Problem Statements

Event Name: CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

E-mail id for abstract submission: vit.creativityclub.cps@gmail.com

Q. Problem Statement: 1

PERMANENT HUMAN SETTLEMENT ON MOON

First water, then vapour, now ice. India's Chandrayaan-1, in its most recent lunar mark, has discovered ice in the Moon's craters -- a finding that indicates the presence of as much as 600 million metric tonnes of water ice on the Moon's North Pole.  The day Neil Armstrong set foot on moon was as remarked by him was a giant leap for mankind. But it gave another field to the creative minds and scientist to explore the possibility of human settlement on moon. Since then it has been a dream project for NASA.

So here we expect your on creative solution to the problems faced in setting up a moon based colony for human settlement considering all the possible factors like arid climate, absence of oxygen and ozone etc.??

Q. Problem Statement: 2

Fluid flow plays an enormous, and underrated, role in industrial processes and its contribution has become more widely recognised. Topics such as flow in ducts, air distribution between burners, conveying of powders, mixing of fluids and powders are becoming increasingly recognised as fluid flow problems. Many of these problems are not well understood, yet the cost of failure caused by incorrect design is very high. Hamlet Chicken Processing Farm Disaster on Sep’03 was totally due to faulty modification to a hydraulic line which caused lives of thousands and property of 1.2 million dollars.

Researchers are looking towards an effective hydraulic mechanism that triggers reduced disturbance in fluidity and causes proper distribution of air in burners.

Q. Problem Statement: 3

OIL SPILLING

On 7th august,2010, A cargo ship MSC Chitra leaked oil about 10 km off the Mumbai coast after its collision with another Panamanian cargo ship. The total oil spill was nearly 50 tonnes. Till now, over 400 containers carrying oil have tumbled into the water. The thick oil slick has been sighted 2 to 3 km around the vessel Chitra. Still Indian force is finding difficulty in cleaning this spill. The equipment needed for cleaning up the oil slick is very expensive and its maintenance is very difficult.

Can you help us out with your creative mind to find an effective solution to this problem??Suggest the ways by which oil spill can be cleaned effectively.

Q. Problem Statement: 4

E-WASTES MANAGEMENT

In the last two months, DRI has intercepted five consignments, containing old computers, in Chennai and seized more than 127 tonnes of e-waste, which if dumped could pose serious health hazards to the public and damage to the environment through nickel, mercury and lead poisoning. Germany being the largest country dumping the e-wastes, USA following it, discarding 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators. Many companies like Dell, HCl, Nokia etc. have come forward to curb this problem. But this problem is serious and recycling alone cannot help it out.

Can you suggest any method by which this e-waste production can be reduced?? Help us out finding a way to have minimum number of e-wastes in future.

Q. Problem Statement: 5

According to a 2006 report by the Livestock, Environment and Development Initiative, the meat industry is one of the largest factors contributing to environmental degradation. Modern practices of raising animals for food contribute to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. The initiative concluded that "the livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." In 2006 FAO estimated that meat industry contributes 18% of all emissions of greenhouse gasses which was raised to 31% by 2009 as confirmed by World Bank.

So, the world is looking forward towards some intuitively creative methodologies for immediate implementation which may reduce carbon footprint of the industry without interfering its large revenue.

Q. Problem Statement: 6

BRIDGING THE E GAP

Though India may be boosting with pride with the coming of 3G network but there are still some isolated zones for which even a mobile communication is a distant dream, hilly areas and areas with rugged topography are a challenge for setting up mobile towers and satellite connections are either weak or unavailable . Such rural communities are facing tremendous e gap as compared to the urban community.

So our goal is to find solution to bridge up this e gap and provide effective solution for setting up communication link in such areas.

Q. Problem Statement: 7

CONVENTIONAL BUILDING TECHNIQUES

Domestic energy improvement targets of 20% between 2007 and 2010, and again by a further 20% between 2010 and 2020 have been suggested by the UK government by employing better building techniques termed as “Green Building”. The environmental impact of buildings is often underestimated. The conventional techniques used for construction of buildings are being seen as a major contributor towards excessive waste generation and also carbon emission. These buildings are also leading to excessive energy consumption and also other resources. A major design issue that of efficiency in terms of energy, water and materials has not been addressed till now as far the building techniques are concerned.

Can you suggest some new and innovative techniques which incorporate these design issues while also proving to be cost effective???

Q. Problem Statement: 8

IDENTITY THEFT

A Miami man was sentenced to 20 years in prison alongside $25,000 as fine for charges linked to computer hacking in what prosecutors called the largest identity-theft case in U.S. history. He led an international ring that stole 40 million credit- and debit-card records from U.S. retailers including TJX Cos., OfficeMax Inc. and Inc. Identity theft is a major crime in some of the modernised nations and is fast creeping towards the developing nations. Although this is not a big concern in INDIA right now but some minor reporting linked to thefts in ATMs and other such networked areas are becoming quite frequent.

Can you suggest some techniques which can be used to stop the most frequent bug of the global police???