Coir pith products (with FRP skin) made at the FRP Centre

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Equipment

Seen in the image are coir pith tables with FRP skins.

The Composite Structures (FRP) Research Centre, also known as the Fibre Reinforced Plastics (FRP) Centre was started at IIT Madras in March 1974. It was started due to the increased use of FRP, on a global scale, for advanced technology applications as well as for commercial and domestic applications. Prior to the formation of the Centre, in 1960, research and development activities in this area was initiated by the Department of Aeronautical Engineering (IIT Madras) because of the possible and increasing applications of FRP in the Aerospace field in India. In 1971, Prof. K. A. V. Pandalai was awarded the CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) Silver Jubilee Award of 6.25 lakh rupees to set up the FRP Research Centre at IIT Madras. He was the first Director of this centre. The key objectives of the centre and services offered, as listed in the 1974 IITM Annual Report: Research and development of raw materials and composites, process design and development, mould design and development, process machinery design and fabrication, testing and quality control services, graduate and postgraduate teaching and a lot more.

Collection:

Gourishankar Collection

Album Name:

FRP Centre (3)

Photograph ID:

001/0257/IMG_0298

Album ID:

0257

Date:

6 January 1977

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.