International Conference on
NANO- AND FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS (NFM-2026)
Materials for Sustainable Future
17–18 April 2026 • Department of Chemistry
Organized by Department of Chemistry
Conference BrochureAbout BITS Pilani
A premier academy of India, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani), was deemed to be a university in 1964. With the expansion to the Goa, Hyderabad, Dubai and Mumbai campuses, BITS Pilani has emerged as an Institute of Eminence in science and technology education and research.
The 240 acres self-contained Pilani campus boasts of its neatly laid original design along with the new additions of New Academic Building, Library, Sports Complex, New Science Block and Centres of Excellence. The campus hosts state-of-the-art technology for teaching and research, including a signature network capability that connects all campuses for shared classrooms and cross-campus activities.
On-campus research facilities and an active inter-disciplinary research approach have successfully attracted substantial research funding from government and private agencies. Thus equipped, BITS Pilani continues to explore and establish a brighter tomorrow.
Department of Chemistry, Pilani Campus
One of oldest & ever-evolving department having a vision to excel in teaching & research, recently reinforced with enthusiastic young faculty members. Active research in the frontier areas of both fundamental and applied chemistry has been appreciated nationally & globally for several decades. The department continues to grow and attain new paradigms in chemistry education in the country.
About Pilani
Ancestral hometown of the Birla Family, Pilani, set in an idyllic environment has a population of about 50,000. Pilani enjoys pleasant weather of 24 to 35 °C during Spring. Majestic destinations such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Ranthambore etc. are places of tourists’ interest around Pilani.
The Conference
Objective of the conference is to expose the students & researchers to the recent advances in the fields of nanomaterials and functional materials in our country and across the globe. The aim is to elucidate the seamless mixing of science and engineering aspects in development of the very important interdisciplinary domain of material science. This will stage a panel of eminent researchers/ professors to seed ideas/ concepts for trans-disciplined collaborations, towards growing national and global technology demands in materials science and engineering aiming a sustainable future. You are invited to present your research findings in addition to be inspired by the pioneers during the lecture sessions.
Materials Research @ BITS Pilani
An interdisciplinary group of faculty members from different departments of the Pilani campus are actively doing research in the highly evolving area of materials and their applications. The team includes Prof. J. Panwar (Biosciences), Prof. I. R. Laskar, Prof. S. Ray, Prof. M. Sarkar, Prof. S. Pande, Prof. B. R. Sarkar, Prof. M. Basu, Prof. S. Patra (All in Chemistry), Dr. R. K. Gupta, Dr. S. Gangopadhyay (both in Physics), Dr. S. Belgamwar (Mechanical Engg.), Dr. B. Roy, Dr. S. Chatterjee (Chemical Engg.), Prof. N. Gupta, Dr. A. Hazra (both in Electrical Engg.),.The group initiated the first NFM in 2014 as a national conference to initiate communication and cross-disciplinary interactions which had considerably contributed to its growth and visibility of the University among the research peer-group in the subsequent edition in NFM-2017. Post-COVID, the members reconstituted the research impetus in form of several interdisciplinary spear-heads such as Centre for Research Excellence in Semiconductor Technology (CREST), under inspiration the Vice Chancellor, Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao. The members have recently been awarded several research projects in respective areas from various national funding agencies.
Topics of Interest
Conference will be mostly focused on:
- 🧪 Materials for Nanoscience
- 🔆 Materials for Opto-electronics and Biosensors
- 💻 Computational Aspects in Material Science
- 🌞 Materials for Renewable Resource Applications
- 🌿 Materials for Green Chemistry & Catalysis
- 💊 Materials for Pharmaceuticals and Drug Delivery
- 📟 Materials for Device Applications
- 🧬 Materials for Biomedical and Agricultural Sciences
