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The Chemistry Department enjoys high-level
recognition within IITB and throughout India. Of
the six IITB Faculty who have been elected
Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences, four
come from the Chemistry Department. In addition
to recognition for research, the graduates of the
department are sought by top graduate programs
world-wide.
The department is poised to achieve world-class
status, but lack of state-of-the-art instruments
needed for research and instruction bars IIT's
entry, despite fully capable faculty and students.
Frustrating faculty and students even further,
much of the existing equipment is below research
grade. As one example, a recently purchased
400 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
instrument lacks accessories necessary for its
versatile use, plus there are no funds for
maintenance and operation. The accessories
would have cost an additional $60, 000, but the
money simply was not available. Lack of
maintenance plagues more than just the new
NMR, however, and much of the existing
equipment sits in various stages of disrepair and
usefulness.
Even in the area of instruction, the Chemistry
Department's chronic under funding situation has
had an effect. Development of improved methods
of teaching requires modernization of classrooms
to accommodate computer-aided instruction.
Classrooms in the department are beset with
problems such as poor seating, seepage, poor
ventilation and inadequate lighting. At the present
time only one classroom is available for both
undergraduate and graduate courses in which
advanced teaching methods are used, and this
room is also used for all seminars and large group
meetings held by the department. In world-class
universities, all classrooms have proper seating,
ventilation, and lighting, and they can all
accommodate video and computer-aided
instruction.
Chemistry is a department with enormous
potential, poised and ready to meet the world,
given the instrumentation and instructional
facilities common at any top institute of
technology.
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