National Level Conference on ‘Recent Advances in Chemical Engineering (RACE) – 2019’

The Department of Chemical Engineering, MVJCE, organized a National Level Conference on ‘Recent Advances in Chemical Engineering (RACE) – 2019’, on 30^th April 2019, at Smt. Rajalakshmi Jayaraman Seminar Hall, MVJCE campus.

It is an annual event under IIChE Student Chapter, Department of Chemical Engineering, MVJCE. The purpose of the Conference was to bring together Academicians, Research Scholars and Students from different institutions, to exchange significant thoughts and novel ideas, and also to highlight opportunities and challenges. The ultimate goal was to get insight into future trends, and share knowledge on technology options and strategies. The Conference was inaugurated by honourable Chief Guest Dr. K J Balasubramani, Divisional Head, Sriram Institute for Industrial Research, Bangalore. Dr. R Prabhu, Dean, MVJCE, Prof. M Nagapadma, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department, faculty members, participants from other institutions and students of Chemical Engineering department were present at the inaugural function, at 9.00 am.

Dr. R Prabhu, Dean, MVJCE, addressed the gathering, highlighting the recent developments in the area of Chemical Engineering and its benefits to the society. He also stressed on the need for updating knowledge on current trends, by conducting and attending many technical sessions and conferences.  The Chief Guest Dr. K J Balasubramani released the Conference Souvenir, along with Dr. R Prabhu and Prof. M Nagapadma. An inspiring and stimulating speech was then given by the Chief Guest on ‘Importance of Chemical Engineering for the Growth of India’. It was soon followed by a video presentation on Sriram Institute for Industrial Research, Bangalore, where the Chemical Engineering department has an MOU. The presentation offered a glimpse into the research facilities available there that students and faculty can utlize for their research work.

The Conference was well attended by research scholars and students from reputed educational institutions like R V College of Engineering, Bangalore, Dayanandasagar College of Engineering and KLE, Belaguam. The sessions of Paper presentation threw up novel ideas and demonstrations of innovative projects. Ms. Lakshmi, Junior Scientist, Sriram Institute for Industrial Research, Bangalore, Prof. M Nagapadma,  Head of the Chemical Engineering Department and Dr. Sreekanth B, Professor, Chemical Engineering Department were on the judging panel for the technical Paper presentation. Simultaneously, Poster presentation was also conducted, and judged by Prof. Muralidhara, Head of the Civil Engineering Department, MVJCE, Dr. Manu, Civil Engineering Department and Prof. Keerthi K Pai, Chemical Engineering Department.

The First place and the Best Project award for oral presentation was won by Mohammed Ziyad, Monica Yadav, Monisha Manoharan and Saleeq Ahmed from MVJCE, Bangalore, for their work on ‘Synthesis, Characterization and Investigation on Transport Properties of Nanofluids Based on MOS₂ and SnWO_4’”. The students of RVCE, Bangalore, Saikiran Saradagi and Harshith P bagged the Second place for the Ppaper ‘Conversion of Waste High Density Polyethylene to Paraffin Oil, using Catalytic Pyrolysis Reactor’.

The First prize for the poster was awarded to Varsha and Apoorva from KLE, Belgaum, for their work on ‘Green Solvents for Sustainable Biodiesel Production’. The students of MVJCE, Bangalore, Praneeth B M, Sathvik, Anand and Nihal bagged the Second prize for their poster ‘Flexible Paper Battery’. The Third prize was for the poster ‘Desalination of Seawater using Graphene oxide’, presented by MVJCE students, Rakesh M, Nanditha N, Bhargavi K S and Sushma K M.

In the valedictory function, Prof. M Nagapadma, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department and Ms. Lakshmi, Junior Scientist, Sriram Institute of Industrial Research, Bangalore, distributed certificates to all winners and participants. After the valedictory program, the Conference came to an end, leaving fond memories in the minds of the guests and delegates, and a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in all the faculty members and student volunteers who were associated with the organizing of the Conference.

OUTCOME OF THE CONFERENCE

RACE proposed to publish research papers on advanced techniques in Chemical Engineering, Experimental Analysis and Theoretical Review. This Conference served as a platform for Academicians, Industrialists and Students to learn more about new technologies in the field of Engineering. It encouraged the qualitative and quantitative performance evaluation of the latest, as well as evolving future technologies in Chemical Engineering. The Papers selected and presented at RACE-2019 will be published in a Scopus Indexed and UGC-approved Journal.