SRMAP Departmental Events

An International Conclave on the “Transition towards sustainability of Agriculture: Role of Technology in Agriculture Supply Chain” is being organised by the Department of Economics, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh on June 3-4 from 9 am. Renowned economists and experts across the world will be joining the conclave to share their thoughts and perspectives on the much-needed topic of this time. Faculty and Scholars are invited to submit the abstracts of their research papers on or before May 25, 2021. Prof Vijay Paul Sharma, Chairman, Commission for Agriculture Costs and Price (CACP) Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Govt of India, will grace the conclave with his presence as the Chief Guest.

The agriculture and food sectors are facing multiple challenges. With the global population projected to grow from 7.6 billion in 2018 (UN DESA, 2019) to over 9.6 billion in 2050, there will be a significant increase in the demand for food (UN DESA, 2017). At the same time, the availability of natural resources such as fresh water and productive arable land is becoming increasingly constrained. Production is not the only concern; although agricultural output is currently enough to feed the world, 821 million people still suffer from hunger (FAO, 2018). Processes such as the rapid rate of urbanisation also have important implications for food production patterns and consumption. The agri-food sector remains critical for livelihoods and employment. There are more than 570 million smallholder farms worldwide (Lowder et al., 2016), and agriculture and food productions account for 28% of the entire global workforce (ILOSTAT, 2019).

Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal of a ‘world with zero hunger’ by 2030 will require more productive, efficient, sustainable, inclusive, transparent and resilient food systems. This will require an urgent transformation of the current agri-food system. Digital innovations and technologies may be part of the solution. The so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (Industry 4.0) observes several sectors to be transformed rapidly by ‘disruptive’ digital technologies such as Blockchain, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Immersed Reality. In the agriculture and food sectors, the spread of mobile technologies, remote-sensing services and distributed computing are already improving smallholders’ access to information, inputs, market, finance and training. Digital technologies are creating new opportunities to integrate smallholders into a digitally-driven agri-food system. In this two-day Internation Conclave, reputed experts will shed some light by sharing their wisdom with others on the recent challenges and the scope associated with it. Needless to say, food will always be an integral part of the basic need of humans. In these discussions, the path towards ensuring enough food supply for future generations will be searched.

The Department of Economics, under the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at SRM University-AP, is a vibrant unit for teaching fundamental courses (core & electives) in Economics along with allied courses for students across the disciplines. In addition to the Foundation Courses and optional Minors across the departments, the department ensures that the education imparted is truly multidisciplinary with an excellent programme structure that can cater to the growing market demand for professional economists and policy researchers. At Present, the department offers B.Sc. (Hons.) and PhD in Economics and will soon offer a postgraduate programme with specialisations in Econometrics, Finance, Trade and Development in coming years.

Call for Papers:
Faculty and Scholars are invited to submit the abstracts to be presented at the conclave “Transition towards sustainability of Agriculture: Role of Technology in Agriculture Supply Chain” on or before May 25, 2021. The abstract must go through the review, and if accepted by the reviewers, the abstract acceptance notification will be sent. There is no registration fee to participate in the conclave. The event will take place entirely in virtual mode. Please submit the abstracts to ghanshyamkumar.p@srmap.edu.in on or before May 25, 2021. Abstracts should not be more than 250 words, and it must include the purpose of the study, methodology, findings and policy recommendations.

Themes:
Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to:

1. Sustainable agricultural, farming, and post-harvesting strategies
2. Multicriteria sustainability performance measures in the food context
3. Closed-loop ecosystems for by-product valorisation
4. Improving traceability and transparency of food operations
5. Strategic approaches for waste management
6. Sustainable cold chain design and management
7. Digital twins in food processing, storage, and distribution

Distinguished Speakers:

1.  Prof Vijay Paul Sharma, Chairman, Commission for Agriculture Costs and Price (CACP)Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Govt of India
2. Prof Ashok K Mishra, Professor, W P Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, USA
3. Prof R S Deshpande, Honorary Visiting Professor, Ex-Director, ISEC, Bangalore, India
4. Prof P S Birthal, National Professor, ICAR-National Institute of Agriculture Economics and Policy Research, PUSA, New Delhi, India
5. Dr Anjani Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), South Asia Office, New Delhi, India
6. Dr Devesh Roy, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), South Asia Office, New Delhi, India
7. Prof Sukhpal Singh, Professor of Economics, IIM Ahmedabad, India
8. Prof Gopal Naik, Professor of Economics, IIM Bangalore, India
9. Prof Prem Vashisth, Professor Emeritus, School of Business Studies, Sharda University, Noida, India
10. Prof Seema Bathla, Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
11. Prof C S C Shekhar, Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, India
12. Prof S S Kamlakar, Director, Agriculture Economics Research Centre, Anand, Gujrat, India
13. Prof Brajesh Jha Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, India
14. Dr Asif Reza Anik Associate Professor Department of Agricultural Economics Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) Salna, Gazipur-1706 Bangladesh
15. Dr Thiagu Ranganathan, Associate Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
16. Dr Sarthak Gaurav Assistant professor, Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT, Mumbai, India
17. Dr Amarnath Tripathi, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and International Business School of Business Studies, Sharda University, Noida, India
18. Dr Elumalai Kannnan, Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India
19. Dr Jabir Ali, Associate Professor, IIM Jammu, Jammu, India
20. Prof S P Singh, Professor of Economics, IIT Roorkee, India

Registration Link: https://srmap.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LhUJ0qKwQbeZpXj02y7CXQ

Brochure: Click here to view the detailed brochure

The Department of Physics, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, has organised a National Symposium on High Energy Physics on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at 11 am. Leading Physicists of the nation are going to share their perspective on the progress and recent challenges in Particle Physics, Dark Matter Physics and Gravitational-Wave Astronomy. Padma Shri awardee Prof Rohini Godbole, theoretical particle physicist at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, will present the inaugurating talk on “Status of Particle Physics: in light of Nobel Prizes of 2013 and 2015”. Prof Basudeb Dasgupta from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, will join us for the next session on “The Mystery of Invisible Mass”. The last talk of the day will be given by Prof. Bala Iyer from the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), Bengaluru. He will shed light on “The Detection of Gravitational Waves and the Dawn of Multi-messenger Astronomy”.

Our first speaker of the day, Prof Rohini M Godbole, is a theoretical particle physicist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru. Over the past three decades, she has worked extensively on particle physics phenomenology, exploring different theoretical aspects of Standard Model and Beyond Standard Model physics at high energy collider experiments. She is an elected fellow of all the three Academies of Science of India and the Science Academy of the Developing World (TWAS). She has published over 200 research papers and received numerous recognitions from all over the world. Prof Godbole co-edited the book “Lilavati’s Daughters”, a collection of biographical essays on women scientists of India, which was published by the Indian Academy of Sciences. In 2019, she was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour of the Government of India, for her contribution to Science and Technology.

In 2013, the Nobel prize in Physics was awarded for the theoretical postulate of the Higgs Boson, after the experimental discovery of the same at the LHC in 2012. This was considered being the last missing piece in the periodic table of the Standard Model (SM). In 2015 the Nobel prize in physics was awarded for the experimental discovery of Neutrino oscillations, which is one robust evidence for physics beyond the SM. In her speech, Prof Godbole will comment on the status of particle physics in light of these two and the exciting results on the measurements of the magnetic moment of the muon that have been announced in the previous weeks.

Prof Basudeb Dasgupta is a theoretical physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. His research interests include the interfaces of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology with an emphasis on dark matter and neutrino physics. Prof Dasgupta is also the Leader of the Astroparticle Physics Partner Group of Max-Planck Institute for Physics. Prof Dasgupta is a regular speaker at notable international workshops and conferences and different Science Outreach programmes.

When we look at the night sky, we see a variety of astronomical objects, such as planets, stars, gas clouds, still waiting to form stars to swathe of the emptiness. For a long time, it was believed to be all that the Universe is consists of. The following discoveries came as a huge surprise that all we see and know comprises only about 20% of the matters in the Universe. The remaining 80% is invisible and called “Dark Matter.” What is this dark matter? How do we know that is out there? What is it made of? How can we decipher the nature of this mysterious new ingredient of the cosmic soup? In this talk, Prof Basudeb Dasgupta will address and answer some of these questions.

Prof Bala Iyer is currently the Simons Visiting Professor at ICTS-TIFR Bangalore and CO-PI of the LIGO-India Scientific Collaboration. The alumnus of Bombay University previously worked at the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, on Astrophysical applications of General Relativity, Perturbation methods and Black Holes. Since 1990, he is working on calculations of Gravitational waves from inspiraling binaries of neutron stars and black holes. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation. He has been the Chair of the IndIGO Consortium since its inception in 2009. Prof Iyer was a Member of the Core Team for the LIGO-India Mega-Project Proposal. Further, he is the Chief Editor and Subject Editor of Gravitational Waves for the Online Journal `Living Reviews in Relativity’, published recently by Springer. Prof Bala Iyer has been a Visiting scientist in France, UK, Germany, USA. He has been involved in REAP (Research Education Advancement Programme) for B.Sc students at the Bangalore Planetarium for over two decades and Public outreach on General Relativity and Gravitational Waves.

The first detection of gravitational waves from a black hole binary in 2015 was a breakthrough, taking a century to realise, and made possible by the coming together of a remarkable experiment and an exquisite theory complemented by the best in sophisticated data analyses, state of the art computing and the transition to “big science”. 2017 brought the discovery of gravitational waves from a neutron star binary. The intense associated electromagnetic follow up of this event was spectacular. It heralds the launch of a new multi-messenger astronomy with the potential to impact astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics in the coming decades. Prof Bala Iyer will discuss the nature of gravitational wave and its impact on Physics.

The symposium aims to make students aware of the current status of some of the fascinating research topics of High Energy Physics. Students of basic sciences and engineering streams will be highly inspired and motivated after attending the symposium and listening to the talks. Join the captivating event on May 1, 2021, at 11 am.

Register: Click on this link to register for the Symposium

In the next chapter of the Biology Seminar Series, the Department of Biological Sciences, SRM University-AP, invites Dr Sunil Laxman to deliver an enlightening talk on “Rethinking multicellularity based on the organizational principles of metabolism”. Biology Seminar Series 03 has been scheduled for April 24, 2021, at 11.00 am.

Dr Sunil Laxman is an Associate Investigator at the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bangalore. The laboratory is interested in understanding organizational principles of metabolic regulation and mechanisms of nutrient sensing. The laboratory research interests can be viewed in three parts: (i) understanding what makes some metabolites special, (ii) discovering metabolic sensors and signalling systems, and (iii) understanding how metabolic constraints can control collective cell behaviour. These studies integrate systems-level approaches, mechanistic biochemistry and cell biology, and theory/mathematical modelling to address these questions. Dr Sunil Laxman has been a DBT-Wellcome India Alliance Intermediate Fellow and is a current EMBO Global Investigator. Beyond the lab, Dr Sunil is interested in understanding how science and innovation can be effectively scaled-this includes policy, innovation hubs, and research outreach programs.

Dr Sunil did his Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Industrial Biotechnology from the Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai. He obtained his PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. He spent several years at the Dept. of Biochemistry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Scientist before joining inStem, Bangalore.

Dr Sunil is also active in science outreach programmes, and he has written popular science articles. The periodic science column for The Wire on the process of discovery, innovation and the scientific method; “Who moved my science”- a science policy and process discussion on the Pragati podcast; Science communication on amazing fungi are some of the examples that bear his signature as a passionate science preacher and educator.

It is a great privilege for Biology enthusiasts to have such a versatile scientist among them. Join the webinar on April 24, 2021, at 11.00 am to learn more from the expert himself.

Department of Mechanical Engineering invites Dr B V N Ramakumar, Professor and Chairman, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Dayananda Sagar University, to deliver a talk on Thursday, Apr 15, 2021 at 6 pm. He will speak on the captivating “Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Aerospace Engineering”.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in a wide variety of applications, including the Aerospace Industries. This talk aims to discuss existing and upcoming applications in various areas like Airport Management, Aircraft Design and Engineering and Space Engineering. Various stakeholders in the aircraft and spacecraft industry and their active implementation of AI in their respective products are discussed. This talk also covers present challenges in AI implementation.

Dr B V N Ramakumar is a renowned name in the domain of Aerospace Engineering. The alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras pursued his doctoral studies in Turbomachinery there. Prior to that, he received his Master’s degree from Ranchi University and Bachelor’s degree from Andhra University. Before joining Dayananda Sagar University, he served for 12 years at Rolls-Royce India Pvt. Ltd, Honeywell Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd., GMR Institute of Technology and MWP Migma Ltd. He also worked as a visiting faculty to UVCE and Manipal University. He made his contributions in product design & development and analysis of various components for Boeing 777X, Airbus A350 and Honeywell’s HTF7000 engine programs. He has published several research articles in reputed National/International Journals & Conferences. He is a reviewer for prestigious Journals & Conferences. Dr Ramakumar also has one defensive publication and two patents to his credit. His areas of interest include gas turbine propulsion, turbomachinery, turbine aerodynamics and cooling technologies, augmented heat transfer, CFD and Systems Engineering. At present, he is heading the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Dayananda Sagar University.

Avail the opportunity to broaden your knowledge in Artificial Intelligence and Aerospace Engineering- the two most sought after areas for jobs, research and higher studies. Join the webinar on Apr 15 at 6 pm.

On the auspicious occasion of World Health Day, the Department of Student Affairs organises a very special session for the students of SRM University-AP. As Ralph Waldo Emerson rightly said, “The first wealth is health,” we often forget that. Especially in the thrill of the invigorating youth, students tend to neglect their health and suffer later. Needless to say that we all should remember that health is the most important thing in everyone’s life. A few good practices can keep the diseases away and make your life worthwhile. “Health in Our Hands”, presented by Dr Srimadhuri, will enlighten the students on some substantial problems that the youth of this generation face. She will also share the present scenario regarding COVID-19 and the ideal stand to keep oneself safe from the disease. The session will not be limited to problems related to the students. The faculty and staff will also be benefitted by listening to Dr Srimadhuri’s advice.

Dr Srimadhuri has completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from NRI Institute of Medical Sciences, Visakhapatnam, under the affiliation of Dr NTR University of Health Sciences. Dr Srimadhuri is a young and brilliant doctor who is currently associated with the Ramesh Hospitals, Guntur, as a Medical officer at the Department of Cardiology and Paediatrics.

Enthusiasts are requested to join the webinar on April 07, 2021, at 4 pm to know more from Dr Srimadhuri herself.