurels to the institute.

As a Sports Professional, Dr K Vaithianathan has achieved many awards and recognitions. He represented Tamil Nadu State, participating in the Madurai Open National Athletic Meet in 1974. He also participated in the Palai All India Inter State Athletic Meet in 1975 and secured places at the State and National levels in High Jump & 110 M.Hurdles. Moreover, under his able guidance and mentorship, many students won medals and awards in national and international championships.

Chemistry Departmental Lecture Series brings another captivating webinar on “Organocatalysis Using N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHCs)”. Dr A T Biju, Associate Professor, Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, will deliver the keynote address on Saturday, September 04, 2021, at 11 am.

Abstract

Catalysis is a fundamentally sustainable process, which can be used to produce a wide range of chemicals and their intermediates. Among the various catalytic methods, N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed umpolung of aldehydes is widely used for unconventional access to target molecules. Moreover, NHC-catalysis is known for umpolung of Michael acceptors, but imine umpolung was unknown in this realm of catalysis. In this context, Dr Biju and his team have demonstrated, for the first time, the NHC-catalyzed umpolung of imines for the synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted indoles, functionalized quinolines and dihydroquinoxalines. In addition, NHC-catalysis is widely used for the generation of α,β-unsaturated acylazoliums, followed by their interception with various nucleophiles, the formal [3+3] annulation reactions. In this area, recently Dr Biju and his team have reported the enantioselective NHC-catalyzed annulation reactions for the synthesis of dihydropyranones, dihydropyridinones, cyclopentenes, pyrazoles, spirocyclohexadienones, tricyclic δ-lactones, tetracyclic indoles etc., where NHC-bound α,β-unsaturated acylazoliums are the key intermediates. Very recently, Dr Biju employed the umpolung of aldehydes for the synthesis of axially chiral C-N bond-containing molecules. The keynote address will shed further light on this.

About the speaker

Dr A T Biju received his M Sc from Sacred Heart College Thevara (affiliated to MG University, Kerala, India) and PhD from CSIR-NIIST (Formerly RRL), Trivandrum, India. After that, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow with Prof. Tien-Yau Luh at the National Taiwan University, Taipei. He has also worked as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow with Prof. Frank Glorius at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany. In June 2011, he began his independent research career at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He became an Associate Professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, in June 2017. His research focuses on the development of transition-metal-free carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions using aryne chemistry and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis and their application in organic synthesis.

Chemistry enthusiasts are welcomed to avail the opportunity to listen to him on Saturday, September 04, 2021, at 11 am. Register now.

Dr Ghanshyam Pandey, Assistant Professor of Economics, SRM University – AP has been appointed as an expert for agriculture, rural development, livelihood issues, and climate change and agriculture by The Centre of Integrated Rural Development for Asia and Pacific (CRIDAP). CRIDAP is an intergovernmental and autonomous organization and has 15 member countries. The member countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. His tenure of appointment will be up to 2024.

Dr Ghanshyam Pandey’s role in the organisation:

  • CIRDAP resource person to participate in project proposal development and consultancy.
  • CIRDAP resource person for flagship training courses.
  • Reviewer of Asia-Pacific Journal on Rural Development (APJORD).
  • Part of CIRDAP Think Tank for knowledge sharing and solutions to IRD and PA.
  • To expand CIRDAP Think Tank Networks.
  • To advise on refining CIRDAP Strategic Plan 2020-2024.

About the organisation:
The Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) is a regional, intergovernmental and autonomous organisation. It was established on 6 July 1979 at the initiative of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations with support from several other UN bodies and donors. The Centre came into being to meet the felt needs of the developing countries at that time as an institution for promoting integrated rural development in the region. From the original six members, CIRDAP has now grown up as a Centre of 15 member countries. The member countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh (Host State), Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Operating through designated contact ministries and link institutions in member countries, CIRDAP promotes regional cooperation. It plays a supplementary and reinforcing role in supporting and furthering the effectiveness of integrated rural development programmes in Asia and the Pacific.

The second episode of the lecture series organised by the Department of Economics, SRM University-AP, will be held on September 07, 2021, at 04.00 pm. The lecture titled “Secession with natural resources” will be delivered by Prof Pramila Krishnan from the Oxford Department of International Development.

Abstract:
The lecture will look at the formation of new Indian states in 2001 to uncover the effects of political secession on the comparative economic performance of natural resource-rich and natural resource-poor areas. Resource-rich constituencies fared comparatively worse within new states that inherited a relatively larger proportion of natural resources. The study argues that these patterns reflect how political reorganization affected the quality of state governance of natural resources. Results describe a model of collusion between state politicians and resource rent recipients that can account for the relationships we see in the data between natural resource abundance and post-break-up local outcomes.

About the Speaker:
Pramila Krishnan is a Professor of Development Economics at Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford and a Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford. She began her academic life as an econometrician working on models of self-selection before seeing the light and moving on to work in development economics.
Her research has concentrated on applied microeconomics and she has worked on topics ranging from household portfolios of poor households to risk-sharing, intra-household allocation and informal insurance, social networks, non-cognitive skills and whether migrants might be both rich and happy. Pramila Krishnan teaches on the MSc in Economics for Development, offering a module on education.

Join this intriguing online lecture on September 07, 2021, at 04.00 pm and enrich your knowledge through the scholarly voice of Prof Pramila Krishnan!

Register now!

Purab Agarwal from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering has been successfully placed at Danske IT, a fully owned subsidiary of Danske Bank with an exciting CTC of 10 LPA. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru.

Danske IT, which has been in operation since 2015, is a fully owned subsidiary of the Danske Bank Group, Denmark’s largest bank and a leading bank in Northern Europe with a global presence. Danske IT is dedicated to providing cutting-edge, end-to-end solutions to clients by providing value through high-performing teams. They are also committed to assisting Danske Bank in realising its goal of becoming the most trusted financial partner in the world.

Purab Agarwal with overwhelming joy narrates his experience at SRM University-AP. “I was good in academics from the beginning of my degree. I believe that the curriculum helped me in enhancing my knowledge of different domains. It showed me a direction to what I need to pursue. CCC training organised by the placement cell of the university helped me a lot in my preparation. I had earlier also been shortlisted for ABInbev, Sahaj, Nielsen, and Bajaj Finserv. My advice to juniors would be to always be curious and humble.

Dr. Kshira Sagar Sahoo