SSSIHL Achievements Tag

A 10-member delegation representing the SSSIHL Center of Excellence in Actuarial Data Science participated in The IFoA India Conference 2024, held from 29 November to 1 December in New Delhi. Centered around the theme ‘Actuaries of the Future’, the landmark event brought together over 500 participants, including CXOs, CEOs, senior actuaries, university leaders, actuarial professionals, and students from India, the UK, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and other South Asian countries.

The highlight of the conference was the Actuarial Innovation Challenge 2024, where the SSSIHL Actuarial Alchemist team emerged as the winner among 10 finalists selected from over 157 teams. The team, comprising Anand Sai Gosikonda, Eshwar Sai AK, and Sai Chetan Kuncham, wowed the audience with their innovative product, Micro Business Resilience Insurance, designed to safeguard small businesses against unforeseen risks.

The three-day event opened with an inspiring keynote by Dr. Arvind Virmani, Member of NITI Aayog, and featured 15 specialized workshops exploring critical topics such as Explainable AI, climate risk, IFRS 17, and actuarial leadership in the financial sector.

On 30 November 2024, Karol Gawłowski (Chair, Actuarial Data Science at IFoA), Satya Sai Mudigonda (Visiting Faculty and Coordinator, SSSIHL Center of Excellence in Actuarial Data Science), and Dr. Rohan Yashraj Gupta (SSSIHL Alumnus and qualified GI Actuary) delivered an engaging session on Explainable AI (XAI). Karol offered an insightful deep dive into SHAP techniques, while Satya Sai Mudigonda and Rohan showcased practical applications of XAI through their case study, Ayushman Bharat Pricing and Fraud Detection Models.

Adding to the institute’s proud moments, SSSIHL alumnus Sankar Krishna was awarded his Associateship Certificate at the conference.

The delegation also leveraged networking opportunities to engage in meaningful discussions with the Presidents of IAI and IFoA, as well as actuarial educators and industry leaders from organizations such as Swiss Re, Accenture, Chubb, and IRDAI. These interactions paved the way for exploring the future of actuarial education and industry best practices.

We extend our appreciation to the IFoA India team for organizing this transformative conference that brought together the best minds to shape the future of the actuarial profession.

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) is proud to announce the outstanding achievements of our Actuarial Science students and alumni. Over 31 students have successfully cleared professional actuarial examinations conducted by some of the world’s most esteemed actuarial organizations:

• Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), UK
• Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), USA
• Society of Actuaries (SOA), USA

These achievements underscore the students’ exceptional hard work, dedication, and commitment to academic excellence. SSSIHL also extends heartfelt appreciation to the faculty members for their invaluable guidance and unwavering support, which have played a pivotal role in shaping the success of these students.

We congratulate each of these achievers for setting remarkable benchmarks in their pursuit of professional excellence and extend our best wishes for a bright and successful future as they continue to shine in their actuarial careers.

SOA / CAS – (Exam FM)

• Ram Sai Deep V
• G S G S S Datta Maharaj
• Sai Shanmukha V
• Jay Singh
• Aditya Mishra
• Arihant
• Dheeraj Tata
• Prabhat Sai
• Kshamatmika Ram G
• Sai Sripad Varanasi

SOA / CAS – (Exam P)

• Eshwar Sai AK
• Anand Sai Gosikonda
• Mukund Bharadwaj
• Hemanth Kumar Gorthipalli
• Sai Hrudhay Gubba
• Gummadila Tharakeswar
• Virat K
• Sai Chetan Kuncham
• Prem Sai M
• SURYA A
• Sumukha Sreenidhi
• Lalith Aditya K
• Sai Krishna Pidduru

CAS – (Exam MAS II)

• Sai Kartheek Cherukuri
• Saiprasanna Gurumoorthy
• Swayam Kumar Patro
• Kasyap KVS

IFoA

• Rohan Yashraj Gupta, Qualified Actuary – Alumni of SSSIHL
• Shivanee Mudigonda – Qualified Actuary, Alumni of Smt. Eswaramma High School
• Divya Kartheeka Masina – Associate Actuary, Alumni of SSSIHL
• Mahadev Suresh – Associate Actuary, Alumni of SSSIHL

Team SAI (Smart Alternative Innovators) from the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Anantapur campus, under the esteemed guidance of Asst. Prof. Dr. M. Meera won the First prize at the AICTE Millet Recipe Unleashing Talent (AMRUT) competition finals held in New Delhi on 25 October 2024.

Organized by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in collaboration with various partners AMRUT is a prestigious national initiative aimed at promoting millet-based culinary innovation across India with a focus on:

• Millet Promotion: Raising awareness of the health benefits and environmental sustainability of millet.
• Recipe Innovation: Fostering creative, nutritious millet-based recipes.
• Talent Discovery: Identifying and nurturing culinary talent nationwide.

The team, consisting of research scholars Sai Dharshini S, Alisha Pradhan, Sparsh Sumnirom Subba, and Beesetti Lohita from the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, competed in two rigorous stages. In Stage 1, participants were required to propose a concept, develop a prototype, create a demonstration video on YouTube, and submit a brief report. Shortlisted teams progressed to Stage 2, which involved live cooking and a presentation at the grand finale in New Delhi.

Team SAI’s Winning Concept: Multi-Millet Muesli
Team SAI’s exceptional entry, Multi-Millet Muesli, under the Breakfast and Starters category with > 70% millet content earned widespread acclaim for its innovation, nutritional density, and appealing flavor profile. Blending millets with nuts and honey, this recipe was celebrated for its health benefits and unique taste, securing Team SAI a first-place win and a cash prize of ₹1,00,000. They stood out among the 88 finalists, who were selected from an initial pool of nearly 1,298 participants in the “Millet-based Breakfast and Starters” category.

Recipe Highlights:

• Key Ingredients: Millets, nuts, honey
• Nutritional Benefits: High in dietary fiber, protein, and essential micronutrients
• Flavor Profile: Sweet and nutty with an attractive presentation

This multi-millet muesli recipe demonstrates the potential of millets in functional foods, addressing diverse dietary needs due to their low glycemic index and rich nutrient profile. By incorporating nuts and honey, the recipe offers enhanced protein and natural sweetness, making it a nutritious and appealing choice.

Acknowledgments

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to AICTE for this wonderful platform to showcase our innovation. We also appreciate the support of the Institute Innovation Cell, our mentors, colleagues, and all those who contributed to our success.

The AMRUT competition not only highlights the nutritional and environmental value of millets but also encourages culinary innovation and creativity. As Team SAI continues to advocate for millet-based food science, they aim to inspire others in the field and advance the discourse on sustainable, healthful eating.

View Recording (Courtesy Media AICTE)

Prof. (Hon.) B. Andallu, a distinguished faculty member of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the Anantapur Campus represented SSSIHL at the 5th International Hybrid Conference on Food Science and Nutrition, held on September 20, 2024, at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando Disney Spring Area, Orlando, Florida, USA. This prestigious event brought together leading food science and nutrition experts to discuss the latest advances in research.

During the conference, Prof. Andallu delivered a keynote presentation titled “Medicinal Potential of Phytochemicals in Spices: Extraction and Bioactivity Assessment by In Vitro Methods and Model Systems”. In this presentation, she explored therapeutic properties of phytochemicals found in spices and highlighted their medicinal potential.

In addition to her keynote address, Prof. Andallu also presented at a plenary session, where she discussed “In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Aniseeds (Pimpinella anisum L.) for Therapeutic Potential”. The Research contributions of Prof. Andallu demonstrated significant health benefits of aniseeds (saunf) and their potential as therapeutic agents.

Both presentations were highly appreciated for their depth and practical implications in food science and nutrition, contributing significantly to the academic discussions at the conference.

Sri Akash Sai S.M, a final-year postgraduate student from the Department of Chemistry, SSSIHL, earned recognition for his outstanding presentation at the Online International Symposium on Current Trends in Advanced Materials 2024. The event was organized by the Department of Chemistry, VIT-AP University’s School of Advanced Sciences, in collaboration with the American Chemical Society, and took place from 26th to 31st August 2024.

During the symposium, Sri Akash Sai received special mention for his insightful research on “Ruddlesden-Popper Phases of LaNiO₃ Perovskite Oxides and Their Application in Supercapacitors.” His work explores the innovative application of these perovskite oxides in supercapacitors, a cutting-edge technology in energy storage. His research was conducted under the guidance of Dr. Kumar Sai Smaran and Sri Undavalli Venkata Gopi.

The symposium featured renowned scientists and researchers from across the globe, who gathered to discuss the latest trends and breakthroughs in materials science and chemistry. Esteemed speakers included Prof. Kazuo Umemura (Tokyo University of Science, Japan), Prof. Sabu Thomas (Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam), Prof. Rachel A. Oliver (University of Cambridge, UK), and Prof. Partha Sarathi Mukherjee (IISc, Bangalore). The poster presentation competition attracted 125 participants from various institutions worldwide.

Four students from the Actuarial stream (UG and PG) at SSSIHL participated in the 2024 CAS Student Central Mentor-led Summer Program. They were part of the 10-member team representing Panel 1: Cohort 5, which emerged victorious in this year’s international Case Competition, which was conducted as part of the program. Their team was one of the five winning teams globally.

Congratulations to all participants of the winning teams for their outstanding achievements. A special mention goes to our SSSIHL team for making us proud:

• Arunachala Mudigonda – BS ADS – I UG
• Manan Luthra – MSc Mathematics (Actuarial Stream) – II PG
• Pranavchandra Vivekananda – BSc MES (Actuarial Stream) – III UG
• Sai Kartheek Cherukuri – MSc Mathematics (Actuarial Stream) – II PG

View Announcement

These students excelled in analyzing a complex real-world business problem and presented their findings to senior actuaries in the USA, who judged their team as one of the top five winners internationally. Each team will receive a $500 gift card as a winning prize from the CAS.

The CAS Student Central Summer Program is an eight-week interactive professional and educational experience offered by the Casualty Actuarial Society. During these 8 weeks, participants will complete modules on Property and Casualty Basics, Excel, Data Visualization, Ratemaking, Reserving, Predictive Modeling, Soft Skills, and a Property and Casualty Case Competition. The program is designed and taught by practicing actuaries who are experts in the field of property and casualty insurance.

Once again, congratulations to our students for their exemplary performance and for bringing pride to SSSIHL.

Our original short video entry by the Wastewater Analysis Treatment and Energy Recovery (WATER) Lab, Department of Biosciences, has been featured in the Science in Shorts video library on the Nature Portfolio YouTube channel. This entry, part of the ‘Science in Shorts 2024 competition’ organized by Springer Nature, highlights the innovative research conducted by our team.

The video, titled ‘Our DREAM – Measuring Bacterial Electron Transfer,’ showcases the indigenously developed Dye Reduction-based Electron-transfer Activity Monitoring (DREAM) assay. It stands out among the 82 entries shortlisted from a total of 250 submissions worldwide. The video was created by Ph.D. students Mr. Shakthi Thangavel and Mr. Sahashransu Satyajeet Mahapatra, under the supervision of Dr. A. S. Vishwanathan, Assistant Professor, Department of Biosciences. The team dedicated their work to our Founder Chancellor, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

The Science in Shorts competition, organized by Springer Nature in partnership with Merck, invited active researchers to submit one-minute videos that presented their research in an informative, engaging, and entertaining manner.

SSSIHL congratulates the team from WATER Lab for their outstanding achievement and for showcasing their excellent work on a global stage.

Sri Undavalli Venkata Gopi, a Research Scholar from the Department of Chemistry, under the supervision of Dr. Kumar Sai Smaran, delivered an oral presentation titled “Defect Engineering Pathways Towards Unlocking the Potential of Perovskites in Supercapatteries” at the 18th International Symposium of Polymer Electrolytes (ISPE-18). The event took place from 23-28 June 2024, in Langkawi, Malaysia, and was organized by the ACS Malaysia Chapter.

Sri Gopi’s oral presentation explored how the inherent options to manipulate the stoichiometries (defects) in perovskite derivatives and their higher-order analogues can be utilized. Specifically, their oxygen deficiency attributes can be employed in anionic intercalated mechanism-based supercapatteries, which was the core of his presentation at the conference.

Sri Gopi was also the recipient of the ISPE 18 Young Researcher Travel Award, which acknowledges young talents for their contributions to the field of energy storage. To encourage participation from young researchers worldwide, the ISPE 18 Young Researcher Travel Award is awarded to eligible and deserving scholars who demonstrated academic excellence through the quality of their research. The travel award (100,000 INR approx.) was awarded to only four participants worldwide, including Sri Gopi.

The International Symposium on Polymer Electrolytes (ISPE) is a premier conference in the field of energy storage. The 18th session held in Langkawi, Malaysia, focused on the theme “Zero Carbon Emission by Revolutionizing Energy with Polymer Electrolytes.” The conference encouraged scientific presentations on a variety of topics, including Lithium-ion batteries and related technologies, Supercapacitors and allied technologies, Solar cells, Fuel cells, Sensors,
Actuators, and emerging energy-related themes

The conference featured esteemed pioneers in the energy storage field, such as Prof. Michel Armand, Prof. Stefano Passerini, Prof. Maria Forsyth, Prof. Masayoshi Watanabe, and Prof. Vito di Noto.

Watch: Sri Gopi Receiving the Young Researcher Travel Award

Raj Kumar Thakur, a student of II M.Sc. Physics, Prasanthi Nilayam campus was awarded the second-best poster presenter at this year’s Summer School Program 2024 at the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Dept. of Atomic Energy, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The project for his summer internship was titled “Axial Plasma Diagnostics of Fireball Plasma Using Langmuir Probe” under the supervision of Dr. Mukesh Ranjan (Scientific Officer-G). During this project, Raj Kumar gained hands-on experience in experimental plasma physics, including managing a vacuum system, generating fireball plasma inside the vacuum chamber, diagnosing the plasma using a Langmuir probe, and estimating plasma parameters.

The two-month Summer School Program, held annually for M.Sc. Physics and 3rd-year B.Tech. students also featured a week-long lecture series on plasma research. This series was conducted by IPR scientists, professors, the dean, and the director, covering fundamental plasma physics and its industrial applications. It included discussions on the “International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor” (ITER), a global mega project for developing a fusion reactor, in which India is a participant member.

Internships are a great way for students to gain practical exposure and learn from a real environment, and students at SSSIHL are encouraged to actively participate in internship programs as part of their curriculum.