Invite to Endow "Outstanding TA" Awards in Dept of Chemical Engineering

The research ecosystem in the Chemical Department continues to grow more robust as post-doctoral Fellows, and Ph.D./ M.S. candidates grow in number. With 129 Ph.D.’s and 22 M.S. students on roll, the average Research Group per faculty is 5—a healthy statistic indeed! In 2019, more than 25 Ph.D.'s will graduate from our Dept, the highest number ever. The pdf count has steadily increased over past 3 years, and now exceeds 15, again pointing to a bright research horizon.

We continue to attract excellent undergraduates into our own B.Tech. and dual-degree programs, with nearly 20% of the admitted students being female—among the highest in the Institute. Our incoming class size is now 90+, and is expected to touch 100 in the next 2 years. Graduating students continue to pursue a variety of career options, ranging from start-up’s to core industry positions, from fintechto manufacturing analytics.

Our industry relations and international collaborations have never been stronger. Several faculty are involved in GoI schemes such as UAY, IMPRINT and SPARC which promote industrial and international engagement. Our 2019-20 industry partners include Shell, GAIL, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Cummins India, and Exxon-Mobil. Sponsoring agencies include MHRD, DST, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. Several international faculty visited the Department for research collaboration and co-teaching.

Our faculty members maintain a high and sustained level of technical vitality. An average of 4 journal papers have been published per faculty over past 5 years, with 45% of publications in Top 20% of journals in field, and 59% of citations in Top 20% of journals in field. Six patents have been filed in the past year, with one being an international PCT. Our students and faculty continue to be high achievers whose accomplishments receive widespread acclaim.

Several novel initiatives were undertaken in the past year to ensure that the Department continued its march towards global eminence. An Advisory Board was formed with representatives (3 pout of 6 being alumni) from industry and academia who could help define a roadmap. In order to enhance communication, indeed life skills of our research scholars, a weekly training program has been organized. A “PG Students Lounge” has been created to enable social interaction. An “Introduction to Chemical Engineering” is being offered to second semester UG students to kindle interest in the multifaceted aspects of chemical engineering.

As we aspire to reach higher, We have a request: Please give freely of your time, talent & treasure. Please write to us regarding the first 2. Regarding the "treasure" part, We have a proposal.

Teaching Assistants are the life-blood of any good graduate school. In our TLC (Teaching Learning Centre), we have 3 programs for training TAs:

    TAO: TA Orientation, mandatory for all TAs
    TATP: TA Training Program; 3 week intensive for TAs handling high-intensity courses/ labs
    TACP: 2 week certification program

In order to promote excellence in this regard, we'd like to institute "Outstanding TA Awards" to recognize those who are exceptional at this. Each Award can be Endowed with a  minimum corpus fund of Rs. 2 lakhs (or $ 3,000) (yielding an annual return of Rs. 10,000). Ideally, 2-3 such awards can be conferred every semester, based on feedback from students taking the course, and faculty offering the course.


How the money will be used

Selected TAs will be provided cash awards of Rs. 10,000, and will be enrolled in the TATP & TACP programs.


Please Feel free to contact:
Dr. R. Nagarajan
Alumni Community Chair Professor & Head
Department of Chemical Engineering
IIT Madras

e-mail: nag@iitm.ac.in
Phone: +91 44 2257 4158/ 4151
M: +91 9444008206
Department Web Link: https://che.iitm.ac.in/