IIT Madras researcher wins prestigious award for Innovations in Ultrasonics, Robotics
Chennai: Prabhu Rajagopal, a researcher at IIT Madras, has received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for his pioneering work in ultrasonics, robotics, and promoting student entrepreneurship. The award highlights his contributions to fundamental research in ultrasonics and robotics, as well as his efforts to foster entrepreneurship among students.
Rajagopal who is also the head of IIT Madras' Centre for Innovation and has launched five startups. One of his ventures maintains sewer networks in smart cities, while another, Plenome Technologies, is developing an app for secure access to health records. The app, currently in trial phases with several large hospitals, aims to digitize health records, allowing patients to securely access and manage their own medical data. "The challenge is ensuring data accuracy and security, but my dream is for patients to control who accesses their health records," Rajagopal said according to a report in The Hindu. His “ultrasonic lenses” are capable of assessing structural health even in extreme conditions.
Rajagopal’s research focuses on developing innovative technologies to ensure the integrity and safety of critical infrastructure like pipelines, dams, and furnaces. His innovations include ultrasonic sensors and submersible robots that inspect critical infrastructure like pipelines, dams, and furnaces, ensuring safety in challenging environments.
Rajagopal has shown a strong commitment to turning his research into practical applications. He mentioned that much of his work focuses on developing new techniques, sensors, and robots, and expressed his passion for technology transfer. He sees startups as a means to bring these innovations into real-world use.
In addition to his work on sensors, Rajagopal has designed robots to inspect underwater pipelines and other submerged structures. These submersible robots play a key role in monitoring the structural stability of dams, river crossings, and sewer systems, making the process safer and more efficient.
In reflecting on his work, Rajagopal emphasized that his focus is not just on research but also on how to apply his learnings to benefit society. “One part of my work is in the lab, the second part is translating that work into real-world applications, and the third part is scaling it so that the whole system can benefit,” he noted.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
