GRSS Chapter Profile: Madhya Pradesh Section Chapter in India

GRSS Chapter Profile: Madhya Pradesh Section Chapter

The IEEE GRSS Madhya Pradesh Section Chapter operates as a collaborative unit with the GRSS Student Branch Chapter at IIT Indore in India. The profile answers below apply to the entities together as one organization.

Tamanna Singh, the Chapter webmaster who oversees its online presence and digital communications, provided the following information. Tamanna is a Research Scholar in the Department of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Engineering, at the Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore) in Madhya Pradesh, India.

How was your Chapter started?

Two related but distinct founding stories make up this Chapter’s history:

The IEEE GRSS Student Branch Chapter (SBC) at IIT Indore was founded in 2019. It began with just 6 members and grew to approximately 10 members in its early years, reflecting the modest but dedicated founding cohort typical of a new student chapter.

The IEEE GRSS Madhya Pradesh Chapter (Section-level) was established in 2023, founded by the IEEE Section Committee together with IEEE GRSS members of IIT Indore — effectively formalizing the momentum built by the SBC into a broader, Section-level presence across Madhya Pradesh.

Throughout this formation, the Chapter enjoyed significant faculty leadership from Dr. Saurabh Das of IIT Indore and Dr. Unmesh Govind Khati of IIT Indore.

Please describe the geographic area covered by your chapter and any major academic institutions included?

The IEEE GRSS Madhya Pradesh Chapter’s coverage spans the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, with participation and outreach extending across major academic and research hubs throughout the region — including Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, and other cities. IIT Indore serves as the lead and anchor institution, hosting the Student Branch Chapter and the majority of core organizational activity. Beyond this anchor, the Chapter has actively engaged and conducted outreach with a range of other recognized institutions across the state, including IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research), MANIT (Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal), IIM (Indian Institute of Management) and additional institutes across other MP cities

How many members does your chapter have? Please provide an approximation of percentages – students, academics, industry/professionals, etc.

The Chapter’s core membership at IIT Indore currently stands at approximately 26 members, with numbers continuing to grow through ongoing membership drives. The membership base is predominantly composed of postgraduate (Master’s) and doctoral (PhD) students (80-90%) with a smaller proportion of undergraduate students and a core of faculty advisors.

What are the most popular events/activities hosted by your Chapter?

The Chapter has built a diverse and consistently active event calendar over the years, spanning technical, hands-on, and outreach formats:

• Distinguished Lecturer (DL) talks featuring domain experts such as Dr. Sunil D. Pawar (Scientist-G, IITM Pune) on thunderstorm and lightning physics, and Dr. Armando Marino (University of Stirling) on PolSAR-based change detection.
• Hackathons, including the Earth Day Hackathon, focused on environmental monitoring, geospatial analysis, and data-driven decision-making, open to undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students.
• IEEE Day celebrations highlighting IEEE/GRSS membership benefits.
• The Chapter has also hosted Workshops and hands-on technical sessions run by student teams, Industry visits and Drone demonstrations.

Please describe a recent social event.

One recent highlight was the Chapter’s IEEE Day celebration, which brought together students, faculty advisors, and members for a day combining community-building with light technical engagement — a mix of informal networking, quizzes, and celebratory activities. We also organized activities tied to national observances that doubled as social, engagement-driven events. Two other social activities included a National Space Day Hackathon and Earth Day Photo Contest. Together, these events reflect the Chapter’s approach to blending social bonding with its technical mission along with community engagement and light competitive fun.

Please describe a recent educational event.

A standout recent educational event was an invited talk on “Detection of Changing Targets using Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR)”, jointly organized by the IEEE GRSS Student Branch Chapter (SBC) IIT Indore and the IEEE GRSS Madhya Pradesh Chapter. The speaker was Dr. Armando Marino, Associate Professor, University of Stirling, UK.

Offered both in person and online, the session covered advanced radar signal processing techniques in Earth observation — specifically, how multi-polarization coherent matrix formulations from PolSAR data reveal structural and dielectric properties of terrestrial targets, and how these can be used to detect dynamic land-cover changes and track targets with far greater precision than standard single-channel intensity imaging. The talk gave members exposure to cutting-edge methods in polarimetric target detection directly from an internationally recognized expert in the field.

What social and/or educational activities do you have planned for the future?

Depending on funding availability, we plan to host a NISAR Winter School centered on NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission data and applications. Other plans include Hands-on Technical Sessions offering members practical, applied training in remote sensing and geospatial tools and techniques. We also hope to continue with the Invited Speaker Lectures to expose members to cutting-edge research and applications.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your Chapter?

The IEEE GRSS Madhya Pradesh Chapter’s story is, at its heart, one of steady growth built on a small but deeply committed foundation. What began in 2019 as a six-member student initiative at IIT Indore has, over just a few years, matured into a Section-level Chapter with active outreach across Madhya Pradesh — a trajectory reflected in a growing list of recognitions and achievements:

• Best Chapter Excellence Award (2024)
• 5th place, Student Grand Challenge (IGARSS 2026)
• Best Technology of the Year, IIT Indore
• International travel grants and microgrants received by multiple members, supporting participation in global conferences and research exchanges
• Multiple publications authored by Chapter members
• 15+ technical events, seminars, hackathons, and workshops organized every year

Our resilience was tested — and proven — during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Chapter swiftly pivoted its entire activity calendar online, ensuring that neither the disruption of campus life nor geographic distance interrupted members’ access to technical talks, mentorship, and community. That adaptability has since become a defining trait.