THE onset of liberalization in the 1990s had fuelled a construction boom in the country as banking norms were liberalised to encour-age builders and private landowners to avail of credits from nationalised and private banks. Today, the boom has resulted in changing life styles as tiles, glassware, pottery, bathroom and toilet fittings, pipes are being used in large numbers during constructions along with the use of electric and electronic appliances, like never before. In short, many industries now depend on ceramic materials like bricks, cement, tile, pipe in construction; refractory materi-als, electrical insulators, cutting tools and bearing manufactured in ndustries dealing with industrial products; diodes, capacitors, magnetic materials and computer memory packages in the electronics sector; high temperature tile insu- lation and composite materials in space technology; ceramic spark plugs used in aerospace industry and nuclear fuel rods for nuclear industry

Generally, two types of workers are engaged in this industry - ceramic technologists and ceramic designers. The ceramic designers use sand and clay for basic ceramic materials while the technologists use the materials produced by complex chemical processes. Ceramic engineers: Those who aspire to be a ceramic technologist or engineer should be 10 plus two withPhysics, Chemistry and Math's with a high percentage of marks. Various engineering colleges offer BE, BTech in ceramics of four years duration. The admissions are through a written test as for other branches of engineering. Those who are Interested in further education may go in for an M Tech for a duration of one-and-a-half years. Ceramic technologists may specialise in glass for working in industries engaged in manufacture ofTableware, fibre optics, bulbs, windowpanes and electronic ancillaries. They can go in for specializations in structural clay work in the manufacture of enameled articles and pipes, artificial limbs or cement used in construction or ceramic wares such as tiles, pottery and bathroom and kitchen fixtures.

However, specialisation is required for the electronics sector for manu Ceraiere facturing integrated circuits and sensors. Ceramic technologists use their scientific knowledge to anticipate new applications to replace existing products. Generally, technologists may work as sales people, in factories, researchers in laboratories, in research institutes and universities and even in managerial positions. Ceramic engineers find
employment in industries producing glass, cement, porcelain, enamel refractories, iron and steel, and in industries manufacturing special ceramics for power and nuclear energy projects, aerospace,research and development laboratories and defence establishments Ceramic engineer designs and develops products. which ranges from a flower vase to the ceramic nose cone for a missile and parts for the electronics industry. Ceramic Designers: New products are being released by companies almost everyday and here ceramic designers play an important part by meeting buyers' expectation with regard to functionality and aesthetic looks to win over competitors and get recognition for their products.

Right from automobiles to consumer durables, from transportation and large industrial vehicles to medical equip-ment and instrumentation, from furniture to computers, a whole range of products are being innovated, modified and upgraded by designers. Moreover, designers must be creative and artistic with a good imagination. They should be able to think in a clear logical manner, analyse problems and come up with original solutions. They should able to express their ideas through drawings. They should possess good colour sense and appreciation of aesthetics. The National Institute of Design. Paldi. Ahmedabad- 380 007 offers a four-year school leavers professional education programme.

It ismore art-oriented where one may specialise in industrial design, product design, furniture design and ceramic design; visual communication in graphic design, video programming and animation film design; textile andapparel design and exhibition design. This institute offers advanced entry in its four years' professional edu ation programme leading to a diploma.

The duration of this programme is two years. A candidate should have a keen interest and aptitude for conceiving innovative and practical ideas and an ability to work towards their implementation. High proficiency in drawing is a must. Maximum age limit is 25 years. This programme is open to graduates in fine arts, architecture, engineering, ceramic tech-nology. Diploma holders in these areas with two years experience
and those with M Design are eligible. The admission tests are held at verious towns. There is reservation of seats for SC ST candidates as per rules. Besides engineering colleges, various specialised institutes offer courses in ceramic technology creations

College of Ceramic Technology, 73, AC Banerjee Lane, Calcutta- 70 010

Indian Institute of Ceramics, C/o Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute. Calcutta-70 032

University College of Science & Technology, 92 Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road,
........Calcutta-700 009

Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi - 221 005o Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai - 400 076

Regional Engineering College, Rourkela-769 008

PDA College of Engineering, Gulbarga

Anna University Auagappa College of Tech.. Guindv, Chennai - 600 025.