On Going PhD
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Good Design of Products in Resource-Constrained Environments
Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar Abstract: The aim of the thesis is to develop a support (Methodology and tool) for Frugal Design of Products in Base of the Economic Pyramid Contexts. Development of low-cost products for the emerging economies is a subject that has been widely studied in the context of innovation. This literature mostly describes and theorizes the conditions that lead to innovation. it also prescribes the mindset that innovators should have to tackle the challenges in the context. Most of this literature is grouped under the topics such as: 'Jugaad Innovation’, ‘Grassroots Innovation’, ‘Frugal Innovation’, ‘Reverse Innovation’ etc. Although there are significant distinctions in the concept that each of these terms define, the central actor that remains constant, is the product. A design process that imbibes all the learning from the existing knowledge is essential to develop this product. The existing literature is a good source for understanding the success criteria for innovation in the context, but it is difficult to decipher what changes must be made to the design process itself. To design the products which will be successful in the context, all knowledge must be incorporated into a systematic design process and translated into actionable methodologies and tools. Although many attempts have been made to develop such tools and methodologies, most tend to concentrate towards a single stage of the design process (typically the problem understanding phase). Through this thesis, we wish to develop and test a more holistic methodology that the designer could use to develop successful products for the resource constrained environment. |
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Research Area / Title: Sustainability-Orienting Design Framework for Farm Machinery Design
Supervisor: Dr. Ravi Mokashi Punekar Research abstract: My research tries to identify to what extent current sustainability-orienting design guidelines or mechanisms address sustainability holistically - simultaneously considering social, economic and ecological dimension - for small scale agricultural machinery in small farms of developing countries throughout its lifecycle, ie., from design conceptualisation, development, manufacturing, sale, use, repair and maintenance to disposal? Thereafter, I try to identify a possible sustainability-orienting design approach that is: 1. Mindful of the pros and cons of the existing sustainability-orienting design approaches from the related domains; 2. Which looks at addressing a holistic picture of sustainability - including its ecological, social and economic dimensions - in the context of small scale agricultural machinery for small farms of developing countries? |
Shiva Ji
j.shiva [at] iitg.ernet.in |
Validation of Sustainability Frameworks - a Cross- Comparison of Sustainability Assessment Methods, Tools & Techniques in Context of Architectural Built - Environments.
Supervisor: Professor Ravi Mokashi Punekar Abstract: Sustainable buildings which have different and distinct definition than a green building have the potential towards minimizing energy consumption of 30-40% and over 30% of green house gas emissions of this sector at world level. Researchers have conducted studies and observed performance of institutional buildings on parameters of lighting and thermal comfort in their design, material selection, construction, operation, and after life, etc., and have found a good potential of 6-29% saving possibility in terms of energy consumption. The climatic, social and economic structure of north-east India is entirely different from the rest of Indian states. It has warm humid sub-tropical climate and has rich ground water level and above national average precipitation and falls under zone-V of earthquake zones. It has typical vernacular architecture that has evolved over centuries guided by its above mentioned climatic conditions, local materials and vegetation etc. Reports suggest that the current spurt of tremendous growth in urban/rural developments has given rise to unchecked designs and construction and is directly contributing to the overall estimates of global emissions and material consumptions. My research focuses on comparative analysis of sustainability assessment methods of GRIHA, LEED, CASBEE, BREAM and their applicability towards lighting and thermal comfort optimization in institutional building in north-east India and as deliverable would evolve a framework for the sustainable development in this context. This needs to be incorporated in design guidelines and a framework needs to be evolved, which has possibility of solving drawbacks of currently prevailing green building assessment methods, tools and techniques. The prevailing methods lack in solving context based situations which a designer/contractor faces on site depending upon local governing conditions vis-a-vis micro-climate of regions, sourcing of materials, life span and performance of materials in given climatic and contextual conditions, local social parameters, and a visible cost benefit optimizable system which a stakeholders can associate himself with for direct and indirect gains by adopting that framework. Eyeing NE India’s infrastructure growth presently & the importance of introducing a framework for sustainable building design. The idea behind my research is to develop the NE context of growth of infrastructure and sustainable development; as it's the region of next big change. |