Teachers’ Day Celebrations were held on the 5th of September at CLT. A report by Jatin Mandawat and Raymond Joseph.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of Young Faculty Recognition Awards to four faculty members, who had done meritorious work in their respective fields and as educators. The Young Faculty Recognition Awards were first instituted in 2006, under the sponsorship of P. Balasubramanya, alumnus of IIT Madras. The recipients were given citations (signed by the Dean, Academic Research and the Director) and cash prizes of Rs. 25,000 each. The ceremony was presided over by Prof. V.G. Idichandy, the officiating director of IIT Madras. Prof. P. Srinivasa Rao, former Dean Academic Courses, was the chief guest.
The ceremony commenced with Student General Secretary P. Baranidaran giving a welcome note followed by an address by Anup Pydah, the Research Affairs Secretary. Prof. V.G. Idichandy congratulated all the awardees and spoke about the Teaching Learning Centre launched in IIT Madras that aims to promote an attitude conducive to lifelong learning , dedicated to all the teachers.
The chief guest Prof. P. Srinivasa Rao gave a lengthy address in which he expressed concerns about the present economic developmental scenario. He directed the listeners to the improper distribution of labor in the three major sectors of the Indian economy , a phenomenon that generates a good GDP development rate while failing to increase the overall gross GDP. He related this with the present technical education system that is designed to produce highly qualified engineers and ignores the importance of the “lower” strata of technicians and workmen. He was able to clarify the disadvantages of such a set up with a sweeping comparison with China and the developed countries of the west. He emphasized on the duty of higher technical educational institutes like IITs in generating ideas that could benefit the economy and find the right direction for progress. He concluded his speech by congratulating the recipients of the YFRA.
The four recipients of the prestigious award this year were :
- Prof. Anuradha Banerjee, Department of Applied Mechanics.
Prof. Banerjee thanked the faculty, staff and the students of her department for lending their whole hearted support. Her research interests include Fracture Mechanics, Elasticity and Plasticity Composites.
- Prof. Nitin Chandrachoodan, Department of Electrical Engineering.
Prof. Chandrachoodan emphasized that good teaching leads to good research. While he appreciated the use of technology in teaching – citing initiatives like Web Studio and NPTEL, he also pointed out the flipsides of this convenience like Internet addiction.
- Prof. Shankar Ram CS, Department of Engineering Design:
Prof. Ram dedicated the award to his teachers. He observed that to be awarded for something he enjoys doing so much was a great honour. His research interests include Mathematical Modelling, Control Fault Diagnosis, Automotive Systems, Vehicle Dynamics, and Brakes.
- Prof. M Pattabiraman, Physics Department:
Prof. Pattabiraman began by thanking everybody in his department for their help and support. He explained that the greatest joy in teaching lay in the fact that it was a two-way learning process. His research work involves Experimental Atomic/Molecular Physics, Magnetism and Magnetometry, and Low Temperature Condensed Matter Physics.
It was noted in the closure of the ceremony that the initiative taken by the administration in felicitating the young faculty for their dedication to teaching was commendable, and helped inspire future graduates to take up this profession.
