For Private Circulation only

Volume 2 Number 3

The campus newspaper of SRM University

Two from SRM chosen for

India
Karate champion in
Asian Championships...
By Shakeela Sathish
Very often we hear parents exclaim, “I want my child to live
my dream.” That is exactly what Arshad Amin has done. Not
only did he live his father’s dream, but he also brought laurels
to the country. Arshad, a final year student of the Department of
Computer Science Engineering, SRM University, Ramapuram
Campus, is a Black Belt who has a kick like a mule! He was
selected to represent India in the 9th Asian Karate Champi-
onship in the 70-75 kg category in the 19-21 age group and Students of the SRM School of Management announce the selection of
he made it all the way to the quarter finals. There were 30 one of their fellow - students to play for India.
countries participating in the Asian Championships held in
Malaysia and Arshad said, “Their techniques and standards
are very high when compared to ours. I was very happy to
...Vijay in Fourth Test, ODI teams
By Prashanti Ganesh
have won three rounds
at that level. With this Murali Vijay, II MBA student at SRM University, was chosen to play for India in the 4th Test
experience, I should do match in Nagpur. He took the place of Gautam Gambhir and opened the innings. He sealed his
better next time”. place in the team after a double century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament. He has a first
The six-time national class average of nearly 50.
champion is extreme- This 24-year-old right-handed opener is also in the squad for the first three ODIs against
ly down to earth and England.
does not have the “I
am a star” attitude. He Vijay was picked for the India ‘A’ squad to face New Zealand ‘A’ in two ‘Tests’ at the start
recently represented of the 2008-09 season, and scored 200 runs in four innings. He finished as the second-highest
Tamil Nadu in the 2008 scorer in the Challenger Trophy, with 164 runs, at an average of 54.60, playing for the India
Nationals. He will next Red team.
participate in the Na- Of Vijay’s technique, former Australian captain Allan Border said, “His defensive shots are so
tional Games and hopes Arshad Amin assured. And he looks comfortable on both the front and back foot. When he attacks, he doesn’t
to be selected for the Asian Games. go hard at the deliveries. I can see why this young man is playing.”

Easwari's Divya wins ‘TCS Best Student Award-2008’

By Mark Nathan
For V. Divya, a final year stu-
dent of Easwari Engineering
College, an SRM institution,
who passed out with distinc-
tion a couple of months ago,
it was a moment to rejoice.
The students and faculty of
the College gave a standing
ovation when Divya was pre-
sented the ‘TCS Best Student
Award-2008’ recently.
The award was instituted by
Tata Consultancy Services as
part of its Academic Interface
Programme with 35 leading
engineering institutions in
Tamil Nadu.
Divya, who did her degree
in Computer Science Engi-
neering, was chosen for the
Award for proficiency in
academics and all-round ex-
cellence in curricular, co-cur-
ricular and extra-curricular
activities. The award carried
a Rs. 10,000 cash prize, a
gold medal and a certificate.
Presenting the award, Anna
University Vice-Chancellor
Dr. Mannar Jawahar, who had
the audience in splits with an-
ecdotes about his experiences
in life, highlighted
Pg 13 Divya receiving the TCS Award from Dr. Mannar Jawahar, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University, Chennai
2 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
Students should
aim at
entrepreneurship
By A Spectrum Reporter
Students should aim at be-
coming successful entrepre-
neurs; with their young and
dynamic minds, they have ev-
ery chance of achieving suc-
cess with powerful program-
ming, advised Dr.C.Xavier,
General Manager, HCL
Technologies Ltd, while
inaugurating a two-day na-
tional level technical sympo-
sium ‘XPLOITS2K8’ at the
SRM Valliammai Engineer-
ing College. After releasing
the 'XPLOITS2K8 Souvenir',
he spoke to the participants
on the ‘Paradigm Shift in IT
Industry’ and described the
communication between two
or more computers and the
development of the latest
VOIP (Voice Over Internet
Protocol).
The Guest of Honour, Prof.
N.Ramanathan, Regional Di-
rector (Education), Computer
KATANKULATHUR CAMPUS
ENGINEERING
Mechanical Engineering
Faculty - MR. Stalin John
Student - Sangam Chaturvedi
Student - Sanjay Singh
Bio-Technology
Faculty - Mr. T. Thirumurugan
Dr. P. Gurumoorthy
Student - Prerna Chauhan
Student - S.K. Vivek
Student - S.V.K. Ragavendra
School of ECE
Faculty - Mr. R. Dinakaran
Faculty - Mr. Vigneswaran
Student - Manish Kumar Singh
EFL
Faculty - S. Horizan Prasanna
Information Technology
Faculty - G. Vadivu
Student - R.S. Diwakar
MBA, Kattankulathur
Faculty - Yaseen Masvood
Student - Mrinal Deo
MEDICINE
College of Dentistry
Society of India, elaborating
on 'The Importance of Fun-
damentals and Self Disci-
pline for the Career' after
releasing the ‘XPLOITS2K8
CD’, suggested, "as an ex-
serviceman", that students
take up military service for
at least three years; it would
help them to learn the differ-
ence between self-discipline
and controlled discipline. He
emphasised the importance
of team spirit.
Mr.Ashok Varadharajan,
Project Manager, CTS Chen-
nai, in his valedictory address
spoke on the 'Expectation of
IT Industry from Freshers'.
He said that new entrants
to the IT industry should be
technologically strong to sus-
tain themselves in the field.
They should have a solid
background in all the latest
technologies, but also effec-
tive communication abil-
ity, which includes writing
Faculty - B. Mohan
Department of Community
Medicine
Faculty - Dr. N. Seetharaman
Dept. of Microbiology
SRM Medical College Hospital
& Research Center.
Faculty - Dr. P.K. Uma
Maheswari
SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
BCMA
Student - R. Kalaiyarasi
Computer Science
Faculty - M. Karthikeyan
CSE
Faculty - B. Amutha
Student - V. Raghav
SRM Institute of Hotel
Management
Faculty - Vijayakumar
- Catherine A.
SRM ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
Faculty - V. Chitra
Nutrition & Dietetics
Faculty - S. Riyas Fathima
- Dr. C. Xavier
skills, fluent speech, effec-
tive E-mails, active listening
and eye contact. To help the
students understand the ex-
pectations of industry, he ex-
plained the 3-C formula for
success, the SWOT Analysis
and the VED classification.
He later distributed the priz-
es. Principal Dr.M. Balasub-
ramainan presided over the
function. The Convener and
Head, Department of Infor-
mation Technolgy , Prof. Na-
lini Joseph, spoke about the
symposium. Student Presi-
dent Joel Koshy welcomed
the gathering, Secretary
K.P.Saranya read out the re- The symposium was organ-
port of ‘XPLOITS2K8’, and
ised by the College’s Depart-
Suyesh Choudary delivered
ment of Information Tech-
the vote of thanks. The final
nology. 457 participants from
year students, with the help
67 colleges participated in
of the pre-final year students,
the 12 events conducted dur-
organised the symposium
under the guidance of Staff ing the two days. Velammal
Coordinators Mr.Narayanan, Engineering College won the
Ms.Revathi and Mr.Sekar. overall championship.
THE EDITORIAL TEAM
ECS Civil Engineering Faculty - Ms. Manisha Paliwal
Faculty - Dr.Anuradha Faculty - K.S. Sathyanarayanan Student - Ms. Rupal Verma
French ECE Photos : J. Vijay Kumar
Faculty - R.Nandini Faculty - P. Sivakumar Some of the departments and
Tamil Student - K. Sunderam schools remain unrepresented.
Faculty - J.Munusamy EEE The Deans and HoDs of those
English Faculty - M. Deva Brinda institutions are requested to
Faculty - Anuja K. Philip ICE nominate representatives and mail
Biotech - Moen Sen Faculty - R. Bhagyalakshmi in their name and contact details
Abhishekh IT to Mr Venkat Pulapaka, Professor
BMI - Shreya Faculty - P. Sathiyavalli and Head, School of Journalism
Nivedita Student - M. Suhasini and Mass Communication, SRM
Sharoni MBA University, 3rd Floor, MBA Block,
ECE - Tirthankar Jana Faculty - Mrs. Mary Auxilai Kattankulathur. E-mail: pulapaka@
Mech - Varun Krishnan Student - Prasanna Venkatesh jmc.srmuniv.ac.in and / or venkat.
Shiv TRICHY CAMPUS pulapaka-@gmail.com. Mobile:
TCE - Deepak Microbiology 9443937428.
Ritika Faculty - Dr. P.M.Umesh Kumar Printed by :
RAMAPURAM CAMPUS MODINAGAR CAMPUS SRM Publications (P) Ltd.,
Bio-informatics Computer Studies #9, V.V. Kovil Street, Chinmaya Nagar,
Faculty - G.V. Ashok Kumar Faculty - Mr. Surendra Singh Chennai.
Student - Chinari Pawan Kumar Student - Mr. S.Krishnan Published by :
Patro Education SRM School of Journalism & Mass
CSE Faculty - Dr. Diwakar Sharma Communication, SRM University
Faculty - Balika.J. Chellaih Student - Ms. Ruchika Sharma Kattankulathur, Kancheepuram Dist.,
Student - Awanish Kumar Management Studies Ph : 044-27452270 - Extn. 7023.
 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 3

Public-private
teaming
is the need
Minister's suggestion for
expanding higher education
By Mark Nathan ship (PPP) mode. Regretting
that only eight to nine per
Expressing concern over cent of the college population
the poor enrolment ratio of was entering higher educa-
students in higher education, tion, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said
Union Minister of State for this was too small when com-
Commerce and Power Mr. pared with other countries
Jairam Ramesh, said public where the student proportion
funding for them in private- in higher education exceeded Union Minister Mr.Jairam Ramesh in conversation with Mr. N.Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu.
run institutions was necessary 30 to 45 per cent.
to expand higher education in
the country. ‘’The big challenge before
the country, which aspires to
Inaugurating The Hindu become a super power, is to
BusinessLine Club at SRM expand the facilities for higher
University at the Kattanku- education. Private institutions
lathur campus in the presence
have an important role to play
of University Chancellor,
in extending higher education
Mr. T.R. Pachamuthu, Vice-
to the weaker sections of the
Chancellor Prof. P. Sathy-
society,” he said while stress-
anarayanan, and The Hindu’s
ing the importance of public
Editor-in-Chief, Mr. N. Ram,
funding assistance in higher
the Minister said about 60 per
education.
cent of the primary schools in
Kerala, which has the highest In this context, the Union
literacy rate in the country, Minister urged SRM Univer-
were run privately but with sity to take a lead role. “I want
the help of public funding. SRM University to show the
way for the rest of the coun-
This model should be repli-
try by taking up the challenge Union Minister Mr. Ramesh sharing a joke with Management students and Chancellor T.R.Pachamuthu
cated in higher education also.
and creating a conclave of ex-
“Public funding is important
to ensure quality and excel-
lence in private universitites,”
he felt, dwelling at length on
cellence,” he added.
Mr. S.A. Bhat, IOB, Chair-
man and Managing Director,
Management School
the need for developing high-
er educational institutions in
the Public-Private Partner-
Mr. Ram, Mr. Pachamuthu,
and Prof. Sathyanarayanan
also spoke on the occasion.
celebrates TQM Week
Guidelines to contributors Valuable inputs from Tyco Valves
As we begin the second year of Spectrum, to ensure that it continues By Mrinal Deo and sentation, he stressed how a Slurry Valve’ production.
to be an enjoyable reading experience, we would appreciate it if Abhijeet Sinha competitive advantage could The topic for the third day
contributors observed these guidelines: be achieved through quality. was ‘Quality Management
* Submissions should be in MS Word document. To make SRM University’s Earlier, he also stated that a Systems & Certification by
* Contributions must be in the form of articles. management students more competitive advantage could
* Pictures must be in .jpg format. Industries’. Mr. S. Arumu-
aware of quality and how im- also be achieved through the
* Submit only soft copies of articles and pictures.
portant it is in production to- gam from the Global Sourc-
* Write in simple English. employees of the organisa-
day, the SRM School of Man- ing office, Tyco Valves, was
* Your contributions should be in less than 1000 words. tion. TQM practices followed
* Focus on the achievements of staff and students and agement has been celebrating the chief guest and he spoke
at Tyco Valves, he said, gen-
developments in the departments. TQM Week every year. This on ‘Supply Quality Manage-
erated value for customers
* The articles must answer the following questions: year was the third consecu- ment’. He stressed the need for
1. What is the event? 2. Who are involved? and this was the competitive
tive time TQM celebrations advantage that Tyco focused the right quality and on time
3. When did it happen? 4. Where did it happen?
5. How did it happen? 6. Who said what? were held. This year’s part- on. delivery and pointed out that
* Present the most important facts at the beginning of the ner in the celebration was good relations with suppliers
The chief guest for the sec-
article. Tyco Valves & Controls. Last was a must for manufacturers.
* The names and designations of the persons in the article ond day was Marcus R. King,
year, the programme was or- Mr. Muthamizhchelvan, As-
must be correctly spelt. Sourcing Coordinator, Tyco
* Spell out acronyms, abbreviations and figures. ganised in association with sociate Director, Engineering
Valves & Controls, Australia.
* Revise your article for accuracy. Stanadayne Amalgamations. He discussed in detail vari- & Technology, also addressed
* Finally, ask yourself: Is the article complete? Is it the valedictory function.
interesting? Would I read it if I saw it in a newspaper or
Mr. S. Prabhakar, Plant Gen- ous issues involving delivery
journal? eral Manager, Tyco Valves, of good quality products. His Certificates of participation
- Editor was the chief guest at the main presentation focussed were given to all second year
inaugural session. In his pre- on ‘The Lunkenheimer Angle Management students.
4 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
Dr. Bha!acharya delivering his Presidential address at a National
Workshop on Bone Densitometry at the Kattankulathur campus
Concern over osteoporosis in India
Observing that 60 million
people in India today, were
affected by osteoporosis, an
expert from UK said that
youth, including women,
had become increasingly
prone to the bone-weaken-
ing disease due to a sed-
entary lifestyle and lack of
exercise. Dr. H.D. Evans
particularly expressed con-
Creativity, entrepreneurial skills much be developed
-Easwari students told by VC, University of Madras
By Mark Nathan
The Indian education sys-
tem should incorporate peda-
gogy that fosters creativity,
innovation and entrepreneur-
ial skills among the students,
said Madras University Vice-
Chancellor Dr S Ramach-
andran while inaugurating a
National Seminar on ‘Innova-
tion for Business Excellence’
recently. The seminar was
organised by the Easwari En-
gineering College at its Ra-
mapuram campus. Creativity,
innovation and the entrepre-
neurial spirit were correlated,
Dr S Ramachandran added.
“With the advent of the In-
ternet and computers, newer
platforms for innovation are
cern over the high prevalence
of osteoporosis among wom-
en. Osteoporosis in India, he
said, would have a direct im-
pact on public health, besides
having serious social and
financial complications, as a
majority of the affected were
women and were aged. The
present day youth were prone
to the disease because they
being created. Development
of new business models by
taking advantage of the latest
technologies poses a sterner
challenge to organisations,”
he said.
Observing that the service
sector was one of the most
promising areas for innova-
tion in future, he said greater
innovations were beckoning
the knowledge-based indus-
try. “Countries like the US and
Japan score high on organisa-
tional innovation and one of
the main reasons behind this
can be attributed to the large
number of entrepreneurs in
these countries,” he pointed
out. Dr. Ramachandran felt
creativity and entrepreneurial
skills were not necessarily in-
Target stem cell,
Osteoporosis
research
By Mark Nathan
Dr. Sujit Kumar Bhattacha-
rya, Director-General of the
Indian Council of Medical Re-
search (ICMR), in his presi-
dential address at a National
Workshop on Bone Densi-
tometry, which was organised
by the Biomedical Engineer-
ing Department of SRM Uni-
versity at the Kattankulathur
campus, stressed the need
for biomedical students to
take up stem cell research.
He added that to overcome
Osteoporosis, a dreaded dis-
ease, a lot of awareness must
be created and he praised the
SRM University for taking
up this issue.
neglected dairy products and
milk consumption, which has
led to reduction in the intake
of calcium. "Added to this is
malnutrition, lack of exercise
and physical activity, which
makes them more prone to
osteoporosis as they grow
older,'' he pointed out.
Dr. W. D. Evans
born. “They can be developed
and shaped through training
and education. Introducing
entrepreneurship as a subject
of study has been a step in
this direction.”
“Use of case studies in man-
agement education is another
example, as it encourages
students to think creatively
and suggest innovative ideas
to solve real time problems
in the corporate world,” the
Vice-Chancellor pointed out
and added that creativity and
innovation have to be part
of the education system in a
country intent on progress.
The AICTE-sponsored na-
tional seminar, organised by
the Department of Manage-
- Dr. S.K. Bhattacharya
advises bio-medics
Dr. W. D. Evans, Head,
Dept. of Medical Physics,
Cardiff University Hospi-
tal, UK, who delivered the
keynote address, explained
that “bone density (or bone
mineral density) is a medical
term referring to the amount
of matter per cubic centime-
tre of bone. It is measured by
a procedure called densitom-
etry, often performed in the
radiology or nuclear medicine
departments of hospitals or
clinics. The measurement is
painless and non-invasive and
involves minimal radiation
exposure.” Measurement of
bone density was established
in Osteoporosis because the
disorder is a condition charac-
ment Studies, Easwari Engi-
neering College of the SRM
Group, had around 500 busi-
ness school students from all
over India participating. Six-
teen business schools from
outside the State and 20 from
Tamil Nadu attended the sem-
inar, which aimed to create
awareness among the student
community on innovation for
business excellence.
Speaking on the occasion,
SRM University Chancellor,
Mr. T R Pachamuthu, ex-
horted the students to think
innovatively by paying close
attention to lectures by expe-
rienced people. “Taking time-
ly decision is the hallmark
of a successful person. But
that decision should be taken
terised by the loss of the nor-
mal density of bone, resulting
in fragile bone. Osteoporosis
leads literally to abnormally
porous bone that is more like
a sponge than like a brick,
he explained. This disorder
of the skeleton weakens the
bone, causing an increase in
the risk of bone fracture, Dr.
Evans explained. He stressed
the need for conducting fre-
quent workshops/seminars
on bone densitometry and
that SRM University could
work together with Cardiff
University in this.
Prof. P. Sathyanarayanan,
Vice-Chancellor of the Uni-
versity, said that biomedical
engineering is a new subject
in technical education and it
combines medical and engi-
neering. Studies show that
“Over 30% of the students
completing biomedical engi-
neering associate themselves
in medical instruments pro-
duction and maintenance,”
he added, and felt “More
awareness should be created
in this area of study.” The
Vice-Chancellor also empha-
sised the importance of find-
ing a solution to bone-related
diseases and felt that such na-
tional-level workshops would
help in sharing and enhanc-
ing the knowledge base. Ear-
lier Dr. K. Ramasamy, Dean,
School of Bio-Engineering,
SRM University, welcomed
the gathering. Dr. T. P. Ga-
nesan, Pro-Vice Chancellor,
Dr. N. Sethuraman, Registrar
of the University, and Dr. M.
Anburajan, HOD, Biomedi-
cal Engineering participated.
with right judgment, which
is based on experience,” he
said.
Citing the example of the
former IIM-Ahmedabad stu-
dent Mr Sarath Babu reject-
ing a fabulous offer from an
MNC to become a successful
entrepreneur, Mr. Pachamuthu
appealed to the students to
become entrepreneurs and,
thereafter, the business lead-
ers of tomorrow.

Is it a shirt or a
monitoring system?
By Apoorva Muralinath
and Ramya Veerasamy
A shirt-cum-physiological
monitoring system may soon
be in use. It has been devel-
oped by the Defence Bio-En-
gineering and Electro Medi-
cal Laboratory (DEBEL),
Bangalore.
Talking about this develop-
ment, Dr. K. Mohanavelu,
Scientist in DEBEL, said,
“The monitoring system is
actually a washable, mesh-
like shirt that can be used for
detecting health problems, as
it measures ECG, tempera-
ture rise, heart beat, BP, sugar
and other health indicators.”
Dr. K.S.Lakshmi, Dean of the College of Pharmacy, handing over a memento to Dr. Amalan Stanley
Seminar on current trends in
drug discovery and development
By Manoj Narra
To emphasise the role of
Pharmacology in the discov-
ery and formulation of drugs,
the Department of Pharma-
cology of SRM College of
Pharmacy, recently organised
a one-day workshop on ‘Cur-
rent Trends in Drug Develop-
ment and Discovery’.
Four resource persons from
industry and academia were
invited to give lectures – Dr.
G. Ramesh Kumar, Scientist,
AU-KBC Research Centre,
Dr. V. Amalan Stanley, Scien-
tist, Quality Assurance, Or-
chid Research Laboratories,
He was speaking on ‘Smart
Vest: Wearable Multi-Param-
eter Remote Physiological
Monitoring System’, at the in-
auguration of the Consortium
of Bio Engineers, the associa-
tion of the Department of Bio-
Medical Engineering, SRM
University.
Dr. Mohanavelu said people
of all ages could wear the
shirt. It would be particularly
useful for policemen, pilots,
senior citizens and children.
However, this suit is still not
approved, because it could
pose a danger during rain or
lightning, since the wearer will
be in contact with electricity.
However, the shirt is certified
Dr. S. Venkatraman, Director,
C. L. Baid Mehta Research
Foundation, and Dr. Kavi-
mani, Professor, Department
of Pharmacology, Mother Te-
resa Institute of Health Scien-
cies.
The topics on which they
spoke were ‘Role of Compu-
tational Biology in Drug Dis-
covery and Development’,
‘Safety Evaluation of New
Drugs –Regulatory perspec-
tives’, ‘Safety Pharmacolo-
gy’ and ‘Citation of Research
Articles in Journals’, which
would help a research student
get a lot of information on
clinical trials.
2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 5
by the International Electro-
technical Commission.
The DEBEL scientist also
gave a brief introduction to
bio-medical products such as
the Telemath, which analy-
ses the strength of battlefield
planning for resource opera-
tions, alternate wars, meth-
odology and deployment
BIODAS – a telemedicine
system for the defence ser-
vices.
Later, certificates were
awarded to the toppers in the Dr. Mohanavelu, Scientist, DEBEL.
Department. Dr. K. Ramas-
wamy, Dean, School of Bio-
engineering, and Dr. M. An-
Look beyond
burajan, Professor and HOD,
participated. software,
students advised
By A Spectrum Reporter extend all support to the As-
sociation. Mr. Rangarajan
“There are lots of avenues also stressed the importance
to be explored in the IT field of soft skills and said that is
other than software and soft- what most students lack when
ware development. Students they come out of college.
need to concentrate on them They need to focus on how to
for better job opportunities,” interact with people and how
said Mr Rangarajan Kothan- to present themselves, he ad-
daraman, Manager Projects, vised. Apart from developing
Cognizant Technology Solu- technical skills, the Associa-
tions (CTS). He was address- tion should also take multi-
ing the students at the inau- ple initiatives, like inviting
guration of 'Fabuloush', the professionals from Industry,
Association of the Depart- organising soft skills devel-
ment of Computer Science opment programmes, and
and Application, Faculty of arranging field visits to IT
Science and Humanity, SRM companies, he suggested. Mr.
University. K. Ramakrishnan, Deputy
Emphasising that students General Manager of Aptech
needed to know what they Limited, was one of the Chief
were being taught in class
was being implemented in
Guests and he spoke on the
use of IT in areas like edu-
industry, Mr. Rangarajan said
the Association could interact
cation, banking, governance,
healthcare, and finance.
Speaking about the work- with the 150 alumni of SRM Mr. Lino Stephen, 3D Tech-
shop, Ms. V. Chitra, Head of with CTS to let the students nical Director of Soundarya
the Department of Pharma- become aware of what the Rajnikanth’s Ocher Studios.
cology, said, “This initiative industry expects from them. also spoke at the function,
is to help the young scien- An alumnus of SRM himself, addressing the students on
tists share better quality data Mr. Rangarajan said he would animation.
across therapeutic areas and
research and development
groups. The focus on emerg-
ing trends and technologies
in pharmaceutical and bio-
technological fields will in-
crease efficiency in research
and development and bring
innovative medicines.”
The workshop was inaugu-
rated by Dr. K.S. Lakshmi,
Dean of the College of Phar-
macy. Director (FS&H) Dr. Balasubramanian talking to Mr. Kothandaraman
6 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
Benefits
of nuclear
energy
stressed
By A Spectrum Reporter
Dr. J. Daniel Chellappa,
Senior Scientist & Head,
Technical Co-ordination and
Public Awareness Cell, Indira
Gandhi Centre for Atomic
Research, inaugurated the
Chem Club, Entropy ’08, of
the Department of Chemistry,
SRM Arts & Science College,
recently.
In his inaugural address
he explained the benefits of
nuclear energy and said that
the amount of nuclear waste
was the least in any major
energy-producing process.
Stressing the need for nuclear
energy, he said nuclear ener-
gy had applications in various
fields like medicine, industry,
commerce, food and agricul-
ture. A short film about the
functioning of the Atomic
Power Station, IGCAR and
construction of Fast Breeder
Reactor at Kalpakkam, was
screened. The Principal, Dr.
K. Subburam, presided over
the function. Ms Revathy
Selvaraj, Head-Chemistry,
welcomed the gathering. Ms.
V. Chitra introduced the chief
guest and Ms. G. Jyotsna
(III B.Sc) proposed a vote of
thanks.
IETE students’
forum
at Modinagar
By A Spectrum Reportor
The Students Forum was in-
augurated recently at SRM
University’s NCR Campus,
in Modinagar. Col.Ishwar
Singh Jaiswal, Chairper-
son, IETE Meerut Centre,
presided over the function.
Col Jaiswal, Prof. P.D. Ravi
Kumar HOD/ECE Dept, Dr.
Ranjana Dubey, HOD/S&H
Dept, Mr. Amit Gangopad-
hyay, IETE Life Member,
addressed the gathering. Mr.
Viswananathan, Administra-
tive Officer, SRM-IMT, pre-
sented Rs. 1000 to the Forum
developments. The IETE core
committee comprises Ankit
Chopra, Bhavit Kaushik,
Ashish Narula, G.Srinikhil
Gupta, Pankaj Mishra, Mu-
dit Bhasin, Sonal Chaudhary,
Shantanu Saxena, Shishir
Khatri, K.M.Singh, and Ab-
hirup Ganguly.
New club to make SRM's
campus more eco-friendly
By Aditya Kesanupalli
Ecoyouth, a new eco-friend-
ly club, is all set to not only
promote an environment-
friendly atmosphere in the
Kattankulathur campus of
SRM University but also
take the message further.
This is being done through
Ecoyouth’s collaboration with
the Indian Youth Climate Net-
work (IYCN), coordinated by
Mr. Karthikeya Singh and Ms.
Caroline Howe. SRM Univer-
sity is extending its support
to 'Climate Solutions' Road
Tour', to be jointly organ-
ised by IYCN and Ecoyouth
from January 2 to February
3, 2009 during which various
major cities and towns in the
country will be visited in an
eco-friendly bus sponsored
by various institutions, to
create an awareness about the
climatic changes and the role
that individuals could play in
managing these changes.
SRM(M'Nagar) students win 1st prize
with a ballistic hovercraft
By A Spectrum Reporter
SRM students from the Mo-
dinagar campus recently won
first prize in the Open Hard-
ware event at Thapar Uni-
versity, Patiala, Punjab .They
were participating in ARAN-
YA 2008, which was an inter-
college national-level tech
fest . The students had made
a working model of a bal-
listic hovercraft that worked
on three different kinds of
Data Base Management
seminar held
A total of 3,500 km will be
travelled in the eco-friendly
bus, starting from SRM Uni-
versity and reaching Delhi.
The bus will run on vegeta-
ble oil and bio-diesel, which
will be made possible by the
terrain. The model was ap-
preciated by army officials
who attended the tech fest
and they even said that if the
model was made on a larger
scale, it could be inducted by
the DRDO in future.
The model was the com-
bined efforts of T.Adarsh Ku-
mar, Aditya Murgai, Navdeep
Singh, Abhijit Singh and Hi-
manshu Jain, all II year stu-
dents. In all there were 25
models from different col-
technical team of IYCN and
students of SRM. Solar panels
are also being sponsored for
this tour.
The bus will visit Chennai,
Vellore, Bengaluru, Hydera-
leges in the country. The tech
fest was attended by JAL, a
Pakistani-based band, which
gave a rock performance.
The Department of Computer
Science and Application, SRM
University, Ka!ankulathur,
recently conducted a curricu-
lum-based seminar on ‘Data
Base Management system
and application development’
in the Bio-tech Seminar Hall.
The seminar was organised
by Mr.B.Bhuveneshvaren,
MCA, M.Phil, M.E, Rajal-
akshmi Engg College, Chen-
nai, Mr.S.Sidharthan, Head,
Department of Computer
Science and Application,
welcomed the gathering. The
Dean, Dr.K.Sengo!i, Faculty
of Science and Humanities, ad-
dressed the gathering.
bad, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Va-
dodara, Ahmedabad, Udaipur,
Jaipur, Jodhpur, Agra and
Delhi.
The road trip is being sup-
ported by various organisa-
tions, including the Indian Na-
tional Biodiesel Association,
Asia Foundation, Reva, En-
ergy and Resources Institute,
Sanctuary (magazine), the
American Centre, US Consu-
late-General, Chennai, World
Watch, D*lite Technologies,
Freeplay Technologies and
Climate Project India.
Educational institutions sup-
porting the tour include SRM
University, Yale University,
IIT’s of Chennai and Mum-
bai, IIM (Bangalore), Pune
University, Mumbai Uni-
versity, University of Delhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
(Delhi), Vellore Institute of
Technology, India Institute
of Forest Management, and
International Alliance of Re-
search University.
Ecoyouth will also be partici-
pating in ‘Ecosprint’, organ-
ised by Petrofac Engineering
Services India Ltd. (PESIL),
on the occasion of the start
of Environmental Month on
November 15th. PESIL will be
conducting campus interviews
in Kattankulathur this year.
The Club aims to emphasise
eco-friendliness. Starting with
a seminar during the tech-fest
Aaruush ’08, Ecoyouth is now
ready to initiate action plans
like introducing environment-
friendly waste disposal bins at
various spots on the campus
and minimising of plastic us-
age in the University. “Ecoy-
outh aims at carrying out its
various tasks in accordance
with inputs provided by the
University students. We are
planning to host seminars and
competitions to involve more
students in our activities,” said
the club’s founder, J. Ram
Nitesh, II Year-ECE.
If you are interested in join-
ing Ecoyouth contact coyouth.
srm@gmail.com.
Want to write campus news
for Spectrum ?
Contact e-mail ID
venkat.pulapaka@gmail.
com
Cell : 9443937428
 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 7

SRM to introduce Bachelor's

in Film Act-

negative marking
ing, Diploma
in Film Tech-
nology, three
new PG pro-

in entrance test grammes and

From its Semester Abroad
Programme and scholarships
to introducing new courses,
SRM University is innovat-
ing every year. It has sent
around 100 students to for-
eign universities under the
Semester Abroad Programme
this academic year. Talking
to Spectrum, Prof. R. Muthu-
subramanian, Dean (Admis-
sions), explained about the
admission strategies for the
academic year 2009-10, the
introduction of new courses,
scholarship facilities and
placement strategies of the
University. Excerpts from the
interview:
Question: What are the ad-
mission strategies for aca-
demic year 2009-10 ?
Harvard doctors visit
Answer: We will be follow-
ing the same strategies that we
did last year. Admissions will
be made according to the per-
formance of the students in the
SRM Engineering Entrance
Examination. This year the
entrance exam for B.Tech and
M.Tech will be held on differ-
ent days, unlike last year. Also,
there will be negative marking
this time; 0.25 marks will be
deducted for every wrong an-
swer.
Q: Is the University intro-
ducing any new courses in
the Faculties of Engineering
and Technology, Science and
Humanities, and Medicine?
Ans: Two new courses have
already been started in the
B. Tech category – Geo In-
formatics, and Computer
Science and Software Engi-
neering. There will be seven
new courses in M.Tech –
Database System, Food and
Nutrition Biotechnology, In-
formation Security and Cy-
ber Forensics, Knowledge
Engineering, Multimedia
and Control Engineering,
and Geo Technical Engineer-
ing. Five new courses have
been started in Medicine –
Bachelors in Audiology and
Speech Language Pathology,
Optometry, Medical Labora-
tory Technology, Medical
Record Sciences and Masters
in Public Health. In Science
and Humanities, Master's
in Mass Communication,
PG Diploma
Programmes
are being intro-
duced.
Q: Are you
planning to
increase the
number of
seats in the
three faculties?
Ans: As of now, we have no ternal evaluation. Students’
plans of increasing the num- performances in class tests,
ber of seats. participation in seminars,
presentations etc., will be
Q: What scholarship facili-
taken into consideration. In-
ties are you proposing for
ter-disciplinary courses have
new students?
also been introduced to keep
Ans: Seven types of scholar- up with the market needs.
ships are available. There is a Meritorious students can also
District Toppers' Scholarship opt for the Semester Abroad
that gives free education for Programme (SAP) in which
the first rank holders in all the they will study in a foreign
districts in Tamil Nadu if they university. These students
choose to join SRM Universi- will get more credits.
ty. A stipend of Rs. 1,000 will
Q: There is a global down-
also be given to the student.
Students who have scored
above 95 per cent are eligible
turn in the job market.
What are your new place-

SRM Hospital for Merit Scholarship. They

Dr. Andrew Eisenhauer (Interventional Cardiologist), Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA receiving
a citation from Prof. P. Sathyanarayanan, Vice-Chancellor, SRM University. Others in the picture are,
from le" to right, Ms. Susie Driscoll (Consultant), Dr. Arvind Agnihotri (Cardiothoracic Surgeon) and
Dr. G.H. Mudge (Cardiologist), all of Harvard Medical School.
By Mark Nathan
A team of eminent physi-
cians and surgeons from
Harvard Medical School and
Massachusetts General Hos-
pital, Boston, USA led by
renowned cardiologist and
cardio-thoracic surgeon Dr.
G.H. Mudge recently vis-
ited SRM University and the
SRM Medical College and
Hospital in Kattankulathur
on World Heart Day. During
their visit, they interacted
with the doctors of various
specialties, including Trau-
ma, IICU, Cardiology, Neu-
rology, Neuro-Surgery and
Cardiovascular and Thoracic
surgery, at the SRM Hospital.
They also delivered lectures
and conducted simulation
workshops to impart the latest
technological skills to medi-
cal professionals, nurses and
paramedics. They also con-
ducted the Cardiology Con-
tinuing Medical Education
Programme (CME). While
observing World Heart Day,
the visiting doctors held a free
cardiology workshop for doc-
tors of SRM Medical College
hospital and doctors of other
Chennai hospitals. The work-
shop, they felt, would go a
long way in training young
doctors to work without any
great risks to patients in-
volved in medical and surgi-
cal therapy.On the same day,
the visiting doctors interact-
ed with the public.
Following this visit of emi-
nent physicians and surgeons
from Boston, SRM Medical
College Hospital is expected
to sign MoUs with several
US universities for exchange
programmes and for transfer
of technical know-how and
expertise to Indian hospitals.
will get a 50 per cent fee waiv-
er. Around 126 students were
admitted this academic year
under this scholarship. Stu-
dents who score between 90
per cent and 94 per cent will
come under the Management
Merit Quota. Students from
poor economic backgrounds
will get 25 to 100 per cent
concession in the fees. Physi-
cally challenged students
will get free education. Three
students have been admitted
this year under this category.
Relatives of freedom fight-
ers will also get 25 to 75 per
cent scholarship. Students
admitted under Sports Quota
will get free education and
transport facilities. Around
90 national and international
sportss persons were admit-
ted this academic year.
Rs. 1.36 crore has been allot-
ted for sports scholarship.
Q: Why should anybody
study at SRM University?
What value addition is the
University providing to a
student’s learning process?
Ans: SRM has a choice-
based Credit System that can
be used to the advantage of
the student. Under this sys-
tem the student will get the
maximum marks through in-
ment strategies?
Ans: The University has
constituted an International
Advisory Board (IAB) and
a Corporate Advisory Board
(CAB). The IAB has experi-
enced persons from academia
and industry. The CAB has
top executives, presidents,
vice-presidents and CEOs of
different companies. They
will interact with the facul-
ty, students and the officials
of the University to help set
the curriculum, lab facilities,
research facilities and staff
and student exchange from
foreign universities. SRM
has alumni in almost all parts
of the world. They will help
rope in big companies for
placement. Last academic
year there was almost 100
per cent placement. And in
the current batch, 45 per cent
of students have already been
placed.
Q: Your advice to prospec-
tive students?
Ans: If students join SRM,
they are assured of a job. So
they should sincerely prepare
for the SRM entrance exam.
If they score good marks in
the entrance exam, they will
get to study a subject of their
choice.
8 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
Aarush'08
grand
success
Nearly 3000 from 300 colleges
in 26 states participate
By A Spectrum Reporter
The 2008 edition of Aarush,
a national-level tech festival
organised by the engineering
students of SRM University,
drew about 3000 participants
representing over 300 edu-
cational institutions from 26
States.
The students competed in
35-plus grey cells-stimu-
lating events such as paper
presentation, quiz, debate,
robotics, gaming, circuit de-
bugging, game programming
and opening up the Pandora’s
Box to win prizes worth over
Rs. 20 lakh. Tabish Ashraf,
an electrical and electronics
engineering student of SRM
and the secretary of the orga-
nising committee of Aarush
2008 told Spectrum that the
winners of Aarush will get a
wild card entry to the finals of
Kshitij to be held in February
2009 in IIT Kharagpur.
‘Documentary’, one of the
highlights of Aarush ’08 com-
petitions, touched the hearts
of all present in the crowded
Conference Hall (Main Au-
ditorium). Dealing with se-
rious topics, like ‘Child La-
bour’, ‘Inflation’ and Drug
Addiction, 25 teams (three
members per team) portrayed
their emotions and feelings
in video format. There was
also a one-day medical camp
called Biomedz Workshop in
the Biotechnology building
of the University.
Chancellor T.R. Pachamuthu
said Aarush was an occasion
The first prize winner (right) in the game programming event
receives his prize.
to showcase the ability and
creativity of the students,
who would be the future pro-
fessionals and technocrats of
the country. Vice-Chancellor
Prof P. Sathyanarayanan said
the University would provide
Rs. 50,000 each for the 100
best projects on design and
development.
Pro Vice-Chancellor of
SRM University, Dr. T.P. Ga-
nesan, said, “Aarush means
A frenzied audience during the cultural show at the end of Aarush 08
An SRM student's robot takes its first steps as other participants (right) go an a treasure
the first rays of Sun. It also
symbolises two different
things: one, dawning of a
new beginning and, two, it
vanquishes the darkness.”
The chief guest, at the in-
auguration, Mr. Venugopal
Sanjeevi, CEO and Director
of E-Logistics, Chennai, said
that there were a lot of job
opportunities for youth today
in the field of logistics and
supply chain management.
Elaborating on the topic, Mr.
Participants racing against time during a game event
Sanjeevi said, “An individual
in India today spends Rs.
5,600 per annum on logis-
tics and thereby contributes
about 13 per cent to GDP of
the country.” The valedictory
was graced by the Union IT
Secretary Mr. Jainder Singh.
Observing that the industry
feedback indicated gaps in
employability in areas like
soft skills, English language
and proficiency, Mr. Singh
said to retain India’s position
as a major player in the IT
arena, there was a pressing
need to address the HRD re-
quirement of the industry on a
continuous basis. To sustain
the IT growth and to achieve
the export revenue target, the
Industry needs to employ
more than 3.5 million profes-
sionals. “The higher educa-
tion system needs to produce
enough graduates to provide
another two million suitable
professionals over the next
five years,” he added.

Ready for the air show. a"er modelling an aircra"
By A Spectrum Reporter
SAE is an international
organisation and it sets the
standards for the automotive
industries across the world
and helps the students to
develop their technical abil-
ities. This year, SAE India
Southern Section selected
SRM University to conduct
the competitive events at the
annual student convention.
As many as 6,000 students
participated in this year’s
convention.
Aero modelling was per-
haps the most popular event
at the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) convention
organised by SAE’s student
chapter at SRM University.
The aero modelling competi-
tion was held on the grounds
opposite the Auditorium and
the glider modelling event
was held on the University
grounds. Both were enthusi-
astically received.
After the students had fin-
ished modelling their craft,
there was an air show. The
German-made models Stag-
ger Wing Best Nr.6290 and
Piper j-3 Best Nr. 6280, fea-
tured in the first event. Marks
were given for designing, the
craft’s ability to follow a rect-
angular path in the air, and
the participant’s performance
in the viva.
In the second event, the
teams had to design a glider
using a kit provided by the
organisers. Time taken by the
craft to cover a specific dis-
tance was the parameter on
which the judges decided the
winners. A viva was also held.
The onlookers had a great
time watching the models in
the air and were quite taken
up by the participant’s me-
chanical skills. Amongst the
other events, designing mod-
els using software was a com-
2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 9
Flying high at the University grounds.
mittee and each member is
Aero modelling
nominated by an individual
collegiate club from the SAE
Southern Section, which con-
sists of institutions like SRM
a hit
University, Amrita College of
Engineering, Vellore Institute
of Technology, PSG College
of Technology, Crescent En-
gineering College and Jep-
at SAE meet piar Engineering College.
In effect, the Club Officers’
Forum is the governing com-
mittee of the SAE Student
Council. The Forum reviews
petition in which the students the progress of the past year
had to animate and model an and draws up strategies for
assembly mechanism with the coming year. It also looks
the help of PRO-E, modeling into the activities of the new
software. The student partici- student executive council
pants were expected to define taking over from the previous
and explain the mathemati- one. The Faculty Advisors’
cal theory that backed their Forum discusses its contribu-
results. A few of the projects tion to student activities, the
assigned were models of disc value provided by SAE India
brakes, car seat designs, and to faculty advisors, and the
door systems of two-seater career opportunities for stu-
cars. dents who are members of the
Another event was Com- SAE Club. SAE has helped
puter Aided Manufacturing, its members to get placed in
in which the participants had automotive companies like
to design an automobile part Mahindra, WABCO-TVS,
with the help of softwares and Turbo Energy Limited.
like Master CAM CATIA and The lead sponsors of the
PRO-E. Participants also had convention were TVS, PTC,
Participants display their miniature vehicles.
ANSYS, and HENKEL.
SRM University contributed
to demonstrate their skills, in Rs. 5 lakh. The transportation
competitions like paper pre- expenses too were borne by
sentation, designing and fab- the University. Transporta-
rication, and business skills. tion inside the campus was
The participating teams had also taken care of by the or-
ganisers.
qualified during the first and
second tier events that were Daily Coverage
conducted at the intra-col- Journalism students and around
lege and divisional levels re- a dozen students belonging to
spectively. The competitions the engineering faculty covered
organised by SRM Univer- events of Aarush 08 and the SAE
sity’s SAE chapter, were the Convention and brought out daily
third tier. newspapaers titled Shin Bun and
Infowheel respectively. during the
Apart from competitions, two events. “Participating in such
there was a Club Officers’ events widened our knowledge
Forum and Faculty Advisors' base, and the daily publications
Forum. The Club Officers’ gave us valuable insight into daily
Forum is a 10-member com- newspaper production,” said one
Shaking a leg at the cultural show. journalism student.
10 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
To mark World Food Day -'08
A cornucopia
of events
at SRM
By Ratnika Sharma
The two-day-long Cornu-
copia event was inaugurated
on World Food Day recently
with the theme being ‘ World
Food Security: the Chal-
lenges of Climate Change
and Bioenergy.’ Apart from
the numerous speeches there
were several competitions.
The cream of them was the
Nestle Cooking Competition.
Each participant competing
had to prepare a dish using
Nestle products.
Preethi Raja Kumari of
SRM Institute of Hotel Man-
agement came first and was
followed by Vinod Kumar
Muthuraj of the SRM Insti-
tute of Hotel Management
and Mythireyi of Food Pro-
cessing Engineering, SRM
University. The event was
judged by Ms. Monika, Cu-
linary Consultant, Nestle
Limited, Dr. A. Surendraraj,
Asst. Professor, Institute of
Food and Dairy Technol-
ogy, TANUVAS University,
Chennai and Mr. John Don
Bosco, H.O.D, Food Process-
ing Engineering. The compe-
tition was judged on the basis
of presentation, taste, usage
of Nestle products and nutri-
tive value.
The first prize in the Poster
Presentation was won by the
Anfaniduga team, Dhivya
and Sankari of SRM Uni-
versity and the second prize
by B. Gayathri from Anna
University, who presented
a poster on ‘Probiotics and
Prebiotics’ and Rumi, Am-
rita and Shafia of SRM Uni-
versity. The third prize went
to M.Yoga and M. Priyadar-
shani of SRM University
whose presentation was on
‘ Inflation on wheels - Hun-
ger in action’. Sixteen teams
participated in the event that
was judged by Dr. Lakshmi,
Professor and Head, Depart-
ment of Nutrition and Dietrit-
ics, SRM Arts and Science.
The Food Quiz had four
three-member teams from
Food Process Engineering
who were asked general as
well as course-related ques-
tions. The first prize went to
the team of Prakhar K. Dubey
and Soumita Ghosh of II year
and Pradeep Gupta of I year,
FPE, SRM University, the
second prize to Himani Bha-
radwaj, III year, Alok Pawar,
II year, and Abhishek Shukra,
I year, FPE, SRM Univer-
sity. The third place went to
the trio of Esha Pandey, III
year, Shalini Menon, III year
and Alka Singh, I year, FPE,
SRM University.
The debate topic for the par-
ticipants was ‘ Is processing
of food necessary for India?’
and there were eight partici-
pants. Dr. Lakshmi adjudged
the winner to be Amrita Pan-
dey, II year, and the runner
up Roohi Tripathi, II year of
FPE, SRM University. In-
augurating Cornucopia 08,
Mr. Manoj Mishra, Regional
Quality Assurance Manager,
Britannia Industry limited,
Chennai, spoke on the Food
Industry in India, its present
and future challenges. He
pointed out that though India
produced a huge quantity of
livestock, fruits and vegeta-
bles and milk, the processing
and utilisation of these prod-
ucts was little compared to
other countries. Government,
he said, was encouraging the
industry by building food
parks and helping with the
modernisation of the existing
processing units. This means
the career opportunities in the
field of manufacturing, aca-
demics, research and devel-
opments in the food process-
ing industry were growing.
The keynote address was by
Mr. C.M Kamraj, Managing
Director, Sakthi Coco Prod-
ucts, Pollachi who acquainted
the students with the various
processed products that coco-
nut made possible from coco-
nut milk powder to virgin oil
with 0% fat content in it. Dr.
K. Ramasamy, Dean, School
of Bio Engineering, felici-
tated the guests and Niranjan
Balaji, Joint Secretary, Food
and Process Engineering As-
sociation delivered the vote
of thanks.
The next day was an inter-
face meeting of scientists,
students, entrepreneurs and
employers in the food in-
dustry. The chief-guest Mr.
R. Raghuraman, Manag-
ing Director, Balaji Dis-
tilleries Limited, Chennai,
Mrs. Gajalakshmi, Regional
Home Ecocnomist, Nestle
India Limited, Chennai, Mr.
Chandrashekharan, Process
Manager, EID Parry Lim-
ited, Cuddalore, and Mr.
C. Ganesh Babu, Technical
Manager, Suguna Poultry
Group, Coimbatore spoke
on the increasing demand
for processed food items in
a world where time was of
the essence and the growing
importance of processed food
in today’s world where health
consciousness was increas-
ing. . They talked about the
respective industries which
were being benefited by the
advanced methods of food
processing and they were
unanimous that their field
offered numerous career op-
portunities today for students
willing to be responsible
technologists.

Prizes aplenty
for Campus
Ramapuram
By Varoon Legio Mortis
SRM University has never
lacked talent, and once again
students from the Ramapuram
campus have taken on all
competition and emerged
with prizes.
Mr. A. Arun secured second
place in the Intercollegiate
Badminton Competition held
at Chemsports, Chengalpattu
Medical College.
Sri Vidya and S. Weslen Ve-
dakumari, students of II Year
M.Sc. (Bio-Technology) to-
gether won the second prize
in the Quiz conducted during
‘Bioconscientia’, organised
recently by the Department
of Bio-Technology, D.G.
Vaishnav College.
Recruiters assess
personality, application
of learning
By A Spectrum Reportor
Attitude and communica-
tion skills were the key re-
quirements of any organi-
sation, said Mr. Perumal
Sridhar, Managing Director
of Exito Management Con-
sultants Limited, Chennai,
at CASUGS 2K8, a seminar
on ‘Facelift Access’ recently
organised by the Department
of Computer Science, SRM
College of Arts and Science,
Kattankulathur.
How you presented yourself
at an interview, even more
than the technical knowledge
you posses, is what often im-
presses interviewers, as he
went on to point out.
An interview is a ‘make or
break’ situation for even the
most experienced interview-
ee, he said, adding that it may
not always be the person who
is most qualified who gets the
job, but the person the inter-
viewer relates to the most.
The way you dress, behave,
walk, the quality of your
voice, grammar, adaptabil-
ity to a new environment and
overall confidence are all as-
S. Weslen Vedakumari won
the first prize in the National
Seminar on Stem Cell Re-
search work organised by
the P.G. Department of Bio-
Technology, Women’s Chris-
tian College, recently. Paul
Pradeep and Shiras K, stu-
dents of II Year MBA, won
First Prize in an All India
Photography Competition,
where there were 30 entries
from all over the country.
Shiras K, Paul Pradeep,
Sreerama Kumar and Sand-
eep Kumar of II Year MBA
were third in the Business
Plan event at a national-level
management meet organised
recently by the School of
Management of D. G. Vaish-
nav College, Chennai.
sessed together during job in-
terviews.
When it comes to knowl-
edge, it is the application of
what they have learnt in the
curriculum that is evaluated,
he said.
More than 140 students
from the Computer Science
Department participated in
the seminar.
Importance of statistical methods stressed
Dr. Venkatesan inagurating the seminar.
Computers donated to Govt. School
Donating Computers to a Government School
By A Spectrum Reporter
An international cricketer
and the first qualified wom-
an cricket umpire, Ms. Su-
mathi Hariharan Aiyar, now
Manager, Marketing, Canara
Bank, recalled several inci-
SRM Telecom Engineers
launch Association
By Dr. T. Rama Rao
The Department of Tele-
communication Engineer-
ing (TCE), SRM University,
headed by Dr. T. Rama Rao,
recently launched the Tele-
communication Engineers’
Association (TEA). The as-
sociation will provide a plat-
form for TCE students to de-
velop broad-based skills, get
exposure in extracurricular
activities, and interact with
intra and inter-college/univer-
sity students. They will gain
better technical knowledge,
particularly in the field of
telecommunications through
2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 11
dents to demonstrate how a
woman could stay motivated
under adverse situations. She
was inaugurating the Depart-
ment of Electronic Science’s
society. At the meeting,
Mr. Jude Benitto Fernando,
Manager IT, CSC, donated
the conduct of various events
like national-level sympo-
siums for students, guest
lectures, and workshops on
MATLAB and PSPICE.
Mr. Suresh Reddy, Head,
Operations Development,
Nokia, Chennai, was the
chief guest at the inaugural
function and Dr. P.K.A. Mu-
niswaran, Director, Faculty of
Engineering and Technology,
SRM University, presided
Dr. Muniswaran later un-
veiled the TEA website,
which can now be accessed
from the SRM University
website (http://www.srmu-
By Varoon Legio Mortis
The Department of Bioin-
formatics, SRM University,
Ramapuram Campus, re-
cently organised a one-day
seminar-cum-demonstration
on ‘Micro-array data analy-
sis.’ The event was inaugu-
rated by Dr. P. Venkatesan,
Deputy Director & Head,
Statistics Department, TRC,
ICMR, Chennai, along with
the Dean, Dr. Y. Rajalaksh-
mi, and the organiser, Dr. V.
Umashankar, (HoD).
In his keynote address,
Dr.Venkatesan emphasised
the importance of statistical
methods and their relevance
and applications in micro-ar-
ten computers to the Adi
Dravida Higher Second-
ary School, Kilambakkam.
They were received by Ms.
Sugavadanam, Head Mis-
tress, who was accompa-
nied by 34 students and four
staff members.
niv.ac.in/srmtea.htm). The
website, designed by Mr. Sa-
ket Kumar, final year student,
will be updated periodically
with entries ranging from
news about the Department
to informal topics reflecting
literary talent.
Ms. C. T. Manimegalai (fac-
ulty member) introduced the
office-bearers of TEA to the
gathering. Vikash Kumar,
final year student, is the Sec-
retary. A short presentation
highlighting the Department's
history and aims was present-
ed by Aparna Biswas, a final
year student.
ray analysis. Dr. N. Vijayal-
akshmi, Assistant Professor,
Cancer Institute, Chennai
discussed the wet lab aspect
of micro-arrays as well as the
direction of future research.
Dr. K. Sabitha, Assistant Pro-
fessor, Dept. of Molecular
Oncology, Cancer Institute,
gave a demonstration of mi-
cro-array data analysis using
open source software.
Around 100 participants
from colleges in and around
Chennai attended the pro-
gramme. The seminar-cum-
workshop exposed them to
the latest techniques avail-
able for micro-array data
analysis.
12 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
Engineering College winners at ‘TARANA’
Members of the winning team
By Debleena Chatterjee
SRM University’s Faculty
of Engineering and Tech-
nology won the overall first
prize at “TARANA” held
at the main auditorium in
the Kattankulathur campus,
before a packed hall.
The overall second prize
was won by the students
from the Faculty of Science
and Humanities.
The programme included
group songs, folk dances
and group Western dances.
The participating SRM in-
Participating for a cause
Linking arms to restore peace - SRM students were among the thousands who
participated in the human chain to support the cause of restoring peace in Sri Lanka
stitutions in the cultural com-
petition included the Faculty
of Science and Humanities,
Faculty of Engineering and
Technology, the Paramedical
College, the College of Hotel
Management and Easwari
College.
The Faculty of Engineer-
ing and Technology won the
group song and the group
Western dance competitions.
The group Western dance, a
mesmerising combination
of jazz and salsa, was cho-
reographed by Sanoop, a IV
year Mechanical Engineering
student, and Gurubaran, a IV
Above and below : Students performing during Tarana
year student of Mechatron-
ics Engineering. They faced
tough competition from three
I year students from the Fac-
ulty of Science and Humani-
ties, who grabbed the sec-
ond position in the Western
dance.
In the folk dance, Easwari
Walking for a cause-The National Cadet Corps of SRM University
led an Anti-Plastic Rally that started from the campus
College was placed first.
The participants from the
Faculty of Science and
Humanities and from the
Faculty of Engineering and
Technology gave a com-
bined performance, which
enabled them to offer stiff
competition to the winners.
SRM’s
NCC cadets
help control
traffic
By Lt. K Shanmugam
25 NCC cadets of SRM Uni-
versity organised a ‘Traffic
control cum Donation cam-
paign’ event in Tambaram,
near the Mudichur junction,
recently. The team was led by
SUO Santosh Krishnan. Ten
cadets helped the police to
control the traffic there; oth-
ers were busy pasting posters
related to traffic rules at dif-
ferent places in Tambaram.
Assistant Commissioner
of Police, Mr. Manmohan,
Sub-Inspector, Tambaram
and other police personnel
helped the team considerably
in the successful completion
of their objectives. They also
gave tips on traffic control.
Some of the cadets also col-
lected funds from the general
public at Shanmugam Street,
Tambaram, for the children
of the construction workers
in SRM University, to enable
them to further their stud-
ies, and for the handicapped
children at Prabhavathi Jay-
aprakash Seva Kendra, GST
Road, Nandhivaram, Gudu-
vanchery. The public donated
generously. Some of them
also extended help for events
organised by SRM NCC Ca-
dets.
The help of the police and
the general people has en-
couraged the cadets to work
on a plan to include them for
such events in the future.

SRM students complete
internship in IIT, Madras
By Arpit Bajpai
Arpit Bajpai and R. Sub-
hashree, final year students
of Biomedical and Instru-
mentation Engineering,
completed their summer
internships at IIT, Madras,
recently.
Arpit Bajpai was selected
to work in the Department
of Metallurgical and Ma-
terials Engineering and did
his internship in the Medi-
cal Material Laboratory un-
der Associate Professor T.
S. Sampath Kumar. He has
submitted his project report
on the Bioactivity of Grain-
Refined Titanium Sheets.
Subhashree did her intern-
ship in the Department of
Applied Mechanics. She
SRM student wins contest prizes
By A Spectrum Reporter
Arpit Bajpai, a final year student of the
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
won the first and third prizes in the Tech-
nical Quiz and the Paper Presentation
event respectively at TREPTIKOZ -08,
a national-level technical symposium
held at Rajalakshmi Engineering Col-
lege, Thandalam, Sriperumbudur, recently. He won cash
awards worth Rs. 2,000.
Learning experience at Madras
Atomic Power Station
By A Spectrum Reporter
The III year students of
B.Sc., (ECS) along with three
staff members, including the
Head of the Department, vis-
ited the Madras Atomic Pow-
er Station, Kalpakkam, on an
educational trip recently,. The
Easwari's Divya wins ...
Pg 1
five qualities that would help
a student face challenges.
“Hard work, sincerity, hones-
ty, integrity and involvement
are the five important quali-
ties of a good student that will
help him win laurels,” he add-
ed. Divya had demonstrated
all these. Speaking on the im-
portance of concentration in
studies, Dr Mannar Jawahar
said, “At the age of 16, you
are entering college and at 20
you will join a company and
work till the age of 60. Con-
worked in the Bio-Optics
Laboratory and her project
was based on Data Trans-
mission using Optical Fibre
in the field of Bio-Medical
Engineering.
Both students got stipends
of Rs. 6,500 from their re-
spective departments for
the 60-day project work.
The selection process for
this internship was based
on the student's academic
background, such as Cumu-
lative Grade Point Average
(CGPA), projects, paper
presentations, and co-cur-
ricular activities.
The application notifica-
tion for summer internships
will be published on the IIT
website and newspapers
from January.
students learnt how atomic
energy was used to generate
electricity,
The automatic monitoring
systems were explained in de-
tail. The students had the op-
portunity to understand how
nuclear energy was stored
and distributed.
centrating on studies during
these four years is vital, as
it will shape your life for the
next 40 years,” he added.
SRM University Chancel-
lor, Mr. T R Pachamuthu,
speaking on the occasion,
expressed concern over the
recent slowdown in the US
economy. “Whether IT com-
panies are worried or not, we
are more worried about the
slowdown because we de-
pend on IT companies to em-
2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 13
Uphill and down
New experience for many
By Dr Muthamizhchelvan The Engineering trekkers (below) on their way up (above)
As a clear Sunday morning
dawned recently a 55-mem-
ber team comprising 15 staff
and 40 students of the Faculty
of Engineering and Technol-
ogy, SRM University, geared
up for a trek to the top of
nearby Guduvancherry Hill.
The team members, after
equipping themselves with
trekking kit and other basic down. Going downhill, the experience and most wanted
requirements, left the campus time taken was just over half to be a part of many more
at 6:30 a.m.. A half-an- hour an hour and the team man- such trekking activities.This
walk through nearby villages aged to reach the foothills at adventure was initiated by
led them to the foothills.. 9:30 a.m. the Associate Director (En-
There wasn’t a direct and gineering & Technology).
clear path to the top of the hill The team reached the cam-
Interested staff and stu-
and the team members were pus with a through familiar
dents who want to be a part
confronted with a sloped neighboring villages. The
of further treks can register
bushy terrain. They had to members had an energy drink
with K.Gowtham, final year
their way through thorns and on the campus and then bade
B.Tech (Mech) 9884508664.
goodbye to each other. For
shrubs. The experienced trek-
kers in the team led the way most of them, it was a new
by cutting out portions of
overgrown vegetation for the
others. The brotherly support
B-School
extended by every member to
others in the team made the
celebrates
trek a lot easier and most en-
joyable. Navaratri
The team took an hour to
reach the summit and, while
admiring the wonderful
scenery, had a well deserved
breakfast. The team started
to descend, more involved
in chit- chatting on the way
ploy our students,” he said.
Mr. Pachamuthu said the
college management had de-
cided to change the style and
functioning of the College to
meet the future requirements
of industry, without curtail-
ing the freedom enjoyed by The SRM School of Management, Kattankulathur campus, re-
the students. The change was cently celebrated Navaratri by celebrating kollu (an exhibition
aimed at bringing in more dis- of dolls) followed by a pooja offered to Goddess Lakshmi. The
cipline, making students work event was marked by dandia and folk dances in which both
harder and preparing them to faculty and students participated. Ayudha Pooja celebrations
face the challenges. were marked with a kollu highlighting the 10 avatars of the
goddess. -Yaaseen Masvood
14 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3
SRM Chess team
qualifies for
Varsity finals
Wins South-West Inter-Varsity title
By Prashanti Ganesh
SRM University won the
South-West Zone inter-uni-
versity chess championship
with a tally of 29 points at
Tumkur recently and quali-
fied for the national Inter
University finals.
As many as 69 universities
took part in the six-day com-
petition. And this was the first
time in the history of inter-
university chess competitions
that a Grand Master, Deepan
Chakkravarthy, was seen in
action. Deepan led the five-
member SRM team, which
included the GM norm holder
R.Arun Karthik, R.Premnath,
SRM cricketers
fourth in Sri Lanka
tourney
By Prashanti Ganesh
The SRM University crick-
et team finished fourth in the
South Asian Port Games held
from October 2nd onwards.
Teams from the SAARC re-
gion participated in many
sports events organised in Sri
Lanka. The SRM team was
captained by J. Prashaanth,
Computer Science depart-
ment. In the first victory
against Colombo Airport,
Vignesh Raja contributed
64 to the total of 143 runs
in 20 overs. V.Sundarraman
bowled well; he took four
wickets and bowled a maiden
18th over.
Against Galle, in the team’s
second match in the tourna-
ment, Prashaanth scored an
unbeaten 121, Arjun con-
tributed 63 runs and Vikram
added to the score with his
25, SRM got its opponent all
out for just 65 runs. Santhosh
bowled particularly well tak-
ing four wickets and Ela-
varasan got two wickets .
After a good run, the team’s
victories came to an end in the
semi-final where they lost to
Colombo Airport by 15 runs.
SRM was all out for 125 runs
N.Aravind Subramanian and
B.G. Mohinder Yadhav. Early
in the tounrament, SRM beat
Sri Krishnadevaraya Univer-
sity (4-0), Sri Venkateswara
University (3.5-0.5) and Os-
mania University (3.5-0.5). In
the 4th round, they drew with
Madras University, sharing
four points. They moved on
to beat Mumbai University
(3.5-0.5), JNTU (3.5-0.5)
and Anna University (3-1) in
the subsequent rounds.
It was in the 8th and last
round that SRM edged out
the University of Madras
when the team beat VTU (4-
0) to win the title.
with Naveen Surya scoring
a rapid 30 and Prashaanth,
Sundarraman and C.S. San-
thosh scoring 20 runs each.
The team was accompanied
by Mr. Loius Raj, coach, and
Mr. Gangadaran, assistant
coach. Throughout the com-
petition, the team received
great hospitality from Mr.
Dhilan Perera, Civil Aviation
Minister. In a tournament
open only to port teams, the
SRM team received a special
invite to participate. Team
captain Prashaanth said,
“Our team came third in the
national university cricket
tournament. Also, we have
players who have played
various league matches in Sri
Lanka. So, they invited us to
be a part of the tournament.”
Team :J.Prashaanth (CSE),
V.Sundaraman (CSE), Vi-
gnesh Raja (CSE, Easwari
College), M.O. Arjun Sara-
thy, C.S Santhosh , Jagan
Mohan Sai, P.Elavarasan
(MBA), Terrence Savio
(MCA), R.D. Ashwin Ku-
mar (Aero Space), Naveen
Surya (ECE), C.Naveen (Bio
Infomatics), Karthik(B.Sc-
ISM), Vikram Jangid (CSE,
Ramapuram) and Ashwin (IT
Ramapuram)
The winning chess team le" to right, N.Aravind Subramanian, R.Arun Karthik, Deepan
Chakkravarthy, B.G. Mohinder Yadhav and R.Premnath.
A badminton star in the making
Anees Kouser of SRM Uni-
versity, Ramapuram Cam-
pus, is an international-
level badminton player. Her
aim is to win a gold medal
for the nation in badminton.
She recently was runner up
at the South Zone Inter Uni-
versity tournament organ-
ised by Kurumpu University
in Shimoga, Karnataka.
Excerpts from an inter-
view Varoon Legio Mortis
of Spectrum had with her.
Tell me about yourself?
I was born, raised and did
my schooling in Arakonam.
My father is an advocate. I
have a brother who is also
a badminton player. I am
currently doing my MBA
(I year) at SRM University,
Ramapuram Campus.
How did you get inter-
ested in badminton?
My father and brother like
to play the game. As a child
I used to watch them play,
and I got hooked on to it
.When I played at the State
level for first time, I won the
title, which made me even
more interested in Badmin-
ton.
How old were you when
you started to play badmin-
ton?
I was eight years old, study-
ing in the third standard when
I started to play.
Badminton or studies,
which do you like more?
Badminton is my first love
and is a passion, but I believe
that education is also impor-
tant and, hence, I work hard
at my studies also.
Do you think you are tough
enough to play this game?
Yes, I think so, Even when
I go to other States or coun-
tries to play, I don’t face any
difficulties. It's all about the
game, and the support pro-
vided to me by my family
members, who have helped
me face all difficulties.
How many titles have you
won to date?
In the last eight years, I
have won more than a hun-
dred cups and medals. In
State level singles, I have
won eight times. In doubles,
I have won ten times. I have
also won the bronze medal,
in an International Bad-
minton Tournament held in
Syria.
What is your ambition?
My ambition is to play for
India and win for my coun-
try.
Tell us about the Univer-
sity’s support?
I would have never reached
this position without SRM's
support.
In which countries have
you played badminton?
I have played badminton
in Syria, Singapore and Ko-
rea.
What is your latest
achievement?
I was Number 3 in the
International Badminton
Tournament held in Syria.
 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3 15

Stepped in fragile...
that was fun and frolic, all
that you shared with us, ideas
emotions and experiences,
which have made us knowl-

I know I will step out agile... edgeable, the orientation that

helped us settle, thank you so
much.
By Mrinal Deo and Sinduri I was surprised to find all of what our seniors must have members strong, each one of Lastly, I would like to say
them listening patiently and felt. This is what all of us us special and unique in our this. A person who thinks
It was just another day at the promising to follow the sug- felt… and our juniors will own way… all set to enliven sunshine is happiness, will
University, but a very impor- gestions. At the same time, I feel no different. and empower self and soci- never dance in the rain. Re-
tant one for aspiring manag- asked them not to forget the ety. member, both are Nature’s
While your undergraduate
ers (I year MBA students), advice given by the faculty gifts. So is every institution
days become the mirror that I would like to extend our
who were raring to get started that helps you realise your
members and the guest lec- helps you discover yourself, gratitude to the teaching and
with their postgraduate stud- dream. We are proud to be a
turers. post-graduation helps sculpt non-teaching staff and the
ies. I (Mrinal Deo) was sup- part of this institution. I hope
I asked one of my juniors, you into the best that you can seniors, especially Mrinal,
posed to have a brief interac- and pray we will all make it
Sindhuri, to send in her expe- be. Speaking on behalf of who made us feel very com-
tion with my juniors in the proud of us.
rience of her first day at SRM my batch I can say that ev- fortable with his friendly and
latter half of the day. Give ery little thing that happened flawless speech and inspir- Let’s move from the holds
University. Here is what she
them lots of suggestions, during those first few days of ing us into realising that if an of fragility to the arms of
what to do, how to do them, felt . . .
becoming a part of the SRM individual takes up the chal- agility. All the best… Thank
when to do them!!! Mother’s food never runs you… and cheers…
family will remain unforget- lenge with grit and determi-
I started with a refreshing out of taste. Similarly, certain ‘I CAN’T are sad words in
table. Today, I am part of nation, all hurdles and hitches
note by telling them that their periods in life will always be any language.
an MBA family that is 1000 vanish. For all the interaction
experiences in SRM would remembered, particularly our
be fun. Mine had been and deepest anxieties. When I
shared with them my experi- stepped into SRM, my heart
ences while a first year stu-
dent at the School of Manage-
ment. I talked them through
was pounding in my throat.
Like everyone else, I wanted
to just vanish and go back to
Windows Vista: Drawing
the protocol to be followed at
the School of Management.
where I did my Bachelor’s…
but the urge to move on kept
me rooted. I suppose this is
unnecessary flak?
By Varun Krishnan its problems. For example, Calendar, Windows Photo
A Land of Paradoxes Before the release of Win-
in October 2007, the Dutch
Consumers’ Association
Gallery etc this adds to the
eye candy look that Vista
By T.Adarsh Kumar dows Vista, expectations for called for a boycott of Win- sports. Games included with
The old joke about our country is that anything you say about the new operating system dows Vista after Microsoft Windows have been modified
India, the opposite is also true. We worship our ancient ci- were high. Microsoft had refused to offer free copies to showcase Vista’s graphics
vilisation but also dominate the IT field. We have confidently promised new features, high- of Windows XP to users who capabilities. New games are
emerged as winners of the 21st Century, but still much of our er security, and an improved had problems with Vista. Chess Titans, Mahjong Ti-
population seems to live in each of the other 20 centuries. user interface. Moreover, the tans, and Purble Place.
Often the opposites coexist quite cheerfully. Yet, paradoxes five years which went into the Some of the problems faced
reveal some of the painful realities of our society. It’s hard to making of Vista had people by Vista users are slow file A new Games Explorer spe-
anticipating something big. operations when copying cial folder holds shortcuts
digest that a country with 60% literacy rate that has the second
As a result, many consum- large amount of data from and information to all games
largest pool of trained scientists and engineers, many of them
one machine to another, li- on the user’s computer. But
making a flourishing living in the homes of modern technolo- ers and businesses planned
censing which requires a security is where Vista steals
gies. It’s very hard to explain that 250 million people in our on upgrading to Vista. But
previous version of Windows the show. User Account Con-
country do not have access to clean water while the head of soon after its release, it was
installed before Vista can be trol, BitLocker Drive En-
PepsiCo is an Indian (Indira Nooyi). It's hard to understand met with harsh criticism. This
set up, the cost which is defi- cryption and the upgraded
a place where bullock carts are still the indispensable mode prompted many businesses to
nitely on the higher side, dig- firewall ensures Vista to be
of transportation for millions, but whose rocket and satellite delay upgrading to Vista and
ital rights management which a hacker’s nightmare. With
programmes are amongst the most advanced on earth. We are even caused some people
requires all new hardware Vista you can rest assured
being recognised as a leading nuclear powered nation; still who had upgraded to Vista
to be installed with Vista to that whatever is in your com-
600 million Indians have no access to electricity. We are the to replace their installations
be approved by Microsoft, puter is in safe hands. Add to
world’s leading manufacturers of generic medication for ill- with Windows XP. Highly
User Account Control which this the fact that Windows has
nesses such as AIDS, but we have three million of our own cit- negative public reviews de-
blocks any user initiated op- released Service Pack 1 for
izens without access to AIDS medication. Forbes magazine’s scribe “its title as the big-
eration, and waits for admin- Vista, which take cares of the
list of top billionaires had room for 10 new Indians but we gest tech disappointment of
istrator permission to contin- bugs that were originally en-
have 260 million people below the poverty line and sinking 2007" (PC World) and “No.2
ue with the operation. countered in Vista. It is yet to
lower with every passing day. We have a great demographic of Tech’s all-time 25 flops”,
be released in India though.
advantage by default; 540 million young people are under 25, (Info World) resulted in the What overshadows these
which means we have a dynamic, youthful and enterprising downfall of the market share shortcomings is the idea of The bottomline is that if you
work force to change the face of our country compared to any of Windows Vista. There incorporating all new Mi- have cash in hand and a high
other country. But we still have 60 million child labourers and have been a number of in- crosoft software into Vista. end PC, then Windows Vista
72% school dropouts. So, yes, we are a land of paradoxes, but stances of organisations who Windows Sidebar, Windows is an operating system which
we still live in hope. have denounced Vista due to Media Player 11, Windows you should get.
16 2008 | Spectrum | Volume 2 Number 3