Engineer's Day Today: Meet Women Engineers Who Won National Recognition For Innovations

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The women are contributing in their own little ways to engineering solutions for a sustainable world, which is the theme for Engineer’s Day this year. On the eve of the Engineer’s Day, which marks birth anniversary of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Free Press talked with three women engineers from the city to know about their work.

Excerpts:

Manual for electricity regulators

Tripta Thakur

Tripta Thakur is the director general of National Power Training Institute, the apex training and capacity building body of Union Power Ministry. She holds a PhD in electrical engineering from IIT Delhi and University of Dundee, UK. Her thesis has become a manual of sorts for electricity regulators all over the country. Tripta also led a one-year training programme for 101 women working at mid-career level in South Asian countries. The valedictory function was held at Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok with Sudha Murthy as the chief guest. “Women have just 8 per cent presence in electricity sector in our country. At a time when India is aiming at building 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030, we need to ensure that women play a bigger role in this sector,” she said.

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There is no second earth

Savita Dixit

Savita Dixit who completed PhD at the age of 23, is a senior professor at MANIT, Bhopal. She 13 patents in her name. Her patents include an anti-cancer herbal formulation using neem, amla, aloevera, black tulsi and giloy. She also holds a patent for a composite polymer, made using waste material that can replace plywood and trees. Another key innovation is using thermocol, which is non-biodegradable, to produce an adhesive with a long shelf life and high bond strength. This also has potential to save forests besides curbing pollution. “I feel blessed to have taken up projects that can ensure sustainable development, for there is no second earth where we humans can shift after destroying our planet,” she said.

Biodiesel from microalgae

Prerna Nashine

Prerna Nashine holds PhD in mechanical engineering from NIT, Rourkela. Working as an assistant professor at Bhopal-based Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education, an NCERT unit, Dr Prerna has designed the curriculum on drone technology for Class 11 and 12. “Use of drones is one the ways we can modernise agriculture and dissuade younger generation from moving away from farming,” she says. Dr Prerna holds two patents for producing biodiesel from microalgae and waste products. “Biodiesel can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and thus save environment,” she said.