In this inauguration address at the national conference on Dhara, various eminent speakers talked about the rich tradition and heritage of India in the domain of Dhatu Shastra, i.e. the material knowledge of India. Prof. Ganti Murthy talked about the apex position India held in the world economy for about 2000 years and the steps taken by IKS and Dhara in collaboration with Government of India to bring back that glory. Dr. Suhas Joshi brought the attention of the audience towards the rich knowledge of India in metal fabrication and the amount of hard work and practice our ancestors would have had to reach that level of mastery. Prof. Indranil Manna also talked about the material knowledge of India and how that contributed to making the economy of ancient India flourish so much so that everyone in the west was looking for a way to reach India.
About the Speakers: Prof. Ganti S. Murthy is a Professor in the Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Indore. He was a tenured full professor at Biological and Ecological Engineering Department at Oregon State University previously. He is the co-founder of GRW Engineering LLC, a resource recovery company focusing on recovering fertilizers, metals and organics from landfill leachate. Dr. Murthy’s research is broadly focused on sustainable bioprocessing and resilient agroecological systems.
Dr. Suhas Joshi, Director of IIT Indore and Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, previously held the Rahul Bajaj Chair Professorship at IIT Bombay. His tenure there included roles as Dean of Alumni and Corporate Relations and Head of Mechanical Engineering. With expertise in multi-scale machining processes, he has received prestigious awards and spearheaded numerous research projects. Dr. Joshi established cutting-edge research infrastructure and the National Centre for Aerospace Innovation and Research at IIT Bombay. A prolific author and supervisor, he has mentored numerous doctoral and post-doctoral scholars, published extensively, and served on editorial boards of esteemed journals.
Professor Manna, currently the Vice Chancellor of BIT Mesra, Ranchi, is a distinguished educationist and materials engineer. His extensive research spans nanometric metals and ceramics, laser surface engineering, and phase transformations. With over 275 peer-reviewed publications and guidance of 30 doctoral theses, he’s renowned globally. As a Fellow of national academies and recipient of prestigious awards including TWAS prize, his contributions are significant. He served as Director of CSIR-CGCRI and IIT Kanpur, and now as the 14th President of INAE, aims to foster engineering self-reliance in India. His leadership extends to numerous industry and national committees, emphasizing translational research and innovation.
