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| UG RESEARCH 101 THE BEGINNING Your guide to UG Research at IIT Bombay Articles by seniors, a professor and even a scientist who are from IIT Bombay | |
| CONTENTS 003 Contributors 004 Preface 005 Foreword 006 Article by an alumnus professor 011 Article by alumni scientist/ professor 018 Article by a senior with an MIT admit 025 Articles by seniors who did university internships 032 ASPIRE - The IIT Bombay Research Park 034 What we do 038 Department wise activities 043 Council Note Professor Deepak Marla tells us about UG research during his BTech at IIT Bombay and has some 06 valuable tips! Raj Lakhani, a third year Arjav, a fourth year UG student tells how he UG in the Mechanical pursued research and Engineering department eventually got that elusive talks about his univeristy 18 call from MIT internship experience at - 25 CU Boulder, USA Ansh Khurana, a third year UG in the CSE department talks about his univeristy internship 30 experience at NUS, - 32 Singapore Ex. professor of the Aerospace department and now a senior scientist at TCS Research, Paranjape sir has some valuable tips to share with us all 11 The IIT Bombay Research Park tells us about themselves , what their aim is within the campus and their clients | |
| CONTRIBUTORS UG ACADEMIC COUNCIL 2019-20 Varshit Kumar (GSAA UG) Team EnPoWER Ameya Mittal (ISAA, EnPoWER) EnPoWER coordinators Amrutha Lakshmi Vadladi Bhavini Jeloka Pratik Solapurwala Mayank Gupta Department Research Coordinators Mrigi Munjal (MEMS) Raj Lakhani (Mechanical Engineering) Ashutosh Nehete (Chemical Engineering) Neilabh Banzal (Aerospace Engineering) Samarth Siddhartha (Energy Science and Engineering) Satvik Mashkaria (Computer Science and Engineering) Aditya Khanna (Electrical Engineering) Komal Gaware (Civil Engineering) PS. A lot of inspiration for this booklet has also come from the Research Newsletter published last year (Link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y- ledpUJxmHJ55gY7x8Dg6gOjuwZ868c/view?usp=sharing ) CONTRIBUTORS | PAGE 3 | |
| "Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose." ~ Zora Neale Hurston PREFACE T his quote by Researcher Zora, sums up what drives research and what should drive you as well. Many students in the institute asked us - What exactly is research? How do I know if I should do research? And many more questions that left us wondering too so as to how we can answer the questions. H ence, this Research 101 booklet! Professor Milind Atrey, the Dean Research and Development answers questions related to research, articles by professors who have graduated from the IIT system itself tell us their story and articles from the senior undergraduate students who have some research experience, tell us what research is all about. A lso in the booklet are the things that we, the Academic Council, do to promote research within the institute! Events like Enthuse, ResearchX, Open Days and Virtual Quizzes are some things off the top of our list. We also run programs like SURP which is the Summer Undergraduate Research Program for all the undergraduates. We cover events like these in the booklet too, which give a perspective and guiding path that could guide you on your research journey!Wishing you a great stay at IIT Bombay and a bright future! B est wishes, Team EnPoWER and Department Research Coordinators | |
| FOREWORD Dear students, I am excited to share with you the very first edition of the Research 101 booklet. The Undergraduate Student Academic Council has compiled this booklet; it contains articles by both students / alumni and faculty of our Institute, highlighting their experience related to research opportunities at the institute, and outside, as well as sharing their motivation for choosing research as a career. I n a world increasingly propelled by technology, university research is the foundation of any nation's knowledge and economic growth. IIT Bombay is committed to both basic and applied long-term research in frontier areas, to working towards research and development that make a difference both for national needs and for global impact. W e make continuous and concerted efforts to encourage and motivate our young, energetic and highly intelligent student force to undertake research from an early stage, offering various opportunities and faculty mentorship / guidance. T he institute has ongoing academic and research collaborations with many national and international universities, governments and industries, to keep pace with expanding the frontiers of knowledge and global developments. These present a plethora of research areas and problems to our young researchers to be engaged in. T he institute prides itself in having facilitating policies, processes and mechanisms to promote high impact R&D endeavors by faculty, students and staff, spanning across interdisciplinary borders. Supporting and incentivizing researchers, creating an innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, and enhancing industry collaboration through various schemes and programmes are some of the benefits that the institute provides for an active research and development ambience. I t is heartening to see that our students have brought out this booklet despite the challenging times of COVID-19. Kudos to the team. I look forward to more issues on a regular basis to motivate our young minds towards a research career. P rof Milind Atrey Dean(R&D),IIT Bombay Prof. Milind Atrey, Dean R&D, IIT Bombay “IN A WORLD INCREASINGLY PROPELLED BY TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY RESEARCH IS THE FOUNDATION OF ANY NATION'S ECONOMIC GROWTH. IIT BOMBAY IS COMMITTED TO BASIC LONG-TERM RESEARCH IN FRONTIER AREAS.” FOREWORD | PAGE 5 | |
| ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNUS PROFESSOR In the article, Professor Deepak Marla tells us about his research experience during his undergrad years at IIT Bombay, how times have changed and has some valuable tips for all of us ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNUS PROFESSOR | PAGE 6 | |
| Professor Deepak Marla Mechanical Engineering Department B.Tech. (2003-07) IIT Bombay Ph.D. (2008-13) IIT Bombay How do you compare the research opportunities during your time with the present? The academic course structure during my study (2003-07) was slightly different from what it is today. Perhaps the number of credits was higher, and there were no minors and honors. In Mechanical Engineering, we had a seminar (4 credits) in the 6th semester, followed by a compulsory industrial or research internship (PP/NP) in the summer. In the final year, along with BTP (16 credits), we had an Engineering Design Project (EDP) for six credits in the 7th semester. Other departments also had more or less similar course structure. The Seminar "MANY PROFESSORS helped us to get started with reading research LOVE TO TALK TO articles, technical writing, and presentation. EDP gave us a flavor of engineering, wherein STUDENTS ABOUT we had to design or develop a THEIR RESEARCH AND process/product/machine, and BTP gave us exposure to scientific research. Besides, there WANT TO SEE THEM was an undergraduate research opportunities GETTING INVOLVED. program (UROP) to encourage students to THERE ARE PLENTY OF pursue research at an early stage. Although research training is not a compulsory part of OPPORTUNITIES FOR the curriculum currently, UG Research Awards RESEARCH AT THE (URA) is an excellent initiative to expose UNDERGRADUATE undergraduate students to research voluntarily. Over the last decade, the institute LEVEL." has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of research activities. We have a wide range of cutting-edge research facilities that are at par with the best in the world. Many professors ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNUS PROFESSOR | PAGE 7 | |
| love to talk to students about their research and want to see them getting "EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT MADE involved. There are plenty of UP YOUR MIND TO HAVE A opportunities for research at the RESEARCH CAREER, I WOULD undergraduate level. Therefore, the students should try to take advantage HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING of these opportunities to make the most of their undergraduate RESEARCH PROJECT." INVOLVED IN A experience. Don't sit around and assume the opportunities are scarce. What are the benefits of How did you make the decision that undergraduate research? Even if you have not made up your mind to have a research career, I would highly recommend getting involved in a you wanted to take up a career in research? It was not until the end of the 7th semester that I decided to pursue a research project. It helps you learn career in research. I had completely some necessary skills and work ethic that apply to all your work later. Your different plans. It was BTP and EDP that rekindled my passion for science. Both learning experience in a research these projects involved applying the project may be more valuable than anything you do in a classroom. It can make you an independent thinker. You will be able to learn problem-solving knowledge gained through courses and pushed me to explore and learn new things. BTP was undoubtedly the most important and rewarding component of skills, communication skills, critical my undergraduate education. I got my thinking,, project management and first peer-reviewed journal article teamwork. Undergraduate research published from my BTP work, and it gave experience can be an incredibly me immense satisfaction. BTP helped educational and transformative me realize where my passion lies and experience. made it easy to choose my career path. ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNUS PROFESSOR | PAGE 8 | |
| GYAAN CORNER Could you give some useful tips to the undergraduates who are thinking of getting into research or exploring it as a career? 1 DISCUSS WITH 3 PROJECTS HELP THE PROFESSORS WITH STUDIES Do not wait for the faculty members I f you do not find the course work to float some research projects. You exciting or if you are demotivated need to glance through their with your performance in the websites, find out which areas courses, it is a good reason to take fascinate you and approach the up a research project and professors to discuss the topics. experience the joy of learning by Note that not many professors float doing. A research project may also research projects for the make you realise the importance of undergraduates, but they would be course work and could contribute to willing to give you a project if you improving your CPI. are interested. 2 NARROW DOWN TO A PROJECT I find that a lot of students are doing multiple research projects for a short period. It is alright to work on multiple projects during the initial years to know where your interests lie. However, it is essential to narrow down to a single project, especially in the final year, and focus all your time and energy. It is crucial to spend adequate time on your research project to produce good quality output. Merely dabbling with different projects won't give you a satisfying experience. 4 BE PERSISTENT Research is never a smooth ride. You are going to make mistakes, you are going to fail. Don't get discouraged when something doesn't work. Mistakes should be embraced as an opportunity to learn, and you should stop harboring a fear of failure. There will be a stage when you get stuck. It is essential to understand that being persistent is the only way out, and it will pay off in the end. It's a part of the learning curve. ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNUS PROFESSOR | PAGE 9 | |
| Did your expectations from a research career fail to meet/meet/exceed expectations that you had as an undergraduate? As an undergraduate, I had very little idea about life in an academic career. As a faculty, I enjoy a lot of academic freedom and work on something that I really like. I get to select which projects to work on and how to work. I can choose to work on sponsored research projects and, at the same time, take up industrial consultancy projects. I can also get to choose the people to collaborate with and work on multi-disciplinary problems. Besides, the work hours are very flexible. It's rare for a job to offer such freedom. Further, research and teaching ensure that I continuously learn and engage in stimulating problems. The process of mentoring students in research and classroom teaching is indeed a gratifying experience. A research career may not be a lucrative option. Still, it has been a very satisfying job and exceeded my expectations. Given that the job involves diverse tasks such as teaching, mentoring, research, writing proposals and articles, setting up and maintaining laboratory, and administration, it has been both exhilarating and exhausting at times. A CAREER IN ACADEMIA ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNUS PROFESSOR | PAGE 10 | |
| ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST In the article, Ex. Professor Aditya Paranjape remembers his research experience during his undergrad years at IIT Bombay, how he became a scientist and finally some good advice for us ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 11 | |
| About me I was a dual degree student at IIT Bombay from 2002 – 07 in Aerospace Engineering. I subsequently got a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I work at TCS Research in Pune as a Senior Scientist. Before joining TCS Research, I held tenure-track faculty positions at McGill University, IIT Bombay and Imperial College London. How I got into research as an undergrad and how it helped me Watching my five-year old go about his business, I am reminded of my early years as an undergrad at IIT Bombay. I wanted to learn all I could about atmospheric and space flight, and I would constantly seek a professor to talk to. I found most professors patient enough and willing to have a conversation with a bumbling newbie. These encouraging conversations gave way to small projects – initially during summer and then gradually during the regular semesters. In the first two years, I worked almost exclusively on short projects to get my hands dirty – fabricating a composite wing, determining the moments of inertia of small aircraft experimentally, and even writing assembly-level code for an electronic lock. By the start of year-3, I was working on what ended up being relatively long-term research projects in the areas of flight mechanics and Mr. Aditya Paranjape Senior Scientist, TCS Research Ex. Professor, Aerospace Department Dual Degree (2002-07) IIT Bombay "I WANTED TO LEARN ALL I COULD ABOUT ATMOSPHERIC AND SPACE FLIGHT, AND I WOULD CONSTANTLY SEEK A PROFESSOR TO TALK TO." ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 12 | |
| control: in fact, these projects continued pretty much for the remainder of my stay at IITB. I got a fairly good grasp of the subject area thanks to this work, and I had even authored a few research papers in top-tier international conferences and a respectable Indian journal by the time I graduated from IITB. It happens very often with research that its impact is felt in real terms only after a few years. This is especially true when one considers the impact on one’s technical maturity and temperament. In my case, the research problems from my undergrad days had a significant impact on my PhD as well as on my research program during my early days as an academic. For instance, I started working on the application of bifurcation analysis to flight dynamics towards the end of my sophomore year, but continued working on related problems through my PhD, post-doc and the first couple of years as an academic. It was also largely thanks to one of the papers that I wrote on this subject as an undergrad that I was introduced a few years later to the exciting field of systems biology by one of my collaborators. "IN MY CASE, THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS FROM MY UNDERGRAD DAYS HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON MY PHD AS WELL AS ON MY RESEARCH PROGRAM" ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 13 | |
| GYAAN CORNER Could you give some useful tips to the undergraduates who are thinking of getting into research or exploring it as a career? Taking stock of my undergrad research after over a decade, and having mentored and supervised students at all levels along the way, here’s what I have to offer by way of (hopefully, not entirely useless) advice. Use research to learn the big picture: as early- year undergrads, it is highly unlikely that you have any serious working knowledge of any engineering or scientific discipline, let alone a big picture view. Therefore, rather than aiming to make a splash (and I have seen a lot of students being more worried about this than anything else), use research to get a first-hand glimpse into the world of science and engineering. If you work diligently and systematically on one or two high- quality projects, you will understand how good researchers pose problems, how they formulate a solution, and how they assess their own work and plan the next steps. These are basic skill sets for not just a good scientist or engineer, but also for those who work outside of these fields. At the end of 4/5 years, if you emerge with good problem- solving skills, your research would have been well worth your time and effort. ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 14 | |
| Find out what sort of areas excite you: It is essential that you use your time at IITB to learn what you like to do and what you are good (and not very good) at. By forcing you to persevere on a problem, research will help you cultivate that sense slowly but surely. It is a cliche that we are all wired differently. We like different sorts of things and not all of us are good at everything. Facebook and Twitter will incessantly advertise what your peers are up to, and some of it will get the thumbs-up from your friends. Do not be swayed by it. It’s great to think outside the box, but first, you need to be good at what’s inside. It is a characteristic of our times to seek instant gratification. Unfortunately, research does not work that way. More often than not, good researchers are also those who are able to go deep into their respective technical areas. This sort of depth comes the hard way. You have to take courses seriously, read your text books diligently (and not turn to Google or Wikipedia), and you have to be able to write and solve equations by hand. ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 15 | |
| Be patient. Research is a long-term venture, and ideas take several years to develop and mature. At your stage, you would do yourself a disservice if you seek instant gratification. You should be prepared to put in a lot of grunt work (see the previous point) and you have to read books and research papers thoroughly. More than the amount of information that you gather this way, it is important that you make sense of what you’ve read and how all of the concepts and tools are tied together. All of this takes time, and there are no shortcuts. Document everything systematically and learn to write well. Here’s yet another cliche: your research and ideas are only as good as your ability to communicate them. In the old days, schools would teach their students the importance of good writing skills: the rules of grammar and the appropriate vocabulary. This appears to have fallen out of fashion of late, with the consequence that an increasing number of research papers (especially ones coming from India and Asia at large) are unintelligible. ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 16 | |
| IF I HAD TO OFFER A SUMMARY OF ALL THAT I HAVE SAID, IT WOULD BE AS FOLLOWS. AT YOUR STAGE, RESEARCH IS ABOUT LEARNING AND DISCOVERING WHAT’S OUT THERE. BE PATIENT, READ A LOT OF BOOKS AND PAPERS, TRY TO WRITE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND MAKE SURE YOU WRITE WELL. ABOVE ALL, ENJOY ALL OF THIS WHILE IT LASTS. ONCE YOU EMBARK ON A CAREER IN THE BIG, BAD WORLD, YOU WILL MISS THE LUXURY OF BEING A STUDENT! GOOD LUCK! FEEL FREE TO REACH ME AT ADITYA.PARANJAPE@GMAIL.COM ARTICLE BY AN ALUMNI SCIENTIST | PAGE 17 | |
| ARTICLE BY A Arjav Shah, a STUDENT WHO about student, his journey tells us GOT AN MIT enthusiast as a research and ADMIT his anticipating days waiting for a graduate school admit! THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 18 | |
| Before I embark on a journey to reflect through the past ten months of my life, I request you to fasten your seat belts since it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. I beg your pardon if I do not end this piece soon…It started with all sorts of crazy questions in my mind – Am I cut out for research? Should I choose between MS and PhD? Can I switch fields? Whether or not I should apply for placements and a lot more...Having faced this dilemma for over a year, I was ascertained of pursuing a doctorate after my summer internship in Australia at the end of third year. The experience gave me unmatched satisfaction and resolved all the doubts I had. The freedom to drive the project and immense happiness derived by delving deep into a subject were priceless! The steep learning curve which posed enormous challenges and oftentimes, self-doubt and stress, started to cultivate in me - resilience and perseverance. It hasn't always been a smooth ride. Back in 2018, I had got accepted for an internship in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University for the summer. However, it was heartbreaking when I was not able to make it there because of an administrative error in the processing of visa documents at the university’s end. Arjav Shah Student , Chemical Engineering Department (Batch of 2020) IIT Bombay "AM I CUT OUT FOR RESEARCH? SHOULD I CHOOSE BETWEEN MS AND PHD? CAN I SWITCH FIELDS?" THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 19 | |
| I could not believe that this could ever happen and it almost took me a month to come to terms with that. With the little motivation I had left in me after all this and a lot of paranoia, I decided to pursue a research project on geothermal energy in the institute (#1). This turned out to be a game-changer, and there was no looking back! I am really grateful to my advisor, who has been supportive of whatever I do till date and has kept me motivated. I consider myself fortunate to have started my stint at research with such a wonderful person! This project turned out to be productive and took me to a couple of reputed scientific conferences in the US. I have learnt and grown immensely as a person while attending such conferences. From meeting the best scientists in the field, making new friends and connections to travel experiences, feedback on research – conferences provide an unmatched experience. It was very daunting and overwhelming for an undergrad to be thrown into an ocean and figure out the way to survive my first conference - one with 28k attendees! But at the end of that week, I was a different person! Such experiences made me realise how rewarding and humbling research can be. People are so curious to learn about each other’s work and provide constructive comments to improve your work (#2). That’s when a part of me started to decide that research is something I want to pursue further, and maybe a PhD would be a great way to go about it! My resolve was even stronger after I got back from my summer internship in Australia (#3) (my advisor there has been one of the kindest and most encouraging humans I have ever met). That is when I finally decided to apply to universities in the US and the UK for graduate studies! The first application for the Rhodes scholarship was extremely rewarding. The Rhodes scholarship is considered the world’s oldest and most prestigious scholarship. It gives one an opportunity to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford. With the stellar list of the past Rhodes Scholars – Bill Clinton, Tony Abbott, Michael Spence, Girish Karnad, Sanjeev Sanyal…to name a few - I thought that I wasn’t even good enough to apply in the first place! But I mustered the courage to at least apply and give it a shot so that I would never regret not applying! Just working on the personal statement taught me so much about myself. I got a sense of what I genuinely would want to do in life and most importantly, why I wanted to do something! (#4) As I anxiously waited for the results of the first round to be declared, it was a pleasant surprise to be invited for the first round of interviews in Delhi sometime in September. Takeaway points #1 1. The difference a great advisor can create 2. Seeking topics which one is genuinely interested in 3. Being open about trying out hands in 'unfamiliar' fields Takeaway points #2 1. Importance of being open to conversations, able to listen and understand others Takeaway points #3 1. Research involves going out of the comfort zone and learning interdisciplinary perspective subjects 2. Being open to ideas and seeking feedback 3. Learning to manoeuvre through and optimize the time at conferences 2. This experience helped me overcome the fear of coding 3. Continuous persistence needed to break that barrier THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 20 | |
| Having determined not to let this opportunity slip away, I was sure of devoting most of my time for the next one month for the interview. On the interview day, when I met my fellow interviewees, I felt so privileged to have made it there. Everyone was so good and (almost) perfect! They had done things I had never heard of. After a decent interview, I was relieved but told myself not to expect much since the competition was so fierce, and statistically, the chances were slim. People would say that if one clears this round, then they’re no less than a Rhodes Scholar, irrespective of the final results. With so much pressure and stress induced by waiting for ONE email, the struggle to maintain my sanity was real! Finally, after a seemingly interminable wait, I got ‘that’ email inviting me to the reception and final interview in Delhi! I could not believe it. I swear I couldn’t! I checked the email at least ten times to ensure that it was the right one! Turns out it was. This meant that I could not start my application to the universities in the US until November! I devoted even more time to prepare for this one now. I met with a lot of faculty, professionals and friends who were of great help and support to me. Fast forward to the day before the final interview in Delhi when the high-tea reception was hosted by the chairman – Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi (Former diplomat, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi). I can’t really express how it felt to sit side-by-side with Mr. Gandhi, other renowned panellists and of course, my fellow finalists, 16 in all, including myself! All the other fifteen finalists were so exceptional and had done things I could never imagine doing! They were at the top of everything they did and yet so grounded. It was a humbling experience – to say the least. I already felt like a winner just for having made it there. The final interview for me didn’t go as I would have liked, and so were the final results. The five most deserving candidates were declared as the ‘Rhodes Scholars’, but I didn’t return with any regrets of not making it to the top-5. It has been, by far, the best experience I have had in my life. By this time, it was mid-November, and it was time to completely change gears and shift my focus on PhD applications to the universities in the US and wrap up my B.Tech. Project (BTP)! My BTP advisor has been very supportive and guided me to sail through both - BTP and applications. I had taken the GRE and TOEFL exams sometime in October – so did not have to worry about that ‘often-hyped’ part of the application. Thanks to a senior who calmed me down while I was fretting out on being underprepared for these tests! "THE CHALLENGE NOW WAS TO FINALISE A LIST OF UNIVERSITIES I WOULD APPLY TO FROM A TENTATIVE LIST AND GET STARTED ON MY STATEMENT OF PURPOSE – SOP AS IT IS CALLED." Takeaway points #4 1. Importance and benefits of interaction with professors 2. Going out of comfort zone and reaching out for help 3. Importance of peers and seniors who provide support at each stage THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 21 | |
| I ambitiously applied to 10 programs in all, 4 of which were dream schools (MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Harvard) I could hardly imagine getting into! Majority of the application deadlines ranged from Dec 1 to Dec 16 - a period of excessive outflow of money (applications are an expensive affair, but after all an investment!). Amidst all this, I could not forget that I had to prepare for an upcoming conference presentation in San Francisco, which would mean that I’d be away from Dec 5 to Dec 18. Working on the SoP was a blissful experience! I would keep mulling over each line for hours, send it for review to a great bunch of people who would always be there for me. It'd undergo edits until as late as a few minutes before the submission deadline! I learnt so much about my interests and further understood my reasons for going to grad school! There was always an irrational doubt while I submitted each application if I was good enough for that school or will I soon hear of rejection from them. I vividly remember how I spent all my days working on "NEVER IN MY the application right until Dec 16. I would even take time-off at the LIFE DID I GET SO conference and go back to the hotel to work on my pending applications! STUCK TO MY This brings an end to the long, tiring, fretful yet exciting days of applications and marks the beginning of even more stressful and anxious waiting days. EMAILS AND Never in my life did I get so stuck to my emails and check them so CHECK THEM SO frequently. I would be more excited by the notification of an email more FREQUENTLY.I than anything else. I got into a habit of checking Gmail more frequently than any other apps! There are online forums that do a great job of adding to the WOULD BE MORE levels of anxiety – one can get to know the updates on the applications EXCITED BY THE other students around the world would post there. Just when I thought that NOTIFICATION OF I’d be able to spend the remainder of the year at peace and not worry about anything until mid-Jan, I got an email from a faculty at UC Berkeley to set up AN EMAIL MORE a time for an interview! It was a great sign for me as the year came to a close THAN ANYTHING and the interview, which was more of a cordial discussion and getting to ELSE." know my interests better, went well. While universities would typically start sending acceptances after around mid-Jan, I got two early acceptances – one of them being UC Berkeley, which happens to be one of the four dream applications I made. All right, so - one down, three more to go! Now I was pretty relieved. However, I became a little more restless. I got into an absurd habit of checking emails in the middle of the night (which is when most of the acceptances would be sent – thanks to the time difference!). Almost for a month, this went on. After I gradually got more acceptances, I took a step further and started setting up calls with students and faculty whom I’d be interested in working with at those schools. Almost daily, my time after lectures in the evenings would be occupied with these calls. I heard back from a potential advisor at Stanford University about my case being recommended for admission on one such evening. This was totally unanticipated. THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 22 | |
| He added that I should expect to hear back from the admissions committee in a couple of weeks. Just two days after this note, I was shocked to hear of my acceptance so soon! That is one of the best memories I can think of. As time progressed, I also heard of rejections from Princeton and Harvard! It, of course, felt terrible but I told myself that ‘it’s okay!’ and be satisfied with what I had. I was still waiting to hear from the most ambitious program I’d applied to – PhD + MBA at MIT… Towards the end of Feb, I began to believe that this was all and I’d soon hear back of rejections from the remaining schools. A few universities wanted to know about the attendance to their visits! ‘Visit weekend’ – as it is popularly called, is an opportunity for the prospective students to visit the university in person and learn more about the life and culture there, apart from research and facilities. I remembered seniors telling me that they are a lot of fun and totally worth attending! You’re pampered (for the first and the last time), and the schools try their best to impress you and, as a result – convince you to accept their offer of admission. If you’re wondering, these visits are usually partially funded, and in some cases – completely funded (yes!). One such visit I was fortunate to attend (before the COVID-19 took over everything) was to UC Berkeley in mid-Feb! It was indeed a great experience - a fascinating, overwhelming one! The place, weather and most importantly, its people – were just the type I would love to be with! I had almost made up my mind on attending this school once I got back (just two days before the midsems). But maybe life had other plans! Some time amidst the mid-semester exams, an interview invite was sent by MIT Sloan. I was thrilled! I replied immediately (read: desperately), confirming my availability for the same. It was the first time I was faced with a B-School interview, and there’s a world of difference between a PhD interview and this one! I had to optimize my time between this one and studying for two, rather very difficult, exams on the days to follow. A trade-off had to be made, and I chose to sacrifice my sleep for a couple of days! Thankfully it worked out well! The interview was focused on behavioural questions and discussing my experiences. I was happy with the way I handled the questions, and it was a privilege, at the least to have interviewed! Early in the morning on Holi, I get the email of my dreams. Couldn’t have been a better day to get an admit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Naturally, everyone was elated, and it took me a few days to believe this and gradually sink into the feeling! This also meant immense confusion and added difficulty in making a choice. I was never ready for such a difficult problem but at the same time understood that it was a good decision to have to make! With my supervisor in Australia (Prof. D. Rhodri Davies) THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 23 | |
| I would abstain from venturing into the process of decision making since it’s a huge problem and another story in itself – shall leave it for another day! As I come to the end of this ‘monologue’, I think it’s important to stress a bit over a couple of things I have learnt through my way. PhD is a long commitment! The next 5-6 years of your life would be spent on ‘a’ problem – going deep into the subject while learning skills that’d make you a better researcher. So if the problem is not something you genuinely care about, then five years can seem to be a very long time! Hence, it is vital to find the right reasons and motivation to attend grad school. There is nothing very sacrosanct about doing research or pursuing your interests, as it might look like at the outset of it. In my opinion, it is just about our willingness and taking that one extra step to do something. For me, research is more about the process of learning and inquiry while working towards a scientific breakthrough. (Mind you, I say this before I have started grad school – hope to share similar but more refined views even after). Venturing into different domains of creativity and intellectual thinking is exciting. If I were to give one advice – it’d be ‘Do not hesitate to ask for help and reciprocate when the time comes. People are very kind and compassionate. It is important to be one of them. It is also important to explore as many things as possible before you shut some door for yourself!’ Finally, for the applications, the key point to remember is that no one part of your application is a singular deciding factor. You can easily make up deficits in one area with a stellar performance in another! Let me sign off by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to each individual whom I have come across since I have been shaped by learning from those interactions and experiences. It would be very hard to overstate how indebted I am to my family, teachers & mentors, and friends & peers! I hope this was an enjoyable read. Wishing everyone the best of health and hope we are able to sail through these testing times very soon. Yours truly, Arjav THE STUDENT WHO GOT AN MIT ADMIT | PAGE 24 | |
| ARTICLE BY SENIORS Raj Lakhani and Ansh WHO about Khurana their tell us WENT ON univeristy internship A FOREIGN experiences, how it had some and UNIVERSITY exciting things in INTERNSHIP store for them... THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 25 | |
| Hello there! I am Raj Lakhani, a 3rd-year B.Tech. undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering. I am writing this piece to share my internship experience at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Starting from the third semester, I was really intrigued by the concepts involved in Fluid Mechanics and a plethora of applications that require its understanding. I also had a soft corner for Aerospace science and began to explore it through Raj Lakhani Mechanical Engineering Department Batch of 2021 IIT Bombay University Internship at CU Boulder, USA minor courses and MOOCs (during freshie year summer). I was determined to take up a research activity to channelize my curiosity and get something out of it by a “hands-on” approach. At such points, seniors can be really helpful to give you a direction; in my case, it was Rahul Agrawal! With some experience in ANSYS and a couple of technical projects catalyzed by my zeal to take up a research project, I started to draft a cover letter and resume "THE APPING by the start of December and started sending out emails to professors of top US universities. This PROCESS CAN BE process is colloquially called apping at IIT Bombay. REALLY The apping process can be really frustrating; you have to overcome an enormous amount of inertia to FRUSTRATING; YOU get started and arduously write emails only to find HAVE TO OVERCOME your inbox inundated with rejections. You have to look out for the perfect professor based on your AN ENORMOUS research interests and caliber; one who can devote AMOUNT OF INERTIA sufficient time so that the experience is engaging TO GET STARTED AND and productive. ARDUOUSLY WRITE I received my first confirmation mail from CU Boulder around the start of February but the final EMAILS ONLY TO FIND confirmation was delayed until the end of March as YOUR INBOX my professor was busy with graduate school applications. This period of delay made me INUNDATED WITH extremely restless and I started thinking of other REJECTIONS." options for summer but it worked out at the end. I received all the necessary immigration documents and an offer letter with a decent stipend by the start of April. I believed nothing could go wrong now. THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 26 | |
| Spoke too soon! The US embassy put an administrative hold on my application as the project was in the Aerospace Department and came under “Technology Alert List”. After exactly a month, I got the J1 on my passport. This hold pushed my internship joining date to mid-June before which I “Worked from Home”. Yeah! I did that before it was cool. I was allowed to remotely access CU Boulder’s computers and work on them using VNC (Virtual Network Computing). Prof. Jansen was quite considerate of the situation and kept me engaged with goals via regular Slack meets. I finally flew to the US on 12th June, all set for my internship. Let’s talk about the work I did! The name of the project assigned to me was ‘NASA Wing-Body Junction’. So the background goes like this. NASA identified a region of separation through its studies on a German Aircraft DLR with F-6 wing configuration through experiments. Separation of flow occurs when there is an adverse pressure gradient meaning pressure opposite to the direction of flow. Of course, this is only one reason for separation. The separation that occurred in the trailing edge region of this aircraft was detrimental for the lift of the aircraft and hence the motivation to study it. Although the experimental results of this study are well established by NASA, it wanted my professor’s research group to do a computational study of it. My work was to use RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes) to model the problem. My work typically involved extracting velocity fields and pressure coefficient plots for various locations on the wing and the fuselage. The problem with RANS is that it does not accurately predict regions of separation and vortices even distantly because of the “averaging” and modeling that it does for every scale in the domain. Large Eddy Simulation (LES), on the other hand, models the very small scales of turbulence but resolves the larger scales. A Hybrid model, one which is documented in our paper, uses RANS to deal with regions where the flow is simple and LES otherwise. Direct Numerical Simulation is one that resolves all scales but is computationally intensive and may require a supercomputer to deal with seemingly simple domains. My professor and Ph.Ds under him were really cordial and helped me whenever some buggy codes stymied my work. We would have biweekly meets where we have to report our progress and discuss any issues or anomalies. I also had regular personal meets with the professor to understand the fundamental concepts behind any modus operandi during the course of the project. A short 20 minutes meeting too would be productive and enlightening. "MY PROFESSOR AND PHD. STUDENTS UNDER HIM WERE REALLY CORDIAL AND HELPED ME WHENEVER SOME BUGGY CODES STYMIED MY WORK." THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 27 | |
| Chautauqua Trail, Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park I could attach pictures of the lab I worked in but it would show nothing else than cubicles and huge monitors! During my stay in Boulder, I lived in a shared apartment. My roommate was from UC Berkeley and he was interning at Google. Outside working hours, I spent most of my time playing ping-pong, pinball or billiards at Google’s head office with my roommate. My evenings would be accompanied by cooking (cause vegetarian, duh), video calling friends and family or playing with a pet dog ‘Willow’. Weekend mornings would mean stepping out to bike towards Chautauqua trail or Boulder reservoir or the Boulder Museum. I also exploited my “Research Scholar” ID card to go for an occasional swim or a special Hawaiian pool party. Bowling there too was discounted for university employees and it sure was fun. I also visited ISKCON temples in Denver, Dallas and Austin with my cousin Dharmik. Temple visits were really energizing and enriching. There was prasadam, kirtan, reading of The Bhagavad Gita and dance too. I was lucky to have spent the July 4 long weekend in Colorado with my cousin. We went around to see Rocky Mountain National Park, Maroon Bells and the Aspen Meadows. July 4 fireworks in the football field of CU left me spellbound. The entire sky was lit, quite literally. CU Boulder is ranked as one of the most beautiful campuses in America. I was elated when I first took a tour of the campus. It has an aesthetic backdrop of Rocky Mountain National Park and almost all campus centers have sandstone walls and red tile roofs - all in a romantic Italianate style. Words are just not enough to describe its beauty! Boulder, unlike the metros like New York or LA, has a rustic feel to it and is filled with outdoor- oriented residents. People here are fitness freaks; every now and then you will encounter a couple running or biking. My guide too cycled all his way to the campus every day from his apartment which was 8 miles away; that is a 40-minute bike ride (just to clarify, bicycles are bikes in the US). Boulder is also one of the safest cities in the US. You are more likely to get your bike (or its spare parts) stolen from the parking than getting mugged in late hours. THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 28 | |
| Until this January, I was in constant touch with the professor and his research circle, especially in the winters as we were working on the paper which was presented in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech Expo, 2020.I am grateful for this research engagement with CU Boulder; the whole process had been a roller-coaster. It was much more to me than tjust an internship though. To travel alone, to cook my own meals, to manage expenses, to meet deadlines, etc. helped me to become more responsible as an individual and better as a person. Research is difficult and it takes a lot to produce substantial results but when you do achieve it, it will be worth it! It is important that freshmen and sophomores of insti explore what research has in store for them. Most professors at IIT Bombay are happy to offer projects. What they expect in return is your sincerity and persistence in work. So go for it! THE OUTCOME. A CONFERENCE PAPER. THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 29 | |
| Ansh Khurana, Computer science depatrment, Batch of 2021 IIT Bombay Univeristy Internship at NUS, Singapore "I got to work on real research problems which helped develop critical thinking skills and benchmarking that is behind every “novel” idea in current Deep Learning papers." UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE Hi, I am Ansh Khurana, Third Year Undergraduate student in Computer Science and Engineering. I was interested in research in Machine Learning and I was grateful that I got an opportunity to work on a research internship at the National University of Singapore. I developed an interest in Computer Vision techniques and their applications quite early in my time here at IIT Bombay. I tried to cover the basics on Coursera and gained hands-on experience through my ITSP project. Since most of the Computer Science internships from PT cell for second-year undergraduates are based on Algorithms/Networking/Cryptography, I tried to get an internship through apping. The apping process requires a lot of patience. You might secure your dream internship in your first 5 emails or in some cases it might take 100s of emails. I tried to work on projects in the third semester and the winter vacation that followed to build up my resume and sent out emails to professors with matching research interests. In the end, my patience was rewarded after 6 weeks of apping when I was offered an excellent research opportunity in Computer Vision at NUS. I worked there on interactive instance segmentation techniques. For example, when you need to select an object of interest in a picture in a software like Photoshop, you input some clicks on the object of interest such that it is segmented out of the background. THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 30 | |
| I worked on this problem using Fully Convolutional Networks with the objective to improve the segmentation accuracy by improving the way in which human guidance is incorporated into the network. Further, I got to hang out at a lot of fun places in Singapore. Covering almost all of the famous tourist spots like Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Merlion, Universal Studios, Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer. Staying in a foreign nation also helped improve my social skills when I got to interact with students from different countries like Switzerland, China and Egypt at the research lab. Being a vegetarian, I also had a go at cooking. Overall, the internship experience was very enriching. It was my first introduction to many different aspects of life and helped me gain invaluable experience. I got to work on real research problems which helped develop critical thinking skills and benchmarking that is behind every “novel” idea in current Deep Learning papers. The experience helped in opening further opportunities and strengthened my interest in research. I feel taking up research problems in any field is the best way to explore the subject which is ideal for identifying interests during the bachelors’ programme. THE STUDENT WHO WENT ON A UNIVERSITY INTERNSHIP | PAGE 31 | |
| ASPIRE - The IIT Bombay Research Park IIT Bombay is setting up a Research Park, ASPIRE - Applied Science Park for Innovation Research & Entrepreneurship, on its campus. The main objective of this initiative is to foster academia-industry collaboration by starting R&D centres in the institute. The Research Park aims to facilitate interaction between IITB students and professors on one side, and industry and national R&D organisations on the other, through various modes of engagement. The flexibility and benefits offered by this park have already attracted Eleven companies on-board. ASPIRE is registered as “IITB Research Park Foundation” a Section 8 not for profit company. Clients of ASPIRE 1. Tata Power SED Co., Ltd. 2. Applied Materials, Inc. 3. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 4. Bharat Forge Limited 5. Nanosniff Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 6. Ubisoft Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. 7. Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. 8. Suzlon Energy Ltd. 9. ideaForge Technology Pvt. Ltd. 10.NCIIPC 11.DRDO For more details, please get in touch with Ms. Kameshwari Mangalampalli,Chief Operating Officer, by sending an email to coo@iitbresearchpark.com or call at 022 2576 5923. IIT BOMBAY RESEARCH PARK | PAGE 32 | |
| About EnPoWER EnPoWER (Engineering Oriented Promotion of Work Experience and Research) being the Research wing of the institute aims to bring research opportunities closer to the Undergraduate students with a mission to promote research among the student community. It is devoted to increasing the participation of Undergraduate students of IIT Bombay in research & development of engineering-based solutions of industry problems by providing them opportunities, recognition and raising awareness. WHAT WE DO | PAGE 35 | |
| UGs can benefit from several events conducted such as: ResearchX Curious Community The Research Exposition of IIT Bombay is conducted every year where students get an opportunity to showcase research work done by them, along with that panel discussions, talks, and Discussions A community where several students of same research interest can come together and discuss about a specific topic. These has been created to bridge the gap several other events are between juniors and experienced conducted to so that you can get a flavor about research. Apping Session Conducted along with Career Cell where students get to know about the process of applying for internship, several senior students come and share their experience of applying for internships. You can check the slides shared by seniors regarding apping here: https://www.facebook.com/600356023391739/pos ts/2391533804273943/?app=fbl seniors associated. SURP (Summer Undergraduate Research Program) and iSURP (in Semester Undergraduate Research Program) Portals launched for the benefits of students where you can take up projects collected from several departments and aggregated on a common portal, to facilitate the process of taking up projects (interdisciplinary too). It is a golden opportunity for students in their first- year summer to take explore research and find their research interest. Shruti Gupta continued her SURP project further and then she filled a patent for that, check her experience SURP: https://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~ugacademics/new_research/index.php/2019/04/16/surp-exp-1-0-shrutigupta-jellow- communicator/ Given below is the link to Bhavesh Patil’s experience of SURP during his first-year summer: https://gymkhana.iitb.ac.in/~ugacademics/new_research/index.php/2019/08/31/surp-experience-2-0-bhavesh-patil- biomedical-image-segmentation-model/ WHAT WE DO | PAGE 36 | |
| Department Research Coordinators (DRCs) For each undergraduate department (department with undergraduate strength), one Department Research Coordinator is allocated. The primary role of the DRCs is to bolster the undergraduate research culture in the departments and in the institute at large through various initiatives and sessions. They bridge the gap between professors and students. Benefits to undergraduates: Guide you to explore your research interest, as well as provide you with opportunities to Ideate various pursue it with due Work in collaboration research-oriented compassion. with department events, talks specific to their departments to provide students councils to conduct to department level events to increase with an opportunity DRC department level to pursue their core bonding and research interest. awareness among students. Publicize several Department Lab applications for Visits/Open Days are scholarships, also conducted by them where students can get to know about labs and research facilities present in several departments. fellowships, and available in-semester research projects from the department so that students can benefit from them. WHAT WE DO | PAGE 37 | |
| DEPARTMENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES DEPARTMENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES | PAGE 38 | |
| AEROSPACE ENGINEERING In the Aerospace Engineering Department, one of the best ways to explore your area of interest with your favourite professor is through a Supervised Learning Project (SLP). These can be done twice, starting from your 3rd semester, till the 8th semester, and counts towards the Department Electives. Another way is to interact with the senior students and the professor, they are approachable and knowledgeable in their chosen fields. The Department conducts multiple seminars and workshops each month on diverse topics spanning Swarm Robotics to Analysis of Advanced Composite Materials to Autonomous and Cyber Physical Systems. Watch out for information on these on the Department mailing list. The Department Council promotes research in the form of Lab visits where you get to visit each and every lab in the department, Know Your Department sessions, where seniors talk about their chosen field of interest within the department and Apping sessions, where seniors talk about their apping experience for higher studies in Aerospace Engineering. Feel free to contact the Department Research Coordinator if you are motivated to take up a research engagement but don’t know which professor or lab to approach. - Banzal, Aerospace Engg. DRC CIVIL ENGINEERING The Civil Engineering Department council organizes various events throughout the year like ‘Know your Department’ in which faculties introduce the students about their specializations, their research and also encourage them to take up projects. Then there are Career Counseling sessions and sessions on a Semester Exchange as well. The Civil Engineering Department has introduced a SUPERVISED LEARNING PROJECT (SLP) for UG students of the Department. This project is similar to the BTP but the only difference is that it can be taken by any 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year students, while BTPs are only allowed for the 4th year students. The SLP runs under a course code of ‘CE 695: R&D Project’. Also, this year onwards credit-based summer internships have been started. The course code for the same is 'CE346' in which 3rd- year students doing a minimum of 2 months’ summer Core-internship, can tag it as a Department Elective. We have extended this credit- based internship to University Internships as well. - Komal Gaware, Civil Engg. DRC DEPARTMENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES | PAGE 39 | |
| CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Many professors in the Chemical Engineering Department work on interdiscipslinary and exciting projects. The Department publishes its research activities in a well-documented booklet. There are Grad School Apping sessions too to help out students who intend to apply to graduate schools for higher studies. You can find an Apping Guide written by Jyot (now an alumnus) and the other important resources here.Don't miss out on the variety of seminars ranging from typical reaction engineering to something such as evolutionary biology hosted by esteemed professors from reputed Universities. Keep yourself notified by subscribing to the mailing list of seminar_che@che.iitb.ac.in The Department hosts a Student Industry Meet where esteemed professionals from several firms interact with the students. Also, make sure you experience the one day Student Industry Visit. The main highlight of the Department, is a 6-credit department elective called 'Course on Wheels,' which is organized by Prof. Mahajani in the winter vacations. Students go on an educational tour and visit industries from various sectors such as oil and gas, base chemicals, petrochemicals, fine and specialty chemicals, etc. While a simulation project of a real-life plant is an added benefit, this is a fantastic opportunity for the 3rd year or senior students to see the real-life applications of their textbook learning. - Ashutosh Nehete, Chemical Engg. DRC COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING The Computer Science and Engineering department has a lot of active Special Reading Groups (SRGs) which are generally managed by professors and postgraduate students. Also, the department conducts a lot of interesting and informative talks, almost on a monthly basis, on a variety of topics spanning from algorithms to artificial intelligence. You can find the details of such talks on departement website. Department hosts the Faculty Unplugged Seminar Series (FUSS) which includes various workshops, seminars and talks regularly. CSE department is rich in terms of the quality and quantity of research projects going on in the departement so if you are really interested and motivated in a particular topic you should interact with the seniors or professors working with it. Department has many labs working on intriguing subjects, like CFILT (Center for Indian Language Technology) and ViGiL (Vision, Graphics and Imaging Laboratory). At last, you can always contact the Department Research Coordinator if you want to know more about the research projects and the professors or seniors working with it. - Satvik Mashkaria, CSE DRC DEPARTMENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES | PAGE 40 | |
| ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING The Electrical Engineering department is actively involved in research with many specialisations offered in the department. With the introduction of 4 new Specialisations last year, the department offers students the flexibility to choose their ideal path. The six specialisations are Communications and Signal Processing, Control and Computing, Power Engineering and Power systems, Solid State devices, Microelectronics and Electronic Systems. The department has many student-friendly labs with multiple facilities. The department also hosts a number of SRGs or Student Reading Groups which have participants from all over the department. With the compulsory EDL lab, you get to understand the vast area of research in Electrical Engineering and get to work on a project of your choice during the semester. The department has courses such as R&D projects which can be tagged as department electives and SRE or Student Research Exposition which is compulsory for the Dual Degree students. BTP 1 is a compulsory core course which also promotes preliminary research by every student. An industry day is organized by the department where there is collaboration with the industries to see new equipment and latest research as well. - Khanna, Electrical Engg. DRC ENERGY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING The main highlight of the department is the symposium called Energy Day, where people from the industry come and visit the department and also see the DDP projects of students. The department being one that offers a dual degree only, every student does a DDP and hence has a good research exposure by the time they graduate. There have been many students who have pursued higher studies in the discipline as well. The department also has many industrial visits that are conducted during the semester. The DIC of the department is also a great practical exposure for all the students and you may learn to make a solar cooker too! Energy being an upcoming department, the professors focus on the practical experience for the students. Two labs in the fourth year, namely Energy Innovation Lab and the Energy Design Lab give a very good practical experience to all the student. - Siddhartha, DESE DRC DEPARTMENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES | PAGE 41 | |
| MECHANICAL ENGINEERING The best way to know more about what research has in store for mechanical undergraduates and how to go about it is by interacting with seniors and professors. The Mechanical Engineering Department council organizes various events throughout the year to facilitate this. ‘Know the Research’ is one such session. KTR is aimed at educating the students about various research going in the department and about how to pursue research while in the institute. This year, Prof. Parag Tandaiya delivered a talk followed by students like Rahul Agrawal, Nakul Ghate, Baksh Mangat and Hemant Kumawat talking about their fields of research and their journey. We also have Lab visits in the spring semester for you to acknowledge the different research facilities in the department and their vast application. Feel free to contact the Department Research Coordinator if you are motivated to take up a research engagement but don’t know which professor or lab to approach. You can also have a look at the Department Newsletter (available on the department’s website) to know more about our department! - Raj Lakhani, Mechanical Engg. DRC METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE There are a number of ways for immersion into what the blue and white building entails. The Department conducts multiple seminars and workshops each month on diverse topics spanning Machine Learning to predict material properties and salvaging metals from Li-ion batteries. Watch out for information on these on the Department mailing list, Department notice boards as well as institute mailing lists that you can opt to subscribe to like seminar@iitb.ac.in and events@iitb.ac.in. The Department’s students also regularly organize Industrial Visits, lab tours and sessions. Information about these is made available to students when the visit approaches. You can also reach out to the Department Research Co-ordinator and Department Council to find out more about the next thing that’s coming up. The Department Newsletter, Dhatuki, also provides a whole host of what the Department has to offer with articles from undergraduates, postgraduates as well as Professors! - Mrigi Munjal, MEMS DRC DEPARTMENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES | PAGE 42 | |
| COUNCIL NOTE As a team that promotes research among the undergraduates and motivates you to take up research, we would like to suggest something. While you try out other things in the institute and look up to seniors, let yourself also give an honest shot at research! Research is not the easiest of options to pursue and it may take several attempts to get things right but trust us the joy in finding something novel, contributing to the world’s knowledge of things and the sheer feeling of accomplishment upon getting results is inexplicable.We strive to help you out in this journey and we wish you the very best in all your endeavours! COUNCIL NOTE | PAGE 43 | |