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Prof. Pant Delivers Lecture and Workshop on Lighter-than-Air System
October 16, 2023 @ 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
An esteemed academician and a seasoned expert in the Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) system, Prof. Rajkumar S Pant from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, will be delivering a University Distinguished Lecture. The lecture about “The Design and Development of Lighter Than Air Systems”, the lecture will be followed by a workshop on “Sizing of Reusable Indoor Hot Air Balloon” (RIHAB). The Department of Mechanical Engineering’s initiative in organising the event will provide valuable insights to the university’s new-age engineers.
About the Speaker
Prof. Rajkumar S Pant has been a member of the faculty of the Aerospace Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay since December 1989. He has also worked for five years in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in the Design & Engineering Department at Kanpur (3.5 years) and Nasik (1.5 years) Divisions. Prof. Pant is an alumnus of the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield University, UK, where he earned his PhD under the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme, and IIT Madras, where he did his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering.
Prof. Pant was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding advancement of the Art and Science of Buoyant Flight by the Lighter-than-Air Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics on 14 June 2023. He also won the Uttarakhand Science Pioneer Award at the 17th State Science Congress of Uttarakhand held in February 2023. He has won three awards for excellence in teaching at IIT Bombay, viz., Departmental Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2022, Hotchand and Jamunabai Lala Teaching Award in 2021, and D P Joshi Excellent Teacher Award in 2014. He received the Special Recognition in Academic Excellence (Faculty-National category) award from the Institution of Engineers (India) in January 2021. In 2019, he was felicitated by the Institution of Engineers (India) as an Eminent Engineering personality in Aerospace Engineering.
Abstract of the Talk
Lighter-than-air (LTA) systems are aerial platforms that overcome gravity primarily by the buoyancy force acting on them due to a lighter-than-air gas (e.g., Hydrogen or Helium)
enclosed in their envelopes. Design development and flight testing of prototypes of several LTA systems have been conducted at the Lighter-Than-Air Systems Laboratory of IIT Bombay for nearly two decades. The aim of this talk is to discuss the latest developments in the area of conceptual design, sizing, design, development and flight/field testing of LTA Systems. The talk will also showcase some of the research and development activities that have been carried out in the LTA Systems Laboratory of IIT Bombay.
Join the lecture for an enriching learning experience!