Open Day at IIT Delhi

On 18th April 2015, 70 students of classes 10 to 12 accompanied by 4 teachers went to IIT Delhi. It was an Open Day for the public, including school students and teachers, to come and see 'inventions'of the students of IIT. The orientation session was conducted in the seminar hall where we saw a presentation on the importance and prospects of 3D printing. Unlike 2D printing, 3D printing 'prints' a copy of an entire object. It is actually done layer by layer. The printing material could be anything ranging from gold to plastic! We were excited to know that soon a 3D printer pen will be available in the market. It is because of this 3 D printing that many mobile companies, including Nokia, are offering the freedom to their customers to customise their phones!

Next, we went to the Chemistry department where one of the professors showed us how glass, being amorphous, could be blown in various shapes. Phd research scholars from the chemistry department, Arabinda Baruah and Bharat Kumar Chaubey, showed us a project that uses nano materials to treat industrial effluents. The set-up removes up to 90 percent of the toxic metal ions from polluted waste water. In the Biotechnology department, one of the students demonstrated the process of manufacturing insulin on a large scale. Our tour concluded in the Physics department where we saw a number of models related to Pascal's Law and the use of optical fibres for communication. We also got an opportunity to see a refreshable Braille display that would enable blind people to read digital text through tactile interface. Interacting with the IIT students hugely motivated us and infused fresh vigour into our academic efforts, even as we, silently, continue to study harder and harder to secure a place at IIT! Kanishka Baisoya, XII A.