Watan Ke Rakhwale - Do watch

Vintage Mithun-da (click me please)

LOST in time

Coutesy: abcmobile

It seems boredom has engulfed me completely. All academic commitments are over and I don’t have anything to do apart from the post BTP. Children usually go back to their home during summer holidays but poor me waiting for my parents to return back from US. Nonetheless my elder sister and brother in law are there to take care of me but still I am missing home sweet home. While browsing through the servers I found few series and movies. Among the entire latest stuff I found LOST quite appealing.

LOST is a television series which came forward to rescue me from boredom. The genres of the series are Thriller/Suspense/Action and Drama, as the genres suggest it is a true treat for thrill lovers. A fabulous series provided you are watching it on a computer. Well computer because at times things do become quite monotonous and you need to forward the boring stuffs out. Till now they have aired three seasons each with 23-24 episodes and it took almost two days to complete three of the seasons but I must say it was worth it. Each season unfolds various labyrinths of mysteries with dozen of doubts and to get the answers of those question you need to watch the next episode.

So I am waiting desperately for the next Episode

Adieu BTech Project

Dear BTech Project,

On remembering the good old days the very first thought which comes in my mind is the precious time we spent together. I am grateful that you taught me many things including proper method to carry out a project. There were few moments when we could not find any result but sometime we did enjoy the triumph of success. You were always with me supporting through the year.

I still remember when I was eager to do a project on biomaterials then you helped me to take one. I worked on Human Tooth and compared the physical properties of an adult and a deciduous tooth. Chipkar sir, Neelam and Dr. Kamath helped me to raise you with proper nourishment. Usually birthdays are celebrated annually but I celebrated your birthday twice a year. In your first birthday ‘I^st stage of my BTech project’, I defended my work and tried my best to convince everyone that I am capable of taking care of you. Some people appreciated my work while some criticized. I was questioned till your father was convinced. Then time came when we celebrated your second birthday ‘II^nd stage of my BTech project’. Similar to your first birthday but now everyone appreciated my work and suggested me to get your name registered in the journals which would be my gift to you.

You were dear to me, close to my heart but few of your brothers and sisters were not as close to their guardian. Unfortunately some of them didn’t get the love they deserved and ended up with lack of care. I felt bad because my peers didn’t take care of them, I felt sorry because I couldn’t do anything. Nevertheless it is true you are not meant for everyone. My peers had their own dreams and aims which made them indifferent. According to them you were a responsibility but for me you were special and important.

Your father, my guide Professor Satish Vitta handed over you to me in August 2006. You were his dream and my aim and now I am leaving you in the able hands of Arunabh Sinha, your new guardian. I am sure he will take care and will look after you more than my expectations.

I am going to an entirely new place. New aims and new dreams are building up. I will be a part of many projects but you will always be dear to me, my cherished possession.

Take care,

Nayan Chakravarty
03011036
4^th year Undergraduate
Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science
IIT Bombay

Alternative Sources of Energy

Courtesy: Borregosolar

Please do not give me those nasty looks!!!

I am well aware that this post is remotely related to the traditional blogging stuff and more related to academics, a nightmare to many of us. The main motive of posting such issue is mainly to draw the attention of as many people as possible towards other alternative sources of energy. With time we are gradually loosing our valuable resources. It is a fact and no need to mention why we are loosing the resources which may lead to adverse fuel crisis in the near future, probably after 50 years only.

The byproducts of petroleum giving rise to Global warming and adverse weather conditions. Large efforts have been made by various organizations to reduce the same. 'An Inconvenient Truth’, academy award winning documentary has shown the global warming issue in a unique way. The documentary has been presented by the X vice president of United States of America, Al Gore. To talk about the other alternative sources of energy-the next generation need, the first thing comes in our mind is the solar energy. Despite of huge amount of research still solar cells has to cover long path before it reaches each and every household. To be very specific good amount of research is going on solar cells in MRC (Microelectronics Research Center) and Ames lab in Iowa State University. Professor Rana Biswas and Professor Dalal to name few are looking into our future needs and working extensively to cut short the price of the solar cells. To achieve this goal they have adopted a simple way making chips smaller with same efficiency which would obviously result to cost reduction.

Not only cost reduction, solar cells need a thorough research backup before we come with a product in the market. If you follow this link on current advancements on solar cells reported by The Hindu we find things are still at their initial stages. Though this report was quoted in 2003 and definitely by 2007 it has achieved great heights. The other major leap in semiconductor industry took place when multicrystalline Si chips found its place in electronic goods. It reduced the price of the electronic gadgets considerably. Before multicrystalline Si, single crystal Si was in use which in itself too costly to prepare. These are few major contributions from the research world to the commercial community which brought machines nearer to the common man. I remember computers were considered as the luxury items 10 years back and now it has turned out to be a basic need. Thanks to technology and mass production :). Just imagine every home well equipped with solar panels and solar household items similar to the computer growth. It would be another giant leap in the mankind, making our planet better place to live.

When half of the world dwells in dark rest half basks in sunlight. Do I make any sense? These products are reliable on weather conditions. Nevertheless everything has its own advantages and drawbacks. Technology cut offs these drawbacks and make things acceptable....isn’t it? It is true that solar energy concept still has to cover great heights and has potential future but definitely it will be the prime source of energy for us. We can’t overlook the limited strength of our earth, heading towards space and then solar energy will be our cherished possession in space.

Do I sound like~The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Punctuality

Sitting in my department compy room thinking how to spent time. Dont have anything to do. So thought to study the various species of professor we find in IITs. arey yaar itna to banta hai likhne ka , yahan se bahar nikalne se pehle.

Believe me government jobs are not different. Take any govt job and you will find tonns of similarity among them. similarly I am waiting for a professor and singing the heart-Full song " jhalak dikhlaga, jhalak dikhlaga, ab to aja aja ajaaa aja aaaaaja". IITian professors are unique in their own way. Some are simply geeks whereas some follow the true sarkari decorum in their office. You wont believe me we do have a professor, IIT undergraduate and then MIT graduate, great fan of K-games (To know more about K-games you are suposed to be a hard core linux lover which I guess u aint, so forget.) Obviously its not unusual that an MIT grad is a hardcore lover of K-games but when he starts playing games continuosly from 10 morning to 8 night then things become bit unusual. He last published his paper in 1993 and there after he followed the geeta saar 'game khele jaa, paper ki chinta mat kar'. Nevertheless he is amongst the wannabe professors in our department. Perfect guide for maggus better to say DR 1, 2, 3. Its hard to imagine, isnt it ? I know, but the sarkari infection has infected each and everyone in our country including the poor MIT grads.