Jamshedpur: A team of students from National Institute of Technology (NIT) -Jamshedpur- the 'Top Guns', have taken the institute to international heights with their commendable feat at the SAE ((Society of automotive engineers) Aero Design Competition West-2011 in Texas, USA in March, 2011. SAE Aero Design in collaboration of Lockheed Martin and NASA provides platform to the undergraduate students from all across the globe to present innovative ideas through designing and fabricating dynamic downscale model of aircraft (rc aircraft) which can be applied to develop mainly the military and civilian sector of the nation. The accomplishments of the team include winning the biggest and the most prestigious first prize in 'Systems Engineering Competition' organized by NASA'S Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. This award has come to India for the first time since its inception in 2001. TOP GUNS-2 was the only team to participate successfully in two classes (regular and micro) of the event and field two aircrafts of different model. In the Micro class and Regular class design was ranked 4th and 11th respectively. "TOP GUNS" , the aero design team of National Institute of Technology; Jamshedpur, commenced this journey in 2009. During the year 2009-10, team TOP GUNS' design was ranked 17th among 44 international teams participating in regular class. It was also acknowledged as the first team from the eastern region of India and one of the only three institutes from the entire country to participate in SAE Aero Design competition. Despite it being NIT Jamshedpur's first ever appearance in an international students' competition, the team was appreciated by NASA and received a certificate for its Systems Engineering Report from NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. of Team Top Guns stated, "The past achievements of TOP GUNS have boosted us to gear up with extreme dedication and preparation for the 2011 edition. The leadership, dedication and achievements have been well appreciated by the national as well as international fraternity. The quality of learning at NIT Jamshedpur has been instrumental in shaping our credentials. The support coming our way in terms of finance and technology has been quite a motivation and has translated in our contribution in the field of aero-design technology." This year, in order to support the immense hard-work and devotion of TOP GUNS -2, Tata Steel came forward and funded the project with Rs 10 lakh. This is the first time for a college project to receive such a huge amount. Mr. B Muthuraman, Vice Chairman, Tata Steel and Mr. Sanjiv Paul, VP CS, Tata Steel, also alumnus of NIT JSR are the two respectful icons who showed their tremendous trust and affection to encourage the success of the initiative. In addition, the alumni of the college has played a big role donating 2 lakh to contribute to the cause and deal with the financial deficit. Source:indiaeducationdiary.in