UG Program

What are the assumptions and beliefs that we have not examined in the modern age? How do we become aware of our implicit beliefs? What possibilities open up if we investigate and examine our presuppositions? How can we respond to the Grand Challenges of our time, if we don’t know how to think and reason critically? In this course, you will learn to meticulously develop the skill of thinking and enquiring critically, and being able to reason in a scientific, evidence-based manner. The course will focus on sharpening your intellectual abilities so that thinking critically and scientifically becomes a natural way of approaching the world. You will learn how to carefully analyze texts, structure arguments, develop technical reading and writing skills, and communicate your ideas in a coherent and logical manner to different audiences. Additionally, you will also learn to evaluate hypotheses and causal claims, observe and analyze data and patterns, construct reason-based arguments, and draw logical conclusions.

In this course, we will rigorously enquire into the different meanings of the idea of technology and its relationship to society from the perspectives of philosophy, history, social anthropology, human evolution, and civilizational studies. We will look at examples from the past and present, but more importantly, also start imagining what the relationship between technology and society could be in the future. We will ask a number of questions pertinent to this inquiry: Does technology influence society, or, does society influence technology? What indeed is technology? Is technology perhaps first and foremost an ‘idea’? Or, is technology a particular way of knowing the world around us? If it is an idea then it must involve thinking of some kind. But clearly it also involves making something – usually an object that does something or has a particular function. In this course we will begin to understand technology from the standpoint of the threefold matrix of thinking, knowing, and making.

The advent of technology since the turn of the century has led to many advancements in the way that humans live and operate. This progress, however, also comes with apprehensions, uncertainty, and questions regarding the ethical considerations associated with the owners, regulators, and users of the technology. In this course, we will examine the manifold ethical issues surrounding the use and development of AI, Robotics, Biology, and Business based technologies in the contemporary world. Students will be introduced to ideas of safety, privacy, regulations, and related consequences of bias, manipulation, and fairness, from a multidisciplinary perspective. Students will be introduced to ideas from traditional philosophical ethics texts before delving into real world case studies focussing on contemporary issues.

This course, referred to as ILGC, introduces the Grand Challenges at the interface of societal needs and technological capabilities. It will offer the opportunity for students to develop an interdisciplinary appreciation for engineering from a technical perspective as well as from a global and historical perspective. Students will embark on this integrated, project-based journey in the 1st semester and work on different projects throughout the four-year program. First semester topics include - Exposure to different Grand Challenges and project areas, design cycle, grand challenge thinking, geopolitics and global awareness, and entrepreneurial mindset.

Building on the ILGC journey from Semester 1, ILGC II will introduce students to starting their team projects, implementing principles of Design Thinking, embarking on a campus-wide project, and interacting with real-world stakeholders. Students will also learn how to work with various tools and build skills in machining, programming, instrumentation, among others.

In this course, students continue to build on their ILGC projects, with an eye for expansion at the city level. They will be able to develop multidisciplinary approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives by interacting with and making connections between disciplines; analyzing the humanistic, social, historical, economic, and technical contexts of problems. In addition, they will continue to iterate their designs and work on skills such as developing innovation and entrepreneurial mindset, becoming a better communicator and leader, and understanding the social and human consequences of actions and responsibilities to others in local, national, and global communities.

In this course, students will be introduced to foundational aspects of engineering mathematics, specifically linear algebra, matrices, and ordinary differential equations. The course is divided into four modules, two modules each on linear algebra and ordinary differential equations. The topics included under the linear algebra modules are definition of vector spaces, concepts on linear independence of vectors, bases, rank of a matrix, solutions to linear systems, definition and interpretation of eigenvalue problems, and singular value decomposition and their applications. The topics under ordinary differential equations are methods to solve simple linear differential equations using both analytical (method of undetermined coefficients, variation of parameters) and numerical techniques (Runge-Kutta methods), basics of phase plane analysis, stability of solutions based on eigenvalue analysis, fixed points, and elementary concepts on bifurcation and chaos. Each module will comprise a computer-based laboratory project.

This is an introductory level UG course on probability and statistics. Topics include conceptual introduction to probability axioms, conditional probability, Bayes' theorem, law of total probability and expectation, measures on central tendency and dispersion, probability distributions, simple discrete and continuous probability distribution models, elementary concepts on discrete and continuous time Markov processes, least squares regression analysis, sampling distributions and elementary ideas on hypothesis tests. Students will have to complete an end-of-term project on a topic of their choice.

This course will introduce foundational ideas on mathematical transforms like Laplace and Fourier transforms. Additionally, there will be a two month long module on partial differential equations and vector calculus. In addition to lectures, students will participate in a semester long, state of the art physical laboratory immersion program which will involve training and tinkering with experimental mathematics, such as profiling heat conduction through a metallic rod to understand the mechanics of the heat equation and its solutions, performing fluid mechanics experiments using a rotating tank of water and high-speed camera to collect data and understand the solution states of the Navier Stokes equation, using wavemaker and wave guides to calculate wave velocity and comparing the data with theoretical calculations, performing laboratory experiments with spectrometers to estimate power spectral density of signals and compare the results with mathematical calculations in Fourier space, etc.

This course introduces students to harness the power of design thinking to develop innovative solutions to complex human-centered problems. The design thinking methodology will help students learn about the underlying context and the innovation need, brainstorming and developing prototypes, testing potential solutions, improving them, and developing new insights. Students will be exposed to core technology and design themes including principles, modes of thinking and analysis, and social and cultural aspects of design. They will learn how to use the ideation process to generate new ideas and select promising solutions, use prototyping tools to visualize and communicate ideas and develop the implementation plan for an effective solution.

In this course, students will be introduced to classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and connections to engineering thermodynamics. Molecular origin of macroscopic descriptions and constitutive relations for equilibrium and non-equilibrium behavior; fluctuations, kinetics, and limitations of macroscopic descriptions. Macroscale continuum origin of lumped models: ‘through’ and ‘across’ variables for analysis of electrical, mechanical, structural, thermal, acoustic, and fluidic systems.

This course introduces students to how nature’s machines work. It covers various aspects that relate the design of living matter/things to engineering. We will discover how to think about: a) the human cell as a factory, the circulatory system as a transport network, musco-skeletal system as a structural network for load-bearing, magnetoreception in animals as a communication system, among other topics. b) Aspects of biomedicine such as the design of impedimetric sensors, digital health, and tissue and genetic engineering. c) Diversity and dynamics of nature pertinent to engineering through several demo examples and recent state-of-the-art applications.

The course introduces core microeconomic models of consumers, firms, and markets, and develops their application to a broad range of economic and social issues in the real world. It will cover concepts of equilibrium, markets and competition, market demand and market supply, behavior of consumers and producers, consumer and producer theory, pricing, tax incidence, making choices under uncertainty, economic efficiency, etc., in the context of contemporary real-world applications around us such as Uber surge pricing, telecom price wars, e-commerce models, recent ed-tech acquisitions, etc.

This course introduces the students to the idea of intelligence and how intelligent machines are transforming the world around us. Students will learn about the concept of cyber-physical systems and how intelligence stems from the ‘perception, reasoning, and action loop’. Students will explore several examples of cyber-physical systems in the real world in areas such as robotics, smart grids, and autonomous cars. They will learn about mathematical techniques for modeling cyber-physical systems, how to build intelligent machines by combining sensors, actuators, and embedded devices. Through hands-on lab activities, assignments, projects, as well as through guest lectures spanning research and practice, students will be able to gain the skills to design, build and evaluate simple cyber-physical systems that will give them the confidence to pursue more complex projects in their future endeavors.

Connecting Hindu Wisdom to Technology.

Religious practices at temples in Uttarakhand, Nondualiy (advaita) and nature of reality, mind/body dualism and its relation to Indian philosophical commitment

Vedic Worldview and structures of reality, Water clocks (jala-yantra), Astrolabe

Globe-making practices (wood, paper-mache, metal) of 18th century India, Geography of Jambudvip, Indian ontological theories (vaisesika, nyaya)

Role of imagination in the thinking process in Indian traditions, Theories of mind in Indian thought

Narrative forms in India: oral and written, “traditional” and “modern” including regional folk tales, sung and performed oral epics, songs sung by women about women, ancient myths and medieval historical legends, contemporary biographies, feature films, as well as modern prose and verse.

Tridoshas in human body – Vata, Pitta and Kapha, Ayurvedic Clock & Food Combining

Prakriti as a differentiator