CHENNAI: India's rapid emergence as world leader in fast breeder reactor technology is necessitating multi-disciplinary research into newer areas, Baldev Raj, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam, said on Saturday.

Shortly after the IGCAR and the Jeppiaar Engineering College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate student researchers to utilise IGCAR infrastructure, Dr. Raj said the 500 MW reactor coming up at Kalpakkam would supply an estimated 5 lakh MW of electricity over a span of 50 years.

In view of the country's significant progress in fast breeder reactor technology, the IGCAR was looking for synergy with the academic community to collaborate in relevant research.

The MoU with Jeppiaar College is a step in this direction and seeks to formalise the several years of interaction between the two institutions that had yielded much promise, he said.

College chairman Jeppiaar stressed the importance of human value education, which no syllabus provided. The tie-up with IGCAR presented a wonderful opportunity for students looking to take up serious research, he said.

Students of the second engineering batch (2003-07) who bagged job offers during campus placement were also handed over the letters of appointment. In all, 215 of the 251 eligible students earned placements in over 30 companies for average salaries of Rs.2.50 lakh per year.

The major companies included Wipro, Cognizant, Infosys, Sathyam and HCL.

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