1. President’s Message
I am glad to note that the UAA bulleting is slowly becoming a regular feature and as
usual, here are some random thoughts and comments on UAA activities since
December 2011.
UAA continues to enhance its efforts in a focused manner by reviewing the proposed
activities in every meeting in the form of Action Taken Report (ATR) which is now an
integral part of the minutes of the meeting. The initiative proposed by Dr. Vijay
Habbu, Senior Vice President has started making the BOG meeting more professional
and target based, which is a good sign for the Association.
The various committees i.e. Chapter Committee has been active and has visited Ahmedabad Chapter and
Aurangabad Chapter and the report of these appear in the bulletin. A committee constituted under the
chairmanship of Dr. Sanjay Mehendale to review the constitution of the UAA has started its work in right
earnest. This again will help in running the show professionally.
UAA continued to support the various activities through reunions such as that of 1972 batch of Chem.Engg.
where more than 40 batch mates from all over the world participated in a day-long event. They felicitated their
teachers and initiated two merit-cum means scholarship (one for Tech stream and one for Chem Engg.
Stream) of Rs.1 lakh each, in addition to a substantial donation to ICT and UAA.
The students’ activities such as Exergy, Industry Defined problem of YICC & YRCC received overwhelming
response from all over India and these events are becoming an annual event in the national student’s calendar
such as IIT Tech Fest. I would like to put on record the generous assistance provided by the Alumni for
supporting these activities.
The activities started last year, such as Job Mela, Career Opportunities, seminars, website launch, students’
Chemical web, Technological Day celebrations continue to perform exceedingly well and a regular calendar
of events is getting established.
The well deserved recognition to our Alumni, Shri L. R. Chadha, Shri Y. H. Jhaveri and Shri V. D. Sanghavi in
the form of UAA Distinguished Alumnus Award on 11th of May, Technology Day was another highlight of the
past six months’ activities.
One sad event of note in the past 6 months was the untimely death of our employee of the past 15 years, late
Shri Subhash Bhere. The spontaneous support of the alumni to my appeal went a long way in reducing the
financial stress on his family during his unsuccessful treatment. This is genuinely appreciated and showed
that in the hour of need the UAA and the alumni stand together.
I continued to act as a President for the past year in spite of completing my term of two years on your request
but would like to relinquish the post in September this year at the time of AGM.
I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to the entire BOG team for their sustained interest and active
participation in conducting UAA affairs.
Professor A. B. Pandit
Please forward your
email-id and mobile numbers
to UAA office for faster
communication.
1 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

2. 2 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

3. EDITORIAL
Elite not elitist!
The last few months have seen very significant events at our alma mater, culminating in ICT being
granted ‘elite status’ by the Government of Maharashtra. This puts the institute well on course to
achieving such a status in the eyes of the Central government, as well, and put it on par with other
institutes such as the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore.
Recognition and responsibility
With the recognition come responsibilities and the Departments of ICT are gearing up to meet the
challenges. With the greater autonomy now in place, thanks to the status as a Deemed-to-be-
University, ICT is now exceedingly well placed to contribute even more significantly to the development
of human resources and technologies for meeting the needs of the country.
For an institute that has multiple tasks of teaching and research, it is vital to stay contemporary and
relevant to the society in which milieu it operates. It is therefore highly relevant to also note that ICT
will be aiding technological developments in the fertiliser industry, with a Chair constituted through
the generous support of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd., one of India’s leading fertiliser
producers and one of the few in the state of Maharashtra.
This is an area that cries for attention. India is now the second largest consumer of fertilisers in the
world – ranking only behind China – and is seriously lacking in investments. Sadly, the country has
no meaningful technology developments for making key fertilisers and their raw materials, and is
stuck in the groove of importing these every time a new plant is built. Perhaps ICT can play a role in
correcting this sad state of affairs!
ICT’s faculty and students are already working on areas related to nuclear energy and solar energy
– two areas that hold the key to greater energy security for a country starved of hydrocarbon resources.
The idea, it seems, is to be elite, not elitist!
Role of alumni
The UAA and its members have a role to play in guiding, mentoring & supporting (financially and
otherwise) the many plans team-ICT has put forth. This issue talks about some of the efforts that
have been taken recently by alumni, both in their individual capacity and as a group.
It is clear, however, that much more remains to be done, if the resources available to the ICT are to
match the dreams!
3 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

4. RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE
ICT bags ‘elite’ status from Maharashtra Government
The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) has become the first educational institution in Maharashtra to get
the ‘elite’ status from the state government.The government had decided to recognise its star institutions and
award them an elite status in consonance with their research work, the academic excellence achieved and
how their innovations have altered the way the world works.
According to Mr.Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education, the newly acquired status puts
ICT on par with other reputed schools like the IITs, IISc-Bangalore, and the Indian Institutes of Science
Education and Research (IISER). It also makes the institute eligible for various special grants from the Union
and the State governments.
The Indian Government, through Ministry of Human Resource and Development and through the central
bodies such as All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grant Commission (UGC),
accords special status based on performance to renowned academic institutes. All elite institutes have been
nurtured by the Central Government and it was felt that the States should take a lead in sustaining the culture
of excellence in the State-funded institutes by applying the same yardsticks.
The government resolution on elite institutes stated that such a status can be conferred on those campuses
that are at least 50 years old, have a minimum of 80% of their teachers who are PhDs, have produced more
than 500 PhDs and have acquired a minimum of 20 patents, including 10 international patents. All these
conditions were fulfilled by ICT.
“Granting of special status of ‘elite’ institute for creating Centre of Excellence to any institute/university,
which has a proven track record measured by the criteria based on performance statistics by international
yardsticks will certainly give a fillip to the most performing institutes and will encourage them to maintain their
record,” the note issued by the Maharashtra government said.
World-class institute
ICT started in 1933 as a department of the University of Mumbai and became autonomous in 2004. In
September 2008, it was awarded the status of a deemed university. A study by Georgia Tech University’s
Prof.Jude Sommerfeld on chemical engineering education and research regularly ranks ICT among the top
research institutes like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Michigan and Georgia Tech. ICT ranks first in India and fourth
in the world for the number of papers it publishes.
ICT, which merely receives its annual salary grant from the state government (about Rs. 18 crores), has
craved to earn the status of a central institute that would allow it larger grants for research and expansion,
apart from a national status.
“The institute is the topmost ranked institute of its kind in the country,” Mr.Tope said.
ICT has a student population of around 2,000 and sanctioned faculty strength of 110 with additional endowment
positions. The institute is housed on 16 acres of land at Matunga. By 2030, ICT is aiming to be an institute
with around 250 faculties, 500 support staff and 5,000 students.
4 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

5. MAIDEN CONVOCATION
‘Rs. 500-crore corpus needed to fund growth plans’
Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT has called for the creation of a sizeable Rs. 500-crore corpus in order
to fund the ambitious growth plans of the deemed university.
These include research programmes in cutting edge areas including biotechnology & biomedicine,
nanotechnology & materials science, energy science & engineering, process systems engineering, green
chemistry & engineering, environmental protection & hazardous waste management, and product engineering.
“The ICT should be allowed to grow physically and through the digital world. We need to have additional
campus in the vicinity of Mumbai, of about 100-200 acres, so that our engineering and technology base is
augmented, with faculty strength of 400 and a student strength of 4,000 in next two decades,” Prof.Yadav
said while delivering the Convocation Address at the first convocation held at the Matunga campus of the
institute since it was declared a deemed university.
According to Prof.Yadav several centres of excellence will have to be created to drive these programmes
including:
• Entrepreneurship Resource Centre;
• Centre for Undergraduate Research in Engineering (CURIE);
• Centre for Process Intensification and Innovation;
• Centre for Product Engineering;
• Centre for Drug Discovery Engineering;
• Centre for Infectious Disease Control and Prevention; and
• Technology Incubation Centre.
“We need resources for such a massive expansion on par with other national institutes. A Foundation of Rs.
500-crore should be created. The foundations of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and other great institutes are a
few billion dollars and they have craved for excellence. I am optimistic that such a day is not far away, if our
government, alumni, industries and philanthropists decide to open their purses,” he added.
ICTs 1st Convocation held on 6th March 2012 in presence of Hon’ble Shri PrithvirajChavan, Chief Minister,
Government of Maharashtra and Hon’ble Shri Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education
5 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

6. RESEARCH FUNDING
RCF donates Rs. 4-crore to ICT to create endowment
Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ICT
to collaborate on diverse aspects of technology development. RCF will also be creating an endowment of Rs.
4-crore for instituting the chair of ‘RCF Professor of Chemical Engineering’ at ICT.
The MoU was signed on 1 October 2011 on the ‘Foundation Day’ of ICT, between Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-
Chancellor, ICT and Mr. R.G. Rajan, Chairman and Managing Director, RCF, in the presence of the Chief
Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Prithviraj Chavan and Mr. Rajesh Tope, Minister for Higher and Technical Education
(MHTE), Government of Maharashtra.
The specific areas of research that ICT will address will include fertilizer technology, environmental engineering
and cutting edge technologies.
According to Mr.Rajan, ICT has a proven track record of excellent research and technology development, and
RCF, which derives 50% of its sales from Maharashtra, deems this endowment as a service to society and
“commitment towards higher education and development of indigenous technology.”
Prof.Yadav said the creation of the endowment is a rich tradition of ICT and his own position as ‘R.T. Mody
Distinguished Professor of ICT’ was created in this manner in 1933.
Signing of MoU: Prof V.G. Gaikar (ICT), Prof. G.D. Yadav (VC, ICT), Mr Rajesh Tope (MHTE),
Mr Prithviraj Chavan (CM), Mr R.G. Rajan (CMD, RCF), Mr. G. Sen (RCF), Mr. Nair (RCF)
6 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

7. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
ISCMA awards merit-cum-means scholarships for ICT students;
recognises teaching & non-teaching staff
The Indian Speciality Chemicals Manufacturers’ Association (ISCMA) has instituted an annual merit-cum-
means scholarship for under-graduate students at ICT. In addition, the association has also instituted an
annual award for the ‘Best Teacher’ and ‘Best Support Staff.’
The first round of awards were presented to 16 students from various disciplines, by Mr. Nadir Godrej,
Managing Director, Godrej Industries Ltd., at a function held at ICT on April 11. Dr. B.M. Bhanage, Head,
Department of Chemistry, was selected as the ‘Best Teacher’ by a panel comprising senior faculty of ICT.
The citation presented highlighted Dr.Bhanage’s contributions to the area of catalysis, methodologies for
carbon dioxide utilisation etc.
Mr. Kishore Shah, President, ISCMA, described the project as a small manner in which industry can help
academic institutions. He reiterated the association’s support to this activity on an annual basis.
Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT, said the institute has a long history of supporting students with the
help of industry and he described any help “as neither too big nor too small.”
Speaking at the event, Mr. Godrej complimented ISCMA for taking the initiative, which he felt will go some
way in encouraging and motivating students to pursue careers in the chemical industry. The speciality chemicals
industry, he felt, is particularly well suited to India, which unfortunately does not have significant hydrocarbon
reserves and has to rely on imports to meet requirements.
Mr. Nadir Godrej addressing the gathering; also
seen (L to R): Dr. Kishore Shah, President, ISCMA;
Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT; and Mr.
Deepak Bhimani, First Vice-President, ISCMA
CREATIVE WRITING
Endowment created at ICT to support publishing of books &
monographs
The students of the late Prof. N.R. Kamath, who was a great teacher and motivator, have decided to establish
an endowment in his name for the benefit of the faculty and students of ICT to encourage them to write text
books, monographs or edited volumes, and to engage in creative writing. Any member of the faculty or a
student of ICT is entitled for this award, as are alumnus of ICT residing in India or abroad.
The late Mrs.Ruzena Kamath, wife of Prof.Kamat, has already donated Rs. 1 lakh for the purpose, and the
former President of the UDCT Alumni Association (UAA), Mr. S.M. Mokashi, has agreed to donate Rs. 3
lakhs towards this endowment.
The endowment will be perpetually open to receive donations and any alumnus, well-wisher, industry, organisation
or philanthropist can contribute to it.
7 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

8. HATRICK
Three UAA BOG members are Distinguished Alumnus awardees
this year
The ‘UAA Distinguished Alumnus Technology Day Awardees’ for the year 2012 were presented to three
alumni who have been very keenly associated with steering the UAA.
• Mr. L.R. Chadha;
• Mr. Y.H. Jhaveri; and
• Mr. V.D. Sanghavi.
The decision to bestow the awards on the trio was taken in consultation with the UAA Advisory Council,
theVice-Chancellor, Prof. G.D.Yadav and the President, UAA.
The awards were presented at a grand function organized on Technology Day, i.e. May 11, 2012.
Award winners
Mr. Jhaveri (1965, BSc (Tech), Oils, Fats & Waxes), Vice-President, UAA, founded Vasu Chemicals, which
is today a leading supplier of water treatment chemicals with a current group turnover of Rs. 100-crore. The
company has won many awards and recognition including the ‘National award for import substitution’.
The award was received by his son, Mr. TusharJhaveri.
Mr. Chadha (1965, BSc (Tech), Food Technology), a former President of the UAA, founded Goodwill Chemicals,
to make nitrochlorobenzenes and chlorobenzenes. The group now has three factories, built to international
standards, and produces a range of products for a turnover of Rs. 80-crore, of which Rs. 70-crore comes from
exports to Europe and USA. Mr. Chadha is also closely associated with the alumni association of Don Bosco
High School, RamnarainRuia College and continues to guide the UAA as a member of the Board of Governors.
Mr. Sanghavi (B.ChemEngg, 1964) worked for reputed organisations for 27 years, before starting AarviEncon
Ltd., a project consultancy organization. The company employs 1800 engineers and has a turnover of Rs. 70-
crore. Mr. Sanghavi also served as a President of the UAA
Mr. TusharJhaveri receiving the award
on behalf of his father, Mr. Y.H. Jhaveri,
at the hands of Prof. G.D. Yadav and
Prof. M.M. Sharma.
8 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

9. Mr. LalitChadha receiving the award at
the hands of Prof. G.D. Yadav and Prof.
M.M. Sharma, while Mrs. Chadha looks
on.
Mr. V.D. Sanghavi receiving the award
at the hands of Prof. G.D. Yadav and
Prof. M.M. Sharma, while Mrs. Sanghavi
looks on.
Support of Maharashtra government
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yadav highlighted the support given by the government of Maharashtra to ICT
over the years. Recently, he added, the government had listened to ICT’s plea by extending the retirement
age for faculty to age of 60. “Our dream is to extend this further to 65 years,” he noted.
In particular, Prof. Yadavreferred to the decision of the state to bestow ‘elite status’ on ICT. “This bestows
great responsibility on the institute. “
Partnership for technology development
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest, Mr. R.G. Rajan, Chairman & Managing Director, Rashtriya Chemicals
and Fertilisers (RCF), pointed out that the economy of tomorrow will be a knowledge-based economy and
Indian industry and academia needs to focus efforts in innovation in all fields. “Our greatest strengths are our
people, not our rivers and mineral resources. The next great idea must come from the Indian institutes,”he
noted.
Mr. Rajanhighlighted the need to nurture innovation in critical areas such as energy and water conservation,
reduction in carbon footprint and conversion of waste to wealth. As an example he pointed to the efforts taken
9 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

10. Prof. G.D. Yadav welcoming the Chief
Guest, Mr. R.G. Rajan.
at RCF to convert phospho-gypsum, a by-product of the phosphoric acid plant, to load bearing panels that can
be used for housing. “We have made some building using this technology and can help ICT with any construction
that they need.”
He also hoped the partnership between RCF and ICT will lead to unique technologies that will create competitive
advantage for RCF. “This partnership will flourish in the years to come,” he confidently predicted.
Innovation in fertilizer industry
Prof. M.M. Sharma,Prof. M.M. Sharma, Former Director, ICT, who was the Guest of Honour, lamented the
lack of innovation in the fertilizer industry “largely due to funny policies of the government,” commensurate
with the size of the industry and its relevance to India. He recommended development of technology for
supplying of potassium as nitrate, phosphate or sulphate, as it was most appropriate for Indian soils.
Speaking about technology developments in the chemical industry, Prof. Sharma noted that continuous
processing and micro-reactors are getting more and more common.
ICT, he added, has had a long history of successfully demonstrating technology developed in the institute,
from fundamental work done in the research labs.
Mr. S.T. Mhaske, Hon. Secretary, UAA, proposed a vote of thanks.
Prof. M.M. Sharma addressing the gathering.
10 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

11. GLOBAL RECOGNITION
ICT ranked #4 in global rankings of chemical engineering
institutes
According to Prof. Jude Sommerfeld, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
(Atlanta, Georgia, USA), the research output of ICT is truly outstanding and it is the number one institute in
India and ranks at fourth spot in global rankings.
In the 2007-11 survey, ICT has been ranked at #4 again, behind MIT, University of Minnesota, and Georgia
Tech (all in USA), and ahead of Imperial College (UK), University of Texas (USA), University of Alberta
(Canada), University of California-Berkeley, University of California-Davis and University of Delaware (all in
USA).
ICT has filed more patents during 2011, developed technologies and created several endowments for the
benefit of faculty, support staff and students. The Department of Atomic Energy has established the ‘Homi
Sethna Centre for Chemical Engineering Education and Research’ while the Department of Biotechnology
has been supporting the ‘DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences.’
In addition, the UGC has been supporting several centres of advanced studies in Chemical Engineering, Food
Engineering and Technology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Physico-Chemical Aspects of Textiles,
Fibres, Dyes, and Polymers, etc. The UGC has also created a ‘Networking Centre in Chemical Engineering’,
the only one in the country.
Most of the Chemical Engineering programmes worldwide are interdisciplinary and versatile, and include
biochemical engineering, materials science, polymer engineering, petroleum engineering, etc. A majority of
chemical engineering faculty have published in interdisciplinary areas such as nanotechnology, drug delivery,
nanobiotechnology, nanomaterials, energy engineering etc.
Ranking of chemical engineering schools (2007-11) in India [by publications]
Rank Institute 2011 2007-2011
1 ICT 198 1025
2 IIT-Bombay 75 393
3 IIT-Kanpur 80 378
4 IIT-Kharagpur 59 305
5 IIT-Madras 55 281
6 Anna University - Chennai 56 261
7 IISc-Bangalore 51 225
8 IIT-Roorkee 31 205
9 IIT-Delhi 43 188
(Prof. Jude Sommerfeld, 22 Jan. 2012)
Global ranking of chemical engineering schools (2007-11) [by publications]
Rank Institute 2011 2007-2011
1 Massachusetts Inst. Tech. 341 1624
2 University of Minnesota 211 1067
3 Georgia Tech 234 1061
4 ICT 198 1025
5 Imperial College 222 1009
6 University of Texas 171 986
7 University of Alberta 222 980
8 University of Cal/Berkeley 177 899
9 University of Cal/Davis 165 874
10 University of Delaware 191 784
(Prof. Jude Sommerfeld, 22 Jan. 2012)
11 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

12. RECOGNITION
Goyal award for ICT Vice-Chancellor
Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, ICT, is one of six scientists to be presented with the Goyal Awards,
instituted by late Shri Ram S. Goyal,at a function held at Kurukshetra University in Kurukshetra on April 7.
The awards, instituted in 1992, were presented by Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science and
Technology (DST), Government of India.
Others who received the award, which included a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh each, a medal and citation are:
• Dr. V. K. Singh, Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal;
• Dr. Narendra Tuteja, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi; and
• Dr. Utpal Sarkar, Dr. A.K. Singhvi and Dr. J. N. Goswami from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad.
In addition, three young
scientists – Dr. N. Yayaraman
& S. K. Sathoesh, Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore
and Dr. S. Ganesh, Indian
Institute of Technology, Kanpur
– received the ‘Rajib Goyal
Yuva Award,’ which included a
cash prize of Rs.50,000,
besides a medal and citation.
Goyal Puraskar 2012 received by Prof. G.D. Yadav, Vice Chancellor, ICT
from Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, DST
Two awards for Dr. B. Bhanage
The Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) Bronze medal for
contributions in research was presented to Dr. B. Bhanage, Head, Department
of Chemistry, ICT.
The award was presented by Prof. S. Chandrasekaran, President,
CRSI,during 14th National Symposium in Chemistry (NSC-14) held at
Thiruvananthapuram from Feb 2-4, 2012.
The Indian Speciality Chemicals Manufacturers’ Association (ISCMA)
presented Dr. Bhanage with the ‘Outstanding Professor Award’ for the year
2012. The award was given by Mr. Nadir Godrej,Managing Director, Godrej
Industries Ltd.
The citation presented highlighted Dr.Bhanage’s contributions to the area
of catalysis, methodologies for carbon dioxide utilisation etc.
12 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

13. IIChE honours two alumni for research work
Two of our alumni, Mr. Prasad R.Pangarkar (MChem 2000) and Dr. Rajaram S.Ghadge (MChem 2000, PhD
2004) received the prestigious ‘NOCIL Award for Excellence in Design or Development of Process Plant and
Equipment’, instituted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE).
The awards were presented at 64th Annual Chemical Engineering Congress (CHEMCON - 2011) held in
Bangalore inDecember 2011.
The award was in recognition of their research work on ‘Degradation of PTA effluent using membrane bio-
reactor’ for which they have also been granted a patent.
Mr. Prasad Pangarkar receiving the
award
Dr. Rajaram S. Ghadge receiving the award
Visit
www.udctalumni.org.in
for the
latest development
at ICT & UAA
13 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

14. The Chemical Web goes from strength to strength
The student-editors of The Chemical Web (TCW) presented the progress on their website to the Board of
Governors of UAA and also the plans for ensuring continuity (as some of them would be leaving ICT upon
graduation).
They also explained the tremendous response that they have received and their plans for expanding to other
Chemical technology institutes.
The BOG was impressed at the quality of the website and appreciated that the students could do this on their
own, and without asking for the support that was assured to them by the BOG
The BOG also placed on record the appreciation of the professionalism that the students have shown by
updating the BOG on the status of TCW from time to time.
CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
UAA BOG officials meet with Ahmedabad chapter
Two members of the Board of Governors (BOG) of the UAA, Mr. LalitChadha and Mr. V.Y. Sane, Hon. Treasurer,
met with members of the Ahmedabad Chapter of the UAA at a half-day meeting held in Ahmedabad on 8 April.
About 35 members from the Ahmedabad Chapter attended the interactive meeting, which included a presentation
by Mr. Chadha on the plans of ICT and UAA in the coming months.
A visit to the Ankleshwar Chapter of UAA is planned for August 2012.
NEWS BRIEFS
Recent developments at the UAA
Amendments to the UAA constitution
A committee has been constituted by the UAA to seek suggestions for amending the constitution in a time-
bound manner. Dr. S.V. Mehendale, Member, BOG, is spearheading this initiative and the idea is to have a
far-sighted and contemporary constitution, which will stand the test of time.
Heads of Departments invited to attend BOG meetings
It has been the practice for the last few months to invite Heads of Departments to attend the BOG meetings
on a rotational basis. This is further better interactions between the UAA and ICT.
UAA website sees steady updates
The website of the UAA is seeing steady updates thanks to the efforts of BOG member Dr.UdayLajmi and his
team of developers. More changes are forthcoming making the website interactive and informative.
14 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

15. IN MEMORIAM
Prof. E.H. Daruwalla – former Director, ICT & eminent textile
chemist passes away
Prof. E.H.Daruwalla, who was Director of ICT from September1971 to
October 1983, passed away on 17 March 2012 at the age of 88. He leaves
behind his wife and two daughters.
Prof. Daruwalla was a walking encyclopedia of Textile Chemistry,one of
the most decorated researchers of his time, and above all, a superb teacher.
After his BSc (Tech) and MSc (Tech) from ICT, he got a Ph.D. from
Manchester and returned to teach at his Alma Mater. His research on
cellulose chemistry and reactive dyes laid the foundations for several
new developments in the textile mills and opened up new research areas.
He was awarded the ‘Gold Medal’ by the Society of Dyers and Colorists
(UK) for his outstanding contribution to the science of coloration – the first
Indian to be so decorated.
He was a consultant to most of the modern mills of the last millennium. After retirement from ICT, he was a
consultant to the Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA), Rossari Biotech, Century Mills, amongst
other companies.
He and his wife were known for their benevolence, and especially their work with blind students.
May his soul rest in peace!
Mr. Subhash Bhere no more
Mr. Subhash Ganpat Bhere, who has been working with UAA as Peon for the past 15 years passed away on
15th April 2012, after an emergency operation for spinal surgery at Shushrusha Citizen’s Co-op. Hospital Ltd.,
Mumbai.
Mr. Bhere was working for the UAA for more than 15 years.
The UAA, which helped his family at the time of the surgery, plans to assist his family in an appropriate
manner.
Please forward your
email-id and mobile numbers
to UAA office for faster
communication.
15 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

16. ICT ACTIVITIES
Innovations in food safety highlighted
Dr. Kalpagam Polasa, Head, Food and Drug Toxicology Research Centre, National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR),
Hyderabad, delivered the ‘Prof. A. Sreenivasan Felicitation Lecture’ on Feb. 22, 2012 at ICT. The topic of her
presentation was ‘Innovations in Food Safety – Challenges and Opportunities including Nanotechnological
Applications.’
Dr. Polasa pointed out that food safety is a worldwide concern affecting every life, be it human or animal
health, and also well-being. But the issues in developed and developing countries vary. In developed nations
the major food safety issues are those concerned to application of newer technologies, emerging pathogen
outbreaks and those occurring due to climatic changes. In developing countries, on the other hand, willful
adulterations, famine, drought, lack ofmodern infrastructural facilities, access to potable water and afflictions
by food-borne pathogens are serious issues confronting consumers.
There are also differences in the way food is processed and distributed, according to Dr. Polasa. In developing
countries food production, processing and marketing systems are complex, with many small producers and
fragmentation. As a consequence, food passes through many handlers and middlemen, exposing it to
unhygienic environment, contamination and adulteration. Furthermore, storage facilities are inadequate and
poor: there is shortage of safe water, electricity and cold storage and transport facilities. The majority of food
producers and handlers lack knowledge and expertise of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), as also food
safety and handling practices.
NEW MEMBERS
Welcome to UAA
The Board of Governors of the UAA is pleased to welcome the following new life members (inducted since
Jan 2012).
Name Section Year of passing Work affiliation
Mr. K.W. Tembhurnikar B.Sc. (Tech), Pharmaceutical 2003
Mr.C. Devarajan B.Sc. (Tech), Dyes 1998 FMC India R&D
Mr. D.B. Pawar M. Tech, Bioprocess Tech. 2006 Serum Institute of India
Dr. V.S. Padalkar Ph.D.Sc., Organic Chemistry 2011
Dr. R.A. Khare B.Tech. (Dyes) 2006 Reliance Industries Ltd.
Mr.Bharat Sharma B.Tech. (Textiles) 1986
Dr. (Ms) L.P. Devendra Chem.Eng.,Ph.D (Science) 2011
Dr. S.N. Huddar Ph.D. (Science) 2011 Syngene International P.Ltd.
Mr. V.T. Jagtap Patil Chem. Eng. 1990
Dr. J.P. Tandale Chem. Eng. 2012
Mr. C.N. Kachhadia Dyestuff Technology 1979 Gharda Chemicalsa Ltd.
16 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

17. IN BRIEF
They also visited & enriched ICT ….
Dr. Ashok Malte
Dr. Ashok Malte, who retired from Gharda Chemicals Ltd., delivered the ‘K.Venkataraman Lectures’ on February
6, 2012.
Dr. Malte delivered two talks on ‘Water Usage Alternatives’ and ‘Chemistry and Process Development.’
Prof. (Dr). Kanjaksha) Ghosh
Prof. (Dr).Kanjaksha Ghosh, Director, National Institute of Immunohaematology (ICMR), Mumbai, delivered
the ‘Prof. V. M. Kulkarni Endowment Lecture’ on the subject ‘Pharmacotherapy of sickle cell anemia: why
Indian pharmaceutical industry is silent.’
Dr. Susheel Durani
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology organized the ‘Prof. S.K. Pradhan Endowment
Lecture’ on April 27, 2012. Dr. Susheel Durani, Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT-Bombay, spoke on
‘Chemical Interactions and Biomolecular Ontogeny: The Puzzles of Stereochemistry and Symmetry in Protein
Structure.’
Dr. S. Sreenivasan
The ‘Class of 1966 Visiting Fellowship’ lecture was delivered by Dr. S. Sreenivasan, Former Director, Central
Institute For Research on Cotton Technology, on ‘Current status of Indian cotton and its potential and prospects
for diversified utilization.’
The event was organized by the Department of Fibres & Textile Processing Technology, on April 20, 2012.
Dr. A.N. Desai
The ‘L.N.Chemical-ICT Diamond Jubilee Visiting Fellowship’ lecture was delivered by Dr. A.N. Desai, Director,
Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA), on the topic ‘Disruptive technologies in textiles,’ at the
Department of Fibres & Textile Processing Technology, on April 20, 2012.
Dr. Sasikumar Menon
The Asian and Mid-East Institute of Chemists in collaboration with ICT conducted the ‘Dr. P.S.Ramanathan
Memorial Lecture, on 5 May 2012. Dr. Sasikumar Menon delivered a lecture on the topic ‘Challenges in
Bioanalysis: A GLP compliance perspective.’
Prof. P. Thyagarajan
The ‘Prof. B.D. Tilak Visiting Fellowship Lecture’ was delivered by Prof. P. Thyagarajan, Pro-Chancellor
(Research),Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, at ICT on May 11. The topic of his presentation was ‘Herbal
drugs as blockbusters: the way forward.’
17 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

18. STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Exergy 2012 – more than just a festival
EXERGY 2012 held in January 2012, reaffirmed its status at the country’s premier chemical technology
festival with more than 5000 participants from across the country.
The theme this year was Water – with the problem
examined from technical and managerial
perspectives
The technical part of the festival included paper &
poster presentations, industry defined problems and
quiz. Non-technical events included testing of
managerial skills, and ad-making contest and a
crime scene investigation!
The Model Indian Parliament was another
innovation, in which participants engaged in a debate
on a range of water-related issues in India.
It was also the first time that the festival moved beyond the traditional technical and non-technical events and
conceptualized two new initiatives that have potential to becoming enduring fixtures of future events:
• The EXERGY MasterClass and
Lecture Series – a series of distinctive
lectures which had a resounding
response.Eminent persons such as
Prof. S.S. Bhagwat, Prof. A.M. Lali,
Prof. V.A. Juvekar, Mr. Chitanya Joshi,
Mr. U. Sekhar, Dr. Rajiv Basargekar,
and Dr. SurendraKulkarni enthralled the
audience with their presentations.
• Yatn – the social initiative. The
marquee event was Lehar (Jan 6-7), a
beach clean-up drive in which 120
volunteers collected over 200-kg of
garbage in a massive operations
spanning three beaches in Mumbai.
EXERGY 2012 also featured PETA
Dishoom!, the youth wing of PETA India,
the iconic organization that promotes
humane treatment of animals. Over 300
students signed the PETA petition against
animal cruelty.
18 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

19. COMPANY PROFILE
Chembond Chemicals Limited
Chembond Chemicals Limited manufactures a diverse range of specialty
chemicals like water treatment, metal treatment, construction chemicals, high
performance coatings and industrial biotech products. The company has
excellent infrastructure facilities like a well equipped R & D laboratory, multiple
regional offices and production plants, well trained personnel and references
across several business segments from the best known companies in the
field.
Established in 1975, Chembond Chemicals also holds the prestige of being listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange since 1995. The Group now has a large work force comprising skilled and trained professionals.
The Revenue has seen a consistent rise, since the time of inception; and given the performance of the
company, this number continues to maintain its upswing.
In 1997, the Group entered its first Joint Venture with Henkel, Germany, for metal pre-treatment chemicals. It
entered into another Joint Venture in the year 2001 with Ashland Incorporated, USA for water treatment
chemicals. In 2006, the Group established a new plant at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. The plant at Dudhwada
in Gujarat, was set up shortly afterwards, in 2008.
Ending the first decade of the millennium on a high note, Chembond signed a Joint Venture with H2O Innovation
Incorporated, Canada – offering equipment solutions for water treatment, and also built another plant at
Sitarganj, Uttrakhand.
Chembond expertly delivers advanced solutions to some of the largest and also some of the smallest businesses
across India and across a wide cross section of industries, enabling them to succeed in their business
spheres.
Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd.
Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd. founded in 1987 by Shri. V. D. Sanghavi to offer Chemical
Engineering Consultancy Services. Company has grown from 3 engineers to 1900+
engineers and is well known in Oil & Gas Industry, Telecom & Piping Industry,
Infrastructure and Petrochemical plants. Offering Technical Staffing Solutions.
Aarvi is at present involved in offering detailed engineering services to M/s. Indian Oil.
Bostik, Deepak Fertilizers and Yashdeep Chemicals among others
The company won National Award, CDC Award for Excellence in Design, PPMAI Award, Star SME Award
from Business Today sponsored by YES Bank. Shri. V. D. Sanghavi received NOCIL award from Indian
Institute of Chemical Engineers and Distinguished Aluminus Award from UDCT Alumini Association in 2012
as first Generation Entrepreneur.
Company can be contacted at info@aarviencon.com and has offices at many cities of India
19 UAA Bulletin, May 2012

20. With Best Compliments
from
Kishor Rathi
20 UAA Bulletin, May 2012