About INAE Study Group on Indian Engineering Heritage on Metallurgy

The Study Group on Indian Engineering Heritage on Metallurgy was constituted under the Chairmanship of Prof. S. Ranganathan, IISc., Bangalore during the year 1996 to compile information and documentation on the outstanding engineering achievements in metallurgy and to carry out studies related to metallurgical heritage. Dr. Baldev Raj, Formerly Director, IGCAR, Kalpakkam took over as Chairman of this Study Group during the year 2003. For detail, kindly visit

or

Dr. S. SrikanthChairman, Study Group &Director, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831007Ph. : 0657-2345202 / 2345028e-mail : /

Dr. U. Kamachi MudaliCo-Chairman, Study Group& Head, Technology Transfer CellIndira Gandhi Centre for Atomic ResearchKalpakkam - 602 102, Tamil NaduPh. : 044-27480121e-mail :

RSVP :Dr. S. JaikishanM : 09440945320e-mail :

Dr. N. G. GoswamiM : 09431133102e-mail :

www.matheritage.nmlindia.org http://library.nmlindia.org/inae/inae.html

kamachi@igcar.gov.in/ ukmudali@gmail.com

dr.sjai@gmail.com

ngg@nmlindia.org/ngg1@rediffmail.com

director@nmlindia.orgssrikanth@nmlindia.org

INAE Study Group onIndian Engineering Heritage on Metallurgy

cordially invite you to

Prof. R. BalasubramaniamMemorial Maiden Lecture 2012

“From Pins to Pillars :Saga of Indian Iron & Steel”

by

Prof. Vibha TripathiDepartment of AIHC and Archaeometallurgy

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

Date :Monday, 10 December 2012, at 11.00 hrs.

Venue :Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL)

Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad-58

Prof. P. Rama RaoISRO Dr. Brahma Prakash Distinguished Professor ARCI, Hyderabad

has kindly agreed to chair the Programme

Indian NationalAcademy ofEngineering

“From Pins to Pillars :Saga of Indian Iron & Steel”

Dr. (Mrs.) Gaitri Saini Balasubramaniam

Gurgaon

Dr. G. MalakondaiahDirector

DMRL, Hyderabad

will grace the occasion

Prof. Indranil MannaDirector

IIT, Kanpur

Professor R. Balasubramaniam Professor Vibha Tripathi

Professor Ramamurthy Balasubramaniam (fondly

known as 'Bala') was born on 15 April 1961 in Salem,

TamilNadu. He obtained his Bachelor of Technology

(Gold medalist) in Metallurgical Engineering from

Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University

(BHU), Varanasi. For all round performance as an

undergraduate student, he was awarded Gandhy Gold medal from

Department of Metallurgical Engineering, BHU as well as Vishwa

Bharathi Award from the Indian Institute of Metals, both in 1984. He then

proceeded to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy (RPI), USA and

obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Engineering in 1990. After

spending a brief stint as an Adjunct faculty at RPI, he joined the faculty of

Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kanpur on 2nd April 1990

and became Professor on 13th December 2001.

Professor Balasubramaniam's research interests included Material-

Hydrogen Systems, Environmental Degradation of Materials, Structure-

Property Correlat ion in Advanced Materials and Indian

Archaeometallurgy. Professor Balasubramaniam was a prolific

researcher and has published more than 250 research papers in refereed

journals of repute. He has published 10 books. Two of his recent books,

which dealt Indian Archaeometallurgy are on "The Saga of Indian

Cannons" and 'Story of Delhi Iron Pillar". His research on the corrosion

resistance of Delhi's iron pillar attracted worldwide attention. He also

adopted the text book of Materials Science, written by Callister.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution as an active researcher in

the field of Metallurgy, Materials Science and Archeometallyurgy,

Dr. Balasubramaniam received a number of prestigious awards, including

Young scientist award (1993) of Indian National Science Academy,

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship (1996),

Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal (1999), Metallurgist of

the Year award (1999) of Ministry of Steels and Mines, Government of

India. He was a member of the National Commission for History of

Science. He was an editorial board member of a number of international

journals in the area of corrosion and Archeometallurgy. He was one of the

finest teachers and received the inaugural Distinguished Educator Award

(2009) from Indian Institute of Metals (IIM). Prof. Balasubramaniam was

bestowed with B B Lal Chair Professor at IIT Kanpur in September 2009.

Professor Balasubramaniam's illustrious career was cut short by his

untimely demise on December 9, 2009. He is survived by his wife

Dr. Gaitri Saini Balasubramaniam and two daughters, Gowri and Gargi.

Professor Vibha Tripathi is the senior most

Professor of AIHC and Archaeology, Banaras

Hindu University. She has been Head of the

Department and coordinator of SAP and UGC

sponsored ASSISH program of the Department

(2004-07). During the last two decades, she has

specialized in the Iron Age studies, covering both its archaeological

and technological dimensions. Besides, Iron Age archaeology, she

has contributed to the field of geomorphology, palaeo-environments,

and settlement systems and even to the study of the terracotta art of

the Indus civilization. An archaeologist of international fame, Prof.

Tripathi has excavated several archaeological sites and published

their reports. Her works reflect a multi disciplinary and yet a holistic

approach to the study of past. In her studies she has extensively used

a variety of scientific tools for understanding of archaeo-materials; her

field work is substantiated by satellite and remote sensing data. In her

writings she has also used literary accounts, traditional knowledge,

scientific analysis, and archaeological as well as ethnographic

evidences. Her research papers are extensively published in National

and International journals. She has participated and chaired sessions

in National and International Seminars and Symposia. She has

delivered Presidential Addresses of several Academic Societies. She

is member of many academic societies and national bodies like

Central Advisory Board of Archaeology, National Committee for

Identification of Literature on the History of Science and Technology,

Heritage Study Group, INAE etc. just to name a few.

She has worked with craft groups, especially potters and metal-

workers with a social as well as academic interest. She has been

actively associated with Malviya Centre for Ethics and Human

Values, BHU that addresses the problem of loss of values in modern

Indian society and conducted extensive workshops for students and

other interested groups towards inculcation of human values. Prof.

Tripathi has made extensive studies of the tribal iron technology and

has pleaded for its revival and employment of modern technological

know-how in the traditional technology. She is committed to the

cause of conservation and preservation of the technological

heritage of India.