IIT Madras annual report 2019-2020 1 2019-2020 Annual Report Indian Institute of Technology Madras Chennai – 600 036 annual report IIT Madras 2 2019-2020 IIT Madras annual report 3 The Visitor 2019-2020 Mr. Ram Nath Kovind President of India Board of Governors Dr. Pawan Goenka - Chairman Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi Managing Director Director Mahindra & Mahindra Indian Institute of Technology Madras Mahindra Towers, Mumbai Chennai - 600 036 Council Nominees Dr. Rakesh Sarwal (from 23.10.2019) Prof. Shireesh B. Kedare Additional Secretary (TE) Department of Energy Science and Engineering Ministry of HRD Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi Mumbai - 400 076 Shri Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Dr. S. Kishore Kumar Additional Secretary (TE) DRDO Fellow Ministry of HRD Gas Turbine Research Establishment Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi CV Raman Nagar, Bangalore – 560093 Prof. B. Mahadevan Professor of Operations Management Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 560 076 Senate Nominees Prof. N. Ramesh Babu (from 01.01.2020) Prof. K. Rajagopal (from 01.01.2020) Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras Chennai – 600 036 Chennai – 600 036 Prof. T. Sundararajan Prof. R. Sundaravadivelu Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Ocean Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras Chennai – 600 036 Chennai – 600 036 State Government Nominees Shri K. Vivekanandan, I.A.S. Thiru A. Anbarasu I.A.S. (from 31.05.2019) Director Development Commissioner-cum-Secretary Directorate of Technical Education to Govt. (Education), Chief Secretariat, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai – 600 025 Puducherry – 605 001 Dr. Utpal Sharma Dr. K.P. Indiradevi Principal (BRAIT) Cum Special Secretary (IT) Director Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute Technology Campus Directorate of Technical Education, Government of Kerala, Pahargaon, Port Blair -744 104 Padmavilasom, Fort, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 023 Shri Vijendra Singh Rawat, I.A.S. Dr. Jane Prasad, IP & TAFS Collector & Development Commissioner Registrar Administration of the UT of Lakshadweep Indian Institute of Technology Madras Kavaratti – 682 555 Chennai – 600 036 Invitee Prof. Koshy Varghese Dean (Administration) IIT Madras, Chennai – 600 036 annual report IIT Madras 4 2019-2020 Contents 1. Director’s Report 6 2. Administration 10 3. Academic Programmes and Award of Degrees 28 4. Departments 50 4.1 Department of Aerospace Engineering 50 4.2 Department of Applied Mechanics 70 4.3 Department of Biotechnology 85 4.4 Department of Chemical Engineering 108 4.5 Department of Chemistry 146 4.6 Department of Civil Engineering 184 4.7 Department of Computer Science and Engineering 247 4.8 Department of Electrical Engineering 269 4.9 Department of Engineering Design 303 4.10 Department of Humanities and Social Sciences 317 4.11 Department of Management Studies 343 4.12 Department of Mathematics 355 4.13 Department of Mechanical Engineering 371 4.14 Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering 402 4.15 Department of Ocean Engineering 428 4.16 Department of Physics 448 5. Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facility 496 6. Centres of Special Facilities 499 6.1 Centre for Continuing Education 499 6.2 Centre for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research 533 6.3 Central Electronics Centre 552 6.4 PG Senapathy Centre for Computing Resources 555 6.5 Central Facilities 562 6.5.1 Central Workshop Facilities 562 6.5.2 Central Glass Blowing Section 565 7 International and Alumni Affairs 566 8. Central Library 593 9. Student Amenities and Activities 601 9.1 Hostels 601 9.2 Gymkhana 602 9.3 Advisor, Weaker Section 612 9.4 National Cadet Corps 613 9.5 National Service Scheme 613 IIT Madras annual report 2019-2020 5 10. Students' Placement 616 11. Financial Assistance to Students 618 11.1 BTech/Dual Degree 618 11.2 MTech 619 11.3 MSc 620 11.4 MA 620 11.5 MS 621 11.6 PhD 621 11.7 Presentation of Papers Abroad 622 11.8 National/International Conferences in India 622 12 Weaker Section and Foreign National Students 623 12.1 BTech Programme 623 12.2 Preparatory Course for Admission to BTech Programme 623 12.3 MTech Programme 624 12.4 MSc Programme 624 12.5 Admission of Foreign National Students and Indian Nationals Residing Abroad 624 13. Campus Amenities 625 13.1 Engineering Unit 625 13.2 Housing Facilities 627 13.3 Horticulture 627 13.4 Public Health 627 13.5 Telephone Facilities 627 13.6 Local Body Approval 628 13.7 Hospital 628 13.8 Guest Houses 629 13.9 Bank 629 13.10 Post Office and Telecom Centre 629 13.11 Schools 629 13.12 Open Air Theatre 630 13.13 Student Activities Centre 630 13.14 Cafeteria 630 13.15 Crèche 630 13.16 Transport Services 630 13.17 Security Section 630 13.18 Campus News 633 14. Finance and Accounts 634 15. Publications 636 16. Appendices 790 1. The Senate 790 2. Board of Academic Courses 795 3. Board of Academic Research 795 4. Board of Students 796 5. Board of Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research 796 6. Library Advisory Committee 797 7. Finance Committee 797 8. Building and Works Committee 798 annual report IIT Madras 6 2019-2020 1 Director’s Report Presented on the 57th Convocation of IIT Madras, held on 25th October 2020 hief Guest, Prof. David Gross, Chairman, Board of in India. IIT Madras also retained its position as the top Governors, IIT Madras, Dr. Pawan Goenka; Members innovative educational institute in the country in the Cof the Board of Governors; Members of the Senate; Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements Graduands; Distinguished Invitees; Colleagues and (ARIIA) 2020, for the second time since the inception of Students the ranking. I congratulate the students, faculty and staff We celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of our Institute of our Institute for raising the bar ever higher with each in 2019 with a memorable convocation graced by our passing year. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in this very We were recognised as an Institute of Eminence hall (Students Activity Centre) with all the graduands in towards the end of 2019, and the implementation of our attendance. Little did we anticipate then that in the coming plans to improve our global standing are being kicked off year, the world will be brought to its knees by a pandemic, as I speak. Our Strategic Plan 2013-2020, whose targets forcing us to move our academic activities substantially to we have met or exceeded in every aspect, has brought us the online mode. In tandem, this year’s convocation too this far. Our plans as an Institute of Eminence will propel us is therefore being conducted virtually. While we miss the further and take us to greater heights in the coming years. festive atmosphere of the event that all our graduands look forward to eagerly, we hope this virtual convocation 1. Degree programmes will linger in our memories as a symbol of the resilience The pandemic led to a nation-wide lockdown in March our students and alumni are well-known for. 2020 and educational institutions have remained closed Our most distinguished Chief Guest, the Nobel Laureate since. Our students dropped everything and left campus Prof. David Gross, and our Chairman Dr. Pawan Goenka for their homes in a hurry. While we were disoriented for a are not able to join us here today. However, they will be brief while, we did not waste too much time and re-started addressing us from their locations in Santa Barbara, USA, classes online within a couple of weeks. The country is and Mumbai respectively, making up substantially for served for the most part with wireless broadband, and their inability to attend in person. Our graduands are also broadband connectivity with a reasonable nationwide scattered all over India, and indeed, in different parts of footprint has become available only since 2016. The the world, and are joining this event from their locations. coverage is still patchy and several of our students are not We do, however, have a small surprise for you from the able to join classes live, depending on offline downloaded winners of the President of India Prize and the Governor’s lectures to keep the scoreboard moving. Nevertheless, Prize. I would urge you to wait and watch… due to the heroic efforts of our faculty and students, we At the very outset, I am delighted to report that IIT completed classes for the January-May semester in time to Madras has not only sustained the Number 1 ranking enable our graduating students to take up their jobs, and among Engineering Institutes in the NIRF for the fifth our pre-final-year students to take up internships in the year in a row since the inception of the ranking, but also summer, many of them in the online mode. Our graduating retained its numero uno position for the second year research scholars and students with projects also wound in a row for overall performance among all universities up their theses from home. IIT Madras annual report 2019-2020 7 Using a combination of assignments and oral exams Beginning August, we were able to enable a limited number conducted online and sometimes on telephone, our faculty of scholars to return to their labs in a safe manner and re- went out of their way to ensure that every student who start their research activities. The number of such scholars could graduate in the normal course indeed did so, despite is increasing with every passing week, as we carefully the hurdles placed by the pandemic. I am proud to report explore ways for them to work in the labs and stay in the that today 1,909 students will be awarded their degrees, hostels in a safe manner.