The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) research scholars, Harini Gunda and Dr Chandan Kumar Jha have won SRISTI- Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Award 2021 and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) SITARE-GYTI Appreciation Award 2021 respectively. Harini Gunda is a PhD student of chemical engineering at IIT Gandhinagar and Dr Chandan Kumar Jha is a PhD alumnus and now a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering.
Ms Gunda has received this award for developing ‘Novel Boron Nano-additives for Improving the Performance of Solid Propellants.' According to an official statement by IIT Gandhinagar, These new boron-rich nanomaterials are a promising single substitute for multiple fuel additives used in space and defence applications because they result in a superlative enhancement in the performance of solid propellants used in rocket propulsion systems. Moreover, this new nano-additive takes only 1 wt.% compared to 30 wt.% of the total weight taken by conventional fuel additives. This can help to carry additional payload in a defence aircraft or more satellites into the space orbit.
On receiving the award, Harini Gunda said, “It is a great honour and privilege for me to receive the prestigious SRISTI-GYTI Award 2021. I am thankful to IITGN for providing the world-class research environment and especially thankful to my advisor for giving me the freedom and support to explore out of the box. Developing energy-efficient fuels for both defence and space applications is the need of the hour to meet our nation's targets and be among the top space-faring nations.”
Dr Chandan has received the award for developing ‘An Intelligent Hand Rehabilitation and Assessment System for Stroke Patients'. It is a highly sensitive and reliable instrumented glove that uses fibre-optic sensor technology to assist stroke patients in performing various hand exercises efficiently to enable faster recovery from their disability. This innovation was developed by Chandan during his PhD under the supervision of Dr Arup Lal Chakraborty (Professor, Electrical Engineering) in the Photonic Sensors Lab at IITGN, said a statement by IIT Gandhinagar.
Dr Chandan Kumar Jha said, “I feel humbled and honoured to receive this award for my work. I would like to thank the BIRAC SITARE-GYTI Award committee, my mentors and my team at IITGN for extending all the support and guidance throughout the development of this system. With our innovation, we wish to bring a change in the lives of stroke patients.”
