Career development skills are the difference between the person who seeks inspiration and the person who becomes one. SRM University-AP is happy to introduce Dr Manu K. Vora, a world-renowned mentor and facilitator to our Master’s students, PhD scholars and faculty members on October 23, 2021, Saturday from 9.00 am to 11.00 am for a session on “Career Development Guidance”.

Dr Vora is an ASQ (American Society of Quality) fellow and had previously served as Vice-President of ASQ Board of Directors and Chairperson of ASQ Chicago Section. He is also a member of AICTE-NEP 2020 Implementation Plan Committee. He had received his B. Tech degree from IIT, BHU and his M.S. and PhD from IIT, Chicago. He also has an MBA degree specializing in Marketing Management from Keller GSM in Chicago.

He has till date developed and offered career development and enhancement skills to over one million people. Dr Vora has also been featured in TED Talks both in India and USA. He has received 56 awards for professional soft skills and leadership development. But his contribution is not just limited to the professional skillsets with which he equips his audience. He has also received 35 awards for his philanthropic activities and has been the President of the Blind Foundation of India since 1989.

Presently, the President and the Chairperson of Business Excellence, Dr Vora has 46 years of Leadership experience guiding Fortune 500 companies and 28 years as Adjunct Faculty Globally in Operations Management. He has so far delivered 1170 presentations, published 70 scholarly articles, written 50 blogs on Quality Management and contributed his skills for the development of 680 educational institutes around the world.

To have such an eminent personality guide us is an opportunity second to none. We believe it will give our Master’s students and PhD scholars the career enhancement skills on which to build their presence in our brand and to develop the career development skills that would make them feathers in our cap. Make use of this exclusive opportunity to acquire the skills that are a match to the global leaders on October 23, 2021, Saturday from 9.00 am to 11.00 am with Dr Manu K. Vora.

Register to Join: https://bit.ly/SRMAP_Eminent-Lecture-Series

Department of Mathematics is organising the 17th Departmental Weekly Seminar on October 13, 2021, at 3 pm. Prof Indranath Sengupta from IIT Gandhinagar will be addressing the students on “Unboundedness of Betti numbers of some families of curves in affine and projective spaces”. Prof Indranath Sengupta will discuss some problems related to the unboundedness of Betti numbers of families of affine curves defined by Numerical semigroups. He will also indicate possible connections, with the help of examples, between the unboundedness of the last Betti number and the Cohen-Macaulayness of the projective closure of these affine curves. This work has been carried out in collaboration with Ranjana Mehta, Joydip Saha & Pranjal Srivastav.

Mathematics Departmental Seminar is widely popular among students and Mathematics enthusiasts. This seminar provides a homey environment where students can interact with renowned mathematicians. Eminent mathematicians and scholars have visited SRM University-AP and enjoyed conversations with students. Everyone is encouraged to take part in the exciting journey through the realms of Mathematics with Prof Indranath Sengupta on October 13, 2021, at 3 pm.

A cutting-edge research paper on MXene-based electrocatalysts for fuel cells has been published by Dr Lakhveer Singh of the Department of Environmental Sciences. In the journal of Advanced Materials Interfaces, Impact factor 6.14, his paper, titled “Recent Advances on MXene-Based Electrocatalysts toward Oxygen Reduction Reaction: A Focused Review”, has been published in collaboration with Dr S. G. Peera and Dr. T. G. Lee from the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering Keimyung University Daegu 42602, Republic of Korea.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) takes place in the fuel cells. Improving the kinetics of the reaction would be a major step in improving the efficiency of the fuel cells. Extensive studies have been done to find cathode catalysts that are both highly active and also maintain stability in a corrosive environment. Recent research has been leaning towards 2D materials owing to the larger surface area they provide for catalyst dispersion. MXene-based catalysts have become popular due to their impressive electrical conductivity as well as their thermal and chemical stability.

A summary of Dr Singh’s paper:

MXene, a novel transition metal carbide and/or nitride based two-dimensional material has been gaining a considerable interest in the field of energy storage and conversion, due to their unique layered structure, electronic properties, and surface chemistry, that are beneficial for various electrochemical reactions. Most of the MXenes research done so far is in the field of supercapacitors, batteries, overall water splitting, and other catalytic applications. The research done on fuel cell cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is scarce. There is a need for intensive review on Mxenes. Uniquely, this review article describes the ORR catalysis of MXene based catalysts both in theoretical and experimental view.

In future they plan to work on investigations on theoretical and computational screening to elucidate the ORR mechanism, stability, and strategies for improving the electrocatalytic activity of MXene catalysts; these studies can serve as a guide for experimentalists, especially for selecting optimal catalyst compositions.

SRM University-AP is proud to announce that Pavan Mohan Neelamraju, a student of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) has shown extraordinary problem-solving abilities and won the TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt 10 and has been rewarded with Rs. 25,000.

The TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt poses challenges to aspiring innovative students in the fields of scientific and technological research. The students are required to come up with solutions individually and the most viable solutions are rewarded with exciting cash prizes, certificates of recognition and an invaluable opportunity to learn from experts in the industry.

Pavan’s challenge in the TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt was to classify steel wire bundles based on their shining appearance. Pavan developed an algorithm which quantified the gloss in the image using image processing and machine learning techniques. The algorithm went through three rounds of rigorous evaluation before being declared best.

Though Pavan worked on his solutions all by himself adhering to the guidelines of the TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt, he believes his vastly flexible course choices helped him a lot. The knowledge and perspective he gained in “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” coupled with the hands-on experience he acquired while working on cutting edge technology as a part of Next Tech Lab at SRM AP enabled him to make vital winning decisions.

“The academic work has actually helped me to think out of the box and to imagine a wide range of possibilities to a single problem,” Pavan thanked Dr Ramesh (HOD ECE) and Prof. Siva Shankar along with the faculty of ECE Department for grooming him. In industrial problems such as the ones provided by TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt Pavan was able to implement machine learning and image processing which he had learnt in classroom.

We, the SRM Family, wish Pavan luck for all his future endeavours and plans which include obtaining a doctorate degree as well as working in teaching and research fields. Winning TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt is the first step on the path of recognition for him. We are extremely pleased that he could serve as an inspiration to all the students out there.

Governments from across the globe highlight the need to scale up effective mental health services at all levels in the Covid-19 pandemic. As a part of observing World Mental Health Day, SRM University-AP is organising a three-day webinar series on the dates 8, 9, 10 October 2021, to raise awareness among students regarding preventable psychological conditions.

On October 8, at 6.45 pm, Ms Samitha, Counselling Psychologist with Fortis Malar, Chennai will take the session on the topic “Mastering your Mood”. On the second day, Dr Ninad Patwardhan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP will elucidate on the topic “All stress begins with your thoughts” at 6.45 pm. Psychotherapist and Special Educator Dr Vasuprada Kartic will engage the session on October 10 on the topic “Mental health for 360-degree success” at 5 pm.

One of the primary causes of psychological disability is depression. Suicide is the second-biggest cause of death in people aged 15 to 29. Assistance for mental and neurological conditions have been severely hampered during the lockdown period. Some groups have been particularly affected, including health and other frontline workers, students, persons living alone, and those with pre-existing mental health issues.

About the Speakers:

Dr Vasuprada Kartic holds double Masters in Counseling and Psychotherapy with a Diploma in Special Education and is a PhD (AM) in Holistic Psychotherapy using complementary and alternative tools. She works as a Psychotherapist in private practice. She’s also a trainer and a live television counsellor.

Ms Samitha has volunteered actively in various Nonprofit organizations such as Sarvahitey that works towards equipping rural kids from age 5-13 with important life skills through interactive ways. She was also a part of a nonprofit organization called FEEL-IT which works towards spreading mental health awareness as well as promoting the use of sanitary menstrual products among the rural population.

Dr Ninad Patwardhan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at SRM University-AP. His research areas include cognitive psychology, social psychology and personality psychology.

Make sure you join these informative and healing sessions from 8 to 10 October 2021, organised as part of World Mental Health Day.