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The third international conference on 'Smart Materials, Automation, and Sustainability' began on Friday (September 20, 2024) at Vivekananda Global University, Jagatpura. On this occasion, renowned mechanical engineers, academicians, and researchers from India and abroad deeply contemplated the latest technology and research in the field of mechanical and smart materials automation, increasing use of automated items, consumerism and competition, and the impact of automated machinery on human life and awareness about its applications, etc. and shared their experiences and technological progress.

The keynote speaker at the conference, Prof Upendra Pandel of MNIT, Jaipur said that at present, with the increasing use of automated items, everyone is moving towards consumerism. Due to this, in the desire to live a comfortable lifestyle, we are making ourselves unhealthy and competition is not in the interest of society. It is also harming the environmental balance. He said that we are paying more attention to luxurious items instead of the basic needs of everyday life in society. The human body itself is a smart material. He said smart materials should be environmentally friendly and can be changed according to different circumstances. He appealed to the students not to run after packages immediately after the degree and to train themselves so much in the first four to five years that their future career gets a new position. If they have faith in themselves and move forward with determination and honesty, their dreams will come true.

On this occasion, VGU Vice Chairman Dr. K.R. Bagaria said that the purpose of this event is to provide a great opportunity for academicians, researchers, and industrial personnel to share technical advancements in the field of mechanical engineering, discuss the latest innovations, trends, and practical challenges, future progress. Prof. Daniel A. of Ethiopia. F. shared the challenges faced in solar generation in his country. He said that his country is conducive to the production of solar energy. He gave a paper presentation on its increasing use and technological development.
Principal Scientist of CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, Prof. Mukesh Javeria said that today there is a need to reduce the wastage in the production of PVC cells i.e. batteries of vehicles because the industry is growing apart from plastic, chemicals, and carbon are used which we can reduce by recycling. Mukesh Javeria said that according to the sustainability goal of WHO, no one should remain hungry in the world and everyone should get clean water, this goal can be achieved by better use of smart materials.

Head Engineering of Bosch India Limited, Vipin Mishra highlighted the usefulness of smart material in our daily life, the present generation can do further research and improvement in this field. We not only have to save water with smart material but it is the responsibility of all of us to keep it clean. Such automated technology should be developed for water conservation and maintenance of solar energy which minimizes the use of water.

Manipal University's Dean of Engineering Prof. Kuldeep Singh Sangwan said that any device is useful for us only if the material used is sustainable, environmentally friendly, and of good quality. Giving an example, he said that we cannot expect material sustainability in Chinese batteries which are sold cheaply without any guarantee.

VGU CEO Engineer Omkar Bagaria said that sustainable materials science and engineering are important features of the current high-tech revolution. The progress of materials science paves the way for technological advancements in materials science and industrial technologies across the world. Materials are considered to be important components in all emerging industries. Bagaria said that our main aim of technologies should be to simplify processes in various fields, ensure better efficiency of systems, and ultimately improve quality of life.

On this occasion, Acting President Prof. Santosh Kumar and Pro President Prof. DVS Bhagwanulu also addressed. Organizing Committee Coordinator Vijay Kumar Pandey explained the objectives of the conference. On this occasion, out of 156 research papers, 85 full papers were selected by the technical committees and reviewers of the conference.