UAA Bulletin - Vol 17 - May 2012

President’s Message

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I am glad to note that the UAA bulleting is slowly becoming a regular feature and asusual, here are some random thoughts and comments on UAA activities sinceDecember 2011.

UAA continues to enhance its efforts in a focused manner by reviewing the proposedactivities in every meeting in the form of Action Taken Report (ATR) which is now anintegral part of the minutes of the meeting. The initiative proposed by Dr. VijayHabbu, Senior Vice President has started making the BOG meeting more professionaland target based, which is a good sign for the Association.

The various committees i.e. Chapter Committee has been active and has visited Ahmedabad Chapter andAurangabad Chapter and the report of these appear in the bulletin. A committee constituted under thechairmanship of Dr. Sanjay Mehendale to review the constitution of the UAA has started its work in rightearnest. This again will help in running the show professionally.

UAA continued to support the various activities through reunions such as that of 1972 batch of Chem.Engg.where more than 40 batch mates from all over the world participated in a day-long event. They felicitated theirteachers and initiated two merit-cum means scholarship (one for Tech stream and one for Chem Engg.Stream) of Rs.1 lakh each, in addition to a substantial donation to ICT and UAA.

The students’ activities such as Exergy, Industry Defined problem of YICC & YRCC received overwhelmingresponse from all over India and these events are becoming an annual event in the national student’s calendarsuch as IIT Tech Fest. I would like to put on record the generous assistance provided by the Alumni forsupporting these activities.

The activities started last year, such as Job Mela, Career Opportunities, seminars, website launch, students’Chemical web, Technological Day celebrations continue to perform exceedingly well and a regular calendarof events is getting established.

The well deserved recognition to our Alumni, Shri L. R. Chadha, Shri Y. H. Jhaveri and Shri V. D. Sanghavi inthe form of UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award on 11th of May, Technology Day was another highlight of thepast six months’ activities.

One sad event of note in the past 6 months was the untimely death of our employee of the past 15 years, lateShri Subhash Bhere. The spontaneous support of the alumni to my appeal went a long way in reducing thefinancial stress on his family during his unsuccessful treatment. This is genuinely appreciated and showedthat in the hour of need the UAA and the alumni stand together.

I continued to act as a President for the past year in spite of completing my term of two years on your requestbut would like to relinquish the post in September this year at the time of AGM.

I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to the entire BOG team for their sustained interest and activeparticipation in conducting UAA affairs.

Professor A. B. Pandit

1 UAA Bulletin, May 2012


The last few months have seen very significant events at our alma mater, culminating in ICT being

granted ‘elite status’ by the Government of Maharashtra. This puts the institute well on course to

achieving such a status in the eyes of the Central government, as well, and put it on par with other

institutes such as the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore.

Recognition and responsibility

With the recognition come responsibilities and the Departments of ICT are gearing up to meet the

challenges. With the greater autonomy now in place, thanks to the status as a Deemed-to-be-

University, ICT is now exceedingly well placed to contribute even more significantly to the development

of human resources and technologies for meeting the needs of the country.

For an institute that has multiple tasks of teaching and research, it is vital to stay contemporary and

relevant to the society in which milieu it operates. It is therefore highly relevant to also note that ICT

will be aiding technological developments in the fertiliser industry, with a Chair constituted through

the generous support of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd., one of India’s leading fertiliser

producers and one of the few in the state of Maharashtra.

This is an area that cries for attention. India is now the second largest consumer of fertilisers in the

world – ranking only behind China – and is seriously lacking in investments. Sadly, the country has

no meaningful technology developments for making key fertilisers and their raw materials, and is

stuck in the groove of importing these every time a new plant is built. Perhaps ICT can play a role in

correcting this sad state of affairs!

ICT’s faculty and students are already working on areas related to nuclear energy and solar energy

– two areas that hold the key to greater energy security for a country starved of hydrocarbon resources.

The idea, it seems, is to be elite, not elitist!

Role of alumni

The UAA and its members have a role to play in guiding, mentoring & supporting (financially and

otherwise) the many plans team-ICT has put forth. This issue talks about some of the efforts that

have been taken recently by alumni, both in their individual capacity and as a group.

It is clear, however, that much more remains to be done, if the resources available to the ICT are to

match the dreams!

EDITORIAL

Elite not elitist!


RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE

ICT bags ‘elite’ status from Maharashtra Government

The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) has become the first educational institution in Maharashtra to get

the ‘elite’ status from the state government.The government had decided to recognise its star institutions and

award them an elite status in consonance with their research work, the academic excellence achieved and

how their innovations have altered the way the world works.

According to Mr.Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education, the newly acquired status puts

ICT on par with other reputed schools like the IITs, IISc-Bangalore, and the Indian Institutes of Science

Education and Research (IISER). It also makes the institute eligible for various special grants from the Union

and the State governments.

The Indian Government, through Ministry of Human Resource and Development and through the central

bodies such as All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grant Commission (UGC),

accords special status based on performance to renowned academic institutes. All elite institutes have been

nurtured by the Central Government and it was felt that the States should take a lead in sustaining the culture

of excellence in the State-funded institutes by applying the same yardsticks.

The government resolution on elite institutes stated that such a status can be conferred on those campuses

that are at least 50 years old, have a minimum of 80% of their teachers who are PhDs, have produced more

than 500 PhDs and have acquired a minimum of 20 patents, including 10 international patents. All these

conditions were fulfilled by ICT.

“Granting of special status of ‘elite’ institute for creating Centre of Excellence to any institute/university,

which has a proven track record measured by the criteria based on performance statistics by international

yardsticks will certainly give a fillip to the most performing institutes and will encourage them to maintain their

record,” the note issued by the Maharashtra government said.

World-class institute

ICT started in 1933 as a department of the University of Mumbai and became autonomous in 2004. In

September 2008, it was awarded the status of a deemed university. A study by Georgia Tech University’s

Prof.Jude Sommerfeld on chemical engineering education and research regularly ranks ICT among the top

research institutes like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Michigan and Georgia Tech. ICT ranks first in India and fourth

in the world for the number of papers it publishes.

ICT, which merely receives its annual salary grant from the state government (about Rs. 18 crores), has

craved to earn the status of a central institute that would allow it larger grants for research and expansion,

apart from a national status.

“The institute is the topmost ranked institute of its kind in the country,” Mr.Tope said.

ICT has a student population of around 2,000 and sanctioned faculty strength of 110 with additional endowment

positions. The institute is housed on 16 acres of land at Matunga. By 2030, ICT is aiming to be an institute

with around 250 faculties, 500 support staff and 5,000 students.


Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT has called for the creation of a sizeable Rs. 500-crore corpus in order

to fund the ambitious growth plans of the deemed university.

These include research programmes in cutting edge areas including biotechnology & biomedicine,

nanotechnology & materials science, energy science & engineering, process systems engineering, green

chemistry & engineering, environmental protection & hazardous waste management, and product engineering.

“The ICT should be allowed to grow physically and through the digital world. We need to have additional

campus in the vicinity of Mumbai, of about 100-200 acres, so that our engineering and technology base is

augmented, with faculty strength of 400 and a student strength of 4,000 in next two decades,” Prof.Yadav

said while delivering the Convocation Address at the first convocation held at the Matunga campus of the

institute since it was declared a deemed university.

According to Prof.Yadav several centres of excellence will have to be created to drive these programmes

including:

• Entrepreneurship Resource Centre;

• Centre for Undergraduate Research in Engineering (CURIE);

• Centre for Process Intensification and Innovation;

• Centre for Product Engineering;

• Centre for Drug Discovery Engineering;

• Centre for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention; and

• Technology Incubation Centre.

“We need resources for such a massive expansion on par with other national institutes. A Foundation of Rs.

500-crore should be created. The foundations of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and other great institutes are a

few billion dollars and they have craved for excellence. I am optimistic that such a day is not far away, if our

government, alumni, industries and philanthropists decide to open their purses,” he added.

MAIDEN CONVOCATION

‘Rs. 500-crore corpus needed to fund growth plans’

ICTs 1st Convocation held on 6th March 2012 in presence of Hon’ble Shri PrithvirajChavan, Chief Minister,Government of Maharashtra and Hon’ble Shri Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education


RESEARCH FUNDING

RCF donates Rs. 4-crore to ICT to create endowment

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ICT

to collaborate on diverse aspects of technology development. RCF will also be creating an endowment of Rs.

4-crore for instituting the chair of ‘RCF Professor of Chemical Engineering’ at ICT.

The MoU was signed on 1 October 2011 on the ‘Foundation Day’ of ICT, between Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-

Chancellor, ICT and Mr. R.G. Rajan, Chairman and Managing Director, RCF, in the presence of the Chief

Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Prithviraj Chavan and Mr. Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education

(MHTE), Government of Maharashtra.

The specific areas of research that ICT will address will include fertilizer technology, environmental engineering

and cutting edge technologies.

According to Mr.Rajan, ICT has a proven track record of excellent research and technology development, and

RCF, which derives 50% of its sales from Maharashtra, deems this endowment as a service to society and

“commitment towards higher education and development of indigenous technology.”

Prof.Yadav said the creation of the endowment is a rich tradition of ICT and his own position as ‘R.T. Mody

Distinguished Professor of ICT’ was created in this manner in 1933.

Signing of MoU: Prof V.G. Gaikar (ICT), Prof. G.D. Yadav (VC, ICT), Mr Rajesh Tope (MHTE),

Mr Prithviraj Chavan (CM), Mr R.G. Rajan (CMD, RCF), Mr. G. Sen (RCF), Mr. Nair (RCF)


The Indian Speciality Chemicals Manufacturers’ Association (ISCMA) has instituted an annual merit-cum-

means scholarship for under-graduate students at ICT. In addition, the association has also instituted an

annual award for the ‘Best Teacher’ and ‘Best Support Staff.’

The first round of awards were presented to 16 students from various disciplines, by Mr. Nadir Godrej,

Managing Director, Godrej Industries Ltd., at a function held at ICT on April 11. Dr. B.M. Bhanage, Head,

Department of Chemistry, was selected as the ‘Best Teacher’ by a panel comprising senior faculty of ICT.

The citation presented highlighted Dr.Bhanage’s contributions to the area of catalysis, methodologies for

carbon dioxide utilisation etc.

Mr. Kishore Shah, President, ISCMA, described the project as a small manner in which industry can help

academic institutions. He reiterated the association’s support to this activity on an annual basis.

Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT, said the institute has a long history of supporting students with the

help of industry and he described any help “as neither too big nor too small.”

Speaking at the event, Mr. Godrej complimented ISCMA for taking the initiative, which he felt will go some

way in encouraging and motivating students to pursue careers in the chemical industry. The speciality chemicals

industry, he felt, is particularly well suited to India, which unfortunately does not have significant hydrocarbon

reserves and has to rely on imports to meet requirements.

Mr. Nadir Godrej addressing the gathering; also

seen (L to R): Dr. Kishore Shah, President, ISCMA;

Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT; and Mr.

Deepak Bhimani, First Vice-President, ISCMA

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

ISCMA awards merit-cum-means scholarships for ICT students;

recognises teaching & non-teaching staff

CREATIVE WRITING

Endowment created at ICT to support publishing of books &

monographs

The students of the late Prof. N.R. Kamath, who was a great teacher and motivator, have decided to establish

an endowment in his name for the benefit of the faculty and students of ICT to encourage them to write text

books, monographs or edited volumes, and to engage in creative writing. Any member of the faculty or a

student of ICT is entitled for this award, as are alumnus of ICT residing in India or abroad.

The late Mrs.Ruzena Kamath, wife of Prof.Kamat, has already donated Rs. 1 lakh for the purpose, and the

former President of the UDCT Alumni Association (UAA), Mr. S.M. Mokashi, has agreed to donate Rs. 3

lakhs towards this endowment.

The endowment will be perpetually open to receive donations and any alumnus, well-wisher, industry, organisation

or philanthropist can contribute to it.


HATRICK

Three UAA BOG members are Distinguished Alumnus awardees

this year

The ‘UAA Distinguished Alumnus Technology Day Awardees’ for the year 2012 were presented to threealumni who have been very keenly associated with steering the UAA.

• Mr. L.R. Chadha;• Mr. Y.H. Jhaveri; and• Mr. V.D. Sanghavi.

The decision to bestow the awards on the trio was taken in consultation with the UAA Advisory Council,theVice-Chancellor, Prof. G.D.Yadav and the President, UAA.

The awards were presented at a grand function organized on Technology Day, i.e. May 11, 2012.

Award winners

Mr. Jhaveri (1965, BSc (Tech), Oils, Fats & Waxes), Vice-President, UAA, founded Vasu Chemicals, whichis today a leading supplier of water treatment chemicals with a current group turnover of Rs. 100-crore. Thecompany has won many awards and recognition including the ‘National award for import substitution’.

The award was received by his son, Mr. TusharJhaveri.

Mr. Chadha (1965, BSc (Tech), Food Technology), a former President of the UAA, founded Goodwill Chemicals,to make nitrochlorobenzenes and chlorobenzenes. The group now has three factories, built to internationalstandards, and produces a range of products for a turnover of Rs. 80-crore, of which Rs. 70-crore comes fromexports to Europe and USA. Mr. Chadha is also closely associated with the alumni association of Don BoscoHigh School, RamnarainRuia College and continues to guide the UAA as a member of the Board of Governors.

Mr. Sanghavi (B.ChemEngg, 1964) worked for reputed organisations for 27 years, before starting AarviEnconLtd., a project consultancy organization. The company employs 1800 engineers and has a turnover of Rs. 70-crore. Mr. Sanghavi also served as a President of the UAA

Mr. TusharJhaveri receiving the award

on behalf of his father, Mr. Y.H. Jhaveri,

at the hands of Prof. G.D. Yadav and

Prof. M.M. Sharma.


Support of Maharashtra government

Speaking at the event, Prof. Yadav highlighted the support given by the government of Maharashtra to ICTover the years. Recently, he added, the government had listened to ICT’s plea by extending the retirementage for faculty to age of 60. “Our dream is to extend this further to 65 years,” he noted.

In particular, Prof. Yadavreferred to the decision of the state to bestow ‘elite status’ on ICT. “This bestowsgreat responsibility on the institute. “

Partnership for technology development

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest, Mr. R.G. Rajan, Chairman & Managing Director, Rashtriya Chemicalsand Fertilisers (RCF), pointed out that the economy of tomorrow will be a knowledge-based economy andIndian industry and academia needs to focus efforts in innovation in all fields. “Our greatest strengths are ourpeople, not our rivers and mineral resources. The next great idea must come from the Indian institutes,”henoted.

Mr. Rajanhighlighted the need to nurture innovation in critical areas such as energy and water conservation,reduction in carbon footprint and conversion of waste to wealth. As an example he pointed to the efforts taken

Mr. LalitChadha receiving the award at

the hands of Prof. G.D. Yadav and Prof.

M.M. Sharma, while Mrs. Chadha looks

on.

Mr. V.D. Sanghavi receiving the award

at the hands of Prof. G.D. Yadav and

Prof. M.M. Sharma, while Mrs. Sanghavi

looks on.


at RCF to convert phospho-gypsum, a by-product of the phosphoric acid plant, to load bearing panels that canbe used for housing. “We have made some building using this technology and can help ICT with any constructionthat they need.”

He also hoped the partnership between RCF and ICT will lead to unique technologies that will create competitiveadvantage for RCF. “This partnership will flourish in the years to come,” he confidently predicted.

Innovation in fertilizer industry

Prof. M.M. Sharma,Prof. M.M. Sharma, Former Director, ICT, who was the Guest of Honour, lamented thelack of innovation in the fertilizer industry “largely due to funny policies of the government,” commensuratewith the size of the industry and its relevance to India. He recommended development of technology forsupplying of potassium as nitrate, phosphate or sulphate, as it was most appropriate for Indian soils.

Speaking about technology developments in the chemical industry, Prof. Sharma noted that continuousprocessing and micro-reactors are getting more and more common.

ICT, he added, has had a long history of successfully demonstrating technology developed in the institute,from fundamental work done in the research labs.

Mr. S.T. Mhaske, Hon. Secretary, UAA, proposed a vote of thanks.

Prof. G.D. Yadav welcoming the Chief

Guest, Mr. R.G. Rajan.

Prof. M.M. Sharma addressing the gathering.


According to Prof. Jude Sommerfeld, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia, USA), the research output of ICT is truly outstanding and it is the number one institute inIndia and ranks at fourth spot in global rankings.

In the 2007-11 survey, ICT has been ranked at #4 again, behind MIT, University of Minnesota, and GeorgiaTech (all in USA), and ahead of Imperial College (UK), University of Texas (USA), University of Alberta(Canada), University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Davis and University of Delaware (all inUSA).

ICT has filed more patents during 2011, developed technologies and created several endowments for thebenefit of faculty, support staff and students. The Department of Atomic Energy has established the ‘HomiSethna Centre for Chemical Engineering Education and Research’ while the Department of Biotechnologyhas been supporting the ‘DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences.’

In addition, the UGC has been supporting several centres of advanced studies in Chemical Engineering, FoodEngineering and Technology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Physico-Chemical Aspects of Textiles,Fibres, Dyes, and Polymers, etc. The UGC has also created a ‘Networking Centre in Chemical Engineering’,the only one in the country.

Most of the Chemical Engineering programmes worldwide are interdisciplinary and versatile, and includebiochemical engineering, materials science, polymer engineering, petroleum engineering, etc. A majority ofchemical engineering faculty have published in interdisciplinary areas such as nanotechnology, drug delivery,nanobiotechnology, nanomaterials, energy engineering etc.

Ranking of chemical engineering schools (2007-11) in India [by publications]

Rank Institute 2011 2007-2011

1 ICT 198 10252 IIT-Bombay 75 3933 IIT-Kanpur 80 3784 IIT-Kharagpur 59 3055 IIT-Madras 55 2816 Anna University - Chennai 56 2617 IISc-Bangalore 51 2258 IIT-Roorkee 31 2059 IIT-Delhi 43 188

(Prof. Jude Sommerfeld, 22 Jan. 2012)

Global ranking of chemical engineering schools (2007-11) [by publications]

Rank Institute 2011 2007-2011

1 Massachusetts Inst. Tech. 341 16242 University of Minnesota 211 10673 Georgia Tech 234 10614 ICT 198 10255 Imperial College 222 10096 University of Texas 171 9867 University of Alberta 222 9808 University of Cal/Berkeley 177 8999 University of Cal/Davis 165 87410 University of Delaware 191 784

(Prof. Jude Sommerfeld, 22 Jan. 2012)

GLOBAL RECOGNITION

ICT ranked #4 in global rankings of chemical engineering

institutes


RECOGNITION

Goyal award for ICT Vice-Chancellor

Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT, is one of six scientists to be presented with the Goyal Awards,

instituted by late Shri Ram S. Goyal,at a function held at Kurukshetra University in Kurukshetra on April 7.

The awards, instituted in 1992, were presented by Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science and

Technology (DST), Government of India.

Others who received the award, which included a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh each, a medal and citation are:

• Dr. V. K. Singh, Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal;

• Dr. Narendra Tuteja, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi; and

• Dr. Utpal Sarkar, Dr. A.K. Singhvi and Dr. J. N. Goswami from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad.

In addition, three young

scientists – Dr. N. Yayaraman

& S. K. Sathoesh, Indian

Institute of Science, Bangalore

and Dr. S. Ganesh, Indian

Institute of Technology, Kanpur

– received the ‘Rajib Goyal

Yuva Award,’ which included a

cash prize of Rs.50,000,

besides a medal and citation.

Goyal Puraskar 2012 received by Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice Chancellor, ICT

from Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, DST

Two awards for Dr. B. Bhanage

The Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) Bronze medal for

contributions in research was presented to Dr. B. Bhanage, Head, Department

of Chemistry, ICT.

The award was presented by Prof. S. Chandrasekaran, President,

CRSI,during 14th National Symposium in Chemistry (NSC-14) held at

Thiruvananthapuram from Feb 2-4, 2012.

The Indian Speciality Chemicals Manufacturers’ Association (ISCMA)

presented Dr. Bhanage with the ‘Outstanding Professor Award’ for the year

2012. The award was given by Mr. Nadir Godrej,Managing Director, Godrej

Industries Ltd.

The citation presented highlighted Dr.Bhanage’s contributions to the area

of catalysis, methodologies for carbon dioxide utilisation etc.


IIChE honours two alumni for research work

Two of our alumni, Mr. Prasad R.Pangarkar (MChem 2000) and Dr. Rajaram S.Ghadge (MChem 2000, PhD2004) received the prestigious ‘NOCIL Award for Excellence in Design or Development of Process Plant andEquipment’, instituted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE).

The awards were presented at 64th Annual Chemical Engineering Congress (CHEMCON - 2011) held inBangalore inDecember 2011.

The award was in recognition of their research work on ‘Degradation of PTA effluent using membrane bio-reactor’ for which they have also been granted a patent.


Mr. Prasad Pangarkar receiving the

award

Dr. Rajaram S. Ghadge receiving the award

Visit

www.udctalumni.org.in

for the

latest development

at ICT & UAA

The Chemical Web goes from strength to strength

The student-editors of The Chemical Web (TCW) presented the progress on their website to the Board ofGovernors of UAA and also the plans for ensuring continuity (as some of them would be leaving ICT upongraduation).

They also explained the tremendous response that they have received and their plans for expanding to otherChemical technology institutes.

The BOG was impressed at the quality of the website and appreciated that the students could do this on theirown, and without asking for the support that was assured to them by the BOG

The BOG also placed on record the appreciation of the professionalism that the students have shown byupdating the BOG on the status of TCW from time to time.

CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

UAA BOG officials meet with Ahmedabad chapter

Two members of the Board of Governors (BOG) of the UAA, Mr. LalitChadha and Mr. V.Y. Sane, Hon. Treasurer,met with members of the Ahmedabad Chapter of the UAA at a half-day meeting held in Ahmedabad on 8 April.

About 35 members from the Ahmedabad Chapter attended the interactive meeting, which included a presentationby Mr. Chadha on the plans of ICT and UAA in the coming months.

A visit to the Ankleshwar Chapter of UAA is planned for August 2012.


NEWS BRIEFS

Recent developments at the UAA

Amendments to the UAA constitution

A committee has been constituted by the UAA to seek suggestions for amending the constitution in a time-bound manner. Dr. S.V. Mehendale, Member, BOG, is spearheading this initiative and the idea is to have afar-sighted and contemporary constitution, which will stand the test of time.

Heads of Departments invited to attend BOG meetings

It has been the practice for the last few months to invite Heads of Departments to attend the BOG meetingson a rotational basis. This is further better interactions between the UAA and ICT.

UAA website sees steady updates

The website of the UAA is seeing steady updates thanks to the efforts of BOG member Dr.UdayLajmi and histeam of developers. More changes are forthcoming making the website interactive and informative.

Prof. E.H.Daruwalla, who was Director of ICT from September1971 toOctober 1983, passed away on 17 March 2012 at the age of 88. He leavesbehind his wife and two daughters.

Prof. Daruwalla was a walking encyclopedia of Textile Chemistry,one ofthe most decorated researchers of his time, and above all, a superb teacher.

After his BSc (Tech) and MSc (Tech) from ICT, he got a Ph.D. fromManchester and returned to teach at his Alma Mater. His research oncellulose chemistry and reactive dyes laid the foundations for severalnew developments in the textile mills and opened up new research areas.

He was awarded the ‘Gold Medal’ by the Society of Dyers and Colorists(UK) for his outstanding contribution to the science of coloration – the firstIndian to be so decorated.

He was a consultant to most of the modern mills of the last millennium. After retirement from ICT, he was aconsultant to the Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA), Rossari Biotech, Century Mills, amongstother companies.

He and his wife were known for their benevolence, and especially their work with blind students.

May his soul rest in peace!

Mr. Subhash Bhere no more

Mr. Subhash Ganpat Bhere, who has been working with UAA as Peon for the past 15 years passed away on15th April 2012, after an emergency operation for spinal surgery at Shushrusha Citizen’s Co-op. Hospital Ltd.,Mumbai.

Mr. Bhere was working for the UAA for more than 15 years.

The UAA, which helped his family at the time of the surgery, plans to assist his family in an appropriatemanner.

IN MEMORIAM

Prof. E.H. Daruwalla – former Director, ICT & eminent textile

chemist passes away


Please forward youremail-id and mobile numbers

to UAA office for fastercommunication.

Dr. Kalpagam Polasa, Head, Food and Drug Toxicology Research Centre, National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR),

Hyderabad, delivered the ‘Prof. A. Sreenivasan Felicitation Lecture’ on Feb. 22, 2012 at ICT. The topic of her

presentation was ‘Innovations in Food Safety – Challenges and Opportunities including Nanotechnological

Applications.’

Dr. Polasa pointed out that food safety is a worldwide concern affecting every life, be it human or animal

health, and also well-being. But the issues in developed and developing countries vary. In developed nations

the major food safety issues are those concerned to application of newer technologies, emerging pathogen

outbreaks and those occurring due to climatic changes. In developing countries, on the other hand, willful

adulterations, famine, drought, lack ofmodern infrastructural facilities, access to potable water and afflictions

by food-borne pathogens are serious issues confronting consumers.

There are also differences in the way food is processed and distributed, according to Dr. Polasa. In developing

countries food production, processing and marketing systems are complex, with many small producers and

fragmentation. As a consequence, food passes through many handlers and middlemen, exposing it to

unhygienic environment, contamination and adulteration. Furthermore, storage facilities are inadequate and

poor: there is shortage of safe water, electricity and cold storage and transport facilities. The majority of food

producers and handlers lack knowledge and expertise of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), as also food

safety and handling practices.

ICT ACTIVITIES

Innovations in food safety highlighted

NEW MEMBERS

Welcome to UAA

The Board of Governors of the UAA is pleased to welcome the following new life members (inducted sinceJan 2012).

Name Section Year of passing Work affiliation

Mr. K.W. Tembhurnikar B.Sc. (Tech), Pharmaceutical 2003

Mr.C. Devarajan B.Sc. (Tech), Dyes 1998 FMC India R&D

Mr. D.B. Pawar M. Tech, Bioprocess Tech. 2006 Serum Institute of India

Dr. V.S. Padalkar Ph.D.Sc., Organic Chemistry 2011

Dr. R.A. Khare B.Tech. (Dyes) 2006 Reliance Industries Ltd.

Mr.Bharat Sharma B.Tech. (Textiles) 1986

Dr. (Ms) L.P. Devendra Chem.Eng.,Ph.D (Science) 2011

Dr. S.N. Huddar Ph.D. (Science) 2011 Syngene International P.Ltd.

Mr. V.T. Jagtap Patil Chem. Eng. 1990

Dr. J.P. Tandale Chem. Eng. 2012

Mr. C.N. Kachhadia Dyestuff Technology 1979 Gharda Chemicalsa Ltd.


Dr. Ashok Malte

Dr. Ashok Malte, who retired from Gharda Chemicals Ltd., delivered the ‘K.Venkataraman Lectures’ on February6, 2012.

Dr. Malte delivered two talks on ‘Water Usage Alternatives’ and ‘Chemistry and Process Development.’

Prof. (Dr). Kanjaksha) Ghosh

Prof. (Dr).Kanjaksha Ghosh, Director, National Institute of Immunohaematology (ICMR), Mumbai, deliveredthe ‘Prof. V. M. Kulkarni Endowment Lecture’ on the subject ‘Pharmacotherapy of sickle cell anemia: whyIndian pharmaceutical industry is silent.’

Dr. Susheel Durani

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology organized the ‘Prof. S.K. Pradhan EndowmentLecture’ on April 27, 2012. Dr. Susheel Durani, Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT-Bombay, spoke on‘Chemical Interactions and Biomolecular Ontogeny: The Puzzles of Stereochemistry and Symmetry in ProteinStructure.’

Dr. S. Sreenivasan

The ‘Class of 1966 Visiting Fellowship’ lecture was delivered by Dr. S. Sreenivasan, Former Director, CentralInstitute For Research on Cotton Technology, on ‘Current status of Indian cotton and its potential and prospectsfor diversified utilization.’

The event was organized by the Department of Fibres & Textile Processing Technology, on April 20, 2012.

Dr. A.N. Desai

The ‘L.N.Chemical-ICT Diamond Jubilee Visiting Fellowship’ lecture was delivered by Dr. A.N. Desai, Director,Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA), on the topic ‘Disruptive technologies in textiles,’ at theDepartment of Fibres & Textile Processing Technology, on April 20, 2012.

Dr. Sasikumar Menon

The Asian and Mid-East Institute of Chemists in collaboration with ICT conducted the ‘Dr. P.S.RamanathanMemorial Lecture, on 5 May 2012. Dr. Sasikumar Menon delivered a lecture on the topic ‘Challenges inBioanalysis: A GLP compliance perspective.’

Prof. P. Thyagarajan

The ‘Prof. B.D. Tilak Visiting Fellowship Lecture’ was delivered by Prof. P. Thyagarajan, Pro-Chancellor(Research),Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, at ICT on May 11. The topic of his presentation was ‘Herbaldrugs as blockbusters: the way forward.’

IN BRIEF

They also visited & enriched ICT ….


STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Exergy 2012 – more than just a festival

EXERGY 2012 held in January 2012, reaffirmed its status at the country’s premier chemical technologyfestival with more than 5000 participants from across the country.

The theme this year was Water – with the problemexamined from technical and managerialperspectives

The technical part of the festival included paper &poster presentations, industry defined problems andquiz. Non-technical events included testing ofmanagerial skills, and ad-making contest and acrime scene investigation!

The Model Indian Parliament was anotherinnovation, in which participants engaged in a debateon a range of water-related issues in India.

It was also the first time that the festival moved beyond the traditional technical and non-technical events andconceptualized two new initiatives that have potential to becoming enduring fixtures of future events:

• The EXERGY MasterClass andLecture Series – a series of distinctivelectures which had a resoundingresponse.Eminent persons such asProf. S.S. Bhagwat, Prof. A.M. Lali,Prof. V.A. Juvekar, Mr. Chitanya Joshi,Mr. U. Sekhar, Dr. Rajiv Basargekar,and Dr. SurendraKulkarni enthralled theaudience with their presentations.

• Yatn – the social initiative. Themarquee event was Lehar (Jan 6-7), abeach clean-up drive in which 120volunteers collected over 200-kg ofgarbage in a massive operationsspanning three beaches in Mumbai.

EXERGY 2012 also featured PETADishoom!, the youth wing of PETA India,the iconic organization that promoteshumane treatment of animals. Over 300students signed the PETA petition againstanimal cruelty.


COMPANY PROFILE

Chembond Chemicals Limited

Chembond Chemicals Limited manufactures a diverse range of specialtychemicals like water treatment, metal treatment, construction chemicals, highperformance coatings and industrial biotech products. The company hasexcellent infrastructure facilities like a well equipped R & D laboratory, multipleregional offices and production plants, well trained personnel and referencesacross several business segments from the best known companies in thefield.

Established in 1975, Chembond Chemicals also holds the prestige of being listed on the Bombay StockExchange since 1995. The Group now has a large work force comprising skilled and trained professionals.The Revenue has seen a consistent rise, since the time of inception; and given the performance of thecompany, this number continues to maintain its upswing.

In 1997, the Group entered its first Joint Venture with Henkel, Germany, for metal pre-treatment chemicals. Itentered into another Joint Venture in the year 2001 with Ashland Incorporated, USA for water treatmentchemicals. In 2006, the Group established a new plant at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. The plant at Dudhwadain Gujarat, was set up shortly afterwards, in 2008.

Ending the first decade of the millennium on a high note, Chembond signed a Joint Venture with H2O InnovationIncorporated, Canada – offering equipment solutions for water treatment, and also built another plant atSitarganj, Uttrakhand.

Chembond expertly delivers advanced solutions to some of the largest and also some of the smallest businessesacross India and across a wide cross section of industries, enabling them to succeed in their businessspheres.

Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd.

Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd. founded in 1987 by Shri. V. D. Sanghavi to offer ChemicalEngineering Consultancy Services. Company has grown from 3 engineers to 1900+engineers and is well known in Oil & Gas Industry, Telecom & Piping Industry,Infrastructure and Petrochemical plants. Offering Technical Staffing Solutions.

Aarvi is at present involved in offering detailed engineering services to M/s. Indian Oil.Bostik, Deepak Fertilizers and Yashdeep Chemicals among others

The company won National Award, CDC Award for Excellence in Design, PPMAI Award, Star SME Awardfrom Business Today sponsored by YES Bank. Shri. V. D. Sanghavi received NOCIL award from IndianInstitute of Chemical Engineers and Distinguished Aluminus Award from UDCT Alumini Association in 2012as first Generation Entrepreneur.

Company can be contacted at [email protected] and has offices at many cities of India



With Best Compliments

from

Kishor Rathi