National Level Conference on Recent Advances in Chemical Engineering (RACE) – 2021

The Department of Chemical Engineering, MVJCE, organized a National Level Conference on ‘Recent Advances in Chemical Engineering (RACE) – 2021’, on 19^th July 2021, at the online platform, Cisco webex, MVJCE campus.

It is an annual event held under the auscices of 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 to highlight opportunities and challenges. The goal was to get an insight into future trends and share knowledge on technology options and strategies.

The Conference was inaugurated at 9.00 am by honourable Chief Guest Dr. Aruna S T, Scientist - National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore. Dr. P Mahabaleswarappa, Principal - MVJCE, Prof. Athira Asokan, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department, faculty members, participants from other institutions and students of the Chemical Engineering department were present at the inaugural function.

Dr. P Mahabaleswarappa addressed the gathering, highlighting the recent developments in Chemical Engineering and its benefits to the society. He also stressed on the need for updating one’s awareness of current trends, by attending many technical sessions and conferences. An inspiring and stimulating speech was then given by the Chief Guest, on the topic ‘Importance of Research’. It was soon followed by a power point presentation on the National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore. The presentation offered a glimpse into the research facilities available there that students and faculty could utilize for their research work.

The Conference was well attended by research scholars and students from reputed educational institutions like Karpagam Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering, Pondicherry Engineering College, Pondicherry, and Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy, Visakhapatnam. The sessions of paper presentation threw up novel ideas and demonstrations of innovative projects. Dr. Uday Kumar, Professor and HOD, MVJCE, Bangalore, Dr. Ramakrishna G, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, Prof. Athira Asokan, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department and Dr. Pradhap Kumar, Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department were on the judging panel for the technical Paper presentation. Simultaneously, poster presentation was also conducted, and judged by Prof. Sasikala A, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering Department.

The First place and the Best Project award for oral presentation was won by M. Vithiya, S. Balasundari, G. Srinivasan, S. Jayasubramanian, Pondicherry Engineering College, Pondicherry, for their work on ‘Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles by Organic Precipitation method for Supercapacitor Application”. The students of MVJCE, Bangalore, Sri Sannihita Chavali, Suhas G Puranik secured the best oral presentation award for the paper ‘The great barrier: a review on chitosan-based nanoparticles crossing over the blood brain barrier”. The best prize for the poster was awarded to NVK Renuk Rao and Swarupa Dhar from MVJCE, Bangalore, for their work on ‘Organophile’.

In the valedictory function, Prof. Athira Asokan, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department and Dr. Uday Kumar, Professor & HOD, Chemistry Department, MVJCE, Bangalore, announced 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-2021 will be published in a Scopus Indexed and UGC-approved Journal.