Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology

The Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology (P.S. & R.T.) established in 1971 is one of the pioneers in the area of education and research in Polymer Science and Engineering. In collaboration with the Rubber Research Institute of India the B.Tech. programme was started in the year 1972. The starting of the M.Tech. programme in the year 1985 was a major milestone in the growth of the Department. Teaching and research are intertwined in the four semesters of the M.Tech programmes in Polymer Technology. The Department began research activities and Ph.D programmes in the year 1980. So far 72 PhD Degrees were awarded from the Department and currently 36 research scholars are working in the Department for their Ph.D. The highly motivated faculty members with experience in Universities outside India have to their credit about 600 research publications in internationally reputed journals. Almost 100% placement of the B.Tech and M.Tech students, mainly through campus selection, in major tyre companies, polymer manufacturing / processing industries and research institutions has been the tradition of the Department. Alumni of the Department are in senior positions in major polymer based industries, in India, and in multinational corporations.

The eight-semester undergraduate B.Tech. Programme in Polymer Science and Engineering has been recently restructured in collaboration with the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands under the MHO programme in 2002 and thoroughly revised in 2009. The revised curriculum has been designed to equip students in basic science and engineering skills and to provide them up to date knowledge and skills in the design, production, characterization, processing and testing of polymers and polymer products. Practical trainings at the Rubber Research Institute of India, Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology, other research institutions and in-plant trainings in Tyre / Polymer Industries are the highlights of this course.

Major facilities in the Department include basic rubber/plastic processing equipments, Windsor Injection Moulding Machine, Shimadzu Autograph Universal Testing Machines (50 kN and 10kN), Alpha Technologies RPA2000 Rubber Process Analyser, TA Dynamic Mechanical Analyser Q800, TA DSC Q100, TA TGA Q50, Hitachi U-V Visible NIR Spectrophotometer, Bruker Tensor 27 FTIR, Zwick Impact Tester, Atago Abbe Refractometer, Keithley2182 Nano Voltmeter, Gottfert Elastograph, Goetfert Viscotester, Waters515 HPLC, Brookfield Viscometer, Carl Zeiss Stereo Microscope and Thermo Haake(Rheomix) Poly Lab System, Buchi Parallel evaporator, Buchi Rotavapor, Ektron Mooney Viscometer and Ektron Flexometer.