Nrupathunga Kannada Koota in Atlanta plays host to Engineering students from Karnataka -Atlanta Dunia -

Nrupathunga Kannada Koota in Atlanta plays host to
Engineering students from Karnataka

By Dr.H.N.Ramaswamy

Enthusiastic students from three engineering colleges from Bangalore – R V College of engineering, Jain Engineering College, PES Institute of Technology -participated in aero design competition sponsored by NASA and Lockheed. The design engineers, all below 22 years, came from three different disciplines of engineering - electrical, mechanical and electronics. The students received minimum guidance from their teachers and the travel grants for R V College students were partially met by DOO Technologies (Dubai).

The competition, conducted by the Automotive Engineering Society, was held at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia and the flying competition took place at the flying field in Acworth, Georgia from April 3 to April 5.2009.

Nearly 65 teams from all over the world participated in the event. Each school designed an unmanned aircraft with a maximum weight of 55 lbs measuring175 inches in length. They imaginatively fabricated the aircrafts using wind direction detectors, humidity and temperature sensors and automation technology.

The program was well-structured and on the first day, there was a lecture demonstration. On the second and third days, there was actual flying of the aircraft with increasing payload to demonstrate the capabilities of the aircraft.

The new design technology fulfills a wide range of applications including pesticide spraying, disaster management, landscape evaluation and atmospheric sampling - particularly in developing countries.

The participating students and faculty members from RV College of Engineering were hosted by Nrupathunga Kannada Koota in Atlanta. They were provided with accommodation, transport and boarding on all days during their stay in Atlanta area. They were presented with souvenirs before they left for Bangalore. Volunteers from Kannada Koota took enormous pains to make the guests’ stay as comfortable as possible, provided them with home cooked meals, offered financial assistance, invited to their homes and appreciated the visiting students’ creative skills and perseverance.