Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 1

AXLERATE 2013

Ratan Tata: The Dreamer of Cars -Govindraj Ethiraj*

Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata retired last year to make way for a

younger Cyrus Mistry who will now lead the $100 billion empire. Some

58% of group revenues now come from outside India, in itself a Ratan

Tata legacy, thanks to his dog-

ged focus on creating a global

footprint. Keeping the growth

and profit focus in difficult

times will be a key challenge

for the Tata group in coming

years.

But Tata has been more than a

business leader who multiplied

revenue 20 times in 20 years.

He is also a dreamer who envi-

sioned products that no peer

would dare attempt. His desire

to build the first indigenous Indian car with native engineering skills and

capabilities was a dreamer‘s project. And entrepreneurs and managers

alike would do good to take heed of this facet of Ratan Tata. Particularly

the times in which he pursued his dreams.

If you walked into Bombay House in the early 1990s, you

could not be faulted for comparing the general ambience to that

prevailing in the offices of the Bombay Municipal Corporation

(BMC), Mumbai city‘s imposing neo-gothic civic headquarters

barely a 15 minute walk away.

Time stood still here. Staffers stared blankly at piles of files as

they sat on their desks or scribbled listlessly on paper. A few

that were animated were engaged in evidently non-official con-

versations. Remember this was before

the advent of the ubiquitous desktop

monitor which would afford cover or a

convenient distraction. Even the air

smelt musty.

Truth be told, this was the case not just

in the house of the Tatas but several

leading private sector corporations across India, including

multi-nationals. Real change was still some time away.

It was this world that Ratan Tata stepped into in 1991 after

being anointed successor by the legendary JRD Tata. As it

turned out, his first years were spent grappling more with

JRD‘s trusted aides and satraps who ruled Tata Steel (Russy Mody), In-

dian Hotels Company (Ajit Kerkar) and Tata

Chemicals (Darbari Seth) rather than the brute

forces of economic liberalization.

It was only past the mid 1990s that Tata‘s vi-

sion for the group began to be heard and felt, at

least from the outside. Principal among them

was the need to build environments and corpo-

rations that were globally competitive. Inciden-

tally, this was also around the time that the

group took a hard look at the portfolio of busi-

nesses to see if they fit in the liberalized world. One management consult-

ant even suggested getting rid of Tata Steel, a suggestion that was evi-

dently ignored.

It soon became clear that Ratan Tata wanted to do more than just wake up

a sleeping giant. By the early 1990s, Tata watchers realised that they were

looking at a dreamer whose thoughts went beyond just increasing revenue

and profits. He dreamt, for starters, of an indigenous car that (famously)

―Would have the Maruti Zen‘s size, the Ambassador‘s inter-

nal dimensions, the price of a Maruti 800 and with the run-

ning cost of a diesel.‖ Yes, quite possibly even Tata would

be surprised with these benchmarks today.

Selling it internally must have been a battle. Remember, the

Tata Group was largely an iron & steel, trucks, chemicals,

software services and hotels conglomerate. No products,

almost all services. Even TCS, despite being India‘s largest

software services company, has had no real product to speak

of. Except an early but limited attempt to launch an account-

ing software product. Looking back, to plan building a car in

such an environment must have been intimidating.

Tata‘s desire to build an indigenous car was met with skepti-

cism from outside too, including Dalal Street. The common

refrain those days: Tata Motors (then called Telco) should

stick to trucks. Ratan Tata responded by spending time in the

Tata Motors design studios in Pimpri near Pune and then

subsequently testing the car himself at the captive test track.

He was determined to show that he could bring his dreams to (Continued on page 6)

Evolution of Technology: the Good, the Bad, and

the Ugly.

-Cherag Bhagwagar

Today‘s technology is evolving at a rate so mind-blowing, that new developments and awe inspir-

ing details are being produced every day. Its evolving at a rate so massive, nobody can even predict

where we might be 20 years from now, will we develop unlimited clean energy? Time travel? tele-

portation? Who knows! However every new technology has a flipside, like a double edged sword.

It can be used for the betterment of mankind, or can cause unimaginable catastrophes.

NUCLEAR ENERGY AND POWER

Nuclear Power: The good.

Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission. At the

power plant, the fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam, which is used by a

turbine to generate electricity. The global nuclear industry is moving forward at a brisk pace, only

slightly slowed by the Fukushima earthquake accident. The International

Atomic Energy Agency‘s most realistic estimate is that 90 new nuclear

plants will enter service by 2030. Ten new nuclear plants went online over

the past two years. India now envisages increasing the contribution of nu-

clear power to overall electricity generation capacity from 3.2% to 9%

within 25 years. By 2020, India's installed nuclear power generation capacity

will increase to 20,000 MW. India now ranks sixth in

terms of production of nuclear energy, behind the U.S.,

France, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. There are now

439 nuclear reactors in operation around the world in

over 30 countries, providing almost 16% of the world‘s

electricity.

Nuclear Blunders: The bad.

The first thing you have to know is that highly radioac-

tive material isn't just found in heavily fortified power

plants and nuclear missile silos. A lot of the stuff is kind

of just lying around.

For instance, the Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia (IGR)

was a radiotherapy clinic in Goiania, Brazil, that had

relocated to a new facility in the mid-1980s, leaving

behind an abandoned building full of medical equip-

ment. Two scavengers named Roberto dos Santos Alves

and Wagner Mota Pereira saw their opportunity and

swooped in to steal the caesium-137 radiotherapy unit.

They removed the core and smashed it open, finding a

blue glowing substance inside that mystified them. This

was the cesium, and predictably, it poisoned both men,

eventually causing internal damage, contact burns and the need for amputation. Luckily, they were

able to take the exposed core to a scrapyard.

From the scrapyard, things only got worse. No one knew

what the glowing substance was, so no one felt the need

to handle it with anything resembling caution. The junk-

yard owner wanted to make a ring for his wife out of it,

several people smeared it on their bodies like paint and a

6-year-old girl even wound up eating some of it. All

told, 250 people had been contaminated by the exposed

material, four of whom

received fatal doses and

died. The people in

charge of IGR were

charged with criminal

negligence for leaving

the cesium unit essentially unguarded in a derelict building.

Other examples include irradiating golf balls with cobalt-60, so that they could be located by with a

Geiger counter when lost, cosmetic creams and powders laced

with various nuclear substances as they were believed to be

able to kill germs and clothes adorned with nuclear paint that

glowed in the dark.

Nuclear Warfare: The Ugly.

Nuclear tipped weapon heads are employed by the national

defense of many countries. These pose a potentially disastrous

threat, since a single bomb not only kills a large number of

people with a blast radius of around 3 km. Only two nuclear

weapons have been used in the course of warfare, both by

the United States near the end of World War II. On August 6,

1945, a uranium gun-type device (code name "Little Boy")

was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three

days later, on August 9, plutonium implosion-type device

(code name "Fat Man") was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan.

These two bombings resulted in the deaths of approximately

200,000 Japanese people (mostly civilians) from acute injuries

(Continued on page 6)

At 4.2 sq Km, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power

Plant, Japan, was the largest in the world before it was

hit by the July 2007 earthquake.

Nuclear waste being dumped into the river

A 6 year old girl

ended up eating

some of the radio-

active cesium

Tata has multi-

plied his revenue

20 times in 20

years.

The Annual Screw

Nuclear Power

provides 16% of

worlds energy

Little Boy and Fat Man

The Department Of Mechanical Engineering`s Annual Newsletter

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 2

AXLERATE 2013

FROM THE HOD`S

DESK

Every institution needs a driving force to

maintain order and to keep up the standards.

For MIT Pune`s Department of Mechanical

Engineering, this driving force lies in its

Head, Prof. P.B. Joshi. It is with his leader-

ship and vision that MIT Pune`s Mechanical

Department is one of Pune`s most reputed

departments.

Prof. Joshi first came up with the idea of hav-

ing an interactive students TechFest in 1998

called MechWeek. Today it has evolved to a much larger, grander level and

has been rechristened as AXLERATE.

Below is a small message by Prof. P.B. Joshi to the students:

―Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge all the hard work and effort put into

the making of AXLERATE 2013. The students have not left any stone

unturned in taking this event to the next level. This year, apart from the

various technical and non technical events, the students are expanding

their spectrum of operations, including industrial exhibitions, a social

responsibility cause, a departmental newsletter and workshops.

The theme of AXLERATE 2013 is the Evolution of Technology , repre-

senting the way and rate at which technology today is evolving. Keeping

up with the theme, this year’s AXLERATE has evolved to a new level.

AXLERATE 2013 is in partnership with various media groups, compa-

nies and organizations, it has grown from a small gathering of like

minded students to a mega event. The Fest is on a much larger and

grander scale with more and more events, bigger prizes, and more par-

ticipants. I hope this trend keeps on continuing, and the name and repu-

tation of our department keeps shining as such.

The Industrial exhibition is another one of a kind venture taken up by

AXLERATE 2013, where students can actually see and experience the

latest innovations and developments in the current industrial scenario.

Various well reputed companies would be present displaying their ma-

chines, prototypes and models. I hope the students take full advantage

of this rare opportunity to interact with the industry.

I would also like to thank all the sponsors for their assistance, guidance

and mentorship in helping the students out with this event. It is great to

see such companies lending a helping hand to these students.

I personally urge all the students to take part in such events and nurture

and hone their skills. As important as it is to excel inside class, it is

equally important to excel outside class. Taking part in such events

helps in the overall development of a student and hones their knowl-

edge to a more applicative level.

Since each and every significant effort eventually pays off, judging by

the amount of hard work put in by the students and faculty responsible

for AXLERATE 2013, I`m sure its going to be a raving success !”

MIT MECH, ONE DEPARTMENT: MANY FACES

As a whole, The Department of Mechanical Engineering is one of the largest departments in the

college. However, this department has divided itself into various committees. These committees

are usually created and managed by the students themselves, with only guidance from the staff.

Each committee and group attracts different students for their different values and experiences.

The sub departments in the Mechanical department are listed below.

SAEINDIA COLLEGIATE BRANCH

SAE is the acronym for the Society of Automobile Engineers. SAE interna-

tional is an organization of over 84000 engineers, educators and associates from over 97 coun-

tries. Founded in 1905, SAE is the leading authority in technical information and expertise used in

designing, building, maintaining and operating land, air and sea vehicles.

The collegiate branch of SAE is in charge of organizing various seminars, guest lectures, indus-

trial visits and workshops. It acts as a direct link between the students and the industry. SAE has a

large number of members within the department. All members benefit from these privileges and

opportunities. Along with this, the members are also entitled to access ARAI`s vast library`s for

any educational or research work.

Another major task of the SAE collegiate branch is the total

organization and conduction of AXLERATE, the departmental

Techfest. This large scale festival is completely organized by

the students with only a guiding hand from the faculty. Students not only realize and hone their

sense of creativity but also understand various elements of management, organizing, accounting

and budgeting.

TEAM AXLERATE 2012

ASME

ASME stands for the Association of Students of Mechanical Engineering, it is a

sister organization of the SAEINDIA collegiate branch. ASME organizes various

guest lectures and seminars. ASME also helps students further by conducting various classes for

competitive exams such as GATE , CAT , TOEFL etc. ASME is a completely independent com-

mittee, run by the students of Mechanical Engineering, for the students of Mechanical Engineer-

ing.

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 3

AXLERATE 2013

TEAM ACCELERACERS

Team Acceleracer`s is a racing team of students who develop formula style race cars. Accel-

eracer`s is a group where imagination, engineering, creativity and team work thrive together.

The team participates in various formula student competitions. The first experience of the

team was Supra SAE India 2011. Initially a team of 24 students, Team Acceleracer`s is now a

union of 50 members from different streams of engineering, who do a continual research and development in

the field of automobiles. The working style of the team is more like that of an organization than a regular col-

lege team. Along with focusing on engi-

neering of the vehicle, the team also helps

students explore their management and

marketing skills.

The last year was a great year for our col-

lege as Team Acccleleracers were awarded

numerous accolades including 1st place in

Engineering Design and 3rd place in Mar-

keting Presentation. High hopes are pinned

on the team to raise the bar to new heights

and come back with more awards this year.

TEAM PIRHANA RACING

Baja SAE is an intercollegiate design competition run by the Society of Automotive

Engineers (SAE). The goal in Baja SAE racing is to design, build and race off-road

vehicles that can withstand the harshest elements of rough terrain. Team Piranha

Racing has a history of participating in Baja SAE India from the past four years.

The team has seen some tough years and some memorable ones. 2012 was one of

those memorable years when the team secured 6th position in the endurance race

and 18th rank overall. Even after being 35 minutes down in a 4 hour race and start-

ing the race with 3 laps down, the team covered about 35 laps of that dirt track and

stood 6th. This spirit is still being preserved by the team which is ready to confront

the torture this year also. Making its way through the virtual and technical inspec-

tion ,the team now is ready to combat and conquer the 2013 Baja competition.

ROBOCON TEAM

Robocon is an international robotics contest organised

by the Asian Broadcasting Union. Around 17 coun-

tries from the Asia-Pacific region including China,

Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and many more

participate in this top notch tournament. In the compe-

tition robots compete to complete a task within a set period of time. To build the

robots, contestants, who are restricted to be undergraduate students, must possess

rich knowledge in programming, mechanical design and electronic circuit design.

The MIT Robocon Team are Group of 27 promising engineers from branches

like E&TC, IT, Mechanical, Civil & Petrochem who work systematically for a

year before the competition, planning, designing and building their robot.

The team from MIT Pune have

proved their mettle by beating

China in International Robotics

competition Robocon-12 on

19th August at Hong Kong .

Team India won the Mabuchi

Motor award for over all per-

formance and came home with

their heads held high. But for

these students, the greatest ac-

colade was the respect they

earned for India from the

teams which traditionally are the Giants of Robocon. Since 2005, this is first time

when any Indian Robocon team has competed on international fields with a time

comparable to top-notch teams.

ACCELERACERS WINNING CAR: THE CARBON

MIT Pune, 2012 Robocon Winners

OAT RESEARCH www.oatresearch.org

The Optimization and Agent Technology (OAT) Research is

an international organization founded and being chaired by

Dr. A.J. Kulkarni, an eminent member of our faculty, to

spread and cater the underlying concepts of Optimization and

Agent Technology. Currently, there are over 8 scientists

from the countries such as India, Singapore, Canada, Ger-

many, Thailand, Brazil and Czech Republic along with over 40 elite research students

from Maharashtra Inst. of Technology are actively involved into it.

The organization works towards nurturing and developing the Nature-/Bio-inspired Opti-

mization Algorithms/Methods to solve a variety of problems. The Algorithms could be

(not limited to) Evolutionary Algorithms, Genetic Algorithms, Particle

Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization, Fire Fly Algorithms, Artificial Neural

Networks, Artificial Immune Systems, Fuzzy Logic, Distributed Optimization technique

such as Probability Collectives, etc. And the potential problems that could be solved may

be of the categories (not limited to) Unconstrained/C`onstrained problems, Continuous/

Discrete/Combinatorial Problems, Multi-Objective/-Criteria Problems, Graph Theoretic

Problems, Complex Problems, etc.

In addition, the OAT Research organization intends to use/modify the above algorithms to

use exploring (not limited to) Topology and Shape Optimization, Collective Intelligence

(COIN), Multi-Agent Systems, Self Healing Systems, Fault Tolerant Systems, Game The-

ory, Nash Equilibrium, Graph Theory, Computational Geometry, etc.

The organization intends to provide the researchers, scientists and students a platform to

form a network, discuss, and consult regarding the above mentioned areas. The organiza-

tion is working on several practical problems and intends to propose new international

journals as well.

The interested and committed researchers, scientists and students may contact the

Chair of the OAT Research to join the organization to be an active part of the en-

deavor.

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 4

AXLERATE 2013

DESIGNER PRO

Creativity Gone Wild.

They say a product, any product, is the outcome of hours and

hours of tedious planning and designing. Here you don‘t

have hours and hours. Just 3. Participants are given 3 hours

to design a certain given figure using either AUTOCAD or

PRO-ENGINEER. Points are awarded on the basis of design

refinement, neatness and time taken to complete the design.

ROBOWARS

Shoot to Thrill. Play to Kill.

This is the future of warfare. Two robots are placed in a pit and

have to battle it out with each other. These mean machines smash,

chop, burn, or slice through their opponents. It‘s a no holds bar

event in which a robot can use anything from a high speed saw to

a laser beam to defeat their enemy. Only one robot

will emerge victor while the other rusts in the junk-

yard. For all you adrenaline

junkies, this is as good as it gets.

Fighting fire with fire and

smashing steel with steel never

looked so good.

RALLYMANIA

If you’re not fast.

You’re last.

One of AXLERATE

`s most crowd pull-

ing events, Partici-

pants must build and

race a remote controlled rally car around a certain track. The track has a

number of twists, turns and obstacles. The vehicle must drive through

sharp turns, tunnels and jump over ramps. The vehicle with the

fastest lap is declared the winner. The competition is divided into

2 rounds, the first one being a time trial, and the final round is a

head on race.

With the finals

held usually at

night in the flood-

lit ground, this

event is definitely

one worth staying

up for! Gentle-

men, start your

engines!

PREZENTA

Broadcast your Ideas.

This is an event in which good orators must take part in. Participants are

given a certain topic on which they must create a slideshow and present

their ideas in front of jury. The topics will be divided into two nodes,

mechanical, i.e. pertaining only to mechanical based topics, and multid-

isciplinary, i.e., pertaining to anything else under the sun . So carry your

wits with you and leave your stage fright where it belongs. At home.

FUNZONE

Let the games Begin!!

What‘s the point of all work if there‘s no play? At the

Funzone, participants can take part in a number of fun

games and activities. There‘s laser tag and counter-

strike, there‘s box soccer and Fifa, there`s catapult and

cricket. So take your pick and have a blast!!

AXLOGRAPHY

Say Cheese !

What‘s a great event without a few great photo-

graphs ! So instead of us taking the pictures, we`ve

decided it`s you who`ll do it. Participants have to click

pictures during the event, the winner of the event is

the person with the best picture. So wipe your lenses

and charge your flashes, its ShowTime!

AXLERATE 2013 EVENT SCHEDULE

EVENT DATE TIME VENUE

Rally mania 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Robotica 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Robowars 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Reincarnation 22nd Feb 10:00 AM M 301

Inquizzzitive 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Dyaneshwar Hall

Designer Pro (AUTOCAD) 23rd Feb 9:00 AM Comp Lab

Designer Pro (PRO-E) 22nd Feb 9:00 AM Cad Cam Lab

Mind Your Own Business 22nd and 23rd Feb 9:00 AM A1 Placement Hall

Mock Stock 22nd Feb 1:00 PM A1 Placement Hall

Ideate 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Comp Lab

Prezenta 22nd Feb 90:00 AM M 404 & M 405

Crypto crux 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Comp Lab

Axlography 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Campus

Fun Zone 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 5

AXLERATE 2013

InQuizZitive

So You Think Your smart?

For all those know-it-all`s out there, AXLERATE

gives you a chance to prove your mettle. Take part

in the quiz which will test your knowledge on a

wide spectrum of subjects, ranging from history to

current affairs.

ROBOTICA

Rise of The Machines.

Participants must design and build a DC powered robot that is able to pro-

tect its arena from being exploded. Two robots will be placed in a spe-

cially designed arena; each robot must pick up a bomb and place it in the

rival team‘s detonation zone to win. An amazing event where one can see

real robots designed by students in action. Armed with mechanical claws,

arms or wheels, the developers must think of new and innovative ways to

complete the task before their time runs out, or before their robot ex-

plodes.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Pressure Management

A managerial arena divided into 3 rounds. Round one.

Teams of two are split up, one is sent for an aptitude

test, and the other for a riddle solving creativity round.

Round two. Teams are given a business problem; their

job is to find a solution in the form of a business plan or

strategy. This will be presented to a panel. Round three.

Meet thy maker. Finalists will be subjected to the worst,

most grueling interview they`ll ever give, with our panel

throwing impossible questions at them left , right and

centre.

REINCARNATION

One Problem: Many Solutions.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, one man‘s junk is another

man‘s gold. Similarly, participants have to convert a pile of rubbish, it

may be anything from old wires and straws to sticks and thermocole,

and create a contraption that fulfills a given problem statement. Points

will be awarded on the basis of simplicity, time and problem fulfillment.

There is no box here; you have to think out of it.

FUNZONE

Let the games Begin!!

What‘s the point of all work if there‘s no play? At the

Funzone, participants can take part in a number of fun

games and activities. There‘s laser tag and counter-

strike, there‘s box soccer and Fifa, there`s catapult and

cricket. So take your pick and have a blast!!

CryptoCrux

Calling all Programmers.

The next world war they say will be fought not on

battlefields, but on keyboards. A few simple lines of

code can change the world. In this event, program-

mers are required to decode and crack programs.

IDEATE

Socially Aware: Beware.

Here students will have to use their level of social

awareness. A social problem related to current af-

fairs will be provided and the participants have to

create a solution within the given time period.

AXLERATE 2013

MOCKSTOCK

Downtown Dalal Street.

For all those financially inclined, here‘s a chance to put

your money where your mouth is. Literally. Each partici-

pant is given ten million bucks, and a three hour rapidly

fluctuating market. Within these three hours, it‘s up to you

to go double or nothing. Use your financial acumen to sur-

vive market crashes and falling economies, bullish sprees

and rupee spurts. Loot or get looted.

EVENT SCHEDULE

EVENT DATE TIME VENUE

Rally mania 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Robotica 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Robowars 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Reincarnation 22nd Feb 10:00 AM M 301

Inquizzzitive 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Dyaneshwar Hall

Designer Pro (AUTOCAD) 23rd Feb 9:00 AM Comp Lab

Designer Pro (PRO-E) 22nd Feb 9:00 AM Cad Cam Lab

Mind Your Own Business 22nd and 23rd Feb 9:00 AM A1 Placement Hall

Mock Stock 22nd Feb 1:00 PM A1 Placement Hall

Ideate 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Comp Lab

Prezenta 22nd Feb 90:00 AM M 404 & M 405

Crypto crux 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Comp Lab

Axlography 22nd Feb 10:00 AM Campus

Fun Zone 22nd and 23rd Feb 10:00 AM Ground

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 6

AXLERATE 2013

sustained in the detonations. This was followed by years of deformity in the following gen-

erations due to acute radiation exposure.

NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotech Applications: The Good.

Technology is all about making things smaller, and to that end, right now they're working

on making the smallest things possible. Nanotechnology is the science of making robots

that aren't much bigger than a molecule, and

there are lots of reasons for doing it. Imagine

sending a million microscopic machines into a

person's bloodstream programmed to attack a

tumor, or shoot the AIDS virus with tiny little

phasers. Imagine swarms of little cleaning

droids mopping up the pollution in our rivers, or

tiny manufacturing droids that can build any-

thing we want, in seconds, molecule-by-

molecule.

The big problem is, of course, how you ac-

tually build trillions of these little machines.

Simple: you teach them to replicate like

cells, using materials from the environment.

Nanotechnology can actually revolutionize a lot of electronic products, procedures, and

applications. The areas that benefit from the continued development of nanotechnology

include nano transistors, nano diodes, OLED, plasma displays, quantum computers, and

many more. The development of more effective energy-producing, energy-absorbing, and

energy storage products in smaller and more efficient devices is possible with this technol-

ogy. Such items like batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells can be built smaller but

can be made to be more effective with this technology.

Market Crashes: The Bad.

You will also find that the development of nanotechnology can bring about the

crash of certain markets by lowering the value of oil and diamonds due to the

possibility of developing alternative sources of energy that are more efficient ,

rendering fossil fuels obsolete. This can also mean that since people can de-

velop products at the molecular level, diamonds, emeralds, rubies , gold and

other precious material can now be mass produced and would lose their value .

Unstoppable NanoBots: The Ugly. K. Eric Drexler, one of the founding fathers of the whole nanotechnology concept, came up

with a number of spine-chillingly plausible doomsday scenarios. The problem is our nano-

bots would be like cellular terminators, much more advanced than any of the creations na-

ture invented. They could out-compete organic life overnight. Taken to its extreme, we

have the scenario affectionately known as the gray goo problem, which speculates the ma-

chines would simply start replicating out of control until everything in existence is just a

mass of tiny, scuttling robots, which scientists imagine would look like a pile of gray slop

floating through the void. Scary right ?

THE LARGE HADRON COLIDER

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's

largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was

built by the European Organization for Nuclear Re-

search (CERN) in 20 years from 1998 to 2008, with

the aim of allowing physicists to test the predictions

of different theories of particle physics and high-

energy physics. The LHC fires protons and lead ions

around a 17mile circular tunnel. Which travel at a

mind-blowing 99.9999991% of the speed of light-or

11,245 laps every second-or 671,000,000 mph. Every

second, 600 MILLION collisions take place, these

collisions generate temperatures which are more than 100,000 times that of the suns core.

Evolution of Technology: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

(Continued from page 1)

life.

The Indica was finally launched in 1998 January. But it was not a smooth drive. The Indica faltered and spluttered for long. Its

trials (literally) and tribulations caused much embarrassment to Tata. He admitted in interviews that he hesitated to take his

morning walks in south Mumbai because customers would seek him out to complain. The Indica settled down and soon, Tata

was dreaming again, this time to produce a Rs 1 lakh car. But the Nano, for all the media sensation

it created globally, is still not out of the woods.

Tata‘s passions, ranging from piloting aircraft to driving fast cars, fit with his persona of a dreamer.

Unlike most CEOs I‘ve met, Tata seems to fly aircraft for the love and personal thrill of it and not

because it places him a notch higher in the swish set, at least that‘s not the impression one has got.

Similarly with cars where it‘s not uncommon to see him driving an open sports car in south Mum-

bai, with a friend or two.

Looking back two decades, it‘s a long journey in a fairly short time. A lumbering truck company

metamorphoses into a car company that serendipitously ends up, a decade later, owning two of the

most iconic auto brands – Jaguar & Land Rover.

Many Indian business leaders achieved similar or greater accolades in the last decade. In growth and scale. But few have felt so strongly about India‘s

engineering skills and product capabilities. And that India could build cars too. At least in that generation. That‘s the stuff dreams are made of.

*Govindraj Ethiraj is an Indian financial journalist and formerly the Founder Editor-In-Chief at the television channel Bloomberg UTV. He earlier worked with CNBC TV18

before moving to Bloomberg UTV. He is also a well-known technology columnist.

Ratan Tata: The Dreamer of Cars (Continued from page 1)

He hesitated to take

his morning walks

in south Mumbai

because customers

would see him and

complain.

Nanobot`s attacking a cancer cell

Advancements in Research: The Good.

About 100 years ago physicists were at a standstill and had many conflicting theo-

ries about the universe. Then Ein-

stein introduced relativity and

quantum theory, and if you know

anything about physics you will

understand how many discoveries

followed this. Without the col-

lider, scientists cannot further

their understanding of quantum

theory and other scientific phe-

nomenon. The knowledge from

basic science is what propels new

and unforeseen technology and

gives us a better understanding of

the universe we live in, and a bet-

ter understanding leads to better

engineering and technology.

Strange Matter and Time Travel: The Very Ugly!

Scientists at the LHC project expect a lot of weird things to pop up when they start

smashing atoms together, and strange matter is one such possibility. Strange Matter

is a hypothetical material made up of quarks, which are one of the building blocks

of reality, things so small that you can't even possibly imagine. There are two hy-

potheses about strange matter. One is that the stuff will simply disappear a fraction

of a second after it appears. The other is that it will stabilize and convert every

atom it comes in contact with into more strange matter. So anything the matter

touches, it converts to strange matter, which converts other touching matter to

strange matter and so on and on in an infinite chain.

Time Travel? Really? Well the theory is that the LHC might open wormholes with

its high-energy collisions that future generations can manipulate for time travelling

purposes. And why is this bad? In the distant future, when the

stars have burned out and the planets have wobbled out of their

celestial orbits, the descendents of humanity will be staring

extinction in the face, and if they have access to a time machine

then it's likely they're going to just return to a more comfort-

able point in history .A flood of refugees from the future might

set up home in the present and flourish, until the world ends

again and they decide to do what worked last time. And again.

And again. Effectively, the moment we switch on our very first

time machine, our universe is going to be home to approxi-

mately infinity refugees from the future. You do the math.

AUTOMIZATION AND ROBOTICS

Robots are the future of man. Robots are faster , stronger and more efficient than

man. They work longer hours, don‘t need food or water, don't take breaks and dont

go home for diwali. One robot can easily do the work of 5 men in half the time it

takes them to do it, and will probably do a better job.

There was a time when the biggest argument against robots were that they cannot

imagine, cannot create art, cannot feel emotions. Not anymore. Robots, using artifi-

cial intelligence, can analyze tens of thousands of paintings, symphonies, forge

patterns and replicate art and music. Yes, today a

robot can think, today a robot can imagine, today a

robot can dream.

Fast and Efficient: The Good.

Robots are now widely used in the field of automa-

tion, assembly, and mass production. In some of the

world's biggest factories, there is scarcely a man in

sight. Not only do robots perform better than hu-

mans, but In some cases the quality requirements are

so stringent that even if you wanted to have a human do the job, you couldn‘t. If

your mass produced Indica was to be produced at the same rate and cost without

any robotic interference, your car would vibrate more than your phone and you'd

need to carry more tools than luggage on your annual Goa trip. Statistically speak-(Continued on page 7)

The LHC`s 17 mile tunnel circular tunnel located

100 meters underground

The moment we switch

on our very first time

machine, our universe is

going to be home to ap-

proximately infinity

refugees from the future.

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 7

AXLERATE 2013

ing, a Tata Indica is produced at a rate of one car every 67 seconds at their Pune plant, but without automation, this would

take at least one week. Same goes for surgeons, who are using robotic systems to perform an ever-growing list of opera-

tions—not because the machines save money but because, thanks to the

greater precision of robots, the patients recover in less time and have fewer

complications, says Dr. Myriam Curet, chief medical adviser at Intuitive Sur-

gical in Sunnyvale, Calif. The surgery bots don‘t replace surgeons—you still need a

surgeon to drive the robot. And they‘re not cheap. Prices go as high as $2.2 million

per machine.

Job Superiority and Unemployment: The Bad.

From self-service checkout lines at the supermarket to industrial robots armed with saws and drills, these ever-more-intelligent ma-

chines are now not just assisting workers but actually kicking them out of their jobs. And automation isn‘t just affecting factory work-

ers, either. Some law firms now use artificial intelligence software to scan and read mountains of legal documents, work that was pre-

viously performed by highly paid human lawyers. So is any job safe? If 20 years from now, robots build your cars, heal your sick, file

your lawsuits manage your finances and make the robots that build your cars, heal your sick, file your lawsuits and manage your fi-

nances. 20 years from now, what will you be doing?

Singularity and World Domination: The Bad.

There‘s a theory in the field of robotics and AI known as Singularity. As computers constantly evolve and learn, there may arise a situation when in the near future, a robot may

have a completely individual thought process. This is known as singularity, when a robot no longer needs man to govern its operation, but is free to operate on its own will. Ro-

bots may turn against us. And for that all it needs is one malfunctioning algorithm. A time may come, where stopping a machine wont be the simple matter of just ‗pulling the

plug‘. And if that does happen, its ‗Hasta laveesta , baby‘ !!

All said and done, the evolution of technology is a good thing. Evolution is, eventually , survival of the fittest, the good technologies thrive, the bad, only found in your grand-

mothers garage. The pros of technology certainly do outweigh the cons. And if the world is going to ever implode due to antimatter, have a nuclear meltdown, or is taken over by

robots. Well, at least we tried.

(Continued from page 6)

The DaVinci Surgical Robot for negligible invasion

surgeries

The Jewel of MIT : Amit Patwardhan As interviewed by Ashwini Doshi & Cherag Bhagwagar

Brilliant student, amazing sportsman, versatile theatre actor and musician, popular friend and a menace to all his teachers. Amit

Patwardhan was everything a student could be. A go getter from the very beginning, Amit represented his school in the Football

team, Gymnastics Team, Dramatics team & the school Choir. Was a senior best Boxer, and scored the highest percentage

amongst his contemporaries. He also ranked 16th in the Maharashtra State HSC Merit list for the year 1989-90.

During his 4 years at MIT from 1990 to 1994, he represented MIT in the Football team & the Dramatics team for the Purushot-

tam Karandak competition each year. He acted in several plays of Theatre Academy Pune while studying engineering and also

was a freelance Synthesizer player in numerous orchestras.

After passing out from MIT in 1994, Amit joined Philips in their R&D department as a Mechanical Designer and was assigned

to design music systems, two-in-ones and radio sets. He is responsible for single handedly designing the Philips Powerhouse

AW666.

Always being a passionate theatre enthusiast, in 1997 Amit Patwardhan found his true calling, Media. He, along with two

friends setup a partnership company by the name of Indian Magic Eye Pvt. Ltd, IME. Initially taking up 3D Animation

projects, Radio and TV commercials Projects & Industrial product shootings, today Indian Magic Eye is a multi crore industry

which does everything from organizing events to producing mainstream

movies. Here are a few excerpts from our interview with Mr.

Patwardhan…

Team Axlerate: Sir how was your time at MIT?

Amit Patwardhan: MIT was great; oh it was lots of fun. We used to do so

much masti and have so many things to do, apart from studies!! I was al-

ways involved in Purushottam and Firodiya and even played the college foot ball team, until someone knocked me so hard in

TE, that my leg was out. Studies was good too, I remember P.B. Joshi sir, that man was a TIGER!!, today he`s become

much softer and sweeter, but back then, everyone was afraid of him!

TA: Sir would you call yourself an ideal student, considering your scores and extracurricular activities?

AP: Haah!! Most of the teachers didn‘t even know who I was! I hardly attended! I‘ve spent thousands of rupees paying

fines! I still remember how P.B sir wouldn‘t grant us out term until we went and took a punishment from all our teachers. We

had to eventually write hundred pages from a textbook as punishment!

TA: What made you change your line of profession from engineering to media?

AP: See, although I had a fat salary at Philips, theatre was always my passion, so it was only a matter of time before I shifted

and formed Indian Magic Eye. This and the fact that the radio/powerhouse industry was getting battered up by imports. You

should always do what you enjoy doing. Believe in excellence, do anything, but do it perfectly.

TA: What edge do you think an engineer has over others in business?

AP: Although we haven‘t studied management, we are trained and honed to think logically and use a certain chain of

thought. If anyone can pass M1, M2, M3 and M4, he already has a logical head!! Plus engineers are accustomed to roughing it out, which is something few others are used to.

Drawing hundred sheets and copying thousand write-ups is something no other field demands. When I started my own business, I had to read all of my brother‘s commerce

books, but I still stick to the fact that taking engineering was an advantage.

TA: What prompted your company to grow and include so many departments?

AP: When we initially started, we took up only small 3D animation, radio and industrial shooting projects, but our approach was that jab koi dukan mein aata hai, toh mai usko

nikalne hi nahi doonga, jabtak he gets everything that he wants. So dheere dheere we started growing that way.

TA: And lastly sir, some words of advice for us students?

AP: Arrey what advice I‘ll give you!! I‘m the last person you should listen to!!

TA: Arrey sir ek do lines please !

AP: Accha ok, believe in the law of attraction, at least I do. The law of attraction is that when you want something so badly, when you want to achieve it with all your heart, then

everybody around you also hopes you get it, and the universe bends over backwards for you to get what you want.

AP AT A GLANCE

Selected Bishops school`s Best All round

Boy for the year 1987-88.

Ranked 16th in the Maharashtra State

HSC Merit list in the year 1989-90.

Solely designed the Philips Powerhouse

AW666.

Setup Indian Magic Eye in 1997.

Produced multiple films for Bajaj, Tata,

Greaves, Kirloskar, Leighton, KSB etc.

Started making TV serials and shows in

2000.

Produced “Harishchandrachi Factory”,

which went on to win the National Award

for Best Regional Film and was selected as

the Official Indian entry to the Oscar

Award.

Maharashtra Institute Of Technology The Annual Screw Page 8

AXLERATE 2013