An electronics and communications engineering graduate of Chennai’s Sri Sairam Engineering College, Arvind Ramanandan has been awarded the University of California Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship Award of Rs.55 lakh ($121,597). This scholarship entitles him to commence a doctoral programme in electrical engineering at UCal, Riverside, skipping the usually mandatory intervening postgraduate programme. On August 18 Ramanandan emplaned for the US where he intends to continue his research activities for four years to earn his Ph D.

Ramanandan’s research is centred around the esoteric subject ‘Estimation for non-linear systems’. His interest in tracking non-linear systems was kindled in college. “I did my final year project on simulating a missile detection system which predicts the path of an incoming missile, minimising the effects of acceleration and measurement errors. It integrates a GPS (global positioning system) and INS (inertial navigation system) using a recursive Kalman filtering algorithm,” he explains. While working on his project, Ramanandan searched the internet diligently and discovered that Prof. Jay A. Farrel of UCal was also researching the same subject. He began corresponding with him and expressed a wish to join his research team while enrolled in a Master’s programme. But after reviewing his project work, Farrel invited him to research for a Ph D, all expenses paid.

“My work will prove useful in blocking high speed missiles launched by an enemy. For this, pinpoint accuracy is required to track the path of the missile. This research has broader possibilities and can be used to control the dynamics of cars supported by GPS satellites’ measurement data, to steer them from the starting point to destination without user intervention. A car can also be programmed to take the shortest route to a notified destination which would greatly improve road discipline and reduce fuel consumption,” he says.

Ramanandan is convinced this field of research has great possibilities in India. “I want to bring back the knowledge I acquire in the US to India which is currently suffering severe air and road traffic congestion. The solution to such problems is in the development and deployment of technology rather than mere good intentions,” says Ramanandan with wisdom contradicting his youthful years.

Right on!

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)

Shweta Chandra Rana 

Ranked fourth in Asia in the under-16 category, Delhi-based Shweta Chandra Rana is India’s fastest rising tennis star. Following a strict diet (no colas/ burgers/ ice-creams) and practice regime, she plays a good six hours every day and travels an average 16 days per month for national and international tournaments. Following a title victory in the under-16 category in the Gurgaon Super Series in Haryana in June, Shweta is optimistic about putting up a good fight at the Syrian Open followed by the Malaysian Open. She hopes to end this year with a good show in the Asian Masters in Melbourne, where she will compete against Asia’s top eight juniors.

A class VIII student of Pragati Public School, Delhi, Shweta hit her first winner when barely five and won her first tournament at the age of 11 years. Since then the mantelpiece of her home in Delhi has been crowded with cups and trophies, testimony to her rise in the national junior tennis hierarchy.

Shweta, whose inspiration is teenage tennis sensation Sania Mirza, feels that Indian sports authorities don’t pay enough attention to grooming young players. “The Indian mindset is focused on cricket and all other games are secondary. Also, Indian parents always insist that their children must study hard. So teenagers here can’t focus singu-larly on playing a sport,” she laments.

But fortunately for Shweta her bureaucrat father and homemaker mother are very supportive of her passion for tennis. “My mom travels with me for all outstation tournaments. Moreover my school and teachers are also supportive and help me to catch up with my academic work,” says Shweta who is also a trained Indian classical dancer.

While last year she was able to rope in FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) majors Dabur and Britannia as on-and-off sponsors, Shweta hopes her steady climb in the junior tennis rankings will attract sustained sponsorship. “The Indian tennis scene is still in a nascent phase. While players like Sania Mirza and the Oberoi sisters have impacted Indian women’s tennis on the international stage, a lot needs to be done. Tennis players need to be given professional training and advice when they are still young — abroad children as young as five train under professionals. The government and corporate sector need to come forward to develop players for international tennis,” says Shweta who has set her sights on following Sania Mirza’s lead into the global top 50 players rankings.

Neeta Lal (Delhi)