New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee Professor Sudipta Sarkar and Log9 Materials, a start-up incubated at the institute, have won the “Dare to Dream 2.0” innovation contest organised by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The innovation challenge was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in memory of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

The contest, aimed at creating an ecosystem of innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace domains, comprised five verticals and was open to Indian citizens in individual and start-up categories. One winner was declared for each vertical.

Prof Sudipta Sarkar participated in the problem domain “Eco-friendly Explosive Waste Management” and his entry “Hybrid Anaerobic Reactor and Microbial Fuel Cell for Enhanced Biodegradation and Energy Harvesting from Wastewater containing TNT – HAnMFC” was declared the winner, IIT Roorkee said. Prof Sarkar has won a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. He has also been offered up to 90 per cent of grant-in-aid funding to further develop the technology up to commercialization, it added.

Log 9 Materials Sci Private Limited has won the second prize in the start-up category, IIT Roorkee has informed. The start-up participated in the category “Materials and Technologies for Fire Suppression/Protection” with its innovation entitled “Novel and Efficient Aluminium Cross-linked Graphene Oxide for Fire Protection in Defence Applications”.

Congratulating the winners, Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, said: “I am delighted with this accomplishment of Prof Sudipta Sarkar and the Log9 team. Their success vividly illustrates the pursuit of excellence by IIT Roorkee”.