S. Vishnu Sharma
DRDO research centre will be established at IIT Hyderabad premises to meet the future defence technological requirements of the country.
DRDO research cell at IIT Hyderabad will take up basic and applied research programmes in indentified technology areas.
DRDO research centre 2020
The MoU towards establishing the DRDO research centre was signed by director of IIT Hyderabad Dr. B.S. Murty and K.K. Pathak, Director, Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM), DRDO and MSR Prasad, distinguished scientist and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS), DRDO.
The MoU for forming the DRDO research centre at IIT H premises was signed during a virtual event organized at the DRDO DG-MSS Office in Hyderabad on 3 July in which officials from DRDO and IIT Hyderabad participated.
Speaking about the DRDO research centre Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, chairman of DRDO said this MoU is aimed at bringing together the capabilities of DRDO and IIT Hyderabad, in order to achieve greater heights in indigenous technology through collaborative research.
This DRDO research centre at IIT Hyderabad will ensure seamless execution of different projects between DRDO and IIT H, he said.
IITH has a strong research base in advanced technologies, which will be strengthened for the growth of the country through this cell, he said.
The DRDO research centre will enable tapping knowledge resources in basic science and technology industries that are interdisciplinary in nature and spread across multiple institutions.
DRDO research centre will help enhance the scientific and technological base of the country in critical defence technology areas.
This directed research initiative will help India become self-reliant in select defence technologies. Director of IIT Madras Bhaskar Ramamurthi said IIT Madras shares a special bond with IIT H from its birth. We are also happy that Professor Murty, who is also an Institute Professor at IIT Madras is leading IIT H.
‘I am sure that DRDO research centre at IIT Hyderabad will make headway with its breath-taking deliverables under the umbrella of RIC, Chennai, with strong collaboration between DRDO Scientists and IIT H researchers.’
The DRDO research centre will facilitate directed basic and applied research by engaging faculty and researchers at academic institutions, technology centers and other renowned institutes in the country through defined research programs based on their research capabilities.
IIT Hyderabad director Dr. B.S. Murty said Research is always a prime focus at IIT H. It is indeed a pride moment for IIT H to get associated with DRDO with the establishment of DRDO research centre at IIT H.
This cell will support various research areas at IIT H that can not only focus on fundamental science but also can bring out indigenous technologies and solutions through strong collaboration with scientists of DRDO, he said.
DRDO research centre at IIT Hyderabad is being established as a part of the DRDO Research and Innovation Centre (RIC), Chennai.
Research Cell is envisaged to become a Centre of Excellence in conducting scientific and applied research in advanced technologies for defence.
The thrust areas for the DRDO research centre at IIT Hyderabad are Advanced Material and Processing, Sensors for defense applications, Hardware and Algorithms for Artificial Intelligence-based applications.
The other thrust areas are Technologies for Space applications, Adaptive Optics and Image Processing,
UAV and Nanoornithocopter Technologies and Quantum Technologies.
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is one of the six new Indian Institutes of Technology established by the Government of India in 2008. In a short span of around a decade, the institute built on an imposing 570-acre campus.
It has been ranked among the top tenengineering institutes in India for five consecutive years in National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.
The Institute was Ranked #8 in ‘Engineering’ category and Ranked #17 in ‘Overall’ category in NIRF Rankings 2020.
The Institute was also ranked #10 in the first edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) introduced in 2019 by MHRD to systematically rank all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development’ among students and faculties.
IIT Hyderabad has been placed in 601-650 Ranking Band and secured 10th Position in India as per QS World University Rankings 2021. The Research Output of the Institute was ranked as ‘Very High.’The Institute was also ranked among the 10 Best Institutes in India.
IIT Hyderabad has close to 211 full-time faculty, 2,869 students of whom 20 per cent are women, nearly 200 state-of-the-art laboratories and five research and entrepreneurship centers.
The Institute has a strong research focus with more than Rs. 500 crore of sanctioned research funding while Ph.D. scholars account for about 30 per cent of total student strength.
IITH students and faculty are at the forefront of innovation with more than 1,500 research publications and patent disclosures, 300 sponsored/consultancy projects and 50 industry collaborations.
IITH has MoUs with 50 universities in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Europe.
IITH has been pioneering change in pedagogy with fractal academic programs that atomizes course modules, encourage interdisciplinary learning spanning innovative technology, fundamental science, liberal arts and creative arts like photography, theatre and painting.