Dear Friend,
Greetings from IIT Bombay!
I am pleased to present to you the November edition of our newsletter.
The colorful and sparkling celebrations of Navratri and Diwali marked the beginning and the end of October, respectively. Meanwhile, the Institute bubbled with vivid student-organized fests. The excitement of Diwali slowly wanes as the students begin their preparations for the end-semester exams.
First and foremost, it is my great pleasure to inform you that IIT Bombay still remains India’s best university, having been placed at the top Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) India University Rankings 2020. Earning the 1st position for the second consecutive year is a mark of our Institute’s excellence and progress.
I’m glad to inform you that Alumination 2k19, the 3-day flagship fest of the Student Alumni Relations Cell, witnessed enormous student and alumni participation. Apart from the panel discussion, entrepreneurship talk and motivational talks by our alumni, the fest was interspersed with Workshops, mentoring sessions, mock interviews, and group discussions. The fest concluded with a motivational talk by Mr. Rizwan Koita, co-founder and CEO of CitiusTech, as he presented an account of his life after IITB and the invaluable insight he gained along the way.
The annual design festival of IIT Bombay, Vision, brought by the Design Club was held on October 21 and 22, the highlights being the two “MasterTalks” to spread the knowledge of design. MasterTalk 1.0 was delivered by Mr. Karan Gujar on "Motion Design, CGI & Branding" while MasterTalk 2.0 was delivered by Simoul Alva, a Mumbai-based visual designer, and art director. Apart from these, an exhibition of design projects undertaken by students was displayed in the LH foyer.
The Institute Cultural Council and Fourthwall, the Dramatics Club of IIT Bombay jointly presented Theatrefest, the biggest celebration of theatre and the arts of IIT Bombay, on October 18-20 in the Convocation Hall. The fest featured three professional plays of the highest regard, performed on each of the three days.
On another note, Techfest, IIT Bombay, as a part of its social initiative, organized a free Osteoporosis and Bone Health Awareness and Check-up camp in the Student Activity Center. It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Abhyuday, IIT Bombay in collaboration with Tata Hospital and Mohan Foundation organized a Blood and Organ Donation Registration Camp in the Convocation Foyer on October 19.
The last month witnessed two highly intellectually stimulating lectures, which were based on the topics “Using thermodynamic limits to infer climate and global climate change” by Professor. Axel Kleidon, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Germany, and “Wetting-Dewetting Transitions & Nature’s Exquisite Sensing Machines: Unveiling the molecular mechanism of pain” by Professor Michael L. Klein, Temple University, USA.
I’m glad to inform you that IITB will be organizing the 7th Annual Indira Foundation Lecture on November 4, 2019 on the topic “Machine learning: dynamical, statistical and economic perspectives” by the speaker Professor Michael Jordan (University of California, Berkeley). The Institute is also organizing the 17th NAMIS (Nano and Microsystems for fundamental, medical and industrial applications) International Workshop 2019, which will include talks by eminent international researchers in the domain for collaborative discussions and exchange of ideas. The Institute is also organizing SciPy Indian 2019 - An annual international conference on "Python for Education and Scientific Computing", during November 29-30, 2019 at Lecture Hall Complex.
As a means to promote future institutional cooperation and carry out collaborative activities in various academic and educational fields, IIT Bombay signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Washington University, St. Louis, US and the University of Houston, US.
The Institute continues to attract outstanding talent as new faculty members. Several have joined IIT Bombay in the past. We are pleased to bring a short introduction to these new faculty members in our newsletter.
The generous contribution received from our alumni, corporate entities, and other friends of the Institute helps in making an important difference in our endeavour to pursue global excellence. The contribution towards Institute Development, Infrastructure Development, Young Faculty Awards, Chair Professorships, Hostel Development, Student Development, etc. are examples of the utilization of these funds for the betterment of the Institute. We invite you to contribute to the Institute’s betterment to the best of your ability.
Suhas Joshi,
Dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations
Tel:+91-22-2576-7023
E-Mail: dean.acr.office@iitb.ac.in
 US-Canada Road Show The IIT Bombay leadership team concluded its annual roadshow to the United States in the month of October. This year the team also added Canada to their itinerary. The roadshow this year lasted 2 weeks from 10th to 22nd October 2019 and the team traveled to 6 cities meeting alumni, corporate and university partners across the USA and Canada. |
 Blood Donation Camp by Abhyuday On 19 October, Abhyuday, IIT Bombay in collaboration with Tata Hospital and Mohan Foundation organized a Blood and Organ Donation Registration Camp in the Convocation Foyer from 9:30 am to 5 pm. The camp was organized in the supervision of a team of reputed doctors from Tata Hospital. Organ Donation registration was conducted in association with Mohan Foundation. |
 Osteoporosis and Bone Health Campaign by Techfest On 20 October, known by few as World Osteoporosis Day, Techfest, IIT Bombay organized a free Osteoporosis and Bone Health Awareness and Checkup camp in the Student Activity Center from 9:30 am to 7 pm. |
 Theatrefest 2019 The Institute Cultural Council and Fourthwall, the Dramatics Club of IIT Bombay jointly presented Theatrefest, the biggest celebration of theatre and the arts of IIT Bombay, on 18, 19, 20 October in the Convocation Hall. The fest featured three professional plays of the highest regard, performed on each of the three days. |
 Vision 2019 The annual design festival of IIT Bombay, Vision, brought by the Design Club was held on 21 and 22 October. The highlight of the fest was the two “MasterTalks” to propagate knowledge in design while also instilling a sense of creativity among students. |
 Alumination 2k19 With captivating, mesmerizing posters and banners in every corner of the institute, Alumination 2k19, the ‘Piece de Resistance’ of the Student Alumni Relations Cell, was all set to commence operation on the evening of 11 October. |
 IIT Bombay QS India University Rankings 2020 IIT Bombay still remains India’s best university as the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) India University Rankings place it at the top for the second consecutive year. |
 Jaipur Alumni Reunion 2019 IIT Bombay is organizing Jaipur Alumni Reunion 2019 on November 16, at Hotel Diggi Palace, from 6 pm to 10 pm. |
 Chennai Alumni Reunion 2019: IIT Bombay is organizing Chennai Alumni Reunion 2019 on November 9, at The Raintree, Annasalai from 6 pm to 10 pm. |
 National Education Day 2019 National Education Day is an annual observance in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. |
 SciPy India 2019 IIT Bombay is organizing SciPy Indian 2019 - An annual international conference on "Python for Education and Scientific Computing", during November 29-30, 2019 at Lecture Hall Complex, IIT Bombay. |
 The 17th NAMIS workshop The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and CNRS is organizing 17th NAMIS (Nano and Microsystems for fundamental, medical and industrial applications) International Workshop during November 25-27, 2019. |
 Institute Lecture Series on 'Wetting-Dewetting Transitions & Nature’s Exquisite Sensing Machines: Unveiling the Molecular Mechanism of Pain?' Everyday experience tells us that water will not “wet” an oily surface. For example, when rain falls on a car that has been recently cleaned and waxed, the rainwater forms droplets and does not wet the surface as a continuous film. This talk will explore the microscopic manifestations of this phenomenon as it applies to naturally occur and engineered surfaces, comprised of molecules. Of particular interest are so-called ion channels that are Nature’s way of allowing communication between the inside and outside of the cell. Ion channels live in the lipid bilayer membrane that is the main constituent of the cell wall. Typically, ion channels consist of a bundle of a few proteins organized around a central pore, through which ions such as sodium and potassium, either enter or leave the cell. |
 Institute Lecture on Using thermodynamic limits to infer climate and global climate change Climate is commonly evaluated using observations or highly complex numerical simulation models, yet simple, back-of-the-envelope estimates are typically lacking. In this talk, Prof. Axel Kleidon shows that such estimates can be obtained out of extremely simple energy balance models in which motion is described by the assumption that the atmosphere works as hard as it can to generate motion. |
