CHEMPAIGN

January 1, 2011

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GRE CRACKER
As all of us final years are nearing the twilight of our engineering studies, an inevitable but overwhelming feeling of apprehensiveness creeps in.The fever pitch tensions of placements and the otherworldly exams like the CAT & the GRE start to take a toll on your mind.Chill guys, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Since there are so many of you GRE aspirants out there, here I am to give you a take on the exam and what it takes to crack it , having taken the exam myself.Allow me to briefly enlighten you on how the GRE scoring system works. *Overview* For starters, the GRE does not have fixed quantized marks per question.In order to judge the students true caliber ETS starts out with a fixed score for every student before the start of the test.As you keep answering each question, the difficulty level of the subsequent question is stepped up a notch while simultaneously increasing your score for every right answer.Similarly, a wrong answer will cost you some points and will culminate in the next question being of a slightly easier level.Now, no one knows by how much points does the ETS drop or increase your score for every answer but one thing is for certain.The scores awarded are not the same for every question. Basically the ETS uses the first 10-12 questions to roughly estimate in which range of scores the student falls in( whether you are in the 500s or 600s etc).The next 10 questions help the ETS to further gauge your potential and narrow down the range of scores(i.e. whether you are below 540 or greater than 580 or in between).The last few questions help in further narrowing it down to the exact score(i.e whether 550 or 560 whatever). To put it in a nutshell the first few questions can improve your scores by leaps and bounds (say about 200-300 points) while the last few questions only increase your scores by a handful (about 20 or 30).This does not mean At the same time be cautious and take a few wordlists at a time and read at

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a slow pace.You dont want to be burnt out in a week.People who prepare consistently tend to become more of a well-oiled machine to rip apart the GRE.An effective method to enrich your vocabulary is to incorporate all the words you learn from those wordlists in your conversation(if not conversation as most of the words arent colloquial atleast in writing).Try to create your own sentences incorporating each word rather than merely reading the sentences given in those wordlists.Trust me, it definitely helps further your understanding about the meaning and contextual usage of the word.Do not try to memorize the words as it is quite detrimental to the cause.With a strong grasp over vocabulary, vocab based questions can be tackled in a matter of seconds. *Preparation Tips for Reading Comprehension* Now coming to reading comprehension based questions, only 3 things you must keep in mind while preparing for it.These are reading,more reading and practice.You must be able to read at a mercurial pace and yet be able to comprehend all those erudite passages while you are reading it.Try summarizing every passage after reading it just once.Believe me this helps.

*Tips for Math Preparation* You guys cant be really needing tips for these.Well actually you will.Dont get too overconfident with math guys.Thats a mistake many a student commits.Besides , more Universities admit students with a strong Quant score(some of them require perfect quant scores) and they dont seem to consider your Verbal scores that much.Keep practicing papers and remember that speed is everything for Quant. Keep following this column as in our next edition, we will be furnishing you with information on Application to Universities,Choice of Universities, University Rankings, Feasibility of Financial Aid etc, once you are all done and dusted with the GRE.

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you take it a bit easy with the last few questions but just that you plan your strategy accordingly giving more time for the first few questions. *Vocabulary** Building** Tips* Now coming to the preparation part, a well regimented plan of study would go a long way in taking you higher in the GRE.I would like to stress that if success in GRE is the Holy Grail then The Barrons is definitely the Holy Bible.Daily preparation is a must.You must be dedicated and willing to clock in a lot of hours a day.This is because no one can improve their vocabulary overnight.And Vocabulary happens to be the crux of the GRE.

January 1, 2011

One Solution May Not Fit All Geographic Challenges and Sustainability
More than 50% of the companies around the globe consider the prospect of sustainability. The figure of INDIAN origin organisations are also in sync with the global scene. Personally mentioning , I had a brief talk on this with Mr. George Paul(Unit Head , UBL Beer Division, Rajasthan) . His ideas and thoughts approached the crystal clear stage as he mentioned that their company actively seeks opportunities to invest in sustainability initiatives or embed it in their business practices. He also mentioned The Brew from Barley based feedstock may be valuable for the U.S. and some parts of South America but not for other countries such as India (lack of proper cultivation conditions).

Prasanth Sekar

Sustainability In its Infancy

I believe that the sustainable practices are still in their premature stage, but as the time proceeds there will be a roaring demand of the theme. For few of us who have a strong urge into trying new trends into their worklanguage I find it worth mentioning that sustainability will develop itself as a specialized domain and will require a swarm of professionals. Lastly, to meet out the need of near future it is the time to think again and start from scratch.

Sustainability and the Chemical Engineering Profession., My Opinion.

Bits and parcels of the latest buzz on sustainability were flashing through my mind during my solitary moments. I began to wonder if the word SUSTAINABILITY was still just a buzz word or has the world of chemical engineers identified a working definition for it yet? Does the scope really matter or can we leave it to the perception of the beholder?

Ashit Jain

What Does Sustainability Mean for Chemical Engineering?

The Chemical engineering community is addressing the subject by gearing much of the recent academic research toward sustainability, making it the theme of widely-held conferences The workable items wrapped under the sustainability umbrella, as seen by chemical engineers, are:

alternate energy sources (like solar, wind) alternate feedstock (biobased) for energy ( bioenergy ) and chemicals (biorefinery ) alternate raw materials Recycling Providing quality water, food and medicines

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A Dozen Ways to Differentiate School and College.
As some prepare to leave college and some who have just joined in, it is understandable to be nostalgic about either of them i.e. school and college. Here are some notable differences that can be observed after four years of college life. It is requested that the following content is not misinterpreted to be directed towards any individual or department. In school, you do homework, in college, you study (or pretend to (:-P)). In college, the professors can tell you the answer without looking at the teacher's guide. (Really? :-O). In school, you're told what classes to take whereas in college, you get to choose; that is, as long as the classes don't conflict and you have the prerequisites and the classes aren't closed and you've paid your tuition or you are given no other option. In school, if you mess up you can usually sweet-talk your way out of it. In college, you're lucky to ever talk with the professor (maybe some prefer to sweet talk here as well?). In school, when the teacher said, "Good morning," you mumbled back. In college, when the professor says, "Good morning," you are astonished (Does he really mean it?). In college, weekends start on Thursday. (\m/). In college, it's much more difficult to figure out the course schedule of the man/woman you have a crush on, in order to figure out where he/she will be walking around campus in order to "just happen to bump into him/her."

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In college, there's no one to tell you not to eat, drink or sniff something [;)]. College women are legal (Is it of use here in Warangal?). In school, you can't go out to lunch because it's not allowed. In college, you can't go out to lunch because you can't afford it. During school you cant afford to waste time while in college, you can blow off studying by writing lists like this.

S..Aditya

DAAD Buzz
DAAD is a private, federally- and state-funded, selfgoverning national agency of the institutions of higher education in Germany, representing 365 German higher education institutions (100 universities and technical universities, 162 general universities of applied sciences, and 52 colleges of music and art). DAAD proves itself as a lifetime experience for the meritorious students. From Chemical Engineering, NITW a total of 5 students were selected to pursue Summer Fellowship in Germany in Summer of 2010. Few Factors contribute towards selection in DAAD. Firstly being your CGPA, and secondly your application to various professors in Different Universities in Germany. Students usually start applying to professors by sorting out their areas of Research interest. Applying to professors start rd during Month of August (in your 3 year). My advice to the current batch of second years will be to emphasis on their CGPA as on for now CGPA being the basic criteria (This criteria is not mentioned in DAAD rulebook, but assuming previous years trend, CGPA of an individual plays an important role). For more info: http://newdelhi.daad.de/

Ashit Jain

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January 1, 2011

Industrial training Experienes

Industrial training is a vital component of any engineer's course of study as theory can only truly be justified in practicality. Hence, I encourage all my juniors and batch mates to take this very seriously as it plays an important role in your curriculum vitae. I would like to share my industrial training experiences with my fellow students in the chemical engineering department hoping to contribute to the best of my ability. In the summer of 2010, i trained with Kansai Nerolac Pvt Ltd. As most of you are aware, this company is a worldwide leader in paint production. Being japan based, it provides opportunities abroad as well. I chose this company as i felt that not many students in the past have applied to any paint production related companies even though paint production is one of the important industries in core chemical engineering. The plant was located in Bawal, Haryana. Even though the commute was tiresome, the experience was worth the effort. The sheer vastness of the plant was overwhelming. The plant had several departments and spanned over several acres. I was placed under a process engineer with a few colleagues from various other institutes. We toured the plant with our mentor as he explained a certain section of the plant each day. The atmosphere seemed friendly and productive . The engineers also didnt seem to mind the long working hours. Over the period of two months , we learnt about various aspects of paint production as we followed a particular batch of paint from start to finish. We concluded with a project report submission. Also, I was extremely lucky to have witnessed and worked for a British council safety audit during my stay at the plant. It was a wonderful experience to watch the plant being reorganized, which is a massive task at that. Eventually i enquired about job openings at paint companies for fresh engineering graduates. I learnt that paint production companies prefer employees with a certain amount of work experience and they seldom take freshers. My overall experience at Kansai Nerolac was extremely enlightening and i would certainly recommend this company as a worthwhile choice to gain industrial training experience with. Thanks.

individually by an experienced engineer, every stage of petroleum refining. IOCL is not just a company with industrialisation on its itinerary but also a holistic approach towards the environment. It is a gigantic plant, stretching over acres of land, where they recently set up a new unit for sulphur recovery. I consider myself fortunate to have been bestowed with the opportunity to work with immensely knowledgeable and responsible people and also being privileged to get exposure in such a reputed corporation.

Preeti Gaunsinga

During my summer vacations, I got an opportunity to work for a project at Ranbaxy ltd in Mohali ( Punjab).Not everyone is privileged enough to get a project there .. (Its just a matter of right contacts at right tym ) Blessed with great scenic charm and beauty, nestled as it is in green, mountainous terrain, the scenic city of Mohali is conceived as an industrial suburb of chandigarh(Already recognized as the silicon valley of north India)doing industrial training there, was certainly an awesome experience. Moreover I consider that time as one of the most productive and instructive experiences in my life(although that time was infinitesimal in magnitude.I hope you are getting my point) Throughout the training period I have been able to gain a lot of new knowledge, exposure and valuable experiences related to factory management, production processes of pharma products, quality control and others related aspect of manufacturing industry. The training enabled me to experience the real industry workplace environment. However the training conducted by the company was not well structured and coordinated. Undergoing training at biggest pharma manufacturer and exporter in the country, have exposed me with every aspect of the growing industry. Through this training I was able to gain new insights and more comprehensive understanding about the real industry.

Anchal
I had my industrial training in mayuka labs chemistry customized in hyderabad. I had come to know how to live and move friendly with others. I learnt how a batch reactor works and enjoyed by watching it clearly and by pouring materails inside it. I had come to know the total lab works and about starting and formation of end product. I had totally enjoyed with all workers and chemists about the lab. They had explained me how it is useful in daily-life.

Rohan Kumar

Rathod Madhukar
This summer from 1 of June to 30 of June , i did my industrial training in the very prestigious and world renown INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LTD. We were a group of four from different colleges and regions. We bounded well over the 1 month when we were taught
st th

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