Tata Steel’s New Complex for Institute of Mathematics and Applications Inaugurated

Bhubaneswar, July 23, 2008: Continuing with its tradition of providing state-of-art infrastructure to the institutes of excellence, Tata Steel has constructed the new complex for Institute of Mathematics and Applications. The new campus complex designed by noted architect Mr Karan Grover was inaugurated by the Orissa Chief Minister of Orissa Shri Naveen Patnaik in the presence of Hon’ble Minister for Planning & Co-ordination, Science and Technology, Shi Duryodhan Majhi, Hon’ble Member of Orissa Legislative Assembly, Shri Sarat Paikaray, Managing Director of Tata Steel, Shri B Muthuraman, Director Institute of Mathematics and Applications, Shri Swadhin Pattnaik, Vice-President of Tata Steel, Shri B K Singh, Vice-President of Tata Steel, Shri Partha Sengupta other distinguished guests from Government of Orissa and the faculties and students of Institute of Mathematics and Applications today at Bhubaneswar.

Speaking on the occasion Hon’ble Chief Minister of Orissa Shri Naveen Patnaik, said the promise to build IMA as a world class institution is being fulfilled. He thanked Shri Ratan Tata and Shri B Muthuraman for the progressive gesture to build the institute responding to Orissa Government's call which he said other corporate should emulate. The State Government is committed to promote the institute as a centre of excellence, he added.

The Managing Director of Tata Steel, Shri B Muthuraman said Tata Steel is not just an industry. “It is a state of mind”. Tata Steel has won laurels as a corporate citizen of the world and it is the company's urge to give back to people is what has led to building the IMA campus.”You can always build plants, roads and infrastructure but it is equally important to create education and an ambience for education to help people in their long term ambition”.

He cited the example of JN Tata Technical Education at Goplapur and said each student of its first batch is well-placed now. Mr Muthuraman also said that Tata Steel will continue to support such projects in Orissa in future.

The new facility of Institute of Mathematics and Applications was constructed by Tata Steel Ltd in a total plot area of 23 acres with an investment of Rs 14 crores. Mr Karan Grover, the designer of the master-plan for this campus, has synthesized ideas from the worlds of mathematics and architecture. The vision for this campus is based on concepts of traditional Indian architecture modified to suit the needs of a modern educational institute. Energy efficiency and sustainable architecture are of prime importance to the design of this campus. The layout of the institute is generated from the spiral lines of the “Golden Rectangle”, universally acclaimed proportions integrated into the project and to the local climatic conditions, to create an appropriate architectural vocabulary consisting of buildings interspersed with courtyards and connected with semi-open walkways.

This kind of architecture enables formal and informal interactions between students, teachers and visitors. Gatherings of varying scales are encouraged through creation of semi-open spaces of different sizes.

The arrangement and orientation of the buildings and courtyards ensures maximum climatic efficiency. All classrooms are oriented so that the north and south facing walls are long, while the east and west facing walls which receive harsh sun-light are shorter. This allows maximum north-light in the classrooms while the southern sun is cut down by corridors. Earth-berms provide insulation on the east and west walls. The construction technique of the jack-arch roof is not only, low-cost and easy to execute, but also contributes to climatic efficiency and the architectural beauty of the buildings.

This facility would house 96 students from across the country who would undertake activities like higher research in mathematics. Apart from hostel, this 7000 sq meter institute will also have facilities like computer labs, class rooms, library rooms as well as residential accommodations for the faculty and researchers.

The Institute of Mathematics and Applications Complex is not the first such education infrastructure by Tata Steel in Bhubaneswar. Earlier it had facilitated the complexes of Pathani Samanata Planetarium and XIMB in Bhubaneswar in addition to 200 numbers of schools and colleges that it had facilitated in the state of Orissa over last ten years.

Tata Steel in Orissa

Tata Steel’s community outreach program touches the lives of more than 25,000 needy families in 500 villages in Orissa bringing in health care, education, livelihoods and rural infrastructure. Project Sikshya of the Company is driving the education in rural Orissa. It has built education infrastructure for more than 200 schools over a period of last 15 years.

The company has lend support to premier institutions like XIMB, Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Nabakrushna Choudhry Center for Development Studies, J N Tata Technical Education Centre, Science block at Sukinda College, Joda Women’s College amongst others. The most recent major initiative is constructing the Institute of Advanced Mathematics and Applications in Bhubaneswar. Because at Tata Steel, sustainable development of Community is not just a mission statement, but a living tradition. And will remain so forever.

About Tata Steel

Established in 1907 as Asia’s first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel today is the world’s sixth largest steel producer with geographic footprints in India, South East Asia, UK and Europe. With the recent acquisition of Corus Limited, the combined enterprise has a crude steel capacity of 28.1 million tonnes with over 84,000 employees across four continents. For further information, please visit www.tatasteelindia.com