Organised by Power Engineering
Chapter of
IEEE Calcutta Section
under the aegis of DLP of IEEE-PES
in conjunction with EPIC-IEEE ACE 2002
Date: October
20, 2002
Venue: Mini Auditorium, Science
City, Kolkata 700 046
Speaker : Prof. Saifur Rahman
Prof. Saifur Rahman, Director, Alexandria Research Institute, Virginia Tech, USA and VP-TIS, IEEE-PES is an eminent expert in the field of internet infrastructure and also power and energy systems. It was e privilege to have him talk on a pressing issue like the problems associated with the power requirement in relation to ever increasing internet demands. He delivered this talk as the key-note address at the 28th Annual Convention and Exhibition 2002 (IEEE ACE 2002) of India Council organized by IEEE Calcutta Section along with its Power Engineering Chapter.In his address Prof. Rahman stresses that internet depends on much more than just computers and went on to highlight the infrastructure required for speedy yet reliable internet access. He touched upon the status as well as the trend in the growth of internet in not only the developed countries but also in the developing countries like India. The economics of electric service reliability compelling for high tech customers are explained in details. It was mentioned that today's internet has outgrown the network design, which satisfied its original intentions. So the Next Generation Internet (NGI) needs a robust network hierarchy to function efficiently in an infinitely scalable manner. Then he touched upon the benefits of a distributed internet and the techniques for powering the NGI. Finally Prof. Rahman pointed out the developments needed in low power technology for reduction of power required to access the NGI were the salient areas where research works are to be carried out.
This talk was organised as a part of the student activities program of PE Kolkata Chapter and the participation was enthusiastic as more than 100 persons took part in this seminar including students of Jadavpur University, Bengal Engineering College (DU), some private engineering colleges along with the faculty members of all these engineering colleges and also engineers from West Bengal State Electricity Board and a few other industrial houses including IT industries and power utilities. The talk generated intense curiosity among the participants, which was evident from the involved discussions, which followed his presentation. Prof. Sujay Basu, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Jadavpur University and a leading expert in energy studies, chaired the session.
Considering all the aspects of the talk, it goes without saying that the talk was a success and similar programs are needed in future to bring in and disseminate the knowledge of the experts like Prof. Rahman to the interested partcipants.