PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, June 7: Team ‘Nano Tribe’ of IIT Hyderabad was declared the winner of the third edition of ‘Tata Steel MaterialNEXT’ at the finale held in Jamshedpur on June 1.
The team comprising Sushmitha Veeralingam, Hari Prakash, and Jaladurgam Eshwari, was mentored by Sushmee Badhulika and presented the solution titled ‘self-powering sensor to detect pre-diabetes in human breath’. The winning team received a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
Team ‘Materials Engineering lab’ of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) Kolkata showcased the solution titled ‘facile, high yield and room temperature synthesis process for two-dimensional (2D) materials’ and secured the 1st runner-up slot.
The members, Sukhendu Maity and Krishnendu Sarkar were mentored by Praveen Kumar and received a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Team ‘TCN-IITRPR.’ of IIT Ropar which showcased the solution titled ‘Recovery of pure hydrogen from H2S by greener electrochemical approach’, bagged the 2nd runner-up position. This team, consisting of a member Mukesh Kumar, was mentored by C N Tharamani and received a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
Congratulating all the winners and the finalists, T. V. Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director, Tata Steel, said, “Knowledge and Technology have emerged as key enablers for driving value creation and enhancing the geopolitical worth of our country. As India moves forward to become a $10 trillion economy in the next few decades while also realising its net zero ambitions, it is imperative we achieve this in a clean, smart, and innovative way.”
“At Tata Steel, our endeavour has been to tap into the innovation ecosystem that exists outside of the Company, work with scientific establishments, academic institutions, and start-ups to create sustainable solutions and accelerate our journey to becoming a technology leader in the metals and mining space. The breakthrough ideations, initiatives and innovations evolved by the young minds, who participated in the competition, are indeed laudable and offer a glimpse into exciting times ahead,” he added.
On the occasion, Debashish Bhattacharjee, vice-president, (Technology & New Materials Business), Tata Steel, said, “Technological excellence of an organisation does not happen in isolation, it needs a highly capable and supportive ecosystem. Students and academia form the foundation of such an ecosystem of a country. I am happy to see that through this open innovation event, we are able to attract bright young minds guided by talented faculties to come out with bold ideas which can soon become reality. I congratulate the winning team and appreciate the efforts of all the participants of MaterialNEXT 3.0.”
The remaining five teams in the top eight won a cash prize of Rs 25,000 each for demonstrating their innovative solutions and ideas.
This edition of MaterialNEXT received registrations from 278 teams, with final 166 active ideas.
Tata Steel MaterialNEXT is a flagship open innovation programme organised by Tata Steel Advanced Materials Research Centre, offers a chance for the budding researchers, technology developers and enthusiasts in the field of advanced materials, to explore ideas to design and innovate applications and use of advanced materials in emerging areas.
