IITGN StudentScope: Souritra Garai, BTech in Chemical Engineering – MTech in Mechanical Engineering dual degree student of 2018

“Four years ago, I probably could have gone to a different place. But today, I can confidently say I am glad to have come to IITGN,” affirms Souritra Garai, a BTech-MTech dual degree student at IITGN. He has always been fascinated by courses like thermodynamics, where he learnt to mathematically model interactions between matter and energy. When in high school, he enjoyed programming and seeing it used for scientific research inspired him to pursue scientific computing. Cut to the present, Souritra is in the fifth year of his graduation, pursuing BTech in Chemical Engineering and MTech in Mechanical Engineering (ME).

Pursuing a minor in computer science (CS) and getting into a decent company was all that he dreamt of when he was first admitted to the institute. However, after enrolling in several CS and ME courses during his second and third years, he discovered that he enjoyed solving differential equations more than creating apps. This realisation led him to pursue higher studies that would shape him to solve the world’s most challenging scientific problems. “IITGN gave me the flexibility to pick and choose courses and try out for myself what suited me the best,” he adds. He likes mathematically modelling physical phenomena like combustion and using computers to solve the underlying equations to simulate them.

In addition, Souritra has been an active member of IITGN’s student-run Tinkerers’ Lab, which, he says, provided him with 24/7 access to several state-of-the-art facilities like 3D printers, laser cutters, desktops, CNC, etc. He is grateful that working here has not just helped him acquire the right skills but friends and memories that he will cherish for life. He fondly remembers the sleepless nights he and his mates spent building robots before competition deadlines, brainstorming project ideas and testing them out via quick prototypes.