Inspiring the students to indulge in physical fitness regimes

Inaugural Torch Lighting by Prof. D.N. Rao, Pro-VC.

The third chapter of Sports Fest opened with the spectacular torch lighting ceremony by Prof. D Narayana Rao, Pro Vice-Chancellor, SRM University, Andhra Pradesh. The proceedings included welcome speeches by Prof. Narayana Rao, and Dr. D. Gunasekaran, while Dr. G S Vinodh Kumar, Fest Convener, and Dr. Abdul Mohimain, Sports Coordinator, Ms. Revathi Balakrishnan, Organizing Secretary graced the event.

Welcome speech by Prof. Rao, Pro-VC

Dr. Rao took the centre stage to explain the significance of indulging in sports. He says, “The adherence to rules of sports trains one to be disciplined in their personal lives. Sports entails physical fitness which can be leveraged to improve the alertness of mind, further assisting the students to be able to work hard in the frontiers of academics,” Dr. Rao also trusts that team sports enable the youth to work together to achieve common goals by strategizing and executing plans in a given time frame.

Dr. D. Gunasekaran further enthralled the students with his speech where he emphasized physical fitness and a positive mindset being mutually reciprocal. He states, “The complex systems of our being are maintained by the body and controlled by the mind.” He expresses his concerns that the youth are inclined to indoor games and video games which are not synced to fitness. “A nation’s development depends on its youth, and India is a vibrant country where we have a substantial young population. Inspiring this population to maintain physical fitness will ensure the growth of our country.”, says Dr. Gunasekaran.

Dr. D. Gunasekaran, Registrar, speaks on importance of physical fitness.

On the note to uphold the essence of athletics, Pro VC declared the Sports Fest 2020 open. The two-day extravaganza featured events such as tournaments of football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, throwball, table tennis, chess etc. for both men and women students. Students from institutions like IIIT Nuzvid, Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology, R.V.R. & J. C. College of Engineering, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology & Research, Prasad V. Potluri Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Dhanekula Institute of Engineering & Technology, K L University, SRKR Engineering College and many others enthusiastically participated in these events. On the first day, the knock-off rounds were played. Winners of the knock-out rounds geared up for the semi-final and final rounds. The next day decided the champions and runner-ups. Our boys of the football team played ferociously in the knock-out rounds and lost to the winning team only by one goal. As for the chess team, their brilliant strategies took them straight to the finals where they lost in the tie-breaker.

Minds at play

Aiming to score

Hits a SIX!

Pro-VC honouring the Chief Guest Mr. JBS Vidyadhar

On 16th February afternoon, the Valedictory Ceremony began. Mr. JBS Vidyadhar, former Indian badminton player and present coach of the Indian Badminton Team graced the ceremony as a chief guest. Distinguished presence of Prof. D. Narayan Rao, Dr. D. Gunasekaran, Dr. G S Vinodh Kumar, Dr. Abdul Mohimain, Mrs. Revathi Balakrishnan, added dignity to the ceremony. The Men’s team of SRM University-AP bagged the runner-up prizes in football and chess tournaments. The women’s team of the university also secured runner-up positions in throwball, basketball and table tennis tournaments. Sri Rama Murthy, a member of the runner-up chess team of SRM University-AP, overwhelmed with joy, says, “this trophy has boosted our confidence. We hope to perform even better in the coming years.” K L University, with four champion’s trophies, was declared to be the overall champion of the Sports Fest -2020. With our national anthem in the background, this spirited festival came to an end with a promise of more successful events in the following years.

Tackle at the football field

Distinguished guests with SRM University, AP Sports Team

Throwing to win

Replacing Cobalt with Nickel in Lithium-ion batteries

Dr. Sujith Kalluri, Assistant Professor of Electronics and Communication Engineering, published a paper on “Building High-Rate Nickel-Rich Cathodes by Self organisation of Structurally Stable Macrovoid” in a highly reputed journal, “Advanced Science” having Impact Factor of 15.8. During his association with Samsung- UNIST Battery R&D Centre at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) South Korea, he began researching on the alternate battery cathodes for high-rate lithium-ion batteries, and proceeded the study at SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh.

Cathode is one of the key components of batteries used in portable smart devices (mobile phones). Presently, batteries comprise of Lithium Cobalt Oxide as a cathode. Dr. Kalluri’s research focuses on the fast mobility of the lithium-ions present inside the battery with respect to the applied electricity. In his path-breaking study, he designed a new cathode for batteries, which is Lithium Nickel-rich transition metal oxide. He explains the supremacy of his designing Nickel-rich cathode, “When we did thorough electro-chemical and electrical studies, the lithium-ion batteries infused with nickel-rich cathode exhibited higher performance in terms of high current operations and elevated temperatures. Also, the Nickel-rich based lithium-ion batteries are a cost-effective substitute as the major portion of Cobalt is replaced with Nickel, a cheaper metal. These batteries can be employed in portable electronic devices and in larger scale, can be a promising candidate for e-mobility appliances.”

The research of Dr. Kalluri also aims at improving the “high current rate operation” which will ensure fast charging of portable devices and electric vehicles. When asked regarding his future research plans, he says “At SRM AP, we are establishing SRM – Amara Raja Centre for Energy Storage Devices in association with Amara Raja Batteries Limited. In this centre, we are planning to further optimize the lithium-ion battery technology, and also we will look beyond and try to implement sodium-ion battery technology for societal demands.”