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The present study explores the intricate relationship between the geotechnical and mineralogical properties of lithomargic clays in the Uttara Kannada region of south India. Lithomargic clays, characterized by their unique composition of clay minerals and calcareous content, play a crucial role in the geotechnical behavior of soils. The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between the mineralogical composition and engineering characteristics of lithomargic clays, shedding light on their suitability for various construction and infrastructure projects. The research methodology involves a systematic analysis of lithomargic clay samples collected from different locations in the Uttara Kannada region. Geotechnical investigations, including particle size distribution, Atterberg limits, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California bearing ratio (CBR) and triaxial tests, are conducted to assess the engineering properties of the clays. Concurrently, mineralogical analyses, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), are employed to identify and quantify the clay mineral constituents within the samples. The findings of this study reveal correlations between specific mineralogical features and geotechnical behaviors of lithomargic clays. Understanding these relationships is crucial for predicting the response of these clays to different engineering applications, including slope stability, foundation design and embankment construction. The research contributes valuable insights to the scientific and engineering communities, aiding in the informed utilization of lithomargic clays in geotechnical projects in the Uttara Kannada region and beyond. The outcomes of this investigation, such as the correlation of geotechnical properties with the variation in minerals in various sample locations, enhance our understanding of the complex nature of lithomargic clays, providing a foundation for more sustainable and effective engineering practices in the geologically diverse landscapes of south India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing river water quality is crucial for human and ecological needs because of the deterioration of the river and escalated water pollution under the threats of anthropogenic activities. In order to assess river water quality, the Damodar River water was evaluated from the perspectives of spatio-temporal dynamics of ecological (organic pollution index or OPI and eutrophication index or EI), bacteriological (coliform count and comprehensive bathing water quality index or CBWQI), and overall water quality assessments (water quality index or WQI and comprehensive pollution index or CPI). The OPI reveals that 44.66% of water samples have heavy organic pollution; however, EI depicts that almost all water samples of Damodar River have severe eutrophication, especially in the pre- and post-monsoon seasons. Moreover, the fecal coliform count and CBWQI indicate the unsuitability of river water for bathing. The overall WQI portrays that 21.56%, 33.59%, and 22.47% of water samples have heavy pollution in pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon, respectively. Moreover, 73.39% of water samples have low CPI indicating slight comprehensive pollution. This study also reveals that the pollution level in the Damodar River downstream of the Durgapur barrage is high among the other stations. The major reasons behind the severe contamination of Damodar River water are urban-industrial and agricultural effluents mixing into the river that lead to higher concentrations of BOD, DO, fecal coliform, COD, fluoride TSS, and turbidity in the river water. Thus, this study carries appreciated information on policy recommendations for the different stakeholders of the Damodar River basin including regional planners, agri-engineers, and ecological river engineers for sustainable river management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering profession for students and diverse students for Engineering Campuses (ECs) is the prestige to have for both. Worldwide higher education has been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, but particularly pulling padlocked doors of Indian engineering campuses (ECs) down. Students' attitudes regarding choice, liking, and preferences were also affected. Knowing how tough 'college choice' was before the pandemic, one can guess how difficult it will be today. The objective of this study was to explore students' perceptions of choice characteristics related to ECs and diverse students enabling choice decisions under the COVID-19 situation, and to discover any possible relationships among them. Research questions were qualitatively examined with the statistical confirmation of related hypothesizes by utilizing ANOVA and Regression analysis. A self-reported quantitative survey composed of a closed-ended structured questionnaire was administered on the students of first-year engineering who had recently enrolled in ECs of North Maharashtra Region of India, after pandemic hitting India. According to the study, ECs have several characteristics impacting students' selection of ECs under pandemic. The influence of proximity, image and reputation, educational quality, and curriculum delivery was significant in contributing sustainability of ECs. This influence was significant across students' psychological and behavioural biases on likes, choices, and preferences. Furthermore, multiple relationships were noted within the sub-groups of demographic, geographic, socioeconomic, academic performance, and psychological and behavioural traits due to the impact of ECs' characteristics on sustainability. The study has provided a framework for policymakers and administrators to strengthen repositioning towards sustainability while capturing potentially diverse enrolments. Even if we have to coexist with pandemic forever or with more similar pandemics, the findings of this study may undergo a fundamental transformation for ECs (existing and forthcoming). On the other hand, by understanding the importance and relations of choice characteristics may smoothen the complex nature of "college choice" for prospective students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical reaction engineering (CRE) is vital to solve many of the pressing societal challenges—energy and energy transition, materials, food, mobility, and so forth, to meet the aspirational goals of developing country population in the face of climate change, changing demographics, and geopolitical challenges. Application of the core principles of CRE to the emerging societal challenges is creating new technologies and cost‐effective solutions by integrating the widely varied CRE activities into broad, powerful, systems descriptions with the help of interdisciplinary teams with broad expertise including chemistry, catalysis, chemical kinetics, transport phenomena, biology, applied mathematics and modeling, emerging data science technologies to design and optimize chemical/biochemical reactors. Such developments will be critical for CRE to play an important role in the emerging fourth industrial revolution—amalgamation of physical, digital, and biological worlds, where the velocity of disruption and acceleration of innovation are hard to comprehend or anticipate and such broadening of CRE discipline will be critical for the field to remain agile and relevant. This article describes some latest technical advances in Reliance Industries Ltd. using this philosophy to help achieve sustainable growth and Net Zero business targets. We will broadly discuss renewable hydrogen from novel biomass catalytic gasification, multizone catalytic cracking process to convert crude oil and low value hydrocarbon streams to petrochemical building blocks, an adsorption/desorption process for CO2 concentration and monetization from industrial flue gases. Furthermore, biotechnology advances in leveraging photosynthesis kinetics, synthetic biology, and genetic modifications for converting solar energy and carbon dioxide through algae production will be discussed to produce proteins, biomaterials, renewable biocrude, and so forth. We will also discuss new catalytic technologies to convert mixed plastic waste to stable oil and organic waste such as agri and municipal solid waste, and so forth, to biocrude for circular economy, and biodegradable plastics production to manage plastics pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Green gram is a popular pulse crop in India (with 2.02 MT production over a cultivated area of 4.26 Mha) and Odisha (20.8 lakh ha area with a yield of 10.60 lakh tonnes). The information on the engineering properties and its behavioural changes with moisture content is vital for handling and designing of different agricultural processing equipment. Methods: This work mainly focused on studying green gram variety's (Sujata) engineering properties at five different moisture levels (within a moisture range of 10.58 to 45.45% (d.b.). Standard methods and procedures were followed in the study and the output results were compared with previous research work to justify the variation or anomaly in some cases. The curve estimation method (regression analysis) was followed to find the best-fit curve and equation for the parameters studied. Result: The geometric mean diameter (GMD) of grain increased from 3.75 to 4.12 mm within the moisture content (MC) range and the variation was statistically significant (p<0.05). Sphericity and surface area varied significantly from 0.83 to 0.82 and 44.13 to 53.45 mm2, respectively, within the range of moisture contents studied with a high correlation among the data. Mass of thousand grains augmented (44.13 to 53.45 g) with a rise in MC and the data followed logarithmic and inverse curves. Bulk and true densities of green gram declined significantly from 860 to 670 kg m-3 and 1330 to 1240 kg m-3 with an increase in the moisture content. The porosity of green gram increased significantly from 35.75% to 46.38% and the terminal velocity raised from 9.20 m s-1 to 11.10 m s-1 with an increase in MC. The dynamic angle of repose increased significantly from 30.95 to 46.57° with MC. A significant variation in the coefficient of internal friction (0.78 to 0.90) was observed for the grains. The coefficient of static friction of grain increased significantly for different surfaces (MS, SS, Plywood and GI) with a rise in MC. The MS surface produced the highest coefficient of static friction and SS had the least. The results confirmed significant effect of MC on all engineering properties of green gram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University in Kerala was founded in the year 2014. The University has introduced many path breaking initiatives for modernizing and upgrading technical education in Kerala. Extensive consultations were held for the preparation of the new curriculum for the University with various stake holders including eminent academicians, distinguished industrialists, faculty members from affiliated institutions and representatives of students. A detailed survey of the existing curricula in all the universities in Kerala was conducted prior to the preparation of the curriculum for the Technological University. This paper presents certain novel features introduced by the University at its inception in the curriculum for the undergraduate programmes in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Role of an engineer is imperative in improving the quality of human life and India is one of the largest producers of engineers with 23 IITs (Indian Institute of Technology), 31 NITs (National Institute of Technology) and state universities offer technical education in the form of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs. Since India, a predominantly young population, IITs and NITs are not sufficient in number and hence AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) has approved over ten thousand self-financed private engineering colleges across the country to cater the huge demand for engineering education. Except for IITs, NITs, and other premier institutes, most engineering colleges failed to give quality education to the students, which would get them suitable jobs. As per the research carried out by Aspiring Minds a leading employability assessment company, only 1.7 percent of the engineering graduates are suitable for the new age jobs and top 10 IT companies recruit only 7 percent of the engineering graduates every year which is a serious concern. [1] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid strides made in technological advancements call for a paradigm shift in engineering education. Disruptive engineering education involves identifying problems and finding solutions through unconventional, out of the box, methods. This approach requires simplicity, convenience, accessibility and affordability for sustainable development. The role of mid-career academicians is even more critical as they are often being groomed to take over from senior academicians and also acting as mentors to newly recruited members of the faculty. The study has investigated the perceptions of mid-career academicians about the disruptive engineering education. An online survey was conducted among mid-career academicians working with different institutions in India. 58% faculty are females and 42% males comprise the respondents of which 14.7% are PhD holders. Their challenges, perceptions and concerns with solutions are presented here in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcome Based Education is one of the most significant developments in Indian engineering education in recent years. Outcome based approach is a shift of teaching learning paradigm from teacher centric to student centric. Outcome based education has been practiced worldwide since nineteen nineties, In India adoption of OBE was a result of signing Washington Accord. The National Board of Accreditation (NBA), apex body for monitoring quality of engineering education in India has made it mandatory as a part of accreditation. The positive results of implementing OBE in engineering education are inevitable but whether the faculty members are prepared to implement the strategy is the question to be answered. This paper discusses the impact assessment OBE in the Indian engineering education. The study is carried out through a survey. The observations are encouraging, the concept of OBE in terms of curriculum design, delivery, assessment, evaluation and reflection is penetrating in the Engineering education in India but still trainings in certain aspects are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this work is to study the impact of motivational factors on the engineering educational result of students. Much of the current findings indicate that the major reason for poor time management is due to the lack of interest in the topic of study which in turn leads to procrastination. Following the several exemplary works of education specialists outside the Indian subcontinent, this paper attempts to study the motivational factors such as rewards, acknowledgment and supplemental resources against procrastination of engineering students in India. A hypothesis was constructed and tested in a reputed engineering university in South India. A survey was conducted at four notable engineering institutions in South India and the obtained result shows that 22% required a practical study approach for motivation, 18% wanted collaborative work and approximately 49% suggested the need for recognition in order to overcome procrastination. In conclusion, providing sufficient recognition was found to be one of the biggest motivational factors to reduce procrastination among engineering students and increase their interest in routine and technical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of engineering education in India, a diverse set of students register for engineering programs, and it is observed that the ability of the students to excel in different courses vary and it is influenced by several factors. The demographic factor is one of the factors that can impact students' performance. Factors that include gender, rural/urban background are considered, and its impact is being studied through this research. Teamwork from the student's background perspective has been the focus of this study. The students are assessed from three perspectives that included self- assessment, peer assessment, and researcher in-person observation. The students considered for the study are the first-year engineering students in the course titled engineering exploration. This course is a project-based learning course, and teamwork is one of the enduring outcomes of this course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's youth is tomorrow's promise and tomorrow's promise is our students. It is said that youth period is like soft clay in the hands of a potter. We need to channelize the potentials and technical skills of the students to facilitate the growth of the society and nation. The engineering education should train the students with adequate technological skills and unfold them as best human beings along with a sense of socio-economic and civic responsibility. Today, requirements for engineering programs reflect a movement with a paradigm shift in the existing practices to resolve the current engineering education problems.Many engineering educators see service learning as a way to enhance their programs by exposing students to engineering context, moreovergiving them a chance to develop professional and interpersonal skills. During the process, qualitative and quantitative surveys were done to collect longitudinal data from electrical and electronics engineering undergraduates (n=65) who have been the winners for consecutive two years of National solar vehicle challenge (NSVC) contest. NSVC is an annual contest organized by dynamic motors with a vision to stir young technocrats to make way for India to become the largest renewable energy hub in the world. The pre-test and post-test survey consist of demographics and qualitative questions. The outcome variables analyzed are civic responsibility, eagerness in service participation, knowledge on eco-friendly projects and sustainable thinking level of the engineering undergraduates.Service participation showed significant positive effects on all the outcome measures among 25% of the actively participated engineering undergraduates. In addition, they were technically enhanced to design single /multi sitter, light weighed and efficient solar vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VUCA (Volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) characterize the engineering education scenario. Engineers form the backbone of any country's economy. Around 25% of the world's engineers are in India but it lags behind in research and innovation. At the global level, engineering education is experiencing a paradigm shift from teacher-centric to student-centric teaching- learning process, content based education to outcome based education, knowledge seeking to knowledge sharing classrooms, teachers to facilitators, traditional engineering disciplines to interdisciplinary courses, chalk and board (lecture based) learning to technology driven learning and the list goes on. But in India, still conventional teaching – learning practices with little practical training is adopted in many institutions. This is shown by the fact the Indian institutions still struggle to make a position in world ranking with few exceptions. A country which pioneered in engineering, medicine, arts and music etc. in ancient era, suffers major setbacks in technical education. Hence this study attempts to analyse the perception of stakeholders, viz. students, parents, academic faculty and industry, on engineering education and the future of engineering education. Focus group consultations with select group of respondents were carried out. The results were analysed which showed that the students perceive positively on engineering education but at the same time are apprehensive about the position of engineers in the society. Parents' perception towards engineering is solely on the job opportunities but the faculty members opined changes in the mindset of students and the impact of social media on general attitude. Industries expressed lack of employable engineers and lack of skills in new age technologies. Overall the respondents favoured the introduction of new and multidisciplinary courses to meet future demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research paper is to understand the role of employability skills and emotional intelligence toward employer satisfaction in recruiting fresh information technology engineering graduates from institutions of higher learning in India. Using a structured questionnaire, the study surveyed 507 employers from the information technology sector companies in India, who as recruiters conduct campus placement drives across various engineering schools in the country. An application of structured equation modeling to the data revealed emotional Intelligence partially mediates in the relationship between employability skills and employer satisfaction while recruiting these fresh engineering IT graduates. The finding of the study will be supportive for the students, academicians and practitioners in recognizing the need of soft skills for making young engineering graduates employable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has been regarded as an important concept for survival in the contemporary scenario. Modern design engineers are in need of approaches for creating sustainable products. In this context, this paper reports a case study carried out in an Indian modular switches manufacturing organisation. The existing handle of the switch has been modelled using computer-aided design (CAD). Then, the sustainability analysis has been carried out for determining the environmental impact. This is followed by the redesign of the handle using design for manufacturability (DFM) principles. The sustainability has been measured in terms of carbon footprint, energy consumption and air-water impacts. It has been found that the redesigned handle possesses minimal environmental impact. It could be inferred from the results of the case study that CAD and DFM could lead to the development of sustainable product design with minimal impact on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is gaining importance in contemporary manufacturing organisations. Modern design engineers need approaches for creating environmentally friendly products. In this context, this paper reports a case study carried out in an Indian rotary switches manufacturing organisation. A component of the rotary switch has been modelled using computer-aided design. Then, the sustainability analysis has been carried out for determining the environmental impact. The environmental impact has been measured in terms of carbon footprint, energy consumption and air/water impacts. The handle design has been modified to minimise the environmental impact. The results of this case study indicate that appropriate modifications in design could lead to the development of sustainable design with minimal environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An important aspect of urban water systems is the interactions that take place between different components of the system (e.g. foul water from leaky sewers entering into a drinking water distribution network). It is widely recognised that it is important to consider these interactions in order to maintain effective, efficient and safe water and sanitation services. Hence, an integrated approach to urban water management (IUWM) is necessary. This paper begins by presenting a case study in India that highlights the important interactions that takes place between different components of the urban water system. The case study highlights the need to recognise these interactions in order to provide safe and sustainable urban water services. The paper then presents ongoing research on development of integrated urban water modelling tool that allows an integrated approach to urban water services. By applying an IUWMapproach it is possible to satisfy the water and sanitation needs of a community at the lowest cost to society whilst minimising environmental and social impacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The manufacturing sector has contributed significantly in building the nation's economy for developing countries like India but it has also created many environmental and societal issues. To deal with these issues, the present study has identified the enablers and modelled their interrelationships in case organization of Indian. The present study has identified 29 enablers of sustainable manufacturing through literature review and opinions of experts. Interpretive Structural Modeling has been utilized to develop a hierarchy structural model which can represent the interrelationships among the enablers. The fuzzy concept has been integrated with Matrix Impact of Cross Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) technique to calculate the driving/dependence power of the enablers. The present study highlights "Limitation of traditional processes" and "Public pressure" as the most significant enablers for sustainable manufacturing adoption. The present study discusses a case application of identifying the interrelationships and influence of sustainable manufacturing enablers. The present study provides pivotal references for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers by exploring the interrelationships and driving/dependence power of the enablers. The findings may encourage the researchers and practitioners to initiate the same studies in other manufacturing organizations by extending the set of enablers and classifying into some more realistic groups. •. Interpretive structural modeling is used to develop interrelationships of enablers. •. Driving and dependence powers represent the influence of one enabler over another. •. Limitations of traditional processes and public pressure are significant enablers. •. The successful case application in other organizations will create market pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author discusses ecological friendly ways to address the environmental and safety issues associated with India's dams. He argues that India, which is the third most prolific dam builder in the world, constructed dams in the absence of safety legislation, but that energy demand outweighs the dams' capacity to supply it. Topics include the environmental and social impact of dams and the use of environmentally-friendly check dams to address water shortages.

The article presents details of a coordinated multidisciplinary environmental monitoring network, named INDOFLUX, proposed by the Department of Science and Technology of India. The objectives of the proposed INDOFLUX was developed by a team of scientists from India and the U.S. in a workshop held in July 2006. This environmental monitoring network is aimed to improve the scientific understanding of atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial environments in India, the nature and pace of environmental change in India, and its impact on provision of ecosystem services.