On October 8, 2026, the Hon’ble Union Minister of Education, Government of India, Shri Pralhad Joshi Ji inaugurated two newly established world class research laboratories in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras: SMART-IKS Lab (Sustainable Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Regenerative Technologies and Indian Knowledge Systems), led by Dr. Arjak Bhattacharjee, and Precursor Chemistry for Advanced Materials Lab, led by Dr. Shotaro Tada. The inauguration happened in the presence of the head of the department, Prof. V Subramanya Sarma, and the Director of IIT Madras, Prof. V Kamakoti. The objective of these laboratories is to advance interdisciplinary research in sustainable manufacturing, AI, biomaterials, Indian Knowledge Systems, and advanced materials development, strengthening innovation and collaborative research.