School of Foundational Sciences – Quarterly Bulletin Vol 4, Issue 3 (2020-21)

Science is the collection of Nature’s answers and Humanities is the collection of Man’s thoughts

DEPARTMENT INVENTIVENESS

Key Advancement

The Department of Mathematics has taken a giant leap by getting recognised as Anna University   approved Research Centre with effect from March 1st, 2021.

Dr. G. Sethuraman, Head & Professor, Dr. M. Chandrasekar, Professor and Dr. B. Krishna Kumar, Professor from the Department of Mathematics, CEG Campus, Anna University, Chennai visited KCT on 19^th February 2021 and granted the research centre status.

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SFS Spectrum

Spectrum SFS, a fortnightly virtual academic forum has been initiated by the School of Foundational Sciences and has so far conducted three forums via Zoom and YouTube platforms. 

The objective of Spectrum SFS is to communicate and notify the events conducted, news published, happenings of a department, the wide opportunities available in the campus, and act as a platform to showcase students’ talents. Three forums with specific themes have been conducted so far. The forum is coordinated by Dr.A.S.Mythili AP/English and Dr.R.Hema AP/English, guided by Dr.M.Ezhilarasi Head/SFS. Technical support is rendered by Dr.B.Arokia Lawerence Vijay.

The first forum of Spectrum SFS was organized on 08 January 2021 from 06.30 PM to 07.00 PM.  The forum detailed the department initiatives, address by Dr.J.Srinivasan / Principal and Dr. M.Ezhilarasi Head/SFS, details about one-credit courses and greetings for New Year and Pongal.

The theme of the second forum was ‘Republic Day’, conducted on 25.01.2021. The forum was addressed by Dr.D.Saravanan Principal/KCT. Special Address was delivered by our alumnus Er.S.Jothiramalingam / Head – Center for Leadership, Firebird Institute of Research in Management, Coimbatore. Ms.Yogeswari L – AI&DS delivered a speech on the topic Progress 2020 and Vision 2030 and Mr. Sibi S – AI&DS entertained the audience with  instrumental music.

The third forum was conducted on 28.02.2021 with its theme as “National Science Day”. Information regarding Language Electives was given by Dr.S.Sreejana/ AP English and Dr.K.R.Aranganayagam /Head Chemistry elobrated on Examly – Proctor Examination. Ms.Dharunika Namagiri delivered a speech on “National Science Day”.

All the three forums were moderated by our first-year student moderators Ms.Doretta Marin-IT, Ms.Dharunika Namagiri-CSE, Ms.Jayapoorna-BT, Ms.Mridula-BT, Ms.Nihaarika-IT, and Ms.Sunanditaa-BT.

Scholastic Talk series

With KCT becoming closer and closer as a family, the institution has a lot to offer to freshers, and one such commanding event that the School of Foundational Sciences propounded to the students of PBL is the “Scholastic Talk Series” abbreviated as STS. This series aims at featuring nationally and internationally renowned scholars whose expertise encompasses a unique set of topics and would be inspiring, motivating, and enlightening novice and other interested members on various domains of science and technology.

The main objectives of the Scholastic Talk Series are:

To offer a space for productive dialogue on diverse topics that impact our community.

To promote an intellectual environment at the campus.

To provide an opportunity for faculty and learners from various disciplines to gather and providing them the chance to learn about other disciplines.

To celebrate and acknowledge science and technology that rules the present world.

This chain program, which began on 02-03-2021, helps us to learn from experts not only technical trends but also their experience with science and Technology and to apply that learning for benefit the society at large. For the inaugural session of the STS, we had with us Prof. Emeritus KPJ Reddy, Chairman

– MACHSTAR Group. Prof.KPJ Reddy was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IISc Bangalore. The content for the talk was “Journey of Innovative Entrepreneurship.” The talk series threw light on various subject matters like aerodynamics, hypersonic, shockwaves, high temperature chemical kinetics and materials, gas dynamic lasers, and quantum electronics. E- Certificates will be provided to the participants to encourage them for active engagement and enhancing their technical wisdom.

– Content Contributors – L Monisha (I year ECE)

Project Based Learning

“An interdisciplinary, collaborative learning space that warrants qualitative autonomy and deep learning of concepts and principles, where the learners from multiple domains huddle together, with the teacher as a facilitator or a co-learner to explore limitless possibilities in the ocean of science and technology.” This is the brief contour of Project Based Learning Framework introduced at Kumaraguru College of Technology in the academic year 2020-21 for the first year B.E./B.Tech. students.

A two-tier screening process involving an aptitude and interview was conducted and 58 students have been admitted in the first cohort. In this inquiry-based learning, learners have huddled in smaller teams and have identified a problem statement. Mentored by faculty members, senior students, alumni and experts from industry, learners since January are seamlessly exploring the interconnections among multiple domains such as science, mathematics, technology, management, economics, history, geography and much more. In addition, the learners shall also engage themselves in deep learning of the concepts and principles of basic science and math courses along with communication offered during the I Semester thereby ensuring a complementary learning framework.

The faculty member acts as a mentor and facilitator by creating a learning atmosphere of shared responsibility. They steer the learners towards identifying content-based materials, regulate student success with intermittent, transitional goals to ensure student projects remain focused and students have a deep understanding of the concepts being investigated. Students must show what they have learned (content), what they can do (demonstration), and what new skills they have developed. PBL forces students to take ownership of their success.

One credit courses

A novel initiative by the SFS department was offering one-credit courses on choice-based learning mode. Each division of the SFS department floated a paper namely Mathematical modelling: Analysis and Application from Mathematics, Solar Photovoltaics from Physics, Chemistry in everyday life from Chemistry and Speak English Professionally from English. There was an overwhelming response from the students. The number of students enrolled for each course are 95, 120, 86 and 201, respectively.

Engineering sprints

Innovation Practicum is an adjunct to Engineering education, to help develop a curious mindset in students pursuing science and engineering education by involving them in a rigorous process of discovering challenges in the real world, designing innovative ideas & building technology products/solutions to accelerate their learning to build & apply TOOLS, demonstrate TALENT acquired from implementing cross-functional TECHNOLOGIES in a practised based learning environment.

 Innovation Practicum is accomplished through various sprints – Engineering Sprint, Innovation Sprint, Design Sprint & Ideation Sprint.

 Engineering Sprints focused on first semester students. Engineering sprints as a program that has envisioned to transform the way we think about engineering. The program aims to enable curiosity in engineering and drives the students to understand the innovations in engineering and to identify and solve real-world problems. 

The course also strengthens the conceptual understanding of fundamental engineering concepts. Harnessing experiential learning strategies to unlock educational value and spark interest in students’ minds. The course is targeted towards beginners with little to zero experience. However, this course will focus on teaching computational thinking; instead of the conventional approach by using self-directed activities that foster the growth of functional independence, self-regulation, and self-driven learning.

This kind of learning has a demonstrable effect on the candidates’ interest levels toward learning – as they aspire to create meaningful change and affect powerful change in the world – enabling them to build solutions that solve challenging real-world problems. 

Sprout for SFS – Learning and Insights

Sprout is a peer-learning community where seniors and juniors help their fellow-mates to learn and share knowledge in their field of interests. This Super60 project hosts monologues, workshops, podcasts, blogs, etc., as part of the regular activities. The new initiative of the community is that Sprout in association with the School of Foundational Sciences have pooled in “The Peer Learning Certificate Programme” for freshers. The Programme enables first years to opt any of the offered professional courses from Sprout and entitles them as Sprout Learner after an engagement with the student for 15 hours. The course handlers are alumni, seniors of the institution who have expressed their passion to teach their juniors in their domain knowledge and hence are called the Sprout Educators. Sprout has completed 4 courses on topics like Cloud Computing and AWS, Step Up your CommQ, Essential Life Skills and Life Hacks. About 4 other courses are ongoing and 4 other new courses are upcoming in the programme. This platform holds a exclusive audit team through which, the certificate programme have an overall quality rating of about 4.5. The assessment and evaluation methods are mostly quizzes, presentations and group discussions. Sprout aims to cover 90 certificate courses under various domains, in this association with SFS for the freshers in a rapturous way.

Explore – An Initiative by Ré

Explore – an initiative by Ré, is a 48-week training program comprising 4 phases for freshers of KCT with a motto to inculcate the research and exploration culture in them. The program mainly deals with two main domains namely: Engineering and Management. The various scientific, technical and management topics will be delivered as master classes and coffee table talk. Master classes will be held 2 days/week and coffee table talks every weekend by various industrial experts, alumni, in collaboration with other clubs/forums and by speakers from engineering societies. At the end of the program students will gain technical knowledge and will be able to fix their area of interest. Based on their area of interest students will either publish a research paper or develop a MUP (Minimum Usable Prototype).

GATE (Mathematics) Coaching Classes for GATE Aspirants

The Department of Mathematics has been offering Gate coaching classes for third and final years’ GATE aspirants from 2016 onwards. This year also the same was continued in an Online mode from June onwards. From December 2020, revision classes were arranged. The focus was on Engineering Mathematics and General Aptitude (Mathematics). Classes were conducted till the GATE exams in February.  Classes were handled by Dr. Santha A./Associate Professor and Dr.Vijeta Iyer/Assistant Professor.

Spoken Tutorial Project of IIT Bombay

Spoken Tutorial Project (IIT Bombay) is a Government of India project, powered by National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT, MHRD), offered by IIT Bombay, that conducts MOOC programs on IT/Software/E-Tutor courses and it also comes under PMMMNMTT and Swayam platform.

Department of Mathematics initiated the collaboration of our Institution with Spoken Tutorial Project (IIT Bombay) with the view to offer Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) courses to the faculty members, academic support staffs and students. Under the auspices of KLDA, an FDP on R language was organised for faculty members in November 2020. Many students from KCT and KCTBS have enrolled and are getting benefitted from various FOSS courses.

EVENTS ORGANISED

PARENTS TEACHERS MEETING- 2020 – 2021 (First Year – Odd Semester)

The Parents Meeting- for the I year students of 2020 – 2021 batch was conducted on 07/02/2021(Sunday) from 10.00 a.m.  to 12.30 p.m.  The opening meeting was conducted through a common Zoom platform with meeting links, and You tube links were shared. The meeting was addressed by Dr. D. Saravanan, our honourable Principal, KCT followed by Dr. Ezhilarasi, Head of the School of Foundational Sciences who welcomed the parents and Dr.Vijilesh, Head OSA briefed on students support. Dr. Arokia Lawrence Vijay, coordinator of English Department elaborated on department related information.  Parents were informed regarding the meeting.

The mentors coordinated with their respective mentees and parents along with the Class Advisors in the virtual mode.

MATLAB in Data Analytics and Automated Driving System

The Department of Mathematics organised a webinar series on MATLAB in Data Analytics and Automated Driving System at International level from 22^nd December 2020 to 23^rd December 2020. The event was organised by Dr. Maheswari K and Dr. A. Ezhilarasi. Sessions were handled by Mr.Suraj Dawande, Data Analytics Dept, Designtech systems, Mathworks, Gujarat and Mr.Rajkumar, Designtech systems, Mathworks, Chennai. Total 224 students and faculty members participated in the webinar.

MATHEMALITE – A competition for students

National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22^nd December every year to commemorate the Birth anniversary of Great Indian Mathematician Shri Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Department of Mathematics organised a series of competitions for students entitled MATHEMALITE on 22^nd December 2020. The event was organised by Dr. Maheswari K. There were 1155 students who participated in these competitions.

Applications of Partial Differential Equations in Control and Inverse Problems

The Department of Mathematics organised a webinar on Applications of Partial Differential Equations in Control and Inverse Problems on 20^th January 2020. The event was organised by Dr.Maheswari K and Dr.K.Meena. Resource person of the webinar was Dr. Sakthivel, Professor, Dept. of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Space, Science and Technology, Trivandrum. The webinar was attended by 163 faculty members.

MAKEATHON 2021

The Department of Mathematics organised a Hackathon – MAKEATHON 2021 on 20^th January 2020. Takako Hashmitoto, Vice President, Professor, Chiba University of Commerce, IEEE R10 Secretary (2019-2020) member was the resource person of the event. Total 103 students participated in the event. The event was organised by Dr.Maheswari K and Dr.J. Dhivya.

FDP on Fundamentals of Deep Learning Using Computer Vision

The Department of Mathematics along with the Department of Information Technology organised 5-Day FDP on Fundamentals of Deep Learning Using Computer Vision from 16^th February to 20^th February 2021. The event was organised Dr.Maheswari K along with Dr. Alamelu M (Head/IT).

National Science Day

National Science Day in India is celebrated on 28th February every year to mark the discovery of Indian Physicist Sir C.V. Raman. 

The Department of Physics celebrated National Science Day on 1st March 2021. In this regard, two invited lectures on the topics “Science Technology Initiatives by Government of India – Impact on Life skill, training and education” delivered by Dr. N. Vijayan, Principal Scientist, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi and “DRDO initiatives in Nation building activities” by Dr. S. Rajagopal, Project Director – Rustom 1, Aeronautical Development Establishment, DRDO, Bengaluru. The lecture provided an insight into the various funding opportunities available under various agencies, Industry Institute Partnership, Student Research programme initiated by different research bodies across India.

It was followed by Oral Presentation and Poster Presentation via Twitter @KctNsd on the topic – Advanced Physics for diverse engineering applications. The event was organised by Dr. R. Balamurugan and Dr. H. Arul.

FACULTY RESEARCH ADVANCEMENTS

PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED

• Dr. H. Arul has submitted a project proposal titled Development of high-quality direction controlled supramolecular self -assembled nonlinear optical crystals towards effective THz generation for Imaging applications to CSIR under Extra Mural Research for a proposed amount of Rs. 28,77,450 and for the duration of 36 months.

REVIEWERS

• Dr. J. Dhivya reviewed an article entitled Generalized Dice Similarity Measures, TOPSIS Method, and Entropy Measure Based on T-Spherical Fuzzy Sets and Their Applications in Pattern Recognition, Medical Diagnosis and Clustering Algorithm submitted to Scopus Journal – IEEE Access.
• Dr. Maheswari K reviewed an article entitled Binary mode switching with leakage and distributed delays submitted to Scopus Journal – IEEE transactions on Neural Networks and learning systems.
• Dr.Ezhilarasi A reviewed an article entitled LEACH Based Protocols submitted to Scopus Journal – Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal (ASTESJ).
• Dr. K. Sampath reviewed an article entitled The Combination of N-Heterocyclic Carbene, Hydrogen Bond Donor, CrCl2 and TBAB for Cooperative Catalyzed the Fixation of CO2 at Ambient Pressure submitted to Scopus Journal- Polyhedron.
• Dr. KR Aranganayagam reviewed two research papers submitted to ‘Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids’ and ‘International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT)’ in November 2020 and February 2021, respectively.

BOOK PUBLICATION

• Dr.B. Arokia Lawrence Vijay, Dr. S.G.Mohanraj, Dr. Sreejana. S, Abirami V are Editors for the book published under the title Innovations in Language & Literature, Bonfring pubishers, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, ISBN No. 978-93-895 15-31-2, Pp: 1-231 in December 2020.
• Dr. Abirami V has published a book chapter titled An Ecofeminist Perspective on the Patriarchs in Alice Walker’s Possessing the Secret of Joy in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 25-32 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.
• Dr. Sreejana S has published a book chapter titled Skill Enhancement – Reading Roots Communication in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 42-55 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.
• Dr. Hema R has published a book chapter titled Fighting Shadow Pandemic and Post-emotional Society: A Reading of Mahesh Dattani’s EkAlag Mausam in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 89-95 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.
• Dr. J. Srikala has published a book chapter titled Learner’s Reciprocities in Pandemic Situation: An Outlook on Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning – An Existential Stance in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 102-108 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.
• Dr. Tissaa Tony C has published a book chapter titled Self-actualization theory analysed from the perspective of Hardy’s Tess in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 109-115 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2
• Dr. A. S. Mythili has published a book chapter titled Female Infertility – An Epidemic in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 123-128 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.
• Dr. S. G. Mohanraj has published a book chapter titled Poetics of Ecological Wisdom: An Overview of W.S. Merwin’s Creature Celebration Poems in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 157-166 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.
• Dr. B. Arokia Lawrence Vijay has published a book chapter titled Social Code – The Missing Elements in the Select Works of William Faulkner in the book titled ‘Innovations in Language and Literature‘ published by Bonfring Publishers, Tamilnadu, Pp. 175-182 in January 2021 with the ISBN 978-93-89515-31-2.

RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

• Dr. K. Sampath has published a paper entitled Synthesis, characterization and biological activity of copper oxide nanoparticles in AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 2270, 110024 (November 2020).
• Dr. K. Sampath has published a paper entitled Degradation of methyl orange and Alizarin Red S from waste water using poly(azomethine)/ZnO nanocomposite as a photocatalyst in AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 2270, 110001 (November 2020).
• Dr. H. Arul has published a paper entitled Influence of proton implantation on optical properties of 1,4 oxazinanium dihydrogenphosphate single crystal in AIP Conference proceedings, Vol. 2270, Pp. 100001 (1-4) (December 2020).
• Ms. E. Shobhana has published a paper entitled Investigations on Synthesis, Structural, Spectral, Thermal, Dielectric And Z-Scan Analysis of an organic Nonlinear optical Material: 8-Hydroxyquinolinium Trichloroacetate (8HQTC) in Solid State Technology, Volume 63, Issue 5, 7122-7137 (December 2020).
• Dr. R. Marudhachalam has published a paper entitled An Image Processing Approach for Measuring the Roughness of the Electroplated Nimo and Nip Nano Crystalline Thin Layer Surfaces in Solid State Technology, Volume 63, Issue 5, 7109-7114 (December 2020).
• Dr. R. Marudhachalam has published a paper entitled Effect of Hybrid Max Filter and Edge Detection on Scanning Electron Microscope Picture of Calcium Oxide and Copper Oxide Nano composites in Solid State Technology, Volume 63, Issue 5, 7109-7114 (December 2020).
• Ms. S. Meena Priyadarshini has published a paper entitled Quasi mαg continuous maps and perfectly mαg continuous maps in AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 2277, 110004 (November 2020).
• Ms. S. Meena Priyadarshini has published a paper entitled On mildly α generalized normal spaces in AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 2277, 110005 (November 2020).
• Dr. Maheswari K has published a paper entitled Performance Comparison of Pan Tompkins and Wavelet Transform Based ECG Feature Extraction Techniques in Biosc. Biotech. Res. Comm. Special Issue, Volume 13, Issue 11, 133-137 (December 2020).
• Dr R Ashokkumar has published a paper entitled Cd doped-Alpha-Dimanganese Trioxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Structural, Morphological, Optical, Luminescent, Magnetic, Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Characterization in Journal of Molecular Structure, Volume 1229, 129846 (publication month – April 2021).

FACULTY CAREER REFINEMENTS

PAPER PRESENTATIONS

• Dr.A. Santha presented a research paper entitled Results on Order with Respect to Incidence Topology of Path Graph and Star Graph in an International Virtual Conference on Bridging Innovative Trends in Mathematics, Engineering & Technology – BITMET’20 organised by Department of Mathematics Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, held from 18^th December 2020 to 19^th December 2020.
• Dr. Vijeta Iyer presented a research paper entitled Results on Order with Respect to Incidence Topology of Comb Graph and Helm Graph in an International Virtual Conference on Bridging Innovative Trends in Mathematics, Engineering & Technology – BITMET’20 organised by Department of Mathematics Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, held from 18^th December 2020 to 19^th December 2020.
• Dr.K. Maheswari presented a research paper entitled Stability analysis of Semi-Markovian discrete-time neural networks with time-varying leakage delays in an International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Smart Community organised by Biomedical engg, UTP Malaysia and NGP Institute of Technology, held from 17^th December 2020 to 18^th December 2020.
• Dr.K.P. Thilagavathy presented a research paper entitled The Achromatic Number of Central Graph of Some Ladder Graphs in an International Conference Frontiers in Industrial and Applied Mathematics – FIAM2020 organised by Department of Mathematics, NIT Jamshedpur, held from 21^st December 2020 to 22^nd December 2020.
• Ms.R. Anbhuvizhi presented a research paper entitled Cipher-Text Policy Attribute Based Encryption using Secret Sharing Scheme in an International Conference on Applied Mathematical Models organised by Department of Mathematics, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, held from 7^th January to 9^th January 2021.
• Dr. R. Ashokkumar presented a research paper entitled Chelating Agent Assisted Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) Nanoparticles by Hydrothermal Process in a 6^th International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology organised by Department of Physics, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, held from 1^st February to 3^rd February 2021.
• Dr. K. Sampath presented a research paper entitled Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Activity of Ruthenium (III) Complexes Containing Schiff Base Ligands in an International Interdisciplinary Virtual Conference on Breakthroughs and Approaches in contemporary Scientific Research organised by Department of Physics and Chemistry, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore in collaboration with University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. held from 17^th February to 19^th February 2021.

WORKSHOPS / FDP ATTENDED

49 FDPs/STTPs (for minimum 5 days) were attended by all the faculty members of the department in the 3rd Quarter of the academic year 2020 – 2021. A graphical presentation of the activities is given below.

Bar chart below presents active participation of the SFS faculty members

Bar chart below presents active participation – Department wise

SEMINAR/ TRAINING/ WEBINAR/ WORKSHOP ATTENDED (LESS THAN 5 DAYS)

23 Seminar/ Training/ Webinar/ Workshop were attended (for less than 5 days) by our faculty members of each department in the 3^rd quarter of the academic year 2020 – 2021.

Contribution by faculty members – Month wise and Activity wise

FACULTY AS RESOURCE PERSON

• Mr. R. Mayildurai delivered a talk in TEQIP III Sponsored Guest Lecture on Environmental Threats to the students of GCT, Coimbatore on 10^th February 2021.
• Dr. H. Arul acted as a resource person in AICTE – ISTE sponsored Refresher course on Bioanalytical techniques and delivered two lecture session on Thermo Analytical Techniques organised by Department of Biotechnology, KCT on 23^rd February 2021.
• Dr. KR Aranganayagam acted as a resource person in AICTE – ISTE sponsored Refresher course on Bioanalytical techniques and delivered two lecture session on Interpretation of FT IR Spectroscopy organised by Department of Biotechnology, KCT on 23^rd February 2021.

CONGRATULATIONS, TEACHERS!

Award Received

Dr. K. Maheswari, Head & Assistant Professor of the Department of Mathematics is a proud recipient of the award Inspiring Research Associate Award awarded by Madras Journal Series on 10^th October 2020.

Project Proposal Granted

Dr R Kannan, Assistant Professor of the Department of Physics along with KC.IRI has submitted a research proposal to DRDO ARMREB entitled “Investigative studies on structural and mechanical properties of electroplated NiP,NiB and NiW nanocrystalline thin layers on steel substrate for erosion resistant applications”. This project proposal was developed with his experience in previous coatings in electroplating and the problem identification of chrome coating on health aspects, wear and corrosion issues. This project proposal got accepted and a funding of 37.44 lakhs was provided by DRDO ARMREB – MAA panel. Now being in the initial stages, Mrs. M. Selvambikai (CoPI), Prof. C. Vasantharaj (CoPI) and Miss. G. Nivetha (JRF) along with Dr R Kannan have started setting up lab at D Block,Room number 107B. The lab set up at this stage includes various equipment such as Automated electroplating unit, Steamer, Ultrasonic cleaners, Digital pH meter and high precision analytical balance.

STUDENTS’ GALLERY

STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENTS – KUDOS, STUDENTS!

• Naveen Shankar S (EEE- 6156) participated in a Webinar on Google Cloud Community organised by GDG cloud communities on 22^nd -23^rd January 2021.       
• Naveen Shankar S (EEE-6156) completed a Certificate course on Speak English Professionally conducted by Georgia Institute of Technology from 25^th to 27^th January 2021.
• Madhavanesh. K (ISE – 6195) completed a Certificate course on AI 900 conducted by Nascomm future skills and Microsoft 17^th December 2020.   
• Prasanna Raj A (ISE 6828) participated in 34^th Tamilnadu State Junior and Senior Open Athletics Championship organised by Tamilnadu athletic association from  21^st to 24^th January 2021.
• Navina G A (ISE6173) participated in an Essay-Writing Competitions Write-Minded as a part of the republic day celebrations        organised by   KCLAS on 25^th January 2021.            
• Sreeja G S (EIE 6221), Naveen Shankar S (EEE 6156), Sivakeerthana S (EIE 6230), Sri Hari.S (CE 5940), Susharitha G R (EEE 11159) participated in Quiz competition MATHEMALITE organised by Department of Mathematics (SFS) on 22^nd December 2020.
• Ansu Susan Deepak (ECE5975), Sarigha Sriram.G (EEE 6188) participated in a Quiz competition Crazy cryptography organised by Department of Mathematics (SFS) on 22^nd December 2020, and both won First prize.
• Priyanka.R (TXT 6787)  participated in Quiz competition MATHEMALITE organised by Department of Mathematics (SFS) on 22^nd December 2020 and won First prize.
• Arunan R   (EEE6242)      participated in a webinar series EVOLVE – New Year Contest organised by KCLAS from 20^th to 28^th December 2020 and won Second prize.
• Madhunitha C (ECE6301) participated in Drawing competition organised by Department of Mathematics (SFS) on 22^nd December 2020, and both won First prize.
• Akshai Kumar P (20BTT002) attended a Webinar on Applications of Artificial Intelligence organised by Department of Computer Science, Government Arts and Science College for Women on 3^rd February 2021.

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STUDENTS’ CONTRIBUTIONS

Passions of My Dame

Adorned by the misty dew drops

That twinkles on the wayward side of Nilgris

I feel love in my Anhata

Those 12 petals blushed in your beauty

One by one till your next bloom.

With the fervour of your thilakam

I secretly opened my eyes

And looked past the draping veil,

The brimming sea

I felt a zest.

Your chiselled face like the silver conch

On the night sky

With exalted curves of sangam literature,

And your hair, like rainclouds

Moving between branches of lightning

Like the arthi in your shrine in karaikudi,

Oh Dame Tamil! Oh my Domina!

When you caressed my face

I grasped the moist of your five epics

Silappatikāram, Manimekalai, Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi,

Valayapathi and Kuṇṭalakēci,

In your slender fingers.

Oh My Mother! My Matron!

Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, graced Tulu!

Born of thy crimson lips

Like the lashes of my words

All created from Thine.

You are the honey that dances in rain

I became a poet only because of you

You are my light in the drowning sky

Your purity intact, your beauty

Is a everlasting eternal brilliance

Thou beauteous Tamil

Oh my Milady Tamil,

The only one to have my passion

Like the spiralling horns of our dark buffalo

You are sharp,

Like the valiant facing it

You are audacious.

On the charred and newly sown land

Like the rhythamic beat of the ploughing cow

In the pandemonium of parrots

In the lush flight of beetles

You are the poem in me.

Bigger than earth

Higher than sky

More unfathomable than the waters

Is the beauty of your grammar

To your last drenched flower.

Kaveri, Ponnaru, Pennaru, Palaru along with!

Porunai, Vaigai embracing Periyar

Like the pride of the thumb

In the bow

You are mine.

I’m your moonchild,

Who shine in you,

My lady, my passion is you

Is your compassion us?

Is that what holds me back to your side like this?

But I already love this,

My love is yours, My beloved Dame Tamil.

–Sneha S (6168) EIE

SMILE ALL THE WAY

Never thought time flies 
As fast as light! 
The journey was for sure hard 
But guess what 
I’ve survived and I’m proud of it! 
 
From a 10 y’o kid 
desperate to bring back father from heaven 
To an 18 y’o who understands and accepts life as it is 
 
Life has given me a lot of experiences, 
Missing my loved one, loneliness, betrayals, poverty and what not! 
But guess what 
I’ve survived and I’m proud of it! 
 
Over the years, 
Things have changed, people have changed, life has changed, 
But something that has not changed 
And will never change 
Is that SMILE on my face!! 
 
I smile today not because my life has been easy, 
But because I’ve survived the worst!! 
I smile today because it has given me the strength to face life 
And a reason to wake up everyday! 
 
Life is not a fairytale! 
It is definitely not! 
But now, if at all needed in future, 
I have the courage to survive yet again!! 
But this time with an even bigger and brighter SMILE on my face!! ? 
 
     – Priyanka Kalidhass (I year – AI & DS )

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Experiences shared by Freshers

A COVID-19 FRESHER

The first and the last days of college are the most magnificent days of all. But being a COVID-19 fresher, I had to miss one of them. The felling of stepping into our institution without knowing a single person, the fear, the excitement, the eager and anxious waiting is a small gist of what I missed. What did I gain instead? The numerous pings from the new groups created, tedious course enrollment process and of course, friends whom I have no way of identifying except from profile pictures and Instagram stories.

There is a silver lining to every cloud. My silver lining was the helpful and guiding teachers along with awesome seniors. The morning online class were made interesting by the teachers and the evenings were made fun by my numerous club seniors, some who even offered me various tips and advices to make our academic life uncomplicated. My biggest concern is that when we do finally come into the college as second years and the freshers ask us for direction, we probably have to say, “Even I am searching for that block, come let’s look for it together!”

This virtual experience is unique too. I got to connect with people from all over the world from my living rooms itself. I also got to experience lectures from dignitaries from all around the world. One of the perks of online class is that there is no need to dress up. Most of the days, we get up just before 5 minutes from when the class starts and hurry up to give our attendance on time. This is the first time that I got an opportunity to take videos for my projects. It was much more straightforward. All in all, I did have a whale of a time these 10 weeks of first semester. That being said, I really enjoyed getting to know people online but at the same time I hope to meet them all soon organically and have the time of our life at KCT. The pros and cons of the present situations are varied and many. But I have learnt to make the best of this situation and enjoy whatever life throws at me.

–Nikitha D (5932 (BT))

Online Education

Online classes’, one of the frequently spoken words and every student and teacher has experienced this new normal. Though we had MOOCs such as Udemy, Coursera, edX etc. for us to learn online, they were optional, and we did not even imagine about how it would be if our entire education gets compressed in the word ‘online’.

But our institution justified their part in this regard and gave their best to engage and educate us in this new normal. Kumaraguru Online Education (KOED) came up with a new idea of Augmented learning which moulded us to become Self learners. The ball was in our courts and we KCTians tried our best to engage ourselves in all the classes.

Any new implementation will have its own pros and cons and we are in no way exceptional to that. The students had some difficulties at the beginning to cope up with the distractions and the fatigue due to increased screen time but soon we evolved for a better learning experience. The teachers on the other hand gave their best to sow the seeds of knowledge in the minds of KCTians.

Overall, we the Kumaraguru community transform ourselves and will evolve for a better tomorrow.

–Gayathree Prabha (6318 (ECE))

PROJECT BASED LEARNING 

Experiential Learning and experience are two significant constituents which one needs to possess to survive and sustain in the current world. However, the mode of learning is what acts as the catalyst here. When I first learnt about PBL and our institute bringing it into function I to be honest was a little skeptical as to what could be new and what all are the challenges one must endure once they step their foot into it. However, the whole idea and notion behind PBL is what drew my attention towards it. The fact that there is an opportunity out there for me to learn my concepts in detail by doing projects on them certainly did impress me. I entered the PBL through a two-tier selection process held for students. One was a written interview wherein I was asked about my passion towards learning, my interested subjects etc. The second tier was a face-to-face interview which was conducted by the faculty members wherein they questioned our choice for choosing PBL, the previous projects we have done over the years in our school etc. Once I got the news that I was shortlisted for the program I was excited to begin a new learning journey and I till date certainly rejoice my decision. The first two weeks into PBL was about cultivating your thoughts in the right direction and approaching a problem in the right and appropriate way and our faculty mentors did take care of us very well. Then came the phase for which all of us had been waiting which is the group project initiation. Me and four other friends of mine (Moulish Arunachalam, Barath Sanjay, Harish B, Karthikeyan K) who constitute the crew 6, along with our assigned mentors stumbled upon various topics but we wanted to do something that can hold its use even in developing areas especially in the health care industry; hence we came up with the idea of making a smart IV drip stand. Through this project we aim at making a drip stand that does not need continuous monitoring, that can automatically start/stop the flow based on command given and prevent hazards like reverse flow and air bubbles from entering the body. We have come up with the final prototype for this project of ours and all that is left for us to do is to just build the prototype virtually along with the coding for it. This journey of ours with our current project will come to an end in another few days and we certainly cannot wait to restart it with an another new one. Within these one and a half months none of us would have imagined completing a whole prototype that too done by us first year students who are just in our budding stage, but that’s what this whole journey has been about for me, the takeaways I have from this are plenty and if I have to mention them, I will probably end up writing another article all again. But on a serious note, I did come to learn what teamwork is, how to approach a problem, how to tackle various challenges placed in front of me and that made me realize that PBL does not aim at making you perfect it just aims at making you a better version of yourself. This mode of learning was a little different to our normal learning. Our normal learning does focus on gain of knowledge and information, but what this mode gives you is the exposure along with the knowledge gain which helps in building up your confidence. Looking forward to the upcoming PBL sessions as well as the better me this is Vaishnavi. K signing off. 

–Vaishnavi. K (20BIT060 )

PROJECT BASED LEARNING 

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I’m glad to ink my experience in PBL. I was truly upbeat when I got mail about PBL and I was energized. First day of our Project Based Learning session was brimming with fervor since we were out of our conventional technique for learning. From our school days we were into learning our subjects in a traditional classroom environment and here at PBL the profound learning meetings which were directed by the faculty members of PBL assisted us with preparing our psyches to consider the application of our learning in our everyday life. As ALBERT EINSTEIN quoted “education is not learning facts it’s about training our mind to think” we had the option to comprehend it in the fullest through PBL. 

Students work on an all-inclusive timeframe – that connects with them in tackling a genuine issue or responding to a perplexing inquiry. We have gained access to a forum that has taught us basic reasoning, coordinated effort, imagination, and relational abilities. In terms of advancement in the project, we are able to figure out solutions to the problem statement with the constant support and assistance from our faculty members. We came to know about writing survey, research paper, which might happen only during the final year in the conventional learning. 

We like to thank the faculty members for their extended support and mentoring! 

–Niranjanaa (I year Civil)

PROJECT BASED LEARNING

Imagine if you were given a chance to learn not through books but by doing! 

My name is Kushar Dogra, and I am a student of the 1st-year Information Technology Department. I am from Jammu and Kashmir. I am a learner of the Project Based Learning Framework from the first cohort.  

Project Based Learning is a unique program where the students learn based on the problem statement that they have selected after brainstorming and guided by faculty and alumni mentors. The contingent of 58 students classified into 12 crew with 4 professors is headed by our HoD, Dr. Ezhilarasi ma’am.  Apart from the project, we also have deep learning sessions, where we study deeply on topics of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) along with Communication. 

Why Project Based Learning? This program gives a student a different approach to learning. He/she acquires knowledge based on their interests which is beyond the confinement of traditional classroom programs. Learning while doing offers you to understand the topic more easily and productively. 

Entry into the program was a two-tier selection process. First, we were asked to fill up a form that quizzed us about an innovative idea, projects done, and their description. Then the selected ones were called for an interview with the professors and a senior student. They asked us in detail about our innovative idea and expectations from this program. 

After selection, for the first week, we identified the students based on similar interests in the team. To help us find this, we were divided into a team of 5 and were given a STEM problem statement every day and we had to present it with a possible solution. 

My crew is working on a website for NGOs. We have planned to bring all the NGOs on a universal platform where people who are looking to donate can compare between different NGOs and can find the best one based on the reviews and ratings of the organization. We are also working to provide a space on our website for individuals who are working on a project and need financial backing. We selected this as our problem statement because we witnessed that many organizations don’t have a website and get overlooked and are in desperate need of funds for working. For example, we observed that people prefer Zomato, Swiggy than ordering food directly from the outlets. The inference behind this is that people get a variety of food and get to order from different places at the same time. We thought of doing the same but with NGOs, to bring them on a collaborative platform, and giving the option of choosing between them based on their reviews and ratings. 

So, working on this for a beginner can be tricky. Our first step was to read as many research papers that we could find related to our problem statement. Following this, as we all are beginners, we started having online tutorials on Youtube and Udemy associated with the technology that we are using for web development. Our faculty mentor, Prof. Kanagraj assisted us to find the courses related to our project.  

Till now, we have completed the front end and the back end of our login page and the front end of the sign-up page for organization and donors, navbar, scoreboard, success board, overview/home page, the profile page for both organization and donor. We are regularly being guided by our student mentor Mr Aswath and our alumni mentor Mr Sarath Kishore on our project. 

When comparing Project Based Learning to traditional learning, one gets a lot of gains. One gets to learn a lot of new things which one can learn by doing things in the practical mode. In traditional learning, one gets theoretical knowledge but, in this program, one can get both theoretical as well as practical knowledge. Based on interest, one can choose the project statement from any discipline and can work on it. This program makes learning a completely new and innovative experience. For example, we were taught the correct way of reading research papers otherwise, it can prove to be time-consuming. One masters how to present a project. We regularly have a project review meeting with the industry mentor, student mentor, alumni mentor, faculty mentor, and professors. They give us their valuable inputs which enhance the quality of our project. 

There are many takeaways from this program for me. As I was completely new to coding, and project work, I learned how to present, read the research paper, learned different languages and have come to know about technologies that are used behind the development of the website. This program has made me confident to speak, it has polished my personality. 

Outcomes that in the pipeline from the project is a fully functional website for the NGOs and a research paper. 

–Kushar Dogra (20BIT030) 

PORTRAITS AND SKETCHES

HoD: Dr. M. Ezhilarasi
Editors: Dr. Vijeta Iyer, Dr. Tissaa Tony C