Shreya Jain, INN/chennai, @infodeaofficial

Indian Institute of Technology Madras is hosting the High Energy Materials Conference and Exhibition (HEMCE 2019) from 16 to 18 December.

The three day event is being held in association with Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) and High Energy Materials Society of India (HEMSI). It is a forum where experts in the field of high energy materials will speak  on the lastest development in the segment of high energy materials.

Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Tamilnadu said IIT-M is in the forefront for three decades when it comes to research on high energy materials.

‘It has set up advanced testing facility in the campus and we are proud of the work it has done in this field. This conference will provide an opportunity for young minds to interact with legends in the field.’

The exhibition being held as part of the conference will feature many technologies developed by Indian scientists, said Banwarilal Purohit.

‘This is an important gathering of our scientific fraternity to foster research and innovations. India, with its sensitive neighbourhood, requires high energy materials such as propellants and explosives to drive national security and technological and scientific prowess.’

SHAR in Sriharikota is now well known throughout the world thanks to the work of the scientists. These conference enables constructive collaboration between scientists across the world and help keep upto date with latest advancements in the field, he said.

M.S.R. Prasad, director general, Missile and Strategic systems, DRDO said they are actively working in high energy materials for missiles and armament materials.

It involves a lot of effort to develop different types of propellants for different types of missiles. HMRL, Pune, has put in a lot of RandD to develop smoke-less, and other type of propellants besides propellants for ramjet technology, which is going to be a game-changer for air launch systems.

Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras said it is not common for an educational institution to undertake research in high energy materials. IIT Madras is among the only few higher education institutions in India to have a research group in this are as this is a very specialized area, he said.

Armament display along with an industry meet was also organized on 16 December with leaders from propellant and explosive industry. They had a discussion with end users, armed forces on how to take the Indian propellant and explosive industry forward. Lieutenant General S.S. Hasbanis was also present.