INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KHARAGPUR

Prof. M. K. Tiwari
Head of the Department,
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,
IIT Kharagpur, 721302, India,
Ph: +91 (3222) 283746 (O)
+91 (3222) 283747 (R)
Fax: +91 (3222) 282272 (O)

Date 7th December 2012

RECOMMENDATION LETTER
ASHUTOSH NAYAK
It is with utmost pleasure that I am recording and recommending my impressions of Ashutosh
Nayak, who is currently pursuing his M.Tech in Industrial Engineering and Management after
completing his B.Tech in the same department in IIT KGP. I know him since last 3 years. I
found he is highly motivated to do research in Optimisation and related areas. He is deeply
interested in solving Supply Chain related real life industrial problems where optimisation
methods are followed to handle the problems.
His sincerity, perseverance and ability to develop complex mathematical/computational
model has always impressed me. Ashutosh has displayed a keen analytical mind, with a
systematic approach towards every assignment. I have found him to possess an ability to
assimilate complex concepts and designing solutions for intricate problems within a short
span of time. His other strengths are his communication skills which are exhibited in his talks
and presentations at different seminars. Interacting with him, I have discovered his excellent
grasping capability and logical bent of mind.
Large scale optimization using evolutionary computing tools and heuristics are other areas
where he has demonstrated excellent skills. Presently, Ashutosh has been working thoroughly
under my guidance for his M.Tech thesis titled Optimal Oil Vessel Scheduling and
improvement of database Management which is a part of Consultancy Project.
Throughout the project, he has provided and implemented innovative ideas related to
heuristics and evolutionary algorithms to resolve computationally extensive problem of
vessel scheduling faced by Indian Oil. He is also part of proposal being given to TATA Steel
to optimize its internal and external logistics system based on RFID for real time monitoring.
Ashutosh has worked with me on different projects. He has co-authored 4 research papers
with me which are submitted in reputed journals like IJPR, CIRP and IEEE-TASE where 3
papers have been favourably reviewed. He used evolutionary algorithms and survival analysis
to develop decision making guidelines under uncertain demand conditions. The work is
currently under review in IJPR (TPRS-2013-IJPR-0420). In addition to this, he applied twostep heuristic based on BRKGA aimed at minimizing cycle time in manual assembly line and
optimal operator break scheduling. The research findings have been favourably reviewed in
CIRP (CIRPJ-D-13-00060). He used improved NSGA-II to solve multi-objective Process
Planning and Scheduling aimed at minimizing Makespan, cost and idle time of machines.
The research work has been favourably reviewed in IJPR (TPRS-2013-IJPR-1079). His
work in Bachelors in Technology project has been converted to research paper submitted in
IEEE-TASE where pattern extraction methods such as confidence, recall association and
dependency have been used to diagnose for field failures.

Voice: +91-3222-283746

Fax: +91-3222-282272

E-mail: mkt09@hotmail.com, mktiwari9@iem.iitkgp.ernet.in

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KHARAGPUR

Prof. M. K. Tiwari
Head of the Department,
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management,
IIT Kharagpur, 721302, India,
Ph: +91 (3222) 283746 (O)
+91 (3222) 283747 (R)
Fax: +91 (3222) 282272 (O)

Ashutosh comes across as an intelligent student with a genuine flair for research. During his
coursework, he has shown excellent performance in my subjects like Intelligent
Manufacturing, Optimisation and Heuristic Methods, Logistics and Supply Chain
Management with EX grade in all the courses. I found him highly motivated to carry out top
quality work in these areas He carried out his Bachelors in Technology project under my
supervision and received Proficiency Award for Best B.Tech Project among 48
students. His performance in academic reports is a reflection of his fervour and dedication
towards the specialization stream. I have found him to be a very sincere, attentive and
proactive student during my lecture sessions. Ashutoshs commendable achievements in
academics are a strong rendition of his intelligence and diligence.
I am sure he can handle any other area of research with equal dexterity if any opportunity is
given to him. I would unhesitatingly rank him amongst the top 1% of students who I have
taught during my 24 years of teaching and research career in India and abroad. I, thereby,
strongly recommend Ashutosh as a potential graduate student for your esteemed School of
Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta with financial
assistance. His passion, dedication and honesty towards his causes coupled with the resources
at G Tech will surely propel him to greater heights. I believe that tenacity and systematic
thinking is the key to any successful research. Ashutosh definitely scored very highly on all
these dimensions. I feel that with these qualities, Ashutosh would become an excellent
researcher and certainly prove to be a great asset to the research team of your department. I
wish him all success for his future professional endeavours and research pursuits.
Prof. Manoj Kumar Tiwari

Voice: +91-3222-283746

Fax: +91-3222-282272

E-mail: mkt09@hotmail.com, mktiwari9@iem.iitkgp.ernet.in