Faculty Development Program On “Innovations In Mechanical Engineering and Technology”.

The three-day Faculty Development Program on ‘Innovations in Mechanical Engineering and Technology’ was scheduled on 10^th, 11^th and 12^th January 2019, by the Mechanical Engineering Department, in Seminar Hall 6. The Eminent speakers who conducted the sessions were Mr.Vijaya Raghavan and Mr.Vamshi Krishna from HAL, Dr. Biswajit Tripathy from General Motors, Mr. Keerthi Srinivas from IISc Bangalore, Mr. Leni Davidson and Mr. Santosh Kumar from SKF Industry Pvt. Ltd., & Dr. R Prabhu and Dr. S Marimuthu from MVJCE.

The FDP was inaugurated by the Principal – MVJCE, Head of the Department – Mechanical Engineering and Senior Professors, by lighting the lamp. This was followed by an Invocation song by Ms. Vaishnavi Pai, student of the first semester of Aeronautical Engineering. The Speakers were welcomed by the Principal and the Head of the Department with a flower bouquet.

The Principal of MVJCE and Prof. R Prabhu, (Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, MVJCE) welcomed the faculty members and motivated the audience.

After the Inaugural function, the first day of the FDP program commenced with a technical session by the Speaker Mr. Vijaya Raghavan, Senior Manager, Retd. HAL. With his valuable knowledge on NDT Methods of materials, he captivated the participants’ attention, from 9.30 am to 11.00 am. This was followed by a tea break of 15 minutes.

The proceedings resumed at 11.15 am, with another technical session on Welding Technology by the same speaker till 12.30 pm, followed by a lunch break.

The third technical session started at 1.30 pm sharp, by welcoming of the in-house speaker Dr. R Prabhu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department – he was presented a bouquet of flowers by Dr. Marimuthu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department. Dr. R Prabhu delivered a talk on Green Manufacturing, emphasizing on Sustainable Manufacturing and methods of harnessing Green Energy. The session continued till 2.45 pm, followed by high tea.

The fourth and the last session of the first day of the FDP resumed at 3.00 pm. The Speaker Mr. Vamshi Krishna, Design Engineer, HAL, was ushered to the podium with a bouquet of flowers by Mr. Mohan Kumar K, Head of the Department, Mechanical Engineering. Mr. Vamshi Krishna delivered a session on Additive Manufacturing till 4.00 pm. He spoke about the current trends in additive manufacturing, and the methods and processes employed in HAL for the production of Aeronautical components.  He emphasized on the fact that even parts that have a complex contour have been manufactured in HAL with precision and compressed time, leading to maximising the production.

The Second day of the three-day FDP program started with the welcoming of the Guest Speaker Dr. Biswajit Tripathy, General Motors, with a bouquet by Dr. Marimuthu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department. The session was on ‘Advance Optimization Techniques in Vehicle Development’. The Vice-Principal, Principal and Heads of various Departments graced the occasion with their esteemed presence. The session continued till 11.00am followed by a tea break.

The second session for the day resumed at 11.15 am, with a technical session on Heuristic Search Algorithm for Optimization problems, by in-house Speaker Dr. Marimuthu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department. The session continued till lunch time.

The third technical session started at 1.30 pm, after the welcoming of the Guest Speaker Mr. Keerthi Srinivas with a bouquet by Dr. Marimuthu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department. The Speaker delivered a talk on Fluid Dynamics and its Applications. The session continued till 2.45 pm, followed by a high tea.

The fourth and the last session of the second day of the FDP resumed at 3.00 pm by the same Speaker, on Gas Dynamics and Combustion Efficiency. The session was wound up at 4.00 pm.

The Third day of the three-day FDP program started with the welcoming of the Guest Speaker Mr. Leni Davidson, General Manager, SKF Bearings Pvt. Ltd., by Dr. Marimuthu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, with a bouquet of flowers. The session was on ‘Heat Treatment of Materials’. The session continued till 11.00 am followed by a tea break.

The second session started at 11.15 am with a technical session. The speaker Mr. Santosh Kumar, General Manager, SKF Bearings Pvt. Ltd., was welcomed by Dr. Venkatachalam, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, with a boquet of flowers. Mr. Santosh Kumar gave a talk on Vibration Analysis and its methods. The session continued till 12.30 pm. All good things must come to an end, and so it was time for the Valedictory function.

The Valedictory function was graced by the Principal, Vice Principal, Heads of various Departments, Senior Professors and Guest Speakers. The participants of the FDP program were felicitated y Certificates by the Principal, MVJCE and Dr. R. Prabhu. The valuable feedback from the participants was received online. The Valedictory function was concluded with a Vote of Thanks, Group Photo followed by a Lunch break.

Outcome of the Event:

• Faculty Development programs (FDPs) have proved to be successful for improving knowledge and skills.
• Faculty members enriched their understanding of the subjects related to Mechanical Engineering and the recent technologies in the field.
• The session on Non-destructive methods helped faculty to understand the recent trends followed in companies, bridging a huge gap between the theories taught under the syllabus and current trends followed by the companies which need to the communicated to the students.
• The recent welding technologies incorporated in the current era were understood thoroughly by the faculty as it was explained using videos in pictographic sessions.
• The various new trends of Additive Manufacturing processes by which digital 3D design data is used to build up a component in layers by depositing material, were explained. The techniques used for creating layers as well as the techniques of bonding the layers together were illustrated, which is very beneficial in the various subjects related to the Manufacturing.
• The session on Green manufacturing emphasized the renewal of production processes and the establishment of environmentally friendly operations in the manufacturing field.
• The session on Heuristic Search Algorithm will help the research scholars to design and solve the problems in a faster and more efficient fashion without sacrificing the accuracy and precision of the solution.
• The sessions on Hydrodynamics, Heat treatment of materials and Vibration analysis from the core subjects are very important to be understood in practical aspects as to enhance the knowledge of students in the field.

The Faculty Development Program was coordinated by Mr. Suhas B (Assistant Professor, Mechanical Department). Mr. Krishnaprasad R (Associate Professor, Mechanical Department), Mrs. S Sindhu (Associate Professor, Mechanical Department) and Raghavendra A (Assistant Professor, Mechanical Department) and was motivated Dr. Prabhu R (Professor, Mechanical Department). The propriety was maintained by the Faculty of Department of Mechanical Engineering.