Japan's maglev train runs test at over 310 mph

(Phys.org) —Moving toward its goal of
building a high-speed magnetic levitation
(maglev) train line between Tokyo and Osaka,
Central Japan Railway Co has resumed testing
of its L0 (L Zero) train—demonstrating speeds
just above 310 miles per hour (500 km per
hour). That makes it the longest and fastest
maglev train in the world.
Maglev trains are able to travel very fast all
while using less energy than conventional
trains because they allow the train to ride on
a cushion of air—friction from the wheels on
the track is eliminated. Most in the field
expect they will require less maintenance
costs as well. But what's still not clear is if
the lower operating costs will make up for the
dramatically greater installation cost. The line
between Tokyo and Osaka is expected to cost
approximately $90 billion and it won't be
completed until 2045 (an initial line is
expected to begin operating between Tokyo
and Nagoya in 2027 reducing travel time from
95 to 40 minutes).
In the test, a five car train carrying reporters
made its way around a 26.6-mile track in
approximately nine minutes. Riders were able
to track their speed via overhead video
screens. Those onboard reported a smooth,
reasonably quiet ride. Those witnessing the
test standing near the track, on the other
hand, reported feeling a shockwave and a
deafening noise as the train passed. It's that
second group that has the train developers
worried—before track can be laid, the train
must pass environmental impact studies.
The train does have wheels—it rides on them
when the train is at low speed—then rises up
above the track when it reaches
approximately 93 mph. On the test run, the
train reached its peak speed just three miles
into the trip, which would suggest riders
would feel pushed back into their seats, but
those on board reported no such sensation.
The test run also marked the resumption of
testing after the track was made longer. Also,
by bringing reporters aboard for the initial
trial, the train's developers expressed their
confidence in the train's performance, it's
suitability as a mode of mass transportation
and it's safety. Passengers were allowed to
move about the rail cars during all parts of
the trip. And though much of the trip
occurred underground, they also reported
that looking out the window when
aboveground offered little more than blurs
for landscapes near the train, but beautiful
imagery of more distant objects as the train
sped along.

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Restoration of GSLV-D5 Mission

The launch of GSLV-D5 (with Indian Cryogenic
Stage), scheduled for 1650 hrs on August 19,
2013, had to be called off due to a leak
observed in the UH25 Fuel system of the
Liquid Second Stage, during the last lap of the
countdown. At the time of calling off the
Countdown, the GSLV Vehicle was loaded with
210 tons of liquid and cryogenic propellants.
About 750 kg of UH25 Fuel had leaked out,
leading to contamination of the area around
the launch pad. It took 6 days of round-the-
clock operations before the contamination
could be reduced to the safe level to enable
movement of the GSLV-D5 back to the Vehicle
Assembly Building. The GSLV-D5 Launch

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India's Advanced Communication Satellite GSAT-7 Launched Successfully

India's advanced multi-band communication
satellite, GSAT-7, was successfully launched at
0200 hrs IST today (August 30, 2013) by the
Ariane-5 launch vehicle of Arianespace from
Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane-5 precisely
placed GSAT-7 into the intended
Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after a
flight of 34 minutes 25 seconds duration.
As planned, ISRO's Master Control Facility
(MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka started acquiring
the signals five minutes prior to the separation
of GSAT-7 from Ariane-5 launch vehicle. The
solar panels of the satellite have been

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IIT Delhi Director R K Shevgaonkar & his students' proud moment

battery-operated wheelchair that helps the
physically-challenged use western toilets, a
biochip that tests milk for pesticide residue,
nanotechnology that keeps garments fresh and
anti-microbial even when one is sweating. The
unique models that the students of IIT-Delhi
showcased at their annual innovation fest,
i2Tech 2013 Open House, in April this year are
ample proof of the innovation encouraged at
the premier institute that has given it a sharp
edge over others. As the IITS monopolise the
top five positions in the India Today-Nielsen
Best Colleges survey this year, IITDelhi
wrenches the first spot from IITKanpur after
three years.
While IIT-Delhi has always been known for its
B.Tech courses, the major focus now is on
research, development and innovation. Last
year, the institute gave close to Rs. 45 crore to
the faculty through internal funding for
advanced research."We want our institute to
be just as famous for its research as it is for
undergraduate studies," says IIT-Delhi Director
R.K. Shevgaonkar. "We awarded 200 PhD
degrees and produced 2,000 research papers
in the last year."
A centre for design and innovation is also
being set up and the institute has plans to start
a policy study programme from the next
academic year. "The course will focus on
research related to policies in different sectors
such as telecom, energy and so on," says S.K.
Kaul, deputy director, strategy and planning.
IIT Delhi is also planning to introduce a core
programme for all engineering students from
this year. Under this, all students irrespective
of their branch of study, would learn the same
subjects in the first year, some of which would
spill into the second year. Not only would a
common grounding in basic subjects provide
for a broad-based education, it would also
help the college implement a more ambitious
plan in a year's time-to allow students to
change their branches, if they want to, at the
end of first year. So far, the branches have
been strictly defined on the basis of JEE
rankings, which may not match a student's
interest. When it comes to placements, few can
beat IIT-Delhi. "Close to 324 companies
offered jobs to 770 students in 2012-13," says
Kaul.
The average salary package was Rs.8.5 lakh per
annum. The remaining 81 students either went
off to pursue higher studies or bagged jobs off
the campus. For an institute that places such a
high premium on the holistic development of
students, it is not surprising that IIT-Delhi
graduates are much in demand.

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IIT-Kharagpur gets new director

"Partha Pratim Chakraborty has taken charge
as a director of the institute after the
convocation," former acting director S K Som
announced here.
Speaking to reporters, Chakraborty said the
board would chart out a five year road-map
with priority focus continuing in research.
Speaking about the proposed medical
education at IIT-Kharagpur, Chakraborty said
the institute was looking into issues like
amendment of the IIT Act to incorporate
medical education. Som said that the institute
was also trying to get the course approval
from the Medical Council of India and it might
help in avoiding the amendment, which would
be a time-taking affair.
At the same time the premier institute
management was looking forward to begin the
first phase of construction of the 400-bed
super speciality hospital from October which
would cost around Rs 230 crore. "We gave
project management contract to HCC and we
hope to begin construction from October. It
will take another two years to complete," Som
said.
"So, we will be able to begin medical course
from 2016-17 session," he said. "IIT-
Kharagpur has tied up with international
institutions like John Hopkins of USA and
Imperial college in England. There are domestic
collaborations like with Tata Cancer Center
Kolkata," he said. In order to focus on
research, the institute has decided to increase
the research student intake to 20 per cent
from 10 per cent now over the next five years
and eventually to 30 per cent.
Chakraborty said in order to strengthen the
faculty, a recruitment drive has begun but
there continued to be a dearth of quality
faculty. According to the guidelines, IIT-
Kharagpur would require 1000 faculty from
the current 560. now. At the convocation IIT-
Kharagpur offered degrees to its students and
Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) to Arun
Sarin in recognition of being the doyen of
telecommunication industry and his
contributions to Vodafone and to Y C
Deveshwar for his leadership in ITC.

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Raghuram Rajan to be next RBI governor

Raghuram Rajan was named the next governor
of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the
nation contends with the rupee near a record
low, one of the world’s fastest inflation rates
and the weakest economic growth in a decade.
Rajan, 50, the top adviser in the finance
ministry since 2012, will succeed incumbent
Duvvuri Subbarao for a period of three years,
the government said in a statement in New
Delhi on Tuesday. Subbarao’s term at RBI is
due to expire 4 September. Rajan told
reporters that there is no magic wand to pull
the country instantly out of challenges being
faced by the economy. “These are challenging
times for the Indian economy... The
government and the RBI are working together
to address these challenges. We don’t have a
magic wand to make the problems disappear
instantaneously. But I have absolutely no
doubt, we will deal with them,” the Press Trust
of India quoted him as saying.
Rajan, who accurately warned central bankers
in 2005 of a potential financial crisis, faces a
currency that touched a record low today and
which has slumped about 13% against the
dollar in the past six months. RBI increased
two interest rates last month and capped daily
cash injections into the banking system,
seeking to stabilize the rupee and reduce risks
to economic stability from the depreciation.
“The immediate challenge would be to restore
credibility in stabilizing the exchange rate and
fighting inflation,” said Rahul Bajoria, an
economist at Barclays Plc in Singapore. “He
brings with him a huge wealth of knowledge
and a global experience.”
The rupee pared losses as Rajan’s appointment
was reported and was 0.9% weaker at 61.3950
per dollar at 3:52 p.m. in Mumbai. The S&P
BSE Sensex index of stocks slid 2.3%. The yield
on the 7.16% government bond due May 2023
rose to 8.21% from 8.20% on Monday.
Record Deficit
India’s record current-account deficit has
weighed on the rupee, as have capital outflows
from emerging markets sparked by concern
that the Federal Reserve could reduce
monetary stimulus as the US economy
strengthens. Rajan is a former chief economist
at the International Monetary Fund and has a
doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Finance Minister Palaniappan
Chidambaram and Rajan have helped lead a
government push since September to revive
investment, woo foreign inflows and avert a
credit-rating downgrade. India’s gross
domestic product growth slowed to a decade-
low 5 percent last fiscal year, the slowest since
2003.
The rupee drop threatens to stoke inflation,
with the consumer-price index climbing almost
10 percent in June from a year earlier. That’s
the second-fastest in the Group of 20 major
economies, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.

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Conversation with Vinod Khosla

Seminar Hall
September 2, 2013; 6 pm
Vinod Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor, and
technology fan. He is the founder of Khosla
Ventures, focused on impactful clean technology
and information technology investments. Mr.
Khosla was a co-founder of Daisy systems and
founding CEO of Sun Microsystems where he
pioneered open systems and commercial RISC
processors. One of Mr. Khosla’s greatest
passions is being a mentor to entrepreneurs,
assisting entrepreneurs and helping them build
technology based businesses. Mr. Khosla is
driven by the desire to make positive impact
through scaling alternative energy, achieving
petroleum independence, and promoting a
pragmatic approach to the environment. He is
also passionate about Social Entrepreneurship.
Vinod holds a Bachelor of Technology in
Electrical Engineering from IIT, New Delhi, a
Master's in Biomedical Engineering from
Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from
the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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