No flush, no water, no odour, no power needed

“Life is all about pee and poo,” asserted
Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi Prof.
Vijayaraghavan Chariar.
And to prove that you cannot underestimate
the importance of pee or poo, seriously you
cannot, the “waterless urinal technology”
has been invented and installed in the “now
odourless” gentlemen restrooms on the
campus. This success story will now be one
among the many exhibits on show at IIT-
Delhi’s “Open House” on Saturday.
The waterless urinal also has a clever way
of containing ammonia in the urine, that
“usually allows your nose to find a
restroom anywhere” and also costs one-fifth
of the waterless urinals already available in
the market, the professor quipped making
light of a “smelly” issue.
However, making it possible to attend the
call of nature without the embarrassing
side-effects of smell is only one part of the
“no flush, no water, no odour, and no
power needed” invention.
It is also decidedly green and all about
conserving nature’s “bounty”.
Prof. Chariar further added: “Phosphate, a
rapidly depleting mineral, is most useful as
a fertilizer and found abundantly in human
urine. This special function, which we can
call “save the pee”, is also meant to recover
this fertilizer. Non-smelly, of course.”
Water in all the toilets across the city,
seems to somehow miss the sewage
treatment plants and end up in the Yamuna
instead. Another reason, according to Prof.
Chariar, to go in for a “waterless” toilet.
Needless to say, the whole technology has
been patented along with the special
contraption that extracts ammonia before
releasing the phosphate-rich, odourless
urine into the lawns, plants or another part
of the garden that you might wish.
The only thing the professor and his team
haven’t worked out yet is to somehow make
a similar toilet for women, which is still in
the waiting due to sanitation issues.

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IIT, Delhi Presents Open House 2014 Exhibition

For the tenth consecutive year Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi) is all set
to exhibit an extensive collection of
innovative research and product development
projects at its annual open house, Open
House 2014.
Scheduled on Saturday April 19, 2014 in the
premises of IIT Delhi, Open House 2014 will
be a one - day event dedicated to provide an
insight into path-breaking research work,
student projects and the numerous advanced
facilities and laboratories available in IIT
Delhi.
Continuing the tradition of last nine years,
this year too Open House promises to be a
real treat to the eyes of the connoisseurs by
presenting finest of the projects to
technology enthusiasts, students and
colleagues from other technical Institutes,
school children, and industries and general
public. Registrations for visitors have started
on the website.
Special attractions are:
Social Impact Projects
Biogas Technology for Green Vehicular fuel
TrueHb Hemometer
Zerodor
Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical
Analysis
ICTs for Better Governances
Robotics
IITD Entrepreneurship Showcase
Quadcopter Show

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IIT-Delhi to throw open its doors on Saturday

Special attention to design, socially relevant,
commercially viable projects this year
Ever wondered what the insides of a
laboratory at the Indian Institute of
Technology-Delhi looks like? How about
wanting to see a robotics show or perhaps
witness a mini quadcopter take to the skies?
You’re in luck, for IIT-Delhi’s traditional
“Open House”, where it throws open its doors
to the good citizens of the city, is happening
this Saturday.
“Almost all our laboratories, departments and
research will be open to the public on this
day. Along with over 500 projects that
showcase innovations in engineering and
technology, science and humanities, design
and management,” said Prof. Joby Joseph, who
is the “Open House” chairperson this year.
“This time, we have given special attention to
design, and socially relevant and commercially
viable projects,” he added.
“A lot of students have already confirmed
their presence as we have some talks lined up
along with the actual exhibition.
Schoolchildren never fail to astound us with
their questions,” said Dean of Research and
Development Prof. Suneet Tuli, while revealing
that their research funding had reached
around Rs.106 crore this year.
A few of innovations that are socially relevant
include the True Hb Hemometer that allows
you to test your haemoglobin levels with just
one drop of blood and gives you the results
within seconds. And the best part? It’s very
cheap and small, and can withstand higher
temperatures.
“The current practice is to send your collected
blood sample to a pathology lab and wait for
results overnight. Devices available in the
market need temperatures below 20 degrees
Celsius and cost about Rs.20,000 compared to
ours, which costs about Rs.7,000,” said
Ambar Srivastava, a student of Dr. Veena
Koul, who has invented this device.
Another quick and easy medical testing device
is the “Lipoprotien Analysis”, which can check
your “cholesterol levels at the cost of a
burger”.
Prof. A.S. Rathore explained that 73 per cent
of Indians are overweight, with the average
person becoming obese at the age of 38.
What is worse is that the majority belong to
the middle-class or poor households and are
forced to shell out Rs.5,000 for a cholesterol
analysis. “Our machine can do a test for
Rs.120, the exact cost of a burger with a slice
of cheese,” he said.
Ways in which information technology can be
used for better implementation of government
schemes, toys that can be made from trash
and making plastic from potato starch are
some of the other exhibits on display.

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Indian Institutes that makes it to Top 100 global universities rankings

Global universities have been ranked
repeatedly by various websites and education
magazines on the basis of their academic
curriculum; infrastructure and ability to churn
out scholars who has went to become big-wigs
in different profession.
However, no matter how much we tally the
university rankings, US varsities always tops
the chart leaving no much scope for India to
claim its merit as a education hot-spot. With
just four entries in the top 100 and one entry
in the top 25, Education Today introduces your
to four institutes who are the only institutes
that continue to excel in every list.
Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
IIT Mumbai was the first IIT to be set up with
the assistance of foreign players such as
UNESCO and ascertains giving quality
education since it was established in 1958 .
Presently, IIT Mumbai has about 14 academic
departments that offer undergraduate and post
graduate degrees in engineering, science,
mathematics and technology. Apart from
rendering engineering education research in
varied areas of technology that are making
significant contributions to the nation it is an
acclaimed center for research in varied areas
of technology that are making significant
contributions to the nation. In the last five
decades, more than 39,000 students have
graduated from this prominent institute.
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
IIT Delhi, formerly known as College of
Engineering and Technology Delhi, like all other
Indian Institutes of Technology, conducts
various programs including bachelor's degree
in Technology, the Dual Degree Bachelor-cum-
Master of Technology program and an
Integrated Master of Technology Program. At
present, this center of excellence has about 13
departments with 11 multi-disciplinary centers
of research activity, and offers approximately
700 courses every semester, including post-
graduate and undergraduate programs.
The institute offers a PhD program for
research in basics sciences such as chemical
sciences , biological sciences, , physical
sciences as well as research facility in
interdisciplinary areas like nanoscience
biomedical sciences, nanotechnology and
bioengineering etc.
The institute conducts two semesters in a year,
however, there is an additional summer
semester also running a few courses. IIT Delhi
has 3 schools of excellence.
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
IIT Kanpur was established with an aim to
provide quality education, to bring in
technological innovation and support the
industrial growth of the country. Currently,
approximately 3,400 undergraduates and 2000
postgraduates are studying in this educational
institute.
IIT Kanpur is the first institute to offer
computer science education. IIT Kanpur offers
four-year B.Tech programs in Aerospace
Engineering, Biological Sciences and Bio-
engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, Computer Science and
Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials
Science and Engineering and Mechanical
Engineering. The admission to these programs
is procured through Joint Entrance
Examination. institute also offers M.Tech. (2
years), M.B.A. (2 years) and M.Sc. (2 years)
degrees and PhD courses. Admissions to M.
Tech is made once a year through Graduate
Aptitude Test in Engineering.Admissions to M.
Des is made once a year through both
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering(GATE)
and Common Entrance Exam for Design(CEED).
The students of IIT Kanpur made a nano
remote sensing satellite called Jugnu, This small
satellite was given by president Pratibha Patil
to ISRO.
University of Delhi
University of Delhi, an institute that is
renowned for its high standards in research
and teaching in the country, is the least
ranked Indian institution in the list.
Delhi university has a rich academic tradition
and has made significant contributions to their
society.
The university now has 16 faculties managing
86 academic departments. It is currently
spread across 77 colleges and 5 other
renowned institutes spread across the city.

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Courses from 3 IITs, IISc are in global top 50

MUMBAI: Four Indian universities,
including the IITs at Delhi and Mumbai, are
among the global top 50 in at least one of
the 30 disciplines covered under the QS
World University Rankings by Subject.
IIT-Delhi achieved the country's highest
position, ranking 42nd in electrical
engineering. IIT-Bombay was 49th in
electrical engineering and 50th in civil
engineering, IIT-Madras 49th in civil
engineering and the Indian Institute of
Science 46th in materials science.
No course from Indian universities figure in
areas such as arts, humanities and social
sciences. IIT-Bombay is the only one in the
top 200 in any of the five arts and
humanities disciplines, ranking in the
151-200 grouping for linguistics.
The five life sciences disciplines feature only
two Indian institutions, while India draws a
blank in six of the eight social sciences
disciplines. The exceptions are statistics, in
which five Indian institutions— IIT-D, IIT-
Kharagpur, IIT-Kanpur, Indian Statistical
Institute and IIT-B — feature, and politics,
in which Jawaharlal Nehru University
appears in the 101-150 grouping.
All round, IIT-B emerges as the top
institution with four of its courses making
it to the rankings.
"The IITs continue to perform well in their
specialist areas and the inclusion of three of
them in the global top 50 in the engineering
disciplines shows that they are starting to
achieve genuine international renown,"
said QS head of research Ben Sowter.
On the other hand, the lack of world-
renowned Indian programmes in arts,
humanities and social sciences continues to
be a concern, Sowter said. "The absence of
Indian universities from the top 200 in
subjects such as medicine, law, economics,
accounting and finance underlines the
difficulty India faces in reversing the tide of
talented students leaving the country to
study these disciplines abroad," he added.
"The latest QS rankings highlight the
excellence of the specialist Indian
institutions in the STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics)
area and also identifies the need to improve
the global competitiveness of our
universities, in particular the large and
comprehensive institutions," said Mohandas
Pai, chairman, ICAA — Indian Centre for
Assessment & Accreditation.
Image
The encouraging performance of the IITs in
engineering and technology fits into a
pattern of strong performances by Asian
institutions in the STEM disciplines. Asia
accounts for 10 of the top 30 institutes in
chemical, civil and electrical engineering,
and eight in mechanical engineering,
showing that several institutions in the
region can now be considered serious global
players.
National University of Singapore makes the
global top 10 in all five engineering and
technology disciplines, while Hong Kong
accounts for three of the top 20 institutions
for computer science: the Hong Kong
University of Science & Technology (11th),
the University of Hong Kong (14th), and
Chinese University of Hong Kong (18th).
"The STEM disciplines have been the
primary focus of global competition over
the past decade as institutions in countries
such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China and
Korea have emerged as genuine competitors
to the traditional research powerhouses in
the US and UK," said Sowter.
Globally, Harvard remains the best all-
round institution, ranking first in 11 of the
30 disciplines, two more than its local rival
MIT.

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IIT students make a NaMo drone for poll campaigning

Far from the battlefields of Iraq and
Afghanistan, drones are set to take poll
campaigning to new heights in the Capital. A
group of students at IIT-Delhi have designed a
drone – an unmanned flying vehicle – to carry
banners asking people to vote for BJP PM
candidate Narendra Modi.
The lightweight equipment can reach a height
of 4,000 feet and has a reach of 1,000
metres. The remote-controlled object will fly
around open spaces – like parks and grounds –
and drop pamphlets in support of Modi as PM,
besides acting as a banner in the sky for the
Gujarat chief minister.
“The drone is in its final stages of completion
and will soon be used to reach out to voters in
Delhi. The exterior of the drone will carry the
message “Modi for PM” while we can also drop
pamphlets through it in the area of
campaigning,” said Sanjay Kharwar, who
developed the drone with two of his college
friends – Brij Kishore Maurya and Tanmay
Bunkar.
Keeping Delhi’s cramped public spaces in
mind, the trio installed a sensor in the drone
so that it can send an alert to the operator if a
building or wire is near.
“The drone can work without the operator but
due to narrow streets and overhead wires, it
will be controlled by a remote by our
volunteer. It can also carry an audio message
but we will have to check with the agencies
concerned before we start it,” said Bunkar.
Once part of Anna Hazare’s movement against
corruption, the students maintain that they
only support Modi and not any particular
political party.
“We want a person with vision, someone who
has a clean record and stands for
development. This is the reason for us
supporting Modi. We will not campaign for any
party or candidate as our only intention is to
make Modi the PM,” said Maurya.
The trio is a part of a group called IITians
Support Modi that has more than 500 IIT
students nationwide. In Delhi alone, the group
has about 250 volunteers who are also active
on social media.
Modi has received strong support among
IITians this election season with students
asking people to vote for the BJP PM
candidate. Interestingly, Modi is fighting
against an IIT alumnus, Arvind Kejriwal, in a
keenly-watched contest in Varanasi.

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