Texas A&M University Aerospace Engineering students participated in an exchange program with students from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur this summer. This is the second year for TAMU and IIT Kanpur to facilitate the exchange program.
Three students from IIT Kanpur studied at Texas A&M University in College Station for nine weeks, working with TAMU Aerospace Engineering professors and experiencing Texas culture. The students worked on projects in the areas of shape memory alloys, durability of aerospace materials and on-board satellite computers.
This was the first trip to the United States for the exchange students. While here, they also visited the River Walk and Alamo in San Antonio, as well as Houston and NASA Johnson Space Center.
Conversely, four students from the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M University traveled to IIT Kanpur for ten weeks to take part in this exchange program.
“It is a challenge to be working at such a prestigious institution, but it is so rewarding at the same time,” said Paul Braden, a TAMU AERO student visiting IIT Kanpur.
The TAMU students are each studying a different research focus, including structures, dynamics and hypersonics, under the guidance of renowned aerospace engineering faculty at IIT Kanpur.
This was also the first trip to India for most of the TAMU students. On the weekends, they had the opportunity to travel to different parts of India, including Delhi, Agra (the city of Taj Mahal), Lucknow and several tourist attractions in the state of Rajasthan.
“It truly has been the experience of a lifetime. We have made some amazing friends during our time here including the students who we hosted last summer,” said Lisa Warren, another TAMU AERO student in Kanpur.
The exchange program has sparked an interest in students from both universities to pursue graduate degrees in the “other” institution. It has also created an avenue for Indian students interested in attending Texas A&M to meet American students and begin relationships before they arrive in the United States, and vice versa. Students interested in participating in the program for the Summer of 2012 can contact Dr. Vikram Kinra at kinra@tamu.edu.