uaa bulletin - vol 17 - ii - dec 2012

UAAAnnual Day Celebrations

UDCT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (UAA)ICT, Matunga, Mumbai-400 019

Saturday 22nd December 2012

PROGRAMME

11.00 a.m. onwards Gathering of Alumni in various Departments,

till 5.00 p.m. visit to ICT Labs, interaction with current

and old faculty – co-ordination by HODs

6.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m. Registration and Tea

6.30 p.m. - 6.35 p.m. Welcome by Dr. V. G. Habbu

Sr. Vice President, UAA

6.35 p.m. - 6.45 p.m. Address by Professor G.D. Yadav,

Vice Chancellor, ICT

6.45 p.m. - 6.55 p.m. Address by Professor A.B. Pandit,

President, UAA

6.55 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. Celebrations by ICTians of 1962, 1987

and 2002 Batches

7.30 p.m. - 8.30 p.m. Entertainment

8.30 p.m. - 8.35 p.m. Vote of thanks by Dr. S. T. Mhaske

Hon. Secretary, UAA

8.35 p.m. onward Dinner

1 UAA Annual Day Celebrations 22nd December, 2012


This edition of the UAA Bulletin – the last for the year – profiles some of ICT’s

most distinguished alumnus, who have made a mark – in India and

internationally – in academia, science & technology (S&T) development,

industrial development and in diverse professional endeavours.

The winners of the ‘2012 Distinguished Alumnus Awards’ bring home the point

that ICT’ians serve industry, academia and broader society in many diverse ways. We have a

Pharmacy Post-graduate guiding the investments of millions of dollars by way of private equity and

venture capital; we have another alumnus spearheading efforts at a Fortune 500 company in the

area of intellectual property; and yet another whose many achievements include novel materials

that make for safer and more effective stents for clogged arteries!

Two of our stalwarts – Prof. M.M. Sharma and Dr. A.V. Rama Rao– have been honoured with

‘Lifetime Achievement Awards’ by the Indian Chemical Council – the premier chemical industry

association in the country – for their outstanding contributions to the development of the chemical

industry and to R&D.

Another ‘young’ alumnus – Dr. Ashish Lele – has been bestowed with the ‘Infosys Award’ instituted

by the eponymous software giant and this is particularly noteworthy. That a software company

chooses to promote and reward scientific endeavours in unrelated areas speaks volumes of their

abiding interest in S&T development and is Corporate Social Responsibility at its best. The award

is most generous – even by global standards!

The diversity of achievements of ICT alumni is commendable and deserves to be celebrated!

Entering the eighth decade

The recently held Foundation Day celebrations (Nov. 24) marked the beginning of the 80th year of

ICT and what better way to kick-start the celebrations than to honour those who contributed to its

development. It was most touching to see the descendants of some of ICT’s earliest directors and

faculty come to receive accolades for institution building.

At the celebrations the ICT Vice-Chancellor stressed the need to grow beyond the Matunga campus,

if the plans that have been tentatively chalked out are to be realised. This will be a big challenge,

but the response from the Maharashtra government gives reasons to be optimistic of this dream

being realised in the not too distant future.

Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, ICT Chancellor, and himself an alumnus, points out that great institutions are

separated from the good by the way in which they engage alumni and get them to contribute to

development. The ICT has a long tradition of such participation by alumnus – perhaps unparalleled

in India. This must be enhanced many-fold!

Thank you for reading and best wishes for a prosperous New Year!

EDITORIAL

Making a mark – across disciplines, and across the world

Fellow alumni, as I pen down my third message as a President, it is both, exciting

and a bit overwhelming to consider the future, the challenges and opportunities

ahead and how to move forward. I would take this opportunity to welcome the

alumni, who have completed 10, 25 and 50 years of their association with ICT and

would be celebrating this occasion on 22nd December, 2012.

The new Board of Governors has continued. The team has representation from all

the departments of the ICT and this has helped in identifying universally acceptable

projects for the benefits of the institute in general.

UAA continues to enhance its efforts in a focused manner by reviewing the proposed activities in every

meeting in the form of Action Taken Report (ATR) which is now an integral part of the Minutes of the

Meeting. The initiative proposed by Dr. Vijay Habbu, Senior Vice President, has started making the

BOG meeting more professional and target based, which is a good sign for the Association. Thanks to

the sustained efforts by the Director, Prof. G. D. Yadav and continued active participation of members

of BOG, we have been able to increase our membership significantly. Thanks are also due to various

chapters of UAA in initiating a number of activities. The various sub-committees of BOG have been

meeting regularly and achieving targeted activities.

The initiative started by the UAA in helping needy students of the ICT through need based loan

scholarships has received overwhelming response. I would like to put on record many fellow Alumni

who have spontaneously come forward to assist this initiative through generous donations, which has

allowed UAA to distribute more than Rs.5 lakh to the needy students this year. We plan to double this to

Rs.10 lakh in the coming year. With increased fees (more than Rs.50,000/-) and hostel expenses, this

has become a necessity.

I would like to welcome the 1987 batch and also 1962 batch, who will be celebrating their silver and

golden Jubilee this year. Exciting interaction programmes have been planned this year on 22nd December

- the UAA Annual Day.

Thanking you all for your support and expecting your continued co-operation.

Here’s wishing you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2013!

Prof. A. B. Pandit

President, UAA

President’s Message


Please forward your

email-id and mobile numbers

to UAA office for faster

communication.


The UAA Distinguished Alumnus Awards 2012 in the categories of Academics, Professional achievementsand Science and Technology were presented to a galaxy of past students at ICT in the presence of Mr.Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher & Technical Education and Energy, Government of Maharashtra, and theICT Chancellor, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar.

CATEGORY: ACADEMICS

Prof. C.K.J. Henry

A distinguished Food Technologist, Prof. Henry developed a postgraduate MSc course in food technologyand nutrition at Oxford Brookes University, UK and similar courses at University of Makerere, Uganda andHacetteppe University, Turkey.

He was the Founding Director of the functional food centre in Oxford, the first private-public partnership fortesting, evaluation and development of functional foods. He has five books and 200 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, predominantly in the interface of food technology with nutrition, and holdspatents for the development of ready-to-eat therapeutic foods for malnourished children.

CATEGORY: PROFESSIONAL

Dr. Rajendra G. Sardesai [B.Chem. Engg., 1975]

Dr. Sardesai received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, and is presentlyVice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel of Avery Dennison Corporation, a Fortune 500 companywith over 30,000 employees, an annual turnover of over US$6-bn and operations in over 60 countries aroundthe world, including India.

FOUNDATION DAY

UAA Distinguished Alumnus Awards presented

Dr. Rajendra G. Sardesai receiving the UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award fromProfessor A. B. Pandit.


Professor A. B. Pandit presenting the UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award to Mr. A. D. Ingrole.

Mr. Nitin Deshmukh receiving the UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award fromProfessor A. B. Pandit.


At Avery Dennison, Dr. Sardesai manages a team of lawyers and legal professionals who handle IPR mattersworldwide. Prior to this, Dr. Sardesai worked at a major law firm in Los Angeles where he specialized inrepresenting chemical and high technology companies with a focus on patent litigation, patent prosecutionand helping them develop, protect and exploit their intellectual property portfolio.

Mr. A.D. Ingrole [B.Chem. Engg., 1977]

Mr. lngrole has more than 30 years of experience in the oleochemical industry in lndia and Malaysia and hascontributed to the development of some of the world’s largest palm oil processing companies by providingleadership in technical functions, developing business strategies, overseeing and monitoring implementationof projects in terms of budgets and timelines, leading innovation and exploring new initiatives.

Mr. Nitin Deshmukh [M.Pharm.]

Mr. Deshmukh is the founding member of the Private Equity practice at Kotak and has played a pivotal role inbuilding the business to a size of US$1.4-bn currentlyunder management at Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd.

With over 20 years of experience in Venture Capital (VC) & Private Equity (PE) investing, Nitin has seen thegrowth of the VC and PE space to being one of the most preferred financing vehicles in the country today.

He has led and managed investments in over 80 companies, a significant number of which have grown at ascorching pace attaining leadership position in their respective sectors.

Mr. Subhash Mali [B.Chem. Engg., 1975]

Mr. Mali has supervised the development and implementation of many innovative result-oriented technologiesin the areas of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) related to efficient processes/operations and forimprovement of productivity. He is credited with many firsts including development of polymer matrix forenzyme immobilisation, enzymatic synthesis of therapeutically important drugs, initiation of NCE developmentprogrammes and development upto pre-clinical trials.

His innovations are protected by 12 patents filed till date (10 in India and two in USA).

Professor A. B. Pandit presenting the UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award to Mr. Subhash Mali.


Mr. Pankaj Shah [B.Chem. Engg., 1977]

Mr. Shah earned his Masters in Chemical Engineering at Ohio State University (Columbus) in1979; and an

MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

He is currently Regional Director for Americas Sales at UOP (Chicago, USA). Over his three decades at the

company he has worked on areas such as process and catalyst development; project development; managing

outside funded contracts; selling technology, catalyst and equipment in the refining, petrochemical, gas and

renewables fuels markets.

Mr. Shah has been supporting six under-graduate scholarships of Rs.1 lakh each every year for deserving

students at ICT.

CATEGORY: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Dr. Kishore Udipi [M.Sc. (Tech), Paint Technology]

Dr. Udipi received his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Akron and subsequently worked at

Princeton University as a NASA postdoctoral fellow.

He has had a successful industrial career spanning over 30 years, during which he worked in and led

projects in wide ranging areas as biomaterials, drug delivery, polymeric coatings, implantable polymers,

polymer syntheses, polymer blends and alloys, among others.

He is the co-inventor of the BioLinx Polymer System employed in Endeavor Resolute, Medtronic’s second

generation drug eluting stent. He has been awarded several US and international patents, and has authored

>30 papers in peer reviewed journals.

Dr. Kishore Udipi receiving the UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award fromProfessor A. B. Pandit.


Dr. Navnit H. Shah [B.Sc. (Tech), Pharmaceuticals & Fine Chemicals, 1970]

Dr. Shah received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the College of Pharmacy, St. John’s University (New

York, NY) and has worked since 1988 as Distinguished Research Leader, Pharmaceutical Research and

Development, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.

He supervises and directs a professional staff of 17 scientists and 3 technicians in the development of all oral

dosage forms (tablets, capsules, solutions, suspensions, controlled release dosage forms), including new

and line extension products and drug delivery systems.

He has published over 70 papers, and is author/co-author of 33 US and international patents.

Prof. Roshan Shishoo [B.Sc. (Tech), Textiles, 1963]

Prof. Roshan Shishoo obtained his PhD in Textile Technology at Chalmers University, Sweden, and was

professor in Fibre Technology at the university until 2002. He was also the Director of Research at the

Swedish Institute for Textile Research (TEFO) (later to become the Swedish Institute for Fibre and Polymer

Research, IFP) from 1982 to 1992, during which period he reoriented the priorities of TEFO from traditional

textiles towards technical textiles.

After his retirement, Prof. Shishoo established his own company Shishoo Consulting AB in Gothenburg

Sweden, with a focus on R&D and business development strategies in the textile industry, with particular

reference to technical textiles.

He planned and edited three recently published books on topics related to technical textiles.

UAA matters in brief

A ‘Constitution Committee’ headed by Dr. S.V. Mehendale, Member, BOG, is currently in

the process of revising the constitution of the UAA and has met several times. A draft

constitution is under preparation under his guidance, with inputs from other members of the

committee including Mr. J. R. Shah, Mr. Lalit Chadha and Mr. S. M. Mokashi.

The website of the UAA is currently under development. The project is being spearheaded

by Dr. Uday Lajmi with the assistance of Dr. Parag Gogate.

New Life members added

Mr. S. M. Patil (M.Chem) (2000)

Dr. D. M. Benival, Ph.D. Tech. (2011) (Pharma)

Dr. V. S. Naik Nimbalkar (Chem.Eng.) (2011)

Dr. N. A. Mali, Ph.D.Tech. (2011) (Chem Eng)

Dr. A. P. Durve, Ph.D. (2011) (Chem Eng.)


FOUNDATION DAY

ICT must mentor five more institutes of education & research:

Minister

Mr. Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher & Technical Education and Energy, Government of Maharashtra, hasurged the ICT to mentor other institutes to promote the cause of higher education and research in the stateof Maharashtra. “I urge you to assist in the development of five institutions in the next five years,” Mr. Topesaid while speaking at the Foundation Day celebrations where he was the Chief Guest.

Responding to a request from the ICT Vice-Chancellor, Prof. G.D. Yadav, for facilitating the allocation of landfor a satellite campus of ICT, Mr. Tope assured the audience that he would place three options before the ICTmanagement. He also promised to do his utmost for the allocation of a special grant to ICT to aid campusdevelopment and added that the State government has now authorised the filling of all vacant positions atthe institute. “A Government Resolution to this effect will be issued shortly,” he added.

Earlier, ICT Chancellor, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, urged the ICT to create a vision and roadmap for the next 20years. “The India 20 years from now will be very different from the India of today. There is a need to focus onexcellence and relevance to the nation,” he noted.

Dr. Mashelkar also urged ICT to not rest on the laurels that it has earned. “There is a need to go beyond bestpractices …. To the next practices.”

He also called for greater participation of alumni in governance of ICT and observed that this singularlydistinguished great universities such as Harvard from the rest of the pack.

Earlier, Prof. Yadav noted that many of the endowments that have been created in the past are now beingreplenished thanks to the support of the agencies and persons who created these in the past.

Mr. Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher & Technical Education and Energy, Government ofMaharashtra, inauguating the Prof. M.M. Sharma Library.


Mr. Rajesh Tope speaking at the function.

Prof. M.M. Sharma, former Director, ICT, who recently turned 75, was felicitated on the occasion. The library,named in his honour, was also inaugurated at the hands of Mr. Tope.

Stars of ICT felicitated

A number of alumni and former faculty were also felicitated at the event, which marked the beginning of the80th year celebrations of the institute. These included Prof. K. Venkatraman, Dr. Anji Reddy, Dr. K.H. Gharda,Prof. M.M. Sharma, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Dr. D.M. Trivedi, Dr. G.P. Kane, Dr. J.G. Kane, Mr. Mukesh Ambaniand Dr. A.V. Rama Rao.

Professor M. M. Sharma being felicitated by Dr. R. A. Mashelkar.


The 2nd RIL-ICT Alumni e-club get-together took place at Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) on Saturday, 8th

Sept 2012. Around 40 (out of 123) members of the e-club participated.

The get-together was preceded by an interesting talk on ‘Hydrodynamic Cavitation’ by Prof. Pandit that was

open to non-alumni as well.

Later, Prof. A.B. Pandit, President, UAA, briefed about the activities of the association, with an appeal to all

alumni to become life members. Prof. G.D. Yadav, Director, ICT, spoke about the transformations taking

place at the institute.

Dr. V.G. Habbu, Member, Board of Governors, UAA, presented a short introduction to RIL ICT e-club and its

activities. The RIL-ICT e-club sends out a monthly e-newsletter featuring recent happenings at ICT and RIL.

The newsletter also highlights achievements of not only RIL-ICT alumni, but also their family.

INTERACTION

ICT alumni at Reliance Industries get together

Participants at the RIL-ICT Alumni e-club get-together.

BOOK RELEASE

‘Textile processing industry needs to opt for cleaner technologies’

The textile processing industry and the broader chemical industry need to switch over to safer and greener

technologies, in order to minimise its impact on the environment.

This was stated by Padma Vibhushan Prof. M. M. Sharma, Former Director, ICT, at a function to market the

release of a book on ‘Textiles and The Environment’ by Mr. C. N. Sivaramakrishnan (CNS) on 14 September

2012 at ICT.


Prof. G. D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT also spoke on the occasion and lauded the work of CNS on his

second book and stressed the need for more technical books.

Options for pollution prevention and treatment

This book is a collation and assimilation of various technological options related to effluent treatment and

pollution prevention for the textile processing industry.

CNS’s first book on ‘Specialty Chemicals for Textiles’ received tremendous response from industry and is

used by many textile processors and chemical technologists.

In a foreword, Dr. Vijay G. Habbu, Chief – R&D and Product Stewardship (Polyester), Reliance Technology

Group, Reliance Industries Ltd., pointed out that the book emphases the chemical processing technology

and not the textile/yarn making technology, as the former is more a cause of the harm to the environment.

“Thus, you will find topics on the chemical preparatory processes, dyeing, printing, chemical finishing covered

in full details. CNS then discusses at length the various natural resources that can be affected by the extant

textile processes, water being the obvious and most important.”

The final section of the book, gives information on the laws and regulations in force in various countries,

either through their governments, or through other pressure sources. “This is a very dynamic space, as the

list of chemicals and their approved limits for release will keep on changing with the evolving knowledge

about their effects and also with evolving sense of practicality,’ Dr. Habbu wrote in the foreword.

Water reuse in textile industry

The book release function was followed by a technical lecture on ‘Water Reuse in Textile Industry’ by Mr.

Ajay Popat, CEO, Ion Exchange Waterleau.

Mr. Popat spoke on various effluent treatment technologies available and presented successful case studies.

Prof. M. M. Sharma (centre) releasing the book.Also seen: Mr. C. N. Sivaramakrishnan (left) and Prof. G. D. Yadav.


I remember Prof. M.M. Sharma would walk in the classroomwith his hands in his pocket, would take a piece of chalk, go tothe board and give a scholarly lecture without ever referringto any notes. He was simply dazzling.

I studied chemical engineering in the early sixties in what wasthen a University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT).It has risen to the status of a full-fledged university and hasnow been named as Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT).As its alumnus, I feel proud that I am its first chancellor.

I finished my bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in1966. Prof. Sharma was my teacher during my undergraduatedays. The top ranking students from ICT always used to gethandsome PhD fellowships from some of the most reputedschools from the US. I had received four such fellowship offersand was all set to go abroad. But then I said to myself, ‘Wherein the world could I get a better guru than Prof. Sharma?’

So I broke the tradition and did my PhD under Prof. Sharma.He had a transformative influence both on my work and life.

So what was the first lesson I learnt from him?

Idea-based research

ICT those days was an institution with no sophisticated equipment and with a contingency money for doingresearch of just Rs.17,000 per year. So with no equipment and no money, how do you do your research?Prof. Sharma said, “Money does not matter. Ideas matter.”

He taught to me how to do idea-based research. Prof. Sharma was to later (1990) become the first engineeringscientist from India to be honoured with Fellowship of Royal Society (FRS). This is considered to be one ofthe highest honours after the Nobel Prize. I was honoured with FRS too in 1998 for the research that I didafter returning to National Chemical Laboratory in 1976.

In fact, we are the only ‘guru-chela’ combination in the history of Indian science, who both became FRS.Incidentally, only three engineering scientists have received this honour in over 350 years.

Ethics in science

The second lesson was about ethics in science. While doing PhD with him, he refused to put his name onone of my papers and said, ‘All ideas are yours. I have not contributed.” And he showed such ethics withseveral other students.

Commitment to students

The third lesson was of exceptional commitment to his duty to the students. I remember an instance wherehis young son had tragically passed away. Within 24 hours, he sent a message to his Ph.D. student J.K.Gehlawat asking him to send the draft of his thesis for correction. He did not want Gehlawat’s submission ofhis thesis delayed. This was in the time of an incredible personal tragedy.

Positions do not matter

The fourth lesson was that in life, positions do not matter. Prof Sharma was offered the position of DirectorGeneral of CSIR, the position of Secretary to Government of India in science departments. He refused themall. He remained a Professor all his life. India honoured this great Professor with Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

TRIBUTE

‘For him, money did not matter, ideas did’

Dr Mashelkar talks about how his teacher Prof.M.M. Sharma had influence on his

work and life

Commitment to excellence

The fifth lesson was about the importance of uncompromising commitment to excellence, ethics, principlesand big generosity of heart. I remember calling him on telephone from London when I got the news of mybecoming FRS. He cried with joy. As I kept on growing higher, he would say, “I am so happy. Guru se chelasawai” (protégé smarter than his own teacher).

I consider myself to be so fortunate that in my life I had Prof. Sharma, the most exceptional of exceptionalsons of India, as my guru, guide, friend and philosopher.

[Published in the Pune Edition of the Daily News & Analysis, DNA, on Teacher’s Day]


Following its success in the UK, The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Institute of Chemical Technology(ICT) and the British Council organised ‘Chem Careers India’ in Mumbai on 20 October 2012 at ICT.

ChemCareers, known as “the careers fair with a difference,” was held for the first time outside the UK andhighlighted varied careers open to graduates in the area of chemical sciences. It provided Indian companiesthe opportunity to network and meet potential graduates for recruitment and gave graduates the opportunityto explore career and study options available to them.

As part of the event, several activities including a day-long symposium on career opportunities, exhibition byindustry and presentations by companies which are interested in recruiting students were held.

Through the event, selected Graduates, Post-graduates and PhDs from all leading institutes had a chanceto:

� Discover the wide range of career opportunities available;

� Listen to lectures from industry and academia;

� Receive expert advice on writing a résumé and interview techniques;

� Explore further study options; and

� Network with employers and other chemical scientists.

The symposium included talks/lectures on emerging and current job opportunities in chemical sectors suchas pharma, energy, personal care and petrochemicals and development of soft skills such as resume writingfor graduates and tips on how to face interviews.

Companies that participated at the event included: Tata Chemicals, Rave Technologies, PNQ Companies,Viswaat, Givaudan, L’Oreal, Shell, Godrej, BASF and Reliance Industries.

EVENTS AT ICT

ChemCareers India: UK Careers Fair comes to ICT

The Bombay Technologist, the Journal of the Technological Association, an initiative of the students, is nowavailable online. The 2010-2011 edition of the publication (Volume 60-61), is the first ever volume to goonline and marks a new chapter in the publication of the journal that has so far been available only in print.

The journal has traditionally given a glimpse of the efforts, interests and understanding of the students at ICT.

Enjoy reading it at: http://ictmumbai.edu.in/StudentActiviesFile/merged_document.pdf

KEEPING WITH THE TIMES

‘Bombay Technologist’ goes online


The 66th Independence Day of India was

cheerfully celebrated in the morning of August

15 at ICT, with the former President of the UAA,

Mr. S.M. Mokashi, acting as Chief Guest.

After the emotional flag-hoisting ceremony, a

musical programme was organized wherein

students of ICT sang patriotic songs. The

function then moved to the K.V. Auditorium,

wherein Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT

and chief guest, Mr. Mokashi, addressed the

gathering comprising students and faculty.

The message that came across from both

speakers was that the country needs

innovation for sustainable and successful

growth.

Prof. Yadav also announced various new

fellowships that will be available for the

students of ICT.

In the afternoon lunch was organized in boys

and girls hostel mess for all students, non-

teaching staff, faculty and their family

members.

INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS

Innovation is key for a successful future: S. M. Mokashi

Prof. G.D. Yadav and Mr. S.M. Mokashi at the flag hoisting.

Mr. S.M. Mokashi addressing students & faculty.


Two of ICT’s most distinguished alumni – Prof. M.M. Sharma and Dr. A.V. Rama Rao – have been honouredwith lifetime achievement awards by the Indian Chemical Council (ICC), the premier association of theIndian chemical industry.

The awards were presented at a glittering function attended by a galaxy of senior executives from the chemicalindustry in Mumbai on October 12.

RECOGNITION

ICC Lifetime Achievement Awards for

Prof. Sharma & Dr. A. V. Rama Rao

Prof. Sharma, who was the former Director of ICT and is one of the most distinguished chemical engineersthe country has produced, received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the ICC, in recognition of hisoutstanding contributions to the growth of the Indian chemical industry, and the ICC.

Dr. Rama Rao, who went on to become Director, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), and Chairman,Avra Synthesis P. Ltd., received the ‘ICC D. M. Trivedi Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution toChemical Industry,’ in the area of ‘Education & Research’.

The UAA congratulates them for adding one more laurel to their distinguished careers.

Prof. M.M. Sharma receiving the‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from Mr.Ashok Ganguly, Member, RajyaSabha.

Dr. A.V. Rama Rao receiving the ‘ICCD.M. Trivedi Lifetime AchievementAward’ from Mr. Ashok Ganguly,Member, Rajya Sabha.


Infosys Technology Award for Dr. Ashish Lele

ICT Alumnus, Dr. Ashish Lele, now at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL),Pune has been awarded the ‘Infosys Prize for Engineering and Computer Science.’

The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 50-lakh and a citation.

The recognition comes for his incisive contributions in molecular tailoring of stimuliresponsive smart polymeric gels; exploring the anomalous behavior of rheologicallycomplex fluids, and for building the bridge between macromolecular dynamicsand polymer processing.

The thrust of Dr. Lele’s research has been the deep probing of polymeric material microstructures at themolecular and mesoscopic length scales, and then relating these to their macroscopic dynamical andequilibrium properties.

His work on smart hydrogels – water swollen cross-linked networks of polymers that respond to stimuli suchas temperature, electrical field, etc., and undergo volume phase transitions – demonstrated for the first time,macroscopic self-organization of these polymers. The work revealed the process of how the hydrogel cylinderspontaneously self-organized into a coconut-like structure, which could also be reversed. He also showedthat the metal ion complexion with specific functional groups attached to polymer chains could lead to thedesign of gels that mimic the behavior of spontaneous healing of wounds in animals.

Prof. Lele provided the basis of molecular tailoring of such hydrogels, demonstrating how subtle changes inweak intermolecular forces can induce substantial changes in the volume phase transitions. This body ofwork has a profound significance on the use of hydrogels as sensors, soft actuators, etc.

His coarse-grained rigorous molecular model described the coupling between the dynamics of the chainsthat are tethered to the surface wall with the entangled bulk chains that flow past the wall. It unearthed thecrucial role of a dynamic process, the ‘convective constrained release’ in causing the stick-slip instability inextrusion processes, which often limits industrial production.

The phenomenon of snake-like reptation in entangled polymer chains with free chain-ends is well understood.Prof. Lele examined the question about what happens when these chain-ends connect to form a ‘ring polymer’.This led him to a close study of the coarse-grained rigorous molecular theory that modeled the amoeba-likedynamics of ring polymers, which form during condensation polymerization.

His pioneering research on polymer-nanoclay composites showed that the melt viscosity of these materialsdrops precipitously due to flow-induced orientation and breakage of the nanoclay network. He showed howmicro composite models could be used to predict the macroscopic mechanical properties of the polymer-nanoclay composites.

Dr. Lele received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from ICT (1988) and a Ph.D. in chemicalengineering from the University of Delaware (1993).

He has been awarded the CSIR Young Scientist award (1996); the Indian National Science Academy YoungScientist award (1998); and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Engineering Science (2006). He is aFellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and of the Indian Academy of Science.

Two awards for Dr. Bhanage

Professor B.M. Bhanage, Head, Department of Chemistry, ICT, received two prestigious awards in the lastyear.

1. The ‘CRSI Bronze Medal’ from the Chemical Research Society of India, for outstanding contributions inresearch; and

2. The ‘ISCMA Outstanding Professor Award’ instituted by the Indian Speciality Chemical Manufacturers’Association (ISCMA), for his excellent and outstanding performance in the academic field.


INSA Teacher Award for UAA President, Dr. Pandit

The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) has conferred the maiden ‘INSA Teacher Award’ for the year

2012 to Professor A.B. Pandit, President, UAA and Professor of Chemical Engineering, ICT.

The award, which carries a certificate, a cash award and one time book grant, will be presented at the time

of Annual General Meeting in December this year.

CII felicitates Prof. Gulrajani

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) felicitated Prof. M. L. Gulrajani, a distinguished alumnus of ICT,

for his ‘Outstanding Contribution to Industry’ on 8th November 2012.

Prof. Gulrajani is at present a Professor at the Department of Textile Technology, Indian Institute of Technology,

New Delhi.

He shared his experience on transfer of technologies developed by him with the delegates of the ‘4th Global

Higher Education Summit’ during the presentation ceremony.

The Society of Dyers and Colourists (Bradford, UK), awarded a ‘Gold Medal’ to Prof. Gulrajani earlier this

year.

‘Bayer Young Environmental Envoy Award’ to Swapnil Kokate

Swapnil Kokate, an ICT student from Parbhani in

Maharashtra, has won the ‘Bayer Young Environmental

Envoy Award 2012’ and will represent India at a global

conference in Germany. His innovation: a non-electric egg

incubator.

Kokate had been working on the non-electric egg incubator

for a while. “The reason is simple. Most egg farms are in

rural areas, where these egg incubators are used for

commercial purposes to hatch them into chickens. The

irony, however, is that these rural areas constant face power

cut-offs, which renders the electricity-based incubators

useless for that period of time. Even if the power does

return, it is sporadic and for short periods of time, which

leads to a longer incubation period, as well as increases the mortality rate substantially,” he says.

It is this need that motivated Kokate to work on an incubator that does not run on electricity. “Not only is my

model electricity free, it still is able to maintain the necessary heat and humidity conditions constantly with

the help of a heat-humidity storage box,” says Kokate.

With this innovation, the purchase cost as well as the maintenance and operating costs of the incubator

reduced considerably (by say as much as 80%) as compared to commercial incubators according to Kokate.

In addition, now power cut-offs will not affect the process, which takes about 21 days.


ICT’s Technical Festival ‘EXERGY’, which is organised every year in January, will be held around the theme

‘Urjaa (energy): Save. Sustain. Survive.’

The highly successful 2012 event, which had pan-India participation of more than 4000 (of which nearly

2,000 were from outside of Maharashtra), from 70 colleges in 35 cities across India, was on the theme ‘Water

for Life.’ Among the many activities organized was a beach cleaning drive wherein more than 100 college

students cleaned the beaches in Mumbai and spread the knowledge about segregating waste.

“EXERGY 2013 aims for an exponential increase in this number,” say the organisers.

The events planned for EXERGY 2013 can be broadly classified into three categories:

� General – focuses to target the layman: includes events like Model United Nations, Quiz, The Amazing

Race, Dexter’s Lab, Business Plan Presentation, Bulls & Bears etc.

� Prodigy – strives to test the basic technical knowledge of participants, with a ‘fun factor’ built-in:

Includes Paper and Poster presentations, IDP, SimPlant etc.

� Pharma – Dedicated to the pharmaceutical departments all over India: includes events like Pharmaphilic,

Disease Management etc.

Yatn – the social initiative of Exergy – will spread awareness about proper use of energy and include events

like ‘Energy Awareness Week’ etc.

The signature event – the Exergy MasterClass Lecture Series – will feature a series of lectures on the

chemical sciences by highly eminent academics and industrial professionals. Speakers in the first edition

included Prof. G. D. Yadav, Prof. S. S. Bhagwat, Mr. Ravi Mariwala, Mrs. Paula Mariwala, among others.

Ignite ICT will be a forum to showcase novel innovations and ideas from a diverse range of disciplines, and

is aimed at encouraging‘out of the box’ thinking.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

EXERGY – ICT’s Technical Festival – to focus on energy related

issues

ICT hosted the ‘2nd Indo-German Workshop’ on ‘Green Chemistry and Catalysis for

Sustainable Development.’

The event was held from 29-31 October 2012 at Hotel Holiday Inn, and saw the active

participation of scientists from Indian and international academic institutes and research

laboratories.

Prof. G.D Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT, inaugurated the event.

2nd International Indo-German Symposium hosted by ICT


Newness has been intriguing and fascinating to one since the Neanderthal times. Newness is excitementand exuberance, surprise and science, cheerfulness and joy, hope and happiness, boldness and buoyancy,positiveness and passion.

But for students, newness also means risk, unfamiliarity, uncertainty, fear, doubt and disturbance.

To put new students at ease and to seed them with a hint of ICT’s many dimensions, Fresher’s day wascelebrated at ICT in the first week of September 2012 with an exquisite blend of music, dance, fashion show,fine arts, games (table tennis, basketball, chess, badminton, carrom, box cricket), mesmerising drama,personality contest etc.

In addition to the main event, Second Year B.Pharm. students organised a welcome and introductory functionto their juniors – the First Year students. The event included a felicitation of the teachers and faculty of theDepartment, games to bring the students together, musical performance by senior students, and a lecture byMs. Rita Doctor, ICT counsellor.

Speaking at the event Prof. Padma V. Devarajan, Head, Pharma Department, complimented the new batchof students for their success in entering ICT, and spoke about the great tradition of the department, not justin India, but elsewhere in the world, as well.

FRESHER’S DAY

Bringing in the new – ICT style

Second year Pharma students at the introductory function.

COMPANY PROFILE : VASU CHEMICALSMAKING WATER PERFORM

VASU CHEMICALS is a multi-product, ISO 9001:2008 certified Company, manufacturing a wide range of chemicalsand chemical formulations for Industrial Water Treatment and Protective Coatings.

For more than four decades VASU has built a wealth of experience and received various awards like InventionAward and Award for Import Substitution from Govt. of India.

AT VASU CHEMICALS Research and Development is a passion consistently advancing with dedicated efforts insearch of new products and for improvement on the existing ones.

VASU’s Team of technical experts spread all over the country offer value added services for successful implementationof programs.

Our products find applications in various industries like Petrochemical / Process Plants / Steel / Power / Cement / OilRefineries / Fertilizers complexes / Pipelines / Off-Shore Structures etc.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICESWATER TREATMENT PROTECTIVE COATINGS

• Raw and Waste Water Treatment • 100% Polyurethanes• Boiler Water Treatment • High Temperature Coatings• Cooling Water Treatment • Solid Epoxies• RO Chemicals• AHU / Coil Cleaning Chemicals


Professor Sakharam V. Sunthankar was born in Belgaum on December

17, 1917 and did his B.Sc. from the Karnatak College, Dharwad and

joined the Department of Chemical Technology, Bombay (BUDCT).

Probably the oldest alumni and faculty member of BUDCT (now ICT)

he passed away in Pune on October 22 at the age of 95.

After his B.Sc. (Tech) in Chemical Engineering (1940), he carried out

his Ph.D (Tech) (1947) work under the guidance of Prof. K.

Venkataraman. He worked on the structure and the dyeing properties

of the yellow dyestuff, Indanthrene Yellow 7 GK. He proceeded as Post

Doctoral Fellow to the Iowa State University (Ames) (1948-1950) and

worked with Professor Henry Gilman and studied the synthesis of

organo-metallic compounds. He then joined as Research Associate at

the Columbia University, New York (1951-1953) to work with Professor

C. R. Dawson on the structural identification of the olefinic compounds

of the Japanese Lac Urshiol.

After returning to India, he joined the Esso Refining Company as a development chemist (1954-1955). Soon

after the departure of V.K. Dixit to head the Indian Dyestuff Industries, he was appointed as a Reader in

Colour Chemistry at UDCT (1955-1962). He joined the Wyeth Laboratories Bombay as Chemical Development

Manager (1962-1966) and returned to BUDCT as Professor of Dyestuff Technology when Dr. B. D. Tilak

joined the National Chemical Laboratory as Deputy Director.

Dr. Sunthankar was interested in the chemistry of steroids and particularly synthesis of 19-nor steroids from

19-nordiosgenin and synthesis of estrone. He was also interested in heterocyclic chemistry. Many of the

processes developed by him have been commercialized.

Profeassor Sunthankar guided the research of 30 M.Sc and 30 Ph.D students. He was member of the Board

of Directors of Hindustan Organic Chemicals, Rasayani and Cepham Industries, New Delhi. He also was

associated with the selection committees of the University Public Service Commission and the National

Chemical Laboratory. He had published over 90 papers in scientific journals, and many reviews articles.

In collaboration with T. S. Gore, B. S. Joshi and B. D. Tilak he edited a commemoration volume on the 60th

birthday of K. Venkataraman on “Recent Progress in the Chemistry of Natural and Synthetic Colouring

Matters and related fields” published by the Academic Press, New York. He was a highly respected organic

chemist and a dyestuff technologist.

After his retirement he wrote a couple of books in Marathi, one of them a biography of Nobel Laureates in

Chemistry (Nobel Paritoshak Vijete (Rasayana) and the other on the fascinating story of the discovery of

elements (Mooladrayancha Manoranjak Itihas). His wife passed away a couple of years prior to his demise.

He is survived by his two sons. The elder son, Dr. Prasanna, works for a pharmaceutical company in Atlanta

and the younger, Hemant, lives in Pune and is a manufacturer of dyes and chemicals.

– B. S. Joshi

OBITUARY

Professor Sakharam V. Sunthankar


ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Padmabhushan Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, Chancellor, ICT Mr. A. S. DaniProfessor G. D. Yadav, Vice Chancellor, ICT Mr. R. M. KediaPadmavibhushan Professor M.M. Sharma Mr. Y. M. KothariProfessor J. B. Joshi Mr. Z. F. LashkariProfessor A. B. Pandit Mr. K. V. MariwalaMr. V. D. Sanghavi Dr. A. V. Rama RaoMr. S. M. Mokashi Mr. J. R. ShahMr. L. R. Chadha Professor A. P. Kudchadkar

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Professor A. B. Pandit PresidentMr. V. D. Sanghavi Imm. Past PresidentDr. V. G. Habbu Senior Vice PresidentMr. Y. H. Jhaveri Vice PresidentDr. S. T. Mhaske Hon. SecretaryMr. V. Y. Sane Hon. TreasurerDr. U. S. AnnapureMr. L. R. ChadhaDr. S. P. DeshmukhMr. K. H. DeshpandeProfessor (Mrs.) Padma V. DevarajanDr. P. R. GogateDr. S. B. KaleDr. Pariti Sivarama K.Dr. U. R. LajmiDr. S. V. MehendaleMr. V. D. PatilDr. M. G. PalekarMr. Hemant PhatakMr. Ravi RaghavanDr. P. V. UpparaMr. S. S. Vengsarkar

UDCT ALUMNI CHAPTERS AND CHAIRPERSON

Chapters Chairman Chapters Chairman

Ahmedabad Mr. S. M. Parikh Tarapur Mr. P. M. PatilAnkleshwar Mr. P. P. Sheth Vapi Mr. B. V. AnjariaAurangabad Mr. R. S. GulatiBangalore Mr. S. K. SrinivasHyderabad Dr. A. V. Rama Rao Houston Mr. Hasmukh ShahNew Delhi Professor M. L. Gulrajani U.K. Professor K. NiranjanPune Dr. R. R. Hirwani Thailand Mr. R. M. Jain

uaa bulletin - vol 17 - ii - dec 2012

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