Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Indian startup has a fix for dirty air -- filters up the nose - Nasofilter aims to offer a lower-priced, and more effective, alternative to face masks


NEW DELHI :
Air pollution in New Delhi is so severe that even nonsmokers here inhale the equivalent of 50 cigarettes on an extreme day, turning the city of 25 million into what a local political leader describes as "a gas chamber."
With smog choking the city day after day since November, inhabitants of India's capital are increasingly looking for ways to protect themselves.
Prateek Sharma believes he has a solution.
The 25-year-old chief executive's startup, Nanoclean Global, has developed a nasal filter that can restrict the entry of harmful particles into the body -- at a cost of just 10 rupees (about 16 cents) each.
"We have built this very unique [product] using nanotechnology," Sharma told the Nikkei Asian Review in an interview.
Sold under the name Nasofilters, the product is placed directly into the nostrils. The company claims the filters can block 95% PM2.5 -- particulate matter 2.5 microns in size or smaller and the most prominent pollutant in the city's air. PM2.5 is a major cause of respiratory problems and heart ailments.
 Sharma said his filter is different from other antipollution products -- generally facemasks that use multiple layers of filters.
When a particle touches the outside barrier of these masks, it can collect in a filtering layer. "After a few days you actually have to dispose it off -- despite having bought it for hundreds of rupees -- because it chokes," he said.
The startup began at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi in 2015, the year Sharma graduated. Sharma, who studied civil engineering, and two other alumni -- Tushar Vyas and Jatin Kewlani -- co-founded the company, along with support from some faculty members. It also has major financial backing from the Indian government through grants from the Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology. The company has raised nearly $400,000 in the form of government grants and investment from IIT alumni, Sharma said.

Source:
https://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20180125/Business/Indian-startup-has-a-fix-for-dirty-air-filters-up-the-nose

Tracking Mercury: Smart planning can reduce heat island effect - Among other things, height of buildings have to be restricted keeping in mind width of the road


What goes into urban planning? Potential for traffic density, the width and size of a road, perhaps recreational spots, and public transport connectivity. What doesn’t go into urban planning, however, is the potential for these sites to become ‘Urban Heat Islands’, and cauldrons trapping heat.
Lower building height and aligning streets against the sun’s path could prevent new layouts from heating up as much as dense core areas do, says a report by researchers from The Energy Research Institute (TERI). The observations made in the study, which was commissioned by Environmental Management & Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), were published by The Hindu on Friday.
As areas become dense, and narrow streets get flanked by buildings, ‘urban canyons’ that trap hear are created. They become heat islands that are significantly warmer during the day and night as compared to other areas with wide roads and parks.
Align roads in north-south direction
What could help in new layouts is to align roads in a North-South direction, rather than an East-West direction. This has not been a feature in any planning effort so far. For instance, Banashankari VI stage, developed by the Bangalore Development Authority, has a majority of streets in the East-West direction. Without large green canopies in streets such as these, the TERI report warns: “The axis of such streets coincides with the path travelled by the sun. Hence, such streets would keep receiving direct solar radiation throughout the day.”
However, in a North-South direction, the building height themselves provide shade for most part of the day, keeping the streets cooler.
Height of buildings
Another aspect of urban heat islands that has been ignored is the height of buildings. Currently, for roads less than 9 metres wide, the maximum building height has been kept at 11.5m (G+3floors), and most areas have built to this height or higher. As in the case of Basaveshwaranagar, this heats up the streets and traps heat.
“If the height of buildings is restricted to match the width of the road or lesser, then you can successfully mitigate urban heat islands. Parts of the road are shaded, and there is enough of a ‘sky view’ for the heat to escape at night, as is the case of Jayanagar, which is well-planned,” says Minni Sastry, TERI researcher who helmed the report.
No planning
However, these and other recommendations of sustainable development do not feature in byelaws or urban planning. “Zonal regulations and building byelaws currently do not address issues such as heat island effect. While areas already built will need to look at a retrofit, a more proactive approach must be used for the city's rapidly expanding peripheries,” says Rejeet Mathews, an urban planner with World Resources Institute.
White roofs can lower heat
A simple way for a city to fight the urban heat island effect is to go white. Or, at least on the roof.
TERI had earlier estimated that Bengaluru can save up to 1,034 crore in electricity cost if the roofs were painted white, to reflect solar radiation, rather than absorb it. The lower the heat absorbed, the lower the energy consumed for air-conditioners to artificially cool down the building.
“When the roof is lighter-coloured or white, more than 80% of the solar radiation is reflected back. But, darker coloured roofs end up contributing to urban heat island effects, and this heat remains trapped even in the night,” says Minni Sastry, a researcher from TERI.
In the nine areas of the city studied by TERI in 2017, less than 1% on average had white paint on the roof while up to 75% of roofs absorb heat in areas such as Basaveshwaranagar.
For areas such as Whitefield, where temperatures can be 4 degree Celsius above nearby areas, the open spaces, which are currently concreted, should be converted to permeable paving, vegetation or tree parks. The report observes that concrete open spaces (roads, parking lots) tend to absorb heat quickly in the day and release it equally quickly at night.
What experts suggest
“Using green roofs or permeable footpaths and other such techniques, we can reduce the heat stress in congested areas. We should start with a few demo streets, on the lines of TenderSURE roads,” says Minni Sastry, Associate Director, Sustainable Habitat Division, TERI.
“Land readjustment techniques (taking 50% of land for open space, and returning rest to plot owner) in the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act has not been implemented. This micro-level planning can ensure that all new layouts preserve environmental features and reduce heat island effect,” says Rejeet Mathews, an urban planner with World Resources Institute.

Source:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/tracking-mercury-smart-planning-can-reduce-heat-island-effect/article22473139.ece

Monday, February 26, 2018

Student project bridges engineering concepts - They weren’t exactly bridges over troubled water.


But here’s the trouble: They had to be engineered well enough to hold 200 pounds – lovingly cradle every ounce – but without the bough breaking and, unlike the famous children’s rhyme about the one in London, without falling down.
Teams of mechanical engineering whizzes, with that spark of well-studied know-how and construction savvy in their eyes, had this challenge: Build a suspension bridge from kid-friendly K’Nex sets, keep the cost within a slim-and-trim $200 materials budget (each K’Nex piece was assigned a price), and — oh yeah — make sure your awesome K’Nex set bridge is able to hold 200 pounds of weight.
Challenge on.
The assignment – lovingly dubbed the Suspension Bridge Project — was a gauntlet thrown down by College of Science, Engineering and Technologyprofessor Li Tan and one accepted by the students in his MEE 352 class. The students presented their bridges, suspended with the help of fishing lines, paracord and the like, as their lab project while, across the hallway, fellow engineering students raced battery-operated cars.
“This class is all about static and solid mechanics,” Tan said. “The goal here is to try to assess students’ understanding of the topic.”
The project spurred them on to understanding concepts such as force, stress and weight distribution – the big players in a bridge-building project – and how they interact together in a structure.
Students built 3D, virtual models of their bridges on a computer, where the structures underwent redesigns if they needed it. Once their conceptual bridge looked as if they met the challenge, they then broke out their GCU-supplied K’Nex sets and started the toy-sized, real-life builds.
Tan said the project also included Christian worldview concepts, such as the ethical questions surrounding the project: Is it ethical to stretch a job out longer than it needs to last just to make more money, or should you always aim to get the job done under time and under budget? What about the environmental impact of your construction project? Or cost vs. safety?
Haydon Hinson, Hunter Hoyt and Tobin Morse dressed in dapper fashion for their presentation, complete with solid-colored shirts, bow ties and suspenders.
Their bridge, dappled with yellow, dark blue, orange and white K’Nex pieces, didn’t come without some issues. The team saw connector pieces start to bend during the pre-presentation testing phase, so it reduced the bending by including additional spacers.
The bridge was able to support 74 pounds before breaking.
he time involved?
18 hours.
The cost?
$61 for materials, “so we’re the value bridge,” Hoyt said with a smile, assuring the class that the structure would not collapse because of the wind and that the team “provides quality assurance and quality products.”
But, with labor included – that’s 4.25 hours multiplied by $50 an hour for four engineers – customers were looking at some definite labor costs.
Things the team members learned: Next time, they would use paracord instead of fishing line, would include more metal, would employ a trapezoidal tower design and would consider using better cable attachments.
“The kryptonite was the way we assembled the bridge. There were too many breaking points,” Hoyt said after the presentation. “So it’s a matter of putting the right material in the right position” to avoid bridge failure at specific points.
He added that communication is, by far, the most important thing when working on a team. Team members all had ideas they wanted to include in the design and had to decide which ideas to use.
Junior engineering student Cooper Davis said his team spent two to three weeks designing and four days building its suspension bridge, which was book-ended by trapezoidal cable towers incorporating line upon line of paracord diving down from the tops of those towers to the deck below.
Davis said what he learned from the project is to “know your materials before you start. … We didn’t know the angles that could be made.”
The team members, he added, quickly realized that fishing line was only going to get the bridge to hold 100 or so pounds, so they switched to paracord. They also learned to be mindful of how weight is distributed through the ropes.

What Guskey most enjoyed most about the project was seeing the team’s bridge stand up to heavier and heavier weights.
“It’s still not failing,” he said with some wonder in his voice.
But when it was over he added, “It was just fun to build, mostly.”
The team’s bridge held 216 pounds, though that total didn’t come close to Graham Guskey’s team.
“Ours was one tower, but we had the strongest deck built,” he said of the bridge – a completely suspended bridge whose deck swayed when carried. It was able to hold 866 pounds of weight. He credited the strength of the deck to the team weaving paracord through the base to make it “more compressive.” The force goes into the cords themselves, he said.
Hoyt said he played with K’Nex as a kid, building roller-coasters, but never had used them to engineer something as complex as a suspension bridge able to support 200 pounds.

Source:
https://news.gcu.edu/2018/01/student-project-bridges-engineering-concepts/

WhatsApp Payments 'Not Secure', Against UPI's Interoperability Spirit: Paytm


 HIGHLIGHTS:
Whatsapp launched UPI-based payments this month
Paytm says WhatsApp is not complying with UPI norms
WhatsApp works with other UPI apps, but the feature is hard to find
WhatsApp payments rollout started in India earlier this month and though the feature hasn’t even become available to all users yet, it has sparked a debate in the country’s digital payments community. WhatsApp payments are built on top of UPI, a layer that greatly simplifies interoperability between various banks, and questions are now being asked if the Facebook-owned messaging app is living up to the spirit of interoperability behind the UPI. Paytm, which operates the largest digital wallet in India, is one of the competitors to WhatsApp in payments, introduced its own UPI payments feature recently. Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that Facebook with WhatsApp payments Facebook is "killing beautiful open UPI system with its custom close garden implementation."
Sharma tweeted this on Wednesday and from there, the narrative online quickly shifted to Paytm being against "foreign" companies, though Sharma later clarified that his tweets were not about a foreign company, but rather about NPCI lettings WhatsApp integrate UPI payments without needing to incorporate safeguards other payments apps had to integrate. NPCI is a private entity run by a consortium of banks, which operates UPI and a bunch of other financial products, and acts as a quasi-regulator for the payments industry. In a televised interview, Sharma further went on to say that Facebook and WhatsApp are evil, although a Paytm representative later stressed that he was not talking in the context of the UPI, and that the statement was being blown out of proportion.
To understand more, Gadgets 360 reached out to Sharma and Paytm - while he wasn't available, the company connected us to Deepak Abbot, Senior Vice President at Paytm, to give a detailed account of the company’s objections to WhatsApp’s payments implementation.
"I want to stress that this is not Paytm versus WhatsApp, this is not India versus foreign," were the first words from Abbot, who explained that as far as Paytm was concerned, the issue was that the NPCI had allowed WhatsApp to add UPI features without requiring it to conform to the same rules as other apps, including Paytm. Gadgets 360 has also reached out to the NPCI to get its views on this question, and will update this piece once it replies.

"All apps so far had to adhere to a process by the NPCI, to create a smooth, interoperable experience that is not being required of WhatsApp," Abbot said. "NPCI requires an app password, so unless you log in no one can check your account, you should be able to log out. Now you still have the MPIN to complete the transaction but with just one factor now someone can make payments. You can't even log out. So that is not secure, and that is why all apps were supposed to have passwords."
"Every app has a four to six week NPCI audit process, they certify the app. In the garb of UX and UI, it's being packaged as WhatsApp to WhatsApp payments," he continued. "A Paytm user can't send money to a WhatsApp user. The NPCI needs to look at this, they are locking the consumer.”
This isn't exactly correct though. In our testing, we were able to send money from Paytm to the VPA (virtual private address) a WhatsApp user found under Settings. Although WhatsApp is geared to make it easier to send and receive money between its users, it's not impossible to use it to send money or receive it from people who are not on the app. Further, the interoperability between banks is maintained - as long as your bank is on the UPI, it'll work with WhatsApp. However, WhatsApp on iPhone currently doesn’t let you send money to any VPA of your choice, something other UPI-based apps support.
Abbot agreed with this, but said that it goes against the spirit of interoperability. "I should be able to send money to anyone, regardless of the app they're using," he said, "and the way they've designed it is highly hidden and you know users don't discover features that are buried behind menus."
He also rejected the argument that WhatsApp's UPI rollout was still a beta. "Beta should be invite only, the company controls who gets access, but if I'm on WhatsApp I can enrol everyone I know," he said. "Such a long period for beta also gives them an undue advantage.”
"Why when we had to conform to all the different rules does WhatsApp get to pick and choose? Everyone should be on the same level," said Abbot. He added that WhatsApp must immediately bring all the UPI features that other UPI apps have been required to support. When asked whether it would be better if all apps could use the features they needed, he said that until all players are offering the same features, it would not be right to change the requirements.
At the same time, Abbot isn't in favour of increased regulatory oversight. "We all believe the NPCI has built a great product, and take them as a regulator, and of course the RBI is there as the final regulator," he said.
To that end, Paytm plans to take its issues to the NPCI to try and ensure change. Once again, Abbot stressed that this is not a case of Paytm versus WhatsApp. "We will encourage NPCI to get WhatsApp to adhere to the requirements," he said. However, on being asked whether Paytm is working with other UPI companies, such as PhonePe, or Google Tez, he said, "no, we will go to NPCI directly."
Update: Gadgets 360 has received a statement from the NPCI where it has clarified its position on this matter. The NPCI has stressed that this is a trial run, and that WhatsApp will have to follow all the different UPI norms. You can read the statement below.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)has been workingto facilitate digital payments in the country with globally recognised products like Bharat Interface for Money BHIM -Unified Payments Interface (BHIM UPI). We follow well-defined guidelines for BHIM UPI services with the objective of making our platforms interoperable and based on open standards, convenient and secure, offering multiple choices to consumers for rapid adoption for digital payments through banks and payment ecosystem players.

Currently, NPCI has given its consent to roll out WhatsApp BHIM UPI beta launch with limited user base of 1 million and low per transaction limit. Four banks will join the multi-bank BHIM UPI model in phases (in the coming weeks)and full feature product shall be released after the beta test is successful. Multi-bank model offer advantages such as transaction load distribution between banks and helps to integrate popular apps easily with BHIM UPI.

Broad principles for interoperability a) ability to send and receive money through any BHIM UPI ID b) intent and collect call and c) read & generate BHIM /Bharat QR code that are required in final BHIM UPI app. BHIM UPI enabled app which fulfils such principles only will be permissible for full scale public launch.

We work towards providing seamless experience to users of BHIM UPI platform and recognise the contribution of member banks and non-bank entities to reach to this level.
Update 2: Paytm has also sent out a response to the NPCI statement, which you can read below.
We welcome this statement by NPCI. It addresses the concerns of interoperability violation that we had raised. It also clarifies that the trial has been restricted to 1 million users, though we feel that a product with the stated violations could have been tried out amongst a much smaller base. We are still concerned that this statement is silent on the critical issue of safety/security of a financial transaction through UPI, where consumers need to mandatorily sign-in with username and password. This violation is fundamental and very serious. WhatsApp must implement login & password like all other BHIM UPI apps. This statement is also silent on other issues such as the requirement to send SMS notifications for every UPI transaction. We hope that future rollout will be fully compliant with all the guidelines. We wait to hear NPCI views on some of these missing aspects

Source:
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/whatsapp-payments-not-secure-against-upis-interoperability-spirit-paytm-1813533

In the pipeline: A solution to a 130-year old problem


Anyone who has ever turned on a tap knows something about fluid dynamics. Whether a fluid is flowing through household plumbing or industrial oil and gas pipelines, when it runs slowly its flow is smooth, but when it runs quickly its flow is more chaotic.
More than 130 years ago, British physicist and engineer Osborne Reynolds described fluid flowing at low speeds as 'laminar,' meaning it flows smoothly in a single direction, and fluid flowing at high speeds as 'turbulent,' meaning it experiences chaotic changes in pressure and energy. Reynolds developed a set of equations to describe the relationship between the speed at which a fluid flows and the friction that is created between it and the pipe.
Engineers still use Reynolds's "laws of resistance" today to calculate how much energy is lost to friction as liquids and gases flow through a pipe. However, one mystery has remained unsolved: what happens when a flow transitions from laminar to turbulent?
"In transitional flow, friction varies with no discernible patterns," says Dr. Rory Cerbus, a postdoctoral researcher at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). Until now, the laws of resistance for transitional flow were unknown, making it difficult to calculate friction and energy loss during this type of flow.
Cerbus and other researchers in the Fluid Mechanics Unit and the Continuum Physics Unit at OIST have found a surprisingly simple solution to this 130-year old conundrum. "We have shown that, although the transitional state appears to be a menagerie of flow states, these can all be characterized by laws we already know," says Professor Pinaki Chakraborty, leader of the Fluid Mechanics Unit. "This simplifies a fundamental problem."
Transitional flow is known to consist of intermittent patches of different types of flow, which alternate along the pipeline. In the standard approach to measuring friction in transitional flow, they are simply lumped together.
The OIST researchers instead analyzed the patches of smooth and chaotic flow separately. They ran water through a 20-meter glass pipe. By adding small particles to the water and illuminating it with a laser, they could measure the speed of the flow. This allowed them to cleanly identify the alternating patches of smooth and chaotic flow in the transitional flow. They then measured the friction inside the individual patches using pressure sensors.
"We repeated a textbook experiment that is routinely done by thousands of engineering undergraduates every year all around the world," says Cerbus, lead author of the paper, which was recently published in Physical Review Letters. "We used essentially the same tools, but with the crucial distinction of analyzing the patches separately," he says.
The researchers showed that despite the outward complexities, the law of resistance for the smooth patches is consistent with laminar flow, while the law of resistance for the chaotic patches is consistent with turbulent flow. Therefore, transitional flow can be studied using Reynolds's original laws of resistance.
Understanding how much energy is required to pump fluid through a pipeline when it is flowing in the transitional state could help industries, such as oil refineries, minimize energy waste and improve efficiency.
"If you look carefully, you find that often there is simplicity beneath complexity," says Chakraborty.

Source:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180201092104.htm

Graduates from IIT, NIT to teach in rural areas - 1,200 teachers hired on Rs. 70,000 a month


More than 1,200 youngsters with Ph.D and M. Tech degrees from institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and National Institutes of Technology will spend the next three years teaching at 53 government engineering colleges in rural areas of districts lagging behind in technical education.
Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters on Wednesday that these teachers had already joined the colleges. The teachers will be there on a three-year contract and get paid Rs. 70,000 a month.
Later, they can either choose to stay in academics or join the corporate world.
This initiative, entailing an expenditure of Rs. 370 crore, is a result of the Centre helping state governments fill up vacancies in backward districts in 11 states where engineering students were suffering because of dearth of teachers.
“5,000 people had applied. Out of those, 1,225 were selected and they have already joined,” Mr. Javadekar said.
“As many as one lakh students in these developing states will benefit as a result of this.” Among the over 1200 candidates selected, about 300 have PhD degrees and about 900 have M.Tech degrees.
The focus is on states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and the Andaman and the Nicobar Islands.

Source:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/graduates-from-iit-nit-to-teach-in-rural-areas/article22615321.ece

Tawresey named Distinguished Member of American Society of Civil Engineers


John G. Tawresey of Bainbridge Island was recently named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
It’s the highest honor to which a civil engineer can aspire; in the Society’s 165-year history only 688 people have been elected to the honor.
Tawresey was recognized for pioneering work in structural masonry and in risk management. He was inducted during the societys’ recent Celebration of Leaders Luncheon in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Tawresey is a forerunner in the research, testing and development of new systems such as panelized, reinforced clay masonry, brick veneer/steel stud, thin-stone and aluminum/glass curtain walls. He was one of the drivers behind the formation of The Masonry Society (TMS) in the late 1970s and has served in numerous positions and committees in TMS since its inception. He has been teaching a structural masonry course at the University of Washington since 1984.
Society officials noted that more than any other structural engineering leader, Tawresey served to help structural engineers manage risk. He led the Structural Engineers Risk Management Council, and initiated sessions at the ASCE/SEI Structures Congresses that provide structural engineers the opportunity to share their stories about professional negligence claims.
Tawresey’s career includes more than 35 years in leadership at KPFF Consulting Engineers as their CFO.
Tawresey is also an honorary member of The Masonry Society where he twice received the President’s Award and Haller Award. He was named Professional Engineer of the Year by the Washington Society of Professional Engineers in 2011, and received ASCE’s SEI Dennis L. Tewksbury Award.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with distinction and master’s degree in theoretical and applied mechanics from Cornell University as well as a master’s degree in business administration degree from the University of Washington.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society.

Source:
http://www.bainbridgereview.com/news/tawresey-named-distinguished-member-of-american-society-of-civil-engineers/

Friday, February 23, 2018

Kerala: Government Engineering College comes up with unique initiative to appreciate special talents


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Here’s a unique initiative by the students of Government Engineering College, Barton Hill. ‘Vaibhav’, a talent fest, will be held in April, for the special needs children. The event will be held simultaneously with the three-day techno-cultural festival ‘Aagneya’.
The college organises a ‘socially responsible’ initiative every year, according to Noufal, the union chairman of the college. “Vaibhav is being organised by our Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell in association with the Government’s Social Justice Department. A talent hunt searching for good candidates to participate in the festival is being held. This is an idea the students came up with this year,” Noufal said.
Auditions have already been conducted in schools including the Government School for the Visually Impaired, Jagathy and Marian Playhome at Mannanthala where the organisers are searching for special children. “We also plan to hold another set of auditions at NISH, after which we are looking at conducting a semi-final competition at Vyloppilly Samskruthi Bhavan in the city. The finals of ‘Vaibhav’ will be held during Aagneya, our techno-cultural festival, and will be its flagship programme,” adds Noufal.    
For Noufal, the concept of the talent hunt was born from the need to do something responsible for the society. “The theme of the festival this year is resilience-turn that pain into power. It is this same objective that we wish to fulfill through this initiative. The talent could be as simple as singing or dancing, but the aim is to let these children overcome their pain of being differently-abled and turn that into a strength. Instead of letting them retreat into their own shell, they should be able to walk along with the mainstream society. We are providing a platform for them to showcase their talents in front of an audience through the event.”   
A few of the activities the youngsters had done earlier include the formation of a library in the Kottur tribal settlement and an anti-plastic campaign.”If ‘Vaibhav’ becomes a success, we will continue the initiative next year as well,” winds up Noufal. The college recently conducted ‘Photowalk’, an outdoor photography workshop with international photography contest winner Rex.

Source:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2018/feb/15/kerala-government-engineering-college-comes-up-with-unique-initiative-to-appreciate-special-talents-1773962.html

Chennai to host global engineering expo between Mar 8-10


Chennai, Feb 15 (UNI) Chennai would be hosting, for the second year in a row, the seventh edition of the International Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS) between March 8 and 10 under the aegis of the EEPC India.
The three-day event would showcase to global leaders in technology and engineering, India’s high end R and D and manufacturing capabilities to become their dependable sourcing hub with a vast pool of scientific talent and resources.
Talking to reporters here on Thursday, State Secretary for MSME Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, said Tamil Nadu has emerged as one of the most progressive and dependable sources for high-tech engineering exports, notably from the small and medium enterprises. 

EEPC India, with the active support from the Union Commerce Ministry and the Department of Heavy Industry, would be organising the prestigious IESS, for the second time in succession. This shows how the global engineering giants have rated the state of Tamil Nadu among the leading sources for engineering exports, he added.

EEPC India Executive Director and Secretary Mr Bhaskar Sarkar said, the event was taking place in the backdrop of a handsome growth in the country’s exports and engineering exports, in particular. 

''The engineering exports have emerged as the largest contributor to India’s total exports kitty, growing by an impressive 23 per cent to USD 56 billion for the April-December, 2017-18'', he said.

''The highly employment-oriented engineering exports alone account for over 26 per cent India’s total exports basket'', he added. 

Source:

Sona college department bags AICTE-CII award - Award given based on overall industry linkages of the institute


The Department of Civil Engineering of Sona College of Technology has been awarded Best Industry – Linked Civil Engineering and Allied Institute (Established-Degree) for the year 2017.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in order to map the best practices being followed by institutions and industry and to recognise them and to create a benchmark of quality education in the country is conducting the “AICTE-CII Survey of Industry-linked Engineering Institutions” annually and selecting for award.
Internship
The institute has been a winner twice in the past editions of survey in Electrical and Allied (Standard Category, Degree) in 2015 and Computer and IT engineering in 2013. The award was given based on the short survey data about overall industry linkages of the institute as it interacted with 152 companies. Also, 500 students of the institute went for industry internships in the past two years, while 243 companies visited the campus for placement in which 92.5% of the students got placed.
The Department of Civil Engineering has strong industrial connects with large companies as the research centre of the department has developed products for the current societal problems in solid waste management.
The department had received Rs. 1 crore as research fund and had established lab facilities at Rs. 20 lakh. The management received the award at a function held in New Delhi recently.

Source:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/sona-college-department-bags-aicte-cii-award/article22830629.ece

Vidya-mitra an online learning portal for all the e-content projects developed under the NME-ICT


The INFLIBNET Centre has developed a web-based interface called "Vidya-mitra: Integrated e-Content Portal" for all e-content projects, developed / funded under the National Mission of Education through ICT. There are more than 50 projects on e-content under NME-ICT which are developed / being developed in various subject disciplines (science, arts, engineering, social science, etc) through various Indian institutes / universities / colleges
Vidya-mitra is an online learning portal for all the e-content projects developed under the NME-ICT (National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology), MHRD. The portal provides facility to search and browse all hosted content wherein a learner can easily access the desired material including audio/video learning material, textual material, multimedia-enriched materials etc. through a single interface. Moreover, features of faceted search, usage statistics, project-wise access, My-Space are incorporated in this portal.                                                                                      
Source:
http://content.inflibnet.ac.in/#

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Civil engineers devise a cost-saving solution for cities - The framework allows for coordination of road and water repairs


Why fix a road today if it's slated to be ripped up for new sewers next summer?
This kind of question is at the heart of research from Tarek Zayed, and Amin Hammad, professors in Concordia's Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering (BCEE), and PhD candidates Soliman A. Abu-Samra and Mahmoud Ahmed.
"Better coordination at city hall is the key to less costly repairs," says Abu-Samra. "We've shown that streamlining maintenance results in huge financial and time savings."
Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
"Canada is experiencing an enormous infrastructure deficit that was estimated at $123 billion in 2007 and is increasing by about $2 billion annually," says Abu-Samra. "Thus, there is a need for more efficient use of municipalities' budgets to enhance the level of service delivered to taxpayers."
The math behind better fixes
To prove to city departments that it's worth it for them to coordinate their efforts, the study created an original asset management framework with multiple objectives.
It considers the physical state of infrastructures, lifecycle costs, user expenses, and replacement value.
The framework uses three core models: a database model containing detailed asset inventory for road and water networks; key performance indicator (KPI) computational models for measuring the impact of intervention plans; and an optimization algorithm to schedule activities.
"The algorithm simulates thousands of scenarios to reach an optimal one," says Abu-Samra.
Consider Kelowna
The Concordia researchers applied their system to road and water networks in Kelowna, B.C., where the results showed lifecycle costs could be cut by 33 per cent and user costs halved.
Their test also showed the potential to include sewer, electricity, gas and telecom networks, provided information can be shared.
"It may sound like common sense, but proactive coordination between different city departments can be difficult. They tend to work in silos, with plans and annual reports created independently," says Abu-Samra.
Next stop, Montreal?
Zayed and Abu-Samra are currently in discussions with the City of Montreal to implement the framework, although there is no formal arrangement to work together at this stage.
"Better coordination would cause less disruption, which has been increasingly obvious this year, especially in the roads sector, where 2,000 potholes are repaired every day," Abu-Samra notes.
"A more integrated approach would result in an optimized expenditure of our annual budget along with an enhanced level of service, which is urgently needed given the deteriorating condition of our infrastructures."

Source:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180220143107.htm

Govt Jobs for Engineers 2018: IIM, IOCL, Railways, ISRO, Delhi Metro & Others are Hiring


Good news for Engineers who are still searching for government jobs today in their respective disciplines. Many reputed government organizations have issued government jobs for engineers in recent time. Generally, engineers are more in demand in PSUs rather than in other government organization. But with changing scenario, many other government institutes have come up to hire engineers.
Govt. Jobs for Engineers
Govt. Jobs for Engineers - Summary
Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (IIM) Jobs Notification: Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (IIM) invited applications for the post of Non-Teaching Staff. The eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 13 March 2018.
IOCL Job Notification: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) invited applications for the post of Junior Engineering Assistant & Others. The eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 10 March 2018.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), the largest commercial enterprise in the country, commonly known as Indian Oil is an Indian state owned oil and and a "Fortune 500" company headquartered in New Delhi.
Public Health Engineering Department, New Raipur invited applications for the post of Handpump Technician. Eligible candidates can apply to the post in the prescribed format on or before 07 March 2018.
CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) Jobs Notification:
 CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI) invited applications for the post of Apprentice and Mechanical Engineering. The eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format and appear for walk in interview on 21 February 2018.
Bharat Electronics Ltd. Job Notification: Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) invited applications for the post of Electronics Engineer. The eligible candidates can appear for walk in test on 04 March 2018.
MP Power Generating Company Ltd Jobs Notification: MP Power Generating Company Ltd (MPPGCL) invited online applications for the post of Assistant Engineer. Eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 26 February 2018.
Southern Railway Jobs Notification: Southern Railway invited applications for the post of Apprentice. The eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 21 February 2018. The minimum qualification for applying is 8th and 10th pass.
Railway Energy Management Company Ltd (REMCL) Job Notification: Railway Energy Management Company Ltd (REMCL) invited applications for the post of Engineer (Electrical). The eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 05 March 2018.
Indian Institute of Spices Research-Indian Space Research Organisation (IIRS ISRO), Department of Space, Government of India, Dehradun invited online applications for the post of Engineer/Scientist . Eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 03 March 2018 on the official website.
Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Allahabad invited applications for recruitment to the post of Guest Lecturer and Lab Engineer. The candidates can appear for Walk in Interview on 24 February 2018.
Dibrugarh University invited applications for recruitment to the post of Junior Engineer. The candidates eligible for the post can apply in the prescribed format on or before 26 February 2018.
TANGEDCO Job Notification: TANGEDCO invited applications for the post of Assistant Engineer. The eligible candidates can apply to the post through the prescribed format on or before 28 February 2018.
ISRO Centralised Recruitment Board(ICRB), Department of Space, Government of India,  Bangalore invited online applications for the post of Engineer/Scientist 'SC' in Level 10 of Pay Matrix to the young graduates in various engineering discipline including Civil, Electrical, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning and Architecture.
National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) invited applications for the post of Junior Engineer, General Manager, Project Manager, Stenographer and Other Posts. Eligible candidates can apply to the post in the prescribed format on or before 26 March 2018.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) invited application for recruitment to the 1896 vacant posts of Executive and Non Executive. Interested candidates can apply through the prescribed format on or before 26 February 2018.  Graduates, Gate qualified and diploma holders can apply for these posts.
In the list of engineering jobs, candidates can apply for mechanical engineering jobs, civil engineering jobs, electrical engineering jobs and so on. As per calculations, approximately 3200+ vacancies in engineering sector are doing the rounds. This will help engineering degree holders to easily apply and acquire engineering jobs.
ISRO, IOCL, Delhi Metro, Southern Railway, Public Health Engineering Department of Raipur and so on are some of the PSUs and government organizations that have issued job notifications that require engineering degree to apply for the jobs.  Starting from Junior Engineering Assistant to Handpump Technician, Mechanical Engineers to Assistant Engineers, candidates with this degree have variety of options.
The list below helps candidates to search for b.tech govt jobs all across the nation. All those engineers who are searching for jobs will have to check the list. The list comes up with the details of jobs like the organization, the last date to apply, age limit and so on.

Source:
https://www.jagranjosh.com/articles/govt-jobs-for-engineers-1519126569-1