Pranayam- oxygen concentrator

The years 2020 and 2021 have been particularly challenging for all of humanity. The suffering of the sick was haunting, yet science and technology kept showing its brilliance through the minds of ingenious people. We are proud to announce "Pranayam", a low cost oxygen concentrator has been developed at NIT Durgapur by the team led by Dr. Shibendu Shekhar Roy. The project has been sponsored by our Alumni Mr. Hemendra Bhattacharya, ME, class of 1976 and Mr. Goutam Bhatia, EE, Class of 1969. The concentrator is the cheapest, at half the price of the available commercial ones. We hope this concentrator would be affordable to a larger group of people, and contribute to India's fight against Covid-19. The efforts have been recognized and appreciated by many in both scientific and medical circles. Every time one of us achieves brilliance and that brilliance helps humanity move forward towards safety and well being is a moment of utmost pride. We are beyond grateful to Dr. Shibendu Shekhar Roy for being our mentor and a pioneer. We hope every one at NIT Durgapur is proud of this remarkable achievement and will do their best to contribute to the society in the future in their own ingenious ways.

Dr. Kumar Siddharth, a distinguished alumnus from the Department of Chemical Engineering

Dr. Kumar Siddharth, a distinguished alumnus from the Department of Chemical Engineering, batch of 2016 has got the post-doctoral fellowship offer from Harvard Univeristy. He completed his PhD in the year 2020 on Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. There, his current field of research is Electrochemistry and Material Science. He has seven research articles- one each from JACS and AM, and four of ECS Conference presentations. He is also an Entrepreneur and was selected for Hult Prize regionals in London. He has got recognition from Red Cross, Lions Club, Rotary Club and SPEED NGO of India, too.

APPOINTMENT OF MR ABHAY CHOUDHURY AS THE NEW DIRECTOR OF POWERGRID(MAHARATNA PSU under MINISTRY OF POWER).

On 14th October 2020, NIT DURGAPUR Alumnus Abhay Choudhury was appointed as new director(projects) of powergrid,Maharatna PSU under Ministry of Power,Government of India. He graduated from REC Durgapur in the year 1985 with BTECH in Electrical Engineering. PowerGrid transmits about 50% of the total power generated in India through transmission network. It is a matter of great pride that one of our alumni is taking the nation forward. We congratulate him on his achievements and applaud him for his dedication and commitment. NIT Durgapur aspires to create individuals who lead the country and themselves forward by their knowledge, diligence and honesty.

Webinar by Revered Swami Nikhileshwarananda (Adhyaksha, Shri Ramkrishna Ashrama, Rajkot) on 6th September

"A nation is advanced in proportion to education and intelligence spread among the masses." - Swami Vivekananda. On this very note, a Webinar was organised on 6th September 2020 by NIT Durgapur Alumni and Students' Alumni Interaction Cell, CAAIR, NIT DURGAPUR on the topic ?FACE THE CHALLENGE OF LIFE THROUGH HUMAN EXCELLENCE? by Revered Swami Nikhileshwarananda (Adhyaksha, Shri Ramkrishna Ashrama, Rajkot). In this webinar, Swami Ji mainly focused on character building and pointed out the importance of concentration of mind to lead a good life and attain success in every sphere of life. He gave a good enough idea about how to face the challenges of life and how to deal with the fears inside us by giving examples from Swami Vivekananda's life. He also described how the physical and mental immunity (i.e. body and mind) are interrelated to each other and how we can develop it. He also told that what we require today is Tremendous courage, positive thoughts, moral, spiritual and intellectual development to lead a balanced and fulfilling life. He repeatedly asked the participants to Face the difficulty boldly and do their best. He highlighted the Present challenges we are facing in this COVID-19 pandemic situation and how we can overcome them. At the end, Swami Ji also answered the questions of the students and guided them to understand the Law of life!

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Dr Raghu Thatikonda on 31st August 2020

An Online Eminent Alumni Lecture was organized on 31st August 2020 by Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in association with CAAIR, NIT DURGAPUR on the topic ?Knowledge-based process and Product Development for Aerospace Application? by our distinguished alumnus Dr Raghu Thatikonda who is currently an Outstanding Scientist and Associate Director and Head (Research team) at Defense Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad, India. He has obtained his BE in Metallurgical Engineering from RE College Durgapur (NIT DURGAPUR) in 1984 and has completed his MTech and PhD from IIT Bombay. Through the webinar, the attendees came to know a lot about aerospace engineering, its challenges, aero-engine materials and the various alloys used for making the parts, tools used and the complexity of metal forming. He highlighted several key points like the ideal parameters for various processes, understanding microstructure and quality improvement, understanding of material behaviour. There are many factors involved including deformability or workability along with dynamic materials for processing maps and rotor components, liquid forging. The webinar enlightened us about the materials now used at DRDO and various modelling techniques. Dr Raghu Thatikonda cleared all the doubts and concepts in an engaging and interactive way. It was a great experience to have Dr Raghu Thatikonda encourage the young generation and enlighten them about the current trends in research and aerospace on the whole. It is a matter of great pride that our Institute had been the alma mater of such distinguished people who remember their college and inspire the young generation and present learners towards development and excellence. We are immensely grateful to Dr Raghu Thatikonda for conducting such an informative and productive lecture. We wish him all the best for all his future endeavours and hope he will always be there for guiding us. ?My NIT, My love?, a book authored by Mr. Suvasish Mukhopadhyay, alumni of Batch of 1986 It is rightly said "The influence of a good teacher can never be erased". Mr SUVASISH MUKHOPADHYAY is a perfect exemplar of the above proverb. An associate professor at the College of Engineering,Pune. He has dedicated his life towards the upliftment of the students entrusted under his guidance. He did his bachelor's in civil engineering from NIT Durgapur in the year 1986. He is the author of several books like "The happiness Code", "My students my love".He has also wrote about his experiences at NIT Durgapur in a book called "My NIT, My love". He is also an integral part of Happiness Guru which is involved in writing various inspirational books for students, professionals, entrepreneurs alike. His contribution to the society is invaluable. He gives children purpose, sets them up for success as citizens of our world, and inspires in them a drive to do well and succeed in life. The SAI Cell, CAAIR NIT Durgapur, congratulates him on his achievements and wishes him all the best for his upcoming endeavours.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Mr Subrata Bhattacharya on 29th August 2020

An online Eminent Alumni lecture was organised on 29th August 2020 by Dept. Of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in association with CAAIR, NIT DURGAPUR on the topic ?OPEN HOUSE INTERACTION? by our distinguished alumnus Mr Subrata Bhattacharya (Dept. Of Metallurgical Engineering, Batch of 1982), who is currently Director of Technical and Business Development Jindal stainless Ltd. India. In this session, he discussed some key features of stainless steel and its uses in different sectors and in different countries. He enlightened us about the various types of stainless steel and their composition, crystalline structure, properties and strength. He also highlighted the topic of inducing corrosion resistance in stainless steel using chromium which was first developed by JSL and was JSL's gift to the world in the sphere of corrosion- resistant steel. In conclusion, he presented to us the various day to day applications of the same, and gave a brief idea to the participants about JSL, how they hire students, what are the skills required and about JSL's project in technical Institute like IITs. He also interacted with the students and answered all their queries, thus marking an end to a quite productive and informative lecture for all the participants!

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Prof. Mrinal Mandal on 9th July 2020

The students of NIT Durgapur were fortunate to be a part of an Eminent Online Lecture by Professor Mrinal Mandal, on 9th July 2020 on Google Meets platform. He is currently a professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada. The theme of the lecture was "AI and its offshoot machine learning will be a foundational tool for creating social good as well as business success". He graduated from NIT Durgapur in 1987 with B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering. The lecture was primarily focussed on the use of machine learning in the medical field and how machine learning can be used in the study of cancerous tissue. Machine learning can optimise the process by plotting various graphs and using the collected data and has proved to provide highly accurate results. The process includes mathematical calculations and a basic idea of machine learning but Prof. Mandal's explanation helped us grasp the concepts easily and left us in awe of technological growth. Machine Learning is surely one of the tools which will help us build a brighter and advanced tomorrow. The lecture was thus very enlightening and we are grateful to Prof Mandal for his time and efforts. We wish him all the best for all his future endeavours and hope he will always be there for guiding us. CAAIR welcomes all alumni members of NIT Durgapur to come forward and help their alma mater reach new heights.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Dr Partha Patra on 7th July 2020

An online Eminent Alumni lecture was organised on 7 July 2020 by Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in association with CAAIR, NIT DURGAPUR on the topic ?Some Fundamental Concepts in Synthesis and Application of Particulate Suspensions? by our distinguished alumni Dr Partha Patra (currently an Associate Research Scientist and adjunct Professor at Colombia University, New York, USA.) Some key features that were discussed in this oEAL were what are the basic concepts behind the synthesis of particulate suspension, apparatus and methods for separating components of the particulate suspension, process control of crowded particulate suspension and fundamental of particle packing. He also highlighted the application of the particulate suspension. Particulate suspensions present in the mixes used to produce particulate products impacts both processability and final product properties. In conclusion, he presented to us the various day to day applications of the same, which in turn helped the participants to understand the topic at hand with a bit more depth, and ignited their curiosity to know more about it.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Deepal Kanti Das (Batch of 2009, Mechanical Engg.) on 6th June 2020

COVID-19 has thrown us all into a difficult phase and has affected the economy of the whole world. Mr Deepal Kanti Das, Business Operations & Analytics Manager, Dell Technologies, Singapore had organized a lecture on Recession-Proof career strategies on 6th June 2020 to enlighten us about the prospects of jobs in a Covid-19 hit economy. Mr Deepal Kanti Das was a student of Mechanical Engineering (B.Tech Batch of 2009). He then went to Singapore to pursue a degree in MS and MBA at the National University of Singapore. He spoke about the various ways how this situation would affect the job scenarios in the market and how we can overcome them. He also emphasized the need for higher studies as it would not only furnish our curricular vita but also would make us prospectus candidates for the recruiters. His guidance and understanding of this situation helped us to visualize a clear picture of the opportunities and hurdles that lay in our path. He also encouraged us with his warm words and assured us that the scenario would indeed change in our favour. In the meantime, he advised us to be patient and to believe in our abilities to overcome the hurdles. The session ended on an assuring note that there would be a better tomorrow for all of us. We were indeed pumped up listening to him.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Rajib Ghosh (Batch of 97, Mechanical Engg.) on 31st May 2020:

Mr Rajib Ghosh Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of KornChain Technology, which builds global blockchain network for the loyalty marketing industry conducted a Webinar in the Eminent Alumni Lecture series on 31st May 2020 from 11 am to 12:15 pm and made us aware about the rippling effect of COVID-19 outbreak on employability of us in a different institution and what policies startups and large enterprises should adopt to overcome this treacherous situation. According to him, the economy is hit by the COVID-19 slump followed by social distancing and a nationwide lockdown, businesses are experiencing major impacts no matter how established they are and are having to re-look at how they manage and operate their business including re- visitation of their business plan. It has become challenging for most businesses to keep their financial wheels turning during the lockdown period due to less revenue churn and the general uncertainty in the global financial environment. The various ways he suggested include finding more feasible models, reducing extra expenses and trying to innovate new technology that would generate a new customer base of that industry, generating new demand. During a brainstorming session when the students asked him about his idea on how to get themselves employable in this job crisis period, he replied with a creative spirit that every crisis period is a storehouse of opportunity, he asked the students not to be a job seeker rather be a job provider. The Eminent Alumni Lecture ended on a high note making the participants believe that in this crisis period lies the key of a brighter future.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Aditya Bhattacharya (Batch of 79, Electrical Engg.) on 30th May 2020

The Online Eminent Alumni Lecture Series, a Webinar was conducted on 30th May 2020, at 4 pm on the topic of ?Institute to Industry: How to aim beyond the Horizon'' by Mr Aditya Bhattacharya, the senior technical specialist at Worley, London, UK. He was a graduate of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Batch of B.E.- 1979 and M.E. 1992 of NIT Durgapur. In the webinar, he discussed the recession, and how it would make the world difficult for engineers and jobs. Hence, through his presentation, he enlightened the current students about the increased hardships, as well as the opportunities that lie ahead. He inspired everyone to have higher ambitions to study further as much as possible and enrich ourselves with vast knowledge which would make us deserving enough and help us during job recruitments. Last but not the least, he advised us to keep faith in ourselves, have strong determination and enough positivity to work hard and succeed in the near future. It was an interactive session and it motivated us to a great extent.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Poulami Das (Batch of 2012, ECE) on 23rd May 2020

NIT DURGAPUR ALUMNI CELL organized "Online Eminent Alumni Lecture " on "POST COVID CAREER OPPORTUNITY, THREATS AND REMEDIES" on 23rd May 2020 from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. It commenced with the warm welcome of our distinguished alumna, Dr Poulami Das Alumna, B.Tech, ECE (GOLD MEDALIST), Batch of 2012, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Georgia Tech., Research intern, Microsoft USA. She first introduced herself and shared her accomplishments with everyone. She stated that during the COVID-19 surviving should be the first priority for all. Importance should be given to taking care of our health by maintaining hygiene, staying indoors and maintaining social distance as well as our mental health. She mentioned the various forthcoming corporate challenges such as restrictions on hiring in many companies due to the economic crisis post-COVID-19 period. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Companies will continue hiring smart people, NCGS are quite low in food-chains of a company. The companies which are in a strategically better position may need greater workforce for their halted projects. She advised us on how to prepare ourselves for post-COVID- 19 - never leave any technical gaps, improve communication skills and build a better network. Practising mock interviews, seeking help from seniors and taking own decisions is essential. There are challenges in Research careers too since Universities across the globe is economically hit. Consequently, there has been a large drop in the number of applications /admissions. Although new research areas are opening up and existing ones such as Quantum Computing, Green Computing, Bio-Medical Research and Security and Privacy will gain more importance. She mentored us on how to prepare ourselves and stay updated with the current trends in Industry and Research. It was a brainstorming webinar and concluded with an interactive question and answer session.

Online Eminent Alumni Lecture by Subrata Dutta (Batch of 91, Civil Engg.) on 23rd May 2020

NIT Durgapur Alumni Cell organised ?Online Eminent Alumni Lecture? on ?Reset -Reshape- Ramp up post-COVID-19? on 23 rd May 2020 from 10:15 am to 11:15 am. It commenced with the warm welcome of our eminent Alumnus, Mr. Subrata Dutta, Vice-President (Marketing), SBU-Head, Everest Industries, New Delhi and Alumnus of this Institute (Batch of 1991, B.E., Civil Engineering). He discussed his invaluable experience in the management field over the course of years. He mainly focused on career options post COVID-19 period. Our notable faculty Prof. Amiya Kr. Samanta (HOD, Civil Engineering Dept.) also attended the online lecture and shared his valuable knowledge. Mr Dutta expressed his views on the betterment of the Civil Engineering Department and the future of the Institute. He also presented his views on various non-core sectors for the students. While addressing the queries of the students, he emphasized on the importance of different soft skills required for Managerial Roles as well as other fields in future. The lecture concluded with an interactive Q&A session with the students and Alumnus.