Page 3 - MECHNOVIT-XVI

EDITORIAL

It is always delightful to write an Editorial for the School of Mechanical Engineering’s Quarterly
Newsletter MechnoVIT where all the latest happenings and news features are collated after informed
deliberations. As Vellore sweltered in the grip of a torrid heatwave, the school’s activities continued unabated. In
the brief pause between semester teaching, and with many faculty away on a much-deserved vacation,
refurbishments and re-organisations have given the GD Naidu Block an entirely new feel. SMEC now sports a
world class feel!
The most remarkable success of the previous quarter was undoubtedly the increased QS Rankings, both
at the University and School levels. VIT's position in the QS World Rankings has risen by 150 places. VIT is the 8 th
best University Category, 11 Best Research and the 11 best Engineering institution of India in 2023 NIRF
th
th
Ranking published by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. Naturally, this achievement has inspired
newfound confidence in all members of the SMEC community, including professors, research scholars, and
students.
The school is quite proud of its students' achievements. At an event sponsored by BITS Pilani, Teams
Assailing Falcons got the Best Exhibition Team APOGEE 23 award. Ms Jessica worked as a project assistant at
Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, and she has completed her work on high-performance circular
EV battery flows. Mr. Sujai Sakthivel won the 'Northern Lights Coimbatore Cube Open 2023' overall title.
Mr Rajan Maleswar has been awarded a prestigious German Scholarship to pursue a Master's degree at Aachen,
Germany. Mr Annonto Anand Kakoli was also admitted into the Doctoral Programme at IIT Bombay. We are
delighted to announce that Dr. Siddharth Gumber has been appointed as a post-doctoral 'Mountain Climate
Modeller' at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, despite fierce international competition.
Dr. Devendranath Ramkumar, Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering, spent a month in the United
Kingdom, most notably at the University College London, Cranfield University and the University of Warwick.
This visit led to significant international relationships, as well as continued interaction with these topmost
Universities in the UK. Our faculty members also visited various Universities during this quarter and are
highlighted. SMEC faculty gave invited talks at world class universities in Europe America and in the United
Kingdom, as well as at the national level.
SMEC flourishes and grows from strength to strength through collaborations mediated by VIT. VIT signed
a MoU with Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India (RNTBCI). This MoU includes internships, and
placement opportunities for students. In addition, another MoU with RNTBCI shall facilitate establishing centre
of excellence, organizing expert lectures, joint workshops, and value-added courses in a variety of automotive-
related themes. Funded projects go hand in and with research publications and we are proud to mention that
four important funded projects were awarded to SMEC Faculty. It is pleasure to once again mention that Dr.
Nageswara Rao was honoured by the Indian society for Non-destructive testing at the Hyderabad Chapter.
Several Programs were organised by the school spanning many aspects of mechanical engineering. These
include, a One-day Seminar on "Recent Trends in Direct energy Deposition (DED), A One day Training program
on machine shop experiments with a major focus on “Hands on Training on CNC lathe machine operation” for
technical staffs. SMEC successfully organized a One-day Workshop on Electric Vehicle Powertrains in
collaboration with Aston University, UK and Kings College London, UK on 28-06-2023.
SMEC’s pride this quarter can be largely attributed to its new world-class lab facilities. This includes the
“Thermal Engineering Lab”, RANE-NSK Centre of Excellence and SMEC Discussion room. Our Hon'ble Chancellor,
Dr. G. Viswanathan and our beloved Vice-Presidents inaugurated the new labs. The function was graced by Mr.
A. Makesh, President, Rane NSK, and the team members of RANE NSK.
Among the upcoming events, SMEC is proud announce a forthcoming International Conference on Recent
Advances in Industrial and Systems Engineering (RAISE) 2023 to be held during Dec 2023. SMEC Research is
now very visible worldwide. Q1 Q2 journal paper numbers increased. Two Book Chapters were published by
SMEC Faculty.
Finally, this edition features Mr. Harshvardhan Singh Chauhan (14BME0577) SEGULA Technologies,
Ingénieur mécanique Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France in its Alumni Corner - a MechnoVIT must-read
section.
HAPPY READING
EDITORIAL TEAM