Category Archives: Science & Technology

Indian-origin aeronautical engineer to fly into space

July 11, 2021Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

She will be part of Virgin Galactic flight

Sirisha Bandla, a 34-year-old aeronautical engineer, is set to become the third Indian-origin woman to head to space when she flies as part of Virgin Galactic’s first fully crewed flight test on Sunday.

Ms. Bandla, who was born in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, and brought up in Houston, Texas, will join Sir Richard Branson, the company’s billionaire founder, and five others on board Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity to make a journey to the edge of space from New Mexico.

“I am so incredibly honoured to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all,” she tweeted.

Ms. Bandla will be astronaut no 004 and her flight role will be Researcher Experience, according to her profile on Virgin Galactic.

She will become the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

Ms. Bandla started in her role as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic in January 2021.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> International / by PTI / Houston, July 10th, 2021

Medical care is just a click away for elderly kin

November 4, 2019Records, All, Science & Technologyadmin

Young innovator builds device that helps patients remotely connect to five people

When a senior citizen or a physically-challenged/bedridden person staying alone faces a medical emergency, he/she would have no way of immediately reaching out to their loved ones.

Pavan with his ‘emergency health intimation’ device.

This prompted rural innovator Kurakula Pavan to come up with the ‘Emergency Health Intimation’ device. The GSM-based device is equipped with a SIM card and remotely connects a bedridden person to five friends or relatives. All one has to do is plug the device into a power socket near one’s bed (which works for 48 hours on battery support). In case of an emergency, the person has to simply touch the vibrating sensor-based device that not only blares an alarm to alert the neighbours, but also calls five pre-registered mobile numbers across the globe. “The calls go out on a rotation basis to each of the five numbers, till someone reaches the spot to reset the device,” Mr. Pavan told The Hindu.

Mr. Pavan said that the device would infuse confidence and courage among senior citizens who are staying alone in villages. “My friend’s ailing parent died of a cardiac arrest and his inability to convey it to his son sleeping in the adjoining air-conditioned room prompted me to come up with an invention that could bridge the communication gap,” Mr. Pavan said.

Hailing from the little-known Moram village in Palamaner mandal of Chittoor district, Mr. Pavan is widely acclaimed as a rural innovator who received the ‘Young Scientist’ award in 2009 from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. He is known for applying principles of basic science to address small, yet pressing problems in rural areas.

Many achievements

His first major invention was to remotely operate a water pump, which helped save farmers’ lives from electric shocks and snakebites. Some of his innovations are a home burglar alarm, honey bee-like buzzing sound to ward off tuskers from fields in forest fringe villages, rural FM station, heartbeat monitoring system, two-wheeler security system, power generation from ceiling fan, self-operating street light system for civic bodies and so on, developed in over a decade’s time through his ‘Pavan Empower Solutions’.

These won him laurels, with some of his endeavours also fetching him commercial success.

Mr. Pavan recently received an award from the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD Hyderabad) for the device that is reckoned as a path-breaking intervention in ensuring rural healthcare.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by A.D. Rangarajan / Tirupati – November 11th, 2019

RGUKT-Nuzvid signs MoU with Kusalava International Limited

October 28, 2019Business & Economy, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

The MoU will serve as an opportunity for collaborative research and lead to better employment and internship opportunities for the students.

Vijayawada :

RGUKT-Nuzvid signed an MoU with Kusalava International Ltd, manufacturer of engine critical parts on Friday, for establishing a research and development centre to promote exclusive research on products belonging to Kusalava International Ltd.

The MoU will serve as an opportunity for collaborative research and lead to better employment and internship opportunities for the students.

Director of RGUKT-Nuzvid campus Prof D Surya Chandra Rao, administrative officer, P Shyam and dean B Prasad explained the potentiality of advanced research facilities of various departments of the campus.

“Technical Director of Kusalava International Ltd Mr Chakravarthi Chukkapalli, has expressed interest in collaborating with metallurgical & materials engineering (MME) and chemical engineering departments for conducting research related to batteries,” the Director said, adding,” He also sanctioned two more projects and accepted the proposal of establishing an R&D centre at our campus to promote exclusive research on products belonging to Kusalava International Ltd.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Vijayawada / by Express News Service / October 20th, 2019

New sowing machine developed at Rekulakunta research station

August 28, 2019Agriculture, Records, All, Science & Technologyadmin

Farmer-friendly: The ANGRAU Diker on the first-ever trial run at the Agriculture Research Station, Rekulakunta, in Anantapur district. | Photo Credit: R_V_S_PRASAD

Diker helps in arresting soil erosion and achieving water conservation: scientist

Here is an innovative idea conceived by a scientist and agriculture engineer Nalabolu Kishore, who dreams of arresting soil erosion and achieving water conservation at one go by utilising his newly developed ‘ANGRAU Diker’, while doing its job of sowing.

The newly-developed Diker can be attached to any existing tractor and seed planter for sowing groundnut, red gram, castor, bajra, cotton, chickpea or korra millets or any other crop that requires wide-spaced sowing.

At an experimental sowing demonstration on the premises of Agriculture Research Station, Rekulakunta in Anantapur district, the Diker showed the ease with which four rows of seed insertion could be done with dikes created between them at a 32 cm gap with a dike (depression or hole) dimension of 15 cm width 15 cm depth.

Mr. Kishore explaining the benefits of the Diker to The Hindu, said each depression in the field had the capacity to hold 500 ml of rainwater and 1,12,000 dikes created in 1 hectare, the land will have a holding capacity of 60,000 litres taking into account evaporation losses. “This water in small puddles will be available close to the root system of the crop, providing maximum advantage. In groundnut crop, the pods do not penetrate down beyond 10 cm, hence this was ideal depth for it,” he observed.

Four bent arrow-shaped iron rods attached a rotating shaft get dragged by a tractor, that has a seed planter attached to it to introduce seed at a predetermined gap between the rows. The farmer needs to just fill the seed box and do the entire activity at one go single handed, saving expensive manual labour. Guided by Principal Scientist and Head ARS Rekulakunta R. Veeraraghavaiah, Mr. Kishore has taken up this three-year project of developing this implemsent, that will undergo several changes depending on the outcome from yield and ease of operation etc.

“To optimise its use, we have come up with having several variants of Diker to meet the needs of each and every crop, while bushes are fixed to wheel holding the ploughing arrows, the spacing between them and the depth to which they should dig into the soil can be adjusted,” he explained.

This Diker helps in curbing runoff of fertile topsoil during a rain, arresting water flow and conserving it very close to the roots and was most useful for all dryland crops. These dikes are useful in in situ water conservation and are now being termed as micro farm ponds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Ramesh Susarla / Anantapur – August 26th, 2019

Nellore: NRI imparts knowledge on robotics to ZP students

August 22, 2019Education, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Programme instill awareness on robotics among rurals

Niharika educates about robotics to the students of ZP High School at Muthukur.

Nellore :

In a laudable initiative, an NRI student Niharika has been sharing her knowledge on robotics with Class IX students of ZP High School at Muthukur, 30 km from Nellore.

Incidentally, she is part of the school’s robotics team-The Steel Hawks and is a budding engineer with a big heart.

For the students, it is something like a Cinderella story, straight out of a silver screen like Sreemanthudu of Mahesh Babu, where the film star, after having graduated from top-notch US Schools, comes down to his native place to give a whiff of fresh breath of AI.

Niharika Kotamreddy is a Class 12 student from Townsend Harris High School in New York and she is part of her school’s robotics team. She took classes on the subject for three weeks in Muthukur High School.

Teachers in the school opined that the AI & robotics programme infused new energy into the students who saw the method of teaching from a different plank altogether which improved their interest in studies but gave them a new direction to look at.

The AI & robotics programme instilled a sense of awareness on robotics amongst the rural children, near her hometown Nellore, thus creating opportunities for the underprivileged rural gems to sharpen their intellect and skill.

Daughter of a software professional Kotamreddy Vishnuvardhan Reddy and Bindu, working in the UN at New York, Niharika said that she is keen on keeping in touch with the students and will continue to make use of her holidays to keep their interest on robotics alive.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Pathri Rajasekhar / August 09th, 2019

Their innovative ideas to the fore

July 29, 2019Education, Records, All, Science & Technologyadmin

Young innovators with their project that got selected for the Atal Innovation Marathon.

Five innovative projects developed by students of AP Social Welfare Schools are among the 100 models selected in the second round of the Atal Innovation Marathon, organised by Atal Innovation Mission in collaboration with Niti Aayog and The Better India, to nurture innovation in young minds.

The marathon started last year drawing participation of 5,000 schoolchildren from across the country, who submitted 1,400 projects divided in eight categories-Clean Energy, Water Conservation and Management, Smart Mobility, Waste Management, Health Tech, Sustainable Development Goals, Agri Tech and Architecture and Design.

In the first round, 200 projects were short-listed and the selected students were asked to further refine their work and submit a business plan for it. Nine of these 200 models were from Andhra Pradesh schools and of them, six were developed by social welfare school children.

The selected projects in the second list include a cattle-alert system (in Agri-Tech category) by I.V. Mrudula, Ch. Maheswari and Divya of AP Social Welfare School, Peddapavani in Prakasam district, a low-cost multi-level dust indication in dust-bins (Waste Management) by E. Avilasha and K. Chandu Priya of social welfare school, Kovvuru in West Godavari district, a multi-purpose agriculture robot (Agri Tech) by G. Mounika, K.L.S.P. Varshini and Bharathi of AP Social Welfare Residential School Centre of Excellence, Visakhapatnam, an agriculture kit for sensing soil parameters (Agri Tech) by B. Aswini and A. Jayalakshmi of the social welfare school, Komarada at Vizianagaram and an equipment to help the deaf hear (Sustainable Development Goals) by T. Priyanka, M. Sandhya Sri and D. Hemalatha of the Social Welfare Residential School, Tallapalem in Visakhapatnam.

Rewards galore

The young innovators comprising the top 100 teams have exciting time ahead. They are being rewarded with a 15-day internship programme designed specifically to allow the children to get real world and hands on experience.

This is in addition to a three-month-long module developed for them which will take them through an immersive journey to take their ideas forward. The selected team members will also get to visit the General Electric (GE) Innovation Centres and manufacturing units.

Besides cash awards, the students will get a prototype kit to further develop their innovation for the final event-Innovation Marathon Conclave, a one-day event where they will pitch their ideas to an esteemed panel of judges. The top three teams will receive a prize money of ₹6 lakh.

“The children are all excited and we are yet to receive communication about the commencement of the internship programme that is bound to further enrich their innovative streak,” said U. Vinay Babu, Social Empowerment Fellow and in-charge of the Atal Tinkering Labs in AP Social Welfare Residential Educational Institution Society (APSWREIS).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – July 28th, 2019

MITS students design hybrid electric vehicle

May 6, 2019Education, Records, All, Science & Technologyadmin

Innovation at best: Students of Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science explaining about the hybrid electric vehicle developed by them, at Madanapalle in Chittoor district.

Built at ₹3.20 lakh, it can run in diesel mode in case the battery runs out

In what could offer a solution to the vehicle pollution that is touching alarming levels, the final year mechanical engineering students of Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science (MITS) have designed a hybrid electric vehicle.

Though the concept of electric vehicle is gaining ground in the market, charging the batteries and power backup remain a problem. In this context, the hybrid vehicle with two power sources —a combination of petrol/diesel engine and an electric motor—assumes significance.

A team of MITS students comprising D. Reddy Manoj, K. Pradeep, J. Satyanarayana Snehith, K. Mohan Reddy, S. Purushotham, S. Mohammad Rizwan, S. Ghouse Samdhani and Mohammad Ansaari successfully converted a normal diesel engine into a hybrid electric one. The 1981 model of Mahindra & Mahindra 540 was chosen for the project.

“Apart from in-built diesel engine, we have installed an electric power-train system to make it a hybrid electric one. Power from diesel engine transfers through the clutch, transmission system, propeller shaft, rear differential and finally to the rear wheels,” the team explained.

The uniqueness of the project is the arrangement of drive-trains, the system in a motor vehicle that connects the transmission to the drive axles.

Unique feature

The battery needs six hours to get charged completely and can cover up to 70 km. When the battery wears out, the diesel engine comes into action. The battery pack needs 10 units of electricity that costs ₹25 to₹30. Hence, the electric mode costs ₹25 to travel 70 km, against the diesel mode’s ₹500, making it 95% cheaper.

“The cost of creating this hybrid vehicle is around ₹3.20 lakh and our students are ready to convert old model vehicles into hybrid ones,” Principal C. Yuvaraj said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Tirupati – May 06th, 2019

Dhanush gun enters the scene with a bang

April 17, 2019Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Dhanush has inertial navigation-based sighting system, onboard ballistic computation and most advanced any time firing system.

Vizag-based research centre facilitates patenting of Bofors’ ‘desi version’

A premier research establishment located in Visakhapatnam has facilitated patenting and trademarking of India’s first home-made long-range howitzer gun Dhanush, which was formally inducted into the Indian Army recently after trials in the desert regions, and glaciers of the Himalayas.

Termed ‘desi version of the Bofors gun,’ the patent facilitation was made by experts of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre and UN-WIPO Technology Support Centre located at Innovation Valley here.

“We feel proud because of our association with the innovation made by the Indian Ordnance Factory, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh). We also feel that due to thrust on indigenisation in defence production, which is key to global competitiveness, a system should be evolved for recognising and protecting the IPs,” NRDC Chairman and Managing Director H. Purushottam, told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Fully loaded

Dhanush has inertial navigation-based sighting system, onboard ballistic computation and most advanced any time firing system. The ordnance factory, also known as gun carriage factory, has successfully passed through accuracy, quality, speed, timing and other rigorous tests during the trial phase.

The design was made on the lines of Bofors Haubits fh77 of the 1980s.

Production started in 2019 after development trials during last year. Sources said the Army had ordered for 114 guns, which could go up to 414 for phase-wise supply.

The new weapon, which will give a fillip to the Army’s firepower, will replace 105mm Indian field gun, Russian 122-mm gun and 105mm light field gun.

This is the third type of artillery gun manufactured in the country after K-9 Vajra and M-777 ultra light howitzers.

“We are very happy that we have facilitated the IP and trademark for Dhanush howitzer gun. So far we have made IPs for 19 products from our Visakhapatnam-based office. We are keen to create awareness on IPs and help researchers to patent all their innovations,” B.K. Sahu, head of NRDC’s IPFC in the city, pointed out.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – April 17th, 2019

MEIL completes power grid substation in seven months, secures spot in Limca Book of Records

March 12, 2019Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technologyadmin

Earlier, MEIL had secured a place in the Limca Book of Records for completing the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation project in record time.

Director B Srinivas Reddy along with Vice-President Praveen Sharadh Dixit shows the Limca Book of Record certificate in city on Monday | Express

Vijayawada :

Infrastructure giant Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) has secured a place in Limca Book of National Records and Asia Book of Records for its outstanding achievement of completing a power substation in a record time of 7 months.

The project was completed five months ahead of the deadline, fulfilling all quality parameters. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), for which this project was built, has appreciated MEIL’s performance and given it the ‘Best Debutant Award’ with a memento and citation.

Earlier, MEIL had secured a place in the Limca Book of Records for completing the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation project in record time. Construction work for 400/220 KV power substation at NP Kunta began on September 25, 2015, and it was completed on April 25, 2016. “Normally it takes 15 to 18 months for executing such projects, but MEIL could complete it within the span of 7 months. Power is being supplied through this substation continuously for the last 3 years.

This is how the NP Kunta substation entered the Limca Book of Records,” said, B Srinivas Reddy, Director, MEIL. Apart from this, 400 KV 100 AVAR station, 2 line bases each with a capacity of 220 KV, 1 bus copular bay with 220 KV capacity and one 220 KV transformer bus copular bay were also established. Works related to drains, culverts, control room, a transit camp, fire fighting system, and pump house construction were also completed very quickly.

“Power Grid Corporation asked us to complete this substation project within 18-20 months. But from project designing to project testing, MEIL completed all works within 7 months,” Praveen Sharadh Dixit, Vice-President, MEIL, said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Vijayawada / by Express News Service / March 12th, 2019

New Jersey-based IT major plans to expand operations at Visakhapatnam facility

March 7, 2019Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinionadmin

Conduent, a New-Jersey based technology-led business process services company, has plans to expand its operations in Visakhapatnam.

Visakhapatnam :

Conduent, a New-Jersey based technology-led business process services company, has plans to expand its operations in Visakhapatnam. The company, which has 1,600 employees at Vizag office, wants to increase it by five times in near future.

Inaugurating the company’s new facility at the iconic millennium tower at Rushikonda on Wednesday, Conduent chief executive, financial services and healthcare Pratap Sarker and Conduent CEO-APAC (Asia-Pacific) Lokesh Prasad said the State government’s focus on Visakhapatnam as a technology, science, and knowledge hub in India is giving a boost to local economy and creating more job opportunities for youth of the city.

Conduent started operations in Visakhapatnam in March 2018 and since then it has significantly expanded its footprint creating more than 1,500 jobs across its service delivery and operational teams.
Its new office building is designed using techniques adopted to enhance performance, reduce energy consumption, and provide a healthy working environment. He said availability of good talent pool, excellent ecosystem and helping government machinery were some of the reasons for locating office in Vizag.

“India continues to play a vital role in Conduent’s strategic growth in the APAC region,” said Pratap Sarker.“As a technology-driven digital interactions company, we are focused on regions that have the right talent for the work. Being a part of this dynamic geography is the right move for our clients and our people.”

He said Vizag will be one of the company’s important hubs in India. He said India is crucial to the company’s global growth developing the latest technology for mobile and IoT, human-computer interaction, machine learning, text and multimedia analytics.

Referring to security of client information, Pratap said they have an exhaustive set up to ensure security of the clients data. Their strict protocols ensure that data is secure since their clients belong to sensitive areas, he added.

New millennium IT tower

New iconic millennium tower, inaugurated by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu last month, at Rushikonda witnessed a hub of activity with the inauguration of the new facility of NYSE-CNDT company, Conduent on Wednesday.
With more than 105,000 square feet of floor space and four times more seating capacity than its first incubation space, the new office is one of the company’s key business locations in India, aimed at delivering key innovations in technology, transportation, health care, public safety, human resources, process automation and operational excellence to its global clients.
Special Chief Secretary and IT advisor to CM JA Chowdary said the new iconic tower will hasten development of IT in Vizag.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / Express News Service / March 07th, 2019

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