IST: Department of Instrument Technology, Andhra University

The Department of Instrument Technology (IST) is part of AU College of Engineering (A), Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. The department began as an instrument manufacturing section serving the university, and has grown into a centre for teaching and research in instrumentation and control engineering. The boards in this hall record those who have led it.

Andhra University is accredited A++ by NAAC (CGPA 3.74, valid to 2030) and ranked 23rd among Indian universities in NIRF 2025.

History

1926

Andhra University is founded in Visakhapatnam.

1937

An Instrument Manufacturing Section is established.

1946

The section joins the Department of Applied Physics, covering instrumentation, optics and electronics.

1966

Research begins in thin-film technology, photo-elasticity and ultrasonics.

1990

It moves to the College of Engineering as the Department of Instrument Technology.

2001

The M.Tech programme in Instrumentation and Control is introduced.

2008

The west wing is inaugurated on 25 June by Prof. Y. C. Simhadri, Vice-Chancellor.

2011

The renovated department is inaugurated on 8 May by Prof. Beela Satyanarayana, Vice-Chancellor.

2015

The first floor of the east wing is inaugurated on 30 August.

Programmes and admissions

The department offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes. Admission enquiries are handled by the department office on the west corridor.

B.Tech, Instrumentation Engineering

4 years. Admission through AP EAPCET, with 45% in physics, chemistry and mathematics (40% for reserved categories).

M.Tech, Instrumentation and Control

2 years. GATE-qualified candidates are admitted first; remaining seats are filled through AP PGECET.

Ph.D

Research. Through the university’s research admissions, in sensors, MEMS, nanotechnology, and instrumentation and automation.

Programme educational objectives (B.Tech)

• To provide a strong foundation in mathematics, engineering sciences, electronics and instrumentation for careers in industry, research and academia.
• To develop the engineering breadth to analyse problems, innovate, and design products that serve society.
• To foster academic excellence, leadership in multidisciplinary teams and a commitment to lifelong learning.
• To instil professional ethics, effective communication and teamwork in investigation and research.
• To encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in meeting social, technical and business challenges.

Laboratories and research

The department maintains ten laboratories: six in the west wing, the Simulation and Measurements labs on the east side of the ground floor, and the Device Fab and Biomedical Instrumentation labs on the first floor of the east wing.

Industrial Instruments Lab

Practical training in the instruments of the process industry. Transmitters and transducers for pressure, flow, level and temperature are studied, tested and calibrated against reference standards.

Process Control Lab

Closed-loop control of level, flow, pressure and temperature. Students tune industrial controllers and evaluate their performance by the quarter-decay ratio and the IAE, ISE and ITAE criteria.

DCS Lab

The final-year laboratory for distributed control systems and programmable logic controllers, the automation architecture of refineries, power stations and process plants.

Sensors and Transducers Lab

The characterisation and calibration of transducers for strain, displacement, temperature, pressure and light, from the physical quantity to a measurable electrical signal.

Control Systems Laboratory

Experiments in the time and frequency response of physical systems, stability analysis, and the design of compensators and controllers.

Machines Lab

Testing and performance analysis of DC machines, transformers and induction motors, the electrical machines that drive industrial plant.

Simulation Lab

Modelling and simulation of instruments, processes and control loops, so that designs can be analysed and validated before they are built.

Measurements Lab

Electrical and electronic measurement with bridges, meters and oscilloscopes, with emphasis on accuracy, calibration and the analysis of measurement error.

Device Fab Lab

Fabrication and testing of sensors and microdevices, supporting the department’s research in sensors, MEMS and nanotechnology.

Biomedical Instrumentation Lab

Instrumentation for physiological measurement: the acquisition of cardiac, muscular and neural signals (ECG, EMG and EEG) and the principles of patient safety.

Research areas

• Sensors and sensor networks
• MEMS
• Nanotechnology
• Instrumentation and automation
• Thin films, photo-elasticity and ultrasonics

• Research projects funded by UGC, DST, AICTE and DRDO, with support under the UGC Special Assistance Programme and DST-FIST.
• Approximately fifty research publications each year in IEEE, Springer and Elsevier journals.
• Testing and calibration of industrial instruments for VSP, L&T, Reliance and Ramky.

Classrooms

Classroom II

A smart classroom for lectures, equipped with a projector and teaching boards, with seating facing a raised teaching platform.

Classroom III

A smart classroom commissioned together with Classroom II. The plaque beside its entrance records the inauguration.

Classroom IV

The third teaching room of the classroom wing, on the side passage beyond the Strong Room.

Faculty

The Head of the Department is Dr. P. Swapna.

Dr. P. Swapna

Professor and Head of the Department. M.Tech, Ph.D (Andhra University, 2015). Industrial process instrumentation. Dr. Swapna heads the department and oversees its undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes. Academic matters are addressed to her office; admissions, certificates and fees are handled by the department office.

Dr. A. Daisy Rani

Associate Professor. Ph.D (Andhra University, 2015). MEMS and NEMS. Her teaching and research are in micro- and nano-electromechanical systems, one of the department’s principal research areas.

Dr. A. Kamala Kumari

Associate Professor. M.Tech, Ph.D (Andhra University, 2015). Digital systems and computer electronics. Her teaching and research are in digital systems and computer electronics. She served as Head of the Department from 2022.

Prof. M. Ramesh Patnaik

Professor. M.Tech, Ph.D (Andhra University, 2011), F.I.E. Industrial process instrumentation. A Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India), he served as Head of the Department from 2021.

Prof. D. V. Rama Koti Reddy

Professor. Ph.D (Andhra University, 1996). Sensors and sensor networks, MEMS and nanotechnology. His teaching and research are in sensors and sensor networks, MEMS and nanotechnology. He served as Head of the Department from 2017.

Prof. Y. Srinivasa Rao

Professor. Ph.D. Microelectronics.

Prof. A. Bhujanga Rao

Professor. Ph.D (Andhra University, 2001). Instrumentation. He served as Head of the Department from 2012. The first floor of the east wing was inaugurated during his tenure, on 30 August 2015.

Student information

Within the department

• Timetables are displayed in the glass notice case in the entrance hall.
• Smart Classrooms II, III and IV are at the far end of the classroom wing, first floor.
• Laboratories occupy the west wing and the east corridor of the ground floor, and the east wing of the first floor.
• The department office is at the end of the west corridor, ground floor.

Campus services

• Dr. V. S. Krishna Library, the university’s central library, is open daily, including Sundays, except on national holidays.
• Training and Placement, AU College of Engineering: 0891 2844744, placement.aucea@andhrauniversity.edu.in.
• College of Engineering office: 0891 2844999 or 2754586, auceaprincipal@gmail.com.

Contact

Department of Instrument Technology
AU College of Engineering (A), Andhra University
Waltair Junction, Visakhapatnam 530003

• University: 0891 2844000
• College of Engineering: 0891 2844999
• Training and Placement: 0891 2844744