AEROPHILIA 2016: A National Level Aero Modeling Competition
 
The most awaited event a two-day National Level Aero Modeling Competition for undergraduate students of the entire country “AEROPHILIA” organized by team Challengers and Dreamers from Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management was inaugurated by three eminent personalities Mr. A.V. Aravindh, a Controls Engineer and presently working as a Systems Engineer for the Light Combat Aircraft, LCA-Tejas Program at Aeronautical Development Agency, Mr. Chinmaya, an Electronics Engineer working on the avionics systems of LCA-Tejas at ADA and Dr. Pavana Prabhakar, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, Texas. Mr. Mehtab Hussain, Aerotrix Engineer and Mr. Gopa Kumar Team Lead, Aerotrix were part of the inaugural ceremony. The invited guests opened the competition by flagging off the Aerophilia Flag in the aircraft controlled by Mr. Vishal Rao, Member, Mangalore Flying Club. Mr. J. P. Rao also of the Mangalore Flying Club was part of the inaugural function.
Mr. A. V. Aravindh also gave technical talks on the importance of RC Modeling, the various career paths available and the importance of aero modeling in the development of the nation.
An Air Show was conducted by Mangalore flying club and Aerotrix, Bangalore. The air show provided a multitude of learning experiences in mathematics, history, arts/graphics and science. Many competitors from all over India took part in the Aero Modeling Competition and showcased their talents. The competition attracted the nation’s aero modelling enthusiasts to Mangalore. The students of Vikas P U College visited the campus to witness the Aerophilia -2016 event. During their visit, they interacted with the IIT students who were participants of Aerophilia and gained insight into aero modelling.
Team Challengers also conducted Paperplane flying competition, Flight Simulation and Rubik’s cube for the viewers and also the guests.
  
The participating teams designed a radio controlled aircraft with the limitations regulated in its dimension and the power system. The aircraft is validated by its maneuverability and maximum payload carrying capacity, which will be tested in two successive rounds. A total of seven teams participated which included premier institutes like IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur and other colleges from Mangalore.
Mr. Manjunath Bhandary, Chairman, Sahaydri College of Engineering & Management, Dr. D L Prabhakar, Director, Sahaydri Educational Isntitutions, Mr. Devadas Hegde, Mr. Jagannath Chowta, Trustees, Bhandary Foundation, Dr. Umesh M. Bhushi, Principal, Prof. Umashankar B.S., Dean Academic, Dr. C K Manjunatha, Administrator, HoDs, faculty members, parents and students from various colleges were present on the occasion.
This event is conducted by Team Challengers and Dreamers of Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management; a group of students passionate about aeronautics and robotics and had participated in SAE International Aero Design Competition 2016 held at Fort Worth, Texas, USA, Boeing Aero Modeling Competition and various other aero modeling competitions.
The Aerophilia 2016 winners will be honored with cash prizes of INR 50,000, INR 30,000, INR15,000 for the Champion, the First and Second runner up, respectively. Two teams will also receive consolation prizes of INR 5,000 each.
Dr. Pavana Prabhakar addresses Sahyadrians
Dr. Pavana Prabhakar is Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso. She is the daughter of Dr. D. L. Prabhakara, Director, Sahyadri Educational Institutions. She addressed a student audience of the first year, third year mechanical and civil students on the `Road map to higher studies in US, her own professional growth as a lead example.’
Dr. Pavana Prabhakar earned her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Structures), University of California, Berkeley, B.Tech. Civil and Environmental Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Karnataka. She has received several honours and awards and her research papers have been published in international journals. She is a reviewer of many journals. She has received external funding of Rs. 8 crores for the many projects that she is currently involved in. She was recently awarded the “Best Young Researcher” by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), The United States of America.
In her inspiring talk to the students she said that professional development calls for excellence in education, a minimum cutoff–current aggregate 70% and higher in UG, minimum cutoff in GRE and TOEFL which varies from university to university. She further emphasized that most people stop when they achieve this but these parameters account for only 40% ; but the rest comes from various other achievements such as participation in varied competitions of IEEE/ASME/ASCE and many other associations through mini projects, paper presentations, leadership role in organizing events, involvement in all college activities at different levels, giving 100% in whatever you do and in the end, professional excellence in all endeavors that you undertake. But she cautioned that these achievements are not only for higher studies but in every venture that one undertakes, be it placements, becoming an entrepreneur or in academics what counts in the long run is the professional value that you add to your profile.
She applauded the institution for providing all the opportunities and avenues to achieve this value addition especially the Hands-on experience laboratories, Centre of Excellence established in Research and support of Dreamers, clubs like Challengers, SAE BAJA, Oratocrats, and many more. Added to that she said that the startup companies’ effort is commendable and others should fall in line with them.
She is keen to help anyone seeking opportunity abroad, writing proposals, research avenues, technical assistance in her areas of expertise and can be contacted on [email protected]
Day-2 and Valedictory of Aerophilia 2016
 
On Day-2 of Aerophilia 2016, IIT Kanpur, NITK Surathkal, AISSMS, Delhi Public School and Mt. Carmel High School was shortlisted during the second round of the flying competition. Winners were selected based on flight scene formula. The IITians and students had an interactive session and two young competitors showed that with passion there is nothing that cannot be achieved. The Maze Runner Competitions were also held during the second round of the Aero Modelling Competition.
  
At the valedictory of Aerophilia 2016, Honourable Minister for Higher Education,Karnataka, Mr. Kimmane Ratnakar was the Chief Guest, Dr. Hansraj Alva, renowned physician of Mangalore, Mr. A.V. Aravindh, a Controls Engineer and presently working as a Systems Engineer for the Light Combat Aircraft, LCA-Tejas Program at Aeronautical Development Agency, Mr. Chinmaya, an Electronics Engineer working on the avionics systems of LCA-Tejas at ADA, Mr. Mehtab Hussain, Aerotrix Engineer and Mr. Gopa Kumar, Team Lead, Aerotrix, were the Guests of Honour. The winners were felicitated by the dignitaries during the valedictory function.
In his address to the gathering, Mr. Kimmane Ratnakar congratulated all the winners. He said that the world is very wide with plenty of competitions which they should utilize. Science is very important for today’s environment. Life is still more important. Money and science are instruments for life. He thanked everyone for giving him the opportunity to be present on the occasion.
Mr. Manjunath Bhandary, Chairman, Mr. Jagannath Chowta, Trustee, Bhandary Foundation Dr. Umesh M. Bhushi, Principal, Prof. Balakrishna S.S., Vice Principal, Dr. C. K. Manjunath, Administrator, HODs, faculty, parents, and students were present on the occasion.
Mr. G. R. Venkatesh Regional Manager The Hindu Visits Sahyadri
 Mr. G. R. Venkatesh, Regional General Manager, The Hindu, Mangalore, visited Sahyadri and interacted with the Chairman, Mr. Manjunath Bhandary. The Administrator, Dr. C. K. Manjunath and Mr. Lokesh, Asst. Professor from the Department of Business Administration were present during the interaction. He was briefed about the vision of the campus and the efforts that are put in to implement it practically through programs such as SSTH, SPSS and WhizQuiz. Mr. Venkatesh went around the institute and appreciated the management's efforts in providing the ambience best suited for learning. He was impressed to witness the projects developed by the students at campus. He was happy to see the progress made by the institute in a very short span of time. During his visit he had an interaction with the members of DTlabz.
Mr. A.V. Aravindh and Mr. Chinmaya hold Interactive Workshop for Students during AEROPHILIA 2016
Mr. Aravindh and Mr Chinmay, Engineers for Light Combat Aircraft, LCA-Tejas Program at Aeronautical Development Agency and guests of honour for Aerophilia 2016, took a session on ‘Interactive Workshop on Product Design and Systems Engineering’ for first year students. Students were given a fun oriented session on design, ideate, prototype and testing where they had to detect a problem and come up with a technical solution. They also focused on various factors to be considered while designing a product and gave a brief picture on system engineering domain. The session gave students a clear picture on how to approach the practical implementation of a solution.
Upcoming Event
.jpg) DTlabz is conducting a three-day Summer Camp ‘Renew’ on 16th, 17th& 18th of May, 2016. The Renew Summer Camp is being conducted with the intention of imparting skills such as Teamwork, Communication, Creative building and other fun activities. In addition to this the participants will be involved in science projects, puzzles, night sky watch and Guest Speakers will bring an extra special touch to this camp.
Quote for the day
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
- Albert Einstein
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