Prof. Nisith R. Mandal, B.Tech (Hons), Ph.D., FIE, FRINA is a Professor at the Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, IIT Kharagpur. Prior to joining the IIT in 1987, while working in Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. he was involved in the initiation of a modular method of ship construction. Subsequently he headed for higher studies and obtained his Ph.D. in Ship Production and Welding Technology from the Ship Research Institute, Gdansk, Poland in 1985. Since then he has been actively engaged in teaching and research in the field of welding techniques, distortion and line heating as applied to shipbuilding. He has undertaken several industrial consultancy as well as research projects in his area of expertise sponsored by various agencies like Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd., Calcutta, Mazagon Dock Ltd., Mumbai, Cochin Shipyard Ltd., Department of Science and Technology, GoI, the Ministry of Surface Transport (Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Wing), GoI, Manipur Science and Technology Council, Maglev Inc., USA, Institute for Plasma Research, Ahmedabad, West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Naval Research Board, etc. He has published over 75 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and for national and international conferences. He has authored three books, “Aluminum Welding”, 2nd Edition,2005, “Welding and Distortion Control”, 2004, and “Welding Techniques, Distortion Control and Line Heating”, 2009 published jointly by Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi and Alpha Science International Ltd., Pangbourne, UK. He has conducted several short courses for shipyard professionals on Ship Repair and Maintenance, Welding & Distortion Control in Steel Fabrication, Aluminum Welding in the Marine Industry, Weld Induced Distortion Prediction and Control, Shipyard Productivity - Process Evaluation and Improvement, and Distortion Control in Shipbuilding.