SYNC I

Volume I, November 2008

S

C N

Y

Cover Story Olympics 2008

I

e d i ns

Prof. U.S. Dixit Interview

Mechanical Engineering Students Association, IITG

MESSAGE BOARD From the Faculty Advisor

From the President, MESA IITG

It gives me a great pleasure about the

It is a matter of immense pleasure to

inaugural issue of E-magazine published

me

by the Mechanical Department as a

Students’ Association is publishing its

success note for the New Year 2009. It is a

first edition of e-magazine “SYNC” in

great effort and initiative taken up by the

IITG.

students of Mechanical Engineering for

The magazine shares knowledge of different technical and

expressing thoughts and ideas on a

non-technical articles of general interest like experiences

common platform MESA. I congratulate all the members of

from faculties and students of Mechanical Engineering

MESA, especially the publication committee for this great

Department. In addition to publishing our annual magazine

achievement. I express my sincere thanks to Prof. U.S. Dixit

“Mechanika”, we will be publishing an edition of SYNC.

(HOD) and my colleagues in the department for their valuable

I congratulate all the members of MESA especially authors,

comments. Suggestions for improvement of this E-magazine

editors for adding this achievement to our hat. I would like to

are most welcome. My best wishes to all the members of

express my sincere thanks to our faculty advisor, Dr. Niranjan

MESA for years to come……

Sahoo for his valuable inputs to our efforts. I would also like

that

Mechanical

Engineering

to express my due regards to Professor U.S. Dixit, HOD and the faculty members for their kind support, and involvement Dr. Niranjan Sahoo

in the activities of MESA.

Faculty Advisor, MESA

I am confident that MESA, with this pace and desire, will soon realize its entire goals. I wish that SYNC may receive the love

From the Publication Secretary, MESA

of the readers and further suggestions for improvement of this magazine are most welcome to make the coming editions of magazine more useful to everyone.

"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts;

Finally, I wish MESA all the best for its forwarding steps

but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in

towards strengthening the integrity among future mechani-

certainties". As Sir Francis Bacon had aptly remarked, we all

cal engineers through its activities.

might have doubts initially but something new is always more challenging and appealing. The same can be said for our e-magazine.

It is quite satisfying for the publication committee to finally

Lokesh Saini

bring out the first edition of our e-magazine 'SYNC'. The

President, MESA IITG

journey from conception of an idea to its materialisation is one of the most fascinating ones and it was so in this case as well.

I hope that the readers will like the content of our e-magazine. It was important for the content of 'SYNC' to be different from that of 'MECHANIKA'. As this is our first edition, I know that there will be numerous ways in which we can further improve ‘SYNC’.

Lastly, I would like to thank our HOD, Professor U.S. Dixit, our faculty advisor, Dr. Niranjan Sahoo, the president of MESA and all the members of the publication committee.

Nished Singhal Publication Secretary, MESA

Contents 4

Kick Kat

Thinking about MBA. THINK AGAIN!

6

Man on MARS What stops man?

10

[Cover Story]

Know your faculty

Professor Uday Shanker Dixit HOD, Mechanical Engineering Department

9

Behind the OLYMPICS flame BIRDS NEST CLOUD SEEDINGS MICHAEL PHELPS UNVEILED

People’s Car : TATA NANO Great things come in small packages!

14

13

GOURAMI Business Challenge

Dog Day Afternoon A journey heading towards a new race

Vedang Singh scores again for IITG!

16 17

Mech Masti

KICK KAT - Adarsh Saikia

No

wonder, in contemporary educational fraternity,

So then, what is the purpose of writing a blog on CAT? Don't

the term IIM has unfairly yet unarguably become synony-

expect this to be a preparation or survival guide. Going by the

mous to money. You cannot turn a paralyzed response to the

extent to which I've shifted my focus on Engineering Studies

fact that the degree of B.Tech only would never make a

to negative extremes, I would probably be among the least

millionaire out of you, unless you are someone like Sabeer

eligible people to comment on that. This blog is just the

Bhatia. With the slope of proportionality between your CAT

opposite. It exposes the otherwise unseen, unheard, cumber-

percentile and the number of zeros in your paycheck getting

some circumstances one is forced to live in, once they reach

steeper, many aspirants are forced into losing a meal every

an IIM. They realize that the greenery of the grass pales out as

other day. The written examination, CAT becomes the most

they come closer to their dream destination. Thanks to some

proverbial and talked about three-letter word for them. Such

of the alumni’s who happen to be my close friends and

is the goal-intensifying mind enormity of the so believed

relatives. They have given me enough information about life

strong aspirants, that they can't help unjumbling the word

after CAT.

ACT, read the newspaper from head to toe everyday

10 different books on Vedic mathematics although all teach the same old 16 sutras

(including matrimonial section), buy

or do not use a calculator to find the cube root of a 4-digit number.

Imagine this life: 7:45 am

You wake up, rush to the bathroom and

half-hazardly run the toothbrush between your teeth caring So in the following blog, I'll refer all my pronouns to those

little about which part of your mouth is getting cleaned up.

geeks, pursuing undergraduate studies in some hyped up

Now you have to choose between either taking a shower or

institute of our nation, who have dollared-retina and dream

have breakfast. But eventually end up failing to do both.

of someday parking their butt on a lecture-hall-seat at IIM

8:00 am 9:00 am 10:00 am 11:00 am 1-8 pm

Shillong, if ever asked for the least.

Being a student of IIT Guwahati, we have enough reasons to feel optimistic with our similar career endeavours. Anoop.G the CAT 2005 topper was a computer science student of our college. We have produced

100 percentiles twice before in

1997 and 2001. The ever increasing number of calls from the elite IIMs every year boasts our confidence.

CAT is far more difficult and

scrutinizing than JEE . It sizes you up on the fronts you might not be familiar with before. The IITians might be high on aptitude, as most of the part of their CV "screams" out. But Maths is not the only ticket to the world of IIMs. The boarding pass lies in the hands of the language-English. Not to mention the Security Check during GD-PI which also demands showcasing your English Skills at audible levels.

Last year in spite of getting an overall aggregate of

99+ in

CAT Rohan(name-changed) couldn't earn a single call, courtesy his 30-something percentile in English section.

Another hindrance is created by the CPI-CGPA thing. IIM Bangalore allows only academic toppers and 9-pointers to breathe in their campus air. So the self-proclaimed cool Six and Seven pointers tend to delete the word Bangalore from their dictionary long before expecting any calls.

Marketing Blah snore...Taxation Blah..macroeconomics... snore Discussions, Presentations, Submissions, Group

Studies.. blah blah

10-12 pm Assignments or reports to be submitted the next day, carrying a lion's share in the overall aggregate of that course. Cannot be copied or faked as you'll be asked to give a

But every competitive examination demands a different bag of rocks to be carried along.

FinanzzzZZZZ...

presentation on the same.

1:00 am

You check your webmail and guess what, Finance

re-quiz waiting for you, in an hour in the lecture hall. Reason for the re-quiz: Class average was below profs expectation, i.e. 15/20. Your DU semi-girlfriend SMSs you "Goodnight".

2:00 am Finance quiz.

3:00 am After screwing up the quiz you head for your room, looking like a pick-pocket who has just been taken care by the crowd. You switch on the computer, log into orkut and get a scrap from your once Ghissu friend working at Google: "Hey dude! lyfe's kewl here, infact had never been better. On a company tour to Goa right now, flirting with hot female colleagues, neways wat's up wid u dese days? How is IIM treating you? Hope ur having a blast too. Cya tc."

A long silence of digestion followed. You slam down your

The only time of the year when you start believing that you

lappy cover hard enough to wake your neighbour up. You let

are still alive and movable, are the two or three days of

the bed take care of the remaining working parts of your

cultural or sports festival, like chaosIIMA, carpediumIIMC,

body.

unmadIIMB or the hostel nites. Rest of the semester is spent in gruesome mugging.

IIMian months before choking under the dark clouds of midsem or endsem, although it's more or less the same through out the semester. There's only one difference in the midsem-endsem days, you can't afford to check your friend's scrap. (You’d rather start hating to do so) I can feel some of you chuckle out there, wearing that 'whatever!' attitude of yours. Trust me when i say this, unlike our

“

But the smartest lot is the remaining 20%. They tend to consign this puffed up aphorism of "Go CAT, Go GRE" to the dustbin from the first day of joining IITG.

“

Now this is what you call…………….. a normal day of an

B.Tech days, bunking classes or 50-under attendance is not a solution to eternal pleasure and would no longer make a style statement, as attendance carry marks.

Each year more than

80% of our fourth yearites sit for CAT,

"You can't even ask your friend to mark your proxy, as your seat

GMAT or GRE. In the management field, Very few go abroad,

is designated with your full name written in front of your desk.

15-20 of them get calls from the IIMs, most of them are

There is little chance of you being able to sneak past, foxing the

converted. Only a couple of them get to join the Temple of

prof on the way and sit on your friend's place to mark him

Business studies in India, IIM Ahmedabad. The rest get the

present." Mayank an IIM A passout was quoted as saying. And

consolation prizes FMS, IIFT, XLRI or Symbiosis. But the smart-

yes no paper-signing, the names are called loud enough to

est lot is the remaining 20%. They tend to consign this puffed

unnerve even the once proxy kings.

up aphorism of

"Go CAT, Go GRE" to the dustbin from the

first day of joining IITG. It's actually wise on their part to No class = No marks = Bad Grade = Bad job = Less Money = you

simply mug through out the 8 semesters, get a satisfactory

are screwed. The whole purpose of joining an IIM melts down

job, end their academic career just after B.Tech, marry, have

and I am sure you wouldn't like that to happen. You need to

kids and live happily ever after. As rightly said- to go with the

tread your ground very carefully and reassert what is truly

flow doesn't always guarantee success.

important. And don't think joining the institute only, would concrete your MBA degree at the end of the two years. The

So think thrice before giving any thought to the thought of

IIMs have denied degrees to many a student for their over-

appearing in CAT. Tapping into your conscience might give

casual attitude and academic dishonesty.

away a contradictory reply. Hopefully I am left with fewer competitors now [:P]

"You'll be gobbled up by the system, if you try to act smart." another pass out from IIM Indore warned. So chosen five-point-something shall no longer be cool. By the time you realize overplaying your cards, it'd be too late. The highest salary might be 1.5 Crore p.a, but the lowest is 0.

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

FACULTY Talk U.S. DIXIT, HOD, ME We caught up with our HOD one afternoon and this is what he had to say..

1. Tell us something that we as students do not know

4.

How has your stay at IIT Guwahati been?

I have been here since April’98 i.e., for more than ten years.

Sometimes I sit reminiscing and I realize that my stay here has

about you.

been very fascinating. First, I came here as a lecturer, then I

I do not exactly know what the students know about me. My

became an assistant professor, then an associate professor,

life is like an open book. I discuss everything with my

then HOD and finally a professor. Meanwhile I stayed in the

students. The students can approach me any time. I do not

city, Transit Complex, D-type quarters, E- type quarters. I have

distinguish between students and faculty members. One

experienced a lot of changes. There used to be batch of 16

unique thing about me is that I am a life bachelor.

students and now we have about 55 students in one batch.

2. Why did you choose teaching profession after initially

5.

opting for an industrial job?

Being an HOD, what are the major differences you experience?

Just after my B.Tech, I joined the industry as I wanted to apply

There are a lot of differences. Initially, I used to think in terms

my knowledge to industry. My teachers wanted me to go for

of my own work, my students. Now, I think for the well being

research and higher studies. I had a 4 years stint at HMT

of my entire department. When other faculty members or

where I learned many things. Then I went for my higher

students achieve something, it makes me happy. Recently, I

studies. After doing my M.Tech I joined Indogmag Steel

gave a presentation about our department to generate more

Technology, New Delhi. I felt that the society needs me as an

funds. I felt proud to mention that 163 papers have been

academician. I laid more emphasis on the application aspect

published by the M.Tech and Ph.D. students of our depart-

in the field of engineering.

ment. There has been a change in my mentality and I have

3.

Your book was released recently. How do you feel about that?

become busier after being an HOD.

6.

been launched in international market. It all happened when

How will the emergence of several new IIT’s and the departure of senior professors like Dr. P.S.Robi affect our department in the future?

one of my B.Tech students published his paper with me which

All these changes showcase new challenges for the faculty as

became very popular mainly due to its well written unique

well as the students which call for putting an extra effort. Also

style, supported with flowchart. It was on the prediction of

due to the infrastructure of Guwahati, getting laboratory

surface roughness using neural network. The editor

equipment for research in fields like Mechatronics is not easy.

contacted me. One of the professors from IIT Kanpur worked

Nevertheless, we have the advantage of not having too many

with me. It took us about two and half years to complete the

distractions, good climate and a faster growth rate due to the

book. The book is helpful for research students and senior

fact that we are a developing IIT. Over the years I have

B.Tech students.

observed that one out of two M.Tech students publishes his paper in IITG to prove his credentials as at the moment we do not have a big legacy. Such type of feeling should pass on to everyone. All three factions’ administration, faculty and students have to combine to deal with this problem.

“

“

In spite of the time constraint, I could do it. The book has

I felt that the society needs me as an academician.

7.

10.

ics and application of soft computing and finite element

Moving on to the mechanical laboratories, the equipment in most of the labs are out of date, especially the CAD lab computers. What is your view on that?

analysis. Of late, my research activity has been directed

In every meeting I emphasize that lab teaching should be

towards improving the quality of manufacturing in the tea

given full importance. The lab instruction should be given

sector in north-east. I have been thinking about coordinating

same importance as theory instruction. Sometimes, there are

a team of faculty and students for this purpose. It would be a

fund constraints. Regarding the CAD lab, some students may

unique type of research as it would directly benefit the tea

also be responsible for misuse. The funds allotted depend on

industry of Assam.

the recommendations of the person in charge of the particu-

What research activity are you currently involved in?

My research work is in the field of metal forming, mechatron-

8.

lar lab. May be there is no proper utilization! Sometimes, the

What is your image of an ideal student?

computers are empty as most of the students have laptops

A student should be good in all aspects. He should be good in

and computers of their own and prefer to work in the hostel.

studies as well as have a sound health and character. The

Therefore, some solution has to be found in which there will

academic activities are only a part of your stay; you must

be optimal usage of the resources.

learn during your entire stay the value of sports and cultural activities. Our ex-President Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had aptly said, ‘A good student can learn even from a bad teacher but a bad student can never learn even from a good teacher.’ The student should have a positive attitude. I look for people with overall balanced personalities.

9.

How much important is CPI while judging a student?

The CPI is just one aspect. The companies judge the students on their overall performance. We should neither underesti-

mate nor overestimate the importance of CPI. If a student does not have good communication skills, good health but has a good CPI, then it shows that at least the student has got something.

I was among the top five out of about fifty

students but I never bothered about being the topper.

Instead, I devoted my time to activities like being the editor of the Hindi section of the magazines, solar energy projects,

11.

certain level. I do not just go by CPI, I see whether the student

Some people are of the view that the curriculum is very monotonous and that there needs to be some amount of flexibility in the course structure. What do you have to say?

has a good aptitude. Sometimes a student may have high CPI

I think that the way of presenting can be monotonous and

but due to his introvert nature may not be able to get the

not the curriculum. For example, let’s take Fluid Mechanics,

work done.

we could talk about the numerous equations and focus on

writing poems etc. We should not be one dimensional. If a person is active in other things then it somewhat compensates for a bit lower CPI but still one should not fall below a

“

the mathematical aspect. While at the same time one could also talk about its creative application. Curriculum may move towards being more application based like top down

We should neither underestimate nor overestimate the importance of CPI.

approach where you look at the product and then see what the academic requirements for achieving it are. In each course the instructor can give term projects but in a big class that is not always feasible. From our part, we are bringing occasional changes and introducing new elective courses.

The subjects can be made more interesting if the students are more interactive. Creativity is one aspect in which many students of our country are lacking in.

“

12.

Sometimes the voice of student fraternity is not given its due importance. Your views.

15. The interview would be incomplete without one of your poems.

Sometimes it appears to students that they are not being

The lines are from the poem which I wrote to my maternal

heard. Students have spent much time in the world; have

uncle when he had called me to visit his village to which I had

their dreams and their own understanding of issues.

not been since the past 20 years.

Student’s demands may not be in their interest. There needs to be optimization between giving freedom and maintaining discipline. I would like to make my point more apt by giving a vivid example from a Shiv Khera’s book.

A boy was flying a kite with his father and asked him what kept the kite up. His Dad replied, "The string." The boy said, "Dad, it is the string that is holding the kite down." The father asked his son to watch as he broke the string. Guess what happened to the kite? It came down. Isn't that true in life? Sometimes the very things that we think are holding us down are the things that are

“सपने म

मेरे आता है मेरे मामा का

नव

के समु

,

के टापू जैसा,

कमी नेताओं म लगता मुझको बापू जैसा, िबजली का है नहीं भरोसा पानी भी कुछ खारा है , रखा गाँव म मुझको इतना

पता नहीं

थकान भरी

म इसम िमलता

सपने म

आता है मेरे मामा का

है ,

, |”

helping us fly. That is what discipline is all about.

13.

In the end I get emotional and say,

Tell us about any memorable incident of your life.

The incident goes back to my first class in IITG. I was teaching the third batch at IITG comprising of about 22 students. My pronunciation was not that good and one of the bright looking students who could not understand one of the words which I spoke asked me to write the word on the board. My

“सपना तो आिखर सपना है होता कुछ ही

मामा लोग हो गए बूढे नहीं रहा म भी अब नानी

towards his friends in amazement that the lecturer can neither write nor speak properly [Sir Laughs!]. After that I

िसधार गयी

,

ु नाना का नहीं पता,

बदल गया है गाँव परु ाना असर कर गयी नयी दिु नया म लेिकन जी उठते है

handwriting was also not that good and hence, the student could not understand the word. So, he started looking

,

सपने म

आता है मेरे मामा का

,

े तमाम, |”

taught about six courses to that student and he considered

16.

me as his favourite teacher. The student also did his BTP

We should try to achieve world class perfection in our activi-

under me. It’s very important to have students like him who

ties. There should not be any waste of time. We need to work

can even rectify their teachers.

towards improving our health, communication skills and

14.

What is your message to the students?

ethical values. Our country needs inventors; we need to put

Why you did not marry?

our heads together and strive for innovation and creativity.

I was inspired by personalities like Vinoba Bhave and Atal

The young brains are the future and I look forward to a more

Bihari Vajpayee. Vajpayee’s speaking ability in Hindi language

innovative youth who are much better than their forefathers.

and his appeal to a wider audience impressed me. I knew that life can be very small and therefore, took more interest in other activities. Not everyone can be a bachelor as it is not easy to live alone and enjoy. I can go in that path because of the love and support of my students and colleagues.

“

“

Our country needs inventors; we need to put our heads together and strive for innovation and creativity.

Interview by: Nished Singhal and Yash Dalmia.

Man on Mars - Shivam Mishra

M

ars has always been a fantasy for humans: earlier, as a

demon god and in modern space age, as a destination for many astronauts and scientists. But the mission is not as easy as it sounds. Many engineering challenges are there, acting as a big potential barrier, between us and the red planet.

Let’s talk about the challenges one by one.

The deep space between us and the red planet is virtually empty. That is, it has nothing to support the travellers, no oxygen, no water, no food and last but not the least, no gravity.

It will be real problem for mechanical engineers to build a spaceship, strong and compact enough, to carry all these things. The payload will be so large that even the best rocket boosters available today; will not be sufficient to throw the space ship out of Earth’s gravitational sphere. Newer technology will mean more delay and more expense. Decreasing the weight may help, but many necessary instruments may need to be sacrificed for that. In other way round, decreasing the weight of instruments may help a little bit, but the real problem will not be solved by only this.

For the zero gravity part, we can plan for artificial gravity, but then it will require newer technologies and more skills, including the risks involved.

Now, the space does have something that we will not need: cosmic rays and deep space radiation. On Earth, we are protected by these types of radiations by the help of electromagnetic belts around us, called van Allen Belts, which will be absent in the deep space. Building a spaceship which will be protected from these radiations, for such a long time, will be a good challenge for astronomical engineers, and a battle for travellers to remain alive, during journey.

Finally, the distance between us and the planet is so huge, that it will take at least 18 months for one way journey, and that too when Mars will be at closest. And no one will like to be out there for three years, doing almost nothing, except star gazing and similar experiments.

These were the few engineering problems that a manned mission to Mars will have to take care of. There are many more biological and psychological problems, which need to be encountered too.

Take off, for now.

If you attempted to count to stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all.

REFEERNCES: http://www.wikipedia.org/

BIRDS NEST YASH DALMIA - Yash Dalmia

In

the centre of Beijing lies a daring new design - 42000

tonnes of steel beams moving together in the shape of a birds nest. It is the stunning vision of an international team of architects and engineers and it took centre stage in one of the biggest event of this decade-The 2008 Olympian Games.

The steel roof is 320 meters long and 297 meters wide and has a massive capacity of 91000 spectators. It is the largest stadium ever built in china. But even more impressive than its sheer size is its unprecedented design. It is an ambitious plan that calls for giant curving beam crisscrossing in an intricate pattern of woven steel.

unique challenges. It is set right in the middle of a region.

So

the

fragile looking design must be

strong

withstand

enough

The ambitious design came with a hefty price tag of 260 million pounds.

The city designated 3000 acres of land for the Olympic park surrounding the birds nest.

The team created brand new steel for the Birds Nest which was never used before in the history of china. It was called the Q 460.

The steel frame was designed as a separate structure without touching the concrete bowl so that if the concrete

But the stadium faces some

seismic

Salient features

to

dangerous

earthquakes. Also it must be eco-friendly. In a city with massive air pollution the officials mandated that this Olympics must be the “Green Olympics”.

To fit this green mandate the steel roof is skinned with high tech membranes which let in sunlight to conserve energy, keep the noise in and protection from rain and wind. State of the art systems conserve energy, water and regulate heat. The structure’s facade is open allowing natural ventilation.

The steel structure - The first set of beams was on the outside, 24 pillars encircling the concrete bowl. Just like the backbone of human body these pillars prevented the structure from falling down. A second set of beams fills in the empty space between the beams and the first set just like the tendons in the body that hold the bones of the skeleton together they link all the beams forming a covered structure. A third set of beams support the stairways that connect the multiple levels

were to crack then the steel frame would be unaffected.

The concrete bowl was divided into six isolated section that can move independently. There were flexible ends between them, flexible joints between them and there was quite a large gap between each of those sections.

Over 1000 skilled welders were appointed for holding together the steel structure in space.

During the welding a few seams were left open to release stress caused by different temperatures during construction.

The main structure shrinked 26.5 centimetres into itself after removal of the 78 supporting columns that supported the 42000 tonnes of steel temporarily.

The filling of the spaces between the beams was done by a special transparent membrane called ETFA (Ethylene TetraFluoro Ethylene) membrane.

The birds nest also provided a network of green systems like the geothermal heating and rainwater capturing system to feed the grass on the field.

and provides a frame for the roof membrane covering.

State of the art electronics to broadcast the live action of the event to every part of the world.

REFERENCES National geographic channel http://www.thebeijingguide.com http://www.travelchinaguide.com

There were cutting edge lighting systems with different settings for different occasions.

cloud seeding - Hitesh Parwani China had started firing rockets and canons into the sky few

Under these conditions, scientists felt for certain that rain

months ago from Olympics 08. This technique used is called

would pour over the opening ceremony. So they decided

CLOUD SEEDING. They had been trying to manipulate the

cloud seeding was the only option. Sounding like a military

weather and hoping they could do a good enough job to get

operation, the Chinese government authorized the use of

the rain out of the way before the start of the Olympics.

1,110 cloud seeding missile launches from 4:00-11:39pm on Friday night to remove the threat of rain ahead of the 29th

CLOUD SEEDING

Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. This was the first time a form of weather

modification, is the attempt to change the amount or type of

the weather manipulation technique was used during any Olympic event in the history of the games.

precipitation that falls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud. The usual intent is to increase precipitation (rain or snow), but hail and fog suppression are also widely practiced in airports.

Thousands of scientists and experts have been engaged in cloud seeding for the last few decades around the world.

They got desired weather in the targeted areas. They got both rain and snow at will; the cloud seeding reduced the fog at airports for the flights. But the modified weather brought some wild storms, heavy rainfall, floods and wild tidal waves and increased average sea level as well The rockets were fired from 21 sites in the city, intercepting a potentially disruptive rain belt and triggering premature showers before they reached the capital. Baoding city, south-west of Beijing, received about 100mm (4in) of precipitation on Friday night but in the capital the rain held off, even though August is the rainy season in normally tinder-dry Beijing.

Sounding more like a terror threat than a rain warning, the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Bureau issued a third highest "Yellow Alert" for a thunderstorm at 9:35pm, with heavy rain hitting downtown Beijing soon after. At 10:42pm, the clouds had been dispersed and the opening ceremony remained storm-free. They also stated that other areas surrounding Beijing recorded heavy rain, possibly indicating that the focused cloud seeding campaign worked.

China is probably the world's largest practitioner of cloud

The deputy director of the Beijing Weather Modifica-

seeding, spending about $90 million a year. Last April, it

tion Office, Mr. Zhang Qiang, insisted there was no environ-

claimed a major weather victory after seeded clouds depos-

mental danger from using silver iodide to disperse rain and

ited a centimetre of snow on the Tibetan mountains. And

clouds, as only one gram of the chemical was released per

then, eager to ensure rain comes before -- not during -- the

square kilometer, a level safe for humans.

Olympics, the Beijing Weather Modification Office planned to

It has become a tradition in Beijing to seed the clouds

seed the clouds that float by beforehand, hoping to wash the

before public holidays, such as National Day on 1 October, to

pollution from the air and wring out any event-delaying

make rain, disperse pollution and ensure clear skies on the

precipitation.

day. But for the opening ceremony, the purpose was simply

But then also, on Friday 8th august 2008, 29th Olympic open-

rain dispersal – bringing on a downpour but not on the Olym-

ing ceremony in Beijing, the humidity was rising toward 90%

pic stadium. In China, according to statistics, precipitation

and rain clouds had been tracked since 7:20am approaching

last year has increased by 25 per cent.

Beijing.

REFERENCES: http://www.signonsandiego.com/

Michael Phelps

Unveiled - Pankaj Sahu

T

he recent Olympic Games held at Beijing witnessed one

of the breathtaking performances from Michael Phelps, the swimmer who won 8 Gold Medals in the recently concluded Olympics, thus creating a new Olympic record which was previously held by Mark Spitz, who had won 7 Gold medals in the 1972 Munich Olympics Games.

Mr. Rajat Mittal, IIT Kanpur alum and George Washington University researcher who is an expert on water mechanics and fluid dynamics has been enthusiastic and gung ho about Michael Phelps and his prowess of swimming.

Mr. Mittal, in collaboration with US swimming , conducted a series of experiments with around 50 swimmers and found among them, Phelps was able to tune his body the most, just

Rajat Mittal

like the dolphins who are known as one of the fast swimmers.

It was found out that Phelps can straighten his body (about 15 degrees) better than any other swimmer and his long, thin torso provides low drag thus giving the effect of flippers which helps him to whip his feet like fins to extract the maximum thrust from water. The strength of his legs can be harked back to an accident in October 2007; Phelps slipped on a patch of ice and fell while getting into a friend's car in Michigan, breaking his right wrist. Coach Bowman recalled that Phelps was in despair over the injury. For a few weeks after the surgery, he was confined to kicking in the pool with a kickboard giving him more time to strengthen his legs.

But foot isn’t the only contributing factor for his success, his powerful lungs can hold out much longer underwater than other swimmers, thus eradicating the water resistance to a great extent and the splash and drag for a longer time. “If the body is moving on the surface, it creates waves (resistance), so if you can move underwater instead you can eliminate some resistance.'' Mittal explained.

'His ‘Dolphin Kick’ known as the ‘Berkoff Blastoff’ after the Harvard Backstroker ‘David Charles Berkoff’ who first invented it. Charles Berkoff, a backstroke swimmer from the United States, figured this out first around 20 years ago and went on to effectively to win 4 Gold Medals. Many swimmers started copying it, hence officials imposed a limit of 15 meters underwater, a threshold Phelps exploits better and faster than anyone else.

Mittal, described the start of this research when he had involved with the US Navy Project to study the dolphins who were thought to be the ultimate swimmers. ''We were asked to understand how fish swim so efficiently,'' Mittal recalled in an interview, ''and it seemed like a natural extension to apply this to human swimming.'

Ques: What is the one thing Wall St and the Olympics have in common?

Ans:

Synchronised diving [:P]

People’s Car TATA NANO - Ashish Kumar

W

hen Ratan Tata

was interviewed by the Financial

As for now, it has cable operated manual gearbox soon to be

Times at Geneva Motors Show in 2005 about the future &

replaced by the automated one. Use of tubeless tyres & multi

cost of the low –cost cars, he said, it would cost around 1 lakh

point fuel injection (MPFI) system also adds to the perfor-

and the next day when the Financial Times had a headline

mance of NANO while cutting down the production cost.

“Tatas to produce

2500$ car”, Ratan Tata’s immediate

reaction was to issue a rebuttal clarifying that it was not

For the drive shaft, the component that transfers power from

exactly what he had said .But, when he gave it a second

engine to the wheel, it was redesigned with the input from

thought, why not take it just as a challenge; people were

French & Italian designers. For the NANO’s rear wheel drive

aghast but Tatas had their goal; common people’s dream:

system small diameter shaft was designed to make it lighter &

TATA NANO & after unrevealing NANO at the 9th auto expo,

cheaper.

on 10th Jan 2008 in New Delhi , TATA showed why they are the largest & the leading automobile company in India & why the

Tata has experimented with engineering plastics & new mate-

Indians look up to them .

rial using alongwith new technology like aerospace adhesives instead of welding. All these technalities are

40 patents

However, the vision of Ratan Tata was so not easily realized, it

testimony of the Indian’s innovative mind. Also,

took almost 3 years under the guidance & management of

registered during development process, are more than

Girish Wagh, the brain behind Nano, to give TATA NANO, the

enough to signify development process the amount of hard

shape & the specifications which make other cars envy of it.

work & innovation needed to design Nano.

Now, let us look for the technical details which make TATA NANO a way ahead of the other cars. A 623 cc, 2 cylinder engine made up of aluminium uses petrol as fuel to give a power of 33 BHP. 33 hp engine peaks out at 5500 rpm while a torque of 48 N-m is supplied at meager 2500 rpm helping the drivability of the car. A top speed of 95-100 kmph & fuel consumption of 20-25 kmph are more than expected for such a low cost car. It is for the first time that a 2–cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with a single balance shaft so as to minimize weight & to maximize performance per unit of energy delivering high fuel efficiency.

However, the interior of the Nano is not as beautiful as its elegant exterior, as plastics have been extensively used to reduce the cost to the minimal level. For the safety, it has crumple zones & intrusion resistant doors & has also passed front crash tests. But, still the safety is to be taken care of. Yes, it is much safer for a four-member family to travel in a nano, than to ride on a two-wheeler, for whom Tata Nano is liking a dream come true.

Earlier, it was being thought that Nano would be a low end “rural” car without doors or windows, with plastic curtains- a 4-wheeled version of the Indian auto-rickshaw. On this criticism, Ratan Tata exclaimed-“It is not a car with plastic

TATA NANO has been designed at “ITALY’S INSTITUTE OF

curtains or no roof, it’s a real car!”

DEVELOPMENT IN AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING “with some changes like having only one windscreen wipers instead of

For the environmentalist concern of increased air pollution &

commonly used 2 wipers. NANO has 21% larger interior & 8%

already overloaded Indian traffic, Tata already has an answer

smaller exterior as compared to its closest rival Maruti 800.

as

With the length of 3.1m, width of 1.5m & height of 1.6m it has

as fuel, to be launched in the next summer.

E-Nano, an eco-friendly initiative to use compressed-air

comfortable sitting for 4-persons & even for a tall – person like Ratan Tata himself. Curved dashboard has been

Even before its launch, Nano has established India as emerg-

introduced to increase storage space.

ing global hub for small car production. While the arrival of Tata Nano on the Indian roads is around the corner, not only

Extensive use of aluminium instead of mostly used cast iron

the Indians but, also the international automobile commu-

in the light-weighted engine allowed more cost savings. The

nity has kept its finger crossed. And, finally when Tata Motor’s

engine & the battery have been placed at the rear end,

Chief Executive Ravi Kant says “The innovation wasn’t in

putting less pressure at the steering system. 2-piece steel rod

technology, it was a mindset change” , he is simply trying to be

of the steering system has been redesigned as the tubular as

too modest.

to save machining & assembly cost.

GOURAMI BUSINESS CHALLENGE - Vedang Singh A Brief Introduction of Shell

Throughout their time in Gourami, Shell assesses the

Ranked among the world's major chemicals companies,

review, if the student demonstrates all the qualities that

Shell produced more than 3% of global gas and nearly 3%

they are looking for, he is offered a full-time position upon

of the world's oil in 2005. Besides, they have an interest in

graduation.

candidate’s performance and development. After the

almost 50 refineries, and a network of some 45,000 service stations. Shell has the broadest portfolio of hydro-

The Gourami Business Challenge basically targets under-

gen, bio-fuels, wind and solar power activities amongst

graduates in Mechanical, Electrical, Petroleum and Chemical

major energy companies. Shell Technology India is a part

Engineering. There is a definite criterion for getting into Shell

of the Royal Dutch Shell based in Hague, Netherlands.

which they define as the CART criteria.

Located in Bangalore, it is the third Shell global centre for technology after Houston, USA and Amsterdam, Holland.

Capacity (“C”)

Shell

recruits

quickly and learn fast, basing judgments on fact not

students for a variety of job profiles

sentiment and the creativity to propose innovative solutions

from many engineering disciplines

and manage uncertainty within complex environments to

which include (from IIT, Guwahati)

produce workable solutions i.e. basically whether a candidate

Mechanical, Civil, Chemical and

is able to think out of the box and come up with solutions.

Technology

India

Electrical to name a few.

is defined as the ability to analyze data

Achievement (“A”) is defined as the drive and enthusiasm to set for oneself and others challenging unambiguous

3 Routes into Shell

targets,

the

resilience

to

deliver,

the

courage

and

self-confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems and go against There are three alternative routes into Shell for any student to choose from. Any one of these can lead to a

the crowd when necessary i.e. the ability to get things done!

permanent job offer. First is through campus interviews

Relationship (“R”) is ability to have genuine respect and

also known as the Shell Recruitment Day (SRD), the

concern for people and valuing everyone regardless of

second through internships and the last being through the

culture or status, demonstrating honesty and integrity at all

Shell Gourami Business Challenge.

times and creating trust by open and direct communications i.e. being able to work effectively in a diverse team.

Gourami Business Challenge

Technical (“T”) skills are only applicable to those apply-

A week long residential event, the Gourami Business

ing for technical positions, and refer to the ability to identify

Challenge takes place around the world at various times

and overcome technical challenges. However, for the

of the year and in various locations.

Gourami Business Challenge, shell focused more on the CAR

G

Successful candidates are

attributes while the technical aspect was limited to CV

offered

a

screening (a part of which is done in IITG itself by the Place-

Gourami in their region of

ment Cell) and a brief relatively technical interview at the end

study

place

of the challenge in which questions related to a project,

availability. This year, the

details of which we are supposed to submit beforehand, were

Gourami Business Chal-

asked.

a

place

subject

to

on

lenge was held at Langthe

It should also be noted that Candidates who are not success-

next year, it’ll probably be

ful at Gourami are not be eligible to participate in the Shell

held at Bali, Indonesia.

Recruitment Day (on- Campus /off-campus) for the next 2 yrs,

kawi,

Malaysia

and

from the date of application, hence the decision to apply should be taken after some thought about the future as well.

The selections for Gourami in India were done by

The planning went forward through discussions within my

telephonic interviews for those candidates whose names

own team, with adjoining teams, by negotiations with

were forwarded by their respective departments of their

representatives of the state of Gourami over tax rebates,

colleges in numbers specified. In IIT Guwahati, four

land equity and collaborations by way of discussions wit

students (from mechanical & a few others from chemical)

contemporary organizations. Then there were presenta-

were shortlisted for the interviews by the Department. The

tions at various stages to the project heads and the

final selections from India comprised of a student each

project was concluded by a presentation to the sharehold-

from IIT Guwahati, KGP, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur, ISM

ers of the shell. Finally there was an interview one half of

Dhanbad, NIT Surathkal, MIT Pune and 2 students from

which was technical as previously explained and the other

IIT Bombay. Its to be noted here that Shell tries to take in

half was based on my contribution to the project develop-

students from all the IITs uniformly, hence the Gourami

ment plan.

Business Challenge is a golden opportunity for all IIT-Guwahtians to successfully get through into one of the

Every team had a coach to assist details. Alongside there

largest manufacturing companies in the world!

were datasheets and information booklets for each candidate as per his/her background and the job assigned.

During the challenge, 48 students – from Australia, China,

There was also a library to supplement any information

India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singa-

alongside the local area network where effective informa-

pore – were split into different project teams and asked to

tion transfer took place. For the sake of evaluation every

come up with a unified strategic business plan for Shell’s

group had a ‘floating assessor’ who never interacted but

operations in the fictional island of Gourami.

made notes on performance of each candidate.

In simple terms, we were given the chance to put in a request for millions of dollars from investors, and then

With so many personalities from various backgrounds

invited to sit down and negotiate a deal with the local

working together, the challenge was not without its fair

sultan.

share of conflict. Having to come up with the proposal,

And when that was done, we had to examine potential

and then integrate all our ideas into one plan was

sites for setting up an operations base and come up with

definitely not easy. Initially, we did have conflict. However,

a proposal for a five-year business plan!

putting ourselves in each others’ shoes helped a lot. We had to learn skills not only help us bridge our cultural differences, but also help us to resolve inter-disciplinary conflict.”

Since the last 2 years, India has been sending 10 candidates from certain select campuses after rigorous short listing. And out of these 10 candidates, 7 have emerged successfully and gone on to join Shell or will be joining Shell in the near future. It’s remarkable to note in Gourami that all candidates need to understand that they are not in

Once in Gourami, we had to work in one of five teams,

competition with each other. There is no limit for a cut-off

with 9-10 members in each team each of which was

number limit for selection. People who fit the bill are taken

responsible for a specific project –development of

on board. Shell looks at the bigger picture and not at just

offshore oil & gas discoveries (EP North and South),

the technical capabilities of a candidate when it recruits. I

making strategic decisions about the refinery (Gas and

would also like to add that Indians do tend to lose out

Power), or planning the sale and marketing of products to

when it comes to selecting all-rounded candidates

customers(Marketing and Finance). We had to deal with

because most candidates have excellent academic

issues inherent – geological and engineering problems,

achievements but their minds are not open enough.

economics and finance, political sensitivities, competitors, customers and partners – and find solutions that work for

Also, it’s noteworthy that the candidates selected from

all of them.

IITG in the last 2 years have made it successfully into Shell. Thus, all it needs is a little presence of mind during

As a member of EP South (Exploration & Production

the interviews, a smart “makeover” of one’s personality

South group) the job of my team was to explore and

and constant alertness during the Gourami Challenge to

estimate the oil and gas reserves, make a production plan

get through! I truly hope that I’ll get to see my juniors

for a constant supply to the refinery and power group and

working with (or hopefully under) me in the future!

taking care of the financial aspects for a profitable business.

Happy Gourami’ing!

Dog Day Afternoon - Ravish Vasan

JEE

exam was over!

Classes got started at full pace! Tutorials where nothing

According to some confided sources (like FIITJEE.), my paper

seemed right had to be attended! And lectures where every

had gone somewhat average! I was eagerly waiting for results

concept by Profs became a contradiction no matter how

and meanwhile gave other exams like AIEEE, BITSAT etc.

simple it was! Anyway lecture halls became our sleeping den!

Before JEE, time was racing ahead of us, and we felt we need

And no idea why, I started hating academics! Real analysis in

some more time! But after JEE, time looked still! I was not able

maths, quantum mechanics& whole strata of ED looked like a

to bear the anxiety and eagerness of knowing my AIR and was

hot potato! No doubt my performance was below par in all of

incessantly thinking about it!

these! And what more, Proxy making was becoming normal

AIR 2324 and was

except in Mahanta mam’s classes! And HSS 106! That was a

invited for councelling. The whole world looked under my

real test for English rather than psychological analysis! All sort

feet! I felt relieved that my hard work really paid off! In

of words and vocabs were always popping out from our Profs

councelling, on checking OR-CR data, I had literally no chance

Mouth & they either became bouncers or could not really

of getting core branches (cs, ece, me) in IIT-Delhi, Madras,

reach our brain via ears!

Bombay et al. But since branch was dearer to me & I saw a ray

Literally all Profs were making us dance to their tunes!! Life

of light in dark cloud in form of mech at IITG, I filled it as my

became dogged!

Finally the cat was out of the bag! I got

top priority! And before I could think about it, IITG was calling me!!

It was a day of happiness as well as a little apprehension too!

2324

Many of my friends, relatives & family members opposed my decision of coming to IITG citing reasons of far flung area, high insurgency and language difference. I absentmindedly neglected all those lectures. I was pretty sure that security would be stepped up in IITG. At last I was coming! That day, I

After a break for lunch, we entered hell (Read Labs!). The

felt like crying as well as walking on sunshine! I was

afternoon remained already hot & our lab work (particularly

perplexed!

ED and Workshop) made us hot baked! The whole A, B, C,

Anyway, coming to IITG was pure fun! It seemed for some

D.......had to be written again! We felt like pushed into nursery

time that I was just visiting a holiday resort! Life seemed

classes! On asking why RHSV is necessary when only two

beautiful &free of bounds! IITG hypnotized me! The whole

views can explain the whole nature and position of

infra, student culture, hygiene, natural landscapes all seemed

line/plane! Quick came the reply “Do it now guy! You will

perfect.

know it later!” I felt like being dogged upon& it all seemed a

No doubt my few days stay was quite good and attended a

dog life for marks, marks and marks! No other aim.

barrage of orientations! This club-that club, this activity-that activity; intro with seniors, roaming in library searching for

Quizzes came and went but I could not improve my perfor-

appropriate course books, orkuting whole night in CC!!! Life

mance! Life went like a cycle with a predetermined path! No

seemed easy and tension free!

one can alter course of its action!

Then there came havoc in life!

Then came midsems and everyone started putting up his/her

“

best in academics! Night outs in CC studying up to 1 am became regular.CC became our 2nd home! Anyway except maths and ED, as expected, my overall papers had gone just

But since branch was dearer to me & I saw a ray of light in dark cloud in form of mech at IITG, I filled it as my top priority!

average! Finally after the paper of HSS on the last day, life again looked cheerful! The very same day we all friends went to city for ‘soiree’, saw lots of movies on senior’s compu &most of us started preparing for going home/shillong.

The hot days were over!

Life became cool for a while!

Everywhere, everyone, everything looked cheerful!!!

I was going home, my true home.....

“

I H T C S E A M M यार की chemistry Chemistry के एक जरा दे खे अपने एक िदन

को

हो गया |

को वह कैसे बयान करता है | के

नज़र आई एक लड़की !

सँद ु र सी nose उसकी test tube जैसी !

एक िदन हमारे टे

का information था,

जब उसके डड ै से मेरा introduction था | हमारी बात सन ु कर वे उछले ऐसे, Ignition tube म sodium भड़क उठे जैसे | बोले होश म आओ, पहचानो अपनी औकात,

साँ

म ether सी खुसब समाई थी,

Iron कभी िमल नहीं सकता gold के साथ |

आँ

म radium सा एहसास हुआ,

इस तरह टूट गया हमारे

ु

म उसके glucose सी िमठास थी,

हम तो चुप रहे aldehyde का कड़वा घट ुँ पीकर |

आख ँ लड़ी, reaction हुआ! िफर लगने लगे उसके घर म Nucleus के

का बीकर,

ऐसे,

और electron जैसे |

िज़ंदगी हो गयी unsaturated hydrocarbon की तरह, इधर उधर घूमता रहा, आवारा hydrogen की तरह | - Ravish Vasan

SYNCTEAM Lokesh Saini (Vice President, Mesa) Rohit Koolwal (Publication Secretary, Mesa) Nished Singhal Yash Dalmia Peehoo Dewan Debendra Dharua Naresh Nallamala Aakash Golia Ashish Kumar Hitesh Parwani Pankaj Sahu Anand Kartha Prateek Kumar Ravish Vasan Rishi Garg (President, Mesa)

DESIGNERS Ayush Bajaj Punit Mathur www..geocities.com/ayush029

www.iitg.ernet.in/mesa