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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ED registers case against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in alleged MUDA scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday registered a case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam. The case was filed after the Enforcement Directorate took note of a First Information Report filed by the Lokayukta.
The MUDA case involves allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to Siddaramaiah's wife by the authority. It has been alleged that compensatory sites allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife - located in an upmarket area in Mysuru - is far higher than the land acquired from her by MUDA.
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Siddaramaiah is the latest Opposition Chief Minister to have been named as an accused in a corruption case. Earlier, the Central agencies had named and arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal, who has since stepped down from the Delhi Chief Minister's post.
