Material Advantage @ Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), a student technical chapter in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at IIT Kanpur, and Advanced Centre for Materials Science (ACMS), IIT Kanpur, collaborated with various prestigious organizations to host a four-day "Materials Camp" from May 03 to 06, 2024. The collaborating entities included the Materials Society, Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) Kanpur Chapter, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Kanpur Chapter, BIS Student Chapter, SERB, and ASM International Kanpur Chapter. Prof. Kantesh Balani, the founding organizer and faculty coordinator of Material Advantage @ IIT Kanpur, hosted the event, with Mr. P. Shiven, Ms. Pooja Rani, and Mr. Dhananjay Umrao as the lead organizers.

Prof. Kantesh Balani, said, “We were happy to see the response to the camp. The event saw enthusiastic participation from 37 students and nine teachers from nine prominent schools in Kanpur. This shows the growing interest in materials science and engineering among students and educators alike. The collaborative efforts and dedication of all involved made this event a resounding success, paving the way for future initiatives and advancements in the field.” The participating school included Jugal Devi Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Chacha Nehru Smarak Inter College, Air Force School, Dr. Virendra Swaroop Education Centre, Jai Narayan Vidya Mandir, Kendriya Vidyalaya IIT Kanpur, Methodist High School, Purnachrandra Vidya Niketan, and Allenhouse Public School.

The Material Camp was virtually inaugurated by Dr. Navin Manjooran, Senior Vice President of ASM International, highlighting the significance of materials in engineering, followed by Prof. Kallol Mondal, Head of the MSE Department, emphasized the role of material and processing in attaining required engineering performance. Prof. Yogesh Joshi, Chair of INAE Kanpur, elicited the convergence of all engineering fields through research in Materials Science as ‘tangible’ entities. Prof. Anish Upadhyaya, Chair of Indian IIM Kanpur Chapter and Head of ACMS, focused on the role of materials in civilization and exploring new avenues of using materials in engineering.

The program kicked off with a talk by Prof. Anish Upadhyaya on ‘Materials Failure: Learnings from It’. Following the insightful session, participants had the opportunity to visit advanced material testing and characterization facilities in ACMS, such as instrumented indentation, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical testing laboratories, all of which were highly appreciated. The discussion session with Prof. Anish Upadhyaya and Prof. Kantesh Balani provided engaging interaction and a new perspective on the role of materials in paving the way for advancing engineering.

The second day of the event showcased a series of enlightening sessions. Prof. Kaushik Chattopadhyay from IIT BHU presented on “Overview of Material Testing and Its Importance” followed by Prof. Niraj Chawake's talk on “Classification of Materials” The day continued with Prof. Kantesh Balani delivering an engaging talk titled “Fascinating World of Materials”, which was further complemented by real-life demonstrations on materials in a flat television, presented by Ms. Shruti Dubey and Mr. P. Shiven.

In the afternoon, participants actively engaged in lab sessions focused on sample preparation and microscopy of various samples in the physical metallurgy laboratory. This segment was expertly coordinated by Mr. Gyan P. Bajpai and Mr. Ajay P. Singh, with invaluable assistance from Mr. Harshit Agarwal, Mr. Rajdipta Samadder, and Mr. Satya P. Nath.

On the third day of the event, the session commenced with a talk by Prof. Kallol Mondal on “Corrosion Around Us,” followed by demonstrations of Compression Molding, Wetting, Lab-safety and Scanning Electron Microscopy by Mr. P. Shiven, Ms. Pooja Rani, Mr. Murli Manohar and Dr. Deepak Khare, Mr. Kunwar P. Singh, Ms. Samata Samal, Mr. Govind, Mr. Ajay P. Singh, Mr. Surya P. Sonkar  with assistance of Ms. Komal, Mr. Dinesh Diwakar and Mr. Raj Babu. In addition, parallel session of virtual lab on “Electron Microscopy for Beginners” and Virtual Reality were demonstrated by Mr. Dhananjay Umrao, Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, Mr. Pradeep Patel, Mr. Vinay Tripathi, Ms. Suman Tripathi, and Mr. Harsh Dwivedi, receiving a warm response from the students. The day concluded with the distribution of certificates to all participants and an online address by Shri Pradeep Goyal, President ASM International, stressing the importance of materials science in designing engineering materials.

Moving to the final day of the ‘Materials Camp’, the focus shifted towards mechanical testing and manufacturing processes, highlighting the significance of processing techniques in altering material shape and achieving desired performance. Anchored by Shri Anil K. Verma, Shri S.K. Agnihotri, Shri I.P. Singh, Shri Rakesh K. Dixit, Shri Gaurav Mishra, Shri Gyanendra Singh, Shri Samardeep, Shri Bharat R. Singh, Shri Anil Dixit, Shri Digamber Mani, Shri A.C. Saini, and Shri Pappu Kannaujia, the day also featured a visit to Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur,wherein the needs of country’s defense were presented. The seamless coordination by Dr. Mayank Dwivedi, Director DMSRDE, Dr. Kingsuk Mukhopadhyay, Dr. Suresh Kumar, and Dr. Gobardhan Lal during the DMSRDE visit was truly appreciated.

The enthusiasm of the participants remained palpable throughout the four days of engaging sessions, marking the grand success of the ‘Materials Camp’ and sparking a newfound interest in students towards pursuing materials science and engineering as a career option.