Atomic energy commission chairman Srikumar Banerjee (right) hands over the best student shield to Aditya Kumar Singh in Dhanbad on Monday. Picture by Gautam Dey

The Best Student Shield goes to Aditya Kumar Singh

The Best Student (petroleum engineering) medal goes to Aditya Kumar Singh

The SBM Gold Medal goes to Aditya Kumar Singh

The SBM Silver Medal goes to Aditya Kumar Singh

Professor S Srinivasan Gold Medal goes to Aditya Kumar Singh

And the Nirja Sahay Memorial Gold Medal goes to Aditya Kumar Singh

Dhanbad, Feb. 21: The versatile BTech student, currently drawing handsome pay in a Gurgaon company, was the cynosure of all eyes at the 33rd convocation of Indian School of Mines (ISM) here today.

Altogether 645 degrees were awarded to undergraduate and postgraduate students from different disciplines — engineering, management and humanities — while 31 gold and six silver medals were up for grabs as were a dozen sponsored medals, both gold and silver. Last year, degrees had been conferred on 499 at this premier cradle.

Atomic energy commission chairman Padma Shri Srikumar Banerjee graced the memorable occasion as the chief guest. The institute, on its part, conferred an honoris causa (honorary degree) as doctor of science on Banerjee for his outstanding contribution in the field of material and nuclear sciences.

While Aditya scored a medal sixer, Monika Agarwal of the environmental engineering was adjudged the Best Girl Student of BTech and awarded the Sneh Lata Srivastava Memorial Gold Medal.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Aditya said there was no short cut to success. “Hard work and dedication were my only mantras.”

Monika, who now works with CIL, said career should never be taken lightly and institutes like the ISM were the stepping stone to success.

Speaking on the occasion Banerjee stressed on industry-academia relationship and said that the department of atomic energy had thus set up the uranium chair — a research co-ordinator — at ISM.

Director of ISM Tarkeshwar Kumar said that the institute had carried out a number of researches and 184 papers of faculty members had been published in international journals while 62 had made it to national journals.

Chairman of the executive board and general council of ISM Prateep Kumar Lahiri said the student strength had gone upto 3,862 compared to 3,562 last year. And this was an achievement in itself.