Parts of a bicycle that were made at the FRP Centre

< Back

Equipment

In the 1970s, bicycles were most commonly made using steel. An FRP bicycle has certain significant advantages over the steel bicycle such as the lightness of weight and rusting would be minimised. The disadvantage of the FRP bicycle would probably lie in the durability aspect of its function.

IIT Madras set up six centres in the year 1973. The Composite Structures (FRP) Research Centre, also known as the Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP) Centre, was one of them. The other centres that were started that year were the Regional Sophisticated Instrumentation Centre, Centre for Energy Research, Materials Sciences Research Centre, Design Engineering Centre and the Industrial Consultancy Centre. The Centre was officially opened in March 1974 and it aimed at coordinating and utilising its expertise and resources to advance the special areas of technology that were of national importance.

Collection:

Gourishankar Collection

Album Name:

FRP Centre (2)

Photograph ID:

001/0252/IMG_0243

Album ID:

0252

Photographer:

C. Gourishankar (1926-2002). A geologist by qualification, Gourishankar started his career as a photographer after working for many years with the Geological Survey of India. In everything that he did, Gourishankar strove to achieve flawlessness and impeccable quality. Thus his photography too was characterised by this drive for perfection. Every photograph that Gourishankar took was meticulously planned and shot and printed with diligence and patience. Gourishankar carried out most of the official photography at IIT Madras in the 1960s.