CHENNAI: The Centre for Urbanization, Buildings and Environment (CUBE) facility at IIT Madras has established a state-of-the-art Environment Laboratory, which will commence operations from May. The laboratory, equipped with latest equipment, will provide testing and analytical services for water, waste water and solid waste. Officials at CUBE said the laboratory will conduct different environmental tests for industries and charge fees for the same. The laboratory will help in generating revenue for CUBE and the money earned, will be spent in strengthening and expansion of the centre.
The laboratory will function in collaboration with Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). Officials at CUBE said the work in the laboratory is in its final stage and will be officially inaugurated in the last week of May.“Due to the increasing concerns about the environment, the demand for environmental test has increased manifold. Many industries are functioning in Tamil Nadu and need to conduct different environment-related tests like whether solid waste generated by them, contains any harmful and toxic materials or not.
Our Environment Laboratory will serve as a one-stop solution for such environmental tests,” said a senior official. “Along with providing the test report, our experts will also provide analytical services to the industries. Our team will analyse the problem and provide solutions as to how the industries can reduce the pollution created by them,” he said.
Established in May 2017 as a Centre of Excellence of the Government of Tamil Nadu in collaboration with IIT Madras, CUBE has many achievements and associations as well as several challenging assignments already under its belt.CUBE brings together the research and technological strengths of IIT Madras, facilitation and support from the Government, and practical experience and innovations of a dedicated set of experts in various domains. CUBE extends its services under four verticals, namely,Building and Construction, Environment and Sustainability, Smart Cities and Urban Planning and Transportation.
Some of the key projects that CUBE is currently working on, include, ‘Developing Resilience Scenarios and Strategies through Participatory Simulations - Integrated Urban Governance in Chennai for TNSLURB,’ ‘Documentation of Heritage Buildings for CMDA’, ‘Study for Improving Road Linkage between ECR and OMR for CMDA’.