Project Title: H2 Production from Agricultural Residue Using a Thermo-Chemical Route, Investigators: Prof. Abhishek Sharma (PI), BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus; Prof. Samarshi Chakraborty (Co-PI), BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus; Sponsoring Industry: Ecosense Appliances Pvt. Ltd. Duration: 3 Years; Sanctioned Amount: ₹29.1 Lakhs, March 2025
Project Title: Design and development of water recovery from high salinity brines using solar thermal technology; Principal Investigator: Prof. Samarshi Chakraborty; Funding Agency: New Faculty Seed Grant (Grant Reference: N4/24/1008), BITS Pilani; Duration: 2 Years; Sanctioned Amount: ₹20 Lakhs, November 2024

Research Projects

Ongoing Projects

Molecular Studies on Bacopa monnieri to evaluate the modulation of neuronal receptors for schizophrenia using cell based and mouse models - DBT AYUSH, 29. 40 lakhs, 2024 - 2027 (as PI).
Development of sustainable two dimensional layered and biopolymer based composites for the remediation of phosphate from water - BITS, CDRF , 20 lakhs , 2024 - 2026, (as Co-PI)

Completed Projects

Polymorphism studies of the malaria vaccine candidate Serine Repeat Antigen (SERA) in Indian Isolates – Under DST-SERC under Fast Track scheme - 19.6 lakhs (2009-2012).
Characterization of the prenatal and perinatal risk factors of autism spectral disorder in Indian autistic population – UGC, ongoing, 6.52 lakhs, 2010– 2013.
Molecular Studies on T3 binding domain of the thyroid hormone receptors in Autistic Individuals. Under DST- Cognitive Science Research Initiative, 23.75 lakhs, (2011-2014).
Development of suitably customized polymers and clay based absorbents for effective removal of chromium from e-waste, (PI - Prof. N. Rajesh), DST, 42.82 lakhs, (2013 - 2016).
Polymorphism studies and molecular characterization of Plasmodial Rhoptry Neck Protein 2 (RON-2) from Indian field isolates - DST SERB (34.92 lakhs) 2017 - 2020. (as PI)
Efficacy of Appropriately Tailored Biopolymer and Carbonaceous Adsorbents for the Separation and Recovery of Europium - DST SERB (31.53 lakhs) 2017 - 2020. (as Co-PI)

Role in other Institutional Projects:

DST - FIST, Biological Sciences Department, BITS, Pilani - Hyderabad Campus - coordinated, submitted and defended the project in the capacity of Head, Biological Sciences Department and acquired sanction for 100 lakhs. (2012)
DST-TBI, BITS, Pilani - Hyderabad Campus (Thrust Areas: Biotech/Pharma, ICT and MEMS) - coordinated, submitted and defended the grant for the Biotech/Pharma thrust area along with other participating departments. 5.00 Crores, 2012 - 2017.
DBT - BUILDER, Neuroscience, Department of Biological Sciences and Pharmacy, BITS, PILANI - Hyderabad Campus - PI from Biology, Cell models and molecular genetics of Schizophrenia, 3. 00 Crores, 2021 - 2026.

Research Project

1. "Ecotourism": A roadmap to promote tourism in Goa

Funded by Directorate of Higher Education, Govt. of Goa

Research grant

Project title: Deciphering the role of STE-20 family kinase DST2 in the dynamics of actin cytoskeleton, the Scar/WAVE complex and chemotaxis in Dictyostelium ( 20 lacs, NFSG, BITS Pilani)

RESEARCH PROJECTS

EXTRAMURAL GRANTS:

Project Title : Development of an Efficient, Misalignment-Tolerant Wireless Charging System to Extend the Range of Electric Drones
Funding Organization : Dubai Future Foundation
Grant Name : Dubai Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Grant
Duration : March 2025 - Feb 2028
Role : Principal Investigator
Collaborators : (Co-PI: Prof. Ashutosh Mishra)
Duration : March 2025 - Feb 2028

INTRAMURAL GRANTS:

Project Title : Advancing Pacemaker Technology Using Low-Cost High-Efficiency Wireless Charging Systems to Eliminate Battery Replacement Surgeries.
Funding Organization : BITS Pilani Dubai Campus
Grant Name : New Faculty Seed Grant (NSFG)
Role : Principal Investigator
Collaborators : None
Duration : Feb 2025 - Jan 2027

CONSULTANCY PROJECTS:

None

Projects

Growth and characterization of Gallium oxide and its application for broadband Ultraviolet photodetector; Role: PI, Funding Agency: ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund (AISTDF), ANRF (Approved).
Development of a Laser Assisted CVD reactor system as an addition/alternative to siemens CVD reactor for polysilicon production; Role: Co-PI, September, 2024-February,2026, Funding Agency: ASM-HHV Engineering Pvt Limited. (Ongoing)
Design, Implementation and ML-based Modeling of Gallium Oxide based Junction Barrier Schottky Diodes (JBSD) for Extreme Environment and High-Power Applications; Role: PI, Funding Agency: CREST, BITS Pilani, September, 2023-August, 2025. (Ongoing)
Two-dimensional (2D) material MoSe2 and WSe2 based multilayered heterostructure for FET and Optical application; Role: PI, Funding Agency: ACG, BITS Pilani, December, 2021-November,2023. (Completed)
Modelling and simulation of reliability characteristics of GaN based High electron mobility transistor; Role: PI, Funding Agency: RIG, BITS Pilani, December, 2022 - November, 2023. (Completed)

Smart Manufacturing Learning Factory

Conversion of Predictive and Prescriptive Maintenance Analysis from Cloud to On-Premise

Roll Shop Management System

Enhancing steel cleanliness for automotive grades using Image Analytics and Fluid Dynamic Simulations

Chatbot Development for Hydraulic System Troubleshooting

Create and Deploy a Unified System that Monitors the Longevity & Condition of Rolls in Steel Industry

Chatbot Development for Hydraulic System Troubleshooting

Automate ferroalloy addition in steelmaking for cost efficiency

Reduce breakdowns in electrical control rooms through proactive temperature management

Enhance security and reduce vendor dependency in predictive maintenance systems

Enable predictive maintenance for descaler motors in hot strip mills

Predict mechanical properties of steel to reduce reliance on tensile testing

Energy optimization and monitoring in steel plant

Automated inspection of grate bars in pellet cars to enhance efficiency

Optimization of carbon measurement and reduce arc-to-tap times in steelmaking

Automated defect detection in steel production to reduce rejection rates and waste

Furnace Operations: A Model for Smart Line Efficiency with AI-ML Integration

Research Directions, Topics And Projects

Some of the current topics of interest and research are as follows:

1) Emerging and Novel Computing Paradigms: To what extent architectures will be 'programmer-driven' versus 'data-driven' will be one of the central questions in future computer systems. For the data-driven part, the idea is to make processing data-enriched by exploiting the scale, site or location, semantics or structure of data. At the same time, the strong legacy of programming cannot be completely wiped out. Emerging technologies and associated algorithms in quantum computing, machine learning, neuromorphic computing, in-memory computing, etc. will also likely determine the outcome and the resultant end systems. We are working on full-system design and implementation using these upcoming technologies. I believe these technologies warrant and permit rethinking computer architecture and systems from scratch! (point 2)

2) Ground-up Computer System Design: I believe that complexity, manageability or just pure scale limits the design of current computer systems and therefore addressing scalability-related issues in system design will become increasingly important. In here, the right balance has to be struck between hardware and software, between the use of edge systems and centralized systems, and other such otherwise orthogonal approaches. For computer systems to be a part of our long-term civilizational story, they need to become more dependable (i.e. trustworthy, safe, secure, etc.) as well.

3) Democratization of Computing with a Focus On Societal Issues: Human-centric, society-centric and even ecology-centric computers are the focus here. Under this topic, the attempt is to look at the larger needs of society, such as towards education, health, banking and other services, and our planet, such as towards sustainability, energy, etc. Ground-up thinking is therefore needed on how computing is used (point 2) and this in turn will impact the future of workspaces and how we design systems for these future workspaces (such as, future classrooms, future hospitals, future cars, etc). One of the goals here is to best enable a positive role of computing in these critical societal domains/areas.

Solutions to the various issues are intimately linked to the future of computing.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

Title of the Project: Revolutionizing Data Security: FPGA Prototyping of Cutting-Edge Cryptographic Algorithms for NIST's Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Standards.

Funding Agency: Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS Pilani.

Grant Amount (duration): Rs 27.5 lakhs (Duration: 2 years).

Completed Projects

A project on "Design and Development of Digital Forensic Tools for Cloud IaaS", funded by DIT, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, New Delhi (Total Project Outlay: Rs 54.96 lakhs), 2014 - 2017.
Details:
Title of the Project: Design and Development of Digital Forensic Tools for Cloud IaaS
Chief Investigator: Prof G Geethakumari
Co- Chief Investigator: Dr Digambar Powar
Research Scholars (Project Fellowship): BSKP Kumar Raju and Meera G.
Funding Agency: MeitY, Govt. of India.
Amount: Rs 54.96 Lakhs
Duration: 2 years
A project on "Identity and Access Management Solutions for Health Care Cloud Systems", funded by the Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus(for Rs 2 lakhs), 2012.

Research Projects:

Project Title: Contemplating the Rationality of Disposition Effect: An Exploratory Analysis

Sponsor: Birla Institute of Technology & Science - Pilani (Hyderabad Campus)

New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG)

Amount: ₹19.68 Lakhs

Duration: 2 years

Research Projects

Opportunistic Data Collection for Cognitive and Behavioral Monitoring.

Understanding and Supporting Working Mothers with Postpartum Depression through Digital Analytics.

Developing Digital Technologies for Enhanced Affective Sensing and Emotional Well-being.

test project

This is the title

question 1

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris eu massa orci.

question 2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris eu massa orci.

This is the title

question 1

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris eu massa orci.

question 2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris eu massa orci.

Finance and Management-Focused Projects

To be updated soon.

Sponsored Research Projects

New Generation of Sustainable Lightweight Cold-Formed Steel Structures, International Exchanges Scheme Standard Programme 2023 - Round 2, sponsored by UK Royal Society, £12,000 (Approximately equivalent to Twelve Lakh Indian Rupees), Co-Principal Investigator, (Awarded & ongoing) (Oct 2023-Sept 2025).
New Generation of Lightweight Steel Elements for Sustainable Resilient Construction, sponsored by UK Research and Innovation, Government of the United Kingdom, £204,031 (Approximately equivalent to Two Crore & Five Lakh Indian Rupees), Principal Investigator, (Completed) (Oct 2022-Sept 2024). https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX021203%2F1

Development of Design Codes

Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Column and Steel Beam Connections (Submitted to the Building and Construction Agency of Singapore for evaluation)

Research Interest

Cognitive Radio
Cooperative Relaying
Device to Device Communications
Software Defined Radio (SDR)
mmWave
OTFS
Intelligent Reflecting Surface
Machine Learning applications for future cellular networks
URLLC
Resource allocations algorithms for next-generation cellular systems, 5G and beyond...

Research Interest

Understanding of complex biological processes by integrating data from many inter-related yet heterogeneous resources, which help to improve drug discovery. Sequence-structural analysis of proteins to reveal sequence- and structure-function relationships of proteins. The main aim is rational discovery of molecular mechanisms and sites for protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions. Understanding how protein flexibility, mobility and specificity can affect protein interactions.

Active Student Projects

A graph-traverser robot with obstacle detection.
Wearable Piezoelectric Energy Harvester.
Tangible Notional Machine for Teaching Computational thinking at scale.
Motion Tracking and gesture detection using IMU.
Neonatal incubator.
Automatic Melting Point Detection and display.
Automatic cart-update for in-store shopping.
Personalized language translation system.
Supervisory Control of Social Networks.
Opinion Diffusion in Social Networks.

Ongoing and Completed Projects

Joint collaborative project BITS Pilani India and Linköping University Sweden, funded under SPARC scheme of MHRD, Government of India.

Title :Novel sensors for monitoring and reuse of agricultural runoff water (Ongoing)
Indian PI : Prof. Sunil Bhand (Birla Institute of Technology & Science)
Indian Co-PI(s) : Prof. Utpal Roy (Birla Institute of Technology & Science), Prof Gautam Bacher (EEE&I)
International PI : Prof. Magnus Willander (LiU, Sweden )
International Co-PI(s) : Prof Bengt Danielsson
Duration 2 years : Aug 08, 2023, Aug 07, 2025
Amount: Rs. 59 lakh

2. CSR funding by Birla Carbon (ABG) Ongoing

Title of the project : Recovery of resources from worn-out tires for enabling circular economy
Duration: 5 years for 2 full time PhD fellowship
Project activity funding : 3 years (total funding about Rs. 50 lakh)
PI of the Project: Prof Sunil Bhand (Chemistry)
Co-PI : Prof Utpal Roy (Biological Sciences)
Start date: Jan 2021

Completed Research Projects

3. Joint collaborative project BITS Pilani India and Lund University Sweden, funded under SPARC scheme of MHRD, Government of India.

Title : Novel micro and nano sensors for antibiotic resistance measurement
Indian PI : Prof. Sunil Bhand (Birla Institute of Technology & Science)
Indian Co-PI(s) : Prof. Utpal Roy (Birla Institute of Technology & Science)
International PI : Dr. Bin Xie (LU, Sweden )
International Co-PI(s) : Dr. Nelida Leiva Eriksson (LU, Sweden)
Duration 2 years : March 2019 to Feb 2021 EXTENDED UP TO MARCH 31, 2022
Amount: Rs. 51 lak

4. Joint collaborative project funded by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), under Malaria Elimination Research Alliance (MERA), India

Title of the project: 28S Ribosomal RNA Capture Assay for the Sensitive Detection of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax
Sanction date and duration : Sep. 01, 2020 (2 years)
PI of the project: Prof A.K .Das (Biological Sciences, Pilani Campus)
Co-PI : Prof Sunil Bhand (Chemistry, KK Birla Goa Campus)
Co-PI : Prof Sanket Goel ( EEE, Hyderabad Campus)
Co-PI : Dr A Talukdar (Medical College & Hospital Kolkata)Total approved amount. Rs 1.25 crore, 1st year sanction of Project Rs. 80 lakh.

5. Multi-institute Consortium Project entitled “Nano-based detection of organophosphate pesticides using metal-organic framework conjugates” funded by NASF, ICAR Govt. of India.

Duration of Project: Jan. 2017-Dec .2019 (3 years)

Total amount Rs. 212 lakh (BITS Goa share Rs. 43.20 lakh)

Consortia of BITS Pilani K.K.Birla Goa Campus, Amity Institute of Nanotechnology and Indian Agricultural Research Institute IARI, N Delhi

Prof Sunil Bhand is CCPI from BITS Goa (Department of Chemistry)

1 SRF supported for 3 years

1 Major Equipment procured worth Rs. 19 lakh procured

6. Multi-institute Consortium Project entitled “Development of sensing system for residual pesticide and harmful chemical detection in fruits and vegetables" funded by R.D Tata Trust, Mumbai

Duration: Aug. 2016-Jul 2018. (Extended up to Oct. 31, 2018) 2.3 years

Total amount Rs. 212 lakh. BITS Goa with a share of Rs. 53.5 lakh

Consortium of CDAC Kolkata, BITS Pilani K.K.Birla Goa Campus, Jadavpur University Kolkata for a period of two years and 3 months.

Prof Sunil Bhand is PI from. Co-PI Dr Gautam Bacher (EEE).

1 Research Associate supported for 2.3 yrs

2 Major equipment worth Rs 20 lakh procured

7. Title of the project: “Development of field portable device for the analysis of contaminant in water” funded by BRNS, DAE GOI No. Ref No: (36)/14/25/2014-BRNS-445 (Up to Dec 2018)

Funding & duration: Rs. 24.138 lakh : 3 years (start June 2015), Staff: 1 SRF

Principal Investigator: Prof. Sunil Bhand ( Department of Chemistry)

Principal Collaborator: Dr R. Balasubramaniam, Ashwin Rathod (PED, BARC) Dr VK Suri (MGM ,Mumbai)

1 portable Equipment procured worth Rs. 5 lakh

1 Patent filed

8. National Facility of DAE –Indus II Synchrotron Source: (usage of X-Ray Lithography beam Line).

Novel micro biosensor device for heavy metal analysis in vegetables CSR-IC- BL40/CRS-137-2014-15/1233 for fabrication of micro devices using BL-9 at RRCAT DAE Indore. 2 years PI: Prof Sunil Bhand, Dr Gautam Bacher Co-PI. Dr V. Dhamgaye and Dr G S Lodha, RRCAT, DAE. (2 years 1 year renewal twice) travel and accommodation and equipment time paid by RRCAT DAE Indore. 2014-15 and 2015-16

9. Industry Project: A proof of concept proposal on Bio- Sensory Computing for Detection of Pesticide in Tea

CDAC Kolkata, BITS Goa and TRA Jorhat DR-22(5)/XII Plan Project/Bio-sensor/2015. 3 months (total cost 41 lakh) sanctioned in Jan 2016 ended March 2016.

BITS Goa -PI Prof. Sunil Bhand. (BITS Goa share 5.5 lakh)

1 Patent filed

10. Centre of Research Excellence in Water, Waste water and Energy Management (CORE WWEM) funded by BITS, Pilani.

Subproject title: Development of Field Deployable biosensor for analysis of bacterial contaminant in potable water

Funding to sub-project : Rs. 91 lakh, Duration : 3 years (2014- March 2017)

PI : Proj Ravij Gupta (Pilani Campus)

Co PI : Prof. Sunil Bhand ( KK Birla Goa Campus) biosensor

Co-Investigator(s) I: Prof. Utpal Roy (Dept of Biological Sciences, K.K. Birla Goa

Campus) microbiology

Co-Investigator(s) Prof. Neeru Sood & Dr Turpti Gokhale : (: Biological Science)

1 RT-PCR Roche procured and in use jointly

1 Patent filed jointly with Co-PI

11. International: The Swedish Research Council

Title: Functional composite materials and their application in smart sensors

Funding Agency: The Swedish Research Council Duration: 3 years (2014-2017)

PI : Dr. Cedtic Dicko, Co-P Dr Estera Dey Pure and Applied Biochemistry, Lund University Sweden

Invited PI: Prof. Sunil Bhand (funding for Exchange visit of PI and researcher), BITS Goa.

12. Multi-institute Consortium Project entitled “Imprinted polymer for sensing and removal of selected antibiotic and pesticide residue” Project no. NFBSFARA/PHT-4007/2013-14

Funding Agency: National Funds for Basic and Strategic Research in Frontier Areas of Agricultural Science, ICAR, New Delhi

Project Funding Period: 1^st October 2013 to 31^st March, 2015. (18 months)

1 major equipment procured (Prober) about 12 lakh

1 microfluidic setup Rs 7 lakh

BITS, Pilani-KK Birla Goa Campus: Prof. Sunil Bhand (Principal Investigator)

BITS Goa, Co-Investigator (Prof. NN Ghosh)

NDRI Karnal: Dr. Y.S. Rajput (Cooperating Centre PI, CCPI)

IIT Delhi: Prof Sudhir Chandra (Cooperating Centre PI, CCPI)

Total Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 156 Lakh,

BITS, Pilani-Goa Campus funding share Rs. 54.00 lakh

13. nternational Bilateral Project (Indo-UK)

Joint Indo-UK project under UKIERI-DST Thematic research awards 2012, “Development and characterization of nanomaterials for biosensors and biocatalysts” (reference number INT/UK/UKIERI/P-41/2013)

Duration 2 years (May 2013-May 2015)

Funding agency: UKIERI (DST and British Council) Amount: Rs 91 lakh

PI- UK: Prof Paul Millner (Faculty of Biological sciences) biocatalysis

Indian PI BITS Goa: Prof. NN Ghosh (Department of chemistry) nanomaterials

Co-PI BITS Goa: Prof Sunil Bhand (Department of Chemistry) nano-biosensors

14. Multi-institute Consortium Project entitled “Development of biosensors and micro techniques for analysis of pesticide residues, aflatoxin, heavy metals and bacterial contamination in milk Project no. Comp 4/C10125.

Funding Agency: National Agricultural Innovation Project, ICAR, India & The World Bank USA.

BITS, Pilani-KK Birla Goa Campus: Prof. Sunil Bhand (Consortium PI)
NDRI Karnal: Dr. Naresh Kumar Consortium (partner)
IIT Delhi: Prof Sudhir Chandra & Prof Ratnamala Chatterjee (partner)
Punjabi University Patiala: Prof Neelam Verma (partner)

Total Revised funding ₹ 3107.318 lakh (USD 5 Million)

Project Funding Period: Feb 2008- June 30, 2014.

BITS, Pilani-Goa Campus funding share Rs. 450.4799 lakh

15. Multi-institute Consortium Project entitled “Detection and mitigation of dairy pathogens and adulterants using chemical biology, Project No. C4/C30032

Funding Agency: National Agricultural Innovation Project “NAIP’ financed by ICAR (Govt of India & The World Bank, USA). Total funding amount: Rs. 695.7363 lakh

BITS, Pilani-Goa Campus funding share Rs. 91.34975 lakh

Funding period February 2009- March 30 2014

IIT Roorkee: Dr Naveen K Navani (Consortium PI)

BITS, Pilani-KK Birla Goa Campus: Dr. Sunil Bhand (Consortium Co-PI)

NDRI Karnal: Dr. YS Rajput (partner)

16. International: The Swedish Research Council

Joint Indo-Swedish project entitled “Validation of field-portable and high throughput biosensor techniques for environmental pesticide analysis”

Funding Agency: The Swedish Research Council, Sweden

Total funding Amount: Rs. 27.50 lakh (550,000 Swedish Kroner)

Funding period: June 2003- Dec. 2007.

Prof Bengt Danielsson (Principal Investigator, Sweden)

Department of Pure & Applied Biochemistry

Lund University, Sweden

Dr. Sunil Bhand (Principal Investigator, India)

17. Novel biosensor techniques for monitoring heavy metals and pesticides in coastal waters and sediments. No. 23(0002)/06/EMR-II

Funding Agency: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), N. Delhi under Monitoring Coastal Hazards program”.

Total funding Amount: Rs. 16.5 lakh

Funding period: Dec. 2006- March 2010 (3yrs)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Sunil Bhand, Department of Chemistry

18. Project completed (as Co-Investigator):

Preparation and characterization of Nano- Ferrite Powders and Polybenzoxazine- Nanoferrite Composite, (ERIP/ER/060/5042/M/01/929)

Funding DRDO, Period: May 2007-March 2010,

Duration: 3 years

List of Grants Received

1. 15/05/2024 - 14/05/2026

“Computational Design of Hyperfluorescence Based Narrowband Organic Emitters for OLED Applications (File Number: NFSG/HYD/2024/H0942)” from New Faculty Seed Grant, BITS-Pilani for funding of Rs. 20.00 lakhs. (Principal Investigator)

Open-Source Projects

Analysis of Bigscholarly Data – https://github.com/santonus/bigscholarlydata (2014-2019 )

Collection of projects to crawl, extract topics, and perform predictive analytics on big scholarly data
Data crawled from ACM/IEEE, AMiner, and Microsoft academic graph

CUDA Microbenchmark – https://github.com/santonus/benchmark (2017 )

A set of microbenchmark programs for CUDA

Data analysis for vehicular safety – https://github.com/santonus/iot_safetyanalysis (2018 )

Analysis of publicly available vehicle accident A part of my student’s masters thesis, jointly supervised from ABB Corp. Research

Dependability Analysis from application and system logs – https://github.com/santonus/loganalysis (2017 )

Set of scripts for fault analysis from logs

Predictive Model for Energy Consumption – https://github.com/santonus/energymodel (2016-2019 )

Analyses CUDA programs to predict its execution time and energy consumption

Program verification tool – https://github.com/santonus/codeverification (2016-2017 )

Python based program verification tool for data race detection in a CUDA program

Library for measuring power and energy consumptions – https://github.com/santonus/energymeasure (2016 )

C++ based library called UPAPPI for measuring power and energy consumption of HPC (CUDA, OpenMP) applications

Design Abstraction Libary – https://github.com/santonus/designabstraction (2016-2019 )

Extends Thrust library to use shared memory, extends library for 2D data, and heterogeneous devices

Sponsored Projects

Research Topics

- Molecular Modeling and Atomistic Simulation from Biomolecules to Nanomaterials

1. Theoretical Study of Nano-Materials for Hydrogen Storage

(a) Adsorption study of Metal decorated B40 fullerene for hydrogen storage

(b) Optimizing Parameters for adsorption of H2 on Graphene Oxide

2. Study of Kinetics of Lithiation-Delithiation in Li ion Battery

(a) Designing new two-dimensional Vander Waals heterostructured materials as electrode materials in Li-Ion battery

(b) Correction of Force-field to understand the lithiation-delithiation in Li-Ion Battery

3. Protein Docking and Drug Design

(a) Molecular docking studies to understand the binding affinity of human serum albumin (HSA) with Schiff based Cu(II) complexes

(b) Determination of the protein folding, unfolding and refolding of spike glycoprotein of SARS Corona Virus-2 in Rubik’s Cube based statistical model

4. Computational and geotechnical studies on preservation of heritage monuments in the arid and semi-arid regions of Western India

Research Interest

Area of Specialization

My current research encompasses the area of molecular simulation techniques. The methodologies are mainly Density Functional Theory (DFT), Molecular Dynamics (MD), Monte Carlo (MC), Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC), Molecular Docking, and Nudged Elastic Band Method (NEB), in order to investigate fundamental properties of materials such as electronic properties, structural phenomena at nanoscale, kinetic pathways, reaction mechanism at atomistic scale and dynamic properties of various types of materials including ionic materials, composite materials, semiconductors, metals, biomolecules and polymers. Different types of softwares like Quantum Espresso, Gaussian, Gromacs, CP2K, Dmol3 are mostly used. Fortran, MatLab, Python based in-house codes are also used a part of the research.

My research work and publication details can be accessed online at my Google Scholar page.

Google Scholar Link

"Computational investigations and atomistic modeling on designing new two-dimensional Vander Waals heterostructured materials – A new direction of electrode materials towards next-generation energy storage devices", Sponsored by SERB-EEQ (2022), Rs.29,30,400.
"Determination of the protein folding, unfolding and refolding of spike glycoprotein of SARS Corona Virus-2 in Rubik’s Cube based statistical model",Sponsored by SERB-POWER (2022), Rs.25,23,400.

Other Funding

"Development and modification of second nearest neighbor modified embedded method (MEAM) potential for both amorphous and crystalline lithiated silicon", Additional Competitive Grant (ACG) by BITS Pilani, Rs. 10,00,000.
Research Initiation Grant (RIG) by BITS Pilani, Rs. 2,00,000.

Projects

Research Interest

Commutative algebra
Algebraic geometry
Graph theory
Combinatorics
Game Theory
Linear Algebra

Research Projects

Research Interest

Statistical Inference for microdata under strong privacy guarantees like Differential Privacy or its variants. Developing private synthetic data generation tools with better convergence rates are my primary research focus.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Synthetic Data Generation from Insecure Microdata (RIG-Bits Goa)

Research Projects

During PhD

Title: Routing Protocols for Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Funding Agency: Nokia Research Center, Boston

Duration:2001-2005

As PI

Title: Wireless Sensor Networks

Funding Agency: UGC

Duration:2010-2012

Title: Design and Development of CBM of Pipelines using Pipelines

Funding Agency: GAIL India (Ltd)

Amount: 80.18 Lakhs

Duration: 2012-2014

Title: Pilot Implementation of WSN for Process Monitoring in GAILs Pipeline

Funding Agency: GAIL India Ltd

Funding Amount: 98.78 Lakhs

Duration:2015-2019

As Co-PI

Title: Intelligent Water Resource Management Systems

Funding Agency: Microsoft Research Center

Duration: 2005-2008

Title: Hardware Implementation of time frequency distribution of Mirnov oscillations in Tokamak using the Hilbert Huang Transform

Funding Agency: BRFST

Amount:22.04 Lakhs

PhD Students

PhD Supervision

Completed

Nithin Sharma

Thesis Title - Resource allocation in downlink OFDMA an evolutionary approach (2014)

Sarang C Dhongdi

Thesis Title - Development of Energy Efficient Network Architecture and Protocol Stack for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) - (2018)

R.Sreejith

Thesis Title: Development of Energy Efficient Routing Protocol for Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks (2018)

Ch.Sankhar Reddy

Thesis: Development of Network protocol stack and image processing for data gathering using biomimetic robots (2018)

Meetha.V.Shenoy (2018)

Abhishek Dilip Joshi

Thesis: Airborne Aerial Ad hoc Networks (2022)

Anita Ramachandran

Thesis Title - Design and Development of Intelligent Geriatric Healthcare System (2022)

On-going

Purab Nandi

Thesis Title- Design, Implementation of Model Compression algorithms for ML/DL on SoC based Wearable Devices

Manoj.S. Kakade

Thesis Title- Design, Development and Implementation of Cloudlets using multiple heterogeneous System on Chip (SoCs) for Industrial IoT Systems.

As Co-supervisor

Completed

Mahadev Gawas

Thesis Title: "Cross Layer Design methodology to optimize the quality of service in Ad-Hoc Networks". (2018)

Rajalekhsmi Kishore

Thesis Title: Spectrum Sensing and Performance Analysis of Cognitive Radio System (2019)

N. Balakrishnan

Ph.D. Thesis Title- “Development of Algorithmic Approaches for optimization of Flight and Maintenance Planning (2022)

A New Microscope to Map Cancer

We have recently undertaken an ambitious project to build the first microscope capable of scanning cancer tissue and map unforeseen information hidden in them. This aim is better diagnosis and treatment plans for each individual. This is a collaboration between the Science and Technologies facilitation Council, UK (https://www.ukri.org/councils/stfc/) and the Department of Atomic Energy, India. The team involves photonics, electronics and AI/ML researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Hyderabad and BITS-Pilani Hyderabad, and also cancer pathologists from Tata Memorial Cancer Center in Mumbai. Our collaborators are microscopy researchers from STFC, Harwell, UK. The Indian team is led by me (biophotonics.co.in). We plan to create three-dimensional ultraviolet images of the human cancer tissue samples, using three-photon excitation with femtosecond lasers. We are looking for a few bright young minds (as undergraduate trainees, or as graduate project fellows) to join the team! If interested please email me.

Research Projects

Project Title : Evaluating the Factors and Impact of Solar Energy Adoption on SME: A Study of SME of Hyderabad

Sanctioned Amount : ₹ 11 Lakhs Only ,
Sponsoring Institution : ICSSR - Indian Council of Social Science Research (New Delhi)
Project : ICSSR Call for Collaborative Empirical Research on Solar Energy and Sustainability (2024-25)
Duration: 12 Months
Team : Prof. Bandi Kamaiah (HCU); Prof. Ch. Lakshmi Kumari (IPE), Prof. Thota Nagaraju (BITS Pilani - Hyderabad), Dr. Vijay Pottapinjara (INCOIS - IITM)

Project Title: Assessing Climate Risk Pathways and Their Impact on Financial Systems

Sponsor : Birla Institute of Technology & Science - Pilani (Hyderabad Campus)
New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG)
Amount: ₹19.98 Lakhs
Duration : 2 years

Projects

Projects

Seed grant from BITS Pilani Dubai Campus for the project titled, ' Optimization of Selected High Yield Grass Species for Biomass and Bioenergy Applications using Saline and Recycled Wastewater' in collaboration with International Centre of Biosaline Agriculture, for an amount of AED 245,000/- duration January 2017-2020.
Grant received from EXPO Live under the University Innovation Grant, February-July 2018.
Co-PI for the RedMud remediation project by Hindalco Industry, June 2018-May 2020.

Mechanobiological and Epigenetic Changes in Aging Lungs Exposed to air pollutant: Identifying Therapeutic Strategies for Lung Dysfunction

Aging lungs experience structural and functional declines, including increased inflammation, reduced elasticity, and diminished regenerative capacity, largely due to modifications in the extracellular matrix (ECM). These changes alter the lung’s mechanical microenvironment, impairing key functions and making the lung more susceptible to damage from pollutants like PM2.5.

Our research aims to understand the mechanobiological changes that occur in aging lungs and their interaction with airborne particulate matter (PM2.5), particularly in the context of age associated lung dysfunctions and lung diseases.

To investigate these effects, we are developing an in vitro aging lung model that mimics the mechanical microenvironment of aged lung epithelium.
This model allows us to study how mechanical microenvironment influences particulate uptake and its impact on cell state transitions.
We aim to explore mechanobiological checkpoints and epigenetic modifications that drive pathological changes in aged lung tissues.
Identifying novel strategies and therapeutics to rejuvenate lung dysfunction in aging individuals exposed to airborne pollutants.

Research Inititation Grant from BITS Pilani Dubai Campus
- Conductive Composites for deicing and lightning strike protection in aerospace applications
- Co-investigator - Dr. Prabhat K Agnihotri, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar

Funded Projects

1. ISRO/RES/3/720/2016-17 Development of Software Defined Radio (SDR) Based GNSS (GLONASS + IRNSS) Receiver. Funded By: ISRO under RESPOND.

We designed a multi-constellation muti-frequency Software receiver in MATLAB and separately in LabView.

The developed Software Receiver is capable of providing individual and hybrid solutions for the following constellations as of now:

1) IRNSS L5 / IRNSS S/GPS L1 / GLONASS L1

2) IRNSS L5 + GPS L1 + GLONASS L1

3) IRNSS S + GPS L1 + GLONASS L1

4) GPS L1 + GLONASS L1

Salient Features:

1. LabView-based SDR allows simultaneous and parallel tracking of the acquired satellites from different constellations and/or different frequencies. It also allows using hardware accelerators such as multi-core, multi-threading (SIMD), etc. Therefore, it significantly reduces the overall execution time.

2. Improved reliability, availability, and accuracy, especially in environments with limited satellite visibility, such as urban or mountainous areas.

3. Interoperability provides users with a PNT solution using signals from different GNSS systems.

4. Iono-grid corrections and Tropospheric corrections are provided with a selectable option. GUI with options for the end user to select Iono-grid and/or Tropospheric corrections.

5. MENU-driven user configurability for acquisition, tracking thresholds, satellite elevation mask angle, selection of satellite channels, etc.

6. MENU is a selectable option for the real-time display of observables such as I/Q correlation values, C/N0, GDOP, PVT solutions, XYZ coordinates of selected satellites, etc.

7. SDR provides session-wise time-stamped logs for various observables such as C/N₀, PR, Navigation message of all the channels, SV time, PVT logs, GDOP, etc. for post-processing.

8. Real-time visualization of PSD of received satellite signals.

2. Work Order No. 11/401/UWR(G)/110(P) regarding Indigenous Development of Automated Correlation System for Under Water Ranges DRDO, Goa.

As Co-PI:

Cloud Based Analytical Sensor Test Kit for Advanced Process Control, funded by Melinda & Gates Foundation in collaboration with Prof Srikanth Mutnuri, Head Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, Cranfield University UK and Ohio University USA.

My Part was to develop a plug-and-play kind of IoT-based Sensor kit capable of transmitting real-time data from different sensors to Azure and Google Cloud. The indigenous devices designed for communication are called “Cube,” a solar-powered (self-sustained) device. It used XBee 3G for communication. The end user can communicate with the cube using a developed web/mobile application. The end user can plug in any sensor and must provide the upper and lower threshold for warnings or control. The application automatically updates the system based on the inputs the end user provides.

Research Projects

Title: Modeling Travel Time for Two-lane Highways

Funding Agency: Anusandhan National Research Foundation, DST, Govt. of India

Role: Principal Investigator

Sanctioned Amount: INR 27,21,990/-

Title: Future Medicine: Contactless Health Vitals Measurement -- A Pilot Implementation and Evaluation of a Contactless Health Vital Measurement System along with a Federated Data Infrastructure in the context of Telemedicine

Funding Agency: toHealth GmbH, Berlin, Germany

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Sanctioned Amount: INR 1,40,96,280/-

DRDO CARS Project

Title: Design and Development of Coupler for 1 GW HPM Source for In-guide Diagnostics
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Duration: 1.5 Years (2024-2025)
Amount: ₹28,51,135
Sponsoring Agency: MTRDC Bangalore
Status: Ongoing

Projects

Worked as Scientist D for the project entitled “The long-term effect of COVID-19 on the cognitive health of the survivors and its neural underpinnings The project was funded by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). I drafted this project under the guidance of my mentor Prof. Atanu Biswas who was the principal investigator of this project. A research grant of INR 98, 57,240 was approved for the project.
Granted Fulbright –Nehru Postdoctoral fellowship for the project entitled “The role of context in irony and metaphor comprehension: with reference to the patients with focal brain lesions”. Granted for 2 years. 22nd August 2016 to 21st August 2018. Amount: $80740 (Rs. 5523423.4).
Principal investigator of the DST funded project entitled “Study of pragmatic deficits in patients with schizophrenia and right hemisphere damage: Do the patterns converge?” Granted for 2 years. From 6th July 2015 to 5th July 2017 but completed in August 5th 2016. Amount Rs. 1892000
Principal investigator of the DST funded project entitled “Bangla audio-visual test battery for assessment of dyshyponoia”. 2 years 6 months. From 1st April 2012 to Oct 2014. Amount Rs: 1458000
Principal investigator of the project entitled “Comparative Analysis of prosody in Bangla speaking normal and hearing impaired”, funded by National Institute of Hearing Handicapped for 3 years from 6.8.2008. Amount: Rs. 5,18,000
Principal investigator of the project entitled “Application of natural phonology in therapeutic management of hearing-impaired patients”, funded by National Institute of Hearing Handicapped for 3 years from 6.8.2008. Amount : Rs. 443000.

TTDF Project

Title: Transparent MEMS-based Free Space Optical Cross Connect for 6G Cell Router to Antenna

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Duration: 3 Years (2024-2027)

Amount: ₹56,38,688

Sponsoring Agency: TCoE-TTDF,

Status: Approved

BRNS Project

Title: Design and Development of Microwave Pulse Compressing Passive Devices for HPM Applications

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: 3 Years (2023-2026)

Amount: ₹44,38,000

Sponsoring Agency: BRNS-DAE

Status: Ongoing

Industrial Project II

Title: Investigation and Implementation of Advanced Modulation Formats and Signal Processing Algorithms for Satellite Communication Link

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: 5 Years (2024-2029)

Amount: ₹54,98,800

Sponsoring Agency: Dhruva Space Pvt. Ltd.

Status: Ongoing

Projects

New Faculty Seed Grant - "Temporal Sensitive Learning Algorithms for Interpretable Artificial Intelligence, INR 20 Lakhs

Research Interest:

Our research interests focus on electrochemistry and material science. We try to understand the complex phenomena that occur at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces using electrochemical techniques and different microscopic and/or spectroscopic methods. After understanding interfacial electrochemistry, we aim to mitigate the associated issues of different energy conversion and storage systems (fuel cells, electrolyzes, and batteries) by modifying electrode surfaces, electrolytes, or developing new materials.

AFV Engine Sensor Integration and Health Monitoring using AI/ML tools

Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing Applications

Free Space Optical Communication for Indoor and Outdoor Applications

Sponsored Projects

1. RIG Grant, BITS

Title of Project:"Finite Element simulations of uniaxial tensile tests"

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Dec 2014-Dec 2016

2. DRDO ARMREB

Project Title: "Machinability assessment and material characterization of WHAs used in defence applications as KE penetrators"

Duration: 2019-2022

Sponsored Projects

Core Research Grant by DST-SERB for the Project titled "Investigating the Equation of State of Neutron Stars via Emitted Gravitational Waves"

Amount sanctioned: INR 2221134.00

Sanctioned Research Projects

Ongoing Research Project:

1. Project Title : UV-visible LED light responsive semiconductor films devices for drinking water pollutant sensing and purification applications

Project Duration : 2 years - 2023- 2025

Funding Agency : BITS-Pilani Unverisity.

Sanctioned Amount: 20 Lakhs.

Project Status: Ongoing.

2. Project Title : Atomically-thin photonic devices as hosts of single-photons and entangled-photon pairs emitters and single-spins for quantum sciences and technologies

Project Duration : 5 years - 2021- 2026

Funding Agency : DST Nanomission

Sanctioned Amount : 180 Lakhs.

Project Status: Ongoing.

Completed Research Project:

1. Project Title: Experimental and theoretical investigation of ultra-thin two dimensional semiconductors and their application to make nanoscale devices.

Project Duration : 3 years - 2021- 2024

Funding Agency : Science and Engineering Research Board.

Sanctioned Amount : 46.14 Lakhs.

Project Status : Completed.

2. Project Title: Room temperature hydrogen sensing and storage using reduced graphene oxide and MoS₂ nanocomposite.

Project Duration : 3 years - 2017- 2020

Funding Agency : Science and Engineering Research Board.

Sanctioned Amount : 30 Lakhs.

Project Status : Completed.

3. Project Title: Improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells using spin caloritronics.

Project Duration : 3 years - 2013- 2016

Funding Agency : Science and Engineering Research Board.

Sanctioned Amount : 22 Lakhs.

Project Status : Completed.

Ongoing Projects:

Field-deployable quantum-enhanced sensors on integrated hybrid platform

Funding Agency: NQM, DST, Govt. of India

Member PI: Sanjib Dey

Duration: 2024-2031

Metrological and optomechanical advantage for quantum enhanced fundamental physics

Funding Agency: SERB, DST, Govt. of India

PI: Sanjib Dey

Duration: 2023-2025

Amount: INR 16 Lakhs

Quantum optics-driven advancement in quantum memories and optomechanically induced entanglement

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

PI: Sanjib Dey

Duration: 2023-2025

Amount: INR 10 Lakhs

Completed Projects:

Funding agency: INSPIRE, DST, Govt. of India

PI: Sanjib Dey

Duration: 2017-2023

Amount: INR 35 Lakhs

Research Projects

Optimization of Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort in Buildings in a BIM framework: 2024 - Ongoing

CDRF Project funded by BITS Pilani

Amount: 20 lakhs INR Duration: 2 Years

Team: Prof. Meghana Charde, Prof. Majid Hassan Khan, Prof. Shashank Khurana, Prof. Deepthi Mary Dilip

Design and Development of Static Sunshade for Thermal Comfort inside the Buildings: 2008 – 2011

Project funded by UGC, Government of India PI: Prof Rajiv Gupta

Involvement as Team Member

Design of passive building elements

Implementation of designed elements and construction of rooms

Monitoring of rooms

Akash Ganga – River from Skies, Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting: 2006 - 2009

Project funded by Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA) PI: Prof Rajiv Gupta

Involvement as Team Member

Site survey of existing village

Analysis of data using GIS software

Calculation of tank capacity based on rainfall and water requirements

Design of rainwater harvesting scheme for the village

Sponsored Projects

1. Ongoing/Submitted Projects:

S. No.	Title	Total Cost	Duration	Status	Responsibility	Agency
1	Design of High Power CW Magnetrons and investigations on strategies for their phase control	Rs. 54 lakhs	2 years	Ongoing	Co-Principal Investigator	DST
2	Design of a 200 W Solid State Driver at 3.7 GHz for the LHCD System of SST-1 Tokamak (as CO-PI with VJTI)	Rs. 23 lakhs	2 years	Ongoing	Co-Principal Investigator	Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences and Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar
3	Design and Multiphysics analysis of HPM Antenna	Rs. 25 lakhs	2 years	Ongoing	Principal Investigator	RCI-CARS

2. Completed Projects:

S. No.	Title	Total Cost	Duration	Status	Responsibility	Agency
1	Design of miniature IPD based HPF and Electromagnetic Simulation and Analysis of T/R-Module or Plank for interferences and leakages	Rs. 10 lakhs	1 year	Completed	Co-Principal Investigator	DLRL-DRDO
2	Design and Simulation of mode converters for application in directed energy weapons	Rs. 4.17 lakhs	6 months	Completed	Principal Investigator	Research Centre Imarat (RCI), DRDO
3	Design and Development of WR-284 based 500 kW CW High Power Circulator	Rs. 23.57 lakhs	1 year	Completed	Co-Principal Investigator	Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences and Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar
4	Consultancy on Multiphysics / EM analysis of Dielectric Resonator assembly in a PLDRO	Rs. 10 lakhs	1 year	Completed	Co-Principal Investigator	DLRL-DRDO

Research Interests

Microwave and RF Engineering

Sponsored Projects

Title of the Project:
Design and implementation of a Hardware Efficient Secure Pseudorandom Bit Generator for Physical Layer Security in the Resource Constraint IoT Devices

Principal Investigator

Dr. Amit Kumar Panda

Funding Type

Start-up Research Grant (SRG)

Funding Agency:

DST-SERB

Funding Amount:

26 Lakh Rupees

Project Duration

2 Years (2022-2024)

Project Title:

Sponsored Projects

Sl. No.	Sponsoring Agency	Title of the Project	Duration/ Status	Role
1	BITS Pilani — Hyderabad Campus	An Energy Efficient Regenerative Evaporative Cooling (REC) System for Building Air-Conditioning with Cross and Counter-Flow Configuration	August 2017 to August 2019	PI
2	Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani — Hyderabad Campus	An Indigenous Energy Efficient Thermal Management Strategy of Buildings for all Climatic Conditions across India	May 2019 to May 2021	PI
3	SERB, Early Career Research (ECR) Grant	Experimental Investigation on an Energy Efficient Thermal Management Technique for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV)	May 2019 to May 2022	PI
4	DST Young Scientist	A solar assisted combined cooling, heating and power plant: an alternate rural energy source	Sept 2019 to Sept 2022	PI
5	SERB, Core Research Grant (CRG), 2021	Development of a Cost Effective Solar Energy based Drinking Water cum Cold Storage Facility for Coastal Communities in India	Dec 2021 to Dec 2024	Co-PI
6	DSIR	An Indigenous Air-Conditioning Facility for Hospitals during the Covid-19 Pandemic	June 2022 to June 2024	PI

Note: A few are in under review stage at different external funding agencies

Research Interest

Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning
Hybrid Vehicle Thermal Management
Energy and Environmental Impact on Society
Compact Heat Exchangers
Evaporative Cooling
Experimental Thermo-Fluid Science

Research Projects (Ongoing)

Project Title

Funding agnecy

Duration

Development of a biomolecule detection system with on-chip planar Hall magnetometer for diagnostic purposes

SERB (DST), India

2 yrs

Development of a biosensor with on-chip planar Hall magnetometer

BITS CDRF

2 yrs

Study of exotic superconductivity in the transition metal chalcogenide FeSeTe and related compounds through thermal and thermoelectric transport measurements

BITS NFSG

2 yrs

Research Projects

Co-PI for ICSSR Sponsored project titled "Ship-building in Folklore: Orality and Memory in the Thottam Pattu of Marakkalathamma“ with Prof. Maya Vinai.April 2024-May 2026.

Sanctioned amount: Rs. 24,98,500/-.

Sponsored Projects

Project Applied : A Proposal on "Integrated Multiplexed IoT Enabled Microfluidic Point of Care Sensing platform for various Target Explosives" submitted to DRDO as PI. Cost of the Project 65.13 Lakhs. Co-Investigators : (1) Prof. Sanket Goel and (2) Dr. Satish Kumar Dubey (Status : Two rounds of Video Conference discussions on (i) 21st April, 2022 and (ii) 18th July, 2022 were happened and final modified proposal submitted on 8th August, 2022. Result yet to be announced)

Research Project from DRDO, Kanpur entitled “Device development with optimized circuit to comprehend fast charging from supercapacitors” from 10-06-2021 with a total grant of Rs. 9, 80, 000/- for 18 months (Co-PI)

Currently Co-PI of the MRI based non-invasive quantitative biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis of brain tumor project funded by DBT from 2020 to 2023 with a total grant of Rs.17,48,360/.

Consultancy Project from DLRL Hyderabad entitled “Algorithms for Narrow Beam Emitter Location (ANABEL)” from March 2015 to Feb. 2016 with a total grant of Rs. 9, 97, 593/-. (Co-PI)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. DST SERB (CRG)

Title: Automated IoT based Microfluidic Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) Biosensing platform for various biomarker detection

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: March 2020-March 2023

Amount: Rs 51. 42 Lakhs

Completed

1. BITS OPERA

Title: Design and Development of Tunable Optical MEMS devices for optical communication

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: January 2015 to December 2018

Amount: 15 Lakhs

2. Hyderabad Batteries Limited, HBL Hyderabad

Title: Implementation of Digital Beam Former for RADAR

Role: Co-Investigator

Duration: September 2017-March 2019

Amount: 3.27 Lakhs

Projects

1. Parallel Algorithm for Dense Subgraph Discovery (RIG).

Completed

Title: Algorithms for Narrow Beam width Emitter Location (ANABEL)

Funding agency: Defence Electronics and Research Labs (DLRL)

Amount: Rs 994,947

Duration: February 2015 to December 2015

Title: Frequency Estimation in Wideband Receivers with Under Sampling (FEWU)

Funding agency: Defence Electronics and Research Labs (DLRL)

Amount: Rs. 9.94 Lakhs

Duration: January 2016 to December 2016

Title of project: Implementation of Digital Beamformer for Radar (IDBR)

Funding agency: HBL Power system Limited, Hyderabad

Amount: 3,32,760

Duration: 8 months

Role: PI

Title Of project: Strategies For Fault-Tolerant Network-On-Chip Design

Funding agency: SERB

Amount: 27,11,020

Duration: March 2017 –September 2020

Role: Co-PI

Sponsored Projects

MRI based non-invasive quantitative biomarker for Early diagnosis and prognosis of Brain Tumor

Feb 2020- June 2023

Funding Agency: DBT

Amount Rs 17 Lakhs

Role: PI

Algorithms for narrow beanwidth emitter location (ANABEL)

Jan 2015 - Dec 2015

Funding Agency: DRDO

Amount Rs 10 Lakhs

Role: Co-PI

Sponsored Projects

Project Title: A two-track approach to CPS recconnaissance: causal-graphs and axiomatic design

Principal Investigator: Prof. Arlindo Silva, SUTD, Singapore

Co-Investigator: Dr. Christopher Pskitt, SUTD, Singapore, and Dr. Venkata Palleti, SUTD, Singapore

Collaborator: Dr. Rajib Ranjan Maiti, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, India

Approved grant amount: S$447,172.00

Funding Agency: NSoE, NRF, Singapore

Project Duration: 2 years

Project Start Date: 02/09/2019

Project End Date: 01/09/2021

Project Title: Defend Internet of Things-based Cyber Espionage through Analysis of Encrypted or Unencrypted Network Traffic using Machine Learning
PI: Dr. Rajib Ranjan Maiti, CSIS, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Funding Agency: CRG, SERB, DST, India
Approved grant amount: Rs. 33.44Lakhs
Project Duration: 3 years,
Project Start Date: 5th April, 2021,
Project End Date: 4th April, 2024

Project Title: "ML-Aided Secure SoC and Analytics (MASTIC)
Co-PI: Dr. Rajib Ranjan Maiti, CSIS, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Funding Agency: AXIADO India Pvt. Ltd.
Approved grant amount: Rs. 67.36 Lakhs
Project Duration: 2 years,
Project Start Date: 16th August 2021,
Project End Date: 15th August, 2023

Sponsored Projects

Completed Projects

CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) sponsored project

Title : "Localization of polymer chains on chemically heterogeneous surfaces" November 2013-December 2016.

DST (Department of Science and technology) sponsored project

Title : "Adsorption and freezing of heteropolymers on disordered surfaces : a model for biomimetic recognition", November 2011- October 2014.

Research Projects

Ongoing research projects

Treatment of textile effluent
Development of nanofiber mats for drug delivery applications

Funded Projects

External Funding

“Beyond Responsibility: What and How to Build for Others” - Mozilla Responsible Computing Challenge (2023)
“Design, development and project management support for two AI-based dialogue systems (e.g. voice-based chatbot) in Indian languages” - GIZ (2021)
“Data driven Multimodal System for Academic Stress Detection Management in Indian Universities (ARU)” - DST SERB Power Project (Co-PI) (2021)
“Using mobile phones to improve implementation of government schemes” - Google Pilot Research Grant (2015)
“Develop a grivance redressal platform and implement in select districts” - UNDP (2017)

BITS Internal Funding

“Technology-led Education Interventions for Visually Impaired Children” - Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund (2023)
“Building Actionable and Smart Information Systems for Migrant Workers in Smart Cities” - Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN) (2021)
“Conversational Information Systems for low text-illiteracy contexts” - Research Initiation Grant (2020)
“Identifying AI readiness among different user groups across India and Australia” - BITS-RMIT Higher Education Academy (2023)
“Designing AI-enabled business models for achieving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals in India and Australia” - BITS-RMIT Higher Education Academy (2023)

Bridging Literacy Gaps in Social Welfare Access: A Comparative Study of AI-Powered Conversational Interfaces in India and the USA: OpenAI API Award worth $7000

Ministry of tribal Affairs (MOTA), Government of India, Coordinator: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal (PI), Prof. Prajna Upadhyay, and Prof. Vinti Agarwal, Consortium: IIIT Hyderabad, IIIT Naya Raipur, IIT Delhi Duration: 2 Year ( INR 3.27C).

Research

Projects completed:

Development of membrane reactor for decomposition of HI (BRNS-DAE)
Development of anodic material for DSSC (DST Inspire)
Conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons (DST EMEQ)
Photocatalytic degradation using MOF composite materials (BITS, ACG)
Photocatalytic degradation of dye effluents (ABSTC)

Research Projects

Intramural project on “Sustainability Assessment of WMA-RAP Technology” under the scheme “New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG)” at BITS Pilani (2023 – Present).

Sponsored Projects

Reducing ruthenium crossover in a Direct Methanol fuel cell-sponsored by the Aditya Birla Group-Rs. 12 lacs(2011-2014)

Modeling the capacity loss in lithium ion batteries under conditions of cycling-CSIR-Rs.25.7 lacs. (2019-2022)

Modeling the performance of DET and MET based enzymatic glucose fuel cells -DBT-28.73 lacs (2022-2024).

Modeling the effect of bio film on the performance of microbial fuel cell-DST-Rs.30.1 lacs. (2022-2024)- Looking for a JRF.

Research Interest:

Security:

Malware Analysis & Detection
Network Security
Cybersecurity

Data Science:

Machine Learning
Data Mining

Projects

Launched and organised annual Entrepreneurship Summit:Coalescence - 2014/2015/2016 · Started Start Up Conferences as an Annual Event In January 2011. IPR Workshops, In Collaboration MSME/BIRAC.

Organised Indian Mobile Initiative Workshop June –July 2011 In Collaboration With MIT , USA & Google. To Promote Start Ups Based On Mobile Apps Using Android Os.

Enabling innovations in health and environment - through incubation with BITS BIRAC BioNEST

Projects

Completed Projects as Principal Investigator from BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus:

1. Project Name: Biodegradable scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering

Funding Agency: BRNS

Amount: 23.6 Lakhs

Scholar: Priyanka Dwivedi

Year: 2011-2014

2. Project Name: Advanced study to find out the correlation between S.typhi infection and gall bladder cancer

Funding Agency: Aditya Birla Group of Science and Technology (ABGST)

Research Scholar: Yogesh Walwalkar

Sanctioned Amount: 15.00 Lakhs

Year: 2015-2018

3. Project Name: Study on EMT regulation through TGFβ/SMADs in gall bladder disease

Funding Agency: DST

Sanctioned Amount:37.5Lakhs

Research Scholar: Laxminarayan Rawath

Year: 2018 – 2021

4. Project Name: Radiosensitised PEGylated gold nanoparticles mediated drug delivery for oral cancer In vitro

Funding Agency: Goa Cancer Society

Research Scholar: Shameer Ahmed

Sanctioned Amount: 6.00Lakhs

Year: 2019-2022

Ongoing Project as Principal Investigator:

1. Project Name: Natural polymeric scaffolds incorporated herbal drugs for therapeutic application (One of the PI)

Funding Agency: DBT Builder

Sanctioned Amount: 10Cr

Year: 2021-ongoing

PhD Guided from BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus:

1.Research Scholars Name: Archana Sharma

Thesis Title: Three Dimensional Macroporous polymeric cryogel matrices for soft tissue engineering applications.

Co-PI; Prof. Ashok from IIT Kanpur

Funding Support: BITS and ICMR

PhD Awarded Year: 2015

2.Research Scholars Name: Priyanka Dwivedi

Thesis Title: Development of Novel Tissue Engineering strategies to treat osteoarthritis

Co-PI; Prof. Ashok from IIT Kanpur

Funding Support: BRNS and CSIR

PhD Awarded Year: 2016

3. Research Scholars Name: Yogesh Walwakar

Thesis Title: A study on correlation of chronic Salmonella typhi infection with gall bladder disease

Funding Support: ABGST and BITS

PhD Awarded Year: 2016

4.Research Scholars Name: Laxminarayan Rawat

Thesis Title: Study on Anticancer Potential of Piperlongumine and Ursolic acid in human cancer cell lines in vitro

Funding Support: DST and BITS

PhD Awarded Year: 2021

5.Research Scholars Name: Shameer Ahmed

Thesis Title: Doxorubicin loaded PEGylated gold nanoparticles synthesis and testing as a chemoradiation potential for drug delivery system and radiosensitizer for Oral Squamous Cancer cell line.

Funding Support: Goa Cancer Society and BITS

PhD Awarded Year: 2022

PhD Guided from Previous Institute as Principal Investigator:

Research Scholars Name: Deepti Singh

Thesis Title: Polymeric scaffolds for wound healing

Co Guide: Prof: Ashok Kumar, IIT Kanpur

PhD Awarded: MGR University, Chennai.

PhD Guide at present:

1. Krishna Prasad

Title for Project work: Natural compounds screening for antineoplastic potential in oral and intestinal cancer therapeutics

2. Pratik Bhat:

Monitoring health and anemia correlation to diseases in Geriatric patients.

Research Scholars Placement:

Archana Sharma: Post doctoral Fellow at Princeton University, USA

2. Yogesh Walalkar: Research Scientist, Biocon, Bangalore

3. Lakshminarayan Rawat: Post Doctoral Fellow in Harvard Medical School, USA

4. Shameer Ahmed: Research Scientist in Novo Nordisk, Bangalore

Deepti Singh: Entrepreneur and own’s a lab in USA

Guiding Internship for four months Jan-April 2024.

Candidate: Manimaran from Bharatidasan University, Chennai

Guide For MSc. Thesis, 2024

Candidate: Lakshya Raj Khatri

Thesis: Investigating the impact of expiry and storage conditions on over the counter antibiotics: A comprehensive NMR and Spectroscopic analysis.

My projects

Impact and prospects of computer gaming on academic and socio-cultural progress of undergraduate students at BITS-Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus (15 Oct-2020- 31 March 2021)- Principle Investigator Funded by TLC, BITS- Pilani Goa Campus
Generation 2: Reinvent the toilet challenge- role Co-PI/Collaborator (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
ICSSR major project titled Economic valuation of ecosystem services of selected wetlands in Goa (2022) - role Principle Investigator

Sponsored Research Projects

Sponsored Projects

“Copper cathode quality improvement & reduction in bleed to ETP” funded by HINDALCO Industries Limited, Investigators- Pradeep Kumar Sow, Jay Pandey, Mrinmoyee Basu
“Design, Development and Bench-scale Demonstration of Electrochemical Hydroiodic Acid (HI) Decomposition in a Continuous Flow System for I-S Cycle” funded by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre, PI: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Sow,
“Continuous Flow Oil-Water Separation System Using Smart Separators Capable of Low-Voltage Wettability Switching", funded by Early Career Research Award (ECR) – Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB-DST), PI: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Sow
“Electrochemical Process for Hydroiodic acid (HI) decomposition in Iodine-Sulfur Cycle: A feasibility study” funded by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Energy Centre, PI: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Sow.
“Development of transition metal oxide based nanostructured surfaces for low-voltage tuning of wettability”, funded by Additional Competitive Grant – BITS Pilani, PI: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Sow.
“Nano-composite materials for low-voltage alteration of the surface wettability”, funded by Research Initiation Grant – BITS Pilani, PI: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Sow.

Research Projects

Received the CDRF grant of Rs 10 lakhs for the period of (2023-2025) on September 2023 funded by BITS Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa campus.
Received the OPERA Grant of Rs 4.2 lakhs for the period of (2021- 2024) on June 2021 funded by BITS Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa campus.

Sponsored Projects

Planning to submit a proposal on Wireless Sensor Networks Applications.

Research Projects:

Exciting Updates Coming Soon – Please Revisit the Website!

Research Projects

SPARC Project (2023-2025):
- - Grant: ₹44,25,965/-
  - Title: Impact of Population Heterogeneity and Complex Socio-Ecological Environments on the Transmission Dynamics of Dengue in the Indian Urban Scenario: Insights from Mathematical Modelling, Data-Model Based Systems Analysis, and Control of Complex Systems
  - Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. Amit Setia
  - National co-PIs:
  - Prof. Prashant Kumar Srivastava, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, India.
  - Dr. (Mrs.) Sanghamitra Pati, (MBBS, MD & MPH), Director, ICMR Regional Medical Research Centre Bhubaneswar, Department of Health Research, Govt of India, Bhubaneswar-751023, Odisha, India.
  - International PI:
  - Prof. Edwin Michael, Professor, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
  - International co-PIs:
  - Dr. Anuj Mubayi, Faculty affiliation with Illinois State University, Normal, USA.
  - Dr. Abhishek Kumar Pandey, (Associate Director, Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis (CIDMA), Yale University, USA).

SPARKLE Project (2024-2025):
- - Grant: ₹2,00,000/-
  - Title: Path planning and obstacle avoidance
  - Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. Amit Setia

Research Projects

Principal Investigator of UGC project on Studies of Haloarchaea producing polyhydroxyalkanoates (2009-2012)
Principal Investigator BITS Seed Grant Project “Screening and Characterization of Hydrolytic enzymes from Halophilic archaea having biotechnological potential” (2013-2015)
Principal Investigator DBT Builder (2022 - 2027 Ongoing). BT/INF/22/SP42543/2021) from DBT-INR 843Lakhs, 2022-2027 (Role: Principal Investigator, Coordinator: Prof. Sunil Bhand, BITS Goa).This is a DBT Builder capacity building program awarded to multiple PIs in BITS Goa.
Principal Investigator DBT (2024) Technology Development and Bioprocess Engineering of Agro-Industrial and Single use Polyethylene waste to biodegradable Polyhydroxyalkanoates by Halophilic Microorganisms

Projects

Ongoing:

Title: An experimental and CFD-DEM study of spouted fluidized bed heat exchanger for non-spherical particles

Funding Agency: ANRF, India

Period: April 2023 to March 2026

Co-PI: Prof. Ranjit S Patil

Completed:

Title: Drag Reduction by suppressing the Bi-Stability character of the wake

Funding Agency: ARDb, DRDO

Period: July 2020 to July 2022

PI: Prof. Shibu Clement

Sponsored Projects

Sponsored Research Projects (Completed):

Computational Study of the Catalytic Mechanism of some Diaryldiselenide-based Glutathione Peroxidase Mimetics, PI: Dr. R. N. Behera, Duration: Jan 2017 - Jun 2020, Funding Agency: SERB-DST, India, Amount Sanctioned: 16.4 Lakh, Role: PI

Experimental and Computational Study of Boron Doped TiO₂and ZnO Nanocrystals, PI: Dr. K. P. Jayadevan, Co-PI: Dr. R. N. Behera, Duration: Feb 2017 - Dec 2020, Funding Agency: SERB-DST, India, Amount: 22 Lakh, Role: Co-PI
Study of effective interactions in charged colloidal suspensions, PI: Dr. R. N. Behera, Duration: 3 years (Feb. 2012 - Feb. 2015), Funding Agency: CSIR, India, Amount: 10.4 Lakh. Role: PI

Chalcogen containing azomethine macrocycles and bicycles: synthesis, characterization, metal complexes and theoretical investigations of nature ofintramolecular interactions between divalent chalcogen and nitrogen atoms. PI: Dr. A. Panda, Duration: Jan 2015 – Jan. 2018, Funding Agency: DST, India (under Women Scientist Scheme A), Amount: 25 Lakh, Role: Mentor.

Novel Schiff base macrocycles containing Se-Se bonds and their reduced analogues: synthesis, characterization, comparative coordination chemistry and theoretical study, PI: Dr. A. Panda, Duration: Duration: March 2011 – Sept. 2014, Funding Agency: DST, India (under Women Scientist Scheme A), Amount: 21.96 Lakh, Role: Mentor.

Sponsored Projects

The lab constantly received as well as receiving funds through sponsored projects in the areas of Schizophrenia (Human Genetics as well as stem cell models) and Tuberculosis detection.

Completed Projects
6	Mechanistic basis of abnormal neurogenesis due to HSAN1E-associated DNMT1 mutation and pharmacological intervention for phenotypic correction. (2017 – 2020) Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Amount: 68.45 lakhs
5	Transgenic Embryonic stem cell models for studying the role of elevated levels of DNMT1, and DNMT3A in neuropsychiatric disorders. (2014 – 2018) Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Amount: 24.10 lakhs
4	Characterization of a mouse embryonic stem cell model to study the effects of increased levels of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) on abnormal neurogenesis. (2014 – 2018) Funding Agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Amount: 40.38 lakhs
3	Automated detection of abnormal copy number variants in human diseases. (2015 – 2017) Funding Agency: Biotech Ignition Grant (BIG) – CCAMP Amount: 49.90 lakhs
2	Development of a cost-effective membrane and DNA chip-based detection of mutations with multiple drug-resistance tuberculosis. (2012 – 2015) Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology – Technology Development and Transfer (TDT) Amount: 69.16 lakhs
1	Development of personalized DNA markers in breast cancer patients for early diagnosis and prognosis using a non-invasive method. (2012 – 2014) Funding Amount: 13.50 lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Naveen K. Shrivastava (PI), R. N. Ponnalagu, Ankur Bhattacharjee. Design and Development of a Semiconductor Based Photocatalytic Fuel Cell for Air Purification and Simultaneous Electricity Generation to Power IoT Enabled Sensor Nodes. Funding Agency: BITS-Pilani Under the Scheme Center for Research Excellence in Semiconductor Technologies (CREST). INR 30,00,000. Ongoing (Aug 2023 - continuing).
Naveen K. Shrivastava (PI). Design and Development of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell with Effective Species Management Technique. Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) through Research Initiation Grant. AED 20,000. Completed (June 20^th 2018 - 20^th June 2020)

Research Project

Development of interactive classroom demonstration experiments for introductory Physics courses and study of its effectiveness on student learning
Principal Investigator: Ram Shanker Patel
Co-investigators: Radhika Vathsan, Arun V Kulkarni, Swastibrata Bhattacharyya, Arnab Roy, Yuriy Petenev, Aabhaas Vineet Mallik
Funding Agency: Teaching Learning Center (TLC), BITS Pilani- K K Birla Goa Campus.
Funding amount: Rs 1.9 Lakh
Project Duration: 2024- 2025.
Exploring the role of electrons’ spin in enhanced hydrogen production using chiral/magnetic
electrocatalysts
Principal Investigators: Dr. Kiran Vankayala and Dr. Ram Shanker Patel
Funding Agency: Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) scheme of Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani
Funding amount: Rs 20 Lakh
Project Duration: 2023 - 2025 (24 months)
Spin Seebeck Effect in novel heterostructures
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ram Shanker Patel
Co-investigators: Dr. Pratap Kumar Sahoo and Dr. Kartik Senapati (NISER Bhubaneshwar)
Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, under Science
and Engineering Research Board programs
Funding amount: Rs 51 Lakh
Project Duration: 2017 - 2020 (36 months)
Magneto-transport in magnetic tunnel junctions.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ram Shanker Patel
Co-investigator: None
Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, under Nanomission program
Funding amount: Rs 52.65 Lakh
Project Duration: 2012 - 2016 (48 months)
Development of low temperature magnetization measurements set-up.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ram Shanker Patel
Co-investigator: Dr. Teny John, Dr. Halan Prakash
Funding Agency: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Govt. of India.
Funding amount: Rs 13.85 Lakh
Project Duration: 2012 - 2014 (24 months)

Optimization of Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort of Buildings in a BIM Framework

Collaborator

Dr. Deepthi Mary Dilip

Project Type

Cross-Disciplinary

Agency

CDRF-II, BITS Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

20.00 Lakh

Structural Health Monitoring of Asphalt Pavements using Digital Twin Information

Principal Investigator

Dr. Deepthi Mary Dilip

Project Type

Cross-Disciplinary

Funding Agency

CDRF-II, BITS Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

20.00 Lakh

Research Projects

Non-destructive prediction of peak load carrying capacity of cylindrical shells using the energy barrier method (SERB), 2018 - 2020, Budget: 35 Lakhs
Assessment of structural integrity of aerospace shells (BITS) 2022-2024, Budget: 10 Lakhs

Sponsored projects

SwedGuru: A privacy-aware smart wearable patch to analyze sweat and provide real-time health feedback (Co- Investigator)

Funding Agency: Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework , BITS-Pilani

Grant Sanctioned: ₹ 30 Lakhs (Ongoing) (~A$54,503)

2. Development of enhanced heat pipes with superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces and wettability gradient for high density electronics cooling (Principal Investigator)

Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board

Grant Sanctioned: ₹ 23.32 Lakhs (Ongoing) (~A$41,858)

Study of heat transfer in Loop Heat Pipe with nanofluids using Infrared Thermography (Principal Investigator)

Funding Agency: Additional Competitive Grant & Research Initiation Grant , BITS-Pilani

Grant Sanctioned: ₹ 9.0 Lakhs (completed) (~A$16,350)

Sponsored Projects

Projects Completed: As PI

2013 - 2016 DAE BRNS (18 Lacs)
Title: Neutron Stars as potential continuous gravitational wave emitter.

2012 - 2013 BITS Research Initiation Grant (2 Lacs)
Title: Neutron Stars as potential continuous gravitational wave emitter.

Projects Completed: As Co-PI
2012 - 2015 DAE BRNS (20 Lacs)
Title: Aspects of some astrophysical systems like supernovae and neutron stars in the light of new physics.

Sponsored Research

Title of the Project: Uniform Stabilization of Numerical Approximations of Wave Equations.
Funding Agency: DST-SERB under Core Research Grant
Amount: Rs. 26.26 lakhs, Duration: 3 years (2024 to 2027)
PI: Prof. Anil Kumar
Co-PI: Prof. P. Danumajaya & Prof. Amiya K. Pani
Title of the Project: Tracking the import of SARS CoV2 and its variants by surveillance of Airport wastewater
Funding Agency: DST-SERB
Duration: 1 year
Total Amount: Rs. 42,51720-00
PI: Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri
Co-PIs: Prof. Anasuya Ganguly, Prof. Tusar Tirtha Saha, and Prof. P. Danumjaya
Status: Ongoing
Title of the Project: Predictive Mathematical Modeling and Analysis for Effective Diagnosis and Control of Diabetes Mellitus with associated Co-infections and Diseases among Indians
PI: Dr. P. Dhanumjaya (BITS-Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus) and
Co-PI: Prof. V. SREE HARI RAO (International Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Hyderabad.)
Funding Agency: DST-SERB
Duration: 3 years (one JRF)
Total Amount: Rs. 15,68,490-00
Status: Completed
Title of the Project: Theoretical and Numerical Study of Elliptic and Parabolic Partial Differential Equations with Interfaces
PI: Dr. P. Dhanumjaya (BITS-Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus)
Funding Agency: NBHM (DAE)
Duration: 3 years (one JRF)
Total Amount: Rs. 13,48,100-00
Status: Completed

Ongoing projects

Project title: Right to Safe Sanitation Facilities: A Study of Persons with Disabilities Mohan Kumar Bera. Funded by Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS Pilani, Amount 20 Lakh. 2023, (PI)

Research Projects

As PI

Title: Development of novel initiators for the controlled polymerization of itaconamic acid/ itaconimide monomers

Sponsored by: DST, Delhi

Project Duration: 3 years (March, 2010 to Nov, 2012)

Grant amount: Rs. 19,86, 600/-

As Co-PI

Title: Pharmaceutical polymer-based bioink for skin tissue constructs

Sponsored by: BFI-BIOME Program

Project Duration:18 Months (Aug 2024 to Feb, 2025)

Grant amount: Rs. 43,27,000/-

Completed reearch projects

Title of the project : Exploring relationship between students and mentors: A study of a learning activity through group work. Funded by Teaching Learning Centre- BITS Pilani Goa Campus. Amount : 1.30 Lakhs. 2021 (PI)

Title of the project: Implication of Ujjwala Scheme on forest conservation. Funded by Government of Jharkhand. Amount Rs. 9.6 lakhs. 2020 (Co-PI)

Title of the project: Impact of Negative factors and importance of monitoring natural wetland ecosystem. Funded by Government of Jharkhand. Amount: Rs. 17 Lakhs. 2020 (Co-PI)

Title of the Project: Coping with Displacement due to River Erosion in the Indian Sundarban and Lower Assam. Funded by ICSSR. Amount Rs. 4.5 Lakhs. 2019 (PI)
Title of the Project: Coping with crisis of livelihood and disasters: A study of migration in Sundarban islands. Funded by the BITS-Pilani. Amount Rs. 2 Lakhs. 2019 (PI)

Projects

Ongoing Projects:

Project Title: Uniform Stabilization of Numerical Approximations of Wave Equations.
Amount: Rs. 26.26 lakhs, Duration: 3 years (2024 to 2027)
Funding Agency: DST-SERB under Core Research Grant
PI: Prof. Anil Kumar and Co-PIs: Prof. P. Danumajaya & Prof. Amiya K. Pani, Department of Mathematics, BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus, Goa.

Sponsored Research Projects (IITB)
1. A Research grant of US$4,000 from the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), ICTP (Trieste,
Italy) for the Project on ‘Numerical Methods for Strongly Damped Wave Equations’.
2. Actively Involved in the Mission mode Project on ‘Development of Tools for Analysis of Switchgear
Mechanism ’ under Technology Development Mission on Integrated Design and Competitive Manufac-
ture (Rs. 153,35,00,000/- ). (with Industry Partners :Crompton & Greaves Ltd and Larson & Toubro
Ltd.).
3. Research grant of Rs.29,611,60/- from DST for the project entitled ‘Doing Industrial Mathematics Via
Genetic Algorithms (GAs), Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs), Online Optimization, Computer
Aided Geometric Design (CAGD) and Market Forcasting’, from DST 1998 (Co-Principal Investigator).
4. Research grant of Rs. 216,000,000/- (2.16 Crores) for the project entitled ‘Physical and Numerical
Models for Un-conventional Flood patterns’ from Institute of Reservoir Studies, Ahemdabad (ONGC).
5. Research Grant of Rs. 12,24,000/- for the DST-DAAD (PPP-05) project entitled ‘Adaptive Mixed
Finite Element Methods and Applications’ from DST-DAAD (PIs; Amiya Kumar Pani (India) and
Professor Carsten Carstensen (Germany)).
12
6. Research Grant of Rs. 20,00,000/- from DST for the project ‘The Oldroyd Model of Viscoelastic Fluids:
Theoretical and Computational Studies ’ (with Co-PI: Neela Nataraj)
7. Research Grant under Indo-Brazil ( DST-CNPq) project 2009-2011 with PIs ( Indian side) : A. K.
Pani and Neela Nataraj and PI ( Brazil side): Jin Yun Yuan, D. Pedro and H. Carlos.
8. Grant of Rs.4.5 crores for a National Programme in Differential Equations: Theory, Computation and
Applications for a period of five years starting from 2012 (PI) with Neela Nataraj, S. Baskar and Sivaji
Ganesh Sista.
9. Grant of Rs.1944600.00 for the DST project on ‘Finite Element Methods For Parameter Identification
Problems In Elliptic Partial Differential Equations for the period 2014-2017(Co-PI) with Neela Nataraj
and M.T. Nair.

Ongoing Projects

Project Director of Bio-CPS/ BioCyTIH (for technology innovations) from DST with total amount of 125 cores (2022-2026). Participated with two major projects for detection of oral cancer and peptide based therapies of Covid 19. . The project is undertaken at the BITS-Pilani, ByCyTiH multi-institutional mega project. My job is to overall investigate and monitor the biological interventions for human diseases (total number of projects are 22). Received 6 government funds total of 5 crores (PI in 2 projects and Co-PI in 3 projects) (Two of the projects will end in 2027).
Taken part as the Institution Director (CSIR-IICB, Kolkata) for a Systems Medicine Cluster, Eastern Zone from Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The total sanctioned amount was 145 corers for five other institutes. May 2017- June, 2021. The project was on detection of possible markers and therapies for oral and cervical cancers, which is now continued as a part of BITS-BioCyTIH program.
As a continuation, part of this project on the early detection of oral cancer from patient saliva samples is now continued in the Bio-CyTIH. The work is ongoing with Prof. Sanket Goel at the BITS-Pilani, Hyderbad campus.
As PI, to initiate and continue the newly sanctioned DBT project on “Transcriptional Regulation of Telomerase (hTERT) by Chromatin remodeling protein SMAR1” BT/PR30192/BRB/10/1915. The total sanctioned amount is Rs 90 lakhs with One RA and one SRF. 2024-2027.

Faculty Projects

Sponsored Projects

Completed:

“ICT in Schools of Goa”

Role: Co- Principal Investigator

Funding Agency/Amount: BITS Seed Money Project, Rs. 3.5 Lakhs

“Mining Closure, Economic Disruption & Local Level Sustainability: A Case Study of Goa, India”

Role: Co- Principal Investigator

Funding Agency/Amount: Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, Rs. 9 Lakhs

3-Application of Supervised ML Algorithms to analyze the Drivers of Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activities in India: The Role of Socio-cognitive Traits and Institutional Environment-Nov2023-Rs14.5 lakhs-2years--Chief Investigator- Prof Aswini K Mishra

Co-Investigators: Dr Rajorshi Sengupta. Dr Debasis Patnaik, Dr Richa Shukla

4-Handicapped and Sanitation-Coastal States of West Bengal and Odisha- Chief Investigator-Dr Mohan Bera-Asst Prof, HSS, BITS Goa; Co Investigator-Dr Debasis Patnaik-Prof. Econ and Finance, BITS Goa-Rs20 lakhs- 2023-2025.

Applied-Sent

Theme 2. Human Resource, Holistic Growth and Development

Sub-theme, if
any

2.B Education and Skilling
Strategies for NEP 2020 Implementation

Title of the
Research Proposal

Implementation of group learning pedagogy in higher educational
institutions for developing entrepreneurial knowledge and skill

Research Projects

Sponsored Project as Principal Investigator:

Erasmus+ International grant for the proposal titled “Integrated Track in Brain and Cognitive Sciences (iBRAIN)” under the Capacity Building in Higher Education 2019 scheme. The total cost of this collaborative project is € 138350.00.
Literacy and Cognition Project funded by Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The cost of the project € 5800.
Cognitive Neuroscience Techniques and multimodal scheme to understand consumer behaviour funded by Course5 Intelligence Private Limited,2022 for Rs.1,227,600 INR
Mobile/Web and AR-VR Based Cognition Tracking, Analysis and Rehabilitation for healthy and cognitively impaired people Funded by BITS BioCyTiH Foundation, for Rs. 2,400,000 INR
Carving Individual Learning Trajectories (CILT) by Uncovering the Factors linked to Cognitive Funded by Questt, for Rs. 1, 382, 832.
Estimation of Regional Brain Atrophy using explainable AI and Neuroimaging: Linking Brain Structural Volume to Brain Funded by BITS-RMIT.

Research

Research interests:

Green chemistry: Reactions in organized aqueous media; on-water reactions, microwave synthesis, etc.
Mechanochemistry: A simple and convenient route for organic transformations. To explore Ball-Mill, Mixer mill, Automated grinder, Hand-Grinding for synthesis of bioactive compounds. Mechanochemical C-H activation.
Heterogeneous catalysis: Syntheses of chiral catalysts by post-synthetic modification of pre-assembled metal-organic frameworks and their application in fundamental asymmetric syntheses.
Nanochemistry: Custom-made synthesis of smart nanomaretials and their application in bio-/nano technology such as drug/gene delivery vehicles.
Molecular sensors: Development of novel artificial receptors/molecular sensors for the selective recognition/sensing of biogenic substances, toxic ions of clinical interest and environmental pollutants
Medicinal Chemistry: Design and synthesis of new drug leads based on multifunctional heterocycles.
Method development: Development of new or improved methods for the preparation/purificatio/isolation of various organic molecules in the purview of their industrial applications.

Ongoing/completed Projects:

Mechanochemical synthesis of magnetic graphene oxide based reusable solid acid catalysts, their use in the synthesis of bioactive quinoxalines and further exploration towards green synthesis of influenza drug, Favipiravir, UGC-DAE, CRS/2021-22/04/631, April 2022, Ongoing.
DBT-BUILDER -BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advance Research and Education; Department of Biotechnology, BT/INF/22/SP42543/2021, [as a project co-coordinator]
Design and synthesis of smart supramolecular dyes based on TPE modified PDI–cucurbituril conjugates: their binding and photophysical studies, BRNS, 37(2)/14/20/2017-BRNS/37217, 28 lakhs, 2018-2021.
Godrej ASTEC sponsored consultancy project, started in March 2021-Dec. 2021.

UNICHEM Laboratories Ltd. funded consultancy project 05/17 to 08/17, 5.52.
DST-SERB project “A comprehensive study on mechanochemical sp² C-H bond activation in five-membered heteroaromatics in a Ball-Mill” (Project no. EMR/2016/002253), 32 lakhs, 2016-2020, completed June 2020.
DST Fast Track Project for Young Scientists for the project “Redox-sensitive Vesicles of Cucurbit[7]urils as an Efficient Targeted Intracellular Drug Delivery Vehicle” (SR/FT/CS 023/2010) as PI, completed on 30/4/14.
Kurade Agro funded industrial project “Isolation of Natural Products from Kokum”, as PI, completed on 31/12/14.
CSIR project “Synthesis of Metal-Organic-Porous-Material Based Efficient Chiral Heterogeneous Catalysts by Post-Synthetic Modification and Their Applications in Asymmetric Reactions” (project no. 02(0075)/12/EMR-II), worth 23 lakhs as PI (Co-I Dr. Rahul Banerjee of NCL Pune).
CSIR project “Spectroscopic investigation of the properties of low-lying electronic states of some chemopreventive retinylnitrones and their comparison with retinyliminium ions” (project no. 01(2681)/12/EMR-II) worth 14 lakhs, as co-invertigator (PI Dr. Anjan Chattopadhyay).
CSIR project “Preparation of Magnetically Separable, Mesoporous TiO₂ Catalysts and Study of their Catalytic Properties” (project no. 02(147)/13/EMR-II), worth 16 lakhs as co-investigator (PI: Dr. Narendra Nath Ghosh).

Position available:

Applications are invited from the
candidates with own-fellowship (e.g. NET-JRF), who want to pursue Ph.D. programme in synthetic organic chemistry / green chemistry / heterogeneous catalysis / mechanochemistry / supramolecular chemistry

Research

Brief Note on Doctoral Studies

Title of the Research Topic:

Experimental Investigations Involving Quality Modeling Concepts for Rotational Moulding of Plastics and Compression Moulding of Composites.

Supervisor:

Prof. BJC Babu, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

Summary of Thesis:

This research work was focused on experimental investigations for polymer composite processing methods. The investigations for thermoplastics polymer processing have been carried out for a typical Rotational Moulding process for Linear Low Density Polythylene (LLDPE). For the thermosetting polymers, investigations were done on Unsaturated Polyester (UP) resin/glass fiber (GF) composites on a compression moulding process to produce mechanical fasteners (nut and bolts) made out of above composites. Fiber orientation studies were conducted for the threaded fasteners. The fasteners so obtained showed excellent thermo-mechanical and anti corrosive properties.

Sponsored Research Projects

Role PI:

Experimental Investigations of Rotational Moulding Process Using Nano-Scale Fumed Silica Composites.

Funding : Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
Period: 2012-2015.
Grant Sanctioned: INR 15.85 Lakhs

Rotational Moulding of LLDPE using Nano scale Fumed Silica Composites.

Funding : MHRD / UGC (Start up Grant).
Period: 2012-2015.
Grant Sanctioned: INR 6 Lakhs.

Research Initiation Grant on Rotational Moulding of Plastics

Funding : BITS PIlani Goa Campus.
Period: 2012-2014.
Grant Sanctioned: INR 2 Lakhs.

Other Research Projects ( Role Co-PI and Other)

Development and Demonstration of Two centralized wastewater treatment plants

( PI: Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri, Dept of Bilogical Sciences, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus)
- Funding :Waste Water, and Energy Management under center of excellence, BITS Pilani.
- Period: 2013-2015
- Grant: 40 Lakh
FIST Project under the thrust area of Polymer and Composite Material Processing.
- Funding : DST/BITS Pilani Goa Campus.
- Period: 2012-2017.
- Grant Sanctioned: INR 18 Lakhs

Consultancy Projects with Industry

Comparative Study of Creep of different Rotomouldable Grade materials' Polymer Link India Pvt. Ltd , Amount 2,36,000, 2022, Duration 6 weeks.
‘Comparative Study of effect of dry and melt blending on Rotomolding materials' M/s. Roots Multi Clean ltd Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Amount Rs. 1,19,180, 2021 Duration 3 weeks.
Assessing the Rotomouldability of Materials for Roots Multiclean Pvt. Ltd, to M/s. Roots Multi Clean ltd Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Amount Rs. 1,48, 491, 2019, Duration 4 weeks.
As CoPI: Fatigue Life Assessment Study of Polymeric materials PI Dr. Vikas Choudhari. John Deere, Pune Amount 5.90 Lakhs, 2021 Duration 1 year
Co-PI: Studies on sustainable eco-friendly solution to replace polyethylene bags/containers used for horticulture applications PI Dr. Vikas Choudhari. Co-PI:Dr. Kiran Mali. Amount 1 Lakhs, 2021, Duration 1 year
Material Properties Guide For Rotational Moulding, Society of Asian Rotomoulder, Amount 1 Lakhs, 2018, Duration 5 months.

Laboratory Developed

Plastics testing Laboratory

Completed Projects

Projects completed

Targeting the amyloid matrix of staphylococcal biofilms for effective management of its recalcitrant infections

DHR 2020-2023

Development of Novel Biofilm Resistant Coat for Implant Devices from Moringa oleifera Leaf Extracts

ICMR 2019-2022

Restoration of windowpane oyster population following sea ranching practices for their long term conservation

WTI, 2019-2021

Synthesis of mononuclear as well as homo and hetero dinuclear complexes of Cu(II) and Zn(II) with hard-soft donor ligands and evaluation of their anticancer activities (as co-PI)

SERB, 2018-2023

Physicochemical characterization of the Primary Sigma Factor of Vibrio cholerae

DBT, 2012-2016

Studies on putative GGEEF/sensory box domain protein of Vibrio cholerae

DST (SERB), 2012-2015

Structure elucidation of VC0395_300 protein from Vibrio cholerae (leading to an alternate method of checking Cholera”)

BRNS, DAE, 2011-2014

Biochemical and genetic characterization of antimicrobial (candidacidal) peptides produced by the Antarctic Strain Enterococcus faecalis APR 210 (as co-PI)

UGC, 2012-2014

Expression, Purification and Characterization of GGEEF protein of Vibrio cholerae

BITS, 2011-2012

Projects

DBT Builder

CDRF-I

CDRF-II

BFI

Research Projects

1.Polyamines and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (DBT-2020)

2.Role of novel adiporon analogue for PCOS management (DBT Builder-2022)

3.Role of sirtuin analgues for PCOS management (BITS-CDRF-2023)

4.Role of sirtuin in metabolic disorder-TB (ICMR-2024)

5.Role of alternative splicing in hypothalamus (SERB-2024)

Ongoing Projects

Screening the Role of Shellfish as Conduits in the Transmission of Antimicrobial Resistance from the Environment into Human
Conservation of the Bilaterian Organizer: Novel Studies from the Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus gigas Muller
Efficacy of natural extracts of Plants from Western Ghats as antifouling agents on Metallic surfaces with Novel Synergists
Silicon-to-Lead: AI-Driven Design, Synthesis and Development of New Drugs to Combat Cardiovascular Diseases (as co-PI)

Government/Industry funded projects

Completed

Realization of Biomimetic Dental Implants in Digital Dentistry (Bioactive Biocomposite Development) | PI
Biotechnology Industrial Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) Seed Funds | Mar-2021 to Mar-2022 [INR 2.00 Lakhs]
Realization of Biomimetic Dental Implants in Digital Dentistry (3D Scanning & Modelling) | PI | Jun-2021 to June-2023 | EIR Category of TIDE 2.0 Scheme of DST, Govt, of India Pilani Incubation & Entrepreneurship Development Society (PIEDS)] [INR 4.00 Lakhs]
Evaluation of Mechanical Performance of the 3-D Printed PEEK Polymer used in Space Applications | Co-PI | Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Banglore| Nov-2019 to Nov-2023) | [INR 36.29 Lakhs]
Artificial intelligence assisted surgical procedure for customized patient-specific dental implants using cloud-based automated workflow" under SMART Bio-CPS program of BITS BioCyTiH Foundation. | PI | BioCyTiH | Jun-2023 to Jan-2024 [INR 4.50 L]

Ongoing

IndigenousDevelopment of Value Implants in Dentistry | Startup India Seed Funds (SIFS), Govt. of India| PI | Jun-2022 to Dec-2024 | [INR 8.00 Lakhs]
Structural Simulation and Comprehensive Mechanical Characterization of High-Performance Polyethylene (HPPE) Used for Conveyor Roller and Piping Applications| Global Conveyor Systems Private Limited, Goa. | PI |Jun-2024 to Dec-2025 | [INR 10.00 Lakhs]
Deformation studies to reveal deformation heterogeneity phenomenon in oligcorsytals and 3D printed polymers Using Localised Spectrum Analysis and Digital Image Correlation| Université Clermont Auvergne, France (École Universitaire de Physique et d'Ingénierie) | PI |Dec-2023 to Dec-2025 | [6000.00 Euros]

Projects Completed:

Principal Investigator: Shilpa Gondhali.

Title of the Project: A study of homotopy invariants of a model category.

Funding Agency/Amount: DST, Govt. of India/Rs. 6.6 lac

Duration: 3 years (April-2018 to March-2021)

Ongoing Projects

Title: Verification and Validation of Satellite Onboard Software written in ADA language using Model Checking

Funding Agency: ISRO

Duration: 24 Months (2024 to 2026)

Amount: 17 Lakhs

TCS DataLab

PI for a project titled "TCS DataLab", which is funded by TCS research.

Duration: Dec 2022- Dec 2024

Description: The work focuses on exploring and advancing the capabilities of LLMs.

Project/Workshop Funding

S. No	Details
1	Topic: Design and development of dual-band patch Antennas for S and C bands (3.7GHz to 4.2 GHz) used for 5G Networks. Sponsor: Akademika, Mumbai, India, 2024 Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 2.00 Lakhs Role: Principal Investigator (PI)
2	Topic: Design and Development of flexible antennas operating in S and C bands for space application. Sponsor: Guerin, Bengaluru, India, 2024 Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 2.36 Lakhs Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Co–PI)
3	Topic: Design and Development of broadband antennas operating in 500 MHz to 1000 MHz band. Sponsor: Muxtronics, India, 2024 Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 5.05 Lakhs Role: Principal Investigator (PI)
4	Topic: Preparation of Road Map to transform Major Ports to Port 4.0 leveraging advanced technologies Sponsor: Indian Ports Association, Government of India, 2024 Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 11.8 Lakhs Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Co–PI)
5	Topic: 5G use case Lab. Sponsor: TCIL, Government of India, 2023 Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 71.25 Lakhs (TCIL) + 14.25 Lakhs (BITS, Pilani) = Rs. 85.5 Lakhs Role: Focal team member
6	Topic: Development of Broadband Antenna for High Efficiency Applications. Sponsor: Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani, 2017 Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 2 Lakhs Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Consultancy Project

Company: Quantum Solutions Inc.

Title: Quantum dot short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensors.

Project Overview:

Quantum solutions is special chemicals company based in UK that manufactures semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) for displays and image sensors. This project is related to lead sulphide (PbS) and Indium arsenide (InAs) quantum dot materials for short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensors.

Projects

Completed

As PI

DST CORE Project: 21.74 Lakhs

Title: Reactive Transport Modeling and Simulation of CO2 Sequestration in Decca Volcanic Province.

As Co-PI

CSIR: 23 Lakhs

Title: Modeling Capacity Loss in Lithium ion Batteries under Conditions of Cycling.

Ongoing

DST Core Project: 29 Lakhs

Development of Lattice Boltzmann Methods for Multiphase Flow and Transport in Porous Media.

Research Group

University of Warsaw, Poland

RMIT,Austarlia

La Trobe,Australia

Glenoble French Alpes

Centre for Cultural Intelligence,NTU,Singapore

Indian Insttute of remote Sensing,Dehradun

NUJS,Kolkata West Bengal

PhD and M.E Research Supervision.

Ph.D. thesis student Supervision – Doctoral (Ph.D.) Degree: Supervised Nine Ph.D. students and 3 ongoing

Sl.No.	Name of Student	Year of Completion	Title of Ph.D. Theses
1.	Swetha Ramesh	2024	“Characterization of Novel Antifungal Lipopeptides Against Candida albicans And Non-albicans Strains and Elucidation of Their Mode Of Action”
2.	REHAN A. DESHMUKH	Degree Awarded 2020	Development of Rapid and Sensitive Molecular Methods for the Detection and Quantification of Escherichia coli in water
3.	GAUTAM K.	Degree Awarded 2019	Functional Characterization of Recombinant α-Crystallin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv
4.	AJAY G. CHALASANI	Degree Awarded 2018	Biochemical and Functional Characterization of a Narrow-Spectrum Antibacterial Peptide from the Wild-type Bacillus sp.
5.	RAMYA R	Degree awarded’2018	She has been declared as one of the winners of the YOUNG INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY for HUMAN & ANIMAL MYCOLOGY’ Grant for the 20^th ISHAM Congress going to be held at Amsterdam’ July’ 2018.
6.	PURNIMA SINGH	Deg. Awarded in Nov, 2016	Studies on Microbial Diversity and Biotechnological Potential of Selected Polar Organisms; Awarded prestigious Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) Fellowship in August 2017.
7.	RAEESH SHEKH	Aug’ 2013 (Degree awarded.	Study on Biochemical and Genetic Characterization of anti-Candida Substance Produced by Enterococcus faecalis.
8.	VEEKY BATHS	Aug’ 2012 (Degree awarded)	Systems Biology and Graph Theoretic Approaches to Identify Potential Drug Targets against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
9.	SUBODH K SRIVASTAVA	2009 (degree awarded)	Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Granule Bound Starch Synthase-I gene & its association with starch quality in Rice genotypes
10	Madhuri Madduri	Likely to submit thesis 2024-2025	SERB-sponsored JRF (Thesis work in progress)
11.	Pritish R. Shukla	4.3 yrs	Birla Carbon-CSR
11.	Sreelakshmi K.P.	2^nd year	DBT-Builder

M.E. Dissertation/Thesis student Research Supervision.

Sl.No.	Name of Student	Year of Completion	M.E. (Biotechnology) Dissertation/Thesis
1.	ANVIKSHA S	May 2019 (Degree awarded)	Exploration on the functional characterization of antifungal lipopeptide fractions isolated from B. subtilis
2.	KANIKA BHATNAGAR	May 2015 (degree awarded	Optimization of the production parameters of the antifungal substance by Bacillus species and its partial purification.
3.	RIYAZ BASHA	NOV, 2012 (degree awarded)	PCR based Species level Identification of Malaria Parasite and genetic analysis of drug resistance markers in P. falciparum isolates.
4.	AKHILESH DIXIT	MAY, 2010 (degree awarded)	Preliminary Biochemical Characterization and Optimization of Production of the Antimicrobial Substance Produced by a Selected wild-type bacterial isolate.

Research Support: Completed and Ongoing Research Projects details

Sl. No.	Title of Project	Funding Agency	SANCTIONED Amount (Lacs)	Date of start and Duration
1.	In vitro and in vivo Evaluation of The Functionally-characterized Broad-spectrum Antifungal Cyclic Lipopeptides… against Medically Important Mucorales	Indian Council of Medical Research	95.50 Lacs	30^th March 2024 ongoing
2.	Recovery of Resources from Worn-out Tires for Enabling Circular Economy (Co-PI)	Birla Carbon	50.0 Lacs	2021-2025 (ongoing)
3.	Development of Prototype Biosensor for detection of bacteria (E. coli/ Shigella and Salmonella spp.) in drinking	BITS BioCyth	40 Lacs	2022- ongoing
4.	Unlocking the Potential of Green Cosmetic Nanoemulsions for Targeted Acne Vulgaris Therapy: Advanced Modeling and Optimization Strategies”	CDRF	15 Lacs	2023- Ongoing
5.	‘Evaluation of Antifungal activity of Lipopeptides from a Wild- type Bacillus sp. RLID 12.1 in Mouse Models of Invasive Candidiasis, Cryptococcosis, and Aspergillosis’-Joint project with PGIMER	SERB	Total sanctioned amt 65.3 Lakhs approx.	Start date: 23^rd December’ 2018 for 3 yrs.
6.	Exploration of Antifungal Lead Molecules from the Wild-type Bacillus subtilis & molecular characterization along with optimizing production (Principal Investigator & Project Coordinator); Co-PI: Department of Medical Microbiology, PGIMER, Chandigarh Joint project with PGIMER	DBT	48.69	3 yrs. (01/02/2017) End Date: 30^th June 2020
7.	Microbial Diversity & Biotechnological Potentials of some Polar Organisms [MENTOR & Supervisor]	DST-WOS	20.79	2014-2017 (Completed in March 2017)
8.	Purification & Characterization of Antimicrobial Compound with special reference to C. albicans and C. neoformans [Principal Investigator]; Co-PI: Dr. A. Chakrabarti, PGIMER, Chandigarh	SERB	10.69	2015-16 (Completed in March 2016)
9.	Screening, Isolation and Identification of Novel Antimicrobial Compounds from Potential Mangroves of Goa (CO-Investigator)	CSIR	20.0	2016-2019, would end on August 2019.
10.	Study on EMT regulation through TGFβ/SMADs in gall bladder disease[Co-PI]	DST	37.0 lacs	2014-2017, Completed
11.	“Development of a Field-deployable Biosensor for Bacterial sensing in potable water” WWEM-Water Core Project [Co-PI]	BITS University	40.65	May 2014-March 2017, completed

Research Projects Completed

Sl No.	Title of Project	Funding Agency	Amount	Date of completion
1.	Cloning and expression of goat Interleukin 1 (Co-investigator)	BITS PILANI	2.00 Lacs	2001-2003, Completed
2.	DST-FIST (Coordinator)	DST	41.0	2015,Completed
3.	“Isolation & screening of microorganism from extreme & unusual environment for new & novel antimicrobial peptides to combat some clinically important multi-drug resistant fungal pathogens” (PI)	CSIR, New Delhi	17.00 lacs (approx.)	Completed, 31^st March, 2011,
4.	Biochemical & genetic characterization of Candidacidal peptides produced by the strain E. faecalis APR- 210. (PI)	UGC, N Delhi	7.34 lacs	Completed, February, 2014, 3yrs
5.	Screening of extremophile isolates for novel antimicrobial substances against selected multi-drug resistant human pathogens (PI)	DST, N Delhi	11.38 Lacs	Completed, March 2011, 18 months,
6.	Studies on extremophilic isolates for novel antimicrobial substances: biochemical and genetic characterization of Antimicrobial substance produced by a selected wild-type extremophile isolate against multi-drug resistant clinical isolates (as Mentor)	DST-WOS	14.92 Lacs	Completed December 2012

Govt Agency-sponsored Fellowship/Financial support/Travel grants to Ph.D. students enlisted below

	PhD students	Name of the Govt. fellowship/funding agency	Year of Award	PhD awarded/ submitted/ongoing	Supervisor /Mentor
1.	KP Sreelakshmi	DBT-Builder	2023	Ongoing	Utpal Roy
2.	Pritish R Shukla	PMRF, BIRLA CARBON	2023	Ongoing	Utpal Roy
3.	Swetha R	ICMR-SRF	2022	Ongoing	Utpal Roy
4.	Madhuri M	SERB-JRF	2018	Ongoing
5.	Swetha R	DBT Project-SRF	2017
6.	Purnima S	Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) Fellowship	2017	Awarded	Utpal Roy
7.	Rehan Deshmukh	ICMR-SRF	2018	Awarded	Utpal Roy
8.	Ramya R	20^th ISHAM Grant	2018	Awarded
9.	Ramya R	CSIR-SRF	2015
10.	Purnima S	ICMR Travel grant	2016	Awarded	Utpal Roy
11.	Purnima S	DST-WOS	2015
12.	Ramya R	DBT-travel grant	2012
13.	Ramya R	DST-Project JRF	2011
14.	Ajay G. Chalasani	UGC-JRF	2011	Awarded	Utpal Roy
15	Raeesh Shekh	CSIR-SRF	2011	Awarded
16	Purnima S	DST-WOS	2010
16	Md. Raeesh Shekh	CSIR-project JRF	2007		Utpal Roy
17	Subodh Srivastava	CSIR-SRF	2006	Awarded	Utpal Roy

Projects Completed

“Synthesis of hydroxyapatite based biocompatible functional magnetic nanoparticles and investigation of its interaction with biomolecules” in collaboration with UGC-DAE-CSR and BARC Mumbai. Funding Agency UGC-DAE-CSR. Duration 2015-2018. PI Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan Co-PI Prof. Meenal Kowshik

"Mesoporous nanocomposites for controlling microbially induced corrosion caused by sulfate reducing bacteria". Funding Agency DST-SERB. Duration 2019-2022. PI Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan Co-PI Prof. Meenal Kowshik

“Lanthanide doped hydroxyapatite based nano-materials for theranostics applications: Sensing, Imaging, and Therapeutics”, Funding Agency DST. Duration 2016-2019, Co-PI Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan PI Prof. Meenal Kowshik

“Biological synthesis of metal sulphides and metallic nanoparticles using halophilic Archaebacteria” . Funding Agency Ministry of earth sciences. 2011-2014. Co-PI Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan PI Prof. Meenal Kowshik

"Synthesis of improved ferroelectric materials by sol-gel emulsion technique". Funding Agency DRDO. 2007-2010. PI Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan

Latest Research Project

Latest Project (Running)

Nilak Datta Co-PI. SPARC Project “Museum Effect: A Case Study of Goa State Museum and Goa Chitra Museum” In Collaboration with University of Vienna (Austria) and University of Victoria (Canada). Project Amount: Rs. 67.17 Lakhs (Approx)

Research Projects

Projects

Land Dispossession for a Golf Course in Tiracol, Goa: (Co-PI with Prof. Alito Siqueira, Prof. Peter R. deSouza) funded by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. initiated in October 2015
The Politics of India’s SEZs, Jan 2010 – Feb 2011: A research project funded by the Ford Foundation sought to understand the implementation of India's SEZ Policy across various states. I contributed to the study by researching the SEZ experience in the state of Goa.
External Expert in an ongoing research project called: The Language of the Becoming City initiated by the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm. The project reflects on urban transformations across four urban spaces: Södertälje, Sweden; Goa, India; Cape Town, South Africa and Rio, Brazil. As part of this project field visits and workshops have been concluded three of the sites: Södertälje, Sweden from May - June 2014; Goa, India in December 2015; Cape Town, South Africa from May to June 2016 and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from May - June 2017.
State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA), May 2004 – Aug 2005: I worked as a Research Assistant at the Center for the Study of Developing Studies (CSDS) - Lokniti, Delhi where I was involved with the SDSA project which sought to map the experience of democracy in five South Asian countries - Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - by using a Cross-national Survey, Case Studies, Qualitative Assessment of democratic institutions and Dialogues. I worked particularly on the Dialogues component which sought to recover experiences and perspectives of democracy from a range of democracy ‘activists’.
National Election Survey 2004, April – May 2004: Assisted in the capacity of State Supervisor (Goa chapter) of this nationwide post-poll survey known as the National Election Study 2004 (NES 2004) conducted by CSDS-Lokniti on the 14th Indian Parliamentary Elections.

Consultancies

(With Prof. Rayson Alex) Analysis of Stakeholders in Dr.Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary,Chorao, Goa, for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Aug 2014-Jan 2015.
Constitutional and other Legal Provisions that Enable Political Parties to Revoke the Parliamentary Mandate: A study of Twenty-Nine Countries from the Asia-Pacific Region, 2009: This study commissioned by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva sought to compile a listing of the various legal provisions, in a set of 29 countries, through which political parties can control parliamentarians. A report of the study was submitted to IPU in June, 2009.
Lokniti website: When working at CSDS-Lokniti I also designed and managed the Lokniti website: www.lokniti.org which houses the CSDS Election Datasets a.k.a. the National Election Studies (NES).

“Sustainable high purity hydrogen production using chemical looping combustion in a packed bed reactor: an energy efficient and environment friendly alternative to conventional industrial steam methane reforming”. Funded by GAIL, India-Rs.3,08,33,466/-. PI Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Co-PI Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan. Aug-24 to Feb-27.

SPARC : “Advanced high temperature and pressure oxygen storage and release material (OSRM) for unmixed combustion(UMC): A promising CCS and clean energy generation technology: PI Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Co-PI Prof Sutapa Roy Ramanan,(BITS). Collaboration with UMIST(Manchester): Dr. Vincenzo Spalina and Dr. Carmine D’Agostino. Sanctioned amount Rs. 41,20,430, 28.07.2023 –27.07.2025

Projects

Feasibility Assessment of Dual Source-Drain Reconfigurable Field Effect Transistor for Standalone and Embedded Capacitorless Dynamic Memory Applications

Principal Investigator

Manish Gupta

Scheme: Additional Competitive Grant

Agency

Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Goa, India

Amount Sanctioned

10.00 Lakh

Feasibility Assessment of Emerging Ferroelectric Devices for Logic and Memory Applications

Principal Investigator

Manish Gupta

Scheme: Research Initiation Grant

Agency

Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Goa, India

Amount Sanctioned

2.00 Lakh

Research Project

Development of turn-on type Chemodosimer for Selective Recognition of Sulfhydryl-Containing Amino Acids and Peptides in aqueous media, FAST Track SERB 19.9 lakhs INR. (completed)

Development of PCDA-liposome based detection kit for Alzheimer’s disease biomarker; Funding agency SERB DST INDIA 6 lakhs INR (completed)

“Design and synthesis of Graphene oxide based AIE-sensor for selective detection of Hg(II) and organic mercury in aqueous medium; funding agency: UGC DAE (CSR); 7.03 lakhs INR (completed)

Design and synthesis of smart supramolecular dyes based on TPE modified PDI cucurbituril conjugates, BRNS, 3 years, .28 lakhs INR as Co-I. from 2018.

Development of mesoporous silica (for alumina)-SiC-metal nanoparticles based nanocomposites for radar absorption application at high temperature, DRDO, 3 years, 15.13 lakhs INR as Co-I from 2018.

Development of Photocatalyst embedded Graphene based membranes for Treatment of Dye containing waste water under sunlight.” ABSTC, 52 lakhs INR as Co-I from 2018.
A polydiacetylene-based fluorescent sensor for the detection of arsenic species and uranyl ion in water by conventional and nuclear analytical methods”, Project no. 58/14/28/2019-BRNS/11019 dated 27th November 2019 as PI, BRNS from 1^st April 2020- cost: 32 L; as PI. completed
Demonstration of a practical solution for removal and monitoring heavy metal ions from drinking water using modified biopolymer"; DSTE-GOA, ongoing
DBT-Builder project, November, 2022, ongoing.
Development of Fluorescent Probe-based Microfluidic Point-of-Care Testing kits for the early phase detection of urinary tract infection” funded by CDRF; ongoing.
Development of GO (or rGO) based smart functional materials for removal of Hg(II)/organic Hg and fluoride ions from aqueous media by magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE); UGC-DAE (CSR) ongoing.

My Projects

BITSAuto- BITS Pilani and APPCAIR autonomous vehicle project, 2024, 60 Lakhs.

BITS Pilani Goa Campus TLC grant for Robotics Lab 2 Lakhs, 2022.

Smart City Data Analytics in a Cloud, ABB GISPL 2021-2024, 17 Lakhs.

Development of Remotely Configurable Arbitrary Ramp Generator for

FMCW Reflectometry, BRNS, 2 Years, 2017, 28 Lakhs.

Design and Development of Condition based Monitoring of Pipelines using Wireless Sensor Networks”, GAIL India Ltd, 2 years (Sept 2012), 80 Lakhs

Extended for pilot implementation (Oct 2014), 3.195 Lakhs

Implementation of Wireless Sensor Network for Process Monitoring of GAIL’s Pipeline, GAIL India Ltd, 1.5 years (Jan 2015), 95.87 Lakhs

DST-Young Scientist Scheme Project entitled Study of low dimensional magnetic systems, DST, 2 Years (Jan 2000), 5 Lakhs.

Sponsored Research Projects

Sponsored Projects

Design and development of innovative SHM system using embedded piezo based active sensing approach for delamination detection in multi-layer composite structures (SERB-DST funded project - Completed)

o Applications are invited for the position of Junior Research Fellow for this project (Link) - Not accepting new applications

· Feasibility study of innovative piezo-based system for inhibition of subsea algal growth and SHM of marine structures (BITS-ACRG - Completed)

Research

Research Interest

Micro Manufacturing - Micro machining of channels, nozzle holes, gripper arms, thin filters, micro distributors and other micro devices
Surface Coating - PVD / CVD / Thermal spray / Sputtering
Tribology - Friction, Wear and Lubrication

Sponsored Project

(1) Research Title: Flow investigation through µED-milled metallic micro channel

Funding Agency/Scheme: DST/Fast Track (2012-2013)

Grant Sanctioned: 17 Lakhs

Status: Completed

(2) Submitted DST-FIST proposal (Level 2) as Co-PI to DST worth Rs. 3 Crores in

May 2020

Research Lab Facilities

Established the following Lab Facilities at BITS:

Optical Microscope (Halogen, LED and Fluorescent)
Electron Beam - Physical Vapor Deposition (EBPVD)
Pin-on-disc Tribometer (Dry and Wet)

PhD Students

Satish A. Mullya (Part time) - Working as Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Annasaheb Dange College of Engineering and Technology, Ashta - Completed
Nikhil Kadam (Full time) - Completed

Research Interest

Cancer Biology: Involvement of small molecules in cancer research:
Small-GTPases use GDP/GTP alternation to actuate a variety of functional switches that are pivotal for cell dynamics. The GTPase switch is turned on by GEFs, which stimulate dissociation of the tightly bound GDP, and turned off by GAPs, which accelerate the intrinsically sluggish hydrolysis of GTP. Rho family proteins regulate diverse cellular functions, including proliferation, differentiation, migration, and polarity. Lots of attention has been given on the involvement of intracellular molecules such as Rho-like proteins in carcinogenesis. Quinacrine (QC), a derivative of 9-aminoacridine, an anti-inflammatory drug that has been used against malaria and rheumatoid diseases. It has been shown to possess anticancer effect both in vitro (cancer cell lines namely, HCT8 and PC3) and in vivo (mouse models). In the cancer cells, QC can simultaneously suppress nuclear factor-B (NF-kappaB) and activate p53 signaling, which results in the induction of apoptosis in these cells. However, the experimental results come from a few limited cancer cell lines, and the detailed mechanisms remain unknown. Existing reports suggest that CDC42- related Rho-family proteins can also activate NF-kappaB pathway but no concrete study has been reported so far about the involvement of quinacrine in regulating Rho-like protein by modulating actin cytoskeleton. Thus, this proposed study will focus for the first time on the effect of quinacrine in changing the balance of Rho-like proteins; which may have implementation on oncogenesis of breast and lung cancer epithelial cancer cells. The study will also focus on the mechanisms underlying the molecular pathways involved in the QC mediated apoptosis in these two cell lines. This study will be helpful for further improvement ofchemotherapeutic reagent for better management of human breast and lung cancer.
Toxicology: Effect of Snake venoms on human cancer cells: Envenomation by Russell’s viper is known for its diverse patho-physiological consequences, e.g., myotoxicity, edema, pituitary insufficiency, ‘dramatic hemorrhage’ and renal failure apart from death. The amazing specificity of snake venom toxins to target physiological systems also made them potential molecules of drug development. A number of toxins with anti-cancer potentials have been purified in recent times from different snake venoms, including Russell’s viper venom. The anticancer potential of Russell’s viper venom lies in its cytotoxic effects. Most contemporary research in the development of anticancer therapeutics from venoms has focused on investigating the molecular mechanism by which an agent induces cytotoxicity and apoptosis in cancer cells.
Nanotoxicity and effects of nanotoxicity on cell morphology regulation:
We have done experiments using two different cell lines namely, A549 and IMR32. We have exposed them to different dosages and time to different nanoparticles (NPs). Though we have not propose to use A549 initially but later on we have used this cell line as we thought that inhaled NPs can deposit along the entire respiratory tract, including airways and alveolar regions or penetrate to deeper tissues. Our results confirmed that: ZnO nanoparticle is more toxic to A549 cells as compared to TiO² nanoparticles. ZnO toxicity is more pronounced by formation of stress granules, appearance of nanotubes, stress fibers and loss of cell-cell contacts whereas, TiO² toxicity is alleviated to some extent with prolonged exposure at 48 hours. RT-PCR and protein profile shows differential regulation pattern for smGTPases upon exposure to various nanoparticles (Cdc42, Rac1 and RhoA) which were not only time dependent but also dependent. Our results indicated not only a dose and time dependent cytotoxicity on exposure to TiO₂ and ZnO NPs but also there is a correlation between cell morphology patterns in both the cell lines. Decrease in metabolic activity was also observed; cytotoxic assay by resarzurin method. SDS PAGE profile shows changes in the pattern of many medium / low range proteins on nanoparticle exposure. Western blot results revealed differential expression pattern of HSP70 stress protein on nanoparticle exposure. Ensuing cell death at lethal doses of TiO² and ZnO nanoparticles seem to occur by Necrosis evidenced by absence of DNA laddering. Expression level of total eIF-2 protein as an indicator for protein synthesis inhibition is seen grossly normal though the eIF-2alpha (p) has been showing some changes along with changes in the total protein synthesis pattern by S35 Met labeling experiments. Our work has produced two papers and opened up future work related to ‘NANO-QSAR’ modeling and explores the possible relation between the mechanisms of nanoparticles induced cellular death and protein synthesis.

Awarded external funded projects from Govt. funding agencies like DBT, UGC, ICMR, DAE.

The ViStA Lab

ViStA Lab

Wisdom from Nature, Insights through Science

The ViStA Lab

The ViStA LAB is a melting pot of ideas and innovation. Though it debuted as a lab devoted to Vibrio lifestyle and structural analysis (read, protein-protein, protein-nucleotide and miRNA), it has grown along multiple correlated dimensions.

Sponsored Projects

Improvement of laser cladded Inconel surface using laser surface remelting technique (Funded by SERB/ANRF) (2024-2027)
Study of molten pool and development of coaxial nozzle for laser cladding of Inconel (Funded by BITS Pilani) (2021-2023)
An investigation on intergranular corrosion performance of direct energy deposited Ni-based superalloy (Funded by BITS Pilani) (2021-2022)

Research

Title of the Ph.D. Thesis

"Design of Energy Efficient Schedulers for Multicore Hard Real-Time Systems."

Project sponsored by BITS and SRCD under RIG and Faculty Interim scheme TITLE: Design of a dynamic recommender system to make the resource access control protocols in hard real-time system energy efficient.

Ongoing Project sponsored by BITS under SPARKLE scheme TITLE: Design of a smart rollator for save navigation and e-health application.

Currently working on Edge computing: An energy and response time efficient Orchestrator design.

Research Project

Design and development of a cost-effective multi-grasp myoelectric upper limb prosthesis, Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework, BITS Pilani (Aug 2023-March 2025) (Principal Investigator: Dr. Anurag Nishad, Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Ganesh M. Bapat)
Detection of the drowsy driver of the heavy vehicle using physiological signals under Indian road conditions, Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani Goa Campus (Nov 2022-Oct 2024) (Principal Investigator: Dr. Anurag Nishad)
Analysis of big data of physiological signals, Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani Goa Campus, (Dec 2022-Nov 2023) (Principal Investigator: Dr. Anurag Nishad)

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Ongoing projects :

As PI

Development of a therapeutic bacteriophage carrying the Phi11 holin to combat Drug Resistant Staphylococci Infection; R.11017/10/2023-GIA/HR. (DHR) (2023-2026) 30 LAKHS

As Co-PI

Conservation of the Bilaterian Organizer: Novel Studies in the horseshoe crab, Tachypleus gigas ; Müller (BT/PR40435/NDB/39/745/2020;
10th March 2021; DBT)
Efficacy of natural extracts of Plants from Western Ghats as antifouling agents on Metallic Surfaces with Novel Synergists (DBT Builder)
Development of Fluorescent Probe-based Microfluidic Point-of-Care Testing kits for the early phase detection of urinary tract infection (C1/23/181; CDRF)

Completed projects: 3 as PI

"Cloning and characterization of the promoters of Staphylococcys.aureus temperate bacteriophage Phi11" 2013/37B/19/BRNS; 23,99,719 INR
Studies on the gene regulation involved in the lytic-lysogenic switch in Staphylococcus aureus temperate bacteriophage Phi11;Rs. 2046453/-; EMR/2015/002229 (project closure report has been evaluated as GOOD by SERB)
Development of Therapeutic Phages to Combat Drug Resistant Staphylococci Infection ( DST-CRG, (CRG/2020/004968)) 40 LAKHS (2020-2024)

Completed projects: 1 as Co-PI

Development of PCDA-liposome based detection kit for Alzheimer's disease biomarker; EMR/2016/001416 ; 2016-2019

Research Projects

1. Fast Track Volumetric Construction Based on Composite Design Using Lightweight High-Performance Materials

Role: Research Fellow (Aug 2017 to Dec 2019) and Collaborator (Jan 2020 to Present)
Granting Organization: Sembcorp Industry & National Research Foundation, Singapore
Main PI: Prof. J.Y. Richard Liew, Head, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore

2. Design of Concrete Encased Composite Columns with High Strength Materials

Role: Research Fellow (Aug 2017 to Dec 2019) and Collaborator (Jan 2020 to March 2022)
Granting Organization: Ministry of National Development, Building & Construction Authority (BCA), Singapore
Main PI: Prof. J.Y. Richard Liew, Head, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore

3. Studies on the compressive behavior of H-shaped steel reinforced concrete beam-columns

Role: Collaborator (May-July 2022)
Granting Organization: Open Project of Failure Mechanics and Engineering Disaster Prevention, Key Lab of Sichuan Province
Main PI: Dr. Bing-Lin Lai, Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Civil Engineering, SouthEast University, Nanjing, China

4. Structural Behavior of Steel Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Slabs without Traditional Reinforcement

Role: PhD Research Scholar (Aug 2013 to Feb 2018)
Main PI: Prof. Tan Kiang Hwee, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore

Consultancy Projects

1. Design of Reinforced and Fibre Reinforced Concrete Slab-On-Grade at Lucky Recycling Co. LLC Construction Site, Dubai

Role: Principal Investigator (PI) (July 2022)
Granting Organization: Lucky Recycling Co. LLC and Civil Matrix Contracting LLC, Dubai

Other Collaborations (non-funded)

1. Design and economic implications of using steel fibers in elevated slabs of multi-story buildings

In Collaboration with Prof. Ramesh Nayakka, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Dharwad - Completed in April 2024

Sponsored Projects

Completed Projects

FIELD THEORIES WITH CARROLLIAN SYMMETRY (PI)

Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)

OBSERVATIONAL SIGNALS OF QUANTUM GRAVITY IN CMB (PI)

Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)

Research Projects and Consultancy

Title: A study on Usage and Impact of ICT in secondary Schools in India; Sponsor: BITS Pilani (Seed Grant); Duration: April, 2013 - March, 2015; Grant Amount: Rs 750000

Title: Impact Evaluation on Empowerment of SC/ST Candidates Using ICT Tools in the State of Goa; Sponsor: Sanket Infosys (Karnataka State Electronics Ltd Master Franchisee); Duration: 2013-14 (six months); Grant Amount: Rs 50000

Title: Impact Analysis on Training Programme for Empowering Women and SC/ST Candidates Using ICT Tools in the State of Goa; Sponsor: Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS), Bangalore; Duration: 2010-11(Six months); Grant Amount: Rs 50000

CDRF Project

Title of the Proposal:

Investigations on Impacts of Variations in Local Site and Climatic Conditions on Field Performance of Grid-connected Solar Photovoltaic and Small Wind Energy Systems at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus.

Principal Investigators:

M. K. Deshmukh, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, K K Birla Goa Campus
S. D. Manjare, Chemical Engineering, K K Birla Goa Campus
Chandradew Sharma, Physics, K K Birla Goa Campus
Debasis Patnaik, Economics and Finances, K K Birla Goa Campus
Sudarshan Swain, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, K K Birla Goa Campus.

Grant Reference: C1/23/188, Dt. 20 September 2023

Research Projects

Ongoing:

Biofuels : Development of energy efficient processes for Sustainable biofuel
Industry 4.0 Chemical Engineering : Development of AI and Computer Vision based interventions in Water - Energy Nexus
River Water Quality Analysis : Development of Statistical Models for River Water Quality
Climate Change : Development of Computer Vision based interventions

RESEARCH

Ongoing Projects:

CDRF: C1/23/188

Investigators: Prof. M K Deshmukh, Prof. S D Manjare, Prof. Chandradew Sharma

Investigation on impacts of variations in local site and climatic conditions on field performance of grid connected solar photovoltaic and small wind energy system at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus.

Ph.D. Scholar:

Jitendra Vasudeo Nagrare (2022PHXF0062G)

Neeraj Kumar Bhaskar (2023PHXF 0430 G)

Harsh Chandrakar ( 2022PHXF0023G)

Research Current Area: Stochastic complex system, Interdisciplinary

Stochastic complex system: Predicting Financial Shocks, Crashes and Bubbles.

Interdisciplinary : AI/ML model building of solar photovoltaic and small wind energy generation anomaly

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ciBUtXgAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&gmla=AC6lMd-pUUftgtPCm0KZM_LJ3QwmlT2xJCpOY3V92awRcHhK0L-TwY1UTSe9HnSYck3tNCWBnFnJ0196S5_lCEJa

Sponsored projects

Completed Projects	Ongoing Projects	Under Review
5	2	2

1. Funded By: BITS Pilani (Research Initiation Grant)

Title of the Project: Synthesis of ceramic foams for hydrogen storage applications

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Grant Amount: Rs. 2,00,000/-

Duration: October 2015 - October 2017

Status: Completed

2. Funded by: DST-SERB (Early Career Research Award)

Title of Project: Hydrogen Storage in Mesoporous Polymer Derived Ceramics for Automotive Application

Role: Principal Investigator (PI) Co-PI: Dr. Parameshwaran R

Grant Amount: Rs. 42, 38, 240/-

Duration: September 2016 - January 2020

Status: Completed

Awarded "Very Good" Grade by DST Committee

3. Funded by: HBL Power Systems Limited, Hyderabad

Title of Project: Lithium ion batteries

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Grant Amount: Rs. 14,75,000/-

Duration: August 2019 - January 2022

Status: Completed

4. Funded by: ARDB

Title of the Project: Theoretical and Simulation Based Approach to Determine the Forming Limit Diagrams of beta-Ti alloys at Elevated Temperatures

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI); PI: Dr. Kurra Suresh & Dr. S K Singh

Grant Amount: Rs. 26,60,000/-

Duration: June 2020 - June 2023

Status: Completed

5. Funded by: DST SERB (Core Research Grant)

Title of the Project: Development of mesoporous materials with enhanced hydrogen uptake for fuel cell vehicles

Role: Principal Investigator (PI) Co-PI's: Dr. Sudha Rahika & Dr. Asif A

Grant Amount: Rs. 29,13,900/-

Duration: Jan 2021 - Jan 2024

Status: Completed

6. Funded by ARDB

Title of the Project: Process and hybrid tool design for higher productivity in FSW butt joints of thick Al-alloy 2219 plates

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) PI: Prof. Jeevan Jaidi

Grant Amount: Rs. 33,11,616/-

Duration: October 2021 - October 2024

Status: Ongoing

7. Funded by: DST SERB (Core Research Grant)

Title of the Project: Enhancing gas barrier properties of Type IV pressure vessel liner for hydrogen storage applications

Role: Principal Investigator (Co-PI) PI: Prof. C.P.Kiran

Grant Amount: Rs. 36,14,402/-

Duration: Jan 2024 - Jan 2027

Status: Ongoing

Sponsored Research Projects

1. INSA INSPIRE Faculty Award, DST, Govt. of India (2014-2019)

Project title: Rheological dynamics of layered silicate clay and graphene polymer nanocomposites

Status: completed

2. Early Career Research Award, DST-SERB, Govt. of India (2016-2019)

Project Title: Visco-elastic, visco-plastic and thixotropic behavior of biogreases and its influence on lubrication (tribological) performance

Status: completed

3. Core Research Grant, DST-SERB, Govt. of India (2020-24)

Project Title: Predicting grease lubrication behavior: (a) novel methods to determine grease rheology at extremely large shear rates and (b) the role of nanoscale and mesoscale structure of grease in film formation inside tribocontact

Status: completed

Research Projects

FAU pilot plant in operation at Goa

Research

Current Research at BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus, INDIA

PANIWAER project video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQlWSkUzrMQ

Links

https://www.paniwater.eu/

https://www.facebook.com/paniwatereu/

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/820718

Projects

Name	Agency	Titile and status	Amount (INR)
Dr. Halan Prakash, PI	DBT, Govt of India,	Chemical modification of peptides with photosensitisers for photoenhanced antimicrobial activity, 2010-2014 Completed	2124000
Dr. Halan Prakash, PI	Aditya Birla Science and Technology Centre, Mumbai,	Modification of biomolecules for Photoantimicrobial applications, 2011-2016. Completed	1400000
Dr. Halan Prakash, Co-Principle investigator	CSIR	Development of low temperature magnetization measurement set-up, 2012-2014, Completed	1400000
Dr. Halan Prakash, PI	Horizon H2020 (EU) - DST	Photo-irradiation and Adsorption based Novel Innovations for Water-treatment" (PANI). Since 31/3/2019, (4 Years), Ongoing http://www.paniwater.eu/ https://youtu.be/8eIr3uNXbkc https://www.uvcledonline.com/uvc-lamp	20931000
Dr. Halan Prakash (PI),	DST-WTI call	Water Filtration, advanced oxidation and capacitive-deionisation treatments for removal of emerging contaminants in water, 19- dec-2020, 2 Years, ongoing	10523036
Prof. Halan Prakash, PI	Department of Science and Technology & Waste Management, Goa	Quantification of emerging contaminants in Goa water resources by cost efficient separation materials". 3 years, 2022 ongoing	795000

My Phd and Postdoctoral Research work

Synthesis of macrocyclic ligands and metal complex: Activators in advanced oxidation process and antimicrobial agents.

Interestingly, tetrazamacrocyclic ligands were reported to produce stable nickel (III) state. The detailed spectroscopic investigations reveal that the Ni(III) state in a tetradentate macrocyclic ligand is stabilized by coordination of two extra ligands at the axial sites, forming a tetragonal distorted octahedral complex. Importantly, several nickel(II) macrocyclic complexes are reported to act as catalysts involving oxidation processes and formation of trivalent nickel state.

Currently we are involved in the synthesis of new ligands and metal complexes and investigate their use for activating oxidising agents such as persulphate.

Recently, we have reported the activation of persulphate by nickel(II) hexazamacrocyclic complex and its ability to degrade the recalcitrant dye Malachite green.

The project involves extensive use of HPLC, GC, LC-MS and characterization of newly obtained conjugates and ligands. Students will be exposed to the Synthetic strategies and purification methods done in the wet chemistry lab, and DNA damage and antimicrobial studies of these new compounds.

Synthesis of photo-active molecules, nanoparticles and Bio-conjugation.

We are involved in the synthesis and characterization of new photo-isomerisable azo-benzene derivatives, and photo-labile functional groups like ortho-nitrobenzyl derivatives and Investigation on the conjugation of these photoactive derivatives with important drugs, and peptides. We are also involved in the synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles and their conjugation to important biomolecules. DNA damage, and Biological activity of these new conjugate are explored.

(I) Research Work done at Nara Institute of Science and Technology and Kyoto Pharmaceutical University. (Supported by Japan Society for the promotion of Science and Takeda Science Foundation, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Japan).

I was primarily involved in the synthesis of azobenzene based peptide bioconjugates for designing artificial nucleases. Metal binding peptides were attached to azobenzene based chromophores and indispensable characteristics like facile photo isomerisability and structural difference between the trans and cis isomers were explored. Metal-peptide-Azobenzene conjugates showed DNA cleavage activity and investigation on photo- control of DNA cleavage activities by these conjugates are in progress. I was also involved in the development of water-soluble photocleavable protective groups and its application for design of tumor-targeting paclitaxel prodrugs. Chemical modification of proteins (myoglobin mutants) with photo-active organic groups (nitrobenzyl derivatives, azobenzene derivatives), to photo-control the structure and functions of proteins. Proteins modified with photo-active molecules were characterized by LC-MS techniques and other spectroscopic techniques.

(II) Research work done at the Department of Chemical Sciences, TATA INSTITUTE OF FUNDAMENTAL RESARCH (TIFR), MUMBAI, INDIA.

My research was focused on the Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) of proteins. We observed that the maximum positive charge state of the gaseous protein ions is directly related to the number of free surface exposed basic groups (lysine, arginine and histidine) whereas the maximum negative charge state is related to the number of free surface exposed acidic groups (aspartic acid and glutamic acid) of the protein. The free surface exposed basic groups or acidic groups are those which are not involved in any interaction with surrounding amino acids residues and have high propensity to carry formal positive or negative charge. Information on the free surfaced exposed basic groups or acidic groups of proteins were obtained from the x-ray crystal structures. Thus, we have shown a direct correlation of the crystal structure of proteins with the maximum positive and negative charge-states of gaseous protein ions produced by electrospray ionization.

I was also involved in the studies on ESI-MS of Cytochrome P450cam to probe the tertiary structural changes on heme dissociation, and Chemical modification of lysine residues of cytochrome c by acylation reaction to identify the nucleophilic character of various lysine residues in cytochrome c. Specific acylation of the lysine residues of cytochrome c was identified by Collision Induced Dissociation mass spectrometry of the tryptic digest of cytochrome c.

(III) Doctoral Research work at School of Chemistry, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, and National Centre for Ultra fast Processes, UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS, CHENNAI, INDIA.

My doctoral thesis focus on the synthesis and photochemistry of nickel(II) azamacrocyclic complexes. Nitrogen rich azamacrocyclic ligand (nitrogen rich cyclic molecules) and its nickel complexes were synthesized. Photooxidation of nickel(II) azamacrocyclic complexes, resulted in the formation of stable trivalent nickel macrocycles. Time resolved nanosecond laser flash photolysis of the nickel(II) azamacrocylces revealed the transient hydrated electron absorption features, on UV excitation of the of nickel(II) azamacrocyclic complexes. The investigation enlightened that nickel(II) azamacrocyclic complexes posses Charge-transfer to solvent absorption character in the UV region.

Projects Sanctioned

SERB-POWER Research Grant (Funding Agency: SERB-GOI, 2023 - 2026)
New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG) (Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, 2023 - 2025)
Research Initiation Grant (RIG) (Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, 2022 - 2024)

Sponsored Project

Project title – Networked Marine robotic system for ocean exploration
Trust Area – Underwater Robotics and Networks
Funding Agency – SPARC
Duration – 2 years (April 2024 onwards)
Grant amount – INR 84,42,000/-

Collaborative networks of marine robots are steadily achieving ocean monitoring that is robust, adaptable, and high-performing. Seamless collaboration of marine robotic systems necessitates ongoing advancements in multiple interdisciplinary fields such as cooperative control and navigation, underwater networking, and estimation techniques. An integral enabling technology for the success of these networked marine robotic systems is the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT). IoUT is defined as the network of smart interconnected underwater objects such as AUVs, ROVs, ASVs, buoys, and ships etc. These objects collect and transmit information through underwater communication channels, offering real-time data on ocean parameters.

The project team involves BITS Goa (Dr. Sarang Dhongdi, Dr. Narayan Manjarekar), NIT Calicut (Dr. Rakesh Warier), ISR/IST University of Lisbon, Portugal (Prof. Antonio Pascoal), and University of Toulon, France (Prof. Ricard Marxer).

1. Impact of Indigenous S&T innovations developed by Start-ups incubated in Academic Institutes in India

Funding Agency: PCPM (NSTMIS), DST, New Delhi.
Principal Investigator: Rajorshi Sen Gupta
Co-PI: A.K. Mishra

2023-2025

2. Assessing the impact of farmers’ participation and challenges in linking Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi markets by e-national agricultural market (e-NAM): Evidence from the states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra

Funding Agency: ICSSR, New Delhi, India
Principal Investigator: A.K. Mishra

Co-PI: Rajorshi Sen Gupta, Manogna R.L., Richa Shukla
2022-2024

3. Impact of “Make in India” and new IPR Policy on Innovation of MNCs and Indian MSMEs in Medical Device Sector

Funding Agency: Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS) ICSSR, New Delhi, India

Principal Investigator: Rajorshi Sen Gupta
Co-PI: A.K. Mishra

2019-2021

4. R&D collaboration between industries and universities under changing IPR regime in the European Union

Funding Agency: European Union Center of Excellence, Texas A&M University, USA

Principal Investigator: Rajorshi Sen Gupta

5. Trucking industry response in a changing world of tolling and rising fuel prices

Funding Agency: Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC), Texas A&M University, USA

Role: Research Assistant, Texas Transportation Institute

6. Dental Health in India

Funding Agency: Dental Council of India

Role: Senior Economist, Indicus Analytics

7. Forecasting Direct Tax Revenue

Funding Agency: Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India

Role: Project Assistant, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)

Research Grants/funds

1. Co-PI in 'Deciphering the molecular circuits of seed weight regulation for improved plant productivity' Scheme for Promotion of Academic & Research Collaboration (SPARC). Ongoing

2. PI in "Understanding the impact of climate change on photosynthesis and forest productivity at ecosystem level'' CDRF Approved.

3. Co PI: "Analysis of cis-regulatory elements in gene expression" under DBT builder, sanctioned to BITS, Pilani Goa campus. 2022; Ongoing

4. Principal Investigator in, ''Introducing cyanobacterial bicarbonate transporters in C3 plants for enhanced photosynthetic performance'' SERB Major Project; Rs. 37.73 lakhs. Completed

5. Principal Investigator in, “Analyzing structural and functional evolutionary linkages between RubisCO and Carbon concentration mechanism proteins. DST Fast track project for young scientists". Rs. 24.96 lakhs. Completed

6. Principal Investigator in UGC major project "Design, synthesis and validation of dehydration stress responsive promoters in plants.'' Rs. 12.88 lakhs. Completed

7. Co-Investigator in Aditya Birla Group of companies funded project, "Natural and engineered Lipases for Biodiesel Production." Rs. 10 Lakhs. Completed

Research

Areas of Research Interest

Dalit Studies
Post-colonial Literatures
Culture studies
Women Studies

Research Projects – Ongoing

Principal Investigator - SPARC (Scheme for Academic and Research Collaboration) project " Museum Effect: A Case Study of Goa State Museum and Goa Chitra Museum" – Funded by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Rs.67,17,538. (in collaboration with University of Vienna, Austria & University of Victoria, Canada)
C0-PI - “The Value of Multilingualism: a Case Study from Indian States” -Global Seed Grant funded by Dalhousie University, Canada (in Collaboration with Dalhousie University, Canada & Goa Institute of Management, Goa)

PhD Research Guidance: Completed

Sushant Kishore. “The Performative Politics of Ethnocultural Nationalism in India: Thespian and Quotidian Performances in Hindu Nationalism” "- June 2019 (supervised singly)
B.Gnanabharathi. “Alterations and Adapatations : An analysis of the Indigenous Spaces of Nilgris Irulas -July 2019 (supervised singly)
Preetigandha Naik."Dalit Futurism: Caste and Gender in Indian Science Fiction" - February 2023 (supervised singly)

PhD Research Guidance - Ongoing

Mahesh Varghese. ‘To Make live and Let Die’: A study of the Life, Death and its Governance in Select Malayalam Fiction” (supervision - singly - proposal defended - June 2021)
Fernandes Ann Rochelle " Unearthing Silenced Histories: Re-reading Portuguese colonialism through the lens of Adopted Children in Goa" (Supervision - singly - April 2022
Basma Mahfoud. “Crushed” in translation? Poetics of oppression and resistance in a comparative study of Dalit works in translation from Southern India "Co-supervision with Prof. Judith Misrahi Barak, University of Paul Valery Montpellier 3, France

Editorial/Peer Reviewing Assignments

Invited by University Grants Commission (UGC) to review applications submitted for Research Grants and Post Doctoral fellowships – 2023

Joint Editor Special Issue on Dalit Women , Journal of International Women Studies, Vol 22:10 (2021)

Journal of Post Colonial Writing, Taylor and Franscis

Journal of Intercultural communication, Taylor and Francis

Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Sage

Journal of South Asian Studies, ESCI

PhD Thesis Evaluation

2016 – University of Madras - PhD Thesis titled “Gendered Passions and Masculinity Construction: Reflections on Tamil Identity during 1930’s”

2020 – University of Madras – PhD thesis titled “Writing for the Children as a Child – A Study of Ruskin Bond’s Craft of Writing”

2020 – Manomaniam Sundaranar University – PhD thesis titled “The Narratives of Amitav Ghosh: Palimpsest and Fact-Finding Dichotomy”

2022 – Mahatma Gandhi University – PhD thesis – “The Dialectics of the Anthropomorphic Subaltern: A Study of Select Texts from Contemporary Popular Culture”

2022 –Calicut University – PhD Thesis titled “Subversive Survival: Trauma and Post Traumatic Resilience in Select North-East Indian Literary Imagination"

Research Topics

Synthesis of donor-acceptor type organic molecules based on linear heteroacenes and evaluation of their optical properties for applications as fluorescence based molecular imaging agents.
Study of the in vitro bioactivity and DNA-binding properties of linear heteroacenes.
Synthesis of porphyins with structural modifications in their periphery and their inner-core in order to induce non-planar molecular conformations - study of their UV-vis and fluorescence properties aimed towards designing porphyrins with red-wavelength absorptions and emissions.

Sponsored Projects

Development of E-HFQ process for precision manufacturing of automotive body components using high-strength aluminum alloy sheets (as PI), Funded by SERB under Startup Research Grant (SRG), 20.82 Lakhs, January 2024 - December 2025 (2 years)
Evaluation of elevated temperature fracture forming limit diagram of heat treatable aluminum alloy sheets (as PI), Funded by BITS Pilani under Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACG), 10.00 Lakhs, November 2022 - October 2024 (2 years)
Investigation of formability of tailor welded aluminum blanks during elevated temperature incremental sheet forming process (as PI), Funded by BITS Pilani - K K Birla Goa Campus, under Research Initiation Grant (RIG), 2.00 Lakhs, July 2022 - October 2024 (2 years)

Extramural projects

DST-SERB funded Young Scientist Project titled "Development of beta, beta’-Edge Fused pi-Elongated Donor-Acceptor Porphyrins Possessing Near-IR Optical Spectra" sanctioned from June 2014 for a period of three years; project completed in July 2017.

Sanctioned amount was 24.87 lacs.

Sponsored Projects

Title	Biological treatment of industrial effluents using novel biofilm-membranes
Funding agency	The Leverhulme Trust (United Kingdom)
Investigators	Dr. Asma Ahmed, Canterbury Christ Church University, United Kingdom Prof. Aravinda N. Raghavan, BITS-Pilani (Hyderabad Campus), India
Duration	2020-2023 (36 months)
Amount	£ 263,547.00

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Nano-technology for enhanced utilization of native- phosphorous by plants and higher moisture retention in arid soils” in collaboration with IIT, Mumbai; PAU, Ludhiana; IISS, Bhopal & CAZRI, Jodhpur, funded by World Bank under National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of ICAR, New Delhi (3.726 Crores) (2008-2012).

Senior Research Fellow Position (New)

Completed

Conservation of some endangered medicinal plants of Indian Thar Desert by arbuscular mycorrhizae” funded by DST, New Delhi under SERC Scheme (11.28 Lakhs) (2003-2005).

Sponsored Projects

1.Research Initiation Grant

Amount: 2 Lakhs.

Period: 30.09.2019-29.9.2021

2. Start Up Research Grant (SERB)

File No : SRG/2020/000523

Project Start Date : 31-Dec-2020

Duration : 24 months

Total Budget : 12,45,816 INR

Status : Ongoing

Research Area: My research area is Symmetric Key Cryptography. This involves the analysis the design of various cryptosystems which are based on symmetric key.

Projects

Completed Projects

1.Project Title: Smart Traffic Analytics for Hyderabad city (13/7/2015 - 12/7/2017)

Amount: 10 Lakhs

Funding Agency: BITS

In the proposed work we aim develop software application using Big Data

to identify trends/patterns in traffic
to calculate average speed in different locations and vehicles
to monitor and manage Urban traffic
to suggest alternate routes based on the locations
to provide updates on traffic based on incidents, traffic jams etc.

2. Credit Analytics: (In association with BITS Alumni)

The aim of this work is to evaluate housing loan data and analyze the defaults and find Co-relations between the loan approvals and real estate market fluctuations. The implementation of this work is on Hadoop.

3. Modelling Bayesian Networks for Performance and Capacity Management of Data centers.(In association with TRDDC Pune)

A data center consists of large numbers of computing, communication, and storage systems supporting wide range of applications and services. Consider, for instance, a banking application operated by a US-based investment bank. We observed that this data center hosts hundreds of DB2 applications on several logical partitions of mainframe boxes. The applications fire millions of queries every day and access a complex array of storage devices consisting of thousands of storage volumes and datasets. Such systems need automated solutions for performance and capacity management to better understand and control their operations.

For each component, an enterprise monitors many different metrics – including workload, latency, CPU, memory, IO and network utilizations, cache hit/miss rates, among others. Furthermore, each of these metrics is monitored at relatively fine time-scales (e.g., every few seconds). We propose to leverage Bayesian networks to analyze this data in order to perform following operations:

One of the biggest challenges in performing many performance and capacity operations is the construction of causal relationships between various system metrics. Consider an example system of a database tier with Oracle instances hosted on Windows/Linux machines where various metrics are monitoring at database instance, operating system, and system hardware. Deriving causal relationships across various system components/metrics can prove very useful in gaining a better system understanding. It also opens up the opportunities for performance debugging, capacity planning, prediction, what-if analysis, etc.

Another very relevant application of Bayesian networks is in root-cause analysis of performance problems. In the event of performance problems at an application the root-causes behind performance problems can be diagnosed at application, compute, storage, network layers using belief propagation techniques.

Many infrastructure components are programmed to generate alerts based on certain definitions – e.g. an alert is generated when CPU utilization exceeds 90%. In today’s scenarios due lack of intelligent alert generation mechanisms or due to poor alert suppression mechanisms, large volumes of alerts are generated (~ 1million alerts per day). Analysis of these alerts becomes unmanageable. Bayesian networks can be used to identify dependencies across alerts. This information can then be used to suppress spurious alerts, generate signatures of correlated alerts, etc.

Research Interest

Areas of Interest

Natural Language Processing
Information Retrieval
Data Mining
Big Data
Bio Informatics

Sponsored Projects

DST – DDP:

Project Title: Development of Image Processing Based Portable Device to Measure Surface Strains in Sheet Metal Forming. (Feb 2019-Feb 2022)

DRDO - ARDB:

Project Title: Formability studies on Beta Titanium alloys at elevated temperatures (June 2020-Feb 2023)

DRDO - ASL:

Project Title: Evaluation of paint performance (Co-PI) (Feb 2021 to Dec 2022)

DST – SERB:

Project Title: Enhanced Strength-to- weight Ratio INCONEL-718 Alloy Structures Made by Additive manufacturing for Aerospace Applications (Co-PI) (2021-2023)

BITS-ACRG:

Project Title: Mechanical characterization of 3D printed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites (May 2019 to May 2021)

BITS-RIG:

Project Title: Experimental and Numerical Studies on Part Quality in Incremental Forming at Elevated Temperatures. (Jan 2017 to Jan 2019)

Research Interest

Sheet metal forming

Bulk metal forming

Advanced manufacturing processes

Finite element simulation of manufacturing processes

Modeling and optimization

CAD/CAM

Sponsored Projects

Title: "Impact of Remittances, Financial Development, and Institutional Structure on Poverty: An Empirical Evidence from Developing Countries"

Duration: 2 Years (2019-21)

Amount: Rs. 1.67 Lakhs

Funding Agency: Research Initiation Grant (RIG), SRCD, BITS Pilani

Research Projects

Current Research Work

MICROFLUIDICS :
- Numerical Simulation and Experiments on passive micromixers to understand passive scalar transport.
PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH
- Develop pedagogical techniques and strategies that will help students learn physics more effectively.
NANOSCALE PATTERNING
- Patterning at nanoscale using Soft lithography.

Earlier Research Work

Molecular Nanomagnetism
- Single molecule magnets like Mn₁₂ acetate.
- Thin film deposition: Strategies for organizing nanomagnet clusters as thin films (Pulsedlaser deposition and its variants, Self assembly), with the goal of increasing the blocking temperature. Pattern Mn₁₂ acetate using a combination of solution technique and photolithography.
- Magnetic and surface characterization techniques for measuring the properties of molecular magnet films.
- Study of Quantum Tunneling and Magnetization Reversal and Exchange bias effects.
Metal to Insulator transition in disordered systems
- Deposition and Characterization of amorphous carbon films using electrical and magnetic transport at low temperatures, X-ray, Neutron and Raman scattering.
- Role of quantum interference, electron-electron interactions and disorder, Scaling in disordered systems and application of models to interpret the magneto-transport in materials.

Research & Consultancy Projects

Consultancy Projects

Co-Principal Investigator: 'Condition Assessment of Coal Mill Foundation: Field (NDT) and laboratory Investigation' at STAR CEMENT CO. L.L.C. Ras Al Khaima, UAE; Amount Sanctioned ~ 23200 AED (Status: Completed)

Research Projects

Principal Investigator of a research project ‘Climate Change Impact Assessment on Water Resources Availability’ (INR 7.33 Lakh ) sponsored by National Project Implementation Unit ( A unit of MHRD, GoI and World Bank) under TEQIP- Collarabatice Research Scheme (CRS)- (2018-2019)

Research Projects

Completed Projects
1. DST Fast Track for young scientist- DESIGN OF NEW ANTICONVULSANTS: SYNTHESIS AND PHARMACOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF ARYL SEMICARBAZONES AND ITS ANALOGUES- 2004-2007| Principal Investigator
2. CSIR project - SYNTHESIS AND NEUROPHARMACOLOGY OF 4-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID ANALOGUES-2006-2009| Principal Investigator
3. CSIR project- DEVELOPMENT OF NEW GENERATION QUINOLONE MOLECULES AGAINST MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS- 2005-2008|Co-Investigator
4. UGC Major project-DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF NEWER GABA ANALOGUES FOR TREATING CNS DISORDERS- 2007-2010|Principal Investigator
5. ICMR project-DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL NON-NUCLEOSIDE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE INHIBITORS FOR THE TREATMENT OF AIDS AND OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH AIDS INCLUDING TUBERCULOSIS TUBERCULOSIS -2005-2008|Co-Investigator
6. OPEN SOURCE DRUG DISCOVERY (CSIR) Project-DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF NEW INBIBITORS OF MTB GLMU BY MODELING & HIGH THROUGHPUT DOCKING -2010-2011|Co-Investigator.
7. DBT CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE PROJECT- VIRTUAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR TUBERCULOSIS RESEARCH (In collaboration with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore & The Foundation for Medicial Research, Mumbai)-2007-2012|Co-Investigator
8. UGC Major project-ISOCITRATE LYASE ENZYME AS TARGET IN PERSISTENT MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS INFECTION: SYNTHESIS OF 2-ARYLTHIAZOLIDINE-4-CARBOXYLIC ACID AND 5-NITRO-2-FUROIC ACID DERIVATIVES AND ITS ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL EVALUATION-2009-2012|Co-Investigator
9. CSIR project- DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL DNA GYRASE INHIBITORS AGAINST MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS AND OTHER NON-TUBERCULOSIS MYCOBACTERIAL INFECTIONS -2010-2013|Co-Investigator
10. DBT Neuroresearch Project- STRUCTURE-GUIDED DESIGN OF NOVEL NON-PEPTIDIC NONCOVALENT SELECTIVE INHIBITORS OF THE SPINAL MICROGLIAL CATHEPSIN S FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN-2011-2013| Principal Investigator
11. DST Project- STRUCTURE-BASED RATIONAL DESIGN AND SYNTHEIS OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS PANTOTHENATE SYNTHETASE INHIBITORS-2011-2014| Co-Investigator
12. DST INDO-BRAZILIAN_SOUTH AFRICAN-DEVELOPMENT, SYNTHESIS, AND TESTING OF NOVEL ANTI-HIV DRUGS-2011-2014| Co-Investigator
13. DBT Project- DISCOVERY OF NOVEL MODULATORS OF NAD(+) DEPENDENT PROTEIN DEACETYLASE SIRT1 FOR THE TREATMENT OF VARIOUS HUMAN DISORDERS -2011-2014|Principal Investigator
14. CSIR project- DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF PHARMACOPHORIC HYBRIDS AS POTENTIAL LEADS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN-2012-2015|Principal Investigator
15. DBT INDO-SWEDEN Project-STRUCTURE-GUIDED DESIGN OF NEW ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS AGAINST DORMANT MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS-2009-2014 |Co-Investigator
16. ICMR project- DEVELOPMENT OF DRUGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF LATENT PHASE OF TUBERCULOSIS- 2011-2014| Co-Investigator
17. DST Major Research Project- DRUG DISCOVERY OF INHIBITORS OF THE PROTEASE OF PERIPHERAL MACROPHAGES AND MICROGLIAL CELLS IN THE SPINAL CORD FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN- 2011-2015| Principal Investigator.
18. DST INDO-UKRAINE JOINT PROJECT-DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIEPILEPTIC LEADS TO SUPPRESS HIPPOCAMPAL EPILEPTIC SEIZURES-2012-2015|Principal Investigator.
19. DBT RGYI project-NON-INVASIVE DELIVERY OF siRNA TO TREAT MELANOMA-2012-2015|Co-Investigator
20. OPEN SOURCE DRUG DISCOVERY-CSIR-DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF NOVEL INHIBITORS AGAINST MTB GlmU- 2012-2015| Co-Principal Investigator (In Collaboration with NII, New Delhi, and IIT- Kanpur)
21. ICMR-INSERM (Indo-France) project- STRUCTURE-BASED DESIGN OF ORPHAN NUCLEAR RECEPTOR MODULATOR TO TREAT DIABETES AND ITS COMPLICATIONS BY TARGETING RORALPHA AND REV-ERBALPHA-2014-2016| Principal Investigator
22. DBT INDO-SWEDEN new project- STRATEGIES AGAINST ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS AND PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA: NEW DRUG FOR OLD TARGETS AND OLD DRUGS FOR NEW TARGETS- 2014-2017|Co-Investigator
23. DST INDO-PORTUGAL project- DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL COMPOUNDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEURAL COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES-2014-2017| Principal Investigator
24. DBT INDO-BRAZIL project - ENZYMES FROM PURINE AND PYRIMIDINE BIO-SYNTHETIC PATHWAY AS TARGETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS DRUGS-2014-2017| Principal Investigator
25. DST INDO-POLISH project- MYCOBACTERIAL TUBERCULOSIS ACETYL COENZYME A CARBOXYLASE INHIBITORS: STRUCTURE-BASED DRUG DESIGN, SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION- Approved| Co-Investigator

Ongoing projects
Co-Investigator, DBT project entitled "MRI based non-invasive quantitative
biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis of brain tumor"- In Collaboration with EEE/ECE Department, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus
Industry sponsored projects
1. ASTRA ZENCA, Bangalore- Development of New Antitubercular agents-2010-2013(COMPLETED)
2. ADITYA BIRLA GROUP, Mumbai- Structure-based rational design and synthesis of inhibitors of various enzymes Mycobacterium tuberculosis - 2011-2014 (COMPLETED)
3. Incozen Therapeutics Ltd, Hyderabad - Development of Novel Antiinflammatory Agents-2012-2015 (COMPLETED)

Sponsored Projects

Title: Characterization of Fibre / Matrix interface in Advanced Composites

Role: Co-PI, PI: Dr. Ramesh Babu Adusumalli

Funding Agency: ASL/DRDO

Amount Sanctioned: 9.96 lakhs

Date of Commencement & Duration: Aug 2015 (15 months)

Research Interests

Designing van der Waals quantum materials using twisted transition metal dichalcogenides
Optoelectronics in 2D materials
Strain engineering
Quantum transport in van der Waals heterostructures

Sponsored Projects

1. Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA) Grant

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, India

Amount: 22.80 lakhs (3.60 lakhs in first year and 4.80 lakhs each year for remaining four years)

Duration: 5th July, 2018-5th July, 2023 (Ongoing)

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

2. Research Initiation Grant (RIG)

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus

Title: Detection of Sleep related disorders from physiological signals using multiscale analysis and deep neural network

Amount: 2 lakhs

Duration: 10th Jan, 2019-10th Jan, 2021 (Completed)

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

3. DRDO CARS Project

Title: Design and development of an automated flow calibration system for fuel and oxidizer injectors for reaction control system.

Agency: DRDO, India

Amount: 10 lakhs

Duration: 01 Feb, 2019-31 July, 2020 (Completed)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (CO-PI)

Research Interest

Machine Learning and Deep Learning for Healthcare
Multisensor time-frequency Signal Processing
Graph Signal Processing and Vertex-Frequency Analysis
Sparse Representation and Dictionary Learning
Cardiovascular Signal Processing
Neural Signal Processing and Brain Computer Interface
Cognitive workload task classification and cognitive neuroscience
Cardio-Pulmonary Coupling and Circadian Monitoring
Electromyogram Signal Processing and Muscle Computer Interface
Multi-modal Affective Computing
Smart Health and Internet of Medical Things (IOMT)
Medical Image Processing and Automated Diagnostic system

Sponsored Research

Project 1:

Project Title: "Women’s Employment, Interstate Variations, and Time-use: A Comparative Study of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh"

Total grant: Rs.11,88,000

Duration of the project: October 2018 to July 2021

Joint Principal Investigators: Bheemeshwar Reddy A (Department of Economics and Finance) &
Sunny Jose (Council for Social Development (CSD), Hyderabad)

Funding source: Azim Premji University’s Research Grant Programme

Project 2:

Project Title: "Regional Variations in Women’s Employment in Rural India"

Total grant: Rs.200,000

Duration of the project: April 2019 to March 2021

Principal Investigator: Bheemeshwar Reddy A

Funding source: Research Initiation Grant from BITS-Pilani

Project 3:

Project Title: "Dietary diversity and anaemia among women: A study of four Indian states"

Duration of the project: Feburary 2020 - November 2020

Total grant: Rs. Rs. 6.7 lakhs

Principal Investigator: Sunny Jose (project is hosted at Council for Social Development, Hyderabad, where the PI is located)

Co-Principal Investigator: Bheemeshwar Reddy A

Funding source: SPANDAN Grant, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research,Mumbai.

Project 4:

Project Title: "Assessing multi-dimensional poverty in India for Sustainable Development Goals-adaptation and use of the Consensual Approach in South India"

Total grant: £ 35, 700

Duration of the project: December 2019 to August 2020

Investigators:

Dr. Shailen Nandy (Lead investigator, this project is hosted at Cardiff University, UK)

Cardiff University, UK

Dr. Marco Pomati (co-investigator)

Cardiff University, UK

Bheemeshwar Reddy A (partner investigator)

Prof. Sunny Jose G (partner investigator)

Council for Social Development, Hyderabad.

Funding source: Global Challenges Research Fund, Cardiff University, UK

Sponsored Projects

PROMOTION OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE (PURSE) SCHEME :Rs 8.2 Cr

Sponsored by :DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Project Title: Development of Theranostic Agents for Photodynamic/ Photothermal Treatment of Oral/Lung Cancer and Related Diseases

Status: Approved, yet to start.

Collaborators: Prof Manab Chakravarty, Prof Amit Nag and Prof Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti

Sponsored Projects

Project Statistics:

Completed Projects	On-going Projects	Submitted Projects
3	1	1

On-going Projects:

DST-SERB Start-up Research Grant (SRG), Title: Tribological behavior of Scalable and Low-cost Multilayered MoS₂ Coatings for Hydrogen Valve Applications. Budget amount: INR 23,91,400 for 2 years (FY 2021 - 2022), Approving Authority: DST-SERB, India. Role : Principal Investigator (PI).

Completed Projects at BITS:

BITS Pilani RIG - Research Initiation Grant, Title: Polymer composites for water-lubricated hydropower bearing applications. Budget amount: INR 200,000 for 2 years (FY 2020 - 2021), Approving Authority: BITS-PILANI Hyderabad Campus, India. Role : Principal Investigator (PI).

Completed Projects (Before joining BITS) :

Kakenhi Start-up Research Grant, Grant No. UFG5H06471, Title: Study of the Tribological Properties of Graphene and Related Materials Under Extreme Environments. Budget amount: ¥1,560,000 / year for 2 years (FY 2016 - 2017), Approving Authority: JSPS, JAPAN.
Kakenhi Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists (Wakate), Title: Study of the Tribological Behavior of Multilayered MoS2 based Coatings for Hydrogen Applications. Budget amount: ¥5 Million / 2 years (FY 2019 - 2020), Approving Authority: JSPS, JAPAN. (Partially completed)

Sponsored Projects

1. Sequence based design and characterization of peptide-amyloid nano material: Exploring functionality, Funded by BRNS India, February 2018- February 2021.

2. Investigation of magneto-optical effect in composite magneto-plasmonic nanostructures for sensing applications. Funded by Department of Science and Technology-India. February 2013 - February 2016.

3. Developing supramolecular complexes for solar energy conversion and hydrogen generation, Funded by BITS Pilani - Seed Grant. April 2011 - March 2013.

Research Projects

Inorganic Chemistry
Bioinorganic Chemistry
Crystallography
Nano-materials
Catalysis

Solar Energy Conversion

Projects

Project Ongoing:

"Adaptive Protection Coordination for DG dominated power system networks", Research Initiation Grant funded by BITS Pilani. Project Cost: Rs. 200000/-

Projects Submitted:

"Artificial Intelligence for Self-Healing in Smart Distribution Systems", Submitted under Core Research Grant (CRG) to SERB - 2022. Project Cost: Rs. 34,00,000/-.

Research Interests :

Power System Analysis, operation and control
Heuristic & traditional optimization techniques and their application to Power Engineering
Microgrids
Smart protection devices
Self healing in smartgrids

‎

Completed Projects

BITS-RIG (PI) (2L)

On-going Projects

Design and Development of System-on-Chip for Multiplexed Biomarker Detection
Co-Principal Investigator | Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) | ₹2863674 | Duration: Dec 1, 2022 – Dec 1, 2025
- AI Models for EDA
  Co-Principal Investigator | Micron | ₹22,50000 | Duration: June 10, 2024 – June 10, 2025

BITS-SPARKLE (2L),

Research projects

On Going Project:

Co-PI, Structured Dialogue for Sustainable Water Governance, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India

Completed Projects:

Consultant, Hydro SOS for the GBM Basin, funded by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva

Consultant, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) measures Mainstreaming within Government Departments, (2019-20) funded by AP HRDI (Govt. of AP) and UNDP

Consultant, A Study of Early Warning System at the District/Local Level (2019), funded by the AP HRDI (Govt. of AP) and UNDP.

PI, A Study of Disaster Management Plans in India, (2017-19) funded by BITS Pilani.

PI, Evacuation Policies in India: Cyclone Phailin and Hudhud (2014-15), funded by Jamsetji Tata Trusts, TISS Mumbai.

Co-PI, Impact Assessment of Community Based Disaster Risk Management (2013), funded by the Cord Aid India.

Co-PI: Need Assessment for Uttarakhand Flood affected People, (2013), funded by the Tata Relief Committee (TRC)

Consultant, Disaster Warning System for Andaman and Nicobar, (2012) funded by the Govt. of Andaman and Nicobar

Faculty in Charge (FIC) National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), (2007-2012) Component C involving 13 coastal states/UT, 2007-12 funded by the World Bank and the Government of India.

National Consultant, Vulnerability Assessment and Multi-Hazard Early Warning System, (2006), funded by UNDP and Multi-Donors including European Union

Researcher, Preparedness Index for Disaster Management Organizations (2005), funded by the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), New Delhi.

PI, Measuring Community Preparedness (2003-04), funded by the Provention Consortium and the World Bank.

Research Projects

"Does Financial Awareness Lead to Better Financial Inclusion Outcomes? An Investigation", sponsored by ICSSR, New Delhi under the IMPRESS scheme. It is an action research in nature. The project has been completed and we have started to get publications out of it. The first of it is Financial awareness: a bridge to financial inclusion.

Some Interesting results:

I am sharing some interesting results of the training imparted in our project:

A. How has the training impacted the awareness about the PMJDY?

B. How did our training affect awareness about cashless transactions?

C. How our training affected the mode of cash withdrawals from bank account?

D. How our training affected the preferred mode of saving surplus cash?

Research Interest

Bio-Micro-Fluidic Sciences laboratory

The research in the Bio-Micro-Fluidic science laboratory focuses on the microscale fluid flows and related applications in the broad areas of biological and chemical sciences. The lab exploits the potential of miniaturised fluid flow to study biological cells, molecules, and biochemical reactions at unprecedented levels.

The lab is truly multi-disciplinary working at both the fundamental and applied levels on the microscale fluid flows. At the fundamental level, the research is on the development of novel microdevices, integrated micro systems, and on understanding the intrinsic nature of micro flows. Essentially, this unfolds a multitude of possibilities at the applied level, particularly, in the broad fields of biology and chemistry.

Working Papers

Conflict and Development (with Prabal Roy Chowdhury) ISID Discussion Papers in Economics, Discussion Paper 15-05

Abstract: We examine a dynamic two-stage incumbent-challenger model of internal conflict, where the government, i.e. the incumbent, is in power, while the rebel challenges the government in a bid to capture state power. The central issue is the trade-off between development and security-based measures in countering such rebellion activity. We find that while an exogenous increase in development decreases the level of rebellion activity, it increases the level of security based measures by the government. Further, if the rebel is ‘dominant’ to begin with, then, with the rebel becoming stronger, the level of rebel activity increases, while the security based measures by the government is lowered. Finally, if the rebel becomes stronger (i.e. becomes more cost efficient), then the government might find it optimal to decrease the level of development. Thus our analysis suggests that the trade-off is a nuanced one.

Centralisation and Delegation: A Principal-Agent Analysis

Abstract: We study two types of organizational structures, namely centralization and delegation. Centralization refers to a contractual relationship where the principal contracts with all the agents directly. Delegation refers to a contractual relationship where the principal contracts with some agents (a proper subset, to be precise) and give them the right to contract with others. We allow for the collusion among agents. Both these contracts are quite common in production networks, supply chain management and procurement . We provide an intuitive model for the collusion among agents. We show that the collusion among agents maybe beneficial for the principal also. Hence the whole issue of justifying delegation as counter-strategy to collusion is somewhat misplaced. We provide a sufficient condition under which delegation outperforms centralization. We provide the first-order conditions which characterize Nash equilibrium outcomes for both, centralization with and without collusion cases.

Conflicts: Using Development as Signal (with Prabal Roy Chowdhury)
Difference-Form Contest Success Functions: Existence, Uniqueness and Stability of the Pure Strategy Nash Equilibrium

Sponsored Projects

Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani - 2,00,000 INR
New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG), BITS Pilani - 18,00,000 INR

Research Interest

Algal Biorefineries, Halophilic Biorefineries for Bioplastics (PHA) production, Pulsed Electric Fields (PEFs) for extraction of value added products, Technology development for biofuel production (Biohydrogen, Biodiesel, Biobutanol), Hydrothermal Carbonisation/Liquefaction, Microplastic pollution

Research

Research Interest :

Gravity, Geometry and Fluid-Matter Interactions

For interested students: Please feel free to visit me at C232. Interest in coding in any platform (Mathematica/ Python /Julia) and familiarity with Latex writing will be very helpful for my projects.

All are welcome !

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Grant generation for research work is under process.

Projects

Research Project(s)

Principal Investigator for, “Preparation of State of Art Report (SOAR) on Use of Polymer Fibers and Steel Fibers for Improvement in Concrete Properties", funded by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH),1yr, Rs.6.578 lakhs, F.No.RW/NH-35083/24/2016/S&R (R) dated 31^st March,2017.

Consultancy Project(s)

Principal Investigator for “Assessment of Structural damage by fire hazard to factory shed”, M/s, Shalimar Chemicals and Nilgiri Oil &Allied Chemicals, 24^th August to 12^th October 2018, Rs.4.13 lakhs.
Co-Investigator as a Team Member for “Rehabilitation and Upgrading to 2-lanes/2-lane with paved shoulder configuration and strengthening of Birpur-Bihpur section of NH-106 in the state of Bihar under Phase-1 of NHIIP on EPC basis”, IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Ltd., 6 months (July to December 2017), Rs.9.5 lakhs.

Research Interest(s):

Sustainable Materials and Technologies
Linear & Non Linear Finite Element Analysis of Structures
Lateral Load Analysis of Structures
Analysis of Bridges
Soil Structure Interaction

Guidance:

Doctoral Research:

Investigation on Interference and Across Wind Effects on Tall Structures by Computational Fluid Dynamics and Machine Learning - (Ms. K. Shruti, successfully defended on 22nd December,2021).
Development of Cement Concrete with Non-Biodegradable Waste Products and Supplementary Materials- An Experimental Investigation. (Mr. M. Venu, completed on Jan.,2015)
Ms. Navaneetha E is registered for Research on Use of Agricultural waste as Sustainable Construction Material

Approximately supervised 30 students for First Degree Thesis and Higher Degree Dissertation. Also guided approximately 150 students of First Degree students for Special Projects, Design Projects and Lab Oriented Projects and Higher Degree students for Research Practice, etc.

Sponsored Projects

Cinema on Paper: Transnational Encounters with the ‘Cinematic-Modern’ in Early Twentieth Century Bengali Print Culture

Sponsored Projects

Competitive extramural and other Research Grants secured at BITS-Pilani Hyderabad

As a PI: BITS Cross-disciplinary Research Framework:

Project Title: To establish plant-based highly efficient breakthrough technology TRBO protein expression system for oral delivery of IL-22 as a putative protein drugs to treat acute and chronic renal injury.

Funded by : BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Duration: 2 years (2023-2025)

Budget: 20 lakhs

2. As the Lead PI and Principal Coordinator of a multi-institutional project:

Project Title: Allele mining for the epigenetic regulator NGR5 and other yield-associated genes (GID1 and GRF4) and their modulation using multiple genomic and molecular approaches to enhance rice yield under low nitrogen conditions.

Funding agency: ICAR-NASF, Govt. of India.

Duration: 3 years (2022-2025, with scope for extension).

Budget: Rs. ~1.5 crores.

Other participating institutions: ICAR-IIRR Hyderabad, ICAR-NRRI Cuttack, University of Hyderabad.

3. As the single PI: Ramanujan Fellowship Research Grant:

Project Title: Epigenetics of megabase-scale rRNA gene regulation and genomic instability of rDNA and telomeres.

Funding agency: SERB, Govt. of India.

Duration: 5 years (2018-2023).

Budget: Rs. 38 lakhs

4. As the single PI: CRG grant:

Project Title: To delineate domain-specific functions of Histone Deacetylase 6 (HDA6) in gene regulation and genomic instability and- to develop a novel non-transgenic epigenetic mutagenesis tool for plant improvement via HDAC modulation.

Funding agency: Sponsored by SERB, Govt. of India,

Duration: 3 years (2021-2024)

Budget: Rs. 42,38,696 (42.38 lakhs)

5. As the Principal Coordinator and a PI: Multi-institutional project:

Project Title: To improve the efficiency of genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9 and- to create novel sources of epigenetic variation in plants.

Funding agency: DBT, Govt. of India.

Duration: 3 years (with scope for extension).

Budget: Rs. 85 lakhs (waiting for the release of Money)

Other participating institutes (ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad, CSIR-NEIST Jorhat)

6. As the single PI: Competitive RIG

Project Title: To elucidate novel mechanisms of SnRK1-AMPK family kinases in plant antiviral defense and human metabolism regulation.

Funded by: BITS-Pilani Hyderabad campus

Duration: 2 years (2019-2021).

Budget: ~ Rs.10 lakhs

7. PI in Center for Human Diseases Research:

Project Title: Ribosomal RNA gene regulation in Oral cancers and development of novel anticancer tools using M1GS ribozymes.

Funded by: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus

Duration: 5 years (2018-2023).

Budget: Variable (to support the specified objectives).

8. Secured ICMR-SRF for a Ph.D. student:

Project title: To develop engineered bacterial M1GS- ribozyme mediated cleavage of 45S rRNA as a novel anti-cancer strategy”

Funding agency: ICMR, Govt. of India

Duration: 2 years (2022-2024)

Budget: 10.5 lakhs

9. As the single PI: BITS Research Initiation Grant:

Project Title: Epigenetics of 45S rRNA gene regulation and rDNA genomic instability”

Funded by: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus

Duration: 1 year (2017-2018).

Budget: 2 lakhs

10. Brought research projects-in-progress from the Laboratory of Prof. Craig Pikaard(Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Indiana University, USA) along with genetic and research reagents (~20 lakhs).

Sponsored Projects

Project title : "Study of decoherence and entanglement in non linear systems and their applications" SR/FTP/PS-139/2012 DST-SERC Fast Track Amount 14.19 Lakhs.
Project Title : "Exceptional polynomials and their applications to Wigner Function" the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India ( (D. O. No: MTR/2018/001046)), MATRICS 6.6 Lakhs.

Sponsored Projects

DST-SERB ECRA (Dec, 2018 - Nov, 2021) as PI
CSIR (May, 2019 - July, 2022) as PI
Add Competitive RIG, BITS (May, 2019- April, 2021) as PI
ICMR-DHR (March, 2020- Feb, 2023) as Co-PI from BITS

RESEARCH TRAVEL GRANTS

5. Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) Study Visit Grant (SVG) – 30,000 SEK ($3,000), 2020.
To visit: CoE-SUFS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, USA
Funding Agency: VREF, Gothenburg, Sweden

4. Conference Grant (travel, registration, accommodation, subsistence, etc.) – ₹3,00,000 ($4,000), 2018.
To visit: VREF Advanced Studies Institutes on Sustainable Urban Freight Systems (VASI-SUFS) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 2018
Funding Agency: VASI-SUFS, RPI, Troy.

3. Travel Grant – ₹1,07,000 ($1,450), 2018. International Travel Support Scheme, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
To visit: Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington DC, USA
Funding Agency: SERB, DST, Government of India

2. Travel Grant – ₹1,25,000 ($1,700), 2017. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Regina, Canada.
To visit: University of Regina as a Visiting Scientist for a week.
Funding Agency: Satish Sharma’s NSERC Discovery Grant.

1. Travel Grant – ₹1,60,000 ($2,200), 2016. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Regina, Canada.
To visit: University of Regina as a Visiting Scientist for a month.
Funding Agency: Satish Sharma’s NSERC Discovery Grant.

Proposed Areas

1. Algebra of Immanants in Matrix Analysis :

2. Applications of Spectral Graph Theory :

3. Matrix Analysis and Networks :

4. Distances in a Network :

5. Quantum Walks in a network:

6. Quantum Cryptography :

Sponsored Projects

Project Title	Funding Agency	Total Fund Sanctioned	Role	Duration (status)
1. Development of environmental friendly cast iron disc for automotive brake pad-disc system: Surface modification treatment of cast iron disc	DST-SERB Govt. of India {NPDF}	Rs. 19,20,000/-	Principal Investigator	2017-2019 (Completed)
2. Friction and Wear Investigation of Ceramic Coated Commercial Rotor	BITS Pilani - Research Initiation Grant {BITS-RIG}	Rs. 2,00,000/-	Principal Investigator	2019-2021 (Completed)
3. Development of Tribologically Optimized Laser Cladded Friction Material for Automotive Brake Pad-Disc System	DST-SERB Govt. of India {SRG}	Rs. 12,36,400/-	Principal Investigator	2021-2023 (ongoing)
4. Understanding Tribology of Automotive Brake Pad-Disc System *	SERB-Accelerate Vigyan Govt. of India {VRITIKA}	Rs. 1,50,000/-	Event Organizer	20th June 2022 - 31st July 2022 (Completed)
5. High-Temperature Tribology and Their Related Characterizations*	SERB-Accelerate Vigyan Govt. of India {KARYASHALA}	Rs. 5,00,000/-	Event Organizer	Under Review (Application Accepted)
6. Controlling Emission Mechanisms of Non-Exhaust Airborne Wear Particles Generated from Automotive Brake Pad-Disc System	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)	Rs. 41,91,000/-	Principal Investigator	Under Review

Sponsored Projects

1) Recipient of OPERA (Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics grant by BITS-Pilani of 18 lacs for a period of 5 years w.e.f 1st Dec, 2017.

2) Title : "Quantum Gravity in Rindler Space"

Grant : CSIR no. 03(1350)/16/EMR-II

Status : Active

Funding Approved : 15.46 Lakhs

Period : 3 Years

Sponsored Projects

Research funding (ongoing/approved)

PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. Microneedle scleral patch for drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR); Budget 20,00,000, 2022-2024.
Development of theranostic agents for photodynamic / photothermal treatement of oral/ lung cancer. Pls D Ramaiah, Manab Chakravarthy, Amit Nag, Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti, DST PURSE Theme I, Budget: 7 crores, 2022-2026
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. mRNA antigen and CTLA4 inhibitor loaded lipid nanoparticles for targeted oral cancer immunotherapy. Science and Engineering Research Board; Budget: Rs: 63 lakhs, 2022-2025.
PI: Vishal Raval; Co-I: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. Preclinical and clinical studies of microneedle scleral patch in retinoblastoma. Indian Council of Medical Research; Budget: Rs. 72 lakhs, 2023-2026.

Projects completed:

PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti; Co-I: Karumbaiah Chappanda Nanaiah. Development of a microneedle-based device to measure bioanalytes in skin interstitial fluid. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Budget: Rs. 54,50,000, 2021-2024.
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. Development of tissue storage media. LV Prasad Eye Institute; Budget: 6.22 lakhs, 2021-2023.
Consultancy projects for topical formulations development: 3 projects budgeted at 46 lakhs.
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti; Co-PI: Onkar P. Kulkarni. Development of smart capsule to target colorectal cancer. Science and Engineering Research Board (Budget: Rs. 55,54,225), 2017 - 2021.
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti; Co-PI: Dr. Prashant Garg (LVPEI). Development of ocular drug delivery system. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR; Budget: Rs. 42,25,150), 2017-2020.
UK-India Centre for Advanced Technology for Minimization of indiscriminate use of Antibiotics (UKICAT-MA). Department of Biotechnology (India) - Medical Research Council (UK). Indian team: PI - Dr. Prashant Garg (LVPEI), Co-PI - Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti; UK team: PI - Dr. Stephen Rimmer (University of Bradford), Co-PIs - Dr. Sheila McNeil, Dr. Ian Douglas, Dr. Simon Foster. 2015 - 2019. (BITS Pilani budget share 48 lakhs)
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti; Co-PI: Yogeeswari Perumal. Non-invasive delivery of siRNA to treat melanoma. Rapid Grant for Young Investigator-Department of Biotechnology, India (Budget: Rs. 28,48,000), 2014 - 2017.
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. Transcutaneous delivery of liposome-siRNA complex to treat skin cancer. Department of Science and Technology, India (Budget: Rs. 29,26,000), 2013 - 2016.
PI: P. Sankar Ganesh; Co-PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti; Co-PI: K. Venu Gopal Reddy. Novel biomarker responses to validate acute toxicity of engineered nanoparticles and their physicochemical interactions in earthworm as a model bio indicator of nano(eco)toxicology. Rapid Grant for Young Investigator-Department of Biotechnology, India (Budget: Rs. 14,00,000), 2013 - 2016.
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. Transcutaneous delivery of macromolecules using layer-by-layer assembly to treat skin conditions. Department of Science and Technology - SERB Young Scientist Award, India (Budget: Rs. 23,00,000), 2012 - 2015.
PI: Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti. Development and Characterization of Polyelectrolyte Nano-Capsules for Topical Delivery of Drugs. Research initiation grant, BITS Pilani (Budget: Rs. 2,00,000), 2011-2012.

Sponsered Projects

*On-going (as PI, unless otherwise specified)*
2022 -	Development of a sustainable eco-friendly concrete material with complete replacement of traditional ingredients with waste materials (WASTECRETE). Funded by: CEFIPRA. Amount: INR 1.16 Crores. French PI: Prof. Martin Cyr; French co-PI: Prof. Georges Zissis (Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, Midi-Pyrenees, France) and Dr. Rachida Idir (Cerema - Center For Studies And Expertise On Risks, The Environment, Mobility And Planning, Paris, Ile-De-France).

*Completed (as PI, unless otherwise specified)*
2018 - 2024	Economic construction practice using bacterial inclusions in concrete to improve its durability. Funded by: CSIR. Amount: INR 2,124,000.
2019 - 2022	Implementation of plants and treated natural fibers to enhance the strength properties of soft soil and to decrease the rate of surface erosion (Nat-Treat). (Indian co-PI; Indian PI: Dr. Anasua Guharay from BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus; Austrian PI: Dr. Wei Wu from Universität für Bodenkultur BOKU; Austrian Co-PI: Dr. M. Acharya from BOKU). Funded by: Indo-Austria Scientific and Technological Cooperation between WTZ (Austria) and DST (India). INR 640,000.
2016-2020	Palamuru Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme (PRLIS). (co-PI with Prof. Sridhar Raju, Prof. Vinayaka Ram, Prof. Jagadeesh Anmala, Dr. Anasua GuhaRay, Dr. Mohan SC, and Dr. Murari Varma from BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus). Funded by: Govt. of Telangana, INR 8,000,000.
2016-2019	Performance evaluation of backfill soils partially replaced with building derived materials. (co-PI with Dr. Naveen James from IIT Ropar; PI: Dr. Anasua GuhaRay from BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus). Funded by: SERB (DST), Govt. of India, INR: 2,443,000.
2015-2020	Shrinkage properties of concrete with alkali - activated binder. Funded by: BITS - Pilani. Amount: INR 1,920,000.
2015-2017	Effect of severely high temperatures on the behavior of reinforced concrete alkali-activated binder. Funded by: BITS - Pilani. Amount: INR 200,000.
2012-2013	Characterization of concrete with alkali-activated binders and correlating their properties from micro to specimen levels. Funded by ASCE Freeman Fellowship. Amount: USD 5,000.

Research Interest

Development and characterization and of concrete with alkali-activated aluminosilicates as sustainable or ‘green’ building materials
Correlation between microstructural properties of cementitious paste with mechanical properties of concrete at specimen scale
Study of the polymerization or hydration chemistry of cementitious systems depending on the type of binder
Development of models to predict strength, stiffness, and deformation characteristics of concrete with alkali-activated binder
Life cycle assessment of concrete with alkali-activated binder
Bacterial inclusions in concrete
Treatment methods for geotextiles
Durability of concrete with Alkali-Activated Binders

Research Interest

Radio Resource Allocation
MAC Optimization,
Packet Scheduling in 4G and Beyond Broadband Wireless Networks

Research Interest

Algorithmic, structural and combinatorial problems in graph theory and its applications.
Fixed parameter tractable Algorithms.
Community Search problems.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

DST SERB CRG:

Title of Project: " Development of mesoporous materials with enhanced hydrogen uptake for fuel cell vehicles "

Role: Co-PI

Duration: March 2021- March 2023

Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS

Title of Project: " Design and development of an AI based Remote Fault Signature Analyzer (ReFSA) for condition monitoring of rotor bar failures in an Industrial electrical machine"

Role: Principle Investigator

Duration: Sept 2019- Sept 2021

Completed

DRDO - CARS

Title of Project:" Underwater Characterization of solar cells and their optimization”

Role: Co-Investigator

Duration : June 2018-June 2020

RIG Grant, BITS

Title of Project:" Wavelet based pattern recognition and motor current signature analysis of stator winding faults due to insulation failure in industrial machines"

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Jan 2018-Jan 2020

Student Initiation Project (Funded by BITS)

SIP Student Initiation Project -1

Title: “Numerical Modelling and Designing a Single-Point Charging Unit Integrated with Underwater Solar Panel and Micro Wind Turbine for Off-shore Marine Applications”

Role: Mentor

Students: Mr. B. Sameer (Mech. Dept.), Mr. Rithvik.D (EEE Dept.), Ms. Varaali.Ch (EEE Dept.), Ms. Soumya.S (EEE Dept.)

Duration: Jan 2020- Jan 2021

SIP Student Initiation Project -2

Title: “Autonomous, indoor navigation helper bot”

Role: Mentor

Students: Mr. P Keshav Sharan Reddy (EEE Dept.)

Duration: Jan 2020- Jan 2021

Research Interest

1) General Relativity

2) Mathematical Physics

3) Quantum Fields in Curved background

Research Interest

As the group leader of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis Research at BITS Pilani Hyderabad, I aim to become a global leader in tuberculosis research, with a specific focus on "vaccines and therapeutics for women's reproductive health and paediatric tuberculosis." This neglected area carries immense national and international significance. With 20 years of experience in tuberculosis research, expertise in vaccine and therapeutics development & testing, and extensive training in biosafety and biosecurity, I am confident in achieving my vision.

I am particularly excited about our patented dual-use Bladder cancer-cum-TB vaccine, which was developed by me and my colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in the laboratory of Prof. William R Bishai. It has proven to be highly effective against TB and bladder cancer in pre-clinical studies and is now tech transferred for first phase of further clinical testing. We are also eager about novel anti-TB drugs that we recently discovered and patented by our lab at BITS Hyderabad. Combined with my ongoing translational research, I anticipate to expand my research arena and entrepreneurial skills, contributing to the global effort to end tuberculosis.

My research encompasses fascinating yet challenging areas such as

1. Exploring the role of Flavins in the host-pathogen interaction during M. tuberculosis infection. (DBT-RLS)

2. We are focusing currently on identifying new drug targets against M. tuberculosis along with discovering their mechanism of action through in silico, in vitro (biochemical, microbiological, biophysical, molecular and immunological) approaches, and to test these potent anti-TB drugs in vivo animal models of TB. (DBT-RLS, CHDR Intramural grant, Lady Tata Memorial Fellowship)

3. We are also dedicated to designing and developing clinical trial-ready, antibiotic marker-free, CRISPR-engineered BCG-based recombinant vaccines that minimize regulatory hurdles. These vaccines can serve as delivery vehicles for small molecule-based adjuvants like c-di-AMP, c-di-GMP, and MAIT cell agonists. (DBT RLS, DBT-Indo-USA)

4. Furthermore, my lab is committed to studying the impact of tuberculosis on maternal and fetal health, reproductive tract disorders, and infertility. To accomplish this, we are developing novel in vitro and in vivo animal models that serve as platforms for screening potent anti-TB drugs, host-directed therapies, and targeted treatments for women with TB. (CHDR Intramural grant)

5. We have also established rapid molecular methods to detect genital or wound infections by pathogens of concern including TB & ESKAPE. (DRDO, ICMR Fellowship)- To be patented

Through these research endeavors, we aim to make significant contributions to tuberculosis research and address the specific needs of vulnerable populations.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Sponsored Research Projects

NBCC, Central Public Sector Navaratna Enterprise, The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India Sponsored Research Project

Title of the Project: Multi-functional fiber-reinforced bendable pavement quality concrete (MFB-PQC) with Recycled Coarse Aggregates and foundry waste sand for rigid pavements

Sponsoring Agency: M/s NBCC, a Central Public Sector Navaratna Enterprise, The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Other Investigators: Prof. R. Parameshwaran (Co-PI)

Project Duration: 2024 - 2027

Total Research Grant: ₹ ₹ 1.0813 Crore (108.13 Lakh) (US $ 1,29,199)

Project Status: Ongoing

Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) fund

Title of the Project: Development of Next Generation Temperature Controlled Headgear Enriched with Nano-Phase Change Heat Spreader for Management of Fever in Paediatric and Adult Patients

Sponsoring Agency: BITS, Pilani

Role: Principal Investigator-II (PI-II)

Other Investigators: Prof. R. Parameshwaran (PI-I) and Dr. Nagajyothi Kasimkota (PI-III)

Project Duration: September 2023 till graduation of the scholar

Total Research Grant: ₹ 44 Lakhs (US $ 52550)

[Grant released for research Component: ₹ 20 Lakhs (US $ 23,887); Additional Scholar Grant for five years: ₹ 24 Lakhs (US $ 28664) (Calculated as per the prevailing JRF and SRF rates for five years. The Scholar will be a JRF of ₹ 37,000 per month during the first 2 years followed by ₹ 42,000 per month for the next 3 years)]

Project Status: Ongoing

III. Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN) research grant for joint Ph.D. program between BITS Pilani and La Trobe University

Title of the Project: Development and testing of alkali-activated pervious concrete with recycled aggregates for smart city roads in India and Australia

Sponsoring Agency: Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN)

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Other Investigators: Prof. R. Parameshwaran (Co-PI), BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus; Prof. Ing Kong (PI), LaTrobe University, Australia; Dr. Vipul Patel (Co-PI), LaTrobe University, Australia

Project Duration: 2023 till the graduation of the scholar

Total Research Grant: ₹ 32,11,000 (US $ 38,353)

[Full fellowship for the scholar: @ ₹ 37,000/month for the first two years and @ ₹ 42,000/month for the 3^rd year of the research in India and @ Australian $ 32,500 (₹ 18.19 Lakhs) per annum at Australia for one year]

Project Status: Ongoing

Department of Science and Technology, Government of India – SERB- Core Research Grant (CRG)

Title of the Project: Development of a novel cost, cost-effective and smart building material for indoor thermal comfort and enhanced energy storage

Sponsoring Agency: Department of Science and Technology – Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB)

Role: Co-Principle Investigator (Co-PI)

Other Investigators: Prof. R. Parameshwaran (PI), BITS, Pilani, Hyderabad Campus; Dr.S.Maheswaran (Co-PI), CSIR-SERC, Chennai; Dr. S. Sundar Kumar (Co-PI), CSIR-SERC, Chennai

Project Duration: 2023 – 2025

Total Research Grant: ₹ 29.49 Lakhs (US $ 35,234)

Project Status: Ongoing

Student Program for Advancing Research, Knowledge, and Entrepreneurship (SPARKLE)

Title of the Project: Development of lightweight artificial aggregates with enhanced thermal energy storage

Sponsoring Agency: BITS, Pilani

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Other Investigators: 4 more student investigators, studying in all 4 years of BE were recruited for this project

Project Duration: October 2023- September 2024

Total Research Grant: ₹ 2 Lakhs (US $ 2,389)

Project Status: Ongoing

Completed Sponsored Research Projects

MoRD, GOI - Sponsored Research Project

Title of the Project: Rural Roads Pavement Performance Study

Sponsoring Agency: National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India (GOI)

Role: Principal Investigator-I (PI-I)

Other Investigators: Prof. A K Sarkar (PI - II)

Project Duration: 2006 - 2009

Total Research Grant: ₹ 10.00 Lakhs (US $11,947)

Project Status: Completed

ABS&TC - Industry Sponsored Research Project

Title of the Project: Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Sandwiched Modular Multilayer Self-Compacted Cement Concrete Pavement

Sponsoring Agency: M/s Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company, Mumbai

Role: Principle Investigator (PI)

Other Investigators: Dr. M V N Sivakumar (Co-PI), Prof. A. Vasan (Co-PI) and Dr. M. Venu (Co-PI)

Project Duration: 2011 - 2013

Total Research Grant: ₹ 10.00 Lakhs (US $11,947)

Project Status: Completed

III. MoRT&H, GOI - Preparation of State of the Art Report (SOAR)

Title of the Project: Preparation of State-of-the-Art Report (SOAR) on the Effect of Temperature Stresses in Concrete Pavements

Sponsoring Agency: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India

Role: Principle Investigator (PI)

Other Investigators: Prof. Sridhar Raju (Co-PI)

Project Duration: May 2017 to November 2017

Total Research Grant: ₹ 6.44 Lakhs (US $7694)

Project Status: Completed

MoRT&H, GOI - Preparation of State of the Art Report (SOAR)

Title of the Project: Preparation of State-of-the-Art Report (SOAR) on Utilization of Higher percentage of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) in Hot Asphalt Mixes (HAM) with Warm Mix Additives - Laboratory and field evaluation

Sponsoring Agency: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India

Role: Co-Principle Investigator (Co-PI)

Other Investigators: Prof. Sridhar Raju (PI)

Project Duration: July 2017 to January 2018

Total Research Grant: ₹ 6.26 Lakhs (US $7479)

Project Status: Completed

Research Projects

Sponsored Projects:

1. As PI, Synthesis, Characterization and Catalytic Behavior of Atom Metal-Oxide Nanoclusters, Funded by SERB, (~25 L, 2022).

2. As PI, Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles for propellant applications, Funded by Premier Explosives Limited, (12.1 L, 2016).

3. As Co-PI, Investigation of magneto-optical effect in composite magneto-plasmonic nanostructures for sensing applications, Funded by SERB-DST-India. (32.7 L, 2013).

Research Interests:

Devising strategies for the synthesis of various nanostructures:

One of the primary aspects of a strategy for nanomaterials synthesis is to provide control over the size and distribution. The presence of ligands or capping agents during the nanoparticle synthesis leads to capped nanoparticles with tunable size.In order to control the growth of nanoparticles, we used solid citric acid, which acts as both a matrix and reducing agent. The gold nanoclusters possessed a size of 0.8 nm to 1.4 nm. These nanoclusters can be stored as they are stable in the citric acid solid matrix. Under specific reaction conditions in water, these catalysts complete 50% of the p-nitrophenol reduction before they aggregate to form bigger-sized nanoparticles. Thus, these Au nanoclusters exhibit a very high turn-over frequency.Due to the surface energy, the metals tend to ball up on the surface of metal-oxide systems, thus, preventing uniform coating or shell layer. We have devised a solid-state approach for the preparation of metal-oxide@metal core-shell nanostructures.
Due to the surface energy, the metals tend to ball up on the surface of metal-oxide systems, thus, preventing uniform coating or shell layer. We have devised a solid-state approach for the preparation of metal-oxide@metal core-shell nanostructures. We mixed surfactant-based precursor with the pre-formed metal-oxide core material and ground further. After the grinding process, thermal decomposition of the precursor leads to metal-oxide(core) – metal(shell) nanostructures. The efficiency of the coating depends on the inherent surface energy of the metals. E.g., it is not easy to form a continuous metal layer in the case of Pd. The core-shell nanostructures were tested for their catalytic H₂ generation efficacy from ammonia borane.
The issues with using metal-oxide nanoparticles as a source of micronutrients for plants are aggregation, segregation, and lack of leaching. As a result, the nutrient uptake by plants is not appreciable. We circumvent this by synthesizing chelate-based iron citrate and zinc citrate nanoparticles which are water-soluble and can mitigate the problems posed by metal-oxide nanoparticles. The Fe and Zn citrate nanoparticles were prepared by solid-state grinding of ferric nitrate and citric acid. These novel chelate-based metal ion precursor nanoparticles were absorbed by plants more than the commercial sources.

Understanding structure-property correlation in nanomaterials:

Using the wet-chemical method, we prepared Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles coated with oleic acid and oleylamine. The particle size and size distribution were studied by small-angle x-ray scattering techniques. Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were also characterized by Faraday rotation measurements. The presence of spacer ligands (oleic acid) reduces the aggregation and thus the magnetic dipolar interaction between nanoparticles. As a result, the Faraday rotation data fits the single-scattering model rather than the chain model.
Fe₃O₄@Pd core-shell nanoparticles possess multiple functions. Pd acts as a catalyst center, and Fe₃O₄ provides magnetic recoverability functions. These nanostructures were tested for catalytic H₂ generation efficacy from ammonia borane. The characterization data of the used catalysts (from successive catalysis reaction cycles) indicates the formation of Fe(0) as an intermediate. The Fe(0) that is located beneath the Pd enhances the rate of H₂ generation.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Research Projects:

Sl No.	Title of Project	Funding Agency	Amount (Rs)	Date of sanction and Duration
1	Evaluation of Novel Transdermal Device for Controlled Delivery of a Drug	Medicen Devise Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad	Rs 18.7 Lakhs	Nov 2020, 1.5 Years
2	Design and Evaluation of Novel Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems	Transform SciTech Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad	Rs 19.1 Lakhs	Nov 2020, 2 Years
3	Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetic Studies	Acubiosys Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad	Rs 10 Lakhs	August 2017, 3 Years

Completed Research Projects:

Sl No.	Title of Project	Funding Agency	Amount	Date of sanction and Duration
1	Technical and Knowledge Support for Preparation and Filing of Drug Master File (DMF) as per Common Technical Document (CTD) for Sennosides USP including the Analytical Requirements	Shasi Phytochemicals Ltd., Alwar, Rajasthan	5.74 Lakhs	September 2016, 2 Years
2	Design, Characterization and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Nanocarriers for Antiretroviral Drug Delivery in the Effective Treatment of HIV/AIDS	DST	23.10 Lakhs	April, 2012; 3 years
3	Design, Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation of Nanocarriers for Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) Delivery in the Effective Treatment of Post-menopausal Osteoporosis	UGC, New Delhi	7.83 Lakhs	Feb 2011; 3 years
4	Preformulation and oral pharmacokinetic studies of Rifaximin	Daewoong Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Hyderabad	5.79 Lakhs	1 Year
5	In-vivo evaluation of Nasal Moisturizer	TTK LIG Ltd., Chennai	50,000	1 week
6	Development of a Stable Formulation for Selected Combination of Drugs	IPCA Laboratories Ltd., Mumbai	11 Lakhs	2 years
7	GMP System Implementation in Production Facility at Shashi Phytochemical Industries	Sashi Phytochemicals Ltd., Alwar, Rajasthan	4 Lakhs	6 months

Research Interest

Ferroelectric/Multiferroic ceramics for memory and photovoltaic devices
Glass/Polymer composites for capacitor and optical based device applications
Dielectric, Piezoelectric and Nonlinear optical materials
Structure - property correlation studies in electroceramic materials

BOOKS & RESEARCH PAPERS

Papers in Peer Reviewed Journals & : 77

Abstracts/Papers in Conference Proceedings

Book Chapter : 01
Patent : 02 (Granted)

Sponsored Projects

1) Project Title :

Investigations into the influence of rare earth ion doping on structural and dielectric properties of layered ferroelectric ceramics by adopting molten salt synthesis route.

Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology

Grant Amount : Rs. 20 lakhs

Duration : Three years (2010 - 2013)

Research facilities created based on the project in the physics department

LCR meter with high temperature measurement setup (Frequency range : 20Hz - 1MHz)
High temperature furnace (Max working temp : 1400 degree celsius)
Hydraulic press (Max pressure : 30 Tons)

2) Project Title :

Investigations of the effects of photon upconversion materials on the electrical performance of ferroelectric/semiconductor heterojunction photovoltaic devices.

Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology

Grant Amount : Rs. 35 lakhs

Duration : Three years (2017 - 2020)

Project/Research Collaborations

Completed Projects

1. Project as PI: Sustainable technological solutions for energy efficiency in jaggery industry (STEEJ), Sponsored by: Royal Academy of Engineering, UK, Duration in Months:24, Rs. 4800000 (Rs 48 lakhs)

2. Research collaboration: Spent the summer term 2016 at Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI), University of Exeter, UK on the research assignment “Viability Evaluations of Building Integrated Solar Photovoltaics” in collaboration with Prof. Tapas Mallick, Chair in Clean Technologies (Renewable Energy), ESI

Submitted Projects

Project as PI: Evaluation of Techno – Economic and other barriers and evolution of strategies for the commercialization of solar hot water systems in India”, under UGC minor project, Duration: 12 months. (Sanctioned, but could not be used because of transfer to Dubai Campus)

2.Project as PI: Green technologies for extracting oil from oil shales, BITS seed grant, 3 years, 20 lakhs, Duration: 2 years

3.Project as CO-PI: Sustainable Built Residential Environment for Energy Demand Reduction in the UK and India: BREEDER; Submitted to: EPSRC call for Newton-Baba fund on UK-India Reducing Energy Demand in the Built Environment; total budget £1167711, BITS share Rs. 88.9664 lakhs; duration: 3 years Consortium members: Researchers from University of Exeter, UK; Loughborough University, UK; University of Nottingham, UK; IIT Madras; Tezpur University; CSIR; CEERI etc.

4.Project as CO-PI: Sustainable Tribo-Cryo System for Machinability Enhancement of Al-TiC Metal Matrix Composites, UGC Major project, 3 years, around 20 lakhs.

Research Projects

Sponsored Projects

Title: Development of Magnetoimpedance Sensor for Biocells Detection

Funding Agency: DST SERB

Total Grant: 22.68 lakhs

Duration: July 2012 – January 2016

Research Interest

Magnetic thin films and nano-structures

Micromagnetic simulations

Magnetic skyrmions

Spintronics

Magnetic sensors for non-destructive testing of materials

Thermomagnetic generators

Photovoltaics

*Lab oriented projects are available on Flexible Magnetoelectronics, and on Memristors.

Sponsored Research Projects

Projects Ongoing

S. No.	Title	Role	Funding agency	Project Cost (Rs. Lakhs)	Duration
1	Design and Development of flexible thermoelectric devices (TEDs) for various applications	Co-PI	DRDO	34.34	May 2023 May 2025
2	High Precision, Miniaturized and Smart Colorimetric Device for Pesticide Quantification and Monitoring Applications in Food and Environment	Co-PI	SERB	35.90	Nov 2022-Nov 2025
3	Development of Robotic-Milling System using Topology Optimization Method	PI	DST-AMT	41.18	Nov 2022-Nov 2024
4	Development of Intelligent Algorithm to Predict Surface Location Error in Micromilling of Thin-walled Ti6Al4V for Low Cost Biofabrication	Co-PI	SERB	54.97	May 2024-May 2027

Completed Projects

S. No.	Title	Role	Funding agency	Project Cost (Rs. Lakhs)	Duration
1	Application of topology optimization to enhance energy efficiency and performance of industrial manipulator	PI	DST-SERB	29.6	Aug 2017 - Nov 2020
2	Modelling and Simulation of Quartz Accelerometer for Navigation System	Co-PI	CARS-RCI	5.3	Feb. 2018 - June 2019
3	Automation of Sample Preparation Process for Pharmaceutical Application	Co-PI	Aizant Drug Research Solutions Pvt. Ltd.	15	June 2019- Jan 2020
4	Automated Ultraviolet-C Sterilization Robot	PI	BIRAC	15	July 2018-Dec. 2018
5	Investigation of Performance for Topologically Optimized Planner Manipulator Link	PI	BITS PILANI	2.0	July 2016-July2018
6	Cardiac-Organ-on-Chip: Integrated Microfluidic Cardiac Platform for Drug Screening and Toxicity Detection.	Co-PI	DST	43.76	July 2019- July 2022
7	Real time Investigation of various analytes using droplet microfluidics integrated with high-speed vision	PI	National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)	21.2256	March 2021-March 2023
8	Smartphone enabled, Lab-free and onsite multiplexed diagnostics device for health management of rural and underprivileged population	Co-PI	Telangana State Council of Science and Technology (TSCOST)	4.0	March 2022-March 2024

Ongoing

External Grants

1. Title of the project:

Developmental studies on the influence of temperature on carbon/epoxy composite properties

Principal Investigator: Dr. Pavan Kumar Penumakala

Co-Investigators: Prof. Ramesh Adusumalli

Cost & Duration: 45.78 lakhs, 36 months (Mar. 2022)

Sponsor: Advanced system laboratory (DRDO)

2. Title of the project:

Developmental Studies on evaluation of paint for Composite substrate

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ramesh Adusumalli

Co-Investigators: Dr. Kurra Suresh

Cost & Duration: 16.24 lakhs, 18 months (Feb. 2021)

Sponsor: Advanced system laboratory (DRDO)

3. Title of the project:

Developmental Studies on Environmental Conditioning of QCE Composite Materials

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ramesh Adusumalli

Co-Investigators: Dr. Mithun Mondal

Cost & Duration: 24.9 lakhs & 20 months (Dec. 2020)

Sponsor: Advanced system laboratory (DRDO)

4. Title of the project:

Comparison of phenolic resin from two sources for their Properties

Principal Investigator: Dr. Karthik Chethan V

Co-Investigator: Dr. Ramesh Adusumalli

Cost & Duration: 9.79 lakhs & 15 months (March 2018)

Sponsor: Advanced system laboratory (DRDO)

5. Title of the project:

Characterization of Fibre / Matrix interface in Advanced Composites

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ramesh Adusumalli

Co-Investigators: Dr. Karthik Chethan V, Dr. N. Jalaiah

Cost & Duration: 9.96 lakhs & 15 months (Aug. 2015)

Sponsor: Advanced system laboratory (DRDO)

6. Title of the project:

Nano-scale characterization of human hair fibres by using indentation technique

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ramesh Adusumalli

Cost & Duration: 29.89 lakhs & 3 years (Aug. 2014)

Sponsor: DST-SERB

New Faculty Seed Grant

Funding agency: BITS Pilani

Research Projects

Completed project in collaboration with Ajman University worth AED 49000.
Title: “Advanced Antenna Design Technique and Link Establishment for On-body to On-body Communication within WBAN Infrastructure”

Sponsored Projects

Completed Projects
2017-2021

Coastal wetland characterization using L and S band polarimetric SAR data, Spon-
sored by Space Application Centre (SAC) Ahmedabad-ISRO, Role PI.

2019-2022

Experimental and computational studies of surface water quality parameters from
morphometry and spectral characteristics, Sponsored by CSIR, Role Co PI

INVOLVEMENT IN RESEARCH PROJECTS

SR	Projects	Status of the Projects	Funding Agency	Grant Amount
1	LULUCF sector Studies for India’s First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR-1), Fourth Biennial Update Report (BUR-2),and Fourth National Communication(4nc)	Ongoing	MOEFCC	25 lakhs
2	Capacity Building for Informing India's Climate Actions – Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use	Ongoing	Collaboration with CEEW	52,991dollars
3	Modelling Forest Phenological Parameters from Time Series Remote Sensing data(Out come of the project)	Ongoing	ISRO	29.07lakhs
4	Assessing the Impact of Climate change on mountain communities in Spiti Basin	Ongoing	ISRO	24.84lakhs
5	Assessment and Monitoring of tree biodiversity in semi- evergreen Forests in Goa	Completed	GSBB	3.00lakhs
6	From NDCs to pathways and Policies: Transformative climate Action After Paris	Completed	IDDRI, Paris, France	13.30lakhs
7	Capacity Building for modelling India's Long-term Land use emissions	Completed	Collaboration with CEEW	30,643dollars
8	Third National Inventory: GHG emissions from the LULUCF sector	Completed	Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, New Delhi
9	Scenarios for carbon sequestration potential in India’s forest sector in context of global goals of limiting warming below 1.5degC and 2degC and in context of Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and Bonn Challenge on reclamation of degraded lands	Completed	Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India	Total budget INR 41.00 lakh in partnership with IIM Ahmedabad, BITS independent share = INR24 Lakh
10	The Climate Vulnerability in Mint Cropping System in Barabanki district, Uttar Pradesh	Completed	IORA Ecological Solutions	4.72Lakhs
11	Studying the ecology of wetland and importance of monitoring natural wetland Ecosystem	Completed	Forest Department, Govt. of Jharkhand	17.00lakhs
12	Undertaking study for mapping forest arears vulnerable to climate change in India based on high resolution computer model based projections	Completed	Forest Survey of India	9.13lakhs
13	Implications of Ujjawala scheme for forest conservation efforts in the state of Jharkhand	Completed	Forest Department, Govt. of Jharkhand	9.68lakhs
14	Preparation of Goa state Action plan on climate change, concept note and DPR	Completed	NABARD	3.65lakhs
15	Studying the climate vulnerability in peanut cropping system in Gujarat	Completed	IORA Ecological Solutions	2.75Lakhs
16	Climate Change Impact Assessment in Thiruvananthapuram Division Kerala	Completed	IORA Ecological Solutions	4.81Lakhs
17	Risk & Uncertainty Assessment for Railway Infrastructure due to Impacts of Climate Change	Completed	Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad	2.24Lakhs
18	A consortium project titled “Resilience of Ecosystem Services provided by Intact and Sustainably managed Terrestrial ecosystems (RESIST)” led by IIASA, Vienna, Austria, with BITS Pilan Goa campus listed as a National member Organization partner (NMO), has been sanctioned on 7th July 2022, for a total consortium funding of EUR 200,000/- over three years.

Completed Projects Prior to joining BITS

Rajiv K Chaturvedi and N H Ravindranath (2012-2015) Climate Change Mitigation- Adaptation and Ecosystem Services-Opportunities, Synergies, and Trade-offs inthe context of Greening India Mission and REDD+; Funding Agency:MoEF&CC
H. Ravindranath, Rajiv K Chaturvedi (2016) Impact of climate Change on forests and biodiversity of Meghalaya. Funding Agency: Meghalaya Basin Development Authority
Rajiv K Chaturvedi, Jeremy Woods (2015) Development of interactive Climate Change Calculator. Funding Agency: Grantham Institute, Imperial College London
Rajiv K Chaturvedi (2016) Impact of Climate Change on the Forest and Biodiversity of Madhya Pradesh, Funding Agency Development Alternatives, New Delhi

Some Recent Research Projects

Sl. No.	Client/Organisations name	Nature of project	Duration of project	Amount of grant (Rs.)
1	BRICS-DST/Russia-South Africa	Development of the dual inhibitors targeting Wnt signaling as colorectal cancer therapeutics	Three years	49,48,795.00
2	NMITLI/CSIR New Delhi	Dicarboxylic acids-NMITLI	Three years	49,43,600.00
3	Indus Pharmaceuticals Inc.,USA.	Pyrrolobenzodiazepine-Indus Pharma, US.	Four months	13,90,000.00
4	Acoris Research Ltd.,Pune	Exploratory studies-Acoris Research Ltd., Pune	Seven months	4,49,440.00
5	Acoris Research Ltd.,Pune	Exploratory studies-Acoris Research Ltd., Pune	Three months	2,24,720.00
6	Pidilite Industries Ltd., Mumbai	Acrylic acid- Pidilite	Eight months	5,00,000.00
7	IndUS Pharmaceuticals Inc.,USA	Drug development-IndUS Pharma	Twenty years	2,25,00,000.00
8	SERB, New Delhi	Design and synthesis of natural product analogues aimed at the discovery of anticancer therapeutics	Three years	31,61,333.00
9	SERB, New Delhi	Green, Sustainable and Flash chemistry using flow microreactors	Three years	25,00,000.00
10	DST, New Delhi	Phenotypic metabolmic and proteomic characterization of biofilm formation by staphylococcus aureus	Three years	23,60,000.00
11	SERB, New Delhi	Cardio-protective effect of garlic: Role of nitric oxide and mitochondrial biogenesis	Three years	32,43,600.00
12	IUSSTF, New Delhi	US-India consortium for development of sustainable advanced lignocellulosic biofuel systems	Five years	12,88,86,000.00
13	SERB, New Delhi	Development of novel gold-catalysed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions and rearrangements	Three years	16,36,000.00
14	UKIERI, UK	Nanomedicine-An anglo indian venture	Three years	20,45,000.00
15	DST, New Delhi	Antitubercular activity of benzothiadiazine-DST	Three years	21,67,800.00
16	UKIERI, Imperial College London, UK	UKIERI Award-UK	Three years	28,21,923.00
17	ICAR/NAIP, New Delhi.	Bio-ethanol production from sweet sorghum-ICAR/NAIP	Four years	95,79,000.00
18	DBT, New Delhi	Lignocellulosic feedstocks-DBT(UDSC/OU/IIT/IICT)	Two years	25,43,000.00
19	DBT, New Delhi	New Hybrids - DBT	Three years	27,33,000.00
20	DBT, New Delhi	Pre-Biotechnology Process generator-DBT	Three years	2,10,30,111.00
21	DST, New Delhi	Enzyme mediated resolutions-DST	Four years	20,65,000.00
22	Marubeni Chemix, Japan	Synthesis of dendrimers-Marubeni	One month	2,16,000.00
23	DST/South Africa collaboration	Biocatalytic and combinatorial approaches-DST	Three years	13,36,000.00

Sponsored Research Projects

Ongoing projects
S. No.	Title of Project	Funding Agency	Amount (INR)	Date of sanction and Duration	Role in the Project
1.	Design and development of cost effective flexible white organic light emitting diodes using synthesized novel electroluminescent (PPE type metal complexes and coordination complexes) materials	BRNS	₹ 36.19 Lakhs	Aug 2024, 3 Years	Co-PI
2.	A target guided approach for design, synthesis, and screening of host-directed therapies for TB and associated metabolic disorder (PCOS) in women	ICMR	₹ 184 Lakhs	May 2024, 3 Years	Co-PI
3.	A Target Guided Approach for Design, Synthesis, and Screening of Host-directed Therapies for TB associated Metabolic Disorder (PCOS) in Women	CDRF - BITS Pilani	₹ 30 Lakhs	Oct 2023, 2 Years	PI
4.	Discovery and Biological Evaluation of Novel Dual Inhibitors of DprE1 and InhA as Potential Anti- Tubercular Agents	ANRF	₹ 34.52 Lakhs	Sep 2023, 3 Years	PI
5.	Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Thiochromene Analogs as Potential Anti-leishmanial agents	ANRF	₹ 36.56 Lakhs	Sep 2023, 3 Years	Co-PI
Completed projects
S. No.	Title of Project	Funding Agency	Amount (INR)	Project Duration	Role in the Project
1.	Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 1,2,3-triazole Hybrids as Novel Quorum Sensing Inhibitors	CSIR	₹ 19.2 Lakhs	Apr 2021 – Mar 2024	PI
2.	Development of novel anti-leishmanial analogs loaded with novel Nano-formulations	DBT	₹ 60 Lakhs	Apr 2018 – Mar 2021	Co-PI
3.	Structure Based Rational Design and Synthesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis inhibitors	DST, SERB	₹ 22 Lakhs	Jan 2014 – Dec 2017	PI
4.	Synthesis and Biological Activity of Various Triazoles as Effective Antifungal Agents	DBT	₹ 21.44 Lakhs	Nov 2012 – Oct 2015	PI
5.	Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Bishomo(hetero) aryl piperazines as atypical antipsychotic agents	UGC	₹ 6.44 Lakhs	Apr 2011 – Mar 2014	PI
6.	Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Various Indole Analogues for the Treatment of Schizophrenia	DST, Fast Track Scheme,	₹ 18.28 Lakhs	Jul 2010 – Aug 2013	PI
7.	3-Benzisoxazolyl piperidines and Quinoxalinyl Piperazines as Potential Atypical Antipsychotic Agents	UGC	₹ 4.94 Lakhs	Jan 2005 – Dec 2007	Co-PI

Projects Under Review

1. One health approach for malaria and leishmaniasis: Design, synthesis and phenotypic screening of novel chromene / thiochromene analogs as potential new pharmacological leads (Role: Co-PI)

Date of Submission: 30 Jul 2024

Amount Estimated: ₹ 74 lakhs

Funding Agency: DST Indo – Italy Bilateral grant

**2. Targeting Riboflavin biosynthetic pathway of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to develop new anti-TB drug candidates (Role: Co-PI)**

Date of Submission: 12 Sep 2024

Amount Estimated: ₹ 99 lakhs

Funding Agency: DBT

PROJECTS

After Joining BITS:

Molbio Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd. Goa, (Industry sponsored project), Principle Investigator, "Microneedle-based Wearable Glucose Sensor for Continuous Monitoring"
GUERIN, Bengaluru, India (Industry sponsored project), Principle Investigator, “Design and Development of Flexible Antennas Operating in S and C Bands for Space Application”
New faculty seed grand (NFSG), BITS Pilani, Principle Investigator, "Flexible Electronics for Space Applications"

Before Joining BITS:

2023-2025 Principle Investigator PRODUTECH R3: Sensors for mixed exhaust gas characterization, Govt. PRR Portugal Funding: Total Budget: € 277,789.28

2023-2025 Principle Investigator VIAFOOD: Printed smart packaging for food industries, Govt. PRR Portugal Funding: Total Budget: € 84,999.00

2023-2024 Co-investigator GOLDMINE: Bacteriophage Cocktail-Loaded Dissolving Microneedles, Industrial Funding: TECHNOPHAGE, Total Budget: € 60,200.23

2021-203 Principle Investigator SORTABLE: Sustainable Sensor Portfolio for Wearable Applications, Funding Agency: INL-Portugal – Bar Ilan's Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA)- Israel: Collaborative project, Total Budget: € 30,000.00 (INL budget: € 15,000.00)

2021-2022 Co-investigator Tunable ionization-based multi-gas detector platform for environmental, medical, and industrial applications, Funding Agency: Global Faculty Research, UT Austin-USA Total Budget: $ 10,000.00 (in US dollars)

Student Projects (Semester I, 2024-2025)

SOP/LOP/RP Projects for FD/HD Students
- Prediction of Metastatic Breast Cancer
- A Computational Model for Histopathology Images
- Blockchain-enabled Datalake
- Integration of Localization Tools for Cloud Applications

Sponsored Projects

Sponsored Research Projects as PI or Co-PI:

S. NO	Title	Funding Agency	As PI /Co-P1	Amount (Lakhs)	Duration & Status
1	Reduction of coke deposition of Vajravega fuel	DRDL (DRDO)	PI	40.4	completed (Sept-2022 – Mar-2024)
2	Production of fuels and aromatics from lignocellulosic biomass: An integrated bio-refinery Approach	DBT	Co-PI	29.9	3 ongoing
3	Development of Endothermic Fuel for Supersonic Vehicle Applications	DST-SERB	PI	42.3	completed (Jan-2021 – Feb-24)
4	Cracking of hydrocarbon fuel for a possible heat sink application	DRDL (DRDO)	PI	40.6	completed (Sept-2018 – Mar-21)
5	Studies on CO₂ capture from flue gases using regenerable solid adsorbents	CSIR	PI	23.8	completed (Oct-2015-Sept-18)
6	Development of synthetic resin product	DST- SERB	PI	22	completed (July-2013-July-16)
7	Development of adsorbent for CO₂ sequestering	BITS Pilani	PI	2	completed (July 2012-July-14)
8	Development of Resin	Suparna Chemicals	Co-I	4	completed (2006-07)

Department level

Type : DST-FIST(Level-1)

Role :Implementing team member

Research

Research Interest:

Information Security, Applied Artificial Intelligence, Malware Analysis, Blockchain Technology, Applied Cryptography and Gravitational Waves

Graduated PhD Students:

- Hemant Rathore, BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Design of Adversarially Robust Android Malware Detection Models.

- Mohit Sewak, Security and Compliance Research, Microsoft, Hyderabad
  Title: Design and Investigation of Artificial Intelligence Approaches for the Defense Against Advanced Windows Malware.

- Trupil Limbasiya,BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Design of Vehicular Communication Protocols for Secure and Efficient Smart Transportation.

- Ashu Sharma, BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Group-wise Classification Approach to Improve Malware Detection Accuracy.

- Aruna Govda, BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Study in Data Reduction and Multi-Class Classification for Distributed Data.

- Rajendra. K. Roul, BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Design and Investigation of Techniques to Improve Information Retrieval on the Web.

Current PhD Students:

- Lokesh Kumar, BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus.
  Title: Search of gravitational waves using deep learning techniques in the output of laser interferometer gravitational wave detector.

- Akbar Kushanoor, General Electric, Bengaluru
  Title: Design of an effective computer aided diagnosis systems using deep learning for the detection of melanoma cancer.

- Ankush Soni , BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Efficient and secure authentication protocols using lightweight cryptography primitives for drones.

- Jyotiprakash Mishra (2021PHXP0041G), BITS, Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus
  Title: Design of an efficient and secure processor with page-level authenticated memory encryption for IoT devices.

PhD Thesis Evaluation:

- Investigating Approaches for Improving Security in Remote User Authentication for Internet of Things Paradigm, Chintan Jayprakash Patel, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar, 2021.

- Network Event Based Model to Predict and Detect Insider Intrusion on Enterprise Network, Nisha T. N., Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology, Pune, 2019.

- Relativistic Studies of Compact Stars, Abdul Aziz, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, 2019.

- Design and Implementation of an Interoperable, Privacy Preserving Framework For Health Records, Rohini R. Roa, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, 2017.

Master and Undergraduate Thesis/ Research Project/ Professional Practice - I/ Computer Project/ Design Project/ Study Oriented Project/ Lab Oriented Project:

Supervised more than 20 master/undergraduate thesis and over 150 PG/UG students for Research Project/ Professional Practice/ Computer Project/ Study Oriented Project/ Lab Oriented Project / Design Project on the topics viz. Malware Analysis, Cryptography, Network Security, Data Mining, Data Science, Gravitational Waves, Scientific Computing.

Project/Workshop Funding:

- 5G Lab.
  Sponsor: TCIL, Government of India, 2023
  Sanctioned Amount: = Rs. 71.25 Lakhs (TCIL) + 14.25 Lakhs (BITS, Pilani) = Rs. 85.5 Lakhs

- RobustXAI-MalDetect: Adversarially Robust and Explainable Artificial Intelligence based Malware Detection System.
  Sponsor: NCoE-DSCI, 2023
  Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 5.9 Lakhs

- OptimusPrime: Transformer for Security.
  Sponsor: SKM-2019
  Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 2.5 Lakhs

- US-India collaborative Working Group on Secure Digital Financial Payment Systems and Financial Inclusion.
  Sponsor: IUSSTF (IUSSTF/AUG/WS/162/2019)
  Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 10 Lakhs

- Neutron Stars as a Source of Potential Continuous Gravitational Wave Emitter.
  Sponsor: BRNS, 2013-2016
  Sanctioned Amount: 18 Lakhs

Workshop on Gravitational Wave Data Analysis.
Sponsor: IUCAA, 2012
Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 4,30,450/-

AI Consultancy

Consultancy for Implementation of Artificial Intelligence use-cases in Yard Operations and Onboard Ship Operations.

Principal Investigator

Ramprasad S. Joshi

Project Type

Knowledge Partnership

Agency

Goa Shipyard Ltd., GOA INDIA

Amount Sanctioned

Rs. 26.00 Lakh

[2018-2020, Completed]

Research grants

I work in areas of High Energy Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology. In particular, I am interested in

1. Early Universe Cosmology - inflation, dark energy, modified gravity theory, and gravitational wave.
2. Quantum entanglement and its applications in Cosmology, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics.

3. Collider and astrophysical signatures of Dark matter.

Group research activity - PKD_HEPC

Area of research interests: High Energy Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology.

Projects (ongoing)

Title: Probing the (P)Reheating Epochs of the Early Universe by Gravitational Waves in Inflationary Models
PI: Prasanta Kumar Das
Funding agency: Anusandhan National Research Foundation(ANRF), SERB, Government of India

Objectives: The aim is to study the early universe cosmic acceleration in the light of primordial gravitation wave and the late time cosmic acceleration using a wide-variety of dynamical dark energy models.

JRF position (closed now): click here.

Postdoc position : (coming soon)

Projects (completed (4 as PI and 1 as Co-PI)):

1. Title of the project: Signature of space-time noncommutativity in high energy colliders
PI: Dr. Prasanta Kumar Das
Funding agency: SERB, Govt. of India,
Duration: March 2017 - March 2020.

2. Title of the project: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Cosmic Acceleration of the Universe in Modified
Gravity
PI: Dr. G C Samanta & Co-PI: Dr. Prasanta Kumar Das
Funding agency: EMR-II, CSIR, Govt. of India,
Duration: July 2017 - July 2020.

3. Title of the project: Probing New Physics at High Energy Colliders
PI: Dr. Prasanta Kumar Das
Funding agency: CSIR, Govt. of India,
Duration: January 2013 - January 2016.

4. Title of the project: Aspects of some Astrophysical systems like Supernovae and Neutron stars in the
light of New Physics
PI: Dr. Prasanta Kumar Das & Co-PI: Dr. T K Jha and Dr. C Sharma
Funding agency: BRNS, DAE, Govt. of India,
Duration: April 2011 - October 2015.

5. Title of the project: Radion contribution to various flavour changing neutral current(FCNC) processes
in B meson decay
PI: Dr. Prasanta Kumar Das
Funding agency: SERB DST (Fast Track Young Scientist Project), Govt. of India,
Duration: December 2008 - December 2011.

Useful resources for Extra Mural Research Fund :

Sponsored Projects

Sponsored Projects: Completed/Ongoing/Approved or Sanctioned

1) Title: Assessing the farmers’ participation and challenges in linking Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi markets by e-national agricultural market (e-NAM): Evidence from the state of Goa.

Funding Agency: NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)

Duration: One year (2023- 2024)

Role: Principal Investigator

2) Title: Impact of E- National Agriculture Market ( e- NAM) on the Farmers from Goa and Maharashtra

Funding Agency: ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi)

Duration: Two years (2022- 2024)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Projects/Grants

Project 1: Deciphering the epigenetic determinants of acquired cancer drug resistance

Research Projects

Agency: Department of Science & Technology – SERB – Core Research grant, India

Title: Design of MOFs for separation of gas/vapor mixtures and CO₂ conversion.

Amount: 41 Lakhs INR (48k USD).

Investigators: Himanshu Aggarwal (PI). Duration: 3 years, Feb 2023 – March 2026.

Agency: Cross Disciplinary Research Grant, BITS-Pilani, India.

Title: Porous materials for simple, rapid, non-invasive, and low-cost colorimetric detection of modified nucleoside-based urinary biomarkers for cancer and diabetes.

Amount: 20 Lakhs INR (24k USD).

Investigators: Himanshu Aggarwal (PI). Duration: 2 years, Sept 2023 – March 2025.

Agency: Department of Science-SERB-SRG grant,

Title: Synthesis of highly stable Zr-based mixed-linker metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for humidity control and gas separation.

Amount: 22 Lakhs INR (27k USD).

Investigators: Himanshu Aggarwal (PI). Duration: 2 years, Jan 2020 – March 2022.

Agency: Royal Society of chemistry, UK.

Title: MOF based humidity sensors.

Amount: 4 Lakhs INR (5k USD).

Investigators: Himanshu Aggarwal (PI). Duration: 3 years, Sept 2021-Sept 2024.

Agency: Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS-Pilani, India.

Title: Design of highly stable fluorescent metal-organic frameworks for iodine capture.

Amount: 10 Lakhs INR (12k USD).

Investigators: Himanshu Aggarwal (PI). Duration: 2 years, Sept 2019 – Sept 2021.

Agency: Research Initiation Grant, BITS-Pilani, India.

Title: Synthesis of metal-organic frameworks for indoor humidity control.

Amount: 2 Lakhs INR (3k USD).

Investigators: Himanshu Aggarwal (PI). Duration: 2 years, Jan 2019 – Jan 2021.

RESEARCH

Research Areas of Interest:

Development of Biomaterial based formulations for 3-D printing and electrospinning techniques: The work involves product development and process optimization for adhesive/binder, food/gels, 3-D printing, microencapsulation, tissue engineering and packaging applications.
Real-time investigation of processes such as, polymerization, protein denaturation, liquid-liquid phase separation, glass formation, annealing, physical aging and corresponding secondary relaxation processes by using dielectrics, calorimetry, ultrasonics and thermal conductivity techniques.
Materials characterization by using dielectrics, specific heat spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical spectroscopy, rheological spectroscopy, ultrasonics, thermal conductivity and electron microscopy techniques in characterizing a range of materials or products such as, polymers, biopolymers, gels, emulsions and colloids, coatings and adhesives, advanced composites etc..
Developing formulations for improving interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix and for improving toughness of the various matrices in advanced composites (epoxy and phenolics with glass and carbon fibers).
Mechanical and thermal characterization of various body parts (cartilage, bone, teeth, hair etc.) as a diagnostic tool for health and early detection of deterioration of the same.
Developing core-shell nano-rubber modified epoxy to improve the mechanical properties of advanced composites for defence applications.

Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Incubation:

Founder of IDEA-3D startup that was incubated at TBI-BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus (2014-2017). The startup objective was to develop value added products by using biomaterials for 3D-printing for biomedical applications. The funding was provided by BIRAC, DBT, India.

Sponsored Projects:

Recently Completed Project:

Indegenization of core shell rubber modified epoxy resin. The project is funded by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad. Funding amount is 15.5 lakhs and the duration is 18 months (2021-2023).

Completed Projects (2012 to current):

PI: Comparison of phenolic resin obtained from two sources for their properties. The project was funded by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad. Funding amount was 10 lakhs and the duration was 15 months (2018-2019, completed project).
PI: Development of bio-based formulations for 3-D printing applications. The formulations are based on a variety of biomaterials and biopolymers. The project was funded by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) as part of their Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) scheme. Funding amount was 34 lakhs and the duration was 24 months (2014-2016, completed project).
Co-PI: Characterization of Fiber / Matrix interface in Advanced Composites (Carbon fiber-phenolic based composites). The project was funded by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad. Funding amount was 10 lakhs and the duration was 12 months (2015-2016, completed project).

Research projects undertaken previously (prior to 2012) as Co-PI which were sponsored by industries:

Co-PI: Development of Zein Protein based systems for Bioplastics Applications, 08/2010 to 08/2011, co-PIs: MGPI, Inc, The project was funded by MGPI, Inc, Kansas, USA and conducted at Pittsburg State University, Kansas. Funding amount was 30,000 USD and the duration was 12 months (2010-2011, completed project).
Co-PI: Development of Soy protein Polymers for Chewing Gum Applications. The project was funded by Wrigley, Illinois, USA and conducted at Kansas State University, Kansas. Funding amount was 95,000 USD and the duration was 12 months (2008-2009, completed project).
Co-PI: Development of Carbon dioxide Cured and Protein based Binder Formulation and Preparation for Foundry Applications. The project was funded by Foseco, Inc, Netherlands and conducted at Kansas State University, Kansas. Funding amount was 130,000 USD and the duration was 12 months (2007-2008, completed project).

RESEARCH

KEY AREAS OF RESEARCH

Novel Synthesis of Inorganic and Solid State Materials, Characterization, Structure-Properties Correlations and Investigation on their Potential Applications

Selected Topics of Interest:

Development of nano-materials based on Ortho-Ferrites/ RE doped Ferrites/ their hybrids for various applications: Photocatalysis, Magnetic pigments, Water treatment etc.
Magnetics, Mossbauer of Ultrafine Co and Ni based Ferrites and related materials for magnetic and bio-applications.
Magnetic Properties of Metal/Alloy nano-particles for magnetic data-storage and electro-chemical appl.
Synthesis and Electronic Properties of semiconductor quantum dots (ZnS, CdS and related).
Size and shape induced magnetic and electronic properties (Properties tuning for application)
Solid-gas reaction-Generation of nano-dimensional transition metal nitrides (Catalysis and energy applications.)
Hydroxy-apatite related Bio-materials.
Correlation of physical properties with materials structure at the surface along with microstructure.
Coated and embedded nano-structured for Bio- and magnetic applications.

[Sponsored Research Projects]

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Status: Completed (2)

Synthesis and characterization of binary and ternary transition metal nitrides, Sponsored by DST, India, Duration, 2011-2015 (3.5 years).
Magnetic Properties of Metallic nano-particles, Sponsored by CSIR, India, Duration, Duration, 2011-2014 (3 years).

[Interim Grant] Interim Financial Assistance Grant (BITS Pilani Goa/2020)

[Name of Research Scholars as Project Staff(JRF/SRF/PA(II))]

Mr. Shankar Balu Dalavi (CSIR), 2. Pragnya Paramita Mishra (DST), 3. Dr. J. Theerthagiri (DST)

Research Interests

Alternative fuels for transportation
Sustainable energy
Waste to energy
Performance evaluation of IC Engine
Emulsions and microemulsions
Interfacial engineering

Research Interest

High Voltage Engineering:

Study of Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
Condition Monitoring and Diagnostics of Transformers
Partial Discharge Monitoring of Transformers
Transfer Function and Frequency Response Analysis
Modelling and System Identification of Electrical Apparatus
Application of Signal Processing and Statistical Technique in Fault Localization

Journal Reviewer:

IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
IEEE Sensors Journal
IET Generation, Transmission, & Distribution
IEEE Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Sponsored Projects

Developmental Studies on Environmental Conditioning of QCE Composite Materials:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ramesh Adusumalli

Co-Investigators: Dr. Mithun Mondal

Cost & Duration: 24.9 lakhs & 20 months (Apr. 2019 - Dec. 2020)

Sponsor: Advanced system laboratory (DRDO ASL)

Development of a New Vegetable-Oil-Based Dielectric Fluid for Liquid-Filled Transformers:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mithun Mondal

Cost & Duration: 8 lakhs & 24 months (2019 - 2021)

Sponsor: Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG), BITS Pilani

Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis of High Voltage Transmission Line Insulators Under the Influence of Extreme Environmental Conditions:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mithun Mondal

Cost & Duration: 2 lakhs & 24 months (2017 - 2019)

Sponsor: Research initial grant (RIG), BITS Pilani

Research Projects

Project 1

Title: Assessing Game-Engagement in A Video Game Designed for Senior Citizens in Goa (Ongoing)

Principal Investigators: Rayson K. Alex and Reena Cheruvalath

Funding Agency: Cross-disciplinary Research Funding, BITS Pilani

Amount: 20 lakhs

Duration: July 2024 to July 2026

Project 2

Title: English Translation of Two Literary Works in Malayalam, Haritha Niroopanam Malayalathil (Ecocriticism in Malayalam) and Aa Aa Aanakkathakal (Those Elephant Stories) (Project Completed)

Principal Investigator: Rayson K. Alex

Funding Agency: Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (USA)

Amount: USD 1000

Duration: December 2018-2020

Remark: The first book that is translated, titled, Ecocriticism in Malayalam is contracted with Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK, and the second book will be published by the original publisher of the book, Green Books, Kerala.

Project 3

Title: Socio-Economic Mapping of the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary at Chorao, Goa (Project Completed)

Principal Investigators: Rayson K. Alex & Solano Da Silva

Funding Agency: German Development Corporation and Goa Forest Department (2016)

Amount: 2 lakhs

Project 4

Title: Development and Demonstration of Two Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems

Principal Investigator: Dr. Srikanth Mutnuri, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Co-PI: Rayson K. Alex

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Amount: 30 Lakhs

Project 5

Title: ePathshala (e-Content Development for PG Subjects - English)

Ref. No. 1-9/2013 (Project Completed)

Principal Investigator: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee (Professor, Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad)

Funding Agency: MHRD-UGC (March 2014)

Amount: Rs.20,000

I was commissioned to create a detailed study material for the module titled “Media and Popular Culture” and “Postcolonial Theory.” The project is completed and submitted

Project 6

Title: Collection of Oral Literature of Mudugar and Kurumbar in Attappady, Palakkad District, Kerala (Project Completed)

Sponsoring Agency: World Oral Literature Project, University of Cambridge

Duration: March 2010 to March 2011

Amount: 4.5 Lakhs

Project 7

Title: Fieldwork for creating an audio dictionary of Mudugar

Sponsoring Agency: Firebird Foundation for Anthropology, USA (Project Completed)

Duration: 1.5 years (March 2011 - March 2013)

Amount: 4.5 Lakhs

Projects

Completed

• Hareesh A. G. (PI). 2021. The Ontology of Space: A Philo-Linguistic Analysis of the Construction of Sentence Meaning and the Corresponding Mental Phenomena. Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus.

Ongoing

• Hareesh A. G. (PI). 2023. 'A Safe and Healthy Working Environment is A Fundamental Principle and Right at Work': A Study on How Collective Understanding of Occupational Health and Safety Improves the Employer-Employee Relationship, Labour Productivity, and Economic Development. Sreeja Electricals, Verna – Goa.
• Hareesh A. G. (Co-PI/On Invitation). 2023. Public Humanities and Pedagogy in the Global South: Challenges and Directions. SPARC (GoI). Amount: 47 Lakhs.
• Hareesh A. G. (As Co-PI). 2023. Teacher-Student Eye Contacts in the Classroom and Students’ Academic Performance and Teachers Work Satisfaction: A Case Study Among Engineering and Science Undergraduates and Teachers. Teaching Learning Center – BITS Pilani. Amount. 1.97 Lakhs. (Minor study)

Proposal Submitted

• Hareesh A. G. (PI). 2022. Meaning Making Mechanism in Visually Impaired Students: A Philosophical Analysis of the Role of ‘Space’ in Braille Script. University Grants Commission (UGC).
• Hareesh A. G. (Co-PI). 2023. Ageing and Wellbeing in Rural Area of Goa: Reimagining Elder Care in a Changing Landscape. SPJIMR Regunath Research Fellowship. PI: Nilanjana Goswami.
• Hareesh A. G. (Co-PI). 2023. Teacher-Student Eye Contacts in the Classroom and
Students’ Academic Performance and Teachers Work Satisfaction: A Case Study Among Engineering and Science Undergraduates and Teachers. SERB-SURE. PI: Reena Cheruvalath.

Research Projects

Co-Investigator, (2024), Public Humanities and Pedagogy in the Global South: Challenges and Directions, Duration: 2 years, Amount: 48,94,385 (PI: Geetha Balikapadavu) Agency: SPARC (Ongoing)

Principal Investigator, (2023), Teacher-student eye contacts and students’ academic performance and Teachers Job Satisfaction: A Case study among engineering and Science undergraduates and Teachers, Duration: 1 year, Amount: 1, 97, 500, Agency: TLC, BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa (Ongoing).

Co-investigator, (2024), Assessing Game-Engagement in A Video Game Designed for Senior Citizens, Amount: 20 Lakh, Duration: 3 years, PI: Rayson K Alex, Agency CDRF, BITS Pilani (Ongoing)

Principal Investigator, (2023). ‘Evaluation’ as a teaching method: A new pedagogical model to improve knowledge and critical thinking among students National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Duration: 12 months, Amount: 3,88,000. (Completed).

Co-investigator, (2019). JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science), Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research on 'Language, Culture and Critical Thinking: The possibilities of measuring objectives with task,' 2019 (Completed).

Principal Investigator, Comparison of Academic Performance, Classroom Interaction and college students’ Feedback between Tele-presence and On-campus Students, Duration: 1 year, 2017, Agency: Teaching Learning Centre (TLC), BITS Pilani Goa, India, 2017 (Completed)

Consultancy: Co-PI, ‘Access the difficulty level assignment process using Bloom's taxonomy,’ Amount: Rs. 5 87, 640, Sixth Sense & AGH Advisors. (Completed)

Intramural Grants:

Artificial Intelligence control of a minijet-manipulated square turbulent jet (Investigator)
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Scheme: Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF)

Period: 17-07-2024 to 16-07-2026 (Two years)

Grant Sanctioned: INR 20 Lakhs
Methods to mitigate vortex shedding from a circular cylinder (Investigator)
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Scheme: Student Program for Advancing Research, Knowledge, and Entrepreneurship (SPARKLE)

Period: 04-12-2023 to 03-12-2025 (Two years)

Grant Sanctioned: INR 2 Lakhs
Development and Demonstration of two decentralized wastewater treatment plants (Co-Investigator)
Funding Agency: Centre of Research Excellence in waste, Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani

Period: 17-02-2014 to 16-02-2017 (Three years)

Grant Sanctioned: INR 39 Lakhs

Research Projects

On-going Projects:

1) Google Unrestricted Gift:

Project Title: Power and Performance Estimation Based on RTL Code

Role: PI, Co-PI: Paresh Saxena, Dept. of CSIS, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Amount: USD 30,000

2) MHRD- Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC):

Project Title: "Network-on-Chip Design and Optimization for RISC-V based architectures"

Role: PI, Foreign PI: Prof. Sri Parameswaran, University of Sydney

Duration: 2 years (2023-2025)

Amount: INR 35,99,350

Completed Projects:

1) Norwegian Research Council:

Project Title: "Indo-Norwegian collaboration in Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems"

Role: One of Indian PIs (Others are from IISc, IITH, IIITH), Norwegian PI: Prof. Lingareddi C (UiA, Norway)

Duration: 5 years (2019-2024)

Amount: 5620000 Norwegian Krones

2) Indo-Austria Scientific and Technological Cooperation between WTZ (Austria) and DST (India):

- Project Title: "Development of Methodologies for Self-Aware Network-on-Chip Design"

Role: Indian PI, Austrian PI: Prof. Axel Jantsch (TU Wien)

Duration: 2 years (2019-2021)

Amount: INR 8,89,000

3) Early Career Research Award (DST - SERB):

Project Title: "Strategies for Fault-Tolerant Network-on-Chip Design"

Role: PI, Co - PI: Prof. S. K. Sahoo, BITS Hyderabad and Dr. Vasantha M. H., NIT Goa

Duration: 3 years (2017-2020)

Amount: INR 25.93 lakhs

4) Research Initiation Grant (RIG): BITS- Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Project Title: “Strategies for Thermal-Aware Application-Specific and Reconfigurable Network-on-Chip Design"

Role: PI

Duration: 2 years (2016-2018)

Amount: INR 2 Lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

SERB-Start Up Grant (Government Project)
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Water Soluble and Flexible Quantum 2D Materials Devices for Personal Healthcare
Monitoring
Duration: Oct 2020 to Oct 2022
Redpine Signals Inc (Industry Sponsored)
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: 2D Nanomaterials based Flexible Resistive Memory (Memristors)
Duration: July 2020 to July 2022
DRDO (CARS Project)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Title: Design and Development of Multi-Sensor System for Healthcare Monitoring
Duration: Feb 2022 to July 2023
Ceremorphic Technologies Private Limited (Industry Sponsored)
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Memristor for Neuromorphic applications and in-memory computing.
Duration: July’22 to July’25
DST PURSE
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Title: 2D Materials based Sensor System for Rapid Diagnosis of Human Diseases through analysis of
exhaled breath
Duration: July’22 to July’25
HBL Power Systems Pvt Ltd. (Industry Sponsored)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Title: Prediction of Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of a Li-ion battery using Machine Learning Techniques
for second life usage
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (Government)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Title: “Development of Multipurpose Diagnostic Device Based on Microporous Microneedle Patch for
Minimally Invasive Sampling and Electrochemical Detection of Glucose, Uric Acid and Thyroid
Simulating Hormone from Interstitial Fluid”
Center for Research Excellence in Semiconductor Technology (CREST), BITS Pilani
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Semiconducting 2D Materials based post-CMOS
Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices
WIPRO
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: End of Arm Tooling with Human Sensory Intelligence
DST FIST
Title: Facility to enhance the research output in flexible and wearable electronics (Equipment: Roll to roll
printing)
SERB NPDF
Role: Supervisor
Candidate: Dr. Chandrasekhar Reddy
Title: Smart Transient Electronics for Sensor Applications with Electronic Waste Predetermined Device
Lifetime
IIT Mandi (i-hub)

Role: Principal Investigator

Title:Wellness Sense: Autonomous System For Smart Preventive Lifestyle Management

13. Hind High Vacuum - Industry Project

Role: Principal Investigator (one of the PI)
Title: Development of laser assisted CVD reactor system as an addition/alternative to Seimens CVD reactor for polysilicon production

14. BITS BiocytiH Foundation – DST

Role: Principal Investigator
Title: SparshaMat – Development of smart mat for vital monitoring

Ongoing projects

A mechanism for ‘hidden’ magnetic memory: Recently an intriguing observation of hidden magnetic memory which induces spontaneous vortices in the superconducting state of 4Hb-TaS2 has been reported [Nature, 607, 692, 2022]. Motivated by this observation, we present a mechanism which could lead to such an observation. This mechanism relies on the possibility of spin-charge separation induced by strong electronic correlations, something which is not unexpected in 4Hb-TaS2, and might be applicable for a much broader class of materials. For concreteness we demonstrate the feasibility of this mechanism on a bilayer square lattice where electrons in one of the layers are described by a t-J model (cf 1T layer of the 4Hb system), while the electrons in the other layer are essentially non-interacting (cf 1H layer of the 4Hb system). Within a parton description of the strongly correlated layer we demonstrate the existence of a phase above the superconducting transition temperature of the system which can be trained by an external magnetic field and which produces an immeasurably small magnetic field when the external magnetic field is switched off. In our description this ‘hidden’ magnetic phase is a spinonic superconductor with induced vortices. At the superconducting transition temperature of the system the holons condense into a coherent phase converting the spinonic vortices into superconducting vortices while also inducing superconductivity in the non-interacting layer by proximity effect. This mechanism is capable of capturing some of the essential observations made in the experiments on 4Hb-TaS2 . This work is being done in collaboration with Jonathan Ruhman and Efrat Shimshoni at the Bar-Ilan University, Israel and Debanjan Choudhury at the Cornell University, USA.
Simulating quantum anomalous heat flows using NISQ devices: Understanding the role of genuine quantum features, such as coherence and quantum correlations, in the energy flow has been the focus of recent theoretical and experimental research. Theoretical bounds on the heat flow between two local thermal states with initial quantum correlations have been derived. In turn, it has been proven that the fluctuations of the exchanged heat can be described by means of quasiprobability distributions, whose negativities can reliably identify aspects beyond classical thermodynamics [PRX Qunatum 1, 010309 (2020)]. Quite recently, these non-classical features of thermodynamic quantities have been experimentally probed utilizing NMR and quantum optical platforms. We use state-of-the-art quantum processors to probe the energy exchange between two qubits sharing quantum correlations. We then look for signatures of quantum anomalous energy flow linked to dynamics of the quantum correlated state. This work is being done in collaboration with Loris Maria Cangemi, Amikam Levy and Emanuele Dalla Torre at the Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
On the observed unconventional nature of superfluid stiffness in overdoped cuprates: It was long believed that the nature of superconductivity in the overdoped copper oxide high transition temperature superconductors is conventional. However, measurements of the superfluid stiffness in these superconductors have been at odds with this expectation. In this regard it was proposed that the impurities and/or inhomogeneities intrinsic to these samples could explain the observed deviation from a conventional superconductor. Interestingly, recent measurements on ultra-clean and highly homogeneous samples uphold their unconventional nature and have once again brought this question to the forefront of condensed matter research [see PRB 103, 024528 (2021) and references therein]. Cearly, a theory which can explain the unconventional nature of superfluid stiffness in these materials without invoking the role of impurities or inhomogeneities is desirable. We address this issue at two levels. First, within a Ginzburg-Landau description we show that in the presence of a soft internal phase mode, whose possibility in the context of cuprates has recently been highlighted [EPL 119, 27004, 2017 & PRL 124, 147002, 2020], the Anderson-Higgs mechanism is modified in such a way that the London penetration depth measured in experiments can be much longer than what one expects from conventional wisdom. Second, within a microscopic model appropriate for the cuprates we compute the temperature dependence of the superfluid stiffness to show that they indeed resemble the experimental observations and argue based on our earlier calculations [PRL 124, 147002, 2020] that the fluctuations in the soft internal phase mode when accounted for self-consistently may lead to a quantitative agreement with the experiments.

BITS-PILANI Sponsored Projects

Scheme: Cross Disciplinary Research Funding (CDRF), Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI, Duration: August, 2024 - July, 2026, Fund Amount: 20 Lakhs, Project Title: "Harnessing Technology to empower Informal Female Entrepreneurs: Telangana Insights", Role: PI (Prof. Swati Alok and Prof. Subhrakanta Panda)
Scheme: SPARKLE, Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI, Duration: Jan, 2024 - Dec, 2024, Fund Amount: 2 Lakhs, Project Title: "BeD: Blockchain-enabled Data Lake", Role: PI
Scheme: Advanced Competitive Research Grant (ACRG), Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI, Duration: 2019-2021, Fund Amount: 8 Lakhs, Project Title: "Blockchain Enabled Solutions for Integration of MHR with Access Control and Personally Identifiable Information", Role: PI
Scheme: Research Initiation Grant (RIG), Funding Agency: BITS- PILANI, Duration: 2017-2019, Fund Amount: 2 Lakhs, Project Title: "Investigation of the Effectiveness of Meta-Heuristic Techniques in Software Testing", Role: PI

Ongoing Projects:

Project Title: Uniform Stabilization of Numerical Approximations of Wave Equations.
Amount: Rs. 26.26 lakhs, Duration: 3 years (2024 to 2027)
Funding Agency: DST-SERB under Core Research Grant
Co-PI: Prof. P. Danumajaya & Prof. Amiya K. Pani, Department of Mathematics, BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus, Goa.
(As Co-Pi) Project Title: Finite element calculations of currents in Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM) with application to the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) and the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
Amount: Rs. 20 lakhs, Duration: 2 years (2024 to 2026)
Funding Agency: Under Cross-Disciplinary Research Funding (CDRF) from BITS Pilani University.
PI: Prof. Arun V Kulkarni, Department of Physics, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, Goa.

Completed Projects:

Project Title: Numerical Approximation of Optimal Control Problems Using Virtual Element Method.
Amount: Rs. 19.07 lakhs, Duration: 3 years (2020 to 2023)
Funding Agency: DST-SERB under Core Research Grant
Co-PI: Prof. Sarvesh Kumar, IIST Trivandrum
Project Title: A Theoretical and Numerical Study of the Control Problems Involving Differential Equations with Memory Terms.
Amount: Rs. 6.60 lakhs, Duration: 3 years (2019 to 2022)
Funding Agency: DST-SERB under MATRICS-2018.
(As Co-PI) Some Studies on Neighborhood Magic Graphs
Amount: Rs. 12.69 lakhs, Duration: 3 years (2013 to 2016)
Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
PI: Prof. Tarkeshwar Singh, Department of Mathematics, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus, Goa

Ongoing sponsored projects

Functionalization of rice starw and its use in environmental remediation- Research Initiation Grants- BITS Pilani
Development of coconut biorefinery- New Faculty Seed Grant, BITS Pilani and Reliable Chemicals, Thane

Research Grants

DST SERB-Start-up Research Grant for investigating role of an enzyme in onset of cataract and presbyopia in human lenses (2022-2024) [Role: Principal Investigator]

New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG) from BITS Pilani for investigating impact of posttranslation modification on structure and function of lens crystallin proteins (2023-2025) [Role: Principal Investigator]

DBT Grant in Biomedical Sciences for investigating therapeutics to treat cataract (2024-2027) [Role: Principal Investigator]

Sponsored Projects

SRG Grant: SERB-DST funded

As Principal Investigator,

Title: Partial Migration Phenomenon: A Game Theoretic Approach to Causes and Environmental Effects.

Duration-2 Year (2019-2021)

Research Initiative Grant

As PI

Institute Funded.

Amount- 2 Lac

Duration- 2 Year (2019-2021)

CDRF Grant

As Co-PI & PI: Dr. Swastibrata Bhattachaya

Title: Computational and Theoretical study of quantum materials.

Institute Funded.

Amount- 10 Lac

Duration- 2 Year (2023-2025)

Ongoing projects

Project Title: Development of a Resonant Glucose Sensor Prototype Using Smart Hydrogels and/or Polymers.

Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (DBT).

Duration: January 2024–June 2025

Project Total cost: Rs. 14.5 lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Completed

Low power, frequency analog building blocks for function circuits (Sponsored by Indian Space research Organisation, India, for Indian Rs. 0.4 Million) – 2005-06.

Robotic vision for automating production systems (Sponsored by University Grants Commission, India, for Indian Rs. 0.8 Million) – 1999-2002.

Sponsored Projects

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Completed

Sponsored Projects

Completed Projects

Project Title: “Fully Integrated Smartphone and IoT enabled Microfluidic Sensor for Real Time quantification of Soil Macro

nutrients, Conductivity and pH”

Role: Co-PI

Sponsoring Agency: DST AGRO

Duration: 2 years

Project Title: "Design and development of an instrumentation system to measure dynamic signals"

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsoring Agency: BITS RIG

Duration: 2 years

Ongoing Projects

Project Title: “IoT and ML enabled Multiplexed Fully Integrated Portable Platform for Onsite Measurement of Water Quality Indicators"

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsoring Agency: DST SERB Power grant

Duration: 3 years

Start date: July 2021

2. Project Title: “Design and Development of System on Chip for Multiplexed Biomarker Detection"

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsoring Agency: Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) India Research program (IRP) 2022

Duration: 3 years

Start date: December 2022

3. Project Title: " Sweden- India Collaboration in Higher Education and Energy Research (CHEER)"

Role: Co-PI

Sponsoring Agency: Swedish foundation for international corporation for research (STINT)

Duration: 2 years

Start date: Jan 2023

4. Project Title: "Design and Development of a Semiconductor Based Photocatalytic Fuel Cell for Air Purification and Simultaneous

Electricity Generation to Power IoT Enabled Sensor Nodes"
Role: Investigator

Sponsoring Agency: CREST (BITS)

Duration: 2 years

Start date: October 2023

5. Project Title: “Design and Development of a Spherical Surveillance Robot”

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsoring Agency: SPARKLE (BITS)

Duration: 2 years

Start date: October 2023

6. Project Title: “Structural Health Monitoring of Asphalt Pavements using Digital Twin Information”

Role: Collaborator

Sponsoring Agency: CDRF (BITS)

Duration: 2 years

Start date: June 2024

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Project:

1. Project Title: "Analyzing the determinants of water stress, household resilience, and awareness for alternative water sources in Coastal India"

Sponsoring agency: BITS, Pilani under the CDRF-II Call [C2/24/233]

Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 24 months (2024-2026)
Sponsored amount: Rs. 20, 00, 000

2. Project Title: "Measuring the Vulnerability of Agricultural Households to Climate Change in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of Rajasthan - A Capacity to Adapt Perspective"

Sponsoring agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)and MHRD, New Delhi under the IMPRESS scheme[F.No. IMPRESS/P2383/635/2018-19/ICSSR]

Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 24 months (2019-2021) Submitted Report
Sponsored amount: Rs. 8, 00, 000

Other Project Awarded and Declined

Project Title: "Health and Environmental Impact of Pesticide Use Versus Organic Farming: A Case of Two Districts in Rajasthan"

Sponsoring agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)and MHRD, New Delhi under the IMPRESS scheme[File No. IMPRESS/P2447 /2018-19/ICSSR]

Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 18 months (2019-2021)
Sponsored amount: Rs. 6, 00, 000

Sponsored Research Projects

EXTERNAL PROJECTS- 2 (1 Ongoing, 1 Completed)

Working as PI for Industrial Consultancy Project: "Understanding emulsion kinetics of surfactants" from Total Oil India Pvt. Ltd. (Budget: Rs. 7.9 lakhs, Start Date: 22/9/2020) (Ongoing Project)
Worked as PI for Project: "Evaluation and enhancement of foam stability of ethanol based aqueous foam using commercial surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate" (Project completed)

Funding Agency: DST, New Delhi, India

Duration: 2013-2016 Budget: Rs. 25 lakhs

INTERNAL PROJECTS COMPLETED- 1

Worked as PI in Project: “Determination of Foaming Properties of Aqueous Ethanol Solution Using Industrial Surfactant Sodium Lauryl Sulfate” (Project completed)

Funding Agency: BITS-Pilani, Pilani campus, India

Duration: 2011-2013 Budget: Rs. 2 lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing:

DBT: To study and gain mechanistic insights into the regulation of Salmonella pathogenesis by endogenous CRISPR-Cas system

Completed:

SERB-DST: Modeling immune response to Salmonella during typhoid
ECRA-DST: To investigate the mechanism of CRISPR-Cas regulated biofilm formation in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

To be updated.

Research Projects

Collaborative Research Efforts:

Presently, our research lab is working towards understanding of biochemical targets and mechanisms in metabolic disorders, with the goal of better management of diseases, through pharmacological and nutritional approaches. We utilize cell culture models, biochemical and molecular assays, and suitable computational tools to this end. Synthetic molecules / drugs and natural products are being evaluated for their pharmacological efficacy in treating metabolic disorders, in collaboration with faculty colleagues Prof. Pankaj K Sharma (Dept. of Biological Sciences) and Prof. S Murugesan (Dept of Pharmacy), BITS Pilani.

Collaborating with Prof. Navneet Gupta (Dept. of EEE) for developing microwave-imaging based technology for early cancer diagnosis. With Dr. Udit N Pal at CSIR-CEERI, Pilani, we are testing and exploring biomedical applications of cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet source, with initial leads on wound healing.

The research collaboration since 2005 with Dr. S. Krishnakumar (Department of Ocular Pathology), Vision Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya (Chennai) involved the evaluation of molecular targets for diagnosis and therapy of retinoblastoma (a pediatric ocular cancer).The potential of fatty acid synthase (FASN) as a clinical target in retinoblastoma was evaluated using biochemical and molecular assays in primary tumor tissues and cultured cells, and bioinformatics techniques.

Since 2010, in collaboration with Dr. Padma Murali (Dept. of Mathematics, BITS Pilani), we have been developing bio-mathematical models to assess the disease burden imposed by key risk factors (co-morbidities) in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Another collaborative research effort has been with Dr. M. Surianarayanan's lab ( Senior Principal Scientist, Cell for Industrial Safety & Risk Analysis, Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR-CLRI) ), Chennai, in the areas of biochemical engineering for bioremediation and industrial bioprocesses. We also explored the biomedical applications of ionic liquids, as green solvents.

Research Funding from:

Indian Council of Medical Research [ICMR] : 2 projects completed, 1 on-going

Dept of Biotechnology [DBT], Govt of India : 2 projects completed, 1 on-going

University Grants Commission [UGC] : 1 project completed

CDRF, BITS Pilani : 1 on-going

[cross-disciplinary research framework ]

Sponsored Projects

Completed Project

1. "In-silico Characterization of Non-native Structural Ensembles of Small Proteins and Peptides and Its Implication on Protein Folding and Misfolding Processes" --- Funded by DST (2007-2010)

Ongoing projects

1. "An in-silico and in-vitro characterization of binding affinity and internalization potential of Indian SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants with hACE-2 and identification of potential small molecules hindering the interaction" --- Funded by ICMR (2022-2024) (Role:PI)

2. "Repurposing of CNS accumulating drugs as autophagy modulators for potential treatment against glioblastoma: an in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo study"--- Funded by ICMR (2019-2022) (Role:PI)

3. "In silico genome wide prediction of human gut microbiota derived microRNA and exploring their association with altered gene expression in host cells during cancer and cardiovascular diseases"-- Funded By DST-NSM (2021-2023) (Role: PI)

4. "High altitude-hypoxia mediates thrombosis in soldiers; modulation of autophagy as a strategy to Combat High Altitude-Hypoxia Induced Thrombosis" --- Funded by DRDO, 2019-2022 (Role: Co-PI)

5. "Enhancer of Zeste Homolog-2 Role in Glomerular Endothelial Dysfunction during Diabetic Nephropathy: Sponsored--- Funded by DBT, 2020-2023 (Role: Co-PI)

6. "Rapid, low cost fluorescent AIE-based detection of renal dysfunction from urine samples and fabrication of portable and real time device" --- Funded by DBT, (2021-2024) (Role: Co-PI)

7. "Targeting chromatin modifiers- Jumonji Histone Demethylases in tumor cells surviving acute drug stress: an in vitro and in vivo study"--- Funded by ICMR, (2021-24) (Role: Co-PI)

Completed

Additional Competitive Research Grant 01/02/18 — 01/02/20 8.2 Lakhs
Research Initiation Grant 2 Lakhs

Sponsored Projects

1. 'Mechanistic insights on cell wall degradation', Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani, 2021-2023

Role: PI

In brief: The project aims to elucidate the mechanistic insights of various carbohydrate-active enzymes that are involved in degradation of plant cell wall during infections.

2. Investigation of the role of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) matrix in Macrophomina phaseolina during infection of soybean roots (Glycine max L.), Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani, 2022-2024

Role: PI

In brief: The project aims to charecterize the EPS matrix of Macrophomina phaseolina

3. Elucidating the glycobiology of host-pathogen interactions at the cell wall interface for engineering charcoal rot resistance in soybean under abiotic stress conditions, Start-up Research Grant, SERB, 2022-2024

Role: PI

In brief: The project aims to elucidate the role of extracellular polysaccharide component in Macrophomina phaseolina during abiotic stress conditions

4. Elucidating the dynamics of photosynthesis and cell wall remodeling in E. salsugineum, an extremophilic plant during abiotic stress and subsequent recovery phases for crop improvement in the scenario of climate change, Special SERB Grant, 2022-2025

In brief: In collaboration with the Central University of Tamil Nadu, we will investigate the dynamics of cell wall remodeling by applying comparative glycomics approaches,

5. Understanding vir Genes: Potential Mediators of Cyto-adherence in Severe Malaria from Plasmodium vivax, extramural grant, ICMR, 2022-2025

Role: Co-I

In brief: In this collaborative project with Prof. AK. Das, we will employ synthetic biology approaches to study protein-protein interactions at the cell surface

Sponsored Projects

1. Ongoing and Approved

1.1 Key Grants

1. Competitive Research Grant, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (2020-2023) (PI) “Enhancer of Zeste Homolog-2 role in Glomerular Endothelial Dysfunction during Diabetic Nephropathy”. (Total Cost: 33.5 lakhs)

2. Competitive Research Grant, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (2021-2024) (Co-PI) “Rapid, low cost fluorescent AIE-based detection of renal dysfunction from urine samples and fabrication of portable and real time device”. (Total Cost: 80 lakhs)

3. Strategic Research Project, BITS BioCyTiH Foundation (2022-2024) (PI) “Development of detection system of pre-validated salivary biomarkers to determine the stages and type of cardiovascular disease”. (Total Cost: 24.46 lakhs)

4. Core Research Grant, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (PI). Exploring epigenetic regulation of Shelterin proteins and their role in Cardiovascular Diseases. (Approved, 2023)

1.2 Other Grants

1. Extramural Research Grant, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2021-2024) (Co-PI). “Targeting chromatin modifiers- Jumonji Histone Demethylases in tumor cells surviving acute drug stress: an in vitro and in vivo study”. (Total Cost: 44.14 lakhs)

2. Extramural Research Grant, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2021-2024) (Co-PI). “Design and synthesis of inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis sigma factor-RNAP protein-protein interaction as potential antimycobacterial agents”. (Total Cost: 52.86 lakhs)

3. Core Research Grant, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2021-2024) (Co-PI). ““Neuronal” regulation of tumor cell migration- understanding the role of semaphorins in tumor cells undergoing EMT and subjected to differential flow dynamics”. (Total Cost: 54 lakhs).

4. Grant-in-Aid, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2023-2026) (Co-PI). “Identification and characterization of novel long non-coding RNAs in AKI-to-CKD transition using CRISP/Cas9-based epigenome editing: Revealing the potential of the long non-coding RNAs as a biomarker and therapeutic strategy”. (Total Cost: 41 lakhs).

1.3 Cross-disciplinary Infrastructure Grants

1. DBT-Boost to University Interdisciplinary Life Science Departments for Education and Research Programme, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India (2021-2026) (PI). "DBT-BUILDER -University of Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education in Epigenetics and Genome editing". (Total Cost: 9.01 Cr)

2. Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE), sponsored by Department of Science & Technology (DST)-PURSE, Govt. of India (2021-2025) (Co-PI). “2D materials based sensor systems for rapid diagnosis of human diseases through analysis of exhaled breath”, (Total Cost: 11 Cr)

2. Completed

1. BITS, Research Initiation Grant (2017-2019) (PI). "Studying the epigenetic of high glucose mediated endothelial dysfunction during diabetic nephropathy". (Total Cost: 2 lakhs)

2. BITS, Additional Competitive Research Grant (2018-2020) (PI). " Understanding the role of long non coding RNA in glomerular endothelial cell dysfunction during diabetic nephropathy." (Total Cost: 8.5 lakhs)

3. Early Career Research Award-Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2019-2022) (PI). "Epigenetics of Endothelial Dysfunction during Cardiovascular Disease". (Total Cost: 45 lakhs).

4. Competitive Research Grant, Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (2019-2022) (Co-PI). " Development of 1-D nanomaterials based selective sensor system for non-invasive detection of complications of diabetes mellitus and asthama by breath analysis technique". (Total Cost: 46.5 lakhs)

5. Extramural Research Grant, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2019-2022) (PI). “Studying the Efficacy of ADAM Inhibitors in Treating Diabetic Nephropathy”. (Total Cost: 33 lakhs)

6. Grants in Aid, Life Sciences Research Board (LSRB) of Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) (2019-2022) (Co-PI). "High altitude-hypoxia mediates thrombosis in soldiers; modulation of autophagy as a strategy to combat high altitude-hypoxia induced thrombosis”. (Total Cost: 42.36 lakhs)

7. Extramural Research Grant, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2019-2022) (Co-I). “Antisense, Sense and Epigenetics in Severe Malaria”. (Cost: 142.5 lakhs)

8. Extramural Research Grant, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2019-2022) (Co-PI). “Repurposing of CNS accumulating drugs as autophagy modulators for potential treatment against glioblastoma: an in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo study.” (Total Cost: 33.5 lakhs)

9. National Supercomputing Mission, Department of Science and Technology (DST-NSM) (2021-2023) (Co-PI) In silico genome wide prediction of human gut microbiota derived microRNA and exploring their association with altered gene expression in host cells during cancer and cardiovascular diseases". (Total Cost: 20.41 lakhs)

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support (MATRICS), Sanctioned, 2024-2027. (Ongoing)
Startup Research Grant (SRG), 24.47 Lakhs, "Assessment of Mixed-Matrix Membrane System for CO2 capture for Bio-gas Upgradation to Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG)", Department of Science & Technology (DST)-SERB, December 2019-June 2022. (Completed)
Research Initiation Grant, July 2017 – July 2019 2 Lakhs BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus (Completed)

Sponsored Research Projects

1. Title: Elucidating TCP interactome for directed modification of plant architecture and stress tolerance.

My Role: PI

Funded by DBT, Govt. of India (with Ramalingaswami Fellowship)

Status: Completed

2. Title: Transcriptome profiling during stem elongation in rice

My Role: PI

Funded through University of Potential Excellence funding to JNU by UGC

Status: Completed

3. Title: Whole genome transcriptomic analysis to identify key genes regulating sugar accumulation during drought stress in sweet sorghum

My Role: Co-PI

Funded by DST-SERB (ECR)

Status: Completed

4. Title: Characterization of transcriptional dynamics during male and female reproductive organ development in Sorghum

My Role: PI

Funded by DST-SERB (ECR)

Status: Completed

5. Title: Identification of key microRNA-target modules and genes involved in the determination of grain weight and micronutrient content in Sorghum bicolor using small RNA and transcriptome profiling

My Role: Co-PI

Funded by DST-SERB (CRG)

Status: Ongoing

6. Title: Identification and characterization of male meiocyte-specific promoters to facilitate germline-specific engineering in sorghum.

My Role: PI

Funded by DST-SERB (CRG)

Status: Ongoing

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. Research Initiation Grant (INR 2,00,000)

Funding body : BITS Pilani

Title of project: Numerical Investigation of Biaxial Stretching of Tailor Welded Blanks using Different Hardening Laws

Duration: 2023-2025

Research Projects:

Sponsored Projects

Sanctioned Projects:

"Deciphering gene co expression network of salinity stress responsive genes" sponserd by SERB under matrics, Jan-2023

Ongoing Projects:

"Analysis ofcis-regulatory elements in gene expression" under DBT builder, sanctioned to BITS, Pilani Goa campus. 2022
An in silico and in vitro characterization of binding affinity and internalization potential of Indian SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants with hACE-2 and identification of potential small molecules hindering the interaction .

Completed:

Cloning of spot blotch disease resistance gene in wheat in collaboration with CIMMYT (2018).
Co Principal investigator in Introducing cyanobacterial bicarbonate transport into C3 Plants for enhanced photosynthetic performance. Funded by Department of Science and Technology (37.8 lakhs) Sanctioned 23rd January 2017.
Cloning and characterization of protein phosphatase 2C like promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana. DST Fast track project for young scientists (Completed in october 2012. 12.57 lakhs)
Natural and Engineered Lipases for Biodiesel Production. Funded by Aditya Birla Group of companies (Completed in october 2013., 10 Lakhs)
Molecular characterization of ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate) deaminase activity of associative bacteria isolated from plants of desert of Rajasthan. Funded by DBT (42 lakhs Completed in March 2015)
Designing, Synthesis,Validation of dehydration stress responsive promoter.Funded by UGC 12.97 lakhs.( Completed in March 2016)
Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes, intellectual calibres and research in e-learning "National Mission Project on Education through ICT Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India" Course developer for Science of living systems.(Total Project cost Rs 17 crore, Completed in March 2017)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. Research Initiation Grant (INR 2,00,000)

Funding agency- BITS Pilani

Title: A numerical investigation of nanoscale machining of ductile, brittle and difficult to cut materials

Duration: 2023-2025

Completed - To be Updated Soon.

Sponsored Projects:

Ongoing/Approved Project(s):

Title: Anti-sense, Sense and Epigenetics in Severe Malaria
Funding Agency: Indian Council of Medical Research
Status: Ongoing
Co-I: Dr. Syamantak Majumder (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)
Co-PI(s): Prof. Sanjay Kochar (Sardar Patel Medical College & Hospital, Bikaner)
Dr. Dinesh Gupta (International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, Delhi)
Title: 28S Ribosomal RNA Capture Assay for the Sensitive Detection of Plasmodium falciparum
and Plasmodium vivax
Funding Agency: Malaria Elimination Research Alliance, India
Status: Ongoing
Co-PI(s): Prof. Sunil Bhand (BITS Pilani, Goa Campus)
Prof. Sanket Goel (BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus)
Prof. Arunansu Talukdar (Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata)
Title: Exosome Cargo in Severe Malaria Disease: Prognostic or Diagnostic Markers for Severe
Disease or Pathogen Detection
Funding Agency: BITS BioCyTiH Foundation, India
Status: Ongoing
Co-PI(s): Prof. Shilpi Garg (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)
Prof. Anupama Mittal (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)
Title: DBT-BUILDER - Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education in Epigenetics and Genome Editing
Role: Coordinator
Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology, India
Status: Ongoing
Title: Understanding vir Genes: Potential Mediators of Cyto-adherence in Severe Malaria from
Plasmodium vivax
Funding Agency: Indian Council of Medical Research
Status: Technically Approved
Co-PI(s): Prof. Shilpi Garg (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)
Dr. Balakumaran Chandrasekar (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)

Projects (PI): (Completed)

Title: Development of a Comprehensive Diagnostic System for P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae and its evaluation
Funding Agency: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, India.
Title: Prokaryotic Vector Design using Cryptic Plasmids from Leuconostoc sp., Lactococcus species and Cyanobacteria
Funding Agency: Dabur Research Foundation, India
Title: Cloning and Characterization of the regions of the Apicoplast genome from Plasmodium vivax
Funding Agency: University Grants Commission, India
Title: A Systems Biology approach towards understanding Severe Malaria with special reference to the Transcriptome and Proteome of the Parasite and the Host
Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology, India
Co-PI(s): Prof. Utpal Tatu (Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore)
Prof. Dhanpat Kochar/Prof. Sanjay Kochar (Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner)

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

Project: Enhancing emotion and demographic inference for low-resolution video feeds in the Indian context

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: Kwikpic AI Solutions (An AI Startup)

Amount: 6 lakhs

Duration: Two years (Jan 2022-Jan 2024)

Status: Ongoing

Project: AI-enabled remote health assessment of PMGSY roads

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: NRIDA, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India

Amount: 17.58 lakhs

Duration: Two years (Dec 2021-Dec 2023)

Status: Ongoing

Project: Enhancing Drone-based surveillance in low-visibility conditions

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: ARTPARK

Amount: Rs. 6.6 Lakhs

Duration: One year (Sep 2021- Aug 2022)

Status: Completed

Project: AI-enabled Security Provisioning and Vehicular Vision innovations for Autonomous Vehicles

Role: Co-investigator (PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola, EEE)

Funding Agency: SICI

Amount: Rs. 10 Lakhs

Duration: Two years (2021-2023)

Status: Completed

Project: Disaster monitoring from aerial imagery using Deep Learning

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Amount: Rs. 7.9 lakhs

Duration: Two years (2019-2021)

Status: Completed

Project: NVIDIA Academic GPU grant for AI and Cybersecurity

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: NVIDIA Corporations (Academic Programs Team)

Amoung: Rs. 1.25 Lakhs

Duration: One year (2018-2019)

Status: Completed

Project: Enhancing Cyber Security approaches using Artificial Intelligence

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Research Initiation Grant for new faculty)

Amount: Rs. 2 Lakhs

Duration: Two years (2018-2020)

Status: Completed

Project: Automated Detection of Security and Privacy Threats in Peer-to-Peer Networks

Role: Research Assistant (while pursuing PhD)

Funding Agency: MeitY, Govt. of India

Amount: Rs. 61.95 Lakhs

Duration: Three years (2012-2015)

Status: Completed

Funded Projects

Government Funded

PI on SERB POWER grant titled "Data driven Multimodal System for Academic Stress Management in Indian Universities (ARU)" (2021-24)
Co-PI on SERB POWER grant titled "IoT and ML enabled Multiplexed Fully Integrated Portable Platform for Onsite Measurement of Water Quality Indicators" (2021-24)

Industry Funded

Co-PI on "MASTIC: ML-Aided Secure SoC and Analytics" funded by Axiado (2021-2023)

PhD Grants

Two PhD grants under Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN) in partnership with La-Trobe University, Australia
Two PhD grants under BITS-RMIT Higher Education Academy
One PhD grant under One Health Trust Partnership

BITS Internal Grants

PI on BITS Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) titled “Data enabled Systems for TRacking and Evaluating Student Stress (DeSTRESS)” worth INR 7,00,000 (Completed 2020-22)
PI on BITS Research Initiation Grant titled “Data enabled IoT system for Noise monitoring, analysis and mitigation (DIN)” worth INR 2,00,000 (Completed 2020-22)

UK Research Projects

PI on H2020 EU funded project titled "SocialTruth - Open Distributed Digital Content Verification for Hyper-connected Sociality" involving 9 European partners worth £200,000 (2018-2021)
Co-PI on an Innovate UK funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership project titled “SENSE - Smart Ear protectioN in noiSy Environments” worth £100,000 (2018-2020)
Co-PI on an Innovate UK Open Programme project titled “Intelligent ear protection to address occupational hearing loss for use in heavy industry” worth £100,000 (2018-2019)

Completed Projects

Title of the research proposal	Amount	Funding agency	Duration
An extensive computational development of multi-reference coupled-cluster methods for electronic structure investigations of big molecules	22.4 lakhs	DST, New Delhi	May 21, 2012-August 20-2015

Sponsored Projects

"Test Method Development for Releasable Formaldehyde Content Detection from Artificial Leather Samples" - Confidential (A renowned synthetic leather manufacturer) (Ongoing) - Rs. 5.03 Lakhs.
"Design and development of inline sensor for water contamination detection" - Confidential (A renowned water filter manufacture in USA (Ongoing) - USD 35000 (approx. Rs. 26.67 Lakhs).
“Development of microporous PVC films for synthetic leather application" - Confidential (A renowned synthetic leather manufacturer)(Completed) - Rs.7.67 Lakhs.
"Hybrid Epoxy Nanocomposites for EMI Shielding Applications" - Additional Competitive Research Grant Scheme- BITS Pilani (Completed) - Rs. 7.5 Lakhs.
"Synthesis and Characterization of Epoxy Based Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) for electronics packaging applications" - Research Inititation Grant- BITS Pilani. (Completed) - Rs 2 Lakhs.

Sponsored Research Projects

Total:

Project Positions

1. Hierarchies in Regular Languages

Prerequisites:

1) Theory of Computation (CS F351) course.

2) Solve the following problem:

Consider a restricted model of a Deterministic Turing Machine (we call it DTM(1, 1)) which works in two phases. In the first phase, DTM(1, 1) continuously moves to the right, possibly scanning the cells, overwriting the cells, and changing states according to its transition function like a normal DTM, until it reaches the end of its input. Now phase 2 starts in which DTM(1, 1) continuously moves to the left, possibly scanning the cells, overwriting the cells, and changing states according to its transition function like a normal DTM, until it reaches the start of its input. Prove or disprove:

The set of languages accepted by DTM(1, 1) is exactly the set of Regular languages.

References:

[1] J. E. Pin, Open Problems About Regular Languages, 35 Years Later, The Role of Theory in Computer Science, 153--175 (2017).

2. Fault Tolerant Task Scheduling

This project is a joint work with Prof. Kamal Sheel Mishra of School of Management Sciences, Varanasi.

Prerequisites:

1) Data Structures and Algorithms (CS F211) course.

2) Correct implementation of the ``Optimal Clustering Algorithm'' as given in Chapter 5 of the following Thesis:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YdAIFvKe9iIY4sEo95iHykB1ULuhGHEB/view?usp=sharing

References:

[1] K.S. Mishra, A.K. Tripathi, ``Task Scheduling of a Distributed Computing Software in the Presence of Faults'', International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 - 8887) Volume 72 - No. 13, June 2013.

https://research.ijcaonline.org/volume72/number13/pxc3888925.pdf

[2] K.S. Mishra, A.K. Tripathi, Task Scheduling of Special Types of Distributed Software in the Presence of Communication and Computation Faults, International Journal Of Engineering And Computer Science, ISSN:2319-7242, Volume 3, Issue 10, October,2014, Page No.8752-8764.

http://www.ijecs.in/index.php/ijecs/article/view/1892/1752

Sponsored Research Projects

Project Title	Framework for Implementation of Multi-agent Robotic Systems, Year 2010
Agency	Center for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), DRDO, Government of India
Grant Received	Rs. 9.5 Lakh
My Role	Research Personnel
Status	Completed

Project Title	Multi-agent based Indoor Exploration with Miniature Robots, Year 2015
Agency	Center for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), DRDO, Government of India
Grant Received	Rs. 20 Lakh
My Role	Co PI (Principal Investigator)
Status	Completed

Project Title	Design and Development of Efficient Distributed Algorithms for Multi-Robot Systems for Performing Online Terrain Coverage Task, Year 2017
Agency	Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani
Grant Received	Rs. 2.0 Lakh
My Role	PI (Principal Investigator)
Status	Completed

Project Title	Exploiting background information for efficient coordination of Multi-Robot Systems dispatched for service delivery in an indoor environment, Year 2018
Agency	Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani
Grant Received	Rs. 8.0 Lakh
My Role	PI (Principal Investigator)
Status	Completed

FUNDED PROJECTS & LABORATORIES DEVELOPED

Funded Projects: [# 1, 2, 3: BITS Grant; # 4, 5, 6, 7, 9: Grant through Sponsored Projects; # 8: Grant through Research-Consultancy Projects]

9) Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company (ABSTC) Pvt Ltd approved the project entitled as "4E Based Solutions to Recover Heat from Pots in Aluminum Smelting (Rs. 104.82 Lakhs) for 2 Years. [Approved on 29^th January 2025 as a Co-PI]

8) IPA (Indian Ports Association - Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways) grant File Number: IPA/ICTD/166/5GBITS/2024 has been approved for the project entitled as " Preparation of Road Map to Transform Major Ports to Port 4.0 leveraging Advanced Technologies (Rs. 11.80 Lakhs) [Approved] for 100 days.
[Approved on 12th August 2024 and started from 13th August 2024 as a PI]

7) SERB-CRG grant File Number: CRG/2022/005809 has been approved for the project entitled as "An Experimental and CFD-DEM Study of Spouted Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger for Non-spherical Particles (Rs. 22.24 Lakhs [proposed] with 1 JRF/SRF) for 3 years.
[Approved on 30th January 2023, started from 1st March 2023 for 3 years As a Co-PI]

6) As HoD, involved in providing consultancy to conduct the lab sessions for UG students for various laboratories during 23^rd to 27^th May 2022 for NIT Goa at BITS Goa campus (for which NIT paid around Rs. 1.62 Lakhs to BITS), several COVID based small projects such as development and manufacturing of Sanitizer stands, Sanitizing machine for bags etc, and other small projects such as material testing on teeth material provided by dental student, material provided by IFB India etc.

[Completed in AY 2019- 2020, AY 2020-21, AY 2021-22]

5) As HoD, I took initiative to to participate in BMW's skill next competition 2018. Received BMW Twin Power Turbo inline 4 Cylinder Diesel Engine with 8 Speed Steptronic Automatic Transmission System, Sponsored by: BMW (industry sponsored under BMW Skill Next Competition), Rs. 25 Lakhs in September 2018.

[Completed as PI -2018 as HoD]

4) DST-SERB grant has been sanctioned to develop the experimental facility at BITS Pilani - K K Birla Goa Campus. Received Grant from DST Govt. of India (Rs. 27.66 Lakhs) for 3 years, completed in February 2019. One JRF/SRF position also has been sanctioned. Project entitled as "Computational and Experimental Investigations on Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer Characteristics of Two Phase Flow in Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger with Novel Designs of Distributor Plate".

[Completed as PI - 2019]

3) OPERA Award by BITS Pilani (with worth Rs. 8.28 Lakhs for Research) in January 2015 and in May 2017.

[Completed as PI -2019]

2) ACG: Received BITS Additional Competitive Research Grant (Rs. 2.50 Lakhs) for 2 years on 4th August 2015 to perform the research work for the project entitled "Effect of Novel Design of Cyclone Separator on Heat Transfer Characteristics of Pressurized Circulating Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger". (High Speed Computational Facility has been purchased).

[Completed as PI - 2017]

1) RIG: BITS Research Initiation Grant (Rs. 2 Lakhs), for 2 years [04/03/2014 to 03/03/2016].

"Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis of Two Phase Flow in Circulating Fluidized Bed".

[Completed as PI - 2016]

Laboratories Developed:

(1) Fluidized Bed Laboratory (Heat exchanger),

(2) I C Engines Laboratory

(3) Microchannel and NanoFluid engg. Laboratory

(4) Solar Drying Laboratory

Multiphase Flow Laboratory has been developed to study the fluid dynamics and heat transfer characteristics of Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) Boiler (heat exchanger) and of various micro-channels using nano-fluids.

Research Engine Set-up for Internal Combustion Engines to study Performance, Emission and Combustion Characteristics of HYDROGEN, CNG, LPG, PETROL and DIESEL, ALTERNATE FUELS such as BIODIESELS.

Solar Dryer set-up was developed to study drying of grapes, fishes etc looking into problems which farmers for grapes drying facing and traditional fish drying processes facing.

All required equipment to do deep research have been purchased. Equipment such as High Speed Camera, Thermal Image Camera, Data Acquisition System with NI Labview Software, Pressure and Temperature Sensors, Blower, Compressor (15 bar capacity), Cooling Tower, High Speed Computational Facility (Two Servers) for CFD Simulation work using Ansys, Mathematica, coding work using C programing language. CFB heat exchanger set-up and micro-channel test rig have been designed and developed. Some of the photographs of the laboratory are as below.

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

S No	Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Participation	Amount (Lakhs)	Duration	Status
1	Integrated approach for the efficient removal and recovery of heavy metal catalyst (Zinc) used in viscos fiber industries	BITS, Pilani and ABSTCPL, Mumbai	Co-Investigator	49.42	2.5 Years (2018-2020)	Completed
2	Process development for bio-mitigation of flue gases (CO2, SOx, and NOx) using chemolithotrophs and production of value-added products"	DST	Co-Investigator	31.61	3 Years (2019-2022)	Completed
3	Zinc Recovery from Industrial Waste using Bioleaching	BITS	Principal Investigator	34.5	3 Years (2014 – 2017)	Completed
4	Removal of Heavy Metals from Industrial Wastewater Streams using Nanoparticles as adsorbents	DST	Principal Investigator	21.47	3 Years (2013 – 2017)	Completed
5	Removal of Heavy Metals from Industrial Wastewater using Biofiltration	UGC	Co-Investigator	5.50	3 Years (2012 – 2015)	Completed
6	Modeling and Simulation of Viscose Flow through Jetpack Assembly	Birla Cellulosic, Kharach	Co-Investigator	5.52	1 Year (2012 – 2013)	Completed
7	National Mission Project on Education through ICT: Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes (Process Design Decisions), intellectual calibers and research in e-learning Anchored by IIT-Kharagpur	MHRD	Co-Developer	2.00	1 Year (2009 – 2010)	Completed
8	Studies on Adsorption Process for the Removal of Metal Ions from Waste Water and Volatile Organic Compounds from Air by using Suitable Adsorbents	UGC	Co-Investigator	7.11	3 Years (2007-2010)	Completed

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. Investigation on lightweight high entropy alloy AlCuFeMnMgTi developed using microwave sintering at 2.45 GHz

Cost: INR 2.0 Lakh

Duration: December 2020 – December 2022

Funding agency: BITS Pilani

2. Investigations on Layer-by-Layer Manufacturing of Metallic Materials using Microwave Energy

Cost: INR 9.70 Lakh

Duration: Jan 2021 – Jan 2023

Funding agency: BITS Pilani

Research Projects

As PI: Sponsored Research Project : Experimental Computational Study of Boron doped TiO₂ and ZnO Nanocrystals (DST-SERB: 2017-2020): CoPI: Prof. R. N. Behera
As Co-PI: A computational investigation on the reaction paths and spectroscopic properties of crown ethers (BRNS: 2019-2022). PI of the Project: Prof. Anjan Chattopadhyay, CoPI role: DAC for the Ph.D. Scholar of the Project.

Research

Ongoing Projects

As PI:

Exploring the role of electrons’ spin in enhanced hydrogen production using chiral/magnetic electrocatalysts (02 Years)
- Funding Agency: BITS Pilani under CDRF (Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund) scheme

Completed Projects

As PI:

Dual-functional and band-gap tunable visible-active semiconductors as hosts for single atom catalysts: Co-production of solar fuels and value-added chemicals with high selectivity (02 Years)
- Funding Agency: SERB-DST under SRG (Startup Research Grant)
Single atom catalysts on two dimensional nanosheets for the generation of renewable fuels (02 Years)
- Funding Agency: BITS Pilani under ACG (Additional Competitive Grant)
Materials for Nitrogen Fixation and Water splitting (02 Years)
- Funding Agency: BITS Pilani under RIG (Research Initiative Grant)

As Co-PI:

Water Filtration, Advanced oxidation and Capacitive-deionisation Treatments for removal of Emerging Contaminants in Water (02 Years)
- Funding Agency: DST under WTI (Water Treatment Initiative)

Funding Agencies

Projects

Sponsored Projects

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

1. Research Initiation Grant (INR 1,98,850) - completed

Funding body : BITS Pilani

Title: Compressed supercapacitors with high energy density (PRESSCAP)

2. Additional Competitive Research Grant (INR 8,70,000)

Funding body : BITS Pilani

Title: Development of charging protocols for reducing self-discharge in supercapacitors

3. Startup Research Grant (INR 31,19,500)

Funding body : DST SERB

Title: Nature inspired high energy density supercapacitors (NATURECAP)

4. International Exchanges 2022 (£11,900)

Funding body: The Royal Society

Collaborating Scientist/Institution: Prof. Vijay Kumar Thakur, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)

5. India: Initiation Grants for Internationalisation (150,000 SEK)

Funding body : STINT

Title: Collaboration for net-zero emission targets of Sweden and India - Higher education institutions approach

Collaborating Scientist/Institution: Pia Schmitt & Prof. Shareq Mohd Nazir (KTH Royal Institute of

Technology, Sweden), Prof. Rajesh Mehrotra (BITS Goa), Prof. Vincent Shantha Kumar (BITS Dubai)

6. Cohort-2 Call for Proposals with MeitY Quantum Computing Applications Lab (USD 14225)

Funding body : MeiTY QCAL

Title: Quantum computing for accelerated materials discovery for high-performing energy storage devices

Collaborating Scientist: Prof. H.D. Mathur (Dept. of EEE, BITS Pilani)

7. ASCRIN fellowship (Joint PhD program commencing January 2024)

Funding body: BITS Pilani (India) and La Trobe University (Australia)

Title: Hybrid Energy Storage System for developing Next Generation Electric Vehicles

Collaborating Scientist: Prof. Aniruddha Desai (La Trobe University, Australia)

Sponsored Projects

"Employer Branding for Generation Z: Investigating the work values from the Indian perspective" under the flagship of Research Initiation Grant (RIG) by BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus.

Research Projects

Sr. No.	Project Title	Funding Agency (Scheme)	Amount	Role	Start Date	End Date
1.	Approximate Solution to the Unsolved isoperimetric Problem	BITS Pilani (RIG)	₹ 1,00,000	PI	Dec, 2019	Dec, 2021
2.	Cellular Shape Sensing on the Micron Scale	BITS Pilani (ACRG)	₹ 4,00,000	PI	Jan, 2021	Jan, 2023
3.	Mechanical Design using AI	Mercedes-Benz Research & Development, India (MBRDI)	₹ 8,00,000	Co-PI	Jul, 2022	Apr, 2023
4.	AI in Soil Management for Diversified Agriculture	ISRO (Yukti Sanchita)	₹ 18,53,000	Co-PI	Dec, 2022	Dec, 2024

Sponsored Projects

Project Completed (2018-19)

Title: “Measuring the Impact of Socially Responsible Supply Chains and Development of Framework for Implementing Socially Responsible Supply Chains”
Funding Agency: ICSSR, Type: Major Category, Role: Project Co-Director, Duration: 2 years, Fund: Rs 5.5 Lakh + 7.5% Overheads.

Project Completed (2022-23)

Title: “A study on the problems and prospects of Agro-tourism in Rajasthan State”.
Funding Agency: NIAM Jaipur, Type: Major Category, Role: Project Co-Director, Duration: 1 years, Fund: Rs 5.0 Lakh.

Ongoing: March 2022 onwards.

Title: “Determining short term financing for Make in India Initiative: A Case Study of Small and Medium Enterprises in Rajasthan”.
Funding Agency: ICSSR, Type: Major Category, Role: Project Director, Duration: 2 years, Fund: Rs 7.0 Lakh.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

Title: “Designing Optimal and Targeted Advertisement Campaign Strategy for Online E-Commerce Platforms using AI and Machine Learning” Sponsored Organization: rBoomerang Retail Commerce Technologies India Private Limited. Amount Sanctioned- INR 36.2784 Lakhs (Co-PI).
Title: “Five years of the e-NAM platform: Examining factors influencing its adoption and primary usage across product categories and states” Sponsored Organization: National Institute of Agricultural Marketing. Amount Sanctioned- INR 5 Lakhs (Co-PI).

Projects Completed

Title: “Modeling of Employee Performance and Human Capital, Assessment and Optimization of Productivity of Indian Manufacturing Industry” Sponsored Organization: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). Amount Sanctioned- Rs. 5, 00,000.

FDP/ Workshop

Course Director of 10 days research methodology course for M.Phil./PhD/PDF scholars sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) held during 17^th-26^th February 2020. Amount Sanctioned- Rs. 5, 50,000.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. "A new perspective on internal forced and mixed convection heat transfer in inclined circular and non-circular tube". Additional Competitive Research Grant Scheme (Amount: 8.0 Lakhs) (Duration: 2020 - 2022).
"Heat transfer coefficients for transition, quasi-turbulent and turbulent flow in solar air-heater tubes: Experimental Study". Research Initiation Grant Scheme (Amount: 2.0 Lakhs). (Duration: 2020 - 2022).
"Performance Improvement of Solar Thermal Systems using Magnetic NanoFluids". Bi-Lateral: Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and National Research Foundation Of The Republic Of South Africa. (Amount: 1 Cr.).

Completed

1. Contract for Acquisition of Research Services (CARS) from Research Centre Imarat (RCI) DRDO, Hyderabad.

Title: " Studies and Multiphysics Simulation of High Power Microwave Antenna "

Role: Co-Investigator

Duration: Dec 2020-Feb 2023

Total amount: Rs 24.88738 Lakhs.

2. Contract for Acquisition of Research Services (CARS) from Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) DRDO, Hyderabad.

Title: " Design of miniaturised 5 GHz High Pass Filter (HPF) and study of interference due to multichip Packaging in TR module/Plank"

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: 18 Months (Jan 2020-July 2021)

Total amount: Rs 9.97395 Lakhs.

3. Contract for Acquisition of Research Services (CARS) from Research Centre Imarat (RCI) DRDO, Hyderabad.

Title: " Studies and Multiphysics Simulation of Mode Converters for Application in Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)"

Role: Co-Investigator

Duration: 6 Months (May 2019-Oct 2019)

Total amount: Rs 4.1772 Lakhs.

4. RIG Grant, BITS Pilani

Title: "Reconfigurable Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Wireless Applications"

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Mar 2016-Feb 2018

Total amount: Rs 2.0 Lakhs.

Research Projects

Ongoing Research Projects

Mitigation of salt stress in Oryza sativa by overexpression of ABA dependent With No Lysine Kinase 9 (Science & Engineering Research Board- Core Grant Scheme) (February 2021- August 2024)

Isolation and characterization of anti-cancer molecules from mangroves of Goa. DBT-Builder-BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advance Research and Education (November 2022 onwards)

Research Projects (Completed)

Identification and characterization of abiotic stress responsive With No Lysine (WNK) kinase in rice (Oryza sativa ): Funding agency (Science & Engineering Research Board) under DST Fast Track scheme. (Completed August 2017)
Study on the role of TIP family members in arsenite accumulation & their transport in rice: Funding agency (Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, India) (Completed March 2020)
Screening, isolation and identification of novel antimicrobial compounds from potential mangroves of Goa: Funding agency (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, India) (Completed January 2020)

Sponsored Projects

Involvement in sponsored projects by Government agency

Duration: October 2008 – June 2009

Organization: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Designation: Project Associate

Project undertaken: “Center-for-global or Local-for-global? An examination of FDI in R&D centres of ICT MNEs in India”, sponsored by TIFAC, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Duration: July 2002 – September 2003

Organization: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Designation: Project Assistant

Project undertaken: R&D Management, sponsored by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.

R & D Projects: Ongoing

Project Director: Dr. Jyoti

Project Title: Development of a Framework for Knowledge Sharing Behavior: A Case of Indian Public Funded R&D Organizations (Project Co-Director: Dr. Arun Kumar, ABV-IIITM Gwalior)

Funding Agency: ICSSR, New Delhi

Duration: 24 Months (Awarded in March 2022)

Amount: Rs. 6 Lakhs (Start date: 21st March 2022)

Project Co-Director: Dr. Jyoti

Project Title: Service Quality Index for In-house Medical Facilities: Case of Private and Public Higher Educational Institutions in India (Project Director: Dr. Arun Kumar, ABV-IIITM Gwalior)

Funding Agency: ICSSR, New Delhi

Duration: 24 Months (Awarded in March 2022)

Amount:Rs. 8.5 Lakhs (Start date: 28th March 2022)

R & D Projects: Completed

Project Director: Dr. Jyoti

Project Title: Developing and Validating Customer Relationship Management Index for Indian Airline Industry (Project Co-Director: Dr. Arun Kumar)

Funding Agency: ICSSR, New Delhi

Duration: 12 Months (Awarded in March 2017)

Amount: Rs. 1.5 Lakhs (Start date: 1st June 2017)

Project Co-Director: Dr. Jyoti

Project Title: Development and validation of service quality index in Indian Telecom & Banking Sector (Project Director: Dr. Arun Kumar)

Funding Agency: ICSSR, New Delhi

Duration: 24 Months (Awarded in April 2016)

Amount: Rs. 4 Lakhs (Start date: 1st September 2016)

Project Co-I: Dr. Jyoti

Project Title: Investigation & Development of an ICT Driven MIS for Small Milk Producers

(Project PI: Dr. Leela Rani)

Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

Duration: 24 Months (March 2013 - February 2015)

Amount: Rs. 3.20 Lakhs

R & D Projects

Principal Investigator in a Research Project titled, "Designing a Futuristic Learning Framework for Post Millennial Generation Students of Higher Education Institutions in India", funded by ICSSR _ IMPRESS (April 1, 2019 - March 31,2021)
Research Initiation Grant for the project titled "Empirical Investigation of Management Practices in the Indian Manufacturing Sector", funded by BITS, Pilani (September 2016-February 2018)
Co-investigator in a sponsored R&D Project titled "Institutional Excellence : An Empirical Study of Higher Learning Institutes" funded by Aditya Birla Group (July 2012-2014).

Current Projects

Development of battery thermal management system (BTMS) for electric (EVs) and hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) using heat pipe and phase change material (PCM). (under BITS Pilani Research Initiation Gran, 2019-till date)

Open Study Projects

Project Title	Project Type
Modeling and analysis of thermal management system in Fuel Cell vehicles.	Design Project
Control methods for thermal management in Fuel Cell vehicles.	Study Project
Forecasting Charging Demand of Electric Vehicles Using Time-Series Models	Study Project
CFD analysis on Battery Thermal Management System	Design Project
Exergy-based modelling approach of low temperature combustion engines (Prerequisites - Course - Engines, Motors and Mobility or Similar based on fundamentals of IC engines)	Special Project
Coupled Metal hydride based thermal energy storage	Design Project
Application for the projects is OPEN: https://forms.gle/uKFzJqeaMrrnriAaA

Sponsored Projects

Projects

(Title/Sponsoring Organization/Time-frame/Sanctioned Amount )

Project titled "Use of Social Media as a Driver for Innovation in Higher Education in India" vide Ref. No.IMPRESS/P2856/0184/2018-19/ICSSR (as CI)- 10 Lakhs
Project titled "Designing a Futuristic Learning Framework for Post Millennial Generation Students of Higher Education in India" Ref. No. IMPRESS/P1506/118/2018-19/ICSSR (as CI)- 8.9 Lakhs
Project titled “Institutional Excellence: An Empirical Study of Institutes of Higher Learning”/ AB Group/2 YEARS/10 Lakhs ( as PI)
Project titled “Strategies to meet Manpower requirements for power sector during eleventh five year plan”/ NSTMIS (DST)/ 2 Years/9.5 Lakhs (as CI)
Project titled “Strenghthening Entrepreneurship Activities at BITS Pilani”/ Wadhwani Foundation/On-going/Approx 22 Lakhs (as Part of the Team)

Sponsored Projects

Research Initiation Grant (₹2,00,000) from BITS Pilani, Feb. 2019- 2021.
Additional Competitive Research Grant for New Faculty (₹8,25,000) from BITS Pilani, Jan. 2020- Dec. 2021.

Sponsored Projects

Project title: Drivers of Sustainability Practices in SMEs: An Exploratory Study of Small Manufacturing Firms in Rajasthan (completed)

Sponsoring agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Duration: 12 months
Sponsored amount: Rs. 3, 00, 000

Project Title: Understanding Impact of Social Learning Forms on Environmentally Sustainable Behavior in Children. (Completed)

Sponsoring agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 24 months
Sponsored amount: Rs. 5, 00, 000

Project Title: Investigation & Development of an ICT Driven MIS for Small Milk Producers (Completed)

Sponsoring agency: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 24 months
Sponsored amount: Rs. 3, 20,000

Project Title: An Empirical Study on Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Productivity in Small and Medium Textile Enterprises of Rajasthan

Sponsoring agency: University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 24 months
Sponsored amount: Rs. 2, 20,085

Funded Projects

Sl. No.	Proposal and Grant Value	Funding Agency and Status
1.	Development of graphene/graphite encapsulated high thermal conductivity heat sinks. (Co-PI) – (26 lakhs)	DRDO (CASDIC) (Ongoing since August 2023)
2.	Understanding the supercooled drop impact ice accretion dynamics under controlled environmental conditions and developing the anti-icing strategies for aerospace applications (PI) - (INR 53.6 lakhs)	SERB (CRG scheme) (Ongoing since March 2023)
3.	Neuronal Regulation of tumor cell migration undergoing EMT under differential flow condition (Co-PI) (INR 54.16 lakhs)	SERB CRG scheme (Completed in March 2023)
4.	Droplet dynamics on textured superhydrophobicity (PI) (INR 30.1 lakhs)	SERB (Completed in December 2021 )
5.	Development of detection system of pre-validated salivary biomarkers to determine the stages and type of cardiovascular disease (Co-PI) (INR 24.46 lakhs)	Interdisciplinary-Cyber Physical System (NM-ICPS), DST
6.	Study of Interfacial, Evaporation of complex fluids (PI)(INR 7.9 lakhs)	BITS Pilani Competitive Research Grant(Completed)
7.	Thermal Transport and Electro-Hydrodynamics through Nanochannels(PI) (INR 2 lakhs)	BITS Pilani Research Initiation Grant(Completed)

Research

Ph.D.

Study of Fracture Behaviour of Extra Deep Drawn Steel Sheets. [Experimental and Finite Element Analysis]. Guide: Prof. Ravi Prakash. Experimental work was carried out in Applied Mechanics Department at I.I.T. Delhi under the guidance of Prof. A. N. Kumar. Partial sponsorship by Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO, Jamshedpur).

Research Areas

Characterization (Strength, Fatigue, Fracture & Wear Mechanics) of Metals and Polymers (for Automobile, Aerospace and Healthcare) | Bio-Materials and BioTribology (Orthopedic Implants)

Research Projects

Completed [With Govt Funding Agencies and Industry Sponsorship]:

Govt: Artificial intelligence assisted surgical procedure for customized patient-specific dental implants using cloud-based automated workflow SMART Bio-CPS program of BITS BioCyTiH, DST | Jun-2023 to Dec-2024 | [INR 8.00 L] | Co-PI | PIs: Iniyan Thiruselvam N, Kiran D Mali
Govt: Evaluation of Mechanical Performance of the 3-D Printed PEEK Polymer used in Space Applications |Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Bangalore | Nov-2019 to Nov-2023) | [INR 36.29 Lakhs] | PI | Co-PIs: Vikas Chaudhari. Iniyan Thiruselvam N
Govt: Realization of Biomimetic Dental Implants in Digital Dentistry (Bioactive Biocomposite Development) Biotechnology Industrial Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) Seed Funds | Mar-2021 to Mar-2022 [INR 2.00 Lakhs] | PIs: D M Kulkarni, Iniyan Thiruselvam N, Kiran D Mali and Savio Lourenco
Govt: Realization of Biomimetic Dental Implants in Digital Dentistry (3D Scanning & Modelling) Jun-2021 to June-2023 | DST: TIDE 2.0, Govt. of India | [INR 4.00 Lakhs] | PIs: D M Kulkarni, Iniyan Thiruselvam N, Kiran D Mali and Savio Lourenco

Govt: Experimental Wear Analysis of an Artificial Hip Implant Materials using Advanced Tribometer Customized for Bio-Tribological Studies (June-2012 to June-2015) | Department of Sci & Technology (DST), Delhi [Rs. 21.00 Lakhs] | PI and Co-PI: Dr. A C Kulkarni
Industry: Customization of Conventional Tribometer for the Bio-Tribological Studies | Jan-2012 to Dec-2013 | [Rs. 25.00 Lakhs] | Project Specific MoU-I for 5 Years | PIs: Dr. A C Kulkarni and Prof. D M Kulkarni
Industry: Experimental Wear Analysis of an Artificial Hip Implant Materials using Advanced Tribometer Customized for Bio-Tribological Studies (June-2012 to June-2015) | Aditya Birla Group Funds [Rs. 10.00 Lakhs] | PI (Oct-2011 to Sep-2013). PI and Co-PI: Dr. A C Kulkarni
Industry: Experimental Investigation of Friction and Wear Mechanism for Hip Prosthesis Material using Multi-Station Orbital Tribometer: Sponsored by DUCOM Instruments Banglore | June-2011 to Dec-2013 | [Rs. 15.00 Lakhs] Project Specific MoU-I for 5 Years | PIs: Dr. A C Kulkarni and Prof. D M Kulkarni
Industry: Fracture Behaviour of Extra Deep Drawn Steel Sheets used for Automotive Applications | Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Jamshedpur | April-2000 to Mar-2003 | [Rs. 5.00 Lakhs]. |PI

Ongoing

France University: Deformation studies to reveal deformation heterogeneity phenomenon in oligcorsytals and 3D printed polymers Using Localised Spectrum Analysis and Digital Image Correlation | Université Clermont Auvergne, France | Jan-2024 to Dec-2026 | [6000 EURO + French Research Scholar at 3D Printing Lab for 6 Months] | PIs: D M Kulkarni, Iniyan Thiruselvam N, Kiran D Mali | France PIs: Benoit Blaysat and Thomas Jailin
Industry: Structural Simulation and Comprehensive Mechanical Characterization of High–Performance Polyethylene (HPPE) Used for Conveyor Roller and Piping Applications | Co-PI | May-2024 to Oct-2025 | [INR 10.00 Lakhs]
Govt: Indigenous Development of Value Implants in Dentistry | Dec-2021 to Dec-2024 | Startup India Seed Funds (SIFS), Govt. of India | [INR 8.00 Lakhs] | PIs: D M Kulkarni, Iniyan Thiruselvam N, Kiran D Mali and Savio Lourenco

Consultancy Projects (Ongoing)

Govt: Advanced Multiphysics Finite Element Simulation & Analysis of Machine Components (Washing Machine, Refrigerator, Microwave and Air-conditions | Polymers & Metals) | IFB Industries Limited | INR 14.21 Lakhs (PI)

Consultancy Projects (Completed)

Knowledge Consultancy through ASME: 3 Days Hands-on Training industry professionals from L&T Ltd., Surat] Advanced Finite Element Analysis | Arranged by American Soc. of Mech Engineering (ASME), US | 1800$| 24^th to 26^th June-2013 (PI)
Knowledge Consultancy through ASME: 5 Days Hands-on Training academic professionals from L&T, Surat] Basic and Advanced Finite Element Analysis | Arranged by American Soc. of Mech Engineering (ASME), US 3000$ 25^th to 29^th Dec-2011 (PI)
Knowledge Consultancy through ASME: 5 Days Hands-on Training industrial & academic professionals from L&T, Surat] Basic and Advanced Finite Element Analysis | Arranged by American Soc. of Mech Engineering (ASME), US 3000$ 5^th to 9^th Aug-2011 (PI)

Sponsored Projects

"A study of maximal non-P rings and maximal non-φ-P rings" sponsored by BITS Pilani, under Research Initiation Grant (RIG). Amount: 2 lakhs. Duration: 2022-2024.
“On φ-rings” sponsored by SERB, under SERB-SURE Grant. Amount: 1797400. Duration: 2023-2026.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Simulation of evaporation and condensation processes in nanodevices: development of an efficient numerical framework using mesh-free methods, sponsored by SERB-SRG, 2022-2024.
A novel modeling framework for condensation and evaporation processes in quiescent environment, sponsored by SERB MATRICS, 2022-2025.

Completed

Confinement-induced dynamics in nanoscale phase transition in collaboration with IIT, Kharagpur, funded by MHRD under SPARC (2019-2021) (As a Co-PI).
Evaporation of nanodroplets in quiescent environment, Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS, Pilani (2019-2021).

External & Internal Funding

SERB-SRG Research Grant (Funding Agency: SERB-Govt. of India, Dec 2023 - Nov 2025) worth INR 33 Lakhs.

Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) (Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Nov 2022 - Oct 2024) worth INR 10 Lakhs.

Research Initiation Grant (RIG) (Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, 2022 - 2024) worth INR 2 Lakhs.

BITS

SERB-GOI

Sponsered Projects

Completed

A Study of Existence Questions to Elliptic Partial Differential Equations with Gradient Nonlinearities, Funded by SERB under Core Research Grant (CRG), January 2021 - January 2024 (18.6 Lacs).
A study of polyharmonic boundary value problem with exponential nonlinearities, Funded by BITS Pilani under Research Initiation Grant, March 2018- December 2019 (2 Lacs).
A study of nonlinear polyharmonic boundary value problems with dependence on gradient, Funded by SERB under Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support (MATRICS), March 2019 - February 2022 (6.6 Lacs).

Sponsored Projects

Completed

"Development of conductive FDM based rapid tooling for EDM electrode fabrication: application in medical implant manufacturing", From 26 Feb 2020 to 25 Feb 2023, Rs 21,69,101, funded by: CRG- SERB.
"Development of preliminary setup for TIG Based additive manufacturing ", Duration 2 years 2016-2018, Rs 2,00,000 /-, Funded by: BITS Research intiation grant.

Sponsored Projects

As PI:

1. Title: "Numerical Approximations: Solution and Convergence Analysis for Non-linear Aggregation-Breakage Equations"

Scheme: Research Initiation Grant

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan

Amount: 2,00,000.00 Rs.

Duration: 2017-2019

2. Title: "Numerical Methods and Error Analysis for Solving Coagulation and Non-Linear Fragmentation Equations"

Scheme: Start-up Research Grant (SRG)

Funding Agency: DST-SERB

Amount: 9,62,500.00 Rs.

Duration: 2019-2021

3. Title: "Prion Proliferation Model Including Chaperone Existence Uniqueness and Stability Analysis"

Scheme: MATRICS

Funding Agency: DST-SERB

Amount: 6,60,000 Rs.

Duration: 2022-2025

As Joint Collaborator:

1. Title: "Collision-induced fragmentation and coagulation: dynamics and numerics" (joint research project with IIT Roorkee, India and Univ. of Toulouse, France)

Funded By: Indo-French Centre for Applied Mathematics (IFCAM)

Duration: 2019-2022

Amount: Approved amount for year 2019-2020 is approximately Rs. 4,45,000.00 and 12,700.00 Euros (approximately Rs. 14,61,000.00).

Research Funding

05.2016–09.2017	Research Initiation Grant of amount INR 2,00,000/- from BITS Pilani for the project entitled “Earthquake Modelling from GPS Observations in Northwest Himalaya”.
04.2017–03.2019	Additional Competitive Research Grant of amount INR 8,95,000/- from BITS Pilani for the project entitled “Interseismic Coupling and Asperity Distribution in Northwest Himalaya”.
01.2018–12.2018	Bilateral research project entitled “Seismic Hazard Assessment of Indian Himalayan Arc by Geodetic and Seismological Data", funded by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan; Taiwan-side PI: Dr. Kuo-En Ching and grant amount: NTD 2,00,000.
December 2020 onwards	PI for the project entitled “Contemporary Earthquake Potential Analysis along the Central and Nepal Himalaya”, funded by ISC ROAP and IRDR ICoE-Taipei (Taiwan) of amount 15000 USD. co-PI: Dr. Yogendra Sharma (post-doc fellow, NCKU Taiwan)
2022-2025	PI for the project entitled “Nowcasting Earthquakes: Understanding the Current Level of Seismic Progression of Indian Cities”, funded by DST-SERB MATRICS research grant of amount INR 6,60,000/-.

Sponsored Projects

Completed Projects

Superconvergent Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Parabolic Integro-differential Equations with Smooth and Nonsmooth Data, Funded by SERB under Core Research Grant (CRG), March 2021 - March 2024 (19.1 Lacs).

To be updated soon.

Sponsored Projects

Contributing to: MeDiKiT: Medical Data Integration Toolkit -- A Pilot Implementation of Medical Data Sharing Software Systems for Future Medicine to Enable Big Data & AI Applications in Medicine,
PI: Dr. Tanmaya Mahapatra (Department of Computer Science and Information Systems), Funding agency: Indian Council of Medical Research
As PI: Development and Usage of a 3D, Parallel, Multiphysics Solver for Simulating Electrically Assisted Melt and Solution Spinning with High-velocity Gas Jets Using the Rheo-logical Constitutive Approach for Liquid Jet Dynamics, Co-PI: Dr. Arkoprovo Ghosal, Under the National Supercomputing Mission
As Co-PI: Development of a reliable, low-cost, portable, IOT-enabled, optical device for measuring PM2.5 concentration in air, PI: Dr. Aakash Chand Rai, Under DST Technology Development Programme

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing/Sanctioned Projects

“Development of an integrated software and hardware-based system to estimate the axial stresses in hangers used in network arch bridges”: Poddar Infratech Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi: 17.65 Lakhs : 2023

Completed Projects

“Study of Lubricant and Application method for enhanced surface finish and reduced draw load on cold drawn steel tubes” : Tube Investments of India Ltd. : 27.43 Lakhs : 2017-20 (as Co-PI)
"Enhancement of Mechanical Properties of Ti-6Al-4V using Constrained Groove Pressing and Heat Treatment" : DRDO (ARMREB) : 48.75 Lakhs : 2016-20 (as PI)
“Modelling and Simulation of Quartz Accelerometer for Navigation System” : DRDO (RCI) : 5.47 Lakhs : 2018-19 (as Co-PI)
"Formability Study on Constrained Groove Pressed Extra Deep Drawn (EDD) Steel Sheets" : UGC : 30.6 Lakhs : 2014-16 (as PI)
"Understanding Material Properties and Possible Forming Behavior (using FEM) of Titanium Grade–5 Material at Elevated Temperatures" : DST : 10.15 Lakhs : 2012-15 (as PI)
"Dynamic Strain Ageing Behavior in Austenitic Stainless Steel (304 & 316 Grades)" : DAE : 11.64 Lakhs : 2009-12 (as PI)

Research and Consultancy

Sponsored Project (completed and ongoing), agency, duration and grant amount

Ongoing Research Support

Title	Your Role (PI or Co-PI)	Program/Agency	Total Direct Cost (INR, Lakhs)	Duration
Improving Washing Machine hygiene by reducing release of Microplastics, reuse of greywater	PI	IFB Ltd	15 Lakhs	2024-2027
Textile Industry wastewater treatment by Moving bed Biofilm bioreactor and Photocatalysis	PI	Department of Biological Sciences	30 lakhs (10 lakh for our Lab)	2023-2025
Hybrid Non Sewered wastewater treatment system for safe discharge and reuse.	PI	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST)	87.02 Lakhs	2023-2026
“Developing a Wetland Photobioreactor Microbial Fuel Cell system for Household Wastewater Treatment”	PI	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST) DST India and WTZ Austria	15 Lakhs	2023-2025
Combination of Constructed Vertical flow Wetlands, Microalgae Photobioreactor and Microbial Fuel Cell (KIT) for wastewater treatment in small pig production farms; under India-Portugal Joint Research Projects 2022	PI	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST)	30 Lakhs	2022-2025
"Tracking the import of SARS CoV2 and its variants by surveillance of Airport wastewater"	PI	Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB)	40 Lakhs	2023-2024
Global Sanitation Graduate School	PI	IHE Delft & Bill & Melinda Gates foundation	318 Lakhs	2019-2025

Completed Research Support (last 5 years, or longer if you wish)

Title	Your Role (PI or Co-PI)	Program/Agency	Total Direct Cost (INR, Lakhs)	Duration
WASH Digital Learning Collaboration With EAWAG Switzerland	PI	EAWAG Switzerland	5.75 Lakhs	2022-2023
Source Separation Toilet User Interface and wastewater Treatment –Project with EOOS Next Austria	PI	Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation	36 lakhs	2023-2024
Wastewater based Epidemiology and Screening for Covid 19	PI	DBT BIRAC and Bill & Melinda Gates foundation	83.29 lakhs	2021-2022
Co-digestion of STP secondary sludge with organic wastes in urban/peri-urban areas; process optimization, scale up and field demonstration	PI	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST)	5 Lakhs	2020-2020
Impact of negative factors and importance of monitoring natural wetland ecosystem	PI	Conservator of Forests, Jharkhand.	17 lakhs	2020-2020
“‘Empowered septic tank as a decentralized wastewater treatment system’ - Second Phase in collaboration with Ghent University, Belgium	PI	DBT BIRAC and Bill & Melinda Gates foundation	151.92 lakhs	2020-2022
Recovery and purification of enzymes	PI	Zuari foods and Farms Pvt Ltd	7.15 lakhs	2019 -2020
Programme of Open Studies on Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste Management” (POS-WASH) - Second Phase and sub title production	PI	EAWAG Switzerland	9 lakhs	2019 -2020
Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements	PI	ABSTCPL	11.8 lakhs	2019 -2020
Enzymatic pretreatment for enhancing Anaerobic Co-digestion of Sewage Sludge / Septage / Food waste / MSW for energy production	PI	Larsen & Toubro	12.39 lakhs	2019 -2020
Bioremediation and Digital Documentation Towards the Conservation of Cultural Heritage	PI	Department of Science & Technology, Government of India	32.8 lakhs	2019- 2021
Demonstration of River Sal cleaning by Vertical wetlands and river bed filtration	PI	Department of Biotechnology, Government of India	68.85 lakhs	2019 -2021
On site electrochemical wastewater treatment and recycling technology	PI	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project in collaboration with Caltech, USA	27 Lakhs	2018 -2019
Developing Bioactive Compound-Enriched Functional Food Ingredients from Dillenia indica and valorization of its pomace	PI	DBT under North EastTwinning Program in collaboration with Assam Agricultural University	16 Lakhs	2019 -2022
“Network on Decentralized Grey/Waste Water Treatment & Recycling”	PI	Indo French CEFIPRA networking project		2018 -2020
Demonstration of a waste to energy by anaerobic digestion of food waste and septage	PI	Department of Biotechnology, Government of India	161.6 Lakhs	2017-2019
Empowered septic tank as decentralized wastewater treatment system	PI	DBT BIRAC – Bill & Melinda Gates foundation	67 Lakhs	2017-2019
Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste for the production of biogas and concomitant use of biogas as fuel for cooking	PI	Centre of Research Excellence in waste, Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani	3 Lakhs	2017-2019
PreTreatment of Nitrogenous WasteWater using Microalgae and its Utilization for Production of Biofuel and other Value added Products	PI	Centre of Research Excellence in waste, Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani	11 Llakhs	2017-2019
Development and Demonstration of two decentralized wastewater treatment plants	PI	Centre of Research Excellence in waste, Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani	31 Lakhs	2017-2020
Role of environmental toxins in kidney related diseases of Canacona Taluka, Goa – Co investigator	PI	Council for Scientific and Industrial Research	2 Lakhs	2016-2019
Analysis of metabolically active bacterial species in anaerobic digesters	PI	Council for Scientific and Industrial Research	17 lakhs	2016-2019
Biotransformation of phosphogypsum by sulphate reducing bacteria	PI	Department of Biotechnology	5 Lakhs	2015-2016
Biocatalytic Production of a commercial textile dye - Indigo	PI	Department of Science, Technology & Environment, Goa	5 Lakhs	2012-2015
Survey of microbial in-situ PAH degradation activity based on Southern hybridization using gene probes	PI	International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Society’s bursary scheme	0.25 Lakhs	2012-2012 (6 months)
Anaerobic Digestion of food waste in a horizontal plug flow reactor	PI	University Grants Commission, Government of India.	11 Lakhs	2011-2014
Expression of cyclodextrin glucosyl transferase gene in hydrocarbon degrading bacteria for enhancing bioremediation	PI	Department of Biotechnology	21 Lakhs	2011-2014
Genetic diversity of polyaromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria and their role in biodegradation	PI	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India	9.9 Lakhs	2011-2013
Experimental pilot scale horizontal plug flow reactor for anaerobic digestion of food waste	PI	Goa Energy Development Agency & BITS	10 Lakhs	2010 -2013
*Cunsaltancy Project*
Pilot testing to capture performance data with commercial partner engagement for Cranfield University developed Reinvented the toilet Unit	PI	Cranfield University, UK and Gates Foundation	57 lakhs	2024
Generation 2 Reinvented Toilet (G2RT) third phase	PI	Georgia Tech, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation	211.56 Lakhs	2022-2023
Utilization of Palm oil effluent and solid sludge for protein production so as to use it as feed additive for animals	PI	Godrej Agrovet Ltd	15.23 Lakhs	2021-2022
Generation 2 Reinvented Toilet (G2RT)	PI	Georgia Tech, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation	74.22 Lakhs	2020-2021
Mobile Treatment Unit (MTU) Field Study” with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute (WASH Institute)	PI	WASH Institute	10 Lakhs	2020-2022
Reviewing the course Developing Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) business options in the sanitation sector	PI	International Water Management Institute	3.62 Lakhs	2019 (21 days)
Screening of Coliforms and Helminthes eggs in some of the samples of sludge that are treated using their technology	PI	Tide Technocrats Pvt Ltd	0.5 Lakhs	2019 (15 days)
Recovery and Purification of enzymes from Spent Mushroom Substrate	PI	Zycon Biosciences Pvt Ltd	7.15 Lakhs	2019 - 2020
Vitamin D increase in Mushrooms by exposing to UV light	PI	Tropical Mushrooms private limited	3.06 Lakhs	2018 (6 months)
“Resource recovery from the spent mushroom substrate.	PI	Zuari Foods & Farms Pvt. Ltd	0.6 Lakhs	2016 (2 months)
Technical advice on construction of biogas plants.	PI	DeerTree Technologies Pvt Ltd	0.75 Lakhs	2013 -14
Knowledge transfer, technical support, research, development as well as for dissemination and commercialization of the Sequencing Batch Reactor.	PI	Tide Technocrats Pvt Ltd	4.9 Lakhs	2017 -2018
To establish COD(Cr) quality testing method for sea water	PI	Hitachi India Pvt Ltd	27.41 Lakhs	2013 -2016
Hybrid Electrochemical-MFC Waste Processing: Functional blocks for low energy disinfection and denitrification of human waste streams.	PI	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project sub contracted by RTI international	27 Lakhs	2017-2018
Analytics Sensor Test-Kit for Advanced Process Control	PI	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project in collaboration with Cranfield University, UK	85 Lakhs	2016 – 2018
Pilot study, testing the use and production of Terra Preta and other soil improving products like Struvite / PROM	PI	German Technical Cooperation	55 Lakhs	2016 -2017
Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements (titanium, chromium,manganese, nickel and zinc).	PI	Aditya Birla Science and Technology Pvt Ltd	10 Lakhs	2019 - 2020
Bioremediation of red mud using acidogenic fermentation and by Biopiling	PI	BITS Pilani and Aditya Birla Science and Technology Pvt Ltd	71.5 Lakhs	2018 - 2020
Waste to Energy Project in Nashik	PI	German Technical cooperation	10.23 Lakhs	2011

Total funding brought = Rs 1822.56 lakhs

Research projects = Rs 1204.95 lakhs

Consultancy projects = Rs 617.73 lakhs

Ongoing Project

"Analytic Models, Dilations, Wandering Subspaces and Inner Functions", sponsored by Department of Science and Technology", 2021-2026.

Research Projects

Ongoing projects:

Classification of m-isometries admitting Wold-type decomposition funded by Science and Engineering Research Board, India under Startup Research Grant. (commenced on 2023)

Completed projects:

G-homogeneous multishifts on directed Cartesian product of rooted directed trees funded by Science and Engineering Research Board, India under National Postdoctoral Fellowship. (2017-2018)
Operator-valued multishifts associated with directed graphs funded by Department of Science and Technology, India under INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship. (2018-2024)

To be Updated Soon

Sponsored Projects

Approval received for UGC sponsored (28.25 Lakhs) project under DRS SAP in area of Innovative Product Development as Deputy Coordinator (from 2014 to 2019)
As Co-PI: Concurrent evaluation of food distribution under National Food Security Act (NFSA 2013), Aug 2018, Completed in June 2019. Duration 24 Months, Budget 720000.

Sponsored Research Projects

An Investigation of Energy Consumption of Machine Tools, None, BITS-Pilani, Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG), Duration in Months: 23
Fabrication of an Experimental Facility for Monitoring the Energy Consumption of Machine Tools, None, BITS-Pilani, Research Initiation Grant (RIG), Duration in Months: 15

Sponsored Projects

1. Title: Sensitivity analysis of magnetic nanoparticles drug delivery through a curved stenotic artery

Scheme: Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support (MATRICS)

Funding Agency: DST-SERB, Amount (in lakhs): 6.60

Sanction Order : MTR/2022/000315

Sponsored Projects

Design and Development of condition based monitoring of pipelines using wireless sensor networks, sponsored by GAIL India (71.36 lakhs)-completed in 2014

Sponsored Projects

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

Robust and Optimal Decentralized Control Algorithms for Complex Distillery, Technology Mission Division (Energy, Water and Others), DST, India, Rs. 38,06,598/- (Total for VIT + BITS)
Integrated anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) and algae photo membrane bioreactor (APMBR) to recover and reuse of intrinsic wastewater resources, DBT-Builder, Government of India. Total cost 8,47,00,000/- (PI in the consortia project)
Development of suitable material for visible light-induced photocatalytic hydrogen production from industrial wastewater; Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Total cost 53,32,000/- (PI)
International travel support from DST-SERB for attending the 13th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment (SDEWES), Italy, 30 September, 2018 to 04 October, 2018, Total Cost: Rs. 89,050/-
Bioremediation of Red mud using acidogenic fermentation byproducts and by Biopiling” funded by ABSTCPL, Total Cost: Rs. 71,50,000/- (Co-PI)
Development of efficient bioleaching process for the metal recovery from spent catalyst; Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Total cost: Rs. 29,44,600/- (PI)
Investigating the effect of co-digestion and advanced sludge pre-treatment methods on the anaerobic conversion potential of the organic wastes; Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Total cost: Rs. 27,48,860/- (Co-PI)
Studies on Separation and purification of rare earth metals from red mud/used catalyst; Sponsored by BITS Pilani-K. K. Birla Goa Campus. Total cost: Rs. 2,00,000/- (PI)

Research Projects

Research Projects (as Principal Investigator)

1. Title of the Research Project: Development and Validation of Sustainability Measurement Framework for Manufacturing Industries.

Funding Agency: University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India

Duration: 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2016
Amount: 3.5 Lakhs
Status: Completed

2. Title of the Research Project: Empirical Investigation and Analysis of Factors for Sustainable Growth of Electric Vehicles Manufacturing in India

Funding Agency: IMPRESS-ICSSR

Amount: 14.70 Lakhs

Status: Completed (2019-21)

Research Projects (as Co-Principal Investigator)

Title of the Research Project: Design and Development of a Mobile App Interface and a Smart Wearable Device for Awareness, Tracking and Alerting the Citizens to Inculcate Improved Risk Understanding
Funding Agency: DST-NCSTC
PI: Dr. Mayuri A. Digalwar, IIIT Nagpur
Amount: Rs.14 Lakhs
Status: Ongoing (2021-23)

Sponsored Projects

Completed:

July 2020 to July2023 As Co-PI:
DRDO funded research project on 'Machine Vision based Adaptive Quality Assurance System for Aerospace Vehicle Assembly Unit'. (Grant Amount: 39.07 Lakhs).

2016 to 2018 As PI: BITS Pilani funded research project on 'Mesh Generation and Related Problems' (Grant Amount: 9.0 Lakhs)

Research Project

UGC Minor Project (Completed)

" Development of Interactive Computer Programs for Teaching Physics"

Final Report

Research:

Featured among the world’s top two percent scientists to be the most cited as per the list curated by researchers from Stanford University, USA in the “single recent year data –2021”.

H Index: 26 i10 index: 45 Citations 4011

Sanctioned Research Projects:

Development of biocompatible nanotechnology based non-viral delivery vehicle for micro dystrophin gene delivery as therapeutics for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy ICMR proposal ID : IRIS ID 2023-19776/F2, 155 Lakhs, ICMR, Feb 2024 (PI)
Biocompatible nanoparticle mediated non viral delivery of siRNAs for lung cancer therapeutics 37WS(0136)/2023-24/EMR-II/ASPIRE, 25 Lakhs, CSIR, June 2024 (Co-PI)
Biocompatible nano-vehicle mediated delivery of siRNA into stem cells for targeting pluripotency markers as a potential therapeutic approach in regenerative medicine” (27(0362)/20/EMR-II), 33.16 lakhs, CSIR, Aug 2020-2023, (PI)
Design of “smart” scaffolds incorporating nano-bioactive molecules for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus associated chronic wounds” (Proposal ID: 2020-4339), 33.80 lakhs, ICMR, 09.12.2021-08.12.2024, (PI)
Mesoporous nanocomposites for controlling microbially induced corrosion caused by sulfate reducing bacteria, 32.6 lakhs, SERB, 2019-2022, (Co-PI)
Studies on biomolecular transport through nuclear pore complexes using a dual fluorescence channel confocal microscope", 44 lakhs, SERB, 2017-2020. (Co-PI)
Lanthanide doped hydroxyapatite based nano-materials for theranostics applications: Sensing, Imaging, and Therapeutics, 39.65 lakhs, DST, Nanoscience and Technology Initiative program, 18.12.2015-17.12.2018. (PI).
Synthesis of hydroxyapatite based biocompatible functional magnetic nanoparticles and investigation of its interaction with biomolecules” UGC-DAE CRS in collaboration with UGC-DAE-CSR and BARC Mumbai. 2016-2018 (CoPI)
Biological Synthesis of Metal Sulfide and Metallic Nanoparticles Using Halophilic Archaebacteria, Ministry of Earth Sciences, 17.14 Lakhs, 27.01.2011-30.12.2014. (PI).
Effect of nanoparticles on small GTPases and Protein synthesis, BRNS, 2011-2014. (Co-I)
Chemical modification of some metal ion binding peptides with photoactive molecules, and investigations on their photo-induced DNA damage and photo-enhanced antimicrobial activity, DBT, 2010-2013. (Co-I).
Studies of Haloarchaea producing polyhydroxyalkanoates, UGC, 2009-2012. (Co-I).
Studies on marine micro-organisms for synthesis of nanoparticles, DST, 8.28 24/07/2006-23/07/2009. (PI)
Preparation and characterization of nanosized TiO₂ and studies on its photodegradation capability of model organic pollutants, DST, Nanoscience and Technology Initiative program, 19.97 Lakhs; 29/01/2007-20/07/2010. (PI).

To be Updated Soon

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

BITS-Research Initiation Grant (August 2018-July 2020)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

BITS Research Initiation Grant - Preparation and characterization of micellar nanoparticles of modified chitosan
DST-SERB project: Evaluation of antitumor efficacy and pharmacokinetics of polymeric nanoparticle formulation targeted to cancer stem cells.

Research

Research Interests

Complexity Theory
Algorithms
Data Mining

Sponsored Projects

Received grant of Rs. 39 lakhs as (co-PI) from Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI) of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India for research project, titled “Home automation and smart wheel chair based on EEG signals produced in brain”

Research Work

PhD Research Work

Ph.D. Thesis Title

Study of Restructuring Decisions and Complexity of Lean Manufacturing Systems

The fundamental contribution of the thesis is the development of new methods of analysis for more effective quantitative comparison and analysis of restructuring decisions in manufacturing systems. The new methods are proposed based on the physical interpretation of the existing quantitative methods of coefficients of dissimilarity based on the results of graph theoretic models in a multi-dimensional Euclidian space and have a focus on complexity reduction in lean manufacturing systems. The study investigated the case of work flow restructuring in a steel plant and two cases of work flow restructuring in a packaging equipment industry for implementing lean philosophy and it used graph theoretic modeling for analysis. The real performance indicators such as improvement in on-time delivery performance from industrial case studies indicate a strong correlation with the values of proposed indices of complexity based on graph theoretic modeling.

Sponsored Research

Collaborative Industrial research project 2017-2020

Defined outlay Rs. 27.435 lakh

Title of Project: Study of lubricant and application method for enhanced surface finish and reduced draw load on cold drawn steel tubes

Client organization: Tube Investments of India Ltd, Chennai (Murugappa Group)

http://www.tiindia.com/

Brief about the company

Tube Investments of India is a flagship company of multi billion dollar conglomerate of Murugappa Group. It is a market leader in the area high quality cold drawn welded (CDW) and electric resistance welded (ERW) tube products.

Main Contributions/Achievements (Link to Poster)

Through this project, three major alternative lubrication systems have been investigated for tube drawing process namely

the use of tin based porous layer on tube surface to better retain lubricant,
the use of solid tin layer as lubricant during tube drawing process
the use of ultrasonic vibration for die and plug during tube drawing process

Improvements in the surface finish to the order of 40 percent have been achieved through these investigations.

Dr. Varinder Singh, Dep of Mech Engg, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus

Co PI's:

Prof. Amit Kumar Gupta, Dep of Mech Engg, BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Prof. Srinivas P Regala Dep of Mech Engg, BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Dr. Tufan Chandra Bera, Dep of Mech Engg, BITS Pilani Pilani Campus
Mr. Mahesh Patil joined the project as JRF on Sep 6, 2017

Research Guidance

PhD Research work supervision

Dr Mahesh Patil 2017PHXF0439G (Thesis defended on June 17, 2022 and Degree Awarded)

Thesis Title:

Improving the Quality of Cold Drawn Steel Tubes using Alternative Lubrication Systems and Ultrasonics towards Manufacturing Excellence

Mr Ravindra Singh Saluja 2016PHXF0419G (Thesis submitted on Jan 27, 2023 and Degree Awarded)

Thesis Title: Development of a robust MADM Method and Applications in Welding Process Selection

Mr Abhay Kuber Magdum 2020PHXF0076G (Proposal accepted in Sem I 2022:Thesis work Ongoing)

Research Topic: Parametric optimization of the microwave welded Hastelloy X joints

DAC Member for following PhD candidates

Mr. HASAN SHAROOF S (2023PHXP0019U) Dubai Campus

Mr. Mullya Satish Anand

Mr. Nikhil Rajendra Kadam

Mr. Harugade Mukund Laxman

Mr. Amal S Siju

Mr. Rajavamsi Ganjipamula

M.E. Thesis (BITS G629T) and B.E.(Hons) Thesis (BITS F421T)Supervision

Guided a number of PG as well as UG students for their thesis as well as projects

Future Research Directions

Investigating possibilities in the following directions

Addressing challenges related to Bipolar Plate Manufacturing for Anion Exchange Membrane based Hydrogen Production
Deign of Supply Chain Strategies using Data Analytics
Robust Multi-attribute decision making techniques for Sustainable Manufacturing Decisions
Discrete Event Simulation based investigations for innovations in industrial organizations

Research Projects

1. Project Title: Mechanistic approach to design composite metal-carbon nanofiber oxygen electrodes for high-performance metal-air batteries
Funded by: Early Career Research Award (ECR) – SERB-DST
Funding received: INR 45,59,920/-
Role: Principal Investigator (PI), Co-PI: None.
Status: Completed (2018-2023)

2. Project Title: Aqueous rechargeable metal-air batteries for large-scale energy storage
Funded by: Additional Competitive Grant – BITS Pilani
Funding received: INR 8,77,000/-
Role: Principal Investigator (PI), Co-PI: None.
Status: Completed (2018-2021)

3. Project Title: Electrospun metal-carbon nanofiber composites for high-performance supercapacitors
Funded by: Research Initiation Grant – BITS Pilani
Funding received: INR 2,00,000/-
Role: Principal Investigator (PI), Co-PI: None.
Status: Completed (2017-2019)

Sponsored Projects

RIG

Non-Technical Written Registers for the Enrichment of Lexical Competence in English: A Corpus-Based Study

To be updated.

Sponsored Projects

Research Project completed:

Research Initiation Grant
Preparation and characterization of self-emulsifying multi-particulate drug delivery system for the poorly water-soluble drug. (BITS Pilani sponsored)
Quality by design (QbD) based suspension product development and process optimization. (Industry sponsored)
Preliminary investigation, characterization and stability analysis of micelles formulation. (Industry sponsored)

Projects ongoing:

Department of Health Research sponsored: Design and evaluation of a lowcost lab-on-chip noninvasive device for diagnosis of Psoriasis skin disorder: investigation of skin elasticity in psoriatic disease condition and correlation with treatment efficacy of designed nanoformulations.
SERB sponsored: Apremilast loaded halloysite nanotubes composite encapsulated in electrospun nanopatches a novel treatment for psoriasis

Research opportunities

For students:

Candidates having UGC, DST-INSPIRE, CSIR or ICMR fellowship are encouraged to apply. Interested candidates can send their CV to gautam.singhvi@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in

Sponsored Project

Project Investigator of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi sponsored research project titled "Social Media Socialization and Self-engagement: A Qualitative Study of Online Identity Reconstruction" (2023-2025).

Principal Investigator of Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), New Delhi sponsored research project titled "Epistemology Revisited: Post-Modern Discourses, Alternative Forms of Cognition and Interdisciplinarity of Knowledge" (2018-20).

Research Projects

Projects Completed

Photoluminescence studies on undoped and transition metal doped ZnO nanoparticles (PI)

Funding Agency: DST (Fast Track)
Funding Amount: 22.34 lakhs
Project Duration: 2012-2015 (3 years)

Development of low temperature magnetization measurement set up (co-PI)

Funding Agency: CSIR
Funding Amount: 13.55 lakhs
Project Duration: 2012-2014 (2 years)


Ecofriendly flexible CZTS solar cells (PI)

Funding Agency: SERB
Funding Amount: 29.26 lakhs
Project Duration: Aug 2017- Feb 2021 (3.5 years) 

Awarded Research Initiation Grant by BITS-Pilani (Rs. 2,00,000/- for equipments for the project entitled ‘Photoluminescence studies on Mn doped ZnO nanoparticles’)

Ongoing Project

Sustainable Hydrogen Production Through Seawater Electrolysis: Defect Engineering in Non-Noble Nickel-Based Bi/Tri-Metal Sulfide Catalysts with Enhanced Sea Water Stability and Chlorine Evolution Suppression

Funding Agency: CDRF, BITS
Funding Amount: 20 lakhs
Project Duration: Jul 2024- Jul 2027 (3 years)

Research Projects

Projects Ongoing

1	ARMREB
	Title: Residual life estimation of metallic/composite structures such as PCB’s used in aerospace systems subjected to dynamic and thermal loading
	Role: Principle Investigator
	Co-Investigator: Dr Sudha Radhika

2	DST-CRG
	Title: Digital twin based solutions for improving reliability and efficiency of multi-stage wind turbine gearboxes
	Role: Principle Investigator
	Co-Investigator: Dr Inturi Vamsi
3	BRNS-DAE
	Title: Development of a meta-material based vibration isolation frame for housing fuel bundles
	Role: Principle Investigator
	Co-Investigators: Dr Brajesh P, Dr.Kundan Singh
4	ICMR
	Title: Design and development of miniature broad band vibration energy harvester to power biomedical implantable device
	Role: Co-Investigator
5	Consultancy Project:
	Title: Development of an integrated software and hardware-based system to estimate the axial stresses in hangers used in network arch bridges
	Role: Co-Investigator
6	Tokyo Polytechnic University- Joint Usage Research Centre-Collaborative Research Projects 2022
	Title: “Determining design wind loads on typical structures exposed to tornado like flow”
	Role: Principle Investigator
	Co-Investigators: Prof.Masahiro Matsui, TPU, Japan,

Projects Completed

1	DRDO-DYSL Fabrication and vibration testing of 3-D printed polymer structures Role: Principle Investigator Co-Investigators: Dr Brajesh, Dr Kundan Singh Duration: Jan 2022-June 2022
2	Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory(LIGO) (Funded by : DAE-DST/ IUCAA) Title of Project: "Studies on wind resistant design for proposed LIGO India Observatory " (Part of a Mega-Science Project of Govt of India) Role: Principle Investigator Co-Investigators: Dr.Rahul Nigam, Dr.K.R.C. Murthy Duration: Jan 2019- Jan 2022
3	Tokyo Polytechnic University- Joint Usage Research Centre-Collaborative Research Projects 2020 Title: “Determination of wind loads acting on different standard building models and comparison with identical scenario obtained using results from other tornado simulators” Role: Collaborator Co-Investigators: Prof.Masahiro Matsui, TPU, Japan, Prof. Partha P Sarkar , Iowa State University, USA, Prof.Shuyang Cao, Tongji University, China Duration: April 2020- March 2021
4	Tokyo Polytechnic University- Joint Usage Research Centre-Collaborative Research Projects 2019 Title: Benchmark Studies on tornado induced wind loads between different tornado simulators worldwide Role: Collaborator Co-Investigators: Prof.Masahiro Matsui, TPU, Japan, Prof. Partha P Sarkar , Iowa State University, USA, Prof.Shuyang Cao, Tongji University, China Duration: May 2019- March 2020
5	DST Fast Track Project Title of Project: Studies on remaining useful life prediction considering multi-component failures in a wind turbine using prognostic health monitoring techniques" Role: Principle Investigator Duration: March 2016- July 2019
6	DRDO-DMDE Title of Project: Development of meta-material base support Role: Principle Investigator Co-Investigator: Prof.Y.V.D.Rao Duration: April 2017- July 2018
7	NSFC Research Grant No: 51478358 Title of Project: " Characteristics and modeling of tornado-induced wind loading on low-rise buildings" Role: Research Collaborator from India for the Project, Other Collaborators: Tongji University, China and Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan Duration : Jan 2015-Dec 2018
8	Mytrah Energy- Consultancy Projects As Principle Investigator-1 As co-investigator-1 Duration: Jan 2017-April 2017
9	Competitive Research Grant, BITS Title of Project:"Structural health monitoring of wind turbines using a comprehensive condition monitoring scheme, Vibration Signature Analysis, Acoustic Emission Analysis and Lubricating Oil Analysis Role: Principle Investigator Duration : July 2015-July 2017
10	RIG Grant, BITS Title of Project:"Condition Monitoring of gear systems in wind turbines using machine learning and pattern recognition techniques" Role: Principal Investigator Duration: Oct 2014-Oct 2016

Sponsored Research Projects

Sponsored Projects

S. No.	Title	Funding Agency		Amount (lakh)	Duration
COMPLETED
1.	Nano-carriers for co-delivery of small molecules and oligonucleotides		BITS, Pilani	2.00	2014-1026
2.	Development of Nano-Carriers for Improved Drug Delivery.		BITS, Pilani	9.90	2015-2017
3.	Combination delivery of small molecules and microRNA for treatment of locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer.		DST-SERB	27.20	2015-2018
4	Exploring the synergism of PPARγ agonist and HDAC inhibitor or on reversal of Alzheimer's type of dementia and developing their brain targeted nano-carrier system for effective treatment.		DST-Nanomission	31.13	2017-2020
5.	Nanotechnology based pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmetics: development of platform technology.		Incisive Element LLC, USA	21.37	2017-2020
6.	Peptide-decorated pH-sensitive nano-conjugate hybrid micelles for co-delivery of temozolamide and an autophagy inducer, rapamycin, for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.		DBT-Nanobiotechnology	41.962	2018-2021
7.	cRGD decorated lipo-polymeric nanoplexes of CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) for the management of retinal dystrophic conditions		DBT-Nano-intervention in Management of Opthalmic Diseases	125.214	2018-2022
8.	Actively targeted nano-formulations for co-delivery of a taxane and antioxidant molecule, alpha lipoic acid, for treating breast cancer.		DST-Rajasthan	11.136	2018-2021
ONGOING PROJECTS (As Principle Investigator)
1	Setting up a DST supported Technology Enabling Center (TEC) at BITS Pilani		DST-TDT Division *(As co-ordinator)*	Recommended
2.	Methylated cfDNA as a pathological biomarker for the development of a CRISPR/Cas based molecular diagnostic tool		DST Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS)	38.5712	15^th Sept 2022- 14^th March 2023
3.	DBT-BUILDER -University of Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education in Epigenetics and Genome editing		DBT-BUILDER *(As PI team member)*	901.80320	25th Sept 2021- 24th Sept 2026
4	Self-assembling, pH-sensitive temozolomide conjugate nanomedicine for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme,		ICMR	25.22	24^th Sept 2019- 24^th Sept’ 2022
As co-investigator
1.	Gel-based composite formulation containing asiaticoside and neurotensin for rapid healing of diabetic wounds.		ICMR	29.83	2019-2022
2.	Peptide-tethered multifunctional cationic nanocomplexes for delivery of IL-1 receptor antagonist for		DST-SERB	40.4695	2020-2023

Sponsored Projects

Project Title	Role (PI/COPI)	Funding Agency	Worth (Lakhs)	Duration	Status
Experimental and Numerical Study of Spring-back in Bending Process for Austenitic Stainless Steel (ASS) 316	PI	BITS-Pilani (RIG)	2	2 Years (2016-2018)	Completed
Formability Study of Inconel 625 alloy at Elevated Temperatures for Aerospace Applications	PI	SERB-ECR	31.43	3 Years (2017-2020)	Completed
Design and Indigenous Development of a Biaxial Tensile Test Setup on Uniaxial Machine for Sheet Metal Forming	PI	BITS-Pilani (ACRG)	10	2 years	Completed
				(2019-2021)
Enhancement of Mechanical Properties and Forming Behavior of AZ31 Alloy using Shear Deformation Techniques for Automotive & Aerospace Applications	COPI	SERB-CORE	26.66	3 years	Ongoing
				(2021-2024)
Investigation on dynamic deformation behaviour of Tungsten Heavy Alloys (WHAs) for defence applications	PI	DRDO-ARMRED	40.74	3 years	Ongoing
				(2021-2024)

Research Interests & Projects

Research in Systems

Completed Projects

Addressing Challenges in Application Development for Heterogeneous Computing Platform for Speedup and Power Efficiency [37 lakhs, DST]
Design and Implementation of High Performance Energy Efficient Scheduling Algorithms for Multiprocessor / Multicore Hard Real-time Systems [19 lakhs, Seed grant]
A Modeling and Design Framework for Social Networking Infrastructure on Mobile Devices using P2P overlays [20 lakhs, Aditya Birla Group]
Customizable Abstractions for Real-time / Embedded systems [20 lakhs, Microsoft India]

Research Interests

Operating Systems:

Real Time / Embedded Operating Systems - Mixed Criticality Systems and IoT:

Energy Efficient Scheduling Algorithms; Energy Efficient Memory Management;
File System Design for Flash / Solid State Devices; Preemptive I/O.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous MC/MP system for Real-time Systems

High Performance Operating Systems for HiPC and Cloud:

Multi-core / Many-core / Multi-processor / Distributed Scheduling, OS level Virtualization.

Low Power Embedded Architecture:

Energy Efficient Cache Design; MC/MP Architecture for Real-time / Embedded;
Cache Coherency Issues of MC system with Scalable Architectures.

Storage Systems:

Energy Efficient Distributed File Systems; Virtualization at Storage level;
Energy Efficient Storage Management with NAS, SAN and iSCSI.

P2P Overlay networks:

Mobile P2P for Social Networking; Delay Tolerant Networks.

Sponsored Projects

Project Completed

“Participatory Exclusions of Women and the Poor in Community Forestry: A Comparative Study of Implementation of the ROFR Act across 3 States of India”. Co-PI. ICSSR, Rs.700000/- (2017-19)
An Empirical Study of Effectiveness of Classroom Teaching at BITS, Pilani-Pilani Campus from Students’ Perspective-funded by Teaching and Learning Centre, BITS, Pilani-Pilani Campus (2015)-Principal Investigator
“Impact Assessment Study of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) including Gender”- funded by NRRDA, MoRD, Govt. of India, New Delhi (2015)-Principal Investigator-4 Months-4,92,000/-
Rickshaw Project to improve Mobility for Health with Special Focus on Rural Women Population-funded by IFRTD,UK1100 (GBP) (2010)-Principal Investigator
World Bank funded research project on Mobility and Health (2008)-Investigator

Projects

Ongoing/Approved Projects
As PI
1	Neurobiology: DBT BUILDER-BITS Pilani (Hyderabad Campus) Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education	2021-2026 (Rs 29100000)	DBT
2	HDAC3 and its functional role in the progression of cognitive deficits as a secondary complication to chronic kidney disease	2023-2026 (Rs 3100000)	ICMR
3	Therapeutic potential and functional role of RIP-1/RIP-3 mediated necroptosis pathway in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma	2023-2026	DST (SERB) (Approved)

As co-investigator
1	Therapeutic potential of spironolactone loaded light-responsive sustained release gel depot in treating diabetic retinopathy. PI-Dr.Nirmal J	2021-2024	ICMR
2	Investigation of functional role and therapeutic potential of nesfatin-1 in Chronic Kidney Disease. PI- Prof. Arti Dhar	2021-2024	ICMR
3	Synthesis of novel coumarin-based lignans targeting pro-inflammatory cytokines for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases. PI- Prof.A. Sajeli Begum	2021-2024	DST (SERB)
4	Preclinical development of long acting subconjunctival steroid-sparing agent to treat posterior uveitis. PI-Dr.Nirmal J	2022-2025	DHR
5	Development of epigenetic modulators as therapeutics for cognitive deficit associated with psychosis using novel selective histone deacetylase-3 inhibitors. PI-Prof Balaram Ghosh	2023-2026	ICMR (Approved)
6	Development of sensors for studying changes in zinc homeostasis in different cellular events. PI-Prof Anupam Bhattacharya	2023-2026	DST (SERB) (Approved)


Completed Projects
As PI
Sr. No	Research area	Duration	Funding agency
1	Role of immune cell mediators in peripheral nerve injury and regeneration	2015-2017 (Rs 1000000)	BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus
2	Regulation of IL-1beta in diabetic wound healing and regeneration	2016-2019 (Rs 2700000)	DST (Young Scientist)
3	Functional role of HDAC5 in chronic kidney disease and renal fibrosis	2016-2019 (Rs 4600000)	DBT (IYBA 2015)
4	Determination of wound healing (pro-angiogenic) properties of peptide conjugate	2018-2020 (Rs 800000)	INMAS (DRDO)
5	Functional role of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma: regulation of IL-1β expression, autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT)	2019-2022 (Rs 2600000)	ICMR

As co-investigator
Sr. No	Research area	Duration	Funding agency
1	Development of smart capsule to target colorectal cancer. PI- Dr. VVK Venuganti	2017-2020	DST (SERB)
2	Investigation on pro-inflammatory cytokine inhibitory low molecular weight metabolites of Pseudomonas sp. ABS-36 for the treatment of renal injury. PI- Prof.A. Sajeli Begum	2017-2020	DST (SERB)

Sponsored Projects

1) BRNS-DAE Funded: 19.5 lakhs (August 2011 onward for 3 yrs) on "Site-specific immobilization of a single DNA molecule"

2) CSIR Funded: 22.26 lakhs (January 2013 onward for 3 yrs) on "AC impedance measurement on two dimensional origami structures of various shapes"

3. BRNS-DAE funded, 36 Lacs (With Dr. Souvik Kundu, Dept of EEE) 2017-2020 on "Metal-Oxide and Nanocomposite Based Low-Power Non-volatile Switching Device: A Novel Approach"

Research Projects

I am currently the PI of a project under the SERB CRG, entitled, "Spin-dependence in hyperon production in proton-antiproton collisions: A model-independent analysis", with a grant of about Rs. 17 Lakhs.

Sponsored Projects

1. Study of Gravitational Anyons (Completed)

2. Formation of Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies (Completed)

3. Wind Noise Mitigation in the LIGO-India Structure (Completed)

Sponsored Research Projects

Project Approved:

Major Research project: Digitization of Environmentally Sustainable Practices of the Bishnoi Community for Wider Knowledge Dissemination and Effectiveness

Project Agency: Science and Heritage Research Initiative(SHRI) DST, Govt. of India Duration: 3 years, INR: Rs. 44 lakhs 57 thousand.

PI: Prof Sushila Shekhawat

Co-PI's :Prof R Swarnalatha(IIT Madras ) and Prof Rayson K. Alex,KK Birla Goa Campus.

Cinematic Arts: A Critical study of Interdisciplinary Aspects in Cinema with special reference to Literature, Audio-Visual and Performance Funding Agency: UGC in March 2013.Amount Rs.5,54,600 , Duration -two years (Major research project). Completed
Cinematic Arts: A Critical Study of Multidisciplinary Aspects in Cinema Funding Agency: BITS, Pilani Amount: 2 Lakhs Duration :Two years. Completed

Sponsored Projects

. #	Project Title	Role (PI/Co-I)	Funding Agency	Amount (in Lakhs)	Duration
1	Design and characterization of enteric coated lipid nanoparticles for anti-HIV drug delivery	PI	BITS Pilani	2.00	2014-2016
2	Development of nanoemulsion based formulations of bioactives	PI	Ananta Medicare	5.10	2017-2019
3	Development and evaluation of lipid based nanoparticles of Quinapyramine and Isometamidium chloride for treatment of trypanosomiasis in camels	PI	DBT-Nanobiotechnology	44.72	2018-2021
4	Rod-shaped polymeric nanoparticles for targeted delivery of artemisinin-derivatives to plasmodium-infected erythrocytes for improved intravenous therapy of cerebral malaria	PI	SERB-Early Career Research Award	44.30	2019-2022
5	Development and evaluation of endophytic actinobacteria based formulation against clinical MRSA and VRSA strains	Co-I	DST-SYST	21.10	2019-2022

Research Interest

Structure-Function Relationship in Hemoglobins; Artificial Blood Substitutes (Oxygen Carriers); Diagnosis of Hemoglobinopathies.
Rational Structure-based Drug Discovery and Design against Cardiovascular Diseases (Hypertension, Hypertrophy), Cancer, Rheumatoid arthritis, Leishmaniasis and Sickle Cell disease.
Protein Engineering, Structural Biology, Spectroscopy and Proteomics.

The laboratory is dedicated to the structural and molecular understanding of protein folding and stability, protein-protein interactions and structure-function relationship in proteins. The ubiquitous nature of a new class of hemoglobins in plants, the presence of novel hemoglobins in the microbial world, and the discovery of new hemoglobins in humans and other vertebrates have bolstered the hemoglobin research over the last several years. A major focus of the laboratory is the investigation of novel algal, plant, bacterial and animal hemoglobins involving techniques like laser flash photolysis, stopped-flow spectrometry, FTIR and EPR spectroscopy, site directed mutagenesis, computational biology and X-ray crystallography. Emphasis is on deciphering the mechanism of regulation of ligand binding in novel (hexacoordinate and truncated) hemoglobins in general. The goal is to be a part of the effort to set up a ‘biophysical fingerprint’ for novel hemoglobins that can help assign physiological functions. Other related proteins like hemoglobin reductases are being simultaneously investigated for a better understanding of function(s) of the novel globins. Stability, aggregation and protein folding problem related to classical and novel hemoglobins as well as hemoglobin based artificial blood substitutes is being simultaneously investigated. Comprehensive knowledge accumulated by hemoglobin researchers world-wide may be useful in improving oxygen transport and storage in mammalian circulatory systems, nitrogen fixing efficiency in plants, sensing and response to hypoxic conditions, scavenging efficiency under stress, and our ability to use heme protein based artificial oxygen carriers. The latter is being fervently pursued in the laboratory because of its translational value in medicine. The laboratory is also focused on spectroscopic and mass spectrometric characterization/screening of hemoglobin disorders with a goal to set up a simple, fast, economic and reliable diagnostics for such disorders using very small amounts of samples. The group is further engaged in understanding the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease using metabolomics and proteomics approaches and is attempting to decipher effective therapeutics to combat the debilitating disease, with promising success.

Structure-based rational drug discovery and design is currently the major emphasis of the laboratory. The aim is to seek structural insight of human dopamine b-hydroxylase (DBH) and ADP Ribosylation Factor Like Protein 15 (ARL15), drug targets for complex traits. Availability of the three-dimensional structures of these proteins will help detailed investigation of the structure-function relationship in these important enzymes and lay a platform for rational therapeutic drug design. The laboratory is currently focused on the discovery of potential small molecule inhibitors of DBH and ARL15 to combat cardiovascular diseases and rheumatoid arthritis, and a few lead molecules have emerged that might be developed as drugs for the target non-communicable diseases. On the other hand, there are attempts to identify small molecules to combat infectious diseases like leishmaniasis, as well as cancer.

Extramural Funding

Name of Project	Duration	Funding Agency	Budget
Major Grant
Structure-function relationship in lupin leghemoglobin pertinent to a new, ubiquitous class of heme proteins with yet unknown physiological function	2008-2011	DBT	78.268 Lakhs
Spectroscopic Characterization / Screening of Hemoglobin Disorders	2008-2011	DBT	23.02 Lakhs
Structure-function relationship in Dopamine Beta hydroxylase and neuroglobin (as Co-Coordinator; part of COE grant to Prof. B.K. Thelma;)	2008-2013	DBT	32.50 Lakhs
Characterizing Novel Globins Across Species and Deciphering their Stress Response and Interacting Partners: An Integrated, Holistic Approach for Function Elucidation (as Coordinator)	2009-2012	DU-DST PURSE	252.885 Lakhs (My share: 41.52 Lakhs)
Functional properties of plant hemoglobins embedded in nanoporous silica gels	2008-2009	University of Parma, Italy	Student exchange programme
Mossbauer Spectroscopy of Mammalian and other Novel Hemoglobins	2007-2012	Research Collaboration with Ural State Technical University-UPI, Ekaterinburg, Russia	Student exchange programme and academic collaboration
Development of potent small molecule inhibitors against dopamine beta-hydroxylase to combat cardiovascular diseases (as Coordinator; co-PI Prof. N.G. Ramesh, IIT, Delhi)	15.06.2015 to 14.06.2018	DBT	Rs.51,65,500 (Total budget Rs.78,90,300)
Systems biology of complex diseases: From genetic findings to lead molecule development for Rheumatoid arthritis- Centre of Excellence in Genome Sciences and Predictive Medicine (Phase II) (as co-Coordinator;Coordinator Prof. B.K. Thelma)	21.12.2015 to 20.12.2021	DBT	Rs.60.62 Lakhs
Screening Lead Molecules Identified by Structure‐based Rational Drug Design Methods against Cytochrome b5 Reductase 3 and Dopamine Beta Hydroxylase in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Models for Antihypertensive Effects (as Coordinator;co-PI- Dr. C.C. Kartha, RGCB, Trivandrum)	22.06.2017 to 21.06.2021	DBT	Rs. 87,52,800 /- (my share – Rs. 25,60,400) + Rs.60 lacs as special grant
Development of Hemoglobin based artificial oxygen carrier: Engineering recombinant and packaged hemoglobin (as PI; Co-PI – Prof. Alo Nag)	13.06.2018 to 12.06.2021.	DRDO (Life Sciences Research Board)	Rs.65,43,392
Minor Project
Understanding the structure of Leishmania major phosphopantetheinyl transferase (LmjPPTase) and its interaction with cognate ACP (Phase II)	27.3.2015 to 31.3.2019	UGC-DAE Consortium of Scientific Research	Rs.13,17,000
Understanding the structure of Leishmaniaamajor Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase (Lmj PPTase) and its interaction with cognate ACP	1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019	UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research	Rs.2,63,400

Sponsored Projects

List of Funded Projects:

S. No.	Title of the project	Funding agency	Duration	Funds /sanct (Rs., Lakh)
1	PI: Possible mechanisms of attenuation of the cardioprotective and neuroprotective effect of Ischemic preconditioning	Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani	2012-14 (Completed)	2.0 Lakhs
2	PI: Exploring pharmacological potential of GSK-3β and HDAC inhibitor alone and in combination...	University Grants Commission	2013-2015	6.0 Lakhs
3	PI: Exploring neuroprotective effect and molecular mechanisms of remote limb ischemic post-conditioning...	Department of Science and Tech (DST)	2013-16	26.99 Lakhs
4	Co-PI: Evaluation of standardized formulation of Trigonella foenum-graecum in controlling the blood sugar...	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)	2017-2018	30.62 Lakhs
5	PI: Exploring the synergism of PPAR-Y agonist and HDAC inhibitor for reversal of Alzheimer	DST: Nanomision	2017-2020	32.13 Lakhs
6	PI; Formulation development and determination of repeat dose chronic toxicity...	Etica Clinpharm	2016-2017	2.25 Lakhs
7	PI: To study the protective effects of Herbal formulation against Myocardial Ischemia- reperfusion injury....	Etica Clinpharm	2016-2017	4.0 Lakhs
	On- Going Projects
8	Co-PI: Exploring the effects of polyamine and associated metabolic regulation of hypothalamic GnRH-GnIH....	DSR-SERB	2018-2021	34.35 Lakhs
9	PI: Role of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (ECDs) in Maternal and Child Health : Joint Research project with AIIMS	ICMR	2018-2021	66.23 Lakhs
10	PI: In vitro-In Vivo study design: Evaluation of Cardio-reno Protective Effect of Herbal extract and its mol. mech (Role of NO-cGMP pathway)	Etica Clinpharm	2017-2019 Ongoing	9.92 Lakhs
11	PI: Pharmacological and Safety Evaluation of Ketogenic Diet.....STZ induced Alzheimer	Zeon Life Science Ltd	2021-2022	13.5 Lakhs
12	PI: Exploring the mechanism(s) of gut microbiota link to Parkinson Disease.....	ICMR	2020-2023	42.50 Lakhs
13	Joint-DBT Builder "Epigenetic and genome editing- Co-PI	DBT -Builder	2021-2026	*9.18 crores
14	Pharmacokinetic & Pharmacodynamic Evaluation.....	Zeon Life Science Ltd	2023-2024	8.85 Lakhs
15	Pharmacodynamic and P,cokinetic comparative efficacy study of tablets vs liquid Polyherbal formulation	Zeon Life Science Ltd	2022-2023	12.76 Lakhs
16	Preclinical Comparative Efficacy Study of Formulations ………Neuropathic Pain in Wistar Rats	Leiutis Ltd	2023-24	10.03 Lakhs

Projects

Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), New Delhi sponsored project on “A Conceptual Study of Human Life: With Special References to Patanjali's Yoga-Sutra” (2020-2022)
Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), New Delhi sponsored project on “A Normative Analysis of Selflessness as the Inner Perspective of Good Life” (2012-2014)
University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi sponsored Minor Research Project on “Relevance of Advaita Ethics Today” (2002-2003)

Project Supervised

Ph. D - 2 Nos
M. Pharm - 11 Nos
B. Pharm - 22 Nos

Research Project(s)

Title: Design and characterization of novel buccal drug delivery systems of felodipine

Funding Agency: UGC, New Delhi (Minor Research Project)
Duration: 2012-2014.
Status: Completed in July 2014

Title: Design and characterization of nanocrystals of poorly soluble drug for enhancement of dissolution and oral bioavailability

Funding Agency: BITS PILANI (Research Initiation Grant)
Duration: 2016-2018.
Status: Completed in May 2018

Title: Insight into dissolution mechanism of amorphous solid dispersions of macitentan

Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi
Duration: 2018-2019
Status: Completed in September 2019

Title: Design and characterization of nanoparticle based drug delivery systems of anticancer drug

Funding Agency: Crenza Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad (Industry Sponsored Research Project )
Duration: 2018-2020.
Status: Completed

Title: Skin permeation study (3-way) of test and reference formulations

Funding Agency: Alkem Laboratories Ltd., MIDC Ind. Estate, Navi Mumbai (Industry Sponsored Research Project)
Status: Ongoing from January 2021.

Title: Improvement of selected formulations for topical and oral delivery

Funding Agency: S N Pandit Ayurvedic Co PVT Ltd., Mysore (Industry Sponsored Research Project)
Status: Ongoing from February 2023.

Title: Nose-to-brain delivery if in-situ gel containing rotigotine-loaded hybrid nanoparticles for Alzheimer's disease.

Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)
Status: Recommended in May 2023.

To be Updated Soon

Sponsored Projects

Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG)

Project title: Sustainable IoT through Context-aware Edge Processing and System Design
Sponsoring agency: BITS Pilani
Role: PI
Amount: INR 8.2 Lakhs
Duration: October 2021

Sponsored Projects

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG):

2. Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG):

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Title : "Information thermodynamics of molecular recognition in enzymes"

Grant : MATRICS

Sponsoring Agency : SERB, Department of Science and Technology

Role : Principal Investigator

Status : Ongoing (Jan 2023 - Jan 2026)

Amount : ₹ 6.6 Lakhs

Title : "The role of rigidity in the unfolding of proteins"

Grant : Startup Research Grant

Sponsoring Agency : SERB, Department of Science and Technology

Role : Principal Investigator

Status : Ongoing (Jan 2023 - Jan 2025)

Amount : ₹ 13.23 Lakhs

Title : "The role of soft modes and redundant bonds in the unfolding of proteins"

Grant : Additional Competitive Research Grant

Sponsoring Agency : BITS Pilani

Role : Principal Investigator

Status : Ongoing (Oct 2022 - Oct 2024)

Amount : ₹ 1.2 Lakhs

Grant : Additional Competitive Research Grant

Sponsoring Agency : BITS Pilani

Role : Principal Investigator

Status : Ongoing (Oct 2022 - Oct 2024)

Amount : ₹ 2.32 Lakhs

Grant : Research Initiation Grant
Sponsoring Agency : BITS Pilani
Amount : ₹ 2 Lakhs

Sponsored Projects

(1) ACRG-BITS Pilani (Ongoing)

Title: Design and development of vehicular power system (VPS) supported by advanced power converters and advanced control techniques.

Amount: 9 Lakhs

Duration 2 years

(2) Research Initiation Grant, BITS-Pilani (Completed)

Duration- one year (Sanctioned on July 24, 2020), Amount-one lakh and Role -PI

Title of Project: Design and Development of Nonlinear Robust Control to Mitigate Second-order Harmonic Ripple Problem in Single-phase Inverters with an Improved Dynamic Performance: A Microgrid Application

Sponsored Projects

1. Design and Development of Soft-robotic System for selective Harvesting of coffee cherries. Role (PI)

Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST), Duration-2020-2023

2. Design & Development of a Federated Learning based Smart Object Detection Accelerator for Autonomous Vision in IoT-enabled Systems. Funding Agency: TIH Foundation of IoT & IoE, Duration- 2023 onwards

Open position for a doctoral candidate is available : Click here for details:

Deadline: 22nd July 2023

3. Image Stitching based decision making for Virtualization of Visual Sensor nodes..... for real time situational awareness (Broad Area- Robotics/IoT) - Additional Competitive Research Grant (BITS Pilani), Role PI
4. "Crime Analysis and study for safe cities with emphasis on women safety using technology and societal participation" under Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS)- Funding Agency- ICSSR (Role - Co-PI)
5.Design and Development of a real time system for positioning in GPS denied environments.

(Research Initiation Grant: BITS Pilani)
6. Topic : Development of techniques for deployment of Swarm of Robots in Surveillance: NVIDIA GPU Grant (Area- Robotics/IoT)

Sponsored Projects

Crystallographic orientation (lattice plane) dependent selective gas sensing: A new approach in metal oxide (MOX) based gas sensor, Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Govt. of India (CRG/2020/002711), INR 22.4 L (2020-23) (as PI)
2D materials based sensor systems for rapid diagnosis of human diseases through analysis of exhaled breath, Department of Science & Technology - PURSE, Govt. of India (SR/PURSE/2020/20-TPN 57086), INR 11.24 Cr (2022-26) (as Co-PI of Theme-II)
Transition Metal Induced Epitaxial Growth and Characterizations of Single Layer Graphene: a High-Tech Material for Next Generation Electronics, UGC start-up-grant, INR 6 L (approved on Sept. 2013). (as PI)
Growth and characterization of substrate supported transition metal nanostructures useful for catalytic, electronic and sensor applications Growth and characterization of substrate supported transition metal nanostructures useful for catalytic, electronic and sensor applications, BITS Research Initiation Grant, INR 2 L (2013-2015). (as PI)

Projects Approved/Ongoing

DST-SERB CRG Projects

(1) Study of Driven Quantum Systems: Floquet Engineering of Novel Materials (December 2020 -)

PI: Dr. Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay, Co-Pi: Dr. Tapomoy Guha Sarkar

(2) Higher-Harmonic generation in gases and solids and their implications in attosecond science (December 2020 - )

PI: Dr. Amol Holkundkar, Co-PI: Dr. Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay

DST-SERB MATRICS Project

(1) Floquet Engineering of Lie Algebraic Open Quantum Systems (December 2022 - )

PI: Dr. Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay

Projects Completed

(1) Investigating Dynamical and Topological Properties of Floquet Systems: A comparative study of perturbative schemes

PI: Dr. Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay, Co-Pi: Dr. Tapomoy Guha Sarkar (March, 2017 - 2020)

(2) Generation and Characterization of Attosecond Pulses with Specific Polarization and its Applications

PI: Dr. Amol Holkundkar, Co-PI: Dr. Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay (March, 2017 - 2020)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing:

DST-SERB MATRICS 2021

Title: “Analytical Modeling of Integrated Sensing and Communications for Cellular IoT and In-Vivo Nanonetworks
PI: Dr. Syed Mohammad Zafaruddin
Amount : Rs. 6.60 lakhs
Duration: 18Feb 2022 to 17 Feb 2025.

Completed

DST-SERB Start-Up Research Grant (SRG 2019)

Project Title: Machine Learning Techniques for Resource Allocation in Cell-Free Massive MIMO Communications
PI: Dr. Syed Mohammad Zafaruddin
Amount : Rs. 18.48 lakhs
Duration: January 09, 2022 to January 08, 2022
BITS Pilani, Rsearch Initiation Grant (RIG 2018)
Project Title: Deep Learning for Massive MIMO Communications
PI: Dr. Syed Mohammad Zafaruddin
Amount : Rs. 2 lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

PROJECT TITLE : Investigating Dynamical and Topological Properties of Floquet Systems: A comparative study of perturbative schemes.

SPONSORING AGENCY : Department of Science and Technology (Govt. of India)

Principal Investigator : Dr. Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay

Co-PI: Dr. Tapomoy Guha Sarkar

Completed projects

PROJECT TITLE : The study of post-reionization HI distrbution using the redshifted 21 cm signal and Ly-a forest towards understanding cosmic acceleration.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR :
Dr. Tapomoy Guha Sarkar
Department of Physics
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Pilani Rajasthan 333031.

BROAD AREA OF RESEARCH : COSMOLOGY ( THEORY )

SPONSORING AGENCY : Department of Science and Technology (Govt. of India)

Sponsored Projects

Management of Distributed Energy Resources in Smart Cities: Challenges and Advanced Control Strategies (Co-PI, MHRD SPARC Scheme, Rs. 42.5 lakhs, 2019-2021)
Loss of Control Characterization of Manned/Unmanned Fixed Wing Aircraft (Co-PI, HAL, Bangalore, Rs. 45.3 lakhs, 2022-24)
Bifurcation Analysis and Reconfigurable Control Design for Autonomous Maneuvering with an Asymmetric Aircraft (PI, DRDO, Rs. 17.8 lakhs, 2023-25)

Sponsored Projects

1. DST-ASEAN Collaborative R&D grant (Aug. 2021- Dec. 2023)

Project Title: Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Enabled Secure and Scalable Framework for Online Healthcare Applications

Amount : Rs. 32.7 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

2. DST-SERB Early Career Research Award (Mar. 2019- Mar. 2022)

Project Title: Resource dimensioning and management of smart and sustainable 5G small cells for rural broadband

Amount : Rs. 30 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

3. DRIFE Cabs Pvt. Ltd. Industry grant (July 2022- July 2024)

Project Title: Design and Development of Blockchain based schemes for Road Side unit (RSU) and Vehicular Communications

Amount : Rs. 25.7 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

4. TIH Foundation for IoT Chanakya Fellowship (March 2023 - March 2027)

Project Title: Artificial Intelligence Assisted Blockchain Enabled and Aadhaar Linked Electronic Medical Record Management and Tele-Consultation System

Amount : Rs. 22 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

5. Shastri Indo-Canada SICRG Award (Jan 2021- July 2023)
Project Title: Artificial Intelligence Enabled Security Provisioning and Vehicular Vision innovations for Autonomous Vehicles(Role: Principal Investigator), 2019-2021.

Amount: Rs. 10 lakhs.

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola, Co-PI: Dr. Pratik Narang

6. Additional Competitive Research Grant (BITS-Pilani) Feb 2019 - Feb 2021

Project Title: Brain Computer Interface (BCI) controlled humanoid

Amount : Rs. 9 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

7. ARTPARK Grant (IISc) Sept 2021- April 2022

Project Title: Development of a reliable real-time FPGA based object detection, solution for autonomous vehicles

Amount : Rs. 3.8 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

8. TIH Chanakya IoT Grant Jan 2022- Oct 2022

Project Title: Structural health monitoring of Bridges using Mobile IoT Robot

Amount : Rs. 3.5 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

9. Research Initiation Grant (BITS-Pilani)

Project Title: Real Time applications of IoT

Amount : 2 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

10. Nvidia GPU seed grant

Project title: BCI and its real life applications

Amount : 1.5 lakhs

PI: Dr. Vinay Chamola

Sponsored Projects

As a Principal Investigator (PI)

“Multiple Nano-filaments Based Resistive Switching Memories on Flexible Substrate: Implemented by Self-assembled doped metal oxides/perovskites” Core Research Grant (CRG/2021/005550) by Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Govt. of India, Duration: 2022-2025, (Amount: USD 50921)-Ongoing
“2D materials based sensor systems for rapid diagnosis of human diseases through analysis of exhaled breath” sponsored by Department of Science & Technology (DST)-PURSE, Govt. of India (SR/PURSE/2020/20-TPN 57086), Duration: 2021-2025 (Amount: USD 1517018)-Ongoing
“Development of 1-D nanomaterials based selective sensor system for non-invasive detection of complications of diabetes mellitus and asthama by breath analysis technique” sponsored by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India (BT/PR 28727/NNT/28/1569/2018), Duration: 2019-2022 (Amount: USD 62739)-Ongoing
A collaborative project between BITS-Pilani, India and Tel Aviv University, Israel; Title “Carbon nanomaterials for chemical sensing applications (ID: 1394)”, Sponsored by SPARC, MHRD, Govt. of India, Duration: 2019-2021, (Amount: USD 62064)-Ongoing
“Development of TiO₂ nanotube based highly selective capacitive type sensor device for the detection of methanol poisoning in alcoholic beverages", Early Carrier Research Award (ECR/2015/000345) by Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Govt. of India, Duration: 2016-2019, (Amount: USD 37778)-Completed
Additional Competitive Research Grant by BITS-Pilani, India, Duration: 2016-2018 (Amount: USD 12143)-Completed
Research Initiation Grant by BITS-Pilani, India, Duration: 2015-2017 (Amount: USD 2698)-Completed

As a Co-Investigator (Co-I)

Crystallographic orientation (lattice plane) dependent selective gas sensing: A new approach in metal oxide (MOX) based gas sensor” Sponsored by Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Govt. of India (CRG/2020/002711), (Amount: USD 30187) –Ongoing

Research Interests

Software Packages Developed by Aduri's lab

xRPI

XRPI is an RNA protein interaction prediction tool developed using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and data driven parameters. The binaries for running the program are provided below. Please follow the instructions provided along with the binaries to run the program. A web server link is also provided. The data sets used in training the ML algorithms are given in the hyperlink below. The external data sets (NPInter v3.0 golden data set and Telopin dataset) used for validating XRPI are also provided.

download XRPI

download RPI2825 positive interaction chain IDs

download RPI390 positive interaction chain IDs

download the data sets used in validating XRPI

download the excel file ranking the XGBoost features

Click here to access the XRPI web server application

If the above links don't work, please drop an e-mail to Ravi (aduri@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in).

Citation:

Jain DS, Gupte SR, Aduri R. “A Data Driven Model for Predicting RNA-Protein Interactions based on Gradient Boosting Machine” Sci. Rep. 8: 9552 (2018; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27814-2)

MP3vec

A Reusable Machine-Constructed Feature Representation for Protein Sequences

Multi Purpose Protein Prediction Vector (MP3vec) representation is constructed from a protein’s sequence and its PSSM profile using all the available high resolution protein structural data with the aim to aid in 'transfer learning' to overcome the 'small data' problem in developing predictive models for biomacromolecular interactions. Please refer to the Readme file and the binary can be downloaded as a zip file.

Click here for latest updates.

Citation:

S. R. Gupte, D. S. Jain, A. Srinivasan and R. Aduri, "MP3vec: A Reusable Machine-Constructed Feature Representation for Protein Sequences," 2020 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM), Seoul, Korea (South), 2020, pp. 421-425, doi: 10.1109/BIBM49941.2020.9313301.

Molecule Property Predictor

With the advancement in Artificial Intelligence, it has been possible to predict things helpful in

chemistry and biology, including drug discovery. Supervised learning has been very fruitful in

predicting the physicochemical properties of small molecules. These models are trained using a

labeled dataset, where the model learns about each data type. The dataset here has 133k stable

small organic molecules with nine heavy atoms (CONF) out of the GDB-17 chemical universe.

A message-passing neural network (MPNN) has been discussed in detail in this paper, along with

novel variations to increase the accuracy of the supervised learning models. The MPNN works

on the idea of the message, update, and readout functions that operate on different graph nodes.

These variations include revamping the input system and adding a semi-master node in the

architecture to increase the overall accuracy to create a robust model. Improvements in the model

will lead to a scalable system for choosing compounds to improve and discover the drugs.

Please click here to download MolPropPred

"Efficient Integration of Molecular Representation and Message-Passing Neural Networks for Predicting Small Molecule Drug-like Properties" by Shreyas Bhat Brahmavar, Mrunmay Mohan Shelar, Revanth Harinarthini, Bandaru Hemantha Sai krishna, Nahush Harihar Kumta, Ojas Wadhwani, Raviprasad Aduri (Manuscript submimtted)

PseMA

Pseudouridine site predictor

Application of ML and DL tools to understand biological systems

Predicting RNA protein interactions using domain knowledge (10.1038/s41598-018-27814-2)

Tools for feature generation and transferable learning for protein sequences (10.1109/BIBM49941.2020.9313301)

RNA structure and Dynamics in Viral life cycle (10.1007/s13337-020-00615-w; 10.1007/s12560-021-09502z)

Annotating RNA Protein Interactions (10.1002/1873-3468.14029)

Exploring novel small molecule drugs (10.1007/s13337-019-00561-2; 10.1007/s12038-019-9962-7,10.1080/07391102.2022.2047108)

Research Projects

Completed Projects:

1) DST Young Scientist FAST - Track Project Details:

Project Title : Investigations on Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) Through Quarkonia Suppression in QCD Matter

Funding Agency: DST - SERB, New Delhi

Duration : 3 Years [2012 - 2015]

Amount : 11.40 Lacs

2) DST 2nd Project Details:

Project Title: Studies on Quarkonium Suppression in Asymmetric Nuclear Collisions at LHC

Funding Agency: DST - SERB, New Delhi

Duration : 3 Years [2017 - 2020]

Amount : 15.85 Lacs

Sponsored Projects

1] Project Title: GaN gratings-on-diaphragm based optical pressure sensing in harsh environments

Funding Agency: SSPL, DRDO
Amount: 11.40 Lakhs
PI: Dr. Rahul Singhal Research Associate: Dr. Nagarajan N

2] Project Title: Sensitive Explosive Detection in Vapor Phase with cyclometalated Iridim (III) and Platinum (II) based Aggregation Induced Emission Active Nanoprobes

Funding Agency: ARMREB, DRDO
Amount: 32.73 Lakhs
PI: Prof. I R laskar
Co-PI: Dr. Rahul Singhal

Sponsored Project

Details of Projects being On-going / Completed as PI / Co-PI

1. Project Title: A Dual Mode Hybrid Memory Computing Array for High Performance Applications using conventional CMOS technology and emerging ferromagnetic technology

Project Status: On-going

Cost : 22.26 Lakh

Role : Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 2021-2023

Agency :DST-NSM-MeiTy

2. Project Title: Design and Development of soft robotic harvesting system for selective harvesting of coffee cherries

Project Status: On-going

Cost : 40 Lakh

Role : Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Duration : 2020-2023

Agency :DST-SYS

3. Project Title: Design Of Non-Volatile Asynchronous SRAM Cell for hybrid Cache Architectures Using CMOS-FDSOI/FinFET Technologies for IoT

Project Status: Completed

Cost : 5.25 Lakh

Role : Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 2017-2019 years

Agency :Additional Competitive Grant (CRG), BITS, Pilani

4. Project Title: Design Of Non-Volatile Asynchronous Circuit Using CMOS-FDSOI/FinFET Technologies

Project Status: Completed

Cost : 1.5 Lakh

Role : Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 2016-2017

Agency : Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS, Pilani

Sponsored Projects

Institutional Funding

1. Title: "Inter-area oscillation control using embedded energy storage in interconnected power system with distributed generation"

Seed Grant Scheme, BITS, Pilani, 11.15 Lakhs, Year 2011-13.
Involvement: As a Co-Investigator
Status: completed

Output: Development of d-space based laboratory experiments for research purpose

External Funding

1. Title: "Design and development of a multi output high voltage gain converter with multi- frequency operation for PV applications and green hydrogen generation"

Funding agency: CDAC under NaMPET Phase-III

Amount: 33.418 Lakhs

Role: As Chief Investigator

Year: 2023-25

Status: Ongoing

2. Title: "Examination on conversion of carbon black to carbon nano tubes (CNTs) using arc discharge method"

Funding Agency: Aditya Birlagroup (ABG), 10 Lakhs, Year 2011-13.

Involvement: As a Co-investigator

Status: Completed

Output:

Publications:

1. Neha Arora, K.N.K Chaitanya, Madhu Seetharaman, Shankar Bhawani, Rajneesh Kumar, “Morphological changes of Carbon Black during Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes”, International conference on Emerging Technology Micro to Nano [ETMN Goa 2013], 59-60.

Laboratory: DC Pulse Power System for Nanotube fabrication from Carbon Black

Experimental results: Established an optimum arc current and arc application time for MWNT synthesis under Argon atmosphere; As the time progresses the granular carbon black undergoes the transformation from small islands like structures to planar graphite like sheets and then finally into MWNTs; Optimum arc is found to be 40A

3. Title: "Design and development of an efficient soft-switching converter with adaptive maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controllerfor a standalone photovoltaic power generation system”,

Funding agency: Ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), New Delhi,

Amount: 29.39 Lakhs,

Year 2014-16.

Involvement: As a Principle Investigator

Status: Completed

Output:

Publications:

P Upadhyay, R Kumar, S Sathyan, "Coupled inductor based high gain converter utilizing magnetizing inductance to achieve soft- switching with low voltage stress on devices”, IET Power Electronics,13(3), 576-591, 2020
P Upadhyay, R Kumar, "A ZVS-ZCS quadratic boost converter to utilize the energy of PV irrigation system for electric vehicle charging application”, Solar Energy, 206, 106-119, 2020
P Upadhyay, R Kumar, "A high gain cascaded boost converter with reduced voltage stress for PV application”, Solar Energy, 183, 829-841, 2019
R Kumar, S Khandelwal, P Upadhyay, S Pulipaka, "Global maximum power point tracking using variable sampling time andp-v curve shifting technique along with incremental conductance for partially shaded photovoltaic systems ”, Solar Energy ,189, 51- 178, 2019
P Upadhyay, S Pulipaka, M Sharma, R Kumar, "A proposed maximum power point operating strategy for photovoltaic applications using monthly irradiance estimates”, Solar Energy 141, 266-277, 2017

Laboratory:

Standalone PV system design using SAS and PSIM software

Product:

A new family of Quadratic boost converter with an efficiency ~93%

4. Title: "Design, development and implementation of a building integrated photovoltaic system for rural application", State Innovation Council, Rajasthan, 1.33 Crores, 2013-16

Involvement: As a Principal Investigator

Status: Completed

Output:

Publications:

Pulipaka, S., Mani, F. & Kumar, R. Modeling of soiled PV module with neural networks and regression using particle size composition. Sol. Energy 123, 116–126 (2016).
Mani, F., Pulipaka, S. & Kumar, R. Characterization of power losses of a soiled PV panel in Shekhawati region of India. Sol. Energy131, 96–106 (2016).
Pulipaka, S. & Kumar, R. Analysis of irradiance losses on a soiled Photovoltaic panel using contours Energy Conversion and Management 115 pp. 327-336(2016).
Pulipaka, S. & Kumar, R. Power Prediction of Soiled PV Module with Neural Networks using Hybrid Data Clustering and Division Techniques Sol. Energy 133 pp. 485-500(2016).
Mani, F., Pulipaka, S., & Kumar, R. (2015). Modeling of Soiled Photovoltaic Modules with Neural Networks Using Particle Size Composition of Soil. In Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, 1–4.(PVSC), 2015 IEEE 42nd

Major Finding: A new clustering based approach to find out relation between PV panel tilt angle and soiling losses

Concept: Remote monitoring of PV plants to take corrective measures for efficiency enhancement (lead to formation of a start-up “Soreva Energy”)

Chief Technical Advisor Pilani Photovoltaics/Soreva

1. Title: “Real time monitoring of power generation and consumption at NISE (A joint R&D project between NISE and SOREVA)”, Soreva Energy, 2016-17

Involvement: Chief Technical advisor and mentor

Status: Completed

Output:

Publications:

S Pulipaka, A Ramesh, R Kumar, B Bora, S Kumar, SK Singh, “Non-intrusive real time monitoring of PV generation at inverters using internet of photovoltaics”, Electronics Letters 53 (16), 1137-1138.

S. Pulipaka, et.al., “Performance modeling of PV generation with inverter level data through Internet of Photovoltaic (IoPV) using artificial neural network”, in IEEE conference proceedings, ICEPE, Shillong, June 1-2, 2018

Software platform: Development of a user interface to monitor and predict irradiance of a PV system integrated to inverters

Communication architecture: Development of Internet of Photovoltaic (IoPV) concept to communicate among various sensors integrated to PV based systems including weather monitoring data

Device: “MITRA” in-situ, real-time, non-intrusive simulation, modeling and control of a photovoltaic system

2. Title: “Solar powered hydroponics system”, Central Coir Research Institute, Cochin, 2018

Involvement: As a chief technical advisor

Aim: To develop a solar powered hydroponics system to facilitate co-generation of plants and energy in urban environment

Status: A pilot project has been executed at with research support from Coir board, a Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium organization

3. Title: “In-situ monitoring of solar panels”, A Pilani Photovoltaics and ATUM joint R&D, 2018

Involvement: As a chief technical advisor

Aim: The main objective of this project is to develop integrated hardware for in-situ monitoring and control of solar panels. Ongoing prototype testing and pilot implementation in Hyderabad

Status: completed

Findings and summary: Panel level monitoring hardware was developed to understand and address the anomalies of power generation in a solar array at 2 sites of ATUM in Hyderabad. ATUM manufactures Building Integrated Photovoltaic Modules. PPV developed an integrated software and hardware solution for them to test their installations’ efficiency under partial shading and soiling conditions and improved overall performance by 2-2.5%

4. Title: “Solar Power Efficiency Evaluation and Due-Diligence (SPEED)”, A Joint venture between Soreva and Trans India Law Associates, 2018

Involvement: As a chief technical advisor

Aim: evaluating the performance of existing as well as upcoming solar power plants and provide a comprehensive report on the technical as well as operational aspects of the power plant. Designed a 5-step data-oriented process to understand, model, evaluate and report intrinsic details of performance in a solar power plant

Status: completed

Sponsored Research Projects

Ongoing Projects (1):

Electro-optic Switching Devices based on Dual Frequency Nematic Liquid Crystals Agency: SERB, India
Approved Fund:~ Rs 25.58Lakhs
Duration: 3 years ( 18 July 2022 to 17 July 2025)
(Principal Investigator)

Completed Research Projects (5):

Principal Investigator of a project under DST FAST TRACK Scheme (Completed, 2012) "Studies on electro-optic switching of Liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes",
Fund Value: Rs 14.1 lakhs
Principal Investigator of a project under DST SERB EMR Scheme (Completed, 2020) - Electro-optical response of nematic liquid crystals doped with nanorods, Fund Value: Rs. 36.13 lakhs
Co-PI of a DST Sponsored project under IDP scheme (Completed, 2013) "Development of surface Plasmon resonance with a novel optical design."
Fund Value: Rs 25.66 lakhs
Co-PI of a DST Sponsored project under TGB scheme (Completed, 2014) " Design and characterization of electrochromic rear view mirrors using conducting polymers"
Fund Value: Rs 39 lakhs
Co-PI of a DST Sponsored project under IDP scheme (Completed, 2019) "Surface Plasmon Resonance Instrument" , Fund Value. Rs. 41.8 lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Study of Indus Valley Scripts Through Linguistic and Markov Chain Methods, Sponsored by INSA-New-Delhi, Grant Amount: Rs 620,000/- (INR) (Project Completed in July -2015) P.I: Niladri Sarkar
Electromagnetic Characterization of Three Dimensional Targets with Plasma Cladding for Stealth Technology Using Recursive Convolution Finite Difference Time Domain Method, Sponsored by BITS-PILANI, Grant Amount: Rs 520,000/-(INR) (Project Completed in May-2015) P.I : Niladri Sarkar
Study on Electronic Transport Behaviour of Carbon Nanotube Based Field Effect Transistors (CNTFETs), Sponsor: DRDO New-Delhi , Duration: 3 Years , Grant Amount: Rs 20,69,000/-(INR) (Status: Project Completed in Dec 2020), P.I : Navneet Gupta, Co-P.I: Niladri Sarkar
Investigation of Elastic and Inelastic Dephasing in Carbon Nanotube FET,Sponsor: SERB-DST-NewDelhi, Grant Amount: Rs 18,25,450/-(INR) (Status: Project Completed in Mar 2022), P.I: Niladri Sarkar, Co-P.I: Navneet Gupta

Research Projects

S. No	Title of the Project	Funded by
1.	Empowering rural women in Telangana through systematic study, training, and development of a chatbot for fostering adoption and secure usage of digital applications (with Prof. Barsha Mitra, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems) - ongoing	BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus
2.	Women’s Falling Participation in Labour Force in India: A Ground Level Investigation into Factors and Obstacles in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana (with Prof. Rishi Kumar, Prof. Archana Srivastava, Prof. Swati Alok) - completed	National Human Rights Commission, India
3.	Impediments to Women Entrepreneurship in India: a multi-stakeholder, multi-stage, multi-state perspective (with Prof. Swati Alok) - completed	ICSSR
4.	Credit access and employment opportunities for women with disabilities (In collaboration with Dr. Amrita Roy, IIT Palakkad) - completed	ICSSR
5.	Post-COVID Workplace: Implications of Long-Term Work from Home in India's IT sector (with Prof. Swati Alok; Dr. Sreerupa Sengupta, Goa Institute of Management; Dr. Ananya Chakraborty, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru)	Goa Institute of Management
6.	Urban Low-Income Households’ Savings: Understanding Issues and Challenges in Indian Context (Prof. Rishi Kumar, Prof. Archana Srivastava ) - completed	Dvara Research
7.	Determinants of Women Empowerment and Trickle-Down Effect of the Same on Children’s Overall Educational and Health Development: Challenges, Effects and Intervention through Training (with Prof. Swati Alok) - completed	ICSSR
8.	Career Persistence of Indian Women Professionals in Information Technology (IT) Sector: Brakes, Accelerators, Challenges and Opportunities- (with Prof. Swati Alok)- completed	ICSSR
9.	A Comprehensive Study of Determinants of Quality of Education in Private & Government Schools: A case study of the schools of Burdwan, West Bengal- completed	BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Projects On going :

1. "Photovoltaic Fed Microgrids: Integrated Intelligent Harmonic Control to Enable Electric Vehicle Charging"
  Role : Co-PI
  PI : Prof. Hari Om Bansal
Sponsor Agency : CPRI - Bangluru,
Duration : 24 Months ;
   Approved Grant Amount : 22.5 Lacs.
Sanctioned Amount : 13.27 Lacs, (Ist Installment)
Status : On going ( Starting Date : July -2022)

Projects Completed :

1. Project Title : "Embedded System for Compressed Air Consumption Monitoring in Aluminium Smelter Plant"

Role : Co-PI

PI : Prof. Debi Prasad Acharya @ NIT Raurkela

Sponsor Agency : NALCO - Angul Odissa ,

Duration : 24 Months ;

Grant Amount : 27.4 Lacs.---- Completed.

2. National Mission Project on Education through ICT: Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes intellectual calibers and research in e-learning

Title of Course: Advanced Electrical Machines

Role : Co-Developer

PI : Prof. Hitesh Dutt Mathur

Sponsor : MHRD -GOI,

Duration : 6 Months ;

Grant Amount : 7.0 Lacs. --- Completed (Date : July -2016)

Projects Submitted :

1. Development of Solar Powered Switched Super Capacitor Cell based Z-Network Topologies for intelligent EV Charger Application

Role : PI

Co-PIs : Dr. Satyendra Kumar Mourya; Dr. Aditya R. Gautam,

Sponsor Agency : Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme (RE-RTD-2022) MNRE , GOI.

Duration in Months: -36,

Amount : INR. 4,415,400

Status : Under Review

2. Low Cost flexible dual Point-of-Care Nano Bio-sensor for early diagnosis of wound infection.

Role : PI

Co-PIs : Dr. Satyendra Kumar Mourya; Dr. Tara Chand Yadav

Sponsor Agency : DST- Pilani Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development Society(PIEDS).

Duration in Months: -,

Amount : INR. 7,00,000

Status : Under Review

3. Design and Development of Highly Sensitive and Selective H2 Sensor Based on Nature Inspired Porous- Ga2O3 Nanocrystals for Extreme Environmental Applications

Role : Co-PI

PI : Dr. Satyendra Kumar Mourya

Sponsor Agency : Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development Programme (RE-RTD-2022) MNRE , GOI.

Duration in Months: -36,

Amount : INR. 9,436,522
Status : Under Review

4. Design and Development of robust hydrogen sensor based on Porous- Ga2O3 Nanostructures

Role : Co-PI

PI : Dr. Satyendra Kumar Mourya

Sponsor Agency : DST SERB-SURE

Duration in Months: -36,

Amount : INR. 2985400
Status : Under Review

Research Interest

Role of alternativesplicing in metabolic disorders: Alternative splicing is a major source of diversity in the human proteome, which can modulate protein function and affinities for the assembly of heteromeric complexes & also alter mRNA stability.

Evidence on the roles of splicing and alternative splicing in various diseased conditions is emerging. However, the role of alternative splicing linking signaling pathways to gene regulation and the onset of various metabolic syndromes, for example, type II diabetes, is not well understood. It is important to know the genes involved in these diseases and their mode of regulation. Knowledge at the molecular level would thus provide the future foundation of research and drug discovery.

The objective of the current study is to identify genes that undergo changes in alternate splicing upon receiving different stimuli that contribute towards metabolic syndromes like obesity, insulin resistance, and type II diabetes and study their molecular mechanism(s) of actions. This study will help link signal transduction and gene regulation by alternative splicing and diseased conditions and will thus be important for clinical research and drug discovery.

Role of alternative splicing in stem cell differentiation:This study is aimed to investigate whether alternative splicing, one of the major sources of gene regulation and protein diversity, plays a role in the process of differentiation of pluripotent and multipotent stem cells. Manipulating the expression of one or more splicing regulators may accelerate the rate of differentiation into specific lineages, which is a major goal in regenerative medicine.

Targetedgene delivery as potential therapeutics: The main aim of this collaborative work is to manipulate gene expression profiles as potential therapeutics by long-term silencing/overexpression of genes of interest using biocompatible nano-vehicles for gene delivery.

Research Projects

1. Title of the project: Photocurable organic-inorganic hybrid precursors for the fabrication of metal oxide micro/nanostructures

Role: PI

Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Duration: Three years (Dec, 2013 - Dec, 2016)

Grant amount: Rs. 25,98,000/-

2. Title of the project: Sequestration of Heavy Metals Using Multi-functional Biodegradable Natural Polymers

Role: PI

Funding Agency: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Duration: Three years (From Nov, 2021)

Grant amount: Rs. 16,14,000/-

3. Title of the project: Semiconductor-based thin-film coatings for mitigating nosocomial infections through antibacterial action under dark-light dual mode'

Role: Co-PI

Funding Agency: DST SERB POWER, (sanctioned date 18th July, start date 3rd Aug, 2022-2025)

Grant amount: Rs. 25,56,400/-

4. Development of a wound dressing material with a simultaneous dual function of antibacterial and visible colorimetric detection of infection

Role: Co-PI

Funding Agency: DST SERB CRG, (Sanctioned date 19th June, start date 9th Aug, 2023 -2026).

Grant amount: Rs. 34,13,360/-

List of funded projects

"Alternative splicing in signal transduction and diseases; a genome wide approach", by DST-SERB (under young scientist's scheme), 2013-2017.
"Studies of the effects of quinacrine (QC) on regulation of Rho like small-GTPase and apoptosis in human lung and breast cancer cell lines cultured in vitro, (as a co-PI), by DBT, 2014-17.
"Role of alternate splicing modulators in differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific lineages" by BITS-Pilani (under "additional competitive grant for new faculty"), 2015-17.
"Biocompatible nano-vehicle mediated delivery of siRNA into stem cells for targeting pluripotency markers as a potential therapeutic approach in regenerative medicine" (as a co-PI), by CSIR, 2020-23.
"Design of novel "n3C smart scaffolds" incorporating nano-bioactive molecules for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus associated chronic wounds" (as a co-PI) by ICMR , 2021-24.
"A study on molecular mechanisms of alternative splicing and its regulator SMAR1 in TNF-α induced metabolic syndrome in mammalian skeletal muscle and hypothalamic neuronal cells" by DBT, 2023-26
“Noninvasive investigations on stem cell differentiation to neuron and induced morphogenesis using two-photon microscopy” by Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework grant, BITS-Pilani, 2023-25
“Development of biocompatible nanotechnology based non-viral delivery vehicle for micro dystrophin gene delivery as therapeutics for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy” (as a Co-PI), ICMR-2024-27
“Investigating the significance of V2 and V3 variants of the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) in the hypothalamic and non-hypothalamic neurons: new insights in neuronal physiology” (as a Co-PI), SERB (CRG)- 2024-27
“Biocompatible nanoparticle mediated non-viral delivery of siRNAs for lung cancer therapeutics” by CSIR-under ASPIRE scheme, 2024-27.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

DST Inspire Faculty Fellowship Grant: 2022 – 2027
Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani: 2023 – 2025
NFSG (New Faculty Seed Grant), BITS Pilani: 2023:2025
SPARKLE Project, BITS Pilani: 2023-2025

Sponsored Research Projects

1. Development of Cyber Physical System based Smart Water Grid for Community usage

Amount: INR 57.77 Lakhs

Funding Agency: DST Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical System (DST-ICPS) under Multi Institutional & Multi Disciplinary Consortium mode.

CSIR-CEERI, Pilani: Dr. S. A. Akbar (PI), Dr. Sanjay Singh, Dr. B. A. Botre

BITS, Pilani: Prof. K. K. Gupta (PI), Prof. A. P. Singh, Dr Kamlesh Tiwari & Dr. Amit Dua ..

Status: Approved (Reference No.: MOM no: DST/ICPS/PAMC/Cluster(CPSR)/2018(G))

2. Structural Health Assessment and Rehabilitation Framework based on Cyber Physical System

Amount: INR 60.35 Lakhs

Funding Agency: DST Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical System (DST-ICPS) under Multi Institutional & Multi Disciplinary Consortium mode.

CSIR-CEERI, Pilani: Dr. K. S. Raju (PI), Dr. P. K. Tanwar

BITS, Pilani, Civil Deptt.: Prof. S. B. Singh (PI)

BITS, Pilani, EEE Deptt.: Prof. K. K. Gupta (PI)

Status: Approved (Reference No.: MOM no: DST/ICPS/PAMC/Cluster(CPSR)/2018(G)

3. Real Time Data Driven CPS Development for water Distribution Network

Amount: INR 33.4 Lakhs

Funding Agency: DST-Scheme for Young Scientists and Technologist

PI: Mr. Jyotirmoy Bhardwaj (Joined Cognizant in Norway)

Co-PI: Prof. A. P. Singh and Prof. K. K. Gupta

Status: Approved (Reference No.: SP/YO/067/2018)

Projects Completed:

4. Design and Development of Drinking Water Quality Monitoring System

Amount: INR 14.2 Lakhs

Funding Agency: CSIR-SRF Direct Scheme (Reference No.: 09/719(0101)/2019 EMR-I)

Mentor: Prof. K. K. Gupta

Duration: 2019-22.

5. Soft Computing Framework based Integrated Multi Sensor Array for Water Quality Assessment: Targeting Fluoride as major parameter

Amount: INR 38.7 Lakhs

Funding Agency: DST under Water Technology Initiatives (DST-WTi).

Reference No. DST/TM/WTI/2K16/103

PI: Prof. K. K. Gupta

Co-PI: Prof. R. K. Gupta (Physics Deptt., BITS, Pilani)

Duration: 2017-21

6. Roof top Rainwater Harvesting for Safe, Potable and Healthy Drinking Water and Ground Water Replenishment for BITS Pilani, Pilani campus.

Amount: INR 73 Lakhs

Funding Agency: Centre of Excellence in Waster, Water and Energy Management

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.

Involvement: As a Co-investigator

Duration: 2014-17

7. Grant to participate in Symposium on Frontiers of Development in Kigali, Rwanda (10 - 14th Feb'18)

Amount: INR 1.5 Lakhs

Funding Agency: Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), UK

Sponsored Projects

RIG-BITS Pilani, Complete.
ACRG-BITS Pilani, Ongoing.
SRG-SERB, Govt. of India, Ongoing.
CSIR, Govt. of India, Ongoing.

Sponsored Projects

SERB SRS: Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting of Photonic Nanostructure (Ongoing)
DST Inspire: Decoration of Co-catalyst on the Ultrathin 2D Sheets of Metal Chalcogenides and Their Application in Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting. 35 lakhs (Completed)
DST Fasttrack: Decoration of Plasmonic Nanoparticles on Ultrathin 2D Nanostructure of Metal Chalcogenides and Their Application in Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting and Photocatalysis. 19.82 lakhs (Completed)

RESEARCH PROJECTS

ONGOING PROJECTS

Silk-based Flexible Electronics and Sensors

We are developing an all-water-based strategy to create flexible electronics, sensors, and drug-delivery devices for physiological applications. This work is in collaboration with Prof. Srinivasa K Prasad from the Department of Pharmacy @BPHC.
Cold Plasma-based Advanced Oxidation Process

We are studying the effect of cold plasma on the oxidation of antibiotic residues in water. This work is in collaboration with Prof. G. R. Abhijith from the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur and Dr. Neethu Bhasker from KSCSTE.

Non-enzymatic Glutamate Sensors

In this project, we are developing copper nanoparticle-based glutamate sensors.

Development of Bacteria Detection Sensors

In collaboration with Prof. Debirupa Mitra, we are trying to develop point-of-care diagnostic tools for detecting infection in wounds.

Shape-memory polymers

We are currently studying the effect of water uptake on the actuation performance of shape memory polymers. This work is going on in collaboration with Prof. Punnag Chatterjee from the Department of Mechincal Engineering at IIT Dharwad.

SPONSORED PROJECTS

DBT BME: [2023-2025]

Title: A Point-of-Care Tool for Monitoring Bacterial Infection in Wounds

Funding Organization: DBT
Amount: Rs. 22,50,000
Role: PI

DBT BME: [Approved for funding]

Title: Development and Validation of Sensor-augmented Pump (SAP) for Glutamate Tracking and Grabbing in Neurological Disorders

Funding Organization: DBT
Amount: Rs. 36,00,000
Role: Co-PI

Cross-disciplinary Research Fund: [2023-2025]

Title: Neurocomputational analyses of electrophysiological recordings using silk-based soft electrodes in noise-induced hearing loss

Funding Organization: BITS Pilani
Amount: Rs. 10,00,000
Role: Co-PI

Additional Competitive Research Grant: Duration: [2022-2024]

Title: Cold Plasma-based Dry and Chemical Residue-free Sanitation of Surfaces

Funding Organization: BITS Pilani
Amount: Rs. 10,00,000
Role: PI

Research Initiation Grant: [2021-2023]
Title: Silk-based Bioelectronics for Health Monitoring, Modulation, and Therapeutics

Funding Organization: BITS Pilani
Amount: Rs. 2,00,000
Role: PI

Project Completed/On-going

(4) 2022-2025 : (On-going)

Topic: Convolutional neural networks and their Hardware Implementation for Improved Performance.

Amount: INR 24,29,696/-

Ongoing

"Regeneration of Graphite anode and Li Metal recovery from used LFP Batteries", HBL (15.56 Lacs) (P.I.) (2022-2024)
"Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Semiconducting 2D Materials based post-CMOS Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices." CREST, BITS Pilani, (20 lacs) (Co-PI) (2023-2025)
"SwedGuru: A privacy-aware smart wearable patch to analyze sweat and provide real-time health feedback." CDRF, BITS Pilani, (30 Lacs) (Co-PI) (2023-25)

Completed:

"Novel Solid state film supercapacitor using electrochemically synthesized doped graphene assembly". Research Initiation Grant, BITS (2 Lacs) (P.I) (2021-2023)

Granted Projects

BITS Pilani Research Initiation Grant (RIG) - Completed (2014-2016)
BITS Pilani Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) - Completed (May 2016- May 2018)
DST-SERB (EMR) Project - Ongoing (August 2017 - January 2021)

Sponsored Projects:

Ongoing

Senior Research Fellow Position (New)

Completed

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing (2024)

Title of the Project: “Study of Social Accountability at the Work Place”
Sponsor Agency: Bureau of Indian Standard
Amount: 5,50,000/- (Rupees Five Lakh Fifty Thousand only)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Title of the Project: “Study of Prevention and Control of Fraud and Corruption by an Organisation”
Sponsor Agency: Bureau of Indian Standard
Amount: 6,05,000/- (Rupees Six Lakh Five Thousand only)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Completed (2022-2024)

Role: Principle Investigator

Title of the Project: Do Fiscal Risk matters for Fiscal sustainability? Evidence from Indian State

Funded under Research Initiation Grant (RIG) of BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Amount: Rs. 2,00,000/- (Two Lakh Only)

Completed (2018-2021)

Collaborative Research Project with FLAME University Pune and NIT Sikkim

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Title of the Project: “Innovation and Sustainable Decision Support System for Drinking Water Security in Indian Himalayan Region of Sikkim and West Bengal”

Sponsor Agency: National Mission on Himalayan Studies

Amount: Rs. 49,30, 200/- (Rupees Forty Nine Lakh Thirty Thousand Two Hundred Only).

Workshop

v Awarded to Conduct a Ten Days Research Methodology workshop, 22^nd -31^st August, 2022 as a course co-Director sponsored (Rs. 5,50,000) by ICSSR.

Ongoing Projects (As Principal-Investigator)

2D Nanosheet Materials of Metal Chalcogenides as a Potential SERS Active Substrate for Chemical and Biochemical Sensing.
Funding Agency: CSIR

Ongoing Project (As Co-Investigator)

An in silico and in vitro characterization of binding affinity and internalization potential of Indian SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants with hACE-2 and identification of potential small molecules hindering the interaction.
Funding agency: ICMR
Design and development of a multi output high voltage gain converter with multi- frequency operation for PV applications and green hydrogen generation.
Funding agency: CDAC
Use of distillery and domestic wastewater to generate hydrogen and development of a prototype thereof.
Funding agency: LIGHT ATOM ELECTROLYZER

Completed Projects

Synthesis and Characterization of Metal Oxide (TiO2 and IrO2) Dendrimer-Encapsulated Nanoparticles (DENs) for Catalysis and Electrocatalysis. BITS RIG, 2.00 lakhs.
Size-Dependent Hydrogenation Catalysis with Mono- (Pd and Pt) and Bimetallic (Pd@Pt) Nanoparticles in Quantum Dot Region. UGC, 6.00 lakhs.
Synthesis and Characterization of (Metal Oxide)core - Metalshell Nanoparticles in Quantum Dot Region and Their Application in Electrocatalysis. DST Fasttrack, 24.93 lakhs.
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) based semiconductor heterostructures for photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. BITS ADDITIONAL COMPETITIVE RESEARCH GRANT, 6.94 lakhs.

Research related updates

CSIR (HRDG) project sanctioned starting from 01-April-2021.

RESEARCH INTRESTS

I take an experimental approach to innovate solutions and seek answers to the fundamental questions related to human health and the environment. The broad vision of my research is to gain a deeper understanding of redox processes, develop devices that generate redox species, and probe biological processes using redox methods for monitoring human health and the environment. Toward this end, I focus on three distinct research directions:

Electrochemical sensors for physiological and environmental monitoring

Electrochemical biosensors use electroanalytical (or redox) tools to probe specific biomolecules in multi-analyte systems. Application of electrochemical sensors includes clinical and medical diagnostics, environmental and health monitoring, and food industries. These sensors allow miniaturization, fast read-out, online monitoring, and simultaneous sensing capabilities. This research effort will investigate the modification of biosensor surfaces to impart anti-biofouling properties and smart integration of nanomaterials to improve selectivity and sensitivity of electrochemical sensors.

Cold plasma-based therapies and inactivation of pathogens

Cold plasma, the fourth state of matter, refers to partially ionized gas consisting of charged species, excited atoms and molecules, and high-energy photons. The ions and uncharged molecules are at significantly lower temperatures than the electrons, resulting in the plasma staying at a low temperature. The novelty of this technology lies in its non-thermal, economical, versatile, and environmentally friendly nature. The reactive species produced during plasma produce oxidative stresses on biological moieties. The plasma medicine field explores the application of cold plasma for therapeutic purposes. My research aims to understand the specific redox processes occurring in biological systems when exposed to cold plasma and tune the exposure to achieve therapeutic outcomes. Also, various studies have shown the efficacy of cold plasma against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, yeast, fungi, spores, biofilms, and viruses. I develop cold plasma-generating devices that can inactivate pathogens on surfaces and in air or liquids.

Natural polymer-based bioelectronics

Natural polymers are biocompatible, biodegradable, bio-conformable, and sustainable. They also provide biorecognition, self-repair, and stimuli response, which are beneficial for the systems that interact with biology and ecology.

Bioelectronics employs the principles of electronics to monitor and stimulate biological activities. The prime requirement for bioelectronic systems is biocompatibility. Therefore, natural polymers are material for choice for integration of electronics for biological applications. My research involves developing natural polymer-based functional materials and hybrid microfabrication processes to create biocompatible and biodegradable electronics.

Details of Projects under implementation

S. No	Title	Cost in Lakh	Duration	Role as PI/Co-PI	Agency
1	Design and synthesis of coordination polymers for conduction	17.14	Three years (2021- )	PI (Madhushree Sarkar)	CSIR under EMR scheme

Details of Projects completed

S. No	Title	Cost in Lakh	Duration	Role as PI/Co-PI	Agency
1	Guest Exchange Dynamics of Porous Metal-organic Frameworks	14.65	Two years (2011-2013)	PI (Madhushree Sarkar)	BITS Pilani
2	Crystal Engineering of Metal-Organic Frameworks using Organic Linkers derived from Template-Controlled Solid-State Reactions	23.40	Three years (2012-2015)	PI (Madhushree Sarkar)	DST

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Senior Research Fellow Position (New)

Completed

Conservation of some endangered medicinal plants of Indian Thar Desert by arbuscular mycorrhizae” funded by DST, New Delhi under SERC Scheme (11.28 Lakhs) (2003-2005).

Sponsored Projects

Principal Investigator – “Linking Energy Poverty with Human Development: A case Study of Two Districts of Rajasthan” funded by ICSSR under the IMPRESS Scheme (2019-2021). Sanctioned amount Rs.7, 50,000. (Ongoing)
Principal Investigator - Technological Development, Financial Development and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidences from India", Sponsored by BITS (RIG), 2019 April - July, 2020, Rs. 1.5 Lakhs, (Completed)
Principal Investigator – “Establishing finance-growth linkage for India: a financial conditioning index (FCI) approach” Sponsored by RBI, August 2016 to July 2017. Completed. Rs. 2.0 Lakhs (Completed)
Principal Investigator – “Investment in Social and Economic Infrastructures and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals: An empirical investigation from Indian States” Sponsored by MHRD – SPARC Scheme with collaboration with University of Minnesota Morris, USA (proposal submitted)
Principal Investigator – “Does Water, Sanitation and Hygiene improve Health and Quality of Life? A Study of Selected Smart Cities from Odisha and Rajasthan” Sponsored by UGC – STRIDE Scheme (Proposal Submitted)
Principal Investigator - "Issues Related to Right to Education of the Children of Migrant Laborers in Rajasthan", Submitted to NHRC, Budget amount Rs. 8,91,000. (Under Review)
Principal Investigator - "Is there a declining trend of female labour force participation in Rajasthan? Identification of Issues and Determinants", Submitted to NHRC, Budget amount Rs. 7,70,000. (Under Review).
Co-PI - "Battery Swapping Stations: An Approach to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Adoption and Moving Towards Sustainable e-Mobility in Indian Smart Cities", Submitted to ICSSR under the IMPRESS Scheme
Budget amount, Rs.13,64,000 (Under Review).
Co-PI - "Climate change, desertification and socio-economic impact on regional economy" Submitted to MHRD – SPARC Scheme with collaboration with Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia (proposal submitted), Budget amount Rs. 45,00,000.
Co-PI - "Food Security Concern of Migrants Workers in New Normal Situation: A Study of External Migrants Working in Rajasthan", Submitted to NHRC, Budget amount Rs. 4,67,500. (Under Review).
Co-PI - "Perception of parents of non-disabled children towards Inclusive Education: A case of Primary Schools in Rajasthan", Submitted to NHRC, Budget amount Rs. 6,62,000. (Under Review).

Research Grant

Ongoing Projects:

1."Development of a tumor-microenvironment responsive, cancer theranostic nanodots for photodynamic-immunotherapy" with Dr. Aniruddha Roy as PI and Dr. Inamur Laskar as Co-PI. Funding Agency: SERB-India.
“Rapid, low-cost fluorescent AIE-based detection of renal dysfunction from urine samples and fabrication of portable and real time device” PI (from BITS) and Project Coordinator: Dr. Inamur R. Laskar Co-PIs: Dr. Shibasish Chowdhury, Dr. Rajdeep Chowdhury, Dr. Symantak majumder (Dept. of Biology); Dr. Rajiv Gupta (BITS Medical Center); Mr. Santosh Manabala (CSIR-CEERI), Mr. Ranjan Maurya (CSIR-CEERI); Funding Agency: Department Of Biotechnology (Dbt), Government Of India. Grant: Rs 80 Lakhs (Approx.) Duration: 3 Years (From February 2021)
“Development of novel ‘Aggregation Induced Emission’ (AIE) Active iridium(III) based Near IR Emissive compounds and their encapsulation into pH-sensitive nanoparticles for tumor targeting and photodynamic therapy” PI: Dr. Inamur R. Laskar Co-PI: Dr. Aniruddha Roy (Pharmacy); Dr. Rajdeep Chowdhury; Funding Agency: Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR), Government Of India.Grant: Rs 23 Lakhs (Approx.) Duration: 3 Years (From March 2021)

Completed Projects:

“Syntheses of Pt (II) based pure blue emitting triplet harvesting materials and their application in white Organic Light Emitting Diode as single emissive dopants”; Funded by CSIR, India; Grant: 20.0 Lakhs
“Syntheses of Efficient and Pure Blue Triplet Emitting Materials for Fabrication of White Organic Light Emitting Diodes (WOLEDs)”; Funded by DST, India; Grant: 22.2 Lakhs
“Design and Syntheses of Heavy Metal based Aggregation Induced Emission Active Complexes and their Application in Bio-imaging”; Funded by DST, India; Grant: Rs 35.9 Lakhs
“Sensitive Explosive Detection in Vapor Phase with Cyclometalated Iridium (III), Platinum(II) and Conjugated Hyperbranched Polymer based ‘Aggregation Induced Emission’ Active Nanoprobes”; Funding agency: Defence R&D Organization (DRDO), GOVERNMENT OF INDIA; Grant: Rs 33 Lakhs (approx.)

To be Updated Soon

Sponsored Projects

Principal Investigator

Research Project (New Faculty Seed Grant-Ongoing)

1. Optimizing Constructed Wetland-Microbial Fuel Cell for Enhanced Pharmaceutical Compounds Removal: An Experimental Study

Total Project Cost: 2000000

Co-Principal Investigator

Consultancy Projects (Ongoing)

1. Technical assistance for installation of 30 KLD Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) at Siliguri Municipal Corporation on Pilot Basis (KPCP)

Sponsoring Agency: Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal

Total Project Cost: Rs. 1303900

2. Design and Preparation of Detailed Project Report and Technical Assistance for Installation of Faecal Sludge Treatment Facilities for Rural Areas in West Bengal (DWBI)

Sponsoring Agency: Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Govt. of West Bengal

Total Project Cost: Rs. 14400000

To be Updated Soon

Projects/Grants

Ongoing projects

S. No.	Project name (PI/Co-PI)	Funding agency	Amount ($/INR)
1.	AI in soil management for diversified agriculture (PI)	Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India Awarded in Jan 2023	18.53 lacs
2.	AI-enabled drone based remote health assessment of PMGSY roads (Co-PI)	National Rural Infrastructure Development Authority (NRIDA), Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India Awarded in December 2021	17.58 lacs
3.	Watershed-based optimized decision support model for conservation practice placement using remote sensing (PI)	ACRG, BITS Pilani Team: Dr. Rallapalli Srinivas Awarded in Feb 2021	4.5 lacs

S.No.	Project name	Funding agency	Amount ($/INR)
1.	LiDAR sensors-based watershed modeling for optimizing pollutant reductions across spatio-temporal scales	BITS Pilani, India Team: Dr. Rallapalli Srinivas	2 lacs
2.	Quantifying the Scaling Effects on Measurable Water Quality Environmental Outcomes for aiding One Watershed, One Plan. (Co-PI) (2019-2020)	Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), U.S.A. Team: Prof. Joe Magner and Dr. Rallapalli Srinivas, University of Minnesota; Mr. Matt Drewitz, BWSR	$ 70, 000
3.	Assessing the impact of hydro-conditioning on watershed modeling outcomes (Co-PI) (2020)	Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), U.S.A. Team: Prof. Joe Magner and Dr. Rallapalli Srinivas, University of Minnesota; Mr. Matt Drewitz, BWSR	$ 20, 000
4.	NVIDIA Academic GPU grant for applying deep learning in Hydrology (PI) (2018)	NVIDIA, India	1.5 lacs

&nbsp:

To be updated.

Research Grants

Projects Completed

1. Development of New Methodology Using Density Functional Theory (DFT) Based Reactivity Descriptors to Predict the Regioselectivity of Large Chemical and Biological System
Funding agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Council, DST(DST Ref. No: SR/S1/PC-28/2004)
Duration: July, 2005 to January, 2009

2. Conceptual Density Functional Theory Based Modeling of Biomolecular Systems
Funding agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Council, DST(DST Ref. No: SR/S1/PC-41/2008)
Duration: October, 2009 to March, 2013

3. Development and Application of Density Functional Reactivity Theory Based Modeling Techniques to Understand the Energetics of Reactive and Non-Reactive Interactions
Funding agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Council, DST(DST Ref. No: SB/S1/PC-067/2013)
Duration: August, 2014 to 8th February, 2018

4. Investigating the Correlation Between Thermodynamic and Kinetic Parameters Through Density Functional Reactivity Theory (DFRT) Based Approach
Funding Agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB) - DST
(DST Ref. No. CRG/2019/00956)
Duration: February, 2020 onward

Research Projects

Submitted Research Projects

D.S.T. Major Research Project
Project Title : Excited State Dynamics of Fluorescent Molecules in Micellar Systems
Submitted: June 2018

Completed Research Projects:

DST SERB Major research project:
Project Title ‘Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of Fluorescent Molecules in Micellar Systems’
Funding Agency: DST SERB, New Delhi
Duration : Three years (2014-2017)
Amount : 53.09 lacs
UGC Major
Project Title: ‘Steady State Measurements of Fluorescent Molecules in Restricted Environments’
Funding Agency: UGC, New Delhi
Duration : Three years (2012-2015)
Amount : 11.64 lacs
Time-Resolved Spectroscopy at Interfaces, Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland, Completed in December 2005.
Linear and non-linear optical properties of dye sensitized nanoparticles at interfaces, EPFL, Switzerland completed in December 2004.

Sponsored Research Project

Title: Dynamic Buckling Response of Composite Structure, Amount- 2 lakh, Research Initiation Grant BITS Pilani, Duration-2-years(Dec. 2011- Dec. 2013), Role-PI, Status-Completed.
Title: Dynamic Buckling Response of Composite Structure, Amount- 9.09 lakh, CSIR, New Delhi, Duration-3-years(1st Dec. 2014-Project Sanction Date, 2nd Feb. 2015-Project Commencement Date), Role-PI, Status-Completed.
Title: Postbuckling analysis of CNT-Reinforced composite plates under different types of in-plane mechanical loads. Amount- 2 lakh, Research Initiation Grant BITS Pilani, Duration-2-years(Dec. 2017- Dec. 2019), Role-Co-PI, Status-Completed.
Title: Development of Semi-Analytical Methodology as a Design Aid for Small-Scale Structures using Non-Classical Continuum Mechanics. Amount- INR 14.784 lakhs, DST,SERB (SURE) India, Duration-3 years, Role-Co-PI, Status- (ongoing).
Title: Development of Low-Cost Federated Learning-Empowered Digital Twin Framework for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Civil Structures built under PMGSY. Amount-INR 11.88 lakhs. I-DAPT HUB FOUNDATION, IIT (BHU), Varanasi, under the scheme 'National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) National Mission', SERB, DST, India, Duration-2 years, Role-Co-PI, Status- (ongoing).
Title: Development of Transfer Learning-Based Smart Structural Damage Assessment Controller for Autonomous Prediction of Damage Scenarios in Digital Twin-Generated Population of Civil Structures, Amount- INR 30 lakhs, BITS-Cross Disciplinary Research Forum (CDRF), Duration-2 years, Role-Co-PI, Status- (ongoing).

Research and Consultancy Projects

Sponsored Research Projects:

1. As PI: “Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) as a sustainable method for utilization of copper tailing” PI: Prof. Ravi Kant Mittal and PI: Prof. Shilpi Garg, Sponsored by Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS, Pilani, Grant Reference: C1/23/203, Amount: 42.2 lakhs (Sept. 2023 to ongoing).
2.As PI: Design and development of fixed and floating solar PV installation for water management infrastructures, Sponsored by: First Green Consulting Pvt. Ltd, Rs. 11.36 lakhs (30th Sept. 2019 to 29th Sept. 2022)- Completed
2.As Co-PI: Seismic Response of Tunnels Considering Topographic and Site Effects (Amount Rs. 2 lakhs), PI: Dr. Nishant Roy, Co-Investigator: Dr. Ravi Kant Mittal, Sponsored by R.I.G. BITS, Pilani, 30th Oct 2018 to 28th July 2020, Completed.

Recent Consultancy Projects:

Geotechnical investigations and allowable bearing pressure determination for construction of overhead water tank at Chirawa, Sponsored by The Pachar and Co., Chirawa.
Geotechnical investigations and allowable bearing pressure determination for school building at Pliani, Sponsored by Smt. Jamuna Mishra Academy, Pilani.
Geotechnical investigations and allowable bearing pressure determination for school building at Pliani, Sponsored by BITSAA Alumini trust, Kolkata.
Investigations on collapse of RCC overhead water tank at Suratgarh Military station, Sponsored by Lt. Col. Surathgarh Military station.
Safety checking of RCC overhead water tanks in Bhadra, Distt. Hanumangarh, Sponsored by Public Health Department, Bhadra(Raj.).
Geotechnical investigations and allowable bearing pressure for building and water testing at Dulania, Sponsored by Parth Institute of Tech., Dulania.
Geotechnical investigations and allowable bearing pressure determination for building on filled up land, Sponsored by Shri Bandeh Ka Balaji Mandir trust, Jhunjhunu

Research Projects

As a Research Associate

This project, sponsored by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), focused on developing an experimental facility for multistage liquid – sold fluidized bed adsorption for the removal of pollutants from wastewater. Experimental and theoretical studies were carried out for understanding the said system for the removal of colour from wastewater.

As a Senior Project Officer

I worked on a DNES, Department of Non Conventional Energy Sources, Ministery of Energy (MoE), sponsored project on “Generation of Biogas from Industrial Wastewater – Tannery Waste”. Three contact filters were designed and constructed. Studies were focused on anaerobic degradation / treatment of Tannery wastewater with the main aim of biogas – generation.

As a Junior Research Fellow

Project work was planned and aimed at Computer Aided Design (CAD) of solvent extraction plant.

To be updated.

Principal Investigator	Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Amount in lac rupees & Duration
Anshuman	Potential of Marble Slurry as a Mineral Admixture in Concrete	DST, New Delhi	28.38, 3 years, Up to 31-03-2018

Sponsored Projects

Funding Agency: State University Research Excellence (SURE), SERB-DST, New Delhi

Project Title: Investigating membrane degradation and its mitigation for enhancing the performance of green hydrogen powered proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)

Grant Amount: 25 Lac

Duration: Oct, 2023- Sep, 2026 (03 Years)

Funding Agency: HINDALCO Industries Limited, Birla Copper, Dahej, Gujarat

Project Title: Copper cathode quality improvement & reduction in bleed to ETP.

Grant Amount: 41 Lac

Duration: Feb, 2024- Jan, 2026 (02 Years)

Funding Agency: New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG), SRCD, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Project Title: Design & Development of active and stable electro-catalyst for low temperature PEM fuel cell

Grant Amount: 18 Lac

Duration: Nov, 2023 - Oct, 2025 (02 Years)

Funding Agency: Research Initiation Grant (RIG), SRCD, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Project Title: Design & development of polymeric membrane and methanol-tolerant electro-catalyst for direct methanol fuel cell.

Grant Amount: 2 Lac

Duration: June, 2022-May, 2024 (02 Years)

Research Projects

Ongoing: "Post Maternity Health literacy [PMHL] among Working Women of Low Economic Strata in India: Challenges, Effects and Interventions through Training"- As PI; Funded by BITS Pilani under the Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF)
Completed: "Towards Contributing to a Management Plan for ACB Students at BITS, Pilani, Goa Campus"—As Co-PI; Funded by the Teaching Learning Centre, BITS Goa. (2019-2020)
Completed: "Development of a Mental Health Profile and identifying mental health issues among student community in BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus: An explanatory sequential mixed method study"- As PI; funded by BITS Goa, (Research Initiation Grant)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. Research Initiation Grant

PI: Mohit Garg
Amount: 2 lakh

2. Additional Competitive Research Grant for New faculty

PI: Mohit Garg
Amount: 5.5 lakh

3. Start-up Research Grant (DST-SERB)

PI: Mohit Garg
Amount: 32.5 lakh

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani CDRF scheme
Development of Covalent Organic Polymer Sensors for Molecular Decoding of Breath VOCs through Fluorescence Image Processing (Amount: 10,00,000)
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani
Design and Development of Robust Hydrogen Sensor Based on Ultra-Wide Bandgap Porous-Ga2O3 Semiconductor Nanostructures.
Funding Agency: Bureau of Indian Standards
Study the Assessment and usage of Polyelectrolyte in Water and Wastewater (Amount: 8,00,000)

Completed

Start-Up Research Grant (SRG) Funding Agency: SERB
Hybrid Gas Sensors Based on p-Type/n-Type Conducting Polymers (Amount: 33,00,000)
Research Initiation Grant (RIG) Funding Agency: BITS
Molecular Modelling of Novel Nanoporous Structures to be used in Gas Adsorption and Separation (Amount: 2 lakhs)

Research Interest

Reacting flows
Heterogeneous catalysis
Detailed kinetic modeling
Biomass to value-added products
Machine Learning approaches for Catalysts
Process modeling simulation and control

Sponsored Projects

Project Title	Sustainable alternatives to Carbon intensive rice straw burning and air pollution in India: Paddy waste based concrete and value added chemical production to boost the income of rural farmers
Role	Co-Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Govt. of India, New Delhi- Under SPARC- phase II (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration)
Amount	INR. 42,72,511
Status	On-going (2023- 2025)

Project Title	Prevention of Hazardous Field-Firing of Bagasse and Its Sustainable Utilization as a Raw Material in An Innovative Industrial Process
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Govt. of India, New Delhi- Under SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration)
Amount	INR. 28,79,650
Status	Completed (2019 - 2021)

Project Title	Dual Catalytic Monolith Reactor for Biogas Reforming
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG), BITS- Pilani
Amount	INR. 8,25,000
Status	Completed (2017 - 2019)

Project Title	Syngas production by reforming of biogas over Ni- based catalytic monoliths
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS- Pilani
Amount	INR. 2,00,000
Status	Completed (2015 - 2017)

Research Projects

1. Project title: Hydrogen Production from Ethanol by Low Temperature Reforming Methods Using Modified NiSn/Al₂O₃ and NiSn/CeO₂ Catalysts.

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding agency (Ref No): SERB ( EMR/2016/002148)

Project cost/Amount (INR): 1902690

Start-End: 11 January, 2017 to 10 January 2020

Present status: Completed

2. Project title: Study of the Conversion of Agricultural Residues to Catalysts for Renewable Energy Source Production.

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding agency (Ref No): SERB (SPF/2021/00000)

Project cost/Amount (INR): 3810000

Start-End: 24 March, 2021 to 23 March, 2024

Present status: Ongoing

3. Project title: Development of different grades of PVDF hollow fiber membranes for the development of in-house water filtration systems.

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Funding agency (Ref No): Gujarat Fluorochemicals ltd

Project cost/Amount (INR): 800000

Start-End: 10 May, 2022 to 10 Nov, 2022

Present status: Ongoing

Sponsored Projects

Project-I
Project-II
Project-III

Sponsored Projects

1. The ‘sySTEMs’ initiative: systems biology-augmented, stem cell derived, multi-tissue panel for rapid screening of approved drugs as potential COVID-19 treatments. Indo-Australian project under MRFF grant. (2021-2022) (Ongoing) Role: Co-Principal investigator. For more details click here

2. Modeling Dark web Users for Smart Criminal Investigation, Research Initiation Grant received from SRCD BITS Pilani. (2020-2022) (Ongoing) Role: Principal investigator

3. DIgital FoREnsic Knowledge InTegration and INTELligence (DIREKT-Intel) in collaboration with IIT Indore, India and NTNU Gjøvik, Norway under SPARC scheme. Grant received 6.5 million INR from MHRD, Government of India (2019-2021) (Completed) Role: Co- Principal investigator

Sponsored Projects

SERB, Department of Science and Technology (SERB-DST) (2013-2017-Completed as PI): " A Mechanistic Analysis of the role of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in induction of Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition in Hepatocellular Carcinoma"
BITS, Research Initiation Grant (April 2017- March 2019-Completed as PI): "Evaluation of apoptosis and autophagy inducing potential of native plant extracts in sensitive and drug resisatnce cancer cells".
SERB, Department of Science and Technology (SERB-DST) (Ongoing 2018-2021 as PI): "Analysis of mitochondrial dynamicity (fusion/fission and mitophagy) post drug exposure in human glioblastoma cells and understanding its correlation with drug resistance."
BITS, Additional Competitive Research Grant (2019- 2021-Ongoing as PI): “Analyses of mitochondrial regulation in parental and drug resistant human brain cancer cells and understanding its functional implications”.
CSIR, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (Approved 2019-2021 as PI): “Analyzing the cross-talk between Autophagy, Cytoskeletal and Mitochondrial Dynamicity regulating Epithelial to mesenchymal Transition(EMT) in Human Glioblastoma Cells.”

Research Projects

Development of sensors for blast and blight diseases and stomatal activity measurement in rice (O. Sativa L.). Part of multi-institutional project worth Rs. 2.36 crore. Funding Agency: ICAR-NASF, Project cost: 23.94 Lakh, Period: 3 years. Starting from June 1, 2019.
Molecular Characterization of ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-carboxylate) Deaminase Activity of Associative Bacteria Isolated from Plants of Desert of Rajasthan. Funded Agency: Department of Biotechnology, Project cost: 41.35 Lakh. Period: 3 years (starting from Jan 2012-July 2015)
Molecular characterization of diazotrophic plant growth-promoting endophytic bacteria isolated from arid desert of Rajasthan. Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Scientific Affairs, India. Project cost: 14.53 Lakh. Period: Oct., 2009– Sept., 2012
Natural and Engineered Lipases for Biodisel Production (Co-investigator). Funded Agency: Aditya Birla Group, Project cost: 10 Lakh. Period: Oct, 2011- Sept 2013

Research Interests

The below topics provide a broad overview of my current research interests.

Federated Learning
Private Machine Learning
Multimedia Computing
Cyber Security

Sponsored Projects

Title: Security Evaluation and Development of Malicious Client Handling System in Federated Setting using API

Role: Principal Investigator

Co-PI: Dr. Tanmaya Mahapatra

Funding agency: Data Security Council of India (DSCI) - National Centre of Excellence (NCoE)

Amount: Rs. 5,60,000.00

Duration: Six months (2023)

Title: Natural and Synthetic Obfuscated Multimedia Computation for Efficient Video-Surveillance-as-a-Service

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: SRCD, BITS Pilani (under Research Initiation Grant)

Amount: Rs. 2 lakhs

Duration: Two years (2020-2022)

Sponsored Projects

Title: Collaborative Mobility aware Data Dissemination in Vehicular Adhoc Networks.
Funding Agency: TCS Innovation Lab;
Role: RA
PI: Dr. Neeraj Kumar (Thapar University)
Co-PI: Dr.(Prof.) Seema Bawa (Thapar University)
Cost: 14.30 Lakhs;
Duration: 2012-2016;
Status: Completed

Details: Develop a mathematical model by estimating the exact position of the nodes in the network in a particular time interval. Design algorithms for maintaining the connectivity and density estimation of the nodes. Test and validate the results obtained by the proposed strategy.

Methodology: The methodology for providing the solution to the problem of reliable data
dissemination consists of defining a prototype as per the requirement of users needs, e.g.,

the prototype consists of the mathematical formulation of finding the location and mobility of the vehicles in a particular region during different time intervals. Then various algorithms

would be proposed to solve the problem of connectivity and density of the nodes. The algorithm controls the communication among the different nodes in the network in a collaborative manner, i.e, various nodes in the network share the information such as routing decisions, mobility patterns etc. with each other so that necessary steps can be taken for smoother action in the network. Finally, the designed algorithms would be tested analytically and by simulation with respect to various parameters in comparison to the existing solutions in the literature.

The scope of the proposal: As VANETs is an emerging technology so it can be used in wide
variety of applications such as construction of ITS, home security, surveillance system, alert
generation in case of emergency in the community or on the roadside etc. All these applications require an efficient data dissemination approach along with the reliability. So the current proposal will try to solve the problems in the existing proposals such as long end to end delay in dense regions and poor connectivity in a particular geographical region.

Title: Realization of Power Saving in Network Devices through SDN

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani;

Role: PI

Co-PI: NA

Cost: 1.25 Lakhs; Duration: August 2017 - October 2018; Status: On-going

Objectives: The project works with following objectives: I. Reduce the power consumption of network without impacting the quality of service. We would design our solution in such a manner that the QoS that is promised to the client will not be impacted. For that, we would take care of load balancing, extra backup paths, prioritization to those flow which is of higher priority. II. Designing a new algorithm and controller core that will assist in taking decision in real time based on quick switching between device state. Apart from an algorithm which will be based on previous history and current network condition for better performance and strategic decision, for quick switching we will implement a finite state machine with proper input/output and action condition. III. Building efficient data structure for collecting the statistic and getting useful insight without taking much time. We would focus our energy to build a data structure which will take minimum time complexity for storing and retrieving the information. Information will be stored in form of codecs so that we will also minimize the space complexity. The new data structure will be either a derivative of hash that takes constant time for action or based on the tree that takes logarithmic time for taking any decision.

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Efficient domain-specific storage and query system for High-speed IP flow analysis [co-PI]
Research Project from CAIR-DRDO
Solutions for Virtual Farming [co-PI]
Industry Sponsored from KSKT Agromart Private Limited
Big Data Management and Privacy Preservation for Wearable Biosensor Data in Healthcare Monitoring Using Feature Vector Store And Federated Deep Learning [PI]
Industry Sponsored Project from MapmyIndia
Designing Optimal and Targeted Advertisement Campaign Strategy for Online E-Commerce Platforms using AI and Machine Learning [co-PI]
Industry Sponsored from CommerceIQ
Multilingual Conversational AI to Enhance Customer Experience [co-PI]
Industry Sponsored from C-Zentrics Pvt. Ltd

Completed

Classification of Medical Conditions [PI]
Consultancy Project from LiveSmart KK Japan
Information Gathering from Encrypted Mobile Phone Applications [co-PI]
Research Project from CAIR-DRDO
Development of Real-Time Multi-Objective Route Recommender System using AI [PI]
Industry Sponsored Project from MapmyIndia
Development of a Cyber-Physical System Based Smart Water Grid for Community Usage [co-PI]
Approved Research Project from DST
Adaptive Biometrics Authentication with Automatic Template Update on Mobile Devices [PI]
Research Initiation Grant from BITS Pilani

Grants

Development and validation of deep learning algorithm using ultra-wide-field Optos images for early detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in 45-degree single-field, as Co-PI,

Funded by UNSW School of Optometry and Vision Science: Diabetes Research Grant from the Elizabeth O'Beirne and Robert and Emmy Mather Trust Fund, Ongoing.

Mobile App for assisting Indian farmers in improving yield by automatic identification of plant diseases (Rice and Tomato) [ Funded by DST SYST, Ongoing] as PI.

India suffers from annual crop loss of many crores of rupees owing to pest and disease infestation, according to a study by Assocham and Yes bank. Different plants are infested by different diseases; while some are caused by fungi, some are caused by bacteria and some by viruses. This project aims in automatically identifying key diseases in specific plants using mobile application, so that the farmers can be benefitted. The image database pertaining to the Indian subcontinent, would be employed to train a model that can automatically predict plant diseases. Both traditional image processing techniques as well as the recent advances in convolutional neural networks would be employed for this purpose.

India Innovation Growth Program 2.0 [Funded by DST - Lockheed Martin - TATA Trusts, completed]

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sundaresan Raman

Team: Faraaz Ahmad, Sashakt Tripathi, Harshit Awasthi

Food Sense: A Framework for Safe Storage, Preparation and Delivery of Food [Funded by BITS Pilani, Completed] as PI.

Research Interest

Medical Image Analysis
Deep Learning
Scientific Visualization
Computer Vision
Computer Graphics
Teaching and Learning

7. Transport Policy Interventions to curb particulate matter emissions in Chandigarh; Role: Indian Co-PI; Sponsoring Agency: Global Challenge Research Fund, UK; Awarded Cost: 26 Lakhs

6. Pre-feasibility study of Battery Electric buses in India; Role: Indian-PI; Sponsoring Agency: Global Challenge Research Fund, UK; Awarded Cost: 13 Lakhs

5. Congestion Pricing: Planning for optimal strategies and commuters’ behavioural implications under different pricing schemes; Role: Co-PI ; Sponsoring Agency: SPARC, MHRD; Awarded Cost: 30 Lakhs.

4. Development of a comprehensive methodology to improve road traffic safety in Indian urban roadways based on advanced statistical techniques; Role: PI ; Sponsoring Agency: DST-SERB Start up Research Grant Awarded Cost, DST-SERB Start up Research Grant Awarded Cost; Awarded Cost: 11.39Lakhs

3. Development of Pedestrian Facility Assessment Tool for Improving Pedestrian’s safety condition in Hyderabad; Role: PI; Sponsoring Agency: AIA. Hyderabad; Awarded Cost: 1 Lakh

2. Urban road safety management through evaluation of operating speed and geometric consistency; Role: PI; Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Additional Competitive Research Grant); Awarded Cost: 8 Lakhs

Project title: Urban road safety management through evaluation of operating speed and geometric consistency

Role: PI

Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Awarded Cost: 8 Lakhs

Project title: Urban road safety management through evaluation of operating speed and geometric consistency

Role: PI

Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Awarded Cost: 8 Lakhs

Project title: Urban road safety management through evaluation of operating speed and geometric consistency

Role: PI

Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Awarded Cost: 8 Lakhs

1. An investigation on factors influencing bicycling and walking in urban Indian context: A case study of Hyderabad, India; Role: PI ; Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Research Initiation Grant)

Project title: An investigation on factors influencing bicycling and walking in urban Indian context: A case study of Hyderabad, India

Role: PISponsoringAgency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Research Initiation Grant

Research Projects

Research Initiation Grant (2021-24) by BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus on the project "The Ritualistic Theatre of Uttarakhand: A Study of Ramman."

Findings of this grant were published in a journal article (check my publications) and in the documentary on Ramman. Ramman is the folk performance tradition and festival celebrated in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. My documentary on Ramman can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJ3Mnea0MU&t=1692s

Areas of research

Membrane biophysics
Photophysics
Fluorescent tools developments

On-going research projects

DST (Inspire): 2023- 2028
SERB (SURE): 2023-2026
BITS (CDRF):2023-2025

Sponsored Projects

Working on a major research project entitled 'Study of Social Accountability at the Work Place' as a Principal Investigator funded by BIS, Government of India. (June-Sept 2024)
Completed a minor project entitled 'India's Integration with Global Value Chains: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects' as a Principal Investigator funded under a Research Initiation Grant (RIG) of BITS Pilani (April 2019 to March 2022).
Worked on a major project entitled 'Gender Dimensions of Trade Facilitation Agreement: Evidence from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal' as a team leader at CUTS International, Jaipur from October 2018 – March 2019 funded by UK's Department for International Development (DFID).
Worked on a major project entitled 'Demystifying Non-Tariff Barriers to India-Bangladesh Trade in Agricultural Products and their Linkages with Food Security and Livelihood' as a team leader at CUTS International, Jaipur from November 2017 – September 2018 funded by USAID.
Worked on a major project entitled 'Enabling Policy Environment for Trade, Transit and Transport Facilitation in the Bay of Bengal Region – BBIN Countries and Myanmar' as a team member at CUTS International, Jaipur from January 2017 – March 2019 funded by US State Department, and UK's Department for International Development.
Worked on a major project entitled 'SPS/TBT Issues faced by the Indian Exporters in the SASEC Region' as a team member at CUTS International, Jaipur from March – October, 2017 funded by Asian Development Bank.
Worked on a major project entitled 'Linkages and Impact of Cross Border Informal Trade in Agricultural Inputs in Eastern South Asia' as a team member at CUTS International, Jaipur from July 2016 – September 2017 funded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and UK Department for International Development.
Lead a minor Project on 'Trade Facilitation Measures and Its Impact on RCEP Economies: An Econometric and CGE Analysis' from August – December 2015 funded by 10th ARTNeT Post-Workshop Research Grant Programme of Asia Pacific Research Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), UNESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand.

Research Areas

Reinforcement Learning Applications in UAVs and Drones
Reinforcement Learning for the Internet of Things (IoT) Security
Deep Learning for IoT Security
Broader Deep Learning and machine learning applications for IoT, UAVs and road vehicles

Sponsored Research Projects

Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA) Grant

Project Title: Applications of AI in the field of IoT and Vehicular Networks

Amount: Rs. 21 lakhs.

Role: Principle Investigator

Duration: Five years (2021-2026)

Status: On going

Research Initiation Grant

Project Title: Leveraging AI to Develop Security Solutions for Selected Areas of IoT

Amount: Rs. 2 lakhs.

Role: Principle Investigator

Duration: Two years (2021-2023)

Status: On going

Shastri Indo-Canada SICRG Award

Project Title: AI Enabled Security Provisioning and Vehicular Vision Innovations for

Autonomous Vehicles

Amount: Rs. 10 lakhs.

Role: Member/Research Scholar (during PhD)

Duration: Two years (2019-2020)

Status: Completed

For Students

BITS Pilani students looking for project type courses such as SOP/LOP/DOP/RP/SAT/etc.. under me, please see below:

** Interested students having a CGPA above 7.5 and/or fulfilling the following criterion may mail me showing their genuine interest in the projects/research areas listed above:

Strong programming skills in Python/C/C++
Strong hands-on experience in building Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, and Machine Learning models using Pytorch, TensorFlow, Keras, and other similar libraries
Strong hand-on experience on GPU computing platforms such as Google Colab
Strong technical writing skills and eagerness to work on writing technical research papers
Willing to have a long-term academic relationship (at least 2 semesters and above, including working in semester breaks if required)
Prior experience/eagerness for literature/background study of articles in research databases such as IEEE Xplore (Link), Science Direct (Link), etc...

**Due to the high volume of emails, I may be unable to respond to all the emails I receive (especially if you do not meet the above eligibility criterion).

I do not offer projects to students outside BITS Pilani.

Completed Projects

Project Title: A Secure Vision-based Driver Support System for Internet of Vehicles (IoV) with Object Detection Technique and Optimal RSUs Deployment

Sponsored Agency: AI and Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK), IISc Bangalore

Sanctioned Amount: 3.86 Lakhs

Project Members: Shashank Gupta, Debjani Ghosh (Fellowship Awardee)

Project Duration: 1 Year (September 2021 to August, 2022)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Project Title: Development of Deep Learning-Based Intrusion Detection System for Defending Android-Based HTML5 Web Applications against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attack

Sponsored Agency: Data Security Council of India (DSCI)

Sanctioned Amount: 5.9 Lakhs

Project Members: Shashank Gupta (PI), Amit Dua (Co-PI)

Project Duration: 1 Year (December 2020 to November 2021)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Project Title: A Web Browser-Based Extension for Defending HTML5 Web Applications against Script Injection Vulnerabilities on Cloud and Fog Computing Infrastructures

Sponsored Agency: Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani

Sanctioned Amount: 2 Lakhs

Project Member(s): Shashank Gupta (PI)

Project Duration: 2 Years (November, 2017 to October, 2019)

Research Projects

Click here for details

Our research work has found home in some of the top medicinal chemistry and cheminformatics journals

Sponsored Projects

6. Title: Study of the technological advancements in the manufacture and market trends in the utilization of calcium silicate bricks used as building material.

Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: BIS
Amount: Rs. 4.96 Lakhs
Status: Ongoing
Duration: 6 months

5. Title: Novel self healing concrete using electric arc furnace slag based alkali activated materials

Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: NBCC India Pvt. Ltd.
Amount: Rs. 36.67 Lakhs
Status: Ongoing
Duration: Two years (April 2024 to March 2026)

4. Title: Innovative accelerated carbonation process for the preparation of ready mixed recycled aggregate concrete

Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Funding agency: SERB SURE
Amount: Rs. 28.22 Lakhs
Status: Ongoing
Duration: Three years (Oct 2023 to Sep 2026)

3. Title: A feasibility study on development of Fire Resistant Geopolymer Composites

Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Additional Competitive Research Grant Scheme)
Amount: Rs. 9.65 Lakhs
Status: Completed
Duration: Two years (Jan 2020 to Jan 2022)

2. Title: A feasibility study on utilizing locally available fly ash to produce geopolymers for structural fire resistance applications

Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Research Initiation Grant for new faculty)
Amount: Rs. 2 Lakhs
Status: Completed
Duration: Two years (July 2018 to July 2020)

1. Title: AI techniques for structural health monitoring

Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: NVIDIA GPU Seed grant

Research Funding

Government Funding

DBT-RLS, Government of India- 42,50,000 INR

Institute Funding

Advanced Competitive RIG, BITS-Pilani- 900,000 INR

RIG, BITS-Pilani- 200,000 INR

Industrial Funding

Milestone Tech Seed Grant- 2500000 INR (Instrument support)

Sponsored Projects

As Principal Investigator:

Project Title : A Benchmarking Analysis of Public Transport Sector of Rajasthan: DEA Approach.

Funding Agency: DST, Rajasthan

Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 5.59 Lakhs

Duration: 36 months (February, 2018 - February, 2021)

As Co-Investigator:

Project Title : An Impact Assessment Study of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) on Gender.

Funding Agency: National Rural Roads Developments Agency (NRRDA), New Delhi

Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 4.92 Lakhs

Duration: 4 months (January 2015-April 2015)

As Co-Investigator

"A Benchmarking Analysis of Public Transport Sector of Rajasthan: DEA Approach" funded by DST Rajasthan, Jaipur from February 2018 to February 2021. Amount: 5.59 Lakhs (PI: Prof Shivi Agarwal)
"Spatial Multi Criteria Decision Support Systems for Smart Cities" funded by BITS Pilani, India and RMIT Australia from January, 2024 to December, 2027 (Jointly with Prof Shivi Agarwal, BITS Pilani and Prof Prem Chhetri and Prof Mathews Nkhoma, RMIT Australia)

Project Areas

Optoelectronic Devices
Circuits and Systems
High Speed Electronic Devices/Nanoelectronic Devices
Modelling and Simulation
Optical Communication and Networks
Wireless Communication and Networks

Research and Developmental Projects

Sl. No.	Project Title	Amount sanctioned (lacs)	Sponsored Organization	PI/ Co-PI	Year of Start/ Completion
1.	Aakash Ganga – A Social Enterprise Model for RWH and Agriculture of low water demanding economically important plant	61.96	Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi	PI	2011/ 2014, Completed
2.	Bio-diesel Production from Microalgae	16.40	CSIR	Co-PI	2010/ completed
3.	Design and development of Static Sunshade for thermal comfort inside the building	9.86	University Grants Commission, New Delhi	PI	2008/2011 Completed
4.	National Programme for Capacity Building of Engineers in Earthquake Risk Management.	30.90	Ministry of Home Affairs	Coordinator	2004-2007/ completed
5.	Self-Sustaining Rooftop rainwater Harvesting Scheme	96.00	World Bank, Washington, USA	Co-PI	2006/2009/ completed
6.	Design of a New Shading Device for Energy Efficient Windows for Tropical Regions in India	4.35	KK Birla Academy, New Delhi	PI	2004/2007/ completed
7.	Self-Sustaining Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Scheme	25.00	Rajasthan Association of North America	PI	2003/2006/ completed
8.	A study of Sludge minimization during the treatment of pickling effluent and recovery of metals from the treated sludge	10.00	Aditya Birla Group, Mumbai	Co-PI	2011/ 2014 completed
9.	GIS Based Characterization of ground water in Shekhawati Region of Rajasthan	18.00	Department of Science and Technology,	Co-PI	2011/ continuing
10.	Training on Watershed Management; 8 months	4.50	Himachal Pradesh Government	Coordinator	2000/2001
11.	Facility management using GIS and Genetic Algorithm	19.99	Department of Science and Technology,	PI	March 2013-2015
12.	Design, development and implementation of a building integrated photovoltaic system for rural application	123	State Innovation Council	Co-PI	Sanctioned 43 lacs
13.	Roof top Rainwater Harvesting for Safe, Potable and Healthy Drinking Water and Ground Water Replenishment for BITS Pilani, Pilani campus	91.00	Centre of Excellence, in Waste, Water and Energy Management, BITS, Pilani	PI	Feb. 14 - Jan.17
14.	Assessment of Water Resource Management interventions implemented by Ambuja Cement Foundation, Chirawa	5.37	Ambuja Cement foundation Chirawa (Raj.)	PI	May 2014-Sep. 2015
15.	Costs and remediation of groundwater contamination in India	$2.50	College of Arts and Sciences at University of Virginia, USA	PI (India)	2016
16.	Conjunctive use of Rainwater and Groundwater to provide safe drinking water with intervention of Advanced Technology	204.13	Department of Science and Technology + Samgra Sewa Sansthan	PI	Oct. 2016
17.	Preparation of State-of-the-Art Report (SOAR) on Fog vision system for Roads (F. No. RW/NH-35083/62/2016/S&R(R), dated 31 March 2017	4.35	Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India	PI	Final Report submitted; Money was never received even after signing the agreement with CE
18.	Structured Dialogues for Sustainable Urban Water Management (SDSUWM) DST/TM/EWO/WTI/2K19/UWS-04 (AMU, BITS-Hyderabad, Pilani, Amrita Engg)	509.04 (BITS-P: 329.88)	Department of Science and Technology	PI	Continuing

Research Projects

1. Development of A Real Time Crop Advisory System Exploiting Nanotechnology Based Nitrogen Sensor With Internet of Farming (IoF) Framework

Amount: INR 46,15,240/-
Sponsored by: Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi.
Role: Principal Investigator
Status: Completed (Duration: 31 Mar 2021 - 30 Mar 2024)

2. Development of robust adaptive control algorithm applied to process control loops having stiction nonlinearity

Amount: INR 2,00,000/-
Sponsored by: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus (Research Initiation Grant)
Role: Principal Investigator
Status: Completed

Research Interest

Electron Momentum Density
Electrical Transport in CNT and CNTFET
Density Functional Theory
Image Compression

Funded Projects at BITS Pilani

1. Project Name: Energy Sharing among Prosumers

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Funding type: Research Initiation grant

Role: PI

Duration:2021-23 (Completed)

2. Project Name: Optimal Performance of Vandium Redox Flow Battery for

Grid Integration of Renewable Energy

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Funding type: Additional Competitive Research Grant

Role: PI

Duration: 2021-23 (Completed)

3. Project Name: Developing a Resilient Energy Network for a Smart Grid

Funding Agency: ABB Limited

Funding type: Scholarship to the PhD student Victor

Role: Joint Supervisor

Duration: 2022-25

4. Project Name: Sharing Economy to develop Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Funding Agency: ABB Limited

Funding type: Scholarship to the JRFs (Lipsa,Hari)

Role: Joint Supervisor

Duration: 2023-24

5. Project Name: Demand Response by Data Centers

Funding Agency: BITS, India-RMIT, Australia

Funding type: Scholarship to the PhD student Pam Paul

Role: Joint Supervisor

Duration: 2024-27

6. Project Name: Mechanism Design to improve penetration of rooftop solar photovoltaics in the power grid

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad

Funding type: Cross Disciplinary Research Fund

Role: PI

Duration: 2024-23

7. Project Name: Optimization of Renewable Energy Resources and Energy Storage Systems in a Microgrid

Funding Agency: BITS, India-RMIT, Australia

Funding type: Scholarship to the PhD student Abhinav

Role: Joint Supervisor

Duration: 2024-27

8. Project Name: Equitable Energy Access via Energy Communities and Microgrids: A Cyber-Physical System Approach

Funding Agency: DST, India

Funding Type: US-India (NSF-DST) Cyber-Physical Systems

Role: PI

Duration: 2024-27

9. Project Name: Designing a electrical storage device operated under time-varying price

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Funding Type: Sparkle

Role: PI

Duration: 2025-27

Research Projects

NFSG Project

Title: Navigating loss during and post COVID 19: Adaptation and resilience
Funding Agency: BITS
Amount: 10 lakhs
Period: 2024-2026

Early Career Scholar Award [International]

Title: Resilience and mental health among youth in India
Funding Agency: Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University, Canada
Amount: $50,000 Canadian dollars
Supervisor: Prof. Michael Ungar [School of Social Work, Dalhousie University]
Co-supervisor: Dr. Amrita Deb [Liberal Arts, IIT Hyderabad]
Period: 2024- 2026

Completed Projects

"Deep Learning, The Double-edge Sword in Cyber Security", Co-Investigator; Project funder: Defence Science and Technology Group, Australia, 2021 - 2022.
"A Game-theoretical Approach for Feature Obfuscation in AI Models", Co-Investigator; Project funder: UTS Defence Innovation Network, Sydney, Australia, 2020 - 2021.
"Next Best Action Recommendations", Co-Investigator; Project funder: Flightspeed Ventures and Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, 2019-2020.
"Data Analytics Models for Stock Market Surveillance", Co-Investigator; Project funder: NASDAQ OMX and CMCRC, 2016 - 2019.
"Visual Computing and Big Data Research", Co-Investigator; Project funder: Hangzhou Dianzi University China, 2017.
"Development and Validation of data mining methods for analyzing static and incremental multi-component data", Co-Investigator; Project funder: The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), Nancy, France, 2012.

Intramural Grants

Course Recommendation with Deep Learning

Agency

Teaching Learning Centre, BITS Pilani

Amount Sanctioned (in Rupees)

1.00 Lakh

July 2023-Present

Artificial Intelligence Startup - Paramedha Technologies Private Limited

Agency

Student Program for Advancing Research, KnowLedge, and Entrepreneurship (SPARKLE), Research & Innovation Division, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
School of Interdisciplinary Research and Entrepreneurship (SIRE), BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Amount Sanctioned (in Rupees)

2.00 Lakh

October 2023-Present

Adversarial artificial intelligence applications of robust neural networks

Agency

New Faculty Seed Grant, Grants Consultancy and Industrial Research Division, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Amount Sanctioned (in Rupees)

20.00 Lakh

November 2023-Present

Extramural Grants

Ensuring Food Security through AI assisted Robust Agriculture at Scale

BITS Pilani team

Pilani campus: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal
Hyderabad campus: Prof. Sanket Goel, Prof. Aneesh Chivukula
Goa campus: Prof. Santonu Sarkar, Prof. Sravan Danda, & Prof. Rajesh Mehrotra

Agency

Ministry of Education, Government of India

Amount Sanctioned (in Rupees)

2.00 Crore

March 2024-Present

Sponsored Projects

Project Title: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Sri Lanka: ‘Harmonious World’ Vis-à-vis Liberal International Order?

Funding Organization: BITS Pilani

Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Veena Ramachandran

Amount: INR 2 Lakh, Duration: 2020-22

Brief Description of the Project: The proposed research project intends to define and explore the Chinese conceptualization of the Harmonious World and its characteristics as a theoretical framework to comprehend China’s bilateral engagement with countries like Sri Lanka. The purpose is to understand the nature of the Harmonious World and investigate whether the Chinese concept of a Harmonious World attempts to redefine/challenge the normative underpinnings of sovereignty, paving its way for a hierarchical or Sino-centric global order and, if yes, how. Accordingly, this study examines China- Sri Lanka engagement in the post-civil war scenario, and most of this engagement has been accredited as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Project Title: Wearable Visual Assistant with Semantic Feature Recognition and Recommendation System for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) individuals

Funding Organization: AutoNxt Automation Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

Principal Investigator (PI) : Dr. Virendra Singh Shekhawat

Co-Investigator (Co-PI) : Dr. Avinash Gautam

Amount: INR 22.50 Lakh, Duration: 2021-2025

Brief Description of the Project: Design and Development of an end-to-end system, which is a wearable visual assistant that will assist BVI person to achieve orientation and navigation in a large unknown GPS denied indoor environment. An integral component of the system will be recognition and detection of semantic environmental features to improve system efficiency in terms of accurate navigation, search and recommendation provided to the BVI person.

Project Title: Wearable Visual Assistant with Semantic Feature Recognition and Recommendation System for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) individuals

Funding Organization: AutoNxt Automation Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

Principal Investigator (PI) : Dr. Virendra Singh Shekhawat

Co-Investigator (Co-PI) : Dr. Avinash Gautam

Amount: INR 22.50 Lakh, Duration: 2021-2025

Project Title: Wearable Visual Assistant with Semantic Feature Recognition and Recommendation System for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) individuals

Funding Organization: AutoNxt Automation Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

Principal Investigator (PI) : Dr. Virendra Singh Shekhawat

Co-Investigator (Co-PI) : Dr. Avinash Gautam

Amount: INR 22.50 Lakh, Duration: 2021-2025

Research Projects

Design and Development of Distinct Rhodamine B Spirolactams: Stimulus-Responsive Inks for Multipurpose Anticounterfeiting Applications(Submitted in February 2024 and Accepted for Evaluation)
Co-Investigator in MST, Govt of India funded-the "Indo-Austria" Joint Project Proposal on "Miniaturized MIP Nanomaterial Enhanced Electrochemical Devices for Insulin Detection " Approved on 14-10-22. Indo-Austria Project Proposal: DST/IC/Austria/P-3/2021 reg
DST funded- Completed as Principal Investigator in the Project entitled "Optical and Semiconducting molecular materials based on TTF, TCNQ and their Polymer templates". Under DST Fast track with amount sanctioned 25 lakhs
ICMR funded-Completed as Co-Investigator with Prof. Suman Kapur in the ICMR Project entitled " Development of point of care device for sensing glucose in blood" Under ICMR, 26,14,048 Lakhs.
DST EMR funded-Completed as Principal Investigator, in the project entitled "Synthesis, Study of Optical properties and Anticancer activity of unique di-substituted tetracyanoquinodimethanes" 76 Lakhs
Compounds for use as anticancer agents and a process for synthesizing the same. (Submitted in January 2023, Under Review, SERB TETRA)

Sponsored Research

S. No.	Project Title	Sponsoring Agency	Role	Status
8	Optimum Mechanical Design of Hydraulic System Components for Industrial Automation	WIPRO-WIN	PI	Ongoing (2024-2029)
7	Wearable devices for nicotine monitoring in smokers	CDRF/BITS Pilani	Co-PI	Ongoing (2024-2026)
6	Enhanced Strength-to-weight Ratio INCONEL-718 Alloy Structures Made by Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Applications	DST/SERB/CRG	PI	Completed (2021-2024)
5	Surface Finish Improvement in Tube Drawing	TIIL, Murugappa, Chennai	Co-PI	Completed (2017 -2020)
4	Develop and Test Certain 3D Printing Technologies To Produce Innovative Limbs At Affordable Costs for the Disabled in India	BIG-5, BIRAC, DBT, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India	PI	Completed (2015-2017)
3	Rapid Incremental Forming of Extra Deep Drawing (EDD) Steel Sheet Metal Parts with Asymmetric Geometry	UGC Major Project, UGC, New Delhi, Govt of India	PI	Completed (2011-2014)
2	Setup planning for machining of prismatic parts	UGC/BITS	PI	Completed (2000-2001)
1	Solar Energy Driven Vehicle	DST, Rajasthan	PI	Completed (2005-2006)

Funded Research Projects

Ongoing:

A Study of Certain Graphs Associated to Finite Groups, Funded by SERB under Core Research Grant (CRG), 25 Jan. 2023 to 24 Jan. 2026, Amount: 18,41,400 INR.

Completed:

A study of near-semiring generated from certain mappings, Funded by BITS Pilani under Research Initiation Grant (RIG), August 2016-2017, Amount: 1,00,000 INR
A Study of Graphs on Semigroups, Funded by SERB under Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support (MATRICS), March 2019 - February 2022, Amount: 6,60,000 INR

Sponsored Projects

BITS Pilani Sparkle Grant

Title: A software for floorplan building layouts

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: October 2023-2025

Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN)

BITS Pilani – La Trobe Joint Project

Title: Advanced Geometric Algorithms For Network Optimisation And Architectural Layout Design

PI: Myself, Marcel Jackson; Co-PI: Manjanna Basappa, Michael Payne

Duration: July 2021-2025

SERB-DST Early Career Research Award

Title: Mathematics-aided Architectural Design Layouts

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: July 2017-2020

RIG Grant, BITS-Pilani

Title: Rectilinear Arrangement Of Rectangles

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: August 2016-2018

Projects

Sr No	Title of project	Sponsoring Agency	Amount	PI/Co-PI details	Duration	Status
1.	Miniaturization and enhancement of MIMO antennas for future generation higher data rate communications	RIG (BITS)	2.00	PI: Sourav Nandi	2 Years (26 July 2019-25 July 2021)	Completed
2.	Design of commercially viable compact and efficient planar multi-port antennas for WLAN and 5G applications	ACRG (BITS)	10.00	PI: Sourav Nandi	2 Years (2 Nov 2020-1 Nov 2022)	Completed
3.	Design of Phase Locked Loop Dielectric Resonator Oscillators for Frequency Synthesizers	DLRL-CARS	9.93	PI: Sourav Nandi Co-PI: Harish V Dixit	1 Year (26 Jan 2020-1 Dec 2021)* *extended due to Covid-19	Completed
4.	Design and development of miniaturized MIMO antennas with high isolation at sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave for 5G MIMO and massive MIMO systems applications	DST-SERB SRG	12.69	PI: Sourav Nandi	2 Years (24 Dec 2021-23 Dec 2023)	Completed
5.	Design and simulation of high efficiency UHF Klystron for accelerator applications	BRNS (DAE)	39.98	PI: Sourav Nandi Co-PI: Harish V Dixit	3 Years (31 Jan 2024-30 Jan 2027)	Ongoing

Projects

Funding Agency: SPARKLE, BITS Pilani
Duration: 2023-2025
Fund: INR 2,00,000
Principal Investigator: Anakhi Hazarika
Title: Deep Learning based Human Activity Recognition (HAR) system for Healthcare Services in Smart Homes
Funding Agency: CDRF-II, CREST, BITS Pilani
Duration: 2024-2026
Fund: INR 20,00,000
Principal Investigator: Deepthi M. Dilip, Anakhi Hazarika
Title: Structural Health Monitoring of Asphalt Pavements using Digital Twin Information
Funding Agency: DST, CHANAKYA Fellowship Program 2024, TiH-IIT Bombay
Duration: 2024-2026
Fund: INR 11,55,200
Principal Investigator: Anakhi Hazarika
Title: Design an Edge Computing-based Smart Feed and Water Delivery System for Livestock

Projects

Funding Agency: TIH, IIT Bombay, DST funded.
Duration: 2024-25
Fund: INR 6,00,000
Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: Development of a Light-weight Scheduling Mechanism for the LoRa MAC.
Funding Agency: SERB: Startup Research Grant
Duration: 2024-26
Fund: INR 19,00,000
Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: Development of a Seamless Communication Framework in IEEE 802.15.4-DSME based IoT-Enabled Smart Cities.
Funding Agency: TIH, IIT Bombay, DST funded.
Duration: 2023-2027
Fund: INR 27,00,000
Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: Exploiting Adaptive Data-Rate Technique for Longer Network Lifetime & Resource Allocation of LoRa based IoT Applications.
Funding Agency: CDRF-BITS Pilani
Duration: 2023-2025
Fund: INR 30,00,000
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: An End-to-End Integrated Air-to-Underwater Quantum Communication System.
ASCRIN Joint PhD Proposal with La Trobe University, Australia
Resource Allocation for Low-power Networks in Smart Cities
BITS PI: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
La Trobe University PI: Prof. Wei Xiang
Joint PhD Proposal with RMIT Australia
a) Secured & Intelligent Vehicular Transportation Framework
BITS PI: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury, Co-PI: Dr. Jay Dave
RMIT PI: Prof. Ke (Desmond) Wang

b) Privacy and Security in Online Social Networks
BITS PI: Dr. Jay Dave, Co-PI: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
RMIT PI: Prof. Iqbal Gondal
Funding Agency: Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad
Duration: 2022-2024
Fund: INR 2,00,000
Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: Development of a complete DSME-MAC framework for IEEE 802.15.4 based IoT networks.
Funding Agency: The College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Duration: 2022-2023
Fund: Saudi Riyals 30,000
Principal Investigator: Prof. Moustafa Nasralla
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: Development of DSME-MAC protocols for IEEE 802.15.4 based IoT networks.
Funding Agency: Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad
Duration: 2022-2024
Fund: INR 10,00,000
Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikumani Choudhury
Title: Towards Smart Living (BPHC) Campus: Leveraging LoRaWAN Technologies for IoT Network Applications.

Sponsored Projects

ICSSR Sponsored Projects

1) Title: "Impact of the ex-gratia for farmers’ suicide on the surviving family member of the deceased farmers in Telangana".

Funding Amount: 4,00,000 (Four Lakh Rupees).

Duration: One Year.

Status: Completed.

2) Title: "Challenges to the scalability of women-led enterprises: A case study of the MSME units in Telangana State". (PI - Dr. Suchismita Satpathy; Co-PI - Dr. Pranesh Bhargava; Co-PI - Thota Nagaraju)

Funding Amount: 4,00,000 (Four Lakh Rupees).

Duration: One Year.

Status: On-going.

Research Initiation Grant

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

External Collaborator and other research projects

National/International Research Project Completed/Ongoing as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI

Major Project completed as a PI
Project Title: MSME definition and measurement in India and its effect on informality
Duration: September 2020 to November 2020
Funded by: International Labour Organization (ILO), New Delhi Office
Funding amount: ₹ 6 lakhs
Major Project Proposal accepted recently as a PI
Project Title: Study of Prevention and Control of Fraud and Corruption by an Organization
Duration: May 2024 to September 2024
Funded by: BIS, Government of India
Funding amount: INR 6.05 lakhs
Major Project Proposal accepted recently as a Co-PI
Project Title: Study of Social Accountability at the Work Place
Duration: May – October 2024
Funded by: BIS, Government of India
Funding amount: INR 5.5 lakhs
Minor project completed under Research Initiation Grant of BITS Pilani as a PI
Project Title: Changing Contours of Income-Employment Growth and Expected Job Loss in India Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: A Regional Perspective
Duration: June 2021-May 2023
Funded by: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan
Funding amount: INR 5.5 lakhs
Minor Project Proposal completed as a Consultant
Project Title: Analysing demographic transition in shaping the economy, employment and future possibilities in Odisha
Duration: August-September 2023
Funded by: CYSD, Bhubaneswar, UNFPA
Funding amount: INR 1.25 lakhs
Major Project Completed recently as a Consultant
Project Title: India’s New World of Work: Perspectives & Recommendations on Gig and Platform Economy
Duration: June-November 2021
Funded by: VV Giri National Labour Institute and NITI Aayog

Workshop/Seminar Conducted

Awarded Conducted a Ten Days Research Methodology workshop in 22-31 August 2022 in the Department of Economics & Finance at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, as a course Co-Director sponsored by ICSSR and approved during June 2022 (₹ 5.5 lakhs).
Awarded to Conducted a Five Days National Workshop on NSSO Cross-Sectional Unit-Level Survey Data Analysis for Empirical Research using STATA & R Studio (Hybrid Mode-Offline/Online) as a course Convener (self-sponsored), BITS Pilani during February 21-25, 2024 (₹ 3.45 lakhs).

Professional Experience

1-Economist, at Centre of Excellence in Fiscal Policy and Taxation (CEFT), Govt. of Odisha, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Nature of Work: Working in the UNICEF-CEFT Research Project on “Strengthening Public Finance for Children in Odisha (Child Budgeting) and Odisha Gender Budgeting as well as Odisha Nutrition Based Budgeting Analysis and Odisha SDG Budget Analysis” for bringing the major policy documents for the state during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 period. Further assisted in preparing the “Handbook on Gender and Child Budgeting” published by UNICEF, CEFT and the Finance Department Government of Odisha (May-2019 to April-2021).

2-Research Assistant at Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum (Kerala), in the Project “Evaluation Study of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2006-07 to 2010-11”, Nature of Work: NSSO EUS unit level data analysis and Primary Data analysis and report writing (Aug.-2013 to July-2014)

3-Worked as a Consultant on a part-time basis at the Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi during March 2020 to April 2020. Research-related activities (March-2020 to April-2020)

4-Worked as a Consultant on a part-time basis at Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, in the research study titled “Diagnostic for Health System Transformation in Odisha”, during October 2019 to March 2020. Research-related activities (October-2019 to March-2020)

5-Academic Associate at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, Research and Academic related activities ( Jan-2011 to July-2011)

6-Research Assistant for Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), New Delhi, on a part-time basis in the Project “Changing Prospective of Women work in India: A Case Study of Odisha”, Nature of Work: NSSO EUS unit level data analysis and Primary Data analysis and report writing ( March-2016 to Aug.-2016)

Sponsored Projects

Science and Engineering Research Board for State University Research Excellence (SERB-SURE)-2022-25 (As PI)

Funding agency: SERB

Amount: 20.00 lakhs

ICMR-Huntington's disease Project -2022-25 (As Co-PI)

Funding agency: ICMR

Amount: 40.00 lakhs

Young Maternity Parenthood Grant Award (International Brain Research Organization-[IBRO]-2021-22; As P.I)

Funding agency: IBRO

Amount: 4.30 lakhs

Department of Biotechnology (DBT)-Builder Project (2021-2025; As P.I)

Funding agency: Department of Biotechnology (DBT)-Builder grant

Amount: 300 lakhs

(Expertize from the department of biological sciences for the setup of whole-cell electrophysiology facility in BITS-Hyderabad under this interdisciplinary project)

Early Career Grant Award (International Brain Research Organization-[IBRO]-2020-21; As P.I)

Funding agency: IBRO

Amount: 4.30 lakhs

Student Grant (CSIR-SRF)

Funding agency: CSIR

Amount: SRF-Fellowship award

Duration: 2021-2023

Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Biology Laboratory

Cancer growth, invasion, and metastasis are influenced by the complex interactions within the tumor microenvironment (TME), which comprises various cell types, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune cells, and vascular networks, along with the extracellular matrix. These components collectively regulate tumorigenesis, making the TME a promising target for therapeutic intervention. Our research efforts converge on unraveling this complexity, with the following aims:

Investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment during the transition from premalignant to malignant states. Focus on delineating the intricate interplay between intrinsic factors, such as nuclear structure and chromatin organization, and extrinsic factors, including growth factors and hormonal signaling, to understand their collective impact on CAF activation.
Utilising advanced technologies, including advanced imaging techniques, spatial transcriptomics, mass spectroscopy imaging, as well as with 3D in vitro tumor models,we aim to comprehensively characterize the components of the tumor microenvironment that contribute to tumor progression and treatment resistance. This involves mapping the spatial distribution of various stromal cell types, deciphering their molecular profiles, and identifying key signaling pathways and metabolic signatures implicated in tumor-stromal interactions.
Development of novel therapeutic strategies targeting the tumor stroma with a specific focus on exploiting vulnerabilities in the signaling networks that regulate CAF activation. This includes identifying druggable targets within the tumor microenvironment, designing precision therapies to disrupt tumor-promoting functions of CAFs, and assessing the efficacy of these interventions in preclinical models and clinical trials to enhance the overall effectiveness of anticancer therapies.
Investigate sex and gender disparities in cancer incidence, progression, and treatment outcomes, with a particular emphasis on elucidating the role of sex hormone signaling in non-reproductive tissue cancers. Utilizing epidemiological data, molecular profiling, and experimental models we aim to dissect the underlying mechanisms driving sex-specific differences in cancer susceptibility and therapeutic responses and developing personalized approaches for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Sponsored Projects

Approved externally funded project as PI

“Designing Metallo(salen) polymers for detection of phosphorylated peptides and proteins: Amplification of Signal via Disassembly Strategy” under SERB-SRG grant (project ID: SRG/2022/000031), Budget: 33 Lakhs (started on November 2022).
“Design and development of portable acidosis kit for the rapid, trace-level detection of Ketone bodies in biological samples” under ICMR-ITR grant (project ID: 2021-8350), Budget: 35 Lakhs (started on April 2023).
“Designing Near-infrared Fluorescent Probes for Detection of Mycotoxins in Agricultural Crops and Food Items” under DST-SYST (project ID: SP/YO/2021/1632), Budget: 24.5 Lakhs (started from December 2023).
“Real-time Monitoring of Lysosomal ATP: A generalized Biomarker for Point-of-Care Testing of Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs)” under MOE-STARS (project ID: MoE-STARS/STARS-2/2023-0300), Budget: 35 Lakhs (started from February 2024).

Approved Externally-funded project as co-PI

“Integrated droplet microfluidic device for ultra-high throughput biochemical applications” under SERB-SURE grant (SUR/2022/001977), Budget: 18.5 Lakhs (started from December 2023)

Approved Internally (BITS Pilani) funded project as PI/ coPI

Compare Analytical Performances of Microenvironment-Sensitive Optical Probes in Micelles of Different Shapes and Sizes. Research Initiation Grant, BITS-Pilani (Hyderabad campus), Budget: 2 Lakhs
Design Low-cost Portable Optical Kit for On-location, Rapid Analysis of Glyphosate Herbicide. Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS-Pilani (Hyderabad campus), Budget: 6 Lakhs
"Precursor Design and Optimization for Atomic Layer Deposition of Two-dimensional Semiconductors on Different Inorganic Oxide Surfaces an Ab initio Theoretical Calculation and Experimental Realization based Complementary Approach" CDRF grant, BITS Pilani, Budget: 10 Lakhs

Research Interest

Laboratory for Supramolecular Chemistry and Biomaterials

Optical Sensing of heavy metal pollutants, toxic anions, biomolecules, food toxins and volatile organic compounds etc.
Study photophysical and photochemical processes in confined media (vesicle, micelle, microemulsion)
Design responsive softmaterials and organic-inorganic hybrid materials for sensing and drug delivery applications
Template mediated dynamic self-assembly, Supramolecular polymers etc.
Sustainable and agricultural chemistry
Luminescent nanomaterials, quantum dots and nanoclusters for sensing and catalysis applications.

Sponsored Projects:

Sl. No.	Funding Agent	Title of the Project	Amount (Rs)	Role	Status
Ongoing Projects
28	Scheme for Promotion of Academic & Research Collaboration (SPARC) Prof. Swati Biswas (PI) Prof. Adam Mechler (La Trobe, Australia) Prof. Jimmy Hsia (NTU, Singapore).	Formulation-based strategy to design membrane targeting antimicrobial peptide-based therapeutics for cancer and eye infections	Rs. 71.16 Lakhs	Co-PI	Recommended (01, April 2024) (2 years)
27	Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Joint DBT-NMPB, Ministry of AYUSH Call for Proposals on Biotech Interventions in Medicinal Plants [Dr. Vidya Rajesh, Dept of Biology and Dr. Onkar Kulkarni, Dept of Pharmacy]	Molecular Studies on Bacopa monnieri to evaluate the modulation of neuronal receptors for schizophrenia using cell based and mouse models: Submitted on January 30_2020	Rs. 30 Lakhs	Co-PI	May 2024 to April 2027 (3 years)
26	Hetero Lab Limited, R&D Jeedimetla, Hyderabad, Telangana – 500037 India. [Dr. Swati Biswas]	Human serum albumin –based nanoparticles as an antiproteosome therapy for the treatment of advanced metastatic triple negative breast cancer	Rs. 5.0 Lakhs	Joint PI	Sanctioned 2024-2027 (3 years)
25	Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India. [Dr. Swati Biswas, Dept. of Pharmacy]	3D-Bioprinted Contact Lens Embedding Host-Defense Peptide S100A12 as Precision Medicine for Bacterial Keratitis	39.10 Lakhs	Co-PI	Sanctioned (1.5 years)
24	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India [Dr. Swati Biswas, Dept of Pharmacy]	Revolutionizing Phototherapy with Hypoxia-Reversing Photothermal/ Photodynamic Nanoparticles-Laden In Situ Gel for Non-Invasive Tumor Ablation in Oral Cancer	53.13 Lakhs	Co-PI	Sanctioned (3 years)
23	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India [Dr. Swati Biswas, Dept. of Pharmacy]	Antibacterial Nanozyme-Laden in situ Light-Responsive Hydrogel for Tissue Regeneration and Quorum-Sensing Inhibition to Revert Antimicrobial Resistance in Diabetic Foot Ulcers	48.02 Lakhs	Co-PI	Sanctioned (3 years)
22	Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences (STARS) for promoting translational, India-centric research in Sciences, to be implemented and managed by Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore [Dr. Swati Biswas, Dept of Pharmacy and Dr. Sayan Das, Dept. of Mech. Engg]	Carbon dioxide-fueled Janus Motors for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Cargo in Helicobacter pylori Infection	43.15 Lakhs	Co-PI	Sanctioned Jan 2024 (3 years)
21	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India. (Proposal ID: IIRP-2023-5411) [Dr. Chanchal Chakraborty, Dept. of Chemistry]	Development of Self-Powered Electrochromic Smart Display for Visual Detection of Folate Receptor Overexpressed Cancer Cells	Rs. 41 Lakhs	Co-PI	Sanctioned Feb 1, 2024 (3 years)
20	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (CRG-SERB) File Number: CRG/2023/003045 [Dr. Tanmay Chatterjee, Dept. of Chemistry]	Electrochemical green synthesis of medicinally potential organo-chalcogenides and chalcogenoxides and evaluation of their anti-cancer activities in search of novel anti-cancer agents	Rs. 43.486Lakhs	Co-PI	Jan 19, 2024 ( 3 years)
19	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India	Development of epigenetic modulators as therapeutics for cognitive deficit associated with psychosis using novel selective histone deacetylase-3 inhibitors	34.84 Lakhs	PI	Ongoing 25.03.2023 – 24.03.2026 (3 years)
18	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India [Dr. Onkar Kulkarni, Dept. od Pharmacy]	HDAC3 and its functional role in the progression of cognitive deficits as a secondary complication to chronic kidney disease.	31.16 Lakhs	Co-PI	Ongoing; 01.03.2023 to 28.02.2026 (3 years)
17	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India {DR. Swati Biswas, Dept of Pharmacy]	Tailor-made, Tumor-Targeted Vitaprotein Nanoparticles of Lapatinib and Letrozole as NanoChemo-Cocktail. for Hormone-Receptor-Amplified Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancers Treatment.	28.82 Lakhs	Co-PI	Ongoing; 27.01.2023 – 26.01.20226 (3 Yrs)
16	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India [Dr. Nilanjan Dey, Dept. of Chemistry]	Design and development of portable acidosis kit for the rapid, trace-level detection of Ketone bodies in biological samples	34.366 Lakhs (Co-PI: Rs. 6 Lakhs)	Co-PI	Ongoing; 01.04.2023– 31.03.2026 (3 Yrs)
15	Department of Health Research (DHR-ICMR). Government of India	Development of Epigenome Targeted Therapeutics with Improved Selectivity and Drug-ability for the Treatment of Cancer	30.483 Lakhs	PI	Ongoing (15.12.2021 – 14.12.2024; ( 3 Years))
14	DBT-BUILDER (Boost to University Interdisciplinary Life Science Departments for Education and Research). Government of India	Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education	300 Lakhs	PI	Ongoing (22.07. 2021 – 21.07.2026 [5 years]
13	Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India [Dr. Tanmay Chatterjee, Chemistry Dept]	Development of Cost-effective, Electrophilic Trifluoromethylating Reagents and Their Application to the Syntheses of New Classes of Medicinally Potential Trifluoromethylated Heterocycles	25 Lakhs	Co-PI	Ongoing (01.04.2021 – Ongoing 31.03.2024 (3 Yrs)
Completed Projects
12	BITS-Pilani Hyderabad Campus	Validation of therapeutic activity in preclinical models	20 Lakhs	PI	Jan 2023 to Dec 2023
11	Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Government of India	Bifunctional Gene-Expression Modulating Chemotherapeutic Agents as Improved Treatment Strategy for Cancer	26.06 Lakhs	PI	Completed( 2019-2022)
10	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (SERB-DST)	Near-Infrared Light Degradable Nanomicellar Chemo-Photodynamic Therapy using Aerobic Chlorin e6 Conjugate for Oropharyngeal Carcinomas	30.72	Co-PI	Completed (2019-2022)
9	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Govt. of India	Functional role of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma: regulation of IL-1 beta expression, autophagy and epithelial-mesenchymal –transition (EMT)	26 Lakhs	Co-PI	Completed(9.9.2019-8.9.2022)
8	Dr. Reddy’s Laboratory (DRL), Hyderabad	Formulation development and physico-chemical/in vitro/in vivo characterization of a nano-suspension formulation of an anticancer drug.	8.01 Lakhs	PI	Completed (2018-2022)
7	Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (SERB-DST)	Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of HDAC3 Selective Inhibitors as Long Term Memory Enhancers	29.87 Lakhs	PI	Completed (28.08.2017-27.08.2021
6	SUN PHARMA ADVANCED RESEARCH COMPANY LTD. (SPARC), India	Chemically modified epigenome targeted anticancer drug development	29 Lakhs	PI	Completed (2016-2018)
5	Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, Seoul, Republic of Korea	Development for sustained release injectable formulations	22 Lakhs	PI	Completed (2015-2017)
4	Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India	Cell penetrating peptide octa-arginine anchored, multifunctional poly(amidoamine) dendrimer to promote delivery of chemotherapeutics in cancer	37 Lakhs	Co-PI	Completed (2014-2017)
3	Additional Competitive Research Grant: Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani	Design and Development of Isoform Selective HDAC3 Inhibitors for the Enhancement of Long-term Memory	9 Lakhs	PI	Completed (2015-2017)
2	Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (Indo-Belarus joint proposal).	Tumor targeted nanomedicines for photodynamic therapy	10 Lakhs	Co-PI	Completed (2015-2017)
1	Research Initiation Grant: Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani at Hyderabad Campus	Development of Cognitive Enhancers that Inhibit Histone Deacetylase Activity and Modulate Chromatin-mediated Neuroplasticity	2 Lakhs	PI	Completed (2013-2015)

Sponsored Project for SRF Fellowship:

Sl. No.	Student	Funding Agent	Years	Status	Role	Amount (Rs.)
1	Prakruti Trivedi	CSIR-SRF	2017-2019	Completed	PI	10,81,600
2	Sravani Pulya	CSIR-SRF	2018-2021	Completed	PI	16,22,400
3	Tarun K Patel	ICMR-SRF	01.07.2022-30.06.2024	Ongoing	PI	17,11,680
4	Sripathi Nikhitha	DST-INSPIRE	01/01/2023 to 31/12/2027	Ongoing	PI	3071800

To be updated soon.

Sponsored Projects

Sr. No.	Title of the project	Role	Sanction No.	Funding Agency	Duration	Funds sanctioned (Rs., Lakh)
1	Design and Synthesis of Novel Agents for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis	PI	37-117/2009 (SR)	University Grants Commission	1/4/2010-31/3/2013	8.35
2	Design and Synthesis of Novel Agents for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis	PI	SR/FT/CS-100/2009	Department of Science and Technology	1/9/2010-31/8/2013	19.03
3	Analysis of herbal extracts and formulations for antioxidant activity	PI		Vedic Life Sciences, Mumbai, India	2006-07	0.5
4	Verifying the structural evidence for the presence of Sennosides	PI		Shashi Phytochemicals Limited, India	2012	0.5
5	Design, synthesis, and biological evaluations of b- secretase inhibitors as anti-Alzheimer's agents	Co-PI	DST/INT/Pol/P-21/2016	DST Indo-Polish Joint Research Programme. Project No. DST/INT/Pol/P-21/2016. Indian PI: Dr. Ruchi Malik, Central Univ of Rajasthan and Polish PI: Prof. Slawomir Filipek, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland	7/6/2017-6/6/2020	19.84
6	DBT-BUILDER -University of Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus: Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education in Epigenetics and Genome Editing	Co-PI	BT/INF/22/SP42545/2021	Department of Biotechnology	24/9/2021-23/9/2026	901.8
7	Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel dual inhibitors of Angiotensin-II type 1 receptor and Neprilysin for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy	PI	CRG/2022/004698	Science and Engineering Research Board	07/09/2023- 06/09/2026	33.02
8	Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel dual inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPPIV) and Neprilysin for the treatment of diabetes	PI	IIRP-2023-6880	ICMR	6/5/2024 to 5/5/2027	41.12

Research funding

Science and Engineering Research Board-Startup Research Grant, GOI
Additional Competitive Research Grant, BIT Pilani
Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani

Projects

Click here

Research Projects

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), “Development of Accelerated Mix-design Approach for Base Materials Treated with Calcium-based Stabilizers Using Miniature Specimens" – Ongoing
Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG), BITS Pilani, “Mitigating Ettringite-Induced Heaving Using Different Crystalline Silica-Rich Waste Products” – Ongoing
Start-up Research Grant (SRG), DST: “Mitigating Ettringite-Induced Heaving in Sulfate-Laden Soils Using Quarry Dust as Co-Additive with Calcium-Based Stabilizers” – Completed
Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani, “Durability of Soils Stabilized With Traditional Calcium-Based Stabilizers” – Completed

Extramural Project

SCIENCE & ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD (SERB-POWER Grant) by DST, Govt. of India 2023-2026

Internal Projects

RIG (Research Initiation Grant) by BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus 2022-2024
ACRG (Additional Competitive Research Grant) by BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus 2022-2024

Research Interest

Develop metal-based catalysts for the generation of chemical fuels.
Investigate reactive intermediates with suitable mimics of active sites of metalloproteins.

Research Interests & Projects

Research Interests

*Development of hybrid nanoparticles containing potential surfactants and silica nanoparticles for gene delivery to cancer cells.

*Study on the role of chemical structures of non-viral vectors in the gene delivery to cancer cells.

*Development of photo-triggered cancer drug delivery systems with real-time monitoring through the NSET mechanism.

*Development of fluorescent surfactant-based nucleic acids detection and gene delivery systems, and bioimaging.

*Applications of fluorescence properties of novel host-guest complexes toward the development of molecular logic gates for the detection of toxic anions in the ppb range.

*Study on protein-surfactant, nanoparticle-conjugated protein-surfactant, and DNA-surfactant interactions.

*Design and synthesis of new fluorescent probes sensitive to the polarity and rigidity of microenvironment and their applications toward biological systems (For synthesis collaborating with Prof. Tanmay Chatterjee, Professor in the Deptt. of Chemistry, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus)

Research Projects

ONGOING MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECT:

UGC-DAE Consortium For Scientific Research, Mumbai Centre, B.A.R.C., Mumbai.

Investigation of Compaction of DNA by Some Potential Surfactants in Presence of Nanoparticles and Decompaction Induced by Cyclodextrins using Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Small Angle Neutron Scattering Techniques. Funded by UGC-DAE Consortium For Scientific Research, Mumbai Centre, B.A.R.C., Mumbai. Duration: 2022-2025.

BITS-RMIT Research Project:

Design and development of hybrid organic-inorganic nanoparticles for co-delivery of DNA and a chemotherapy drug in cancer treatment (Project ID: BITSRMIT024B001261). Supervisors: Prof. Subit Kumar Saha, Prof. Charlotte Conn; Associate Supervisors: Prof. Kumar Pranav Narayan, Prof. Calum Drummond. Duration: 2024-2028.

BITS-CDRF Research Project:

Phenanthrene-based new fluorescent molecules for probing protein-surfactants interactions, DNA detection, gene delivery to cells, and bioimaging. Principal Investigators: Prof. Subit Kumar Saha, Prof. Sankaranarayanan Murugesan, Collaborators: Prof. Tanmay Chatterjee, Prof. Balaram Ghosh. Duration: 2024-2026.

MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECT COMPLETED:

Probing Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer Fluorescence to Characterise the Micelles of Some Gemini Surfactants. Funded by UGC.
Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer (TICT) Fluorescence Probing Studies of Micropolarity and Microviscosity of Different Types of Gemini Micelles. Funded by CSIR.
Study on physicochemical and interfacial properties of some mixed micellar systems of novel Gemini and conventional surfactants in water and water-organic solvent mixed media. Funded by Aditya Birla Group.

Investigation of unfolding and refolding of proteins by gemini surfactants with varying spacer groups using fluorescence spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering techniques. Funded by UGC-DAE Consortium For Scientific Research, Mumbai Centre, B.A.R.C., Mumbai.
Effect of Chemical Nature of Spacer group, Headgroups and Counterions of Gemini Surfactants on Solvation Dynamics and Rotational Relaxation of Coumarins in Aqueous Micelles. Funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.

Minor research projects (UGC) completed:

Fluorescence from 2-(2’-Hydroxy-4’-N,N-Dimethylamino)-phenyl) Benzimidazole and 2-Aminofluorene in homogeneous and microheterogeneous medium.
Investigation of the characteristics of micelles and cyclodextrins using the probes showing excited state intramolecular proton transfer and twisted intramolecular charge transfer behaviour.

Research and Development

Research Fellow | Monash University, Australia

Joint research work with Monash University researchers which resulted in publication

Research Projects:

Principal Coordinator, “A UTILITY TOOL FOR PERSONALIZED MEDICINES”, PierianDx India Private Limited (https://www.pieriandx.com/), Project Duration (from May/2017 to May/2018).Principal Coordinator, “UI for Managing Entities”, Simply Compete Inc. Project Duration (from May/2016 to May/2017).
Research project on “Implementation of Meaning based Grammar“ in the area of Natural Language Processing at CDAC, India

Research Interests:

Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Semantic Web Search
Ontologies and Knowledge Graph
Deep Learning
Text Mining
Big Data Analytics
Information Retrieval
Software Engineering

Research Projects

1. Sequestration of heavy metals using multi-functional biodegradable natural polymers, As Co-Investigator, (CSIR). (2021-2024). (ongoing)

2. Efficacy of appropriately tailored biopolymer and carbonaceous adsorbents for the separation and recovery of Europium, DST SERB, 29 lakhs (2017-20).

3. Development of suitably customized polymers and clay based adsorbents for the effective removal of chromium from e-waste, DST-SERB, 42 lakhs (2013-16).

4. Laboratory investigation and field application towards the effective defluoridation of water using appropriately tailored sorbents, DST under WTI scheme, 26 lakhs (2012-16).

5. Chemically modified polymeric sorbents for the removal and recovery of precious metal palladium from industrial waste, Funded by UGC, 4.7 lakhs (F.41-212/2012(SR)) (2012-2015).

6. Chemically modified adsorbents for the pre-concentration and separation of toxic heavy metal ions from industrial wastes and environmental samples, DST-SERC, 22.5 lakhs (2008-2011).

7. Study of the extraction behavior and speciation of chromium using various long chain amines and its application in treatment of electroplating waste water, UGC, 4.17 lakhs (2007-2010).

Research Projects of Prof. Shamsher Bahadur Singh

Sponsored Projects under Supervision as Principal Investigator and Fundings Received:

76.21 Lakhs ( NBCC, India)

Performance Evaluation of Sintered Fly Ash Lightweight Aggregate in Concrete, Sponsored by National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) India. Ref: Dean Research and Innovation, BITS Pilani, Whatsapp message dated 19th March, 2024. Funding has alreday been received by BITS Pilani; Duration: 3 years (April 01 2024-March 31, 2027)

19.80 Lakhs (DST Contribution) + 20,00,000 Yen (JSPS Contribution)

Behavior of SHCC Elements under Shear Loading,

INDIA-JAPAN COOPERATIVE SCIENCE PROGRAMME, Recommended for Sanction through email

dated July 6, 2023, File No. DST/ICD/JSPS/2022/613]

24.43 lakhs:

Study of Structural Behavior and Failure Characteristics of FRP-Concrete Composite

Beams, File Number: CRG/2022/000731, SERB, DST New Delhi, Approved for sanction on Nov. 28, 2022.

91.056 Lakhs:

Development of Functionally-Graded Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites for High-Strain Rate and Elevated Temperature Aeronautical Applications (PIs: Dr. Vasant Matsagar (IIT Delhi and Dr. S.B. Singh (BITS Pilani), Approximate cost: INR 91,05,600/- (Sanction No. ARDB/01/1082030/M/I dated 15^th February 2022.

Development of Fire Resistant Natural FRP for Structures, US-INDIA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION (USIEF) Project to Host US Fulbright Specialist at BITS Pilani during Academic Year starting August 01, 2021 has been accepted by USIEF, New Delhi. Specialist Name: Prof. Venkatesh Kodur, Michigan State University, Michigan, USA. (Local cost of the stay of specialist will be borne by BITS Pilani while other costs in terms of travel and honorarium will be borne by USIEF, USA) [Ref. No. FSP-P006323 – India].

18.5 Lakhs: Project Title: Study of Postbuckling Response, Failure and Strength of Functionally Graded Composite Plates with and without Cutouts, sponsored by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi dated 24/7/2019 (Ref. no. 22(0781)/19/EMR-II.

15.543 Lakhs: Project Title: Structural Health Assessment and Rehabilitation Framework based on Cyber Physical System, sponsored by DST New Delhi, Ref. DST/ICPS/Cluster (Cyber Physical Systems/2018 (G), dated 13/3/2018 (Multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary project)

18 Lakhs

Project Title: Study of Structural Response and Strengths of Thin-Walled FRP Composite Girders,” sponsored by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (Extra Mural Research Division), CSIR Complex, Pusa, New Delhi, 2014-2017 (Ref. No. 22(0631)/13/EMR-II.

25.93 lakhs

Project Title: “Development and Usage of Innovative Ductile Composite Materials for Repair and

Retrofitting of Concrete and Masonry Structures,” sponsored by Department of Science and Technology

(DST), New Delhi, 2013-2016 (Ref. No.SR/S3/MERC/0051/2012).

10 Lakhs,

Project Title: “Development and Usage of Innovative Ductile Composite Materials for Repair and Retrofitting of Masonry Structures,” sponsored by Aditya Birla Group (ABG), 2011-2014.

17.7 Lakhs

Project Title: “Response and Micromechanics Based Design of Engineered Cementitious Composite Structures,” DST, New Delhi, 2007-2010 (Ref. No. SR/S3/MERC/25/2007).

6 Lakhs

Project Title: “Experimental Investigation of Failure and Stability of Laminated Composite Plates with Cutouts,” CSIR, New Delhi, 2007-2012 (Ref No. 22/(0442)/07-EMR-II).

4.5 Lakhs

Project Title: “Failure and Stability of Laminated Composite Plates with Cutouts,” K.K. Birla Academy Projects, BITS, Pilani, 2007-2010.

£337003/- UKIERI Collaborative Research Award (UK and India) (Fraction of Amount to be received from UK Lead Researcher relevant to Indian Partners.), 2008-2011.

Project Title: Sustainable High Performance Concrete Infrastructures

Indian Research Team Leader: Dr. Shamsher Bahadur Singh

UK Research Team Leader: Prof. Ravindra Dhir

9.3 Lakhs

Project Title: “Flexural Strengthening of Concrete Structures using Near Surface Mounted (NSM) Fiber

Reinforcements, Sponsored by UGC, New Delhi, under Category of Major Research Project, 2008-2011 (Ref.

F.34-389/2008 (SR)).

80 Lakhs

Project Title: DST-FIST Project for Development of Structural Engineering Lab, DST New

Delhi, 2012-2017, 5 years.

70 Lakhs

Project Title: UGC-SAP Project for Structural and Transportation Engineering Research Lab

Developments, UGC-New Delhi, 2012-2017 (5 years).

Sponsored Projects under Supervision as Co-Investigators:

71 Lakhs:

Project Title: Polyethylene Engineered Cementitious Composites (PE-ECC) for High Resilient Infrastructure, approved by the Mission Steering Group (MSG) of Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Collaborative project with NIT Puducherry, approved on September 20, 2022 (F. No. 01/09/2022-NTTM dated September 01, 2022)

US $ 15,000/-

Project Title: “Machine Learning Based Unified Seismic Vulnerability Prediction Model for the Heritage Minarets of India”. Collaborative project awarded to CDRI Fellows: Vinay Shimpi, S.V.R. Madappa, M. Nidhi (NIT Puducherry); S.B. Singh (BITS Pilani), and Nikolaos Nikitas (University of Leeds, UK)

US $1,36,878.03

Project Title: Fire Resistance Guidelines for Hybrid FRP Structural Components made of Cellulose Fibers Derived from Agricultural Waste; Sponsored by University of Nebraska at Omaha: Partnership-2020 for Enhancing US-India Collaboration between Michigan State University (MSU), BITS Pilani, and IIT Delhi; Period: August 2020- June 30, 2022

70 Lakhs

Project Title: Structural Health Assessment and Rehabilitation Framework based on Cyber Physical System,). (Multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary project)

506 Lakhs

Project Title: Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Selected Heritage Structures in the State of Himachal Pradesh adopting output only Vibration Testing and Fragility Curves”, (MoES/P.O.(Seismo)/1(296)/2016)

34 Lakhs

Project Title: Investigation of the Effect of Carbonation on the Properties of Concrete, 2012-15 (Ref. SR/S3/MERC/0064/2011).

US $ 200,000.00

Project Title: Durability and Environmental Evaluation of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Reinforced Concrete Bridges, Ohio Department of Transportation, USA, 4 years, 2000-2004.

US $ 250,000.00

Project Title: Response of CFRP Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Box-Beams, Ohio Department of Transportation, USA, 4 years (2000-2004).

2.0 Lakhs

Project Title: Investigation into the Behavior of Coupling Beams, Seed Grant, BITS Pilani, 2012-2015.

2.0 Lakh

Project Title: Dynamic Bucking Response of Composite Structures, Seed Grant, BITS Pilani, 2012-15.

IMPORTANT CONSULTANCY PROJECTS EXECUTED:

(Only those projects with value more than 0.46 Lakhs are given here:)

As PI: (a) Structural Audit of “Paramount Floraville, Sector 137, Noida” [Two blocks (Celcia and Fushia)], as an Expert (b) September 2023 (c) Paramount Propbuild Private Limited, Noida (d) Rs. 11.80 Lakhs (Ref. No. P-00/2023 (dated 15/9/2023).
As PI: (a) Assessment of Quality of Major Bridge of M.P. Road Development Corporation Ltd., Bhopal as an Expert (b) November 2021 (c) M/s Gangotri Deherda-Ishagarh Tollway Pvt. Ltd., Mohangarh, Lucknow (d) 5 Lakhs, Ref. Letter 8948/Deherda-Ishagarh/COS/2021
As PI: (a) Development of Shelters for High Altitude Areas for Defense Needs (b) Deepali Design and Exhibition through DRDR, New Delhi, Ministry of Defense (3) In Process (4) 5 Lakhs as honorarium for Expert Member. Ref. E-mail dated: 23/10/2021 and 25/10/2021.
As PI: (a) Structural Health Assessment of Railway Quarters at Haripur Railway Station, Rajasthan (b) NW Railway, Ajmer (c) 02 Months (d) Rs. 4.9 Lakhs (RN. P-00/2019 dated 23/7/2019)
As PI: (a) Safety Checking and Failure Study of OHR at Housing Board, Bhiwadi, 560 kL Capacity (b)M/S WPIL Limited, Jaipur (c) 01 Month (d) Rs. 4.8 Lakhs (RN. P-00/2019 dated 22/3/2019)
As PI:(a) Experimental Investigation of Soil Bearing Capacity of Soils, (b) Public Health Engineering Department Suratgarh, Ganganagar, Rajasthan (c) 1 Months (d) Rs. 0.93 Lakhs (R.N. 8650 dated 11/12/2008)
As PI:(a) Safety Checks and Design of Elevated Water Tanks located at Suratgarh Military Station, Rajasthan (b) Suratagarh Military Station, Ganaganagar, Rajasthan (c) 6 months (d) Rs. 1.855 Lakhs (R. No. 10612 dated 23/1/2009)
As PI:(a) Safety Checking of Elevated Water Tank located at Bhadra, Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan (b) Public Health Engineering Department, Bhadra, Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan (c) 1 months (d) Rs. 0.608 Lakhs (R. No. 4698 dated 25/8/2009)
As PI: (a)Design and Safety Checks of Box-Culvert at Noida (b) Ahuja Builders (Engineers and Contractors), Noida, U.P., (c) 3 Months (d) 0.75 Lakhs (R. No. 1311 dated 17/5/2010)
As PI: (a) Safety Checking of Elevated Water Tank located at Khetri, Jhunjhunu District, Rajasthan (b) Public Health Engineering Department, Khetri, Jhunjhunu District, Rajasthan (c) 1 months (d) Rs. 0.56Lakhs (R. No. 8051 dated 02/11/2010)
As PI:(a) Safety Checking and Rehabilitation of Crusher Foundation, Khetri Copper Plant, Rajasthan (b)Khetri Copper Plant, (c) 1 Month (d) Rs. 1.04 Lakhs
As PI:(a) Safety Checking of water Tanks of Ghatal and Ramoura Project, Milkapur, NagaliaRajasthan (b)WPIL Ltd. And PROTECH Consultancy, Engineers, (c) 3 Month (d) Rs. 1.49 Lakhs+D236
As PI: (a) StaadPro Design Checks (b) WPIL Ltd. And PROTECH Consultancy Engineers (c) 1 Month (d) Rs. 1.5 Lakhs
As PI: (a) Safety checking of Water Tanks (b) WPIL Ltd., Jaipur (c)1 Months (d) Rs. 112500/- Ref. 14/9/2017)
(a) Safety Checking of OHR (b) WPIL Ltd. (c) 1 Month (d) Rs. 88903 (Ref. 14/1/2017)
(a) Safety Checking of OHR (b) WPIL Ltd., Jaipur (c) 1 Month (d) Rs. 45500/- (Ref. 31/8/2018)
(a) Safety Checking and Design of Water Tanks (b) WPIL Ltd., Jaipur (c) 1 Month (d) Rs. 150,000/- (Ref. 24/7/2019)
Design of Foundation for Crusher (b) Khetri Copper (c) 1 Month (d) Rs. 140073/- (Ref. 24/8/2016)

Sponsored Projects

Manipulation of Particles in Microchannels for Point-of-care Diagnostic Devices, funded by SERB under State University Research Excellence (SURE), 19.03 Lakhs, October 2023 - October 2026
Numerical Investigation of Inertial Focusing of Deformable particles in microchannels, funded by BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, under Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACG) 10 Lakhs, December 2021 - December 2023.
Numerical Investigation of nucleation of droplets on a solid surface during dropwise condensation, funded by BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, under Research Initiation Grand (RIG) 2 Lakhs, November 2020 - November 2022.

Research Project

Ongoing Projects:

As PI : State University Research Excellence (SERB - SURE) (2023-2026), SERB, Govenment of India, New Delhi, India.
As Co-PI : Small Extramural Grants-ICMR (2023-2026).
CRDF (2024-2026) funded by BITS.

Completed Projects:

As PI: DST Inspire Faculty Award Research Grant (2017-2022), DST, Government of India, New Delhi, India.
As PI : Additional Competitive Grant (2019-2021) funded by BITS and
As PI : Research Initiation Grant (2019-2021) funded by BITS.

Research Projects

Numerical Investigation of Marangoni effects on the liquid-liquid slug flow dynamics - Additional Competitive Grant (ACG), BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, Rs. 9.05 lakhs, Dec 2021-2023.

Sponsored Projects

Start-up Research Grant (SRG) Sponsored by DST-SERB

Role: Principal Investigator

Cost: Rs. 9 Lakhs

Title: A Novel 2:1 Multiplexer based Approach to Implement Ternary Logic Circuits

Duration: 2 Years, Jan 2021 - Jan 2023

Outcomes: (Novel Designs of 2:1 Multiplexer based Combinational and Sequential Circuits)

"Novel Design Methodologies for CNFET-Based Ternary Sequential Logic Circuits", published in IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, vol. 21, pp. 289-298, 2022.
"Design of CNTFET-based Ternary Logic circuits using Low power Encoder," published in IEEE International Symposium on Smart Electronic Systems (iSES), Warangal, India, 2022, pp. 142-147.

Additional Competitive Research Grant Sponsored by BITS-Pilani

Role: Principal Investigator

Cost: Rs. 4.7 Lakhs

Title: RISC-V-based Approximate Processor and its FPGA Prototype for Image Processing Applications

Duration: 2 Years 9 months, Sept 2019 - June 2022

Outcomes: (RISC V-based Approximate Co-processor, ASIC/FPGA Based Designs for Arithmetic Circuits)

"Accuracy Reconfigurable Carry Bypass Approximate Adder Integrated as a Co-processor for RISC-V", (VDAT 2023)
"An Approximate Full-Adder to Eliminate Carry Propagation in Lower Significant Stage of a Multi-Digit Adder," published in International Conference on Computer, Electronics & Electrical Engineering & their Applications (IC2E3), Srinagar Garhwal, India, 2023, pp. 1-6.
“Design of Resource Efficient Binary and Floating Point Comparator Using FPGA Primitive Instantiation," published in Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers (World Scientific), Volume 33, No. 2 2450024, 2024.

Research Initiation Grant (RIG) Sponsored by BITS-Pilani

Role: Principal Investigator

Cost: Rs. 2 Lakhs

Title: Design and Synthesis Methodologies for CNFET-based Multi-Valued Logic Circuits

Duration: 2 Years, Jan 2019 - Jan 2021

Outcomes: (New CNFET-based ternary Logic circuits)

"A Novel Low Power Ternary Multiplier Design using CNFETs," published in 33rd International Conference on VLSI Design and 18th International Conference on Embedded Systems, 2020.
"Design of CNTFET-Based Ternary ALU Using 2:1 Multiplexer Based Approach," published in IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, vol. 19, pp. 661-671, 2020.
"Design of CNFET-based Low-Power Ternary Sequential Logic circuits," published in 21st International Conference on Nanotechnology (NANO), 2021

Sponsered Projects

Sr. No.	Project Title	Funding Agency	Duration	Budget in INR	Role
1	Computationally efficient 3D ray tracing program for analysis of radome enclosed antennas	BITS Pilani	2 Years	2 L	Principle Investigator
2	Design of a streamlined ablatable radome for airborne applications	DRDO	3 Years	16.87 L	Principle Investigator

Ongoing Funded Project

As Co-PI, Title of the project: Novel sensors for monitoring and reuse of agricultural runoff water, funded by Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India (No.: SPARC/2019-2020/P2257/SL), Funding & duration: ₹ 54.45 Lakhs, 24 Months (Started August, 2023), PI: Sr. Prof. Sunil Bhand.
As PI, Title of the project: A novel transistor based biosensor for analysis of BPS in water, funded by BITS BioCyTiH Foundation as part of Strategic Research Projects covered under the National Mission for Interdisciplinary-Cyber Physical System (NM-ICPS) of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (No. : BBF/BITS(G)/FY2022-23/BCPS-105). Funding & duration: ₹ 40 Lakhs, 18 Month (Started September, 2022)
As Co-PI, Title of the project: Technology for detection and analysis of Aflatoxin M1 in milk and milk product, funded by BITS BioCyTiH Foundation as part of Strategic Research Projects covered under the National Mission for Interdisciplinary-Cyber Physical System (NM-ICPS) of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (No. : BBF/BITS(G)/FY2022-23/BCPS-117), Funding & duration: ₹ 59.952 Lakhs, 18 Month (Started September, 2022), PI: Sr. Prof. Sunil Bhand.
As Co-PI, Title of the project: Novel field biosensor for detection of urea in agricultural runoff water, funded by BITS BioCyTiH Foundation as part of Strategic Research Projects covered under the National Mission for Interdisciplinary-Cyber Physical System (NM-ICPS) of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (No: BBF/BITS(G)/FY2022-23/BCPS-118), Funding & duration: ₹ 39.60 Lakhs, 18 Month (Started September, 2022), PI: Sr. Prof. Sunil Bhand.
As Co-PI, Title of the project: Biosensor platform for detection of Aflatoxin B1 in groundnut, funded by BITS BioCyTiH Foundation as part of Strategic Research Projects covered under the National Mission for Interdisciplinary-Cyber Physical System (NM-ICPS) of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (No: BBF/BITS(G)/FY2022-23/BCPS-119), Funding & duration: ₹ 39.95 Lakhs, 18 Month (Started September, 2022), PI: Sr. Prof. Sunil Bhand.
As Co-PI, Project entitled: “DBT-BUILDER-BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Programme for Advance Research and Education (Level III)”: Bio/ Chemical Sensors, Materials Group. Funded by DBT, Govt. Of India, Duration: 5 Years. PI: Sr. Prof. Sunil Bhand.

Funded Projects Completed

Title of the project: “Design and Simulation of Micro devices for Development of Reliable Biosensor, Additional Competitive Research Grant sponsored by BITS, Ref No: GOA/ACG/2018-19/Oct/13. Funding & duration: ₹ 10 lakhs, 2 years (October, 2018-December 2020), PI: Dr. Gautam Bacher.
Title of the project: “Development of field portable device for the analysis of contaminant in water” funded by BRNS, DAE Govt of India, Ref No: (36)/14/25/2014-BRNS-445, Funding & duration: ₹ 24.138 Lakhs, 3 years (Started-June 2015), PI: Prof. Sunil Bhand (Department of Chemistry), Co- PI: Dr. Gautam Bacher (Department of EEE).
Title of the Project: “Development of sensing system for residual pesticide and harmful chemical detection in fruits and vegetables" funded by R. D. Tata Trust Consortium of CDAC Kolkata, BITS Pilani K.K.Birla Goa Campus, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Funding & duration: ₹ 53.5 Lakhs, (August, 2016-December 2018), PI: Prof. Sunil Bhand (Department of Chemistry), Co- PI: Dr. Gautam Bacher (Department of EEE).
Title of the Project: Novel micro biosensor device for heavy metal analysis in vegetables, RRCAT Indore and UGC DAE consortium. Funding & duration: ₹ 1 Lakhs, Months: 33, PI: Prof. Sunil Bhand, Co-PI: Dr. Gautam Bacher, Co-PI: Dr. Vishal Dhamgaye (RRCAT, Indore), Co-PI: Dr. G. S. Lodha (RRCAT, Indore).

Sponsored Projects

True Relative of Suslin's normality theorem for elementary groups and transvection groups
MATRICS (Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support) (2020 - 2023)
Science & Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology,
Government of India

Injective stability bound of symplectic groups for overrings of polynomial rings
RIG (Research Initiation Grant) (2020 - 2022)
Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

Study of Orbits of Symplectic Transformations
INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) Faculty Award (2013 - 2018)
Department of Science and Technology, Government of India

Sponsored Projects

Screen Shot 2017-09-29 at 9.33.31 pm.png

1. BITS-RMIT joint PhD program:

Title of the project: Wave propagation and Scattering in Elastic Metamaterials.

Collaborator from RMIT: Dr. Ngoc San Ha, Civil and infrastructure Engineering, STEM, School of Engineering, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia.

1. SERB-DST Early Career Research Award

Title of Project: Comparison of phase velocities of Rayleigh waves, Love waves and Torsional waves in various anisotropic geo-media

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: May 2017-2020

2. NSFC Research Grant No: 11471087 (Harbin Engineering University, China)

Title of Project: Research on Ptential wells and its application

Role: CO-PI

Duration: December 2014-2017

3. RIG Grant, BITS-Pilani

Title of Project: Study of Seismic Wave Propagation in Heterogeneous Medium

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: August 2014-2016

Projects

1. Submitted a Project Proposal to SERB titled "Design and Development of Decision Support Systems for the Disease Management and surveillance of Covid-19". [ Result :Not accepted for Funding]

Sponsored Projects

1. Research Initiation Grant (as a PI), 2 Lakhs (INR), BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus, 2019-2021.

2. Weak Galerkin method for parabolic problems, DST-SERB (CRG), India as a PI, 22,03,696 (INR), Jan. 2021 - Jan 2024.

Sponsored Projects

• Holomorphic Characterizations of the Approximation Property and its variants

RIG (2019-2021)

Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

• Dynamics of Operators on Weighted Spaces of Holomorphic Functions defined on Infinite Dimensional Spaces

SERB-POWER Grant (2022-2025)

Science & Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology,
Government of India

Development of small drug like molecules to deal with Cancer

Development of small drug like molecules for Peripheral Neuropathy.

Sponsored Projects

1. Sponsor and scheme: DST-SERB; MATRICS

Title of the project: Study of ergodic theorems for Γ-actions on a group X, where Γ is a subgroup of Aut(X).

Duration: 3 years (Jan 2023 - Jan 2026)
Grant amount: Rs. 6,00,000 (+ 60,000 as overheads)

2. Sponsor and scheme: DST-SERB; Early career research award

Title of the project: Characterizing the sets of periodic points of automorphisms on a solenoid.

Duration: 3 years (2018-2021)
Grant amount: Rs. 17,61,643.

3. Sponsor and scheme: BITS-Pilani; Research Initiation Grant

Title of the project: Periodic points of solenoidal automorphisms.

Duration: 2 years (2015-2017)
Grant amount: Rs. 2,00,000.

Research projects and interests

Please follow the links for more information on Kathryn's research:

Google Scholar profile

AusLit profile

Projects

Project Title: Development of a Laser Assisted CVD Reactor system as an addition/alternative to Siemens CVD reactor for polysilicon production

Principal Investigator: Prof. Amol Deshpande (K K Birla Goa Campus)

Co-Investigators: Prof. S. D. Manjare (Chemical Engg, K K Birla Goa Campus), Prof. Apurba Chakraborty (EEE, K K Birla Goa Campus), Prof. Parikshit Sahatiya (EEE, Hyderabad Campus), Prof. S. K. Dubey (Mechanical Engg, Hyderabad Campus), Prof. Rahul Kumar (EEE, Pilani Campus)

Co-ordinator: Prof. Sanket Goel (Institute-wide Dean, Research and Innovation)

Funding Agency: ASM-HHV Engineering Ltd., Bangalore

Sanctioned Amount: 1.31 Crores

Status: Ongoing

2. Project: Modeling and CFD simulation of a batch reactor with heating and cooling limpet coils, used for the production of resins

Funded by: Singh Plasticisers and Resins (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (Consultancy – Industry)

Role: Principal Investigator (PI) [Co-PI: Prof. S. D Manjare]

Status: Ongoing

3. Project: Investigation on achieving efficient operating performance of Rotary kiln in coke calcination processes: Modeling and Simulation studies

Funded by: Goa Carbon Ltd., Goa (Industry Sponsored)

Role: Principal Investigator (PI) [Co-PI: Prof. S. D. Manjare]

Status: Ongoing

4. Project: Studies on CO fueled self-sustaining Unmixed Combustion (UMC) reactor for integrated CO₂ capture and power/steam generation

Funded by: Department of Science and Technology (Technology Mission Division), Government of India (Under Mission Innovation Call by DBT- DST as a part of “Carbon Capture Innovation Challenge”)

Role: Co-PI (Co-Principal Investigator) (PI: Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy)

Status: Completed (2024)

5. Project: Application of Unmixed Combustion (UMC) for sustained heat transfer to high heat transfer coefficient liquids

Funded by Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACG), BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus

Role: PI (Principle Investigator)

Status: Completed (2021)

6. Project: Experimental investigation on the role of Oxygen Storage and Release Materials (OSRMs) in Unmixed Combustion (UMC) for heat transfer applications

Funded by: Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus

Role: PI (Principle Investigator)

Status: Completed (2020)

Research Projects:

A) International Research Project/s:

Project Title: Work Addiction (Project Lead: Dr Edyta Charzynska, University of Silesia in Kotowice, Poland)

Team: https://workaddiction.org/hi/team/

Survey Link (Hindi Version): https://experior.limesurvey.net/694355?lang=hi

Published Dataset Link (Permanent DoI: 10.5281/zenodo.14575310): https://zenodo.org/records/14575311

Full Paper Available Here: https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/aop/article-10.1556-2006.2025.00005/article-10.1556-2006.2025.00005.xml

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B) National/Sponsored Project/s:

"WISE": An Online Wellness Intervention Program:

WISE® Program Access Web-Link: http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/wise

Android Application Download Link: WISE

C) Completed Project/s:

Principal Investigator (2018-20)- "Development & Validation of a Prototype of a Web/Mobile App Based Positive Psychological Intervention for Adolescents" [Sanction No.24/2016/ICMR-ICSSR-SBR] (Amount Mobilized: INR 1726950/-)
Co-Principal Investigator (2018-20)- "Efficacy & Effectiveness of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities for Health Awareness and Promotion Among Women in Rajasthan: Towards a HOPE Approach" [Sanction No.16/2016/ICMR-ICSSR-SBR] (Amount Mobilized: INR 2662186/-)

Principal Investigator (2013-15): Research Initiation Grant (RIG) Project entitled "Understanding and Facilitating Mentor-Protege Relationships: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach" (Amount: INR 200000/-).

UGC-JRF, ICMR-JRF or GATE(HSS) Qualified candidates may write an email directly to: rajneesh.choubisa@gmail.com

Non-Sponsored

"Valorization of waste engine oil towards rhamnolipid biosynthesis in developing circular bioeconomy" - Ongoing.
"PHAs (Polyhydroxyalkanoates) production and synthesis of polymeric resins thereof using microbial fermentation" - Ongoing.
"Biosurfactants mediated nanoparticle synthesis for dyes and heavy metal removal from textile/tannery wastewater" - Ongoing.
"Synthesis of electro-spun nanofibers composite resins with enhanced antimicrobial property" - Ongoing.

External and Internal Research Grants

BITS Pilani Seed Research Grant (2 Lac) - Development of general purpose robotic head with multimodal learning capability

BITS Pilani New Faculty Seed Grant (18 Lac) - "Playing God": generation of virtual environment through masked autoencoders and diffusion technique

BITS-RMIT joint PhD Project (with Dr. Abhijit Das and Prof. Fabio Zambetta (RMIT, Melbourne, Australia)) (1 Phd scholar) - Development of diffusion-based photorealistic augmented reality engine for outdoor training

ISRO - Development of deep learning framework for auto quality certification of all IRS optical Satellite Images (23.5 Lacs, 1 PhD scholar)

Co supervisor in a ISI-TiH funded project, a DST-CEFIPRA project (Both on deep fake detection) and a join Phd project under ASCRIN scheme with La Trobe University, Australia

A combined study on CO2 solvent-adsorption and simultaneous energy conversion using Na-CO2 battery (New Faculty Seed Grant, BITS Pilani), Duration: 2 years, Budget: 20 lakhs

Deep Eutectic Solvents for Flow Electrode Capacitive Deionization (FCDI): An Innovative Concept for Electrode Driven High-Capacity Desalination (SERB, SRG/2023/001389), Duration: 2 years, Budget: 32.6 lakhs

Research Projects

I am supported by the following projects:

a) BITS-Pilani New Faculty Seed Grant

B) OPERA Grant for Research Excellence

I am also funded by a PM-ECRG grant from ANRF (erstwhile SERB). Keep your eyes on this space for related opportunities.

Research & Consultancy Projects

Ongoing Projects:

Integrated physical-biological treatment of biopharmaceutical fermentation wastewater for ensuring environmental safety and circular economy
(Principal Investigator, Department of Science and Technology, January 2024)

Industrial-scale Thermophilic Biomethanation of Food Waste and Sewage Sludge for the Production of Bioenergy and Biofertilizer
(Principal Investigator, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, September 2023)

Waste-to-Energy: Technology Integration for Production of Clean Energy from Organic Waste
(Principal Investigator of Theme-3, Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE), Department of Science and Technology, March 2022).

Completed Projects:

Feasibility Studies to Assess the Use of Spent Grains as Feedstock for Biomethanation
(Principal Investigator, GPS Renewables)

Technology Integration for the Production of Clean Energy from Organic Waste (Biomethanation, Catalytic Conversion, Photocatalysis and Fuel Cell)
(Principal Investigator, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus)

Co-treatment of domestic septage and municipal solid waste landfill leachate using dry-thermophilic anaerobic digestion for the production of bioenergy and biofertilizer
(Principal Investigator, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, A Government of India Enterprise).

Maintenance of Sanitation and Solid Waste Management for Swachh Andhra Pradesh
(Principal Investigator, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Government of Andhra Pradesh).

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste for the production of biogas and concomitant use of biogas as fuel for cooking and spent slurry as fertilizer.
(Principal Investigator, Centre of Research Excellence in Waste, Water & Energy, BITS Pilani).

Novel biomarker responses to validate acute toxicity of engineered nanoparticles and their physicochemical interactions in earthworms as a model bioindicator of nano(eco)toxicology.
(Principal Investigator, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India).

Studies on the characterization of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and their toxicological and biochemical effects on Eisenia foetida earthworms.
(Principal Investigator, Research Initiation Grant).

Improvement of the existing systems for disposal of municipal solid waste in tsunami-affected coastal villages at Karaikal & Nagapattinam districts, Tamil Nadu, India.
(Principal Investigator, Swiss Red Cross).

To develop design criteria for high-rate vermicomposting systems based on experimentation, mathematical modelling, and optimization.
(Senior Research Fellow, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India).

Pro-Poor Public Private Partnership for Pondicherry Urban Environment, PURE.
(Consultant, ADEME, France).

Asia Pro Eco Programme.
(Consultant, European Commission).

Asia Urbs Programme.
(Consultant, European Commission).

Ward Adoption Programme.
(Project Associate, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India).

Extramural and Intramural Grants

As Principal Investigator

“Use of distillery and domestic wastewater to generate hydrogen and development of a prototype thereof”, funded by Lightatom Electrolyzer Pvt. Ltd., 2023, 16 Lakhs INR (Ongoing)
"Application of co-axial electrospun novel composite nanofiber membranes towards specific and efficient removal of arsenic, lead, and fluoride from groundwater", funded by DST-SERB, Startup Research Grant, 2021, 27.39 Lakhs INR (Completed)
"Modification of polyvinylidene fluoride polymer for membrane filtration applications", funded by Gujrat Fluorochemicals, 2021, 8 Lakhs INR (Completed)
"Design and development of an inline sensor for water-based contaminant detection", funded by MKS Vision, 2021, 35000 USD (27 Lakhs INR Approx.) (Completed)
"Use of layered metal hydroxide in water treatment followed by machine learning based scale-up of the process", funded by BITS Pilani, 2022, 45000 INR (Completed)
"Preparation of hybrid hollow fiber membranes and its application in desalination process", funded by BITS Pilani (Additional Competitive Research Grant), 2020, 7.75 Lakhs INR (Completed)
"Removal of ionic pollutants using polymer encapsulated metal organic framework from drinking water", funded by BITS Pilani (Research Initiation Grant), 2019, 2 Lakhs INR (Completed)

As Co-Principal Investigator

“Non-conventional water treatment and monitoring for reuse in agriculture”, funded by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India under Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), 2024, 41.54 Lakhs INR (Ongoing)

Theses & Project Supervised

Completed supervising > 100 theses/projects @ BITS...

First Degree/ Under graduation:

Development of suitable systems for safe handling of solid waste in educational institutions
Akkiraju Kavya Bharadwaj (2008B1A3602H)
BITS C323: Study Oriented Project
November 2010

Production of bioplastics precursors, polyhydroxyalkanoates from municipal sludge using sequencing batch reactors
Nikitha. B (2008B1A5584H)
BITS C323: Study Oriented Project
November 2010

A wireless sensor network approach to monitor process temperature in composting heaps
Mathews N. John (2009B1AA616H)
BITS C323: Study Oriented Project
November 2011

Sustainability and survivability of tree plantation in BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Rajkishan KU (2008A3PS203H)
BITS C331 Computer Projects
November 2011

Integrated solid waste management on the campus
V. Ravish Kumar (2008B4A2430H)
BITS C324 Study-Oriented Project
November 2011

Energy usage of BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus
P. Krishna Chaitanya (2008A3PS207H)
BITS C313 Lab-Oriented Projects
April 2012

Design of bioprocess systems for handling biodegradable waste
V. Ravish Kumar (2008B4A2430H)
BITS C313 Lab-Oriented Projects
April 2012

Diphasic anaerobic treatment of organic waste
T. A. Sri Sowmya (2009A1PS347H)
Ravi Prakash (2009A1PS430H)
BITS C314 Lab-Oriented Project
November 2012

Technological advancements in UASB reactor
Sunil Kumar (2009A1PS174H)
BITS C323: Study Oriented Project
November 2012

Nanobiosensors for environmental monitoring of emerging contaminants/toxicants/pollutants
Rohit Mehta (2009B1A3739H)
BITS C323: Study Oriented Project
April 2013

Waste management using multispectral and hyperspectral image processing
R. Murali Krishna (2010B1AA216H)
BITS C323: Study Oriented Project
November 2013

Algal biofuels: Opportunities and challenges
Sarayu. M (2011B1A1703H)
BIO F266: Study Project
April 2014

A baseline assessment of key pollinators of Lantana camara and to recommend its control measures in KBR National Park, Hyderabad
Aditya Tibrewal (2010B1A7656H)
BITS C421T: Thesis
November 2014

Modelling environmental fate of engineered nanomaterials in wastewater treatment plant
Arjun Vijayvargiya (2012B1A7733H)
BIO F376: Design Oriented Project
April 2015

Design of a prototype to detect the presence of a person using Bluetooth and implementing Internet of Things to monitor certain environmental parameters using Azure cloud service
Srujan Jha (2012B1A7744H)
BIO F376: Design Oriented Project
April 2015

Vermicomposting of Parthenium with and without co-digestion
P. Shiva Kumar (2011B1A2722H)
BIO F376: Design Oriented Project
April 2015

Cost-effective simplification in the design of bioreactors: Studies on geometry and kinetics
T. Vaishnavi (2011B1A173H)
BIO F376: Design Oriented Project
April 2015

Study on recycling potential of solid and liquid residue emulating from anaerobic digestion
Siddharth Maheshwari (2012A1TS486H)
BITS C421T: Thesis
November 2015

Synthesis of value-added products from microalgal biomass used to treat nitrogenous wastewater effluent
Sarayu. M (2011B1A1703H)
BITS C421T: Thesis
November 2015

Biomethanation of organic waste
Mukesh Kumar (2013A1PS598H)
BIO F366: Lab Oriented Project
November 2015

Remote monitoring system for biogas reactors
Shubham Jain (2012B1AA741H)
Srujan Jha (2012B1A7744H)
BIO F366: Lab Oriented Project
April 2016

Characterization of human hair fibres using nanoindentation technique
Bibhu Prasad Tripathy (2011B1A1713H)
BITS F421: Thesis
April 2016

Physicochemical characterization and ecotoxicity assessment of dendrimers: A report on toxicological evaluation and biochemical responses in earthworm, Eisenia Fetida
Lagan Kankane (2011B1AA723H)
BITS F423: Thesis
April 2016

Stability analysis of flutter in articulated fluid conveying pipes
Dhruv Pramod Ghiya (2011B1A4737H)
BITS F423: Thesis
April 2016

Anaerobic digestion of food waste and study of factors affecting the biogas production
Vinay Keche (2011B1A4736H)
BITS F423: Thesis
April 2016

Biochemical response in earthworm Eisena fetida exposed to polystyrene nanoparticles via dermal contact
T. Vishaka (2011B1A4724H)
BITS F423: Thesis
April 2016

Role of curvatures and constraints in cell mechanobiology
Aditya Rane (2012B1A2894H)
BITS F421: Thesis
November 2016

Systems modelling for sustainability assessment of waste reutilization using thermodynamic metric to measure sustainability
VVS Gargeya (2012B1AB961H)
BITS F421: Thesis
November 2016

A microfluidic platform for studying the interaction between immune cells and spheroids in 3D tumor microenvironment
Shreya Kumar (2012B1A3586H)
BITS F421: Thesis
November 2016

Application of Internet of Things for environmental management
Ayan Bharadwaj (2013B1A7579H)
BIO F377: Design Oriented Project
November 2016

Assessing genotoxicity of engineered nanoparticles
Suma Chinta (2013B1A4903H)
BIO F366: Laboratory Project
November 2016

Designing a Remote Monitoring System for environmental management
Ayan Bharadwaj (2013B1A7579H)
BIO F366: Laboratory Project
April 2017

Steady-state operation of thermophilic anaerobic digesters treating food waste
G. Nikhitha (2014B1A1787H)
BIO F266: Laboratory Project
April 2017

Remote Monitoring System: Hardware
Ansa Zaiba SM (2014B1A70659H)
BIO F366: Laboratory Project
November 2017

Remote Monitoring System: Software
Abhijay Jayaswal (2015B1AA839H)
BIO F366: Laboratory Project
April 2018

Application of Internet of Things for environmental management
Ayan Bharadwaj (2013B1A7579H)
BITS F421: Thesis
April 2018

Aerobic Composting
Mayank Gupta (2016B1A40619H)
BIO F266: Study Project
November 2018

Optimization of wastewater treatment plants using machine learning
Kunal Agarwal (2014B1A20784H)
BITS F423T: Thesis
April 2019

Reinventing the water closet
Aditya Agarwal (2016B1A20958H)
BIO F376: Design Project
November 2019

Remote monitoring system for biogas digesters
Raj Singh Gaur (2017A3PS0537H)
BIO F376: Design Project
November 2019

Creating a design system to reduce carbon footprint
Pragyan Shukla (2016B1A40954H)
Venkumahanti Chandrahaas (2015A7PS0010H)
BIO F376: Design Project
June 2020

Integration of AI systems into the waste sorting and management process
Rweetam Bhattacharya (2016B1A20938H)
BIO F266: Study Project
June 2020

Microplastics: Major problem in packaged drinking water?
Vaadeendra Kumar Burra (2017B1A11156H)
BIO F266: Study Project
June 2020

Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants
Vaishnavi K N (2017A2TS0947H)
BITS F421: Thesis
November 2020

Some studies on the design and treatment systems for municipal solid waste landfill leachate
Abhay Gupta (2017B1A41762H)
BIO F376: Design Project
November 2020

Studies on the occurrence and Characteristics of Microplastics in drinking water and FMCG
Aditya Shukla (2018B1A40560H)
BIO F266: Study Project
November 2020

Studies on steady-state performance of MBBR using GPS-X 8.0 and other resources
Rishi Raj Verma (2017B1A11758H)
BIO F266: Study Project
November 2020

Studies on biofilm formation in the carrier elements of MBBR system
Aman Lahoti (2018B1A40752H)
BIO F266: Study Project
April 2021

Remote monitoring of biogas systems
Deepanshu Mody (2018B1A70949H)
Rachana Srikruthi Venukumahanti (2017A7PS0086H)
BIO F376: Design Project
April 2021

Physical, chemical and biological technologies for upgrading biogas to biomethane
Jai Arora (2017B1A30876H)
BIO F266: Study Project
April 2021

Rapid anaerobic digestion of organic feedstock
Akash S Rajeev (2018B1A30491H)
BIO F266: Study Project
December 2021

Identification and characterization of microplastics in FMCG
Chanda Sai Keshav (2018B1A70757H)
BIO F266: Study Project
December 2021

Simulation of anaerobic digestion process using various anaerobic digestion models
Lakshay Tomar (2018B1AA0578H)
BIO F376: Design Project
December 2021

Validation of protocols for the isolation of microorganisms from landfill leachate
Shibasis Dutta (2018B1A40768H)
BIO F266: Study Project
December 2021

Control of acidification in anaerobic digesters treating food waste
Shrinivas Reddy (2018B1A40761H)
BIO F266: Study Project
December 2021

Digital Pollution
Velma Gourav (2019B1AA0782H)
Kathan Naik (2020A7PS2082H)
BIO F266: Study Project
April 2022

Higher Degree/ Post graduation:

Assessment of ecotoxicity caused by metal and metal oxide nanoparticles in earthworms
Ashwini Sri Hari (2012H129008H)
BIO G540: Research Practice
April 2013

Production of algal biofuels by tubular photobioreactor
Swasti Dhagat (2013H129003H)
BIO G540: Research Practice
April 2014

Assessment of titanium dioxide nanoparticle toxicity in earthworms
Ashwini Sri Hari (2012H129008H)
BITS G629: Dissertation
April 2014

Biofuels
Swasti Dhagat (2013H129003H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2014

Isolation of cellulose and lignin-degrading microorganisms from termite gut
Aarathi Menon (ID No. 2014H129002H)
BIO G540: Research Practice
April 2015

Extraction of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from Lantana camara with its final disposal as vermicompost
Komal (2014H129008H)
BIO G540, Research Practice
April 2015

Application of bioprocess technology for the treatment of organic waste
Asim Sandeep Joshi (2013H129001H)
BITS G629: Dissertation
April 2014

Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste and Characterization of the Digestate Obtained
Komal (2014H129008H)
BITS G629: Dissertation
November 2015

Nanotoxic effects of gold nanoparticles on animal cells
Aarathi Menon (ID No. 2014H129002H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2015

To design a novel bioreactor to compost spent slurry emanating from anaerobic digester fed with food waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste
Rishabh Malhotra (2015H129005H)
BIO G540: Research Practice
April 2016

Toxicity assessment of gold nanoparticles using earthworm as sentinel
Aarathi Menon (ID No. 2014H129002H)
BITS G629: Dissertation
April 2016

Optimization of granular photobioreactors for large-scale wastewater treatment
Komal (2014H129008H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
April 2016

Analysis of volatile fatty acids
Rishabh Malhotra (2015H129005H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2016

Anaerobic co-treatment of landfill leachate and domestic septage
N. Anand (H201619006H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
April 2017

Effect of pH on single-stage anaerobic digestion
N. Anand (H201619006H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2017

Strategies for bromelain isolation and purification from pineapple waste
Shreya Kulkarni (2016H129002H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2017

Anaerobic bioreactor design for leachate treatment
N. Jyothi (2017PHXP0416H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
April 2018

Co-Biomethanation of domestic septage and municipal solid waste landfill leachate
N. Anand (H201619006H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
April 2018

Effect of bromelain on DNCB-induced, atopic dermatitis-like symptoms in mice
Shreya Kulkarni (2016H129002H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
April 2018

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors
Sourav Debsarma Biswas (2018H1290004H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
April 2019

Characterization of Substrates and optimization of ratio of substrates in anaerobic co-digestion of landfill leachate and sewage sludge
Srinjoy Roy (2018H1290007)
BITS G540: Research Practice
April 2019

Studies on application of Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) for municipal sewage treatment
Sourav Debsarma Biswas (2018H1290004H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2019

Anaerobic co-digestion of landfill leachate and sewage sludge
Srinjoy Roy (2018H1290007)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
November 2019

Design and fabrication of Lab scale MBBR and its performance evaluation using GPS-X 8.0
Sourav Debsarma Biswas (2018H1290004H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
July 2020

Studies on source, occurrence, and toxicity of microplastics in landfill leachate
Srinjoy Roy (2018H1290007)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
July 2020

Interaction of microorganisms with microplastics and consequent biofilm formation in the aquatic environment
Megha Ukil (2019H1290065H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
November 2020

Some studies on microbiological and biochemical processes of moving bed biofilm reactor treating domestic sewage
Nehaa K (2019H1290066H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
November 2020

Studies on community structure and functions of biofilms colonizing microplastics
Megha Ukil (2019H1290065H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
April 2021

Study of biofilm formation and concomitant nitrogen removal in MBBR system
Nehaa K (2019H1290066H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
April 2021

Anaerobic treatment of faecal sludge
Levaku Akhil Reddy (2020H1510350H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
June 2021

Lab-scale studies on treatment of municipal sewage using moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)
Sunaina Nag (2020H1290009H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
June 2021

Techno-economic evaluation of greywater management system at Himalayan region of India
Levaku Akhil Reddy (2020H1510350H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
December 2021

Study on anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and landfill leachate with pre-treatment
Rishita Bonu (2020H1510349H)
BITS G629T: Dissertation
December 2021

Interaction between plants and fungi for bioremediation of MSW landfill leachate
Sandhya Kumari Gupta (2021PHXP0100H)
BITS G529: Research Project
December 2021

Design of vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCW) for the treatment of landfill leachate using macrophytes
Sandhya Kumari Gupta (2021PHXP0100H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
December 2021

Modelling of carrier elements on the performance of moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) treating municipal sewage
Sunaina Nag (2020H1290009H)
BITS G513: Study in Advanced Topics
December 2021

A technological and economic evaluation of greywater management system in the Indian Himalayas
Levaku Akhil Reddy (2020H1510350H)
BITS G653T: Dissertation
May 2022

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge
Rishita Bonu (2020H1510349H)
BITS G653T: Dissertation
May 2022

Role of microplastics as biofilms and concomitant induction of antimicrobial resistance
Nitya Dwivedi (2021H1290006H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
May 2022

Study on possible induction of antimicrobial resistance by biopharmaceutical fermentation wastewater
Roshni Raj (2021H1290008H)
BITS G540: Research Practice
May 2022

Hybrid phytoremediation wetlands with the combination of plants and microalgae for the treatment of landfill leachates
Sandhya Kumari Gupta (2021PHXP0100H)
BITS G529: Research Project-II
May 2022

PhD:

Toxicity evaluation of TiO2 nanoparticles in earthworm (Eisenia fetida)
Bitragunta Siva Prasad (2011PHXF0006H)
Graduated in March 2018

Bioprocessing of leachate emanated from municipal solid waste landfill and concomitant recovery of value-added products
N. Anand (2016PH290006H)
Graduated in July 2023

Development of a field operable testing system for ensuring quality of milk
Harsha Bharwani (2018PHXF0007H)
Started in August 2020

Co-digestion of organic municipal solid waste and slaughterhouse waste through triphasic dry biomethanation and concomitant recovery of value-added products
Atun Roy Choudhury (2019PHXP0100H)
Started in November 2020

Effect of microplastics on anaerobic digestion of domestic sewage sludge
Sandhya Kumari Gupta (2021PHXF0100H)
Started in November 2022

Augmenting anaerobic co-digestion of organic wastes by regulating total soluble product concentration for improves energy recovery
Hemapriya S (2022PHXF0007H)
Started in July 2023

Studies on the enhancement of organic waste valorization for circular economy
Pavithra Pari (2023PHRF0803H)
Started in January 2024

Tracing Enzymatic Activities

Our research work focused on tracing enzymatic activity for diagnosis of diseased cells. Enzymes catalyze the most challenging and fascinating transformations in the living beings. Our research interest leverages the immense synthetic potential harbored in staggering inventory of enzymes to provide solutions to outstanding problems at the frontiers of chemistry and biology. Central to this research endeavor is to bring new concepts to biosensing catalysis by drawing inspiration from mechanistic connections between synthetic and biocatalytic systems. We developed interdisciplinary approaches that integrate organic synthesis, chemical biology, protein engineering, and biochemical analysis to sense reaction space beyond their current catalytic repertoire. These enzymes not only provide powerful tools for numerous synthetic and biological applications, but also offer a fertile ground to enrich our fundamental knowledge of biochemical reactions and enzymatic catalysis. These biochemical reactions were monitored using fluorescence spectroscopy.

PhD Guidance

Ravinder Singh/"Strategic Sourcing from Risk Management Perspective: A study of Indian Automobile Industry" (Co-supervisor)/ Completed on June 15, 2019.
Krishna Manasvi /" A Study of the Mango Supply Chain with an Emphasis on Orchard Operations" (Supervisor)/ Completed on July 5, 2023.
Aman Kumar Joshi/"A Study of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Adoption in Indian MSME Manufacturing Sector" (Supervisor)/ Completed on Jan 9, 2024.
Hariprasad Ambadapudi/"Assessment of Supply Chain Finance Adoption Among Various Classes of Enterprises in the Indian Automotive Sector" (Supervisor)/ Completed on Sept 2, 2024.
Ritesh Ashok Deore/ Circularity Assessment of the Indian Automotive Sector (Supervisor)/ Thesis Approved by Doctoral Academic Committee.

Projects Under Review

Submitted a project proposal to ICSSR titled " Creating Entrepreneurship Education Ecosystem (EEE) in Indian Higher Education Institutes" with a budget of Rs. 29,53,000/-. (Principle Investigator)- Under Review
Submitted a project proposal to ICSSR titled " Integrated Solid Waste Management System for Smart Cities in India" with a budget of Rs. 21,68,000/-. (Co- Investigator)- Under Review
Submitted a project proposal to IMPRESS, ICSSR titled "Integrated Solid Waste Management System for a Smart city in India" with a budget of Rs. 14,45,000/-. (Principle Investigator)- Online interaction conducted on February 8 2021 (Result Awaited)

Projects

Early Career Research Grant by SERB (2019-2022) “Rod-shaped polymeric nanoparticles for targeted delivery of artemisinin-derivatives to plasmodium-infected erythrocytes for improved intravenous therapy of cerebral malaria” as PI, 44.30 Lakhs.

DBT sponsored R&D project (2018-2022)” Development and evaluation of lipid-based nanoparticles of Quinapyramine and Isometamidium chloride for treatment of trypanosomiasis in camels” as PI, 44.72 Lakhs

Research Projects

Research Projects/Consultancy

Projects/Consultancy /Workshop

Consultancy:

Client: Zuari Industries,Goa. Topic: Communication Skills for Managers/Executives Period: 15 Days (every quarterly @ Rs. 40000/-, 2005-2008)
Client: Technochem, Indore Topic: Oral and Written Communication Skills for Managers/Executives Period: 2 weeks (every quarterly @ Rs. 60000/-, 2009)
Client: Frontline officers and Managers of CIPLA Biotec, Verna, Goa,30 participants. Topic: Technical Writing. Period: 12 July-05 October 2016 (6 sessions/12 Hours) Amount: 6.65Lakhs

Workshop:

Coordinator and Resource Person , Theme: Innovative Pedagogies for Enhancing the Employability Skills of Students 4th September 2013 – 6th September 2013, Dept of HSS, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus.
Resource Person , Topice: Effective Communication Sep 2023National Prodctivity Council, Ministry of Commerce, India.
Resource Person , Topice: Grant Writing Workshop Sep 2023, Goa State Higher Education Council, Goa State Research Foundation & the Directorate of Higher Education

Project

Completed : (Major Project Funded by- Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of HRD: Title: “Exploring Spiritual Quotient and Analyzing its Impact on the Research Performance of University Teachers” Amount: 6.57 Lakhs

Sponsored Projects

Development of scalable and energy efficient technology for moisture resistant CO2 removal from natural gas turbine flue gas for GAIL GAIL (2025 to 2027) 29.95 lacs (PI)
DST-FIST Grant-135 lakhs 2022 to 2027 (Co-ordinator/PI of the Project)
Harnessing the Duality of Mesoporous Core-shell Materials for CO2 Capture and Methanation-CSIR-25 lacs-(2022-2025-In Progress)-Co-PI
Mechanistic insights of CO₂ methanation using core-shell catalysts, SERB-CRG; 32 Lakhs, (2021-2024); Completed (Co-PI)
Waste Minimization and carbon capture by coal-fly ash based sorbents-A Two edged sword, CSIR, 18.85 lakhs-(2019-2022)-PI
Development of cost-effective adsorbents for heavy metal removal from industrial effluent, HBL Power Systems, 5 Lacs, Hyderabad-(2020-2021)-PI

Sponsored Projects

As Principal Investigator

BITS Research Initiation Grant (2013-14)

Title: Equation of state for the massive neutron stars with antikaon condensates.

“START-UP GRANT” Under UGC-BSR (FRPS)

Title: Equation of state of Dense matter for core-collapse supernova

DST- Start-Up Research Grant (Young Scientists) (2014-17)

Title: Gravitational waves from oscillations and instabilities in neutron stars

DAE-BRNS project (2018-21)

Title:"Fundamental Physics in Strong Gravitational field of Neutron Stars"

DST-CRG project (2023-)

Title:” Bayesian Analysis of Neutron Star Equation of State”

As Co-PI

DST-SERB CRG (2020-24)

Title: "Investigating the Equation of State of Neutron Stars via Emitted Gravitational Waves"

PI-Dr Swastik Bhattacharya

International Collaborations

World Bank Research Collaboration on Large Scale Assessment of Careers and Choices in Education of South-Asian Region in Education to represent India with U.S., Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal
International Research Collaboration with UKEIRI and British Council funded research on Market Insight Study of UK-India Education Research Initiative on Internationalization Strategies between UK & India in Higher Education

Sponsored Projects

An Empirical Study on Accountability and Learning Outcomes in Public School Systems in Rajasthan [ICSSR Impress][Sanction No. IMPRESS/P3381/244/2018-19/ICSSR] (Project Cost: INR 10,00,000/-)
Development & Validation of a Prototype of a Web/Mobile App Based Positive Psychological Intervention for Adolescents [Sanction No.24/2016/ICMR-ICSSR-SBR] (Project Cost: INR 17,01,650/-)
Efficacy & Effectiveness of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities for Health Awareness and Promotion Among Women in Rajasthan: Towards a HOPE Approach [Sanction No.16/2016/ICMR-ICSSR-SBR] (Project Cost: INR 25,11,490/-)
A Study of Lucite Ceiling in Science and Technology- Research Initiation Grant (Project Cost: INR 2,00,000/-)

Sponsored Research Projects

Project 1.

Principal Investigator: Prasanna Kumar

Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Amit Setia and Dr. Manoj Kumar Pandey

Title of the Project: Promotion of Mathematical Sciences in Goa

Funding Agency/Amount: Elsevier Mathematical Sciences Sponsorship Fund (E-MSSF)/ $2000/( Two thousand American Dollars )

Duration: 1-year (January-2017 to December-2017)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project 2.

Principal Investigator: Prasanna Kumar

Title of the Project: A Study on the Inequalities Involving Complex Polynomials

Funding Agency/Amount: National Board for Higher Mathematics/ 13.041 lac ( Indian Rupees thirteen lac four thousand and hundred )

Duration: 3-years (April-2017 to March-2020)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project 3.

Principal Investigator: Prasanna Kumar

Title of the Project: Bernstein Type Inequalities for the Polar Derivative of a Polynomial

Funding Agency/Amount: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt of India / Rs 16.46 lac

Duration: 3-years (April-2017 to March-2020)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sponsored Research Projects

1. Title: Investigating the role of electronic cigarettes in oral cancer using 3D tissue engineered human oral mucosa model

Funding agency: Al Jalila Foundation Research Grants, UAE

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Amount: AED 300,000

Duration: 2024-2026 (2 years)

2. Title: Cloning, protein expression and verification of Collagen Types III, II and other commercially important recombinant collagens in E.coli and Pichia pastoris

Funding agency: Human Biosciences Inc, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Amount: AED 536, 000 (1 Crore, 19 lakhs INR)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Duration: 2022-2024 (2 years)

Research Projects

Sponsored Research Projects

As Principal Investigator

1. A computational investigation on the reaction paths and spectroscopic properties of crown ethers- Funding Agency BRNS (2019-2022)

2. Spectroscopic investigation of the properties of low-lying electronic states of some chemopreventive retinyl nitrones and comparison of their light-induced properties with retinyliminium ions-Funding Agency CSIR (2012-2015)

3. Spectroscopic properties of some low-lying electronic states of alkali metal-rare gas and alkaline earth metal-rare gas molecules- Funding Agency DST (2009-2012)

As Co-PI

Photophysical studies of some selected DNA damage reactions- Funding Agency CSIR (2012-2015)

[Principal Investigator Prof. Sujit Kumar Ghosh VNIT , Nagpur]

Projects done by M.Sc. Chemistry & Engineering (Computer Science) students

Projects done by M.Sc. Chemistry students
THEORETICAL STUDY OF PHOTOCHEMICAL BEHAVIOUR OF PROTONATED SCHIFF BASES AND COUNTER ION EFFECTS ON THEIR PHOTOISOMERIZATION PROCESSES	Nitish Pal (DST-INSPIRE summer project student from NISER, Bhubaneshwar)
Photoisomerization of azobenzene and its derivatives	Shuja Jameel Siddiqui
Isomerization in Rhodopsin and Bacteriorhodopsin	Pranav Anil Upadhyay
Radiative and non-radiative paths of molecular rotor systems	Namrata Rajesh Ahuja
Photo-isomerization through OBF, HT and BP motions	R Harshith Harithsa
Study of Properties of Spin-Trapping Agents	Abhinav Verma


A study on the Rhodopsin Protein and its photo-isomerization channels	Sukhlecha Aditya Vijayraj
Isomerization Paths of Push-Pull systems	Anmol Agarwal
Various Methods in Computational Chemistry	Prasann Agarwal
Hula-Twist (HT) and One-bond-flip (OBF) motions during photo-isomerization processes	Rakshit Chandra
Effects of solvents on the planar and twisted excited states of some fluorescent push-pull systems	Rakshit Chandra
Environmental effects on molecular Rotors	Adithya R.
Theory and applications of conical intersections	K. Kartikeyan
A study project on radiative emission processes	Anmol Agarwal
A computational study of some Molecular Rotors systems	Riddhish Pandharkar
A study of hybrid ONIOM methods	Harshita Lulla
Computational Study of Push –Pull effect on conjugated polyenes by varying substituents on both sides of Polyenes	Harshil Garg
A spectroscopic study of the Fluorescent Molecular Rotors	Riddhish Pandharkar
Different Mechanisms of Fluorescence Quenching Processes	Harshil Garg
Electronic spectra of some biologically important chelate complexes-a computational study	Jayanti Jain
Study of spectroscopic properties of Ground State and some low lying excited states of halonium ions	Pranav Triguna
A spectroscopic study of the low-lying electronic states of 2, 4-Pentadien-1-iminium cation	Popuri Sathya Sriamrutha
A study of different basis sets and basis set errors	Govindwar Rahul Pramod

Projects done by Computer Science students
Application of Machine Learning in Computational Chemistry	Devansh Dixit
Predicting Molecular Energy Using Neural Networks	Tarun Chordia
Regression ML technique in Computational Chemistry	Chintan Sharma

Valorization of cashew apple and its waste pulp- An economic boost to cashew farmers

Funded by Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA)

Amount- Rs24,40,000

Investigators- Prof. R. Vivek, Prof. S.D. Manjare and Dr. Jayita Chopra

Durations- 3 Years

and its waste pulp – An

Economic boost to cashew farmers

Sanctioned Projects

Microfluidics sperm cell sorting device: addressing male infertility factor (PI)- SERB-DST 2020-2022
Development of enhanced heat pipes with superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces and wettability gradient for high density electronics cooling (Co-PI)- SERB-DST 2022-2024
Isolation of white blood cells in a microfluidic device with applications to point-of-care diagnostics (PI)- BITS-BioCyTiH foundation (DST)- 2023-24
Microfluidic device for blood plasma separation and detection of Rheumatoid arthritis markers (PI) CDRF BITS-Pilani-2024-25

Projects

Intra-mural projects as principal investigator

Sr. No	Title of the projects	Type	Co-PI	Fund	Duration
1	Lyotropic liquid crystalline systems development and its preclinical evaluations as wound healing spray dressing and multifunctional targeted combination cancer therapy	BITS-RMIT	Sampa Sarkar, Charlotte Conn, Sarvesh Soni	-	2024-2028
2	Formulation based strategy to design mitochondrial targeting anti-microbial peptide-based therapeutics for cancer and eye-infections	BITS-La-Trobe	Adam Mechler	-	2024-2028
3	Development of smart wound protecting material to combat drug-resistant bacteria in diabetic foot ulcer	SPARKLE	Sayan Das	2 L	2023-2025
4	De novo design of antibacterial peptides to combat antimicrobial resistance	CDRF	Debirupa Mitra, Arnab Dutta	10 L	2023-2025

Extra-mural projects as principal investigator (Completed and ongoing)

Sr. No	Title of the projects	Funding agency	Fund	Duration
1	Nanozyme incorporated Light-Responsive Hydrogel as Angiogenic Antibacterial Wound Dressing for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcer	CSIR-ASPIRE	29.71 L	2024-2027
2	Antibacterial Nanozyme-Laden in situ Light-Responsive Hydrogel for Tissue Regeneration and Quorum-Sensing Inhibition to Revert Antimicrobial Resistance in Diabetic Foot Ulcers	ICMR	48.02 L	2023-2026
3	Formulation based strategy to design membrane targeting anti-microbial peptide-based therapeutics for cancer and eye infections	SPARC	71.16L	2024-2026
7	Revolutionizing Phototherapy with Hypoxia-Reversing Photothermal/ Photodynamic Nanoparticles-Laden In Situ Gel for Non-Invasive Tumor Ablation in Oral Cancer	ICMR	53.13 L	2023-2026
8	Brain-Targeted Antibacterial Nanomedicine to Revolutionize the Existing Therapy for Bacterial Meningitis	ICMR	55.08 L	2023-2026
9	3D-Bioprinted Contact Lens Embedding Host-Defense Peptide S100A12 as Precision Medicine for Bacterial Keratitis	DBT	39.10 L	2023- Feb 2025
10	Carbon dioxide-fueled Janus Motors for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Cargo in Helicobacter pylori Infection	MoE-STARS	46.85 L	2023-2026
11	Tailor-made, Tumor-Targeted Vitaprotein Nanoparticles of Lapatinib and Letrozole as NanoChemo-Cocktail for Hormone-Receptor-Amplified Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancers Treatment	ICMR	29.76 L	2023-2026
12	Near-Infrared Light Degradable Nanomicellar Chemo-Photodynamic Therapy using Aerobic Chlorin e6 Conjugate for Oropharyngeal Carcinomas	DST-SERB-Core Research Grant	30.72 L	2019-2022
13	Understanding the role of antimicrobial peptide S100A12 (Calgranulin C) in Host Defense during Pseudomonas Keratitis and Developing nano-tools for efficient Delivery of S100A12	DST-SERB (E.M.R./2016/001514) (PI from BITS-Pilani)	55 L	2017-2020
14	Development of paclitaxel nano-formulation (CONSULTANCY)	Dr. Reddy's Laboratory, Hyderabad, India	8.27 L	2017-2019
15	Development of epigenomes-targeted liposomes for the cancer-specific delivery of chemotherapeutic drug	Sun Pharmaceutical Advanced Research Company, Vadodara, India	29 L	2016-2019
16	Sustained release injectable depot formulation	Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, Hyderabad, India	22 L	2015-2017
17	Tumor-targeted nanomedicines for photodynamic therapy	DST (Indo-Belarus)	9.58 L	2015-2017
18	D-α tocopherol conjugated copolymer-based micelles for improved delivery of chemotherapeutics with reversal of multiple drug resistance	DST-Fast Track	22.4 L	2014-2017
19	Cell-penetrating peptide octa-arginine anchored, multifunctional poly(amidoamine) dendrimer to promote the delivery of chemotherapeutics in cancer	DBT-BIO-CARe	37.04 L	2014-2017

Extra-mural finding as Co-PI

Sr. No	Title of the projects	Funding agency	Fund	Duration
1	Bifunctional gene-expression modulating chemotherapeutic agents as an improved treatment strategy for cancer	CSIR	19.14 L	2018-2021
2	Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of HDAC Selective Inhibitors as Long-term Memory Enhancers	DST-SERB-CRG	21.6 L	2016-2019

Sponsored Projects

Fellowship/Grants (Ongoing)

As PI:

2022-24 : SERB-Start-up Research Grant (SRG)

Funding Agency: DST-SERB, India.

2022-2025: ICMR -Ad hoc Grant (Two)

Funding Agency: ICMR, India.

2020-2025: Outstanding potential for excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA) Fellowship

Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI (Hyderabad Campus), India.

2023-2025 : SPARKLE

Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI (Hyderabad Campus), India.

As C0-PI:

2022-24 : SERB- SURE

Funding Agency: DST-SERB, India.

Fellowship/Grants (Completed)

2021-23: Additional competitive RIG

Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI (Hyderabad Campus), India.

2020-22: Research Initiation Grant (RIG)

Funding Agency: BITS-PILANI (Hyderabad Campus), India.

Title: Modelling and Forecasting the Effects of Long Term Interventions on COVID-19 using Network-based Approach
Funding Agency: DST- SERB (MATRICS Special Call)
Duration: 1 year, 2020-2021

Title: Modeling of Recurrent Infectious Diseases: Understanding the Sustained and Non-periodic Epidemic Patterns
Funding Agency: DST- SERB (MATRICS)
Duration: 3 year, 2021-2024

Research Project

Ongoing:

Development of a LASER-assisted CVD reactor system as an addition/alternative to the Siemens CVD reactor for Polysilicon production; Funding source: ASM-HHV Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Role: Co-PI, Amount: 1.31 Cr; Duration: September 2024-February 2026.
Phase and Bandgap Engineering of III-Oxides in Quest of Interfacial 2DEG; Funding Agency: MoE-STARS, Role: CoPI; Amount: 89 Lakh; Duration: June 2024-June 2027
A Ga2O3-HEMT Biosensor-Based Non-invasive, Intelligent, and Portable Diagnostic System; Funding Agency: TIH Roorkee; Role: PI; Amount: 11 Lakh; Sanction date: October 2023
Design and Development of Germanium-Tin (GeSn) Infrared Detectors; Funding Agency: CREST, BITS Pilani; Role: PI; Amount: 20 Lakh + 1 Ph.D. student; Sanction date: October 2023
Part of the core team of SATHI project (Sanctioned to BITS Pilani, December 2023) 60 Crore.

Completed:

Mist Chemical Vapor Deposition (Mist-CVD) Growth of Ga2O3 for Switching Diodes; Funding Agency: BITS Pilani; Role: PI; Amount: 7 Lakh; Sanction date: 09/2021-03/2024
Conceptualization and Implementation of Submonolayer (SML) InAs Quantum Dot (QD) Based Solar Cell; Funding Agency: BITS Pilani; Role: PI; Amount: 2 Lakh; Sanction date: 12/2020-12/2022

Research

Research Interests

Statistical Mechanics.
Disordered Systems.
Phase Transition and Critical Phenomena.
Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM).
Seismic events & Earthquake Statistics.
Porous Media.
Effective Rheology of Multi-phase Flow.
Propagating Interface Through Disordered Systems - Mechanical and Fluid.
Quantum Dot Synthesis and Evolution.

Gist of Research

My main research interest is studying statistical mechanical systems in presence of disorder and acted by an external perturbation. Understanding the time evaluation of such disordered systems is fascinating owing to to their rich dynamics, including highly nonlinear, out-of-equilibrium behavior, self-organization and enchanting patterns. Statistical physical models of such systems yields constitutive laws that do not only explain the behavior but also prove highly useful in various applications. Understanding the origin and dynamics of such a disorder systems provides insight into phenomena such as failure of solids, multi-phase flow, snow avalanches, seismic events, and more, making such studies important from the point of view of various branches of engineering, material science, and geophysics.

Expertise

I developed expertise in a wide range of statistical mechanics approaches and tools like models for critical behavior, phase transition, self-organized criticality, and multi-fractal nature of local parameters, for both solid mechanics (deformation and failure) and fluid mechanics of multi-phase flow in porous media. I also gained expertise in numerical tools: I developed simulators for avalanche dynamics during a failure process as well as interface propagation for multi-phase flow using C and C++ language, and performed data analysis on acoustic emission experiments and earthquake statistics using Python and Jupyter notebook as well as Matlab and Mathematica.

Overview

Statistical Modeling of Fracture

It is been over three decades now that statistical physicists started paying continual attention to the failure and breakdown properties of disordered materials. Primarily its importance lies in the extreme nature of the statistics, translating into safety and integrity issues for large as well as small structures. It also has the fascinating aspect of universality in its response statistics that opened up new applications of concepts of phase transition and criticality in this field [Phil. Trans. Royal Society A, vol 377, Issue 2136 (2018)]. One of the interesting questions in this regard is the forewarning of breakdown [Sci. Rep. vol 5, no 13259 (2015)]. Other than the nature of the acoustic signals [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 3423 (1994)] (Fig.1) emitted prior to a breakdown, even simply the duration of such signals is crucially important. It is well known that a higher disordered sample has more prior warnings of its imminent breakdown. A brittle material (like glass), on the other hand, will have an understandably shorter time window for such signals. The system size scaling, and the probability distribution functions of the failure times of disorder materials have been actively pursued questions.

During my Ph.D. (with Prof. Purusattam Ray) I have extensively explored statistical disordered systems, focusing on their rheological response under external stress and predict the nature of failure (brittle vs ductile), to eventually provide a warning of catastrophic events. Using methods such as Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulations, I was able to explain the mode of failure [Europhysics Letters, Volume 112, Number 2, pp 26004 (2015), Phys. Rev. E 96, 042142 (2017)] and spatial correlation of damage during crack propagation in a discrete or continuum media [Phys. Rev. E 91, 050105(R) (2015), Front. Phys. 9, 752086 (2021), Phys. Rev. E 105, 055003 (2022)]. We exposed the existence of two main parameters, (i) strength of disorder and (ii) stress release range, that control the dynamics and determine if the failure process is brittle or ductile as well as if it is nucleating or percolating [Phys. Rev. E 96, 063003 (2017), Physica A 569, 125782 (2021)] (Fig.2). Above two parameters has a significant role as the formal depends on material property like crystal defects, impurities, micro-crack, etc., while the latter is related to the span of fracture process zone and the stress concentration. These papers provided a through understanding of fracturing and failure at the microscopic scales.

During my Postdoctoral research in the University of Tokyo (With Prof. T. Hatano) I moved to study fracturing on larger scales relevant to geo-hazards such as seismic events and snow avalanches. We developed a framework to quantitatively predict the dynamics of fracture propagation, providing insights to creep failure [Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 023110 (2022), Phys. Rev. Research 2, 023104 (2020)]. Our theory was shown to favourably compare with data of the acceleration and deceleration measured before and after earthquakes (the main shock, characterized by inverse Omori and Omori-Utsu law) [Phys. Rev. E 97, 062149 (2018)] (Fig.3), which is invaluable for earthquake prediction and warning.

Effective Rheology of Multi-phase Flow

The study of multi-phase flow, on the other hand, involves understanding the behavior of large scale processes (oil recovery, CO2 sequestration, groundwater collection, blood flow in capillary vessels, etc.) by breaking down the dynamics of fluid in the pore-scale [J. Bear, Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media]. In the pore scale, when two immiscible fluids ow in a porous media the flow does not obey linear Darcy law [Transp. Porous Med. 1, 3 (1986)] in the regime where the capillary forces are comparable to the viscous forces. The transient behavior of the model shows viscous fingering, capillary fingering, and stable displacement depending on driving parameters such as capillary number or the viscosity ratio (Fig.1). In the steady-state, the flow rate was observed both numerically [Europhys. Lett. 99, 44004 (2012)] and experimentally [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 074502 (2009)] to scale in a quadratic manner with the pressure gradient (Fig.2). The disorder in capillary barriers at pores effectively creates a yield threshold in the porous medium, introducing an overall threshold pressure in the system making the fluids reminiscent of a Bingham viscoplastic fluid [Europhys. Lett. 4(1), 1227 (1987)].

My second postdoctoral position (with Prof. Alex Hansen) at Porous Media Laboratory (Porelab), the world’s leading institution for physics of porous media, provided me with the opportunity to expand my research horizons into the fascinating field of rheology of complex fluids flowing in a porous material. I developed a theoretical framework that was able to reproduce controlled experiments (using the highly useful Hele-Shaw cell (Fig.3), similar to those proposed in this fellowship, as model system). An experimental validation is very important in our case since many of the theories that we proposed is novel in the context of porous media. We explained the non-linear rheology in the intriguing (and practically important) case where both capillary and viscous forces are comparable. Of particular interest is how the structure of a porous material and its wetting properties influence the rheology. We were able to provide an extensive systematic quantification of the role of pore-scale heterogeneity in pore sizes [Front. Water 3, 709833 (2021)] (Fig.4), wetting angles [Transport in Porous Media 139, 491 (2021)] (Fig.5), and fluid distribution [Front. Phys. 7, 92 (2019)] (Fig.4). In Porelab I gained experience in the state of the art techniques, both computational and experimental.

I gained expertise in computational fluid dynamics, to develop a discrete, pore scale dynamic pore network modelling (DPNM) [Front. Phys. 8, 548497 (2021)] (Fig.6). DPNM provides a mechanistic efficient methodology, as it relies on basic physical rules resolved for an idealised geometrical description of links and nodes. DPNM solves three coupled linear equations: Washburn equation (for potential flow), Young-Laplace equation (capillary pressure), and Kirchhoff’s law (mass balance), through a conjugate gradient solver. Experimentally, we used Hele-Shaw cells (Fig.3), idealised model systems in which all properties are known and controlled but still exhibit the essential features of potential flow in confined porous media.

We used the combination of computational and experimental techniques to develop a novel thermodynamic framework for flow through porous media [Front. Phys. 8, 4 (2020)] which is consistent with theoretical and experimental data of relative permeability [Transport in Porous Media 143, 69 (2022)], the main characteristic of flow in porous media used in the industry. This framework is highly relevant and thus highly useful for the upscaling process (Fig.7) that links pore-scale, Darcy scale and field scale to each other.

Experimental Laboratory for Multi-Phase Flow

Coming Soon

Sponsored Research Projects

Co-Principal Investigator: Design, Implementation and ML-based Modeling of Gallium Oxide based Junction Barrier Schottky Diodes (JBSD) for Extreme Environment and High-Power Applications, Centre for Research Excellence in Semiconductor Technologies (CREST), BITS Pilani, 2 years, January 2024 -January 2026 and Rs. 30 Lakhs (Ongoing).

Principal Investigator: Design and Development of Low Power VLSI circuit based on MOS based biosensor, Student Program for Advancing Research, KnowLedge, and Entrepreneurship (SPARKLE), BITS Pilani, November -2024 and Rs.1 Lakh. (Ongoing).

Co-Principal Investigator: Development of PCDA-liposome based detection kit for Alzheimer’s disease biomarker, Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India: 3 Years, March 2017- March 2020, and Rs. 2663200=00. (Completed)

Principal Investigator: Investigation of Schottky contacts to Silicon Carbide (SiC) using I-V and C-V techniques, University Grants Commission (UGC), 3 years, February-2011- February 2013 and Rs. 10,77,800.00. (Completed)

Sponsored Projects

Title of the Project: Promoting Mathematical Sciences in Goa

Principal Investigator: Prasanna Kumar

Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Manoj Kumar Pandey and Dr. Amit Setia

Funding Agency/Approx.Amount: Elsevier Mathematical Sciences Sponsorship Fund (E-MSSF)/ $2000/( Two thousand American Dollars )

Duration: 1-year (2017)

Research Projects

Completed Research Projects

S. No

Title

Cost in Lakh

Duration

Role as PI/Co-PI

Agency

Investigation of magneto-optical effects in composite magneto-plasmonic nanostructures for sensing applications

32.70

2013 - 2016 (3 years)

Kannan Ramaswamy (PI)

DST – SERB (EMR)

Investigations of the effects of photon up-conversion

materials on the electrical performance of ferroelectric semiconductor heterojunction photovoltaic

devices

35.6

2018 – 2021

(3 years)

Kannan Ramaswamy

( PI)

DST- – SERB (EMR)

Research Project Completed as P.I.

1. Hypergraceful Graphs (Fast Track Proposals for Young Scientist)

DST No.: SR/FTP/MS-01/2003.

Total Amount: Rs.7,92,000/-. For three years.

This project was transferred from ISI Kolkata to BITS Pilani Goa Campus after joining

the mathematics department of BITS Pilani Goa Campus in Dec. 2005. (First Sponsored Project of BITS Pilani

Goa Campus).

Duration: Jan. 2006- July. 2009.

Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

2. Studies on Neighborhood Magic Graphs.

Reference No. SR/S4/MS: 734/11.

Total Amount: Rs.12, 69,360/-

Duration: July 01, 2013 to June 30, 2016.

Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

3. Magic and Antimagic Labeling of Graphs.

Reference No. CRG/2018/0025236.

Total Amount: Rs.19, 54,832/-

Duration: May 27, 2019 to May 26, 2022.

Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board, Govt. of India.

Research Project

Principal Investigator: Dynamical Complexity of Teleparallel Gravity: the Cosmological implications, SERB-DST (CRG-ANRF), New Delhi. File No.: CRG/2023/000475. 24,70,688 INR. (01.06.2024-31.05.2027). Ongoing.
Principal Investigator: Early-Universe Physics in Teleparallel Cosmology, SERB-DST (MATRICS), New Delhi. File No.: MTR/2023/000371. 6,60,000 INR. (27.02.2024 - 26.02.2027). Ongoing.
Principal Investigator: "Probing and Constraining the Cosmological Parameters in Geometrically Extended Gravity with Combined Pantheon Sample", Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. Letter No.: 03/1493/23/EMR-II. 25,69,627 INR. (09.11.2023 to -08.11.2026). Ongoing
Working group member, CA22113-Fundamental Challenges in Theoretical Physics(Cosmoverse). European Cooperation in Science and Technology (eCOST) from 10.10.203 - 09.10.2027. Ongoing
Working group member, CA21136-Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics (Cosmoverse). European Cooperation in Science and Technology (eCOST) from 21.10.2022 - 20.10.2026. Ongoing
"DAAD Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE)-2019", Physical and geometrical aspects of anisotropic dark energy cosmological models(IN-PH-4078). Intern: Janik Kruse, Padeborn Universitat (31.07.19-11.10.19). Completed.
Principal Investigator: "Bianchi Type Cosmological Models in Modified Theories of Gravitation", SERB, DST, New Delhi. D.O. No.: SR/S4/MS:815/13. 14,44,800 INR. (June 2014- May 2017). Completed.
Principal Investigator: "Study on Cosmological Models of the Universe with Wet Dark Fluid in Alternative Theories of Gravitation" , UGC, New Delhi, F.No.: -42-1001/2013(SR). 1,90,000 INR. (March 2014 - February 2016). Completed.

Faculty Research Interests

Single-units from cortex in our lab, last panel is an auditory stimulus evoked LFP and single unit

Long-term interests: Auditory neuroscience, Structure and function of neural circuits, Pathophysiology, biomedical devices, and drug discovery

Findings from the early 1900s by Jasper, Penfield, Magoun, and Morruzi (considered among the most eminent scientists in neuroscience for their work) led to a series of questions on the role of the brainstem and cortex. It is still unclear from the sensory perspective on the role of these brain regions, how inter-dependent these structures are, what they code, and how they work together to form a sensory perception? Our lab is interested in answering these questions from the auditory perspective. To this end, we plan to use aging and tinnitus (pathology of the central auditory system) models and answer the questions on:

How are the brain dynamics affected? (using electrophysiology/ microiontophoresis/ optogenetics/ behavior/ molecular biology tools - Collaborations with Profs. Sabareesh and Ramendra Kishor Pal for tool development and Prof. Sajeli Begum - (Pharm. Chemistry) BITS Hyderabad)

What does the altered brain dynamics mean? (Using computational models and deep neural networks – a collaborative work with Profs. Venkateswaran R and STP Srinivas – BITS Pilani/ Hyderabad).

Short-term goals:

Impact of hearing loss on mental health and cognitive function
Mechanisms of the basal forebrain mediated impact on auditory cortical function
New small molecules for targeting drug-resistant epilepsy
Developing novel edible electrodes for neuroscience applications

Techniques:

Extracellular electrophysiology; Behavior; Pupillometry; Sound stimuli generation; Optogenetics; and Molecular biology

Sponsored Research Projects

Total Research Grant Sanctioned: Rs. 1,13,18,696 (PI: Rs. 1,03,18,696 & Co-I: Rs. 10,00,000)
#	Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Fund Sanctioned	Duration	Role	Status
1	Bioinspired patterns to improve the mucoadhesion of polymeric patch on the corneal surface	Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS-Pilani	Rs. 20,00,000	2 years (2023-2025)	Co-Investigator	Ongoing
2	Influence of wetting regime on evaporative drying of a sessile drop on a topographically patterned surface	SERB CRG	Rs.56,68,696	3 years (2022-2025)	Principal Investigator	Ongoing
3	Development of superomniphobic surfaces for self-cleaning and antimicrobial applications	DST INSPIRE	Rs.35,00,000	5 years (2017-2022)	Principal Investigator	Completed
4	Underwater superoleophobic surfaces for oil/water separation	Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani	Rs. 9,50,000	2 years (2019-2021)	Principal Investigator	Completed
5	Soft lithographic fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces and durability studies	Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani,	Rs. 2,00,000	2 years (2018-2020)	Principal Investigator	Completed

Sponsored Projects

National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NMICPS) Grant
- Project Title: A Ga2O3-HEMT Biosensor-Based Non-invasive, Intelligent, and Portable Diagnostic System
- Sponsoring Agency: DST by iHUB Divyasampark, IIT Roorkee
- Co-PI: Dr. Sandeep Joshi
- Amount : ₹ 10 Lakhs
- Duration: Oct. 2023 -- Oct. 2025
POWER Research Grant
- Project Title: A Holistic Integration of NTNs for 5G and Beyond Wireless Communications: Connecting Anything, Anytime, Anywhere
- Sponsoring Agency: SERB-DST, Govt. of India
- C0-PI: Dr. Sandeep Joshi
- Amount: ₹ 27,32,708
- Duration: Jun. 2023 -- Jun. 2026
Start-up Research Grant (SRG)
- Project Title: Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) Assisted 5G and Beyond Communications: Modeling, Design, and Analysis
- Sponsoring Agency: SERB-DST, Govt. of India
- PI: Dr. Sandeep Joshi
- Amount : ₹ 30.84 Lakhs
- Duration: Jan. 2022 -- Jan. 2024
Industrial Research Consultancy Project
- Project Title: 5G Cellular Over-the-air (OTA) Scanner
- Sponsoring Agency: Hughes Systique Private Limited
- PI: Dr. Sandeep Joshi
- Amount : ₹ 12.03 Lakhs
- Duration: Jul. 2021 -- Nov. 2023
Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG)
- Project Title: Device-to-Device Communications in 5G Cellular Networks: Channel Modeling and Performance Analysis
- Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani
- PI: Dr. Sandeep Joshi
- Amount : ₹ 10 Lakhs
- Duration: Feb. 2021 - Jan. 2023
Research Initiation Grant (RIG)
- Project Title: Device-to-Device Communications in 5G and Beyond Networks: Performance Analysis
- Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani
- PI: Dr. Sandeep Joshi
- Amount : ₹ 2 Lakhs
- Duration: Sept. 2020 - Dec. 2022
Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA) Award
- Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani
- Duration: Aug. 2020 -- Aug. 2025

Ongoing:

Developing efficient methods for approximating generalized inverses of tensors and solving multilinear systems, SERB-SURE, Govt. of India (18.8 Lakhs, 2023-26, PI: Prof. J.K. Sahoo).
Design, development, and performance investigation of neck exoskeleton in prevention and reduction of the neck pain, DHR, Govt. of India (51.96 lakhs, 2023-26, PI: Dr. Ganesh M. Bapat and Co-PI: Prof. J.K. Sahoo).

Computer Vision and Deep Learning

Institute-Funded Projects

UG 2nd/3rd year students for SOP and RP (ME) 2024-25: [Please visit me for discussion with prior email notification. ]

1. RIG [PI (2L)] AI-ML Applications for Sports and Dance Postures Project Page

2. NFSG [PI (7.5L)] AI-ML Applications for Agriculture ( 2 semester duration)

3. AI-ML Applications for Biomedical Signal Processing ( 2 semester duration)

Prerequisites: Fundamental knowledge of Algorithm Design, Machine Learning, and Computer Vision. Python coding proficiency in Tensorflow-Keras environment.

Note: Interested students may send me one page brief idea/knowledge/study in any one of these areas along with their relevant details for the next session.

Sponsored Projects

Machine learning assisted inverse design of novel auxetic core architectures for improved blast resistance of sandwich structures

Status - Ongoing

Principal Investigator

Prof. Gaurav Watts

Co-investigators

Prof. Vinti Agarwal
Prof. Radha Raman Mishra

Amount Sanctioned

20 Lakhs

Agency

CDRF, BITS Pilani

Duration

2024-2026

Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of 3D Printed Hierarchical Structures for Ballistic Protection System

Status - Ongoing

Principal Investigator

Prof. Radha Raman Mishra

Co-investigators

Prof. Gaurav Watts

Amount Sanctioned

91.35 Lakhs

Agency

TBRL, DRDO

Duration

2024-2027

Blast Response of Functionally Graded Auxetic Sandwich Structures with Tunable Material Properties

Status - Ongoing

Principal Investigator

Prof. Gaurav Watts

Amount Sanctioned

17.30 Lakhs

Agency

SERB-DST

Scheme

SERB-SURE

Duration

2023-2026

Development of Low-Cost Federated Learning Empowered Digital Twin Framework for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Roads and Bridges built under PMGSY

Status - Ongoing

Principal Investigator

Prof. Shashank Gupta

Co-Investigators

Prof. Gaurav Watts

Prof. Shuvendu N Patel

Amount Sanctioned

11.88 Lakhs

Scheme

I-DAPT HUB Foundation, IIT BHU, Varanasi

Duration

2023-2025

Stability Analysis of Structures using Element Free Galerkin Method

Status - Completed

Principal Investigator

Prof. Gaurav Watts

Amount Sanctioned

2.00 Lakhs

Agency

BITS Pilani

Scheme

Research Initiation Grant

Duration

2019-2021

Publications from the Project

Research Projects

Completed Projects (4)

Pratham Education Foundation project “Evaluation for Teach India Campaigns in Rajasthan”. January 2012- March 2012 (Rs. 50,000)
UGC major research entitled “Developing Teaching Modules for English Learning through Multimedia Technology for Rural Children from Class V –VIII”. January 2010- September 2012 (Rs. 7,00,000)
DST project “Rural women empowerment and sustainable growth” in collaboration with MNIT, Jaipur. March 2015- April 2019 (Rs. 30,00,000)
ICSSR project "A Study on Impact Assessment Tools to Regulate Positive Thinking in the Society during COVID-19". March 2021- November 2021. ( Rs. 7,80,000)

Ongoing Projects (2)

Received the project "Recycling for Conservation of Environment" under Technology Development and Utilization Program for Women (TDUPW) Program of A2K+ Scheme of DSIR- Reg. ( Rs 22,00000)
Received the Project: Bringing back peacocks to Pilani, funded by BITS Alumni 1987 batch, February 2017. (Rs. 12,00,000 initial)

Externally Funded Research Projects

SERB / DST Core Research Grant (CRG)

Title: 'Single Step' Conversion of CO₂ from Thermal Power Plant Exhaust to Dimethyl Ether (2022 - 25) (Co-PI)

DST / IC-IMPACTS Centres of Excellence Canada

Title: Valorization of CO₂ to Fuel over MOFs derived SACs: A Machine Learning Guided Experimental Approach (2023 - 25) (Co-PI)

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), India

Title: Single Step Hydrogenation of CO2 to Ethanol with H₂from Water-splitting over Single Atom Catalysts & Single Atom Bimetallic and Trimetallic Alloys in Flow Reactor (2023 - 26) (Co-PI)

India-Taiwan Programme of Cooperation in Science & Technology / INAE-DST

Title: Solar Fuels: Green H2 via Solar Thermochemical Splitting of Water and Conversion of CO2 to CO over Reducible Oxides (2024 - 27) (Co-PI)

Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) / DST and BMBF Funding

To organize Indo-German Workshop on "Catalysis for Circular Economy towards Sustainable Energy” at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus during 20 - 23 September 2023 (Co-Convener)

Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA) / DST

To organize Indo-French Workshop on "Cross Fertilization between Academia and Industry: Towards Safer and Efficient Catalytic Processes" at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus during 24 - 26 October 2024 (Co-Convener)

ANRF R&D Scheme under ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund (AISTDF)

Advanced High Entropy Single-Atom Catalysts for Carbon Dioxide Utilization (2024 - 27) (Co-PI)

Sponsored Projects

SERB-SRG (Start-up Research Grant)

Bio-inspired flow dynamics of tandem flapping foils

DRDO-Naval Research Board

Propulsive performance and hydroacoustics of tandem flapping foils for bio-inspired marine applications

Funded Research Projects

Extramural Research Projects:

Sr. No	Project Title	Funding Agency	Grant Amount (₹)	Duration/Status
1	Design, development, and performance investigation of neck exoskeleton in prevention and reduction of the neck pain.	Department of Health Research, Govt of India	51.96 Lakhs	2023-26 (Ongoing) PI
2	Design of knee unloader braces to improve outcomes of surgical knee procedures using a musculoskeletal simulation-based approach.	Industry-CSR	22 Lakhs	2022-24 (Ongoing) PI
3	Investigating the performance of neck exoskeleton in reducing neck pain.	Delsys De Luca Foundation, USA	2.45 Lakhs (USD 3000- Equipment)	2020-22 (Completed) PI
4	Investigation of roll-over shape in healthy older individuals.	UCRCA, University of Nebraska Omaha, USA	USD 5000	2019-20 (Completed) PI

Institute Sponsored Research Projects:

Sr. No	Project Title	Funding Agency	Grant Amount (₹)	Duration/Status
1	Design and development of a cost-effective multi-grasp myoelectric upper limb prosthesis.	CDRF- BITS Pilani	20 Lakhs	2023-25 (Ongoing) Co-PI
2	Development of Reverse Engineered Computer Aided Modeling and Manufacturing (RECAMM) approach to improve ankle-foot orthosis fabrication.	ACRG- BITS Pilani	10 Lakhs	2021-23 (Completed) PI
3	A computational simulation study on the effects of joint misalignments in lower limb orthoses.	RIG-BITS Pilani	2 Lakhs	2020-22 (Completed) PI

Ongoing Project

SERB Matrics grant titled "Irreducibility of GLP and related Diophantine problems"- Ongoing from January 2023-2026.

Research Project Details

Completed

“Measuring Digital Capability among the Rural Women in the Post COVID Era: A Study from Rural Odisha”. Co-Principal Investigator, Funding Agency: ICSSR, New Delhi, Duration: 2022-23, Sanction Amount-₹ 5 lakhs Rupees.

Ongoing

‘Measuring Financial and Digital Capability among SC and ST Women: A study from Rural India’, Principal Investigator, Funding Agency: BITS Pilani-New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG), Duration: 2024-26, Sanction Amount-₹ 18 lakhs, 80 thousand Rupees.

–

Completed

“Higher-Harmonic generation in gases and solids and their implications in attosecond science”
Role : Principal Investigator (PI)
Co-PI : Dr. Jayendra N. Bandyopadhyay, Dept. of Physics, BITS Pilani, Pilani, India.
Duration : Dec 2020 - Dec 2023
Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
Amount : ∼ 23 Lakhs
“Generation and Characterization of Attosecond Pulses with Specific Polarization and its Applications”
Role : Principal Investigator (PI)
Co-PI : Dr. Jayendra N. Bandyopadhyay, Dept. of Physics, BITS Pilani,Pilani, India.
Duration : March 2017 - March 2020
Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
Amount : ∼ 16.5 Lakhs
“Study of laser interaction with atomic clusters and preformed plasma”
Role : Principal Investigator
Duration : March 2014 - March 2017
Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
Amount : ∼ 15 Lakhs

Sponsored Research Projects

1. SERB sponsored SRG (Start-up Research Grant) project titled “Development of a high-efficiency, all-weather Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) comprising of low-temperature-swing driven desiccant coated fin-tube heat exchangers” (29.7 lakhs)

2. BITS sponsored project titled "Low-grade heat driven desiccant-dehumidifiers for hyper-efficient air-conditioning" (9.59 lakhs)

3. BITS sponsored project titled "Simulation study of desiccant-wheels coated with desiccant-material having a non-conventional sorption-isotherm" (2 lakhs)

Funded Projects

Education for Visually Impaired School Children in Tamil Nadu through AI-Assisted Skills

Duration of the project : 5 Years (Oct-2023 to Oct-2028)

Funding Details : Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR - Ministry of Education); Collaborative Research Proposals on Longitudinal Studies in Social and Human Sciences.

SUMMARY

This project uses AI, Fuzzy Logic and digital learning technology to develop learning systems tailored for visually impaired students. Using AI, specifically a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), it adjusts learning content based on individual student abilities, creating personalized and effective educational experiences. It intends enhancing access to quality education for visually impaired learners. The project promotes social inclusion by empowering visually impaired students with personalized learning, fostering educational equity, and enhancing their integration into society for long-term social and economic upliftment.

It is a collaborative work with Prof. Anjum Khan (Principal Ivestigator), Prof. Rachel & Prof. Sreeja, Department of English, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (Coordinating Institute).

Interpretation of Tuberculin Reaction Using Medical Photography and Computer Aided Diagnosis

Duration of the project : 2 Years (Dec-2019 to Mar-2022)

Funding Details : DST-SERB, Govt. of India - Startup research grant (SRG)

SUMMARY

In this project, Medical photography (not medical imaging) is primarily used to record Tuberculin skin test images. The images captured from the forearm are processed for extracting relevant features. The image of the forearm and the relevant features are recorded twice: first, at the time of injecting the tuberculin fluid into the skin; finally, after 48 hours from the time of injection. The difference in the features of the wheal may enhance clinical decision making. The proposed system eliminates the traditional error-prone interpretation process of the Tuberculin Skin Tests. Using Computer Aided Diagnosis would eliminate the bias involved in the process of medical observation and reporting, moreover the patient need not report to the health centre in person.

Projects

Sponsored Projects, Completed

Bioremediation of Red mud using acidogenic fermentation byproducts and by Biopiling, BITS Pilani Principal Investigator: Dr. Srikanth Mutnuri, Co-investigators: Dr.Vivek R, Dr.Saroj Baral, Dr Sharad Sontakke, Dr Anirban Roy, Dr. Bharat B Gulyani, Dr. Nishant Pandya, Dr Neeru Sood, Dr Trupti Gokhale, BITS Pilani - ABSTC project, June 2018, duration 1 year, Rs. 71.5 Lac.

Collaborative research project approved under the Research Initiation Grant of BITS Pilani. Topic: Development of Computer Aided Product Design Tool for Mixtures. PI: Dr. Nishant Pandya, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, Co-I:Prof. (Dr.) Vincent Gerbaud, Director – Research, Université de Toulouse, INP, CNRS, LGC, France. Duration 2 years starting from 13.10.2016

Funded Project

1.Project under BITS Pilani Cross Disciplinary Research Fund (CDRF)

Project Title: Virtual Reality Assisted Mobile Manipulators for Industrial Applications

Collaborators: Dr. V. Kalaichelvi(EEE) (PI), Dr. Sujala D. Shetty(CS) (PI) , Dr. R. Karthikeyan (Mechanical)(PI)

Amount: INR 30 Lakh

Duration: 2 Years

Sponsored Projects

DST SERC Fast-Track: Synthesis of some selected nitrogen based heterocycles as potential anti tubercular agents [June 2010-July 2013]

CSIR: Synthesis of modified TosMIC & BetMIC for use as key reagents in the synthesis of boronated heterocycles [Nov 2013-Nov 2016]

CSIR: Design and synthesis of diverse pyrrole-pyridine based molecules as selective sensors for Zn²⁺ and F^- [June 2019-June 2022]

DST-SERB (CRG): Development of sensors for studying changes in zinc homeostasis in different cellular events [July 2023-onwards]

RESEARCH INTEREST

PROCESS CONTROL

CONTROL SYSTEMS

NEURAL NETWORKS

FUZZY LOGIC

CONTROL SYSTEMS IN ROBOTICS

MECHATRONICS

RESEARCH WORK:

Guided one Ph.D student Mrs.Abhilasha Singh

Proposed Topic of Research :

Vision based Path Planning for Robotic Applications using Intelligent Techniques

Program Chair for MoSICom 2020 - Organized International Conference on Modelling,Simulation and Intelligent Computing as one of the Program Chair along with Dr.Nilesh Goel and Dr.Shazia Hasan from January 29-31 2020.

COMPLETED RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Inter departmental Projects (02) – (EEE-Mech-CS)

1.Development of Computer Application for Prediction of Cement StrengthSave changes

2.Development of Mobile Application for Raw Mix & Fuel Cost Optimization

ON GOING RESEARCH PROJECT

BITS-CDRF (Cross-Disciplinary Research) funded project

Title of Project: Virtual Reality-Assisted Mobile Manipulators for Industrial Applications

Research Projects

Project Names: APP based learning for Python program
• Funding Agency: Sixth Sense Ltd.
• Amount:15.81 L (INR)
• Role: Co-PI
• Remarks: Expertise: Development of an efficient pedagogical approach for the question builder module of the APP and analysis of the suitability and the requirements of customers' use of the system based on their socio-cultural and economic background and its influence on their learning outcome.

Status- Completed

Project Name: Revisiting employment relations in domestic work from a socio-economic perspective in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Funding Agency: Goa Institute of Management
• Amount:4.9L (INR)
• Role: Co-PI

Status- Completed

Sponsored Projects

Government Funded:

Ongoing (PI): Dynamics of active particles near a non-isothermal fluid-fluid interface. (2021-2026). Funded by DST-INSPIRE (35 lakhs).
Accepted (Co-PI): Carbon dioxide-fuelled Janus Nano Flask Motors for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Cargo in Helicobacter pylori Infection. Funded by STARS-IISC (47 lakhs). (PI: Prof. Swati Biswas).

Institute Funded:

Ongoing (PI): Spontaneous motion of active particles in complex fluids. Scheme name: RIG (2 lakhs).
Ongoing (PI): Self-powered micromotor device for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. Scheme name: NFSG (18 lakhs).
Ongoing (PI): Automatic droplet generation platform using ML and computer vision. Scheme name: SPARKLE (2 lakhs). (Co-PI: Dr. Jayaprakash)

Sponsored Projects

1. Funding Agency: SERB, DST
Title: Photocatalytic NO_x abatement: From mechanism and material properties to catalytic performance (2014-2017) (Principal Investigator)

2. Funding Agency: Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani
Title: Photocatalytic hydrogen production (2015-2017) (Principal Investigator)

3. Funding Agency: CSIR
Title: Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to biofuels (2017-2020) (Principal Investigator)

4. Funding Agency: CSIR
Title: CO₂ capture from flue gases using regenerable solid adsorbents (2015-2018) (Co- Principal Investigator)

5. Funding Agency: HBL Power Systems Limited (Industry)
Title: Preparation and characterization of electrode material for Lithium ion Batteries (2018-2020) (Principal Investigator)

6. Funding Agency: HBL Power Systems Limited (Industry)
Title: Zn Air Battery (2019-2021) (Principal Investigator)

7. Funding Agency: SERB, DST
Title: ‘Single step’ Conversion of CO₂ from Thermal Power Plant Exhaust to Dimethyl Ether (2022-2025) (Principal Investigator)

8. Funding Agency: DST, International Cooperation Division
Title: Valorization of CO₂ to Fuel over MOFs derived SACs A Machine Learning Guided Experimental Approach (2023-2025) (Principal Investigator)

9.Funding Agency: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Industry)
Title: Single Step Hydrogenation of CO₂ to Ethanol with H₂ from water-splitting over Single Atom Catalysts & Single Atom Bimetallic and Trimetallic Alloys in Flow Reactor (2023-2026) (Principal Investigator)

10. Funding Agency: INAE, India-Taiwan Program of Cooperation in Science & Technology Joint Research Project
Title: Solar Fuels: Green H₂ via Solar Thermochemical Splitting of Water and Conversion of CO₂ to CO over Reducible Oxides (2023 - 2026) (Principal Investigator)

11. Funding Agency: ASEAN-India Collaborative R&D
Title: Advanced High Entropy Single Atom Catalysts for Carbon dioxide Utilization (2024 - 2026) (Principal Investigator)

Research Grants

Research Initiation Grant (RIG): June 2023–May 2025, Sanctioned Amount: 20,000 AED

Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani

Research Interest

Online Social Media Marketing
Online Trust
e-Commerce
Omni-channel Retailing
Digital Marketing
Green Marketing

Student Research group Projects

SPARKLE Grant Award 2023

Title: Do batteries breathe? Identifying state-of-health of Li-ion batteries using acoustic sensing & machine learning

Amount: Rs. 2 Lakhs

Sponsored Research Projects

Project Ongoing (02)

Project-01

Title: Prediction of Friction and Wear Properties During Different Material Interactions Using Vibration and Acoustic Measurement

Duration: 4 Years (August 2024- July 2028)

Research Team:

BITS Pilani: Prof. Arun Kumar Jalan (PI) and Prof. Sharad Srivastava (Co-PI)

RMIT University, Australia : Prof. Reza Nakhaie Jazar (PI)

Project-02

Title: Non-Invasive Intoxication Detection through Computer Vision & AI

Funding Agency: WAISL Limited, New Delhi

Duration: 2 Years (April 2024- March 2026)

Amount: 23.01 Lac

Role in Project: Co- Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Project Completed (03)

Title: Detection Development of a fault diagnosis scheme for Aero-Bearing with multiple localized defect using non-linear mathematical modeling and experimental analysis

Funding Agency: AR&DB (Aeronautics Research & Dev. Board)

Duration: 3 Years (October 2018- October 2021)

Amount: 15.55 Lakhs

Role in Project: Principal Investigator (PI)

Title: Design and Development of Condition based Monitoring of Pipelines using Wireless Sensor Networks

Funding Agency: Gas Authority of India ltd. (GAIL)

Duration: 3 Years (2012- 2014)

Amount: 71.36 Lakhs

Role in Project: Co- Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Title: Condition monitoring of dynamic systems by vibration response analysis

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Duration: 2 Years (2011- 2013)

Amount: 2 Lakhs

Role in Project: Principal Investigator (PI)

Projects

Funded Research Projects

Funding Agency, Title of Project [Year], Amount in Rs.

B.I.T.S Pilani, "Design and Development of robotic exoskeleton for upper limb rehabilitation and assistance", [April 2011-March 2013], 1.51 Million.
Ministry of Information and Technology, (MIT) "Development, Design and Engineering of 28-DOF Humanoid to avoid obstacles and handle specified objects in the environment", [April 2012-March 2015], 4.5 Million.
Indo-US S&T Forum Research Fellowship to Pursue research in the areas of Rehabilitation Robotics (Physical Health) in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Illinois, affiliated to Northwestern University (Feb 17th - 15th July 2013), 1.12 Million.)
ISRO – Propulsion Research Center, Mahendragiri, India, received Purchase Order for Product "Development of a Robotic system to access the engine nozzle divergent for mounting nozzle closure at CE20 HAT facility", worth 4.6 Million for a duration of 18 months. (Funding Expected in Sept 2023)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Targeting neurovascular unit (NVU) for therapeutic modulation of blood-brain barrier (BBB) function in CNS diseases” DBT Ramalingaswamy Fellowship, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, India (80 Lakhs) (2023-2027)

Establishment of a blood-brain barrier model (BBB) for studying the invasion of Toxoplasma gondi into the brain across BBB in cerebral toxoplasmosis” in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Nishith Gupta, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, India (10 Lakhs) (2023-2024)

Completed

Effect of Wnt signalling on transcellular transport in an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) ” funded by Goethe University Clinic, Germany (8.5 Lakhs) (2010-2012)

Role of muscarinic receptors at the blood-brain barrier in amyloid beta transport” funded by AC Immune Inc., Switzerland (26.5 Lakhs) (2012-2014)

Role of the VE-PTP inhibitor AKB 9785 in the rescue of VEGF mediated brain endothelial permeability” funded by Aerpio Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA (35 Lakhs) (2015-2018)

Transmigration of meningeal pathogens into the brain across the blood-brain barrier and its therapeutic targeting in preclinical disease models” in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Volkhard Kempf, funded by German Research Foundation, Germany (90 Lakhs) (2015-2020)

Dual role of S1P signalling at the BBB: early tightening & late disruptive effects” funded by Leducq Foundation Sphingonet Consortium, USA (18 Lakhs) (2017-2019)

Development of FACS-based method for isolation and analysis of NVU cells, and its application to neurological diseases with BBB dysfunction” funded by Edinger Foundation, Germany (65 Lakhs) (2019-2022)

Research Projects

Total Project Fund Sanctioned - INR 2.16 Cr

Upscaling and preclinical evaluation for commercialization of a novel and affordable anti-fungal drug product

INR 50 Lakhs is funded by BIRAC/DBT under the Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG-23) scheme (Jan 2024 - July 2025).

Novel Therapeutic approaches for the treatment of Leukemia

INR 42 Lakhs is funded by ICMR for this project (2021 - 2024).

Development & optimization of stable anti-leukemic drug loaded long circulating liposomes

INR 30 Lakhs is funded by the Parenteral Drug Association, India Chapter for this project (2020 - 2023).

Development, optimization and evaluation of stable multidose injectable formulation of anticancer drug

INR 22 Lakhs is funded by the Industry for this project (July 2023- June 2025).

Novel formulation for oral bioavailability enhancement of anticancer drug

INR 21 Lakhs is funded by Slayback Pharma for this project (2020- 2022).

Exploring the synergistic benefits of co delivering angiogenesis and DNMT inhibitors using nanoliposomes for pancreatic cancer treatment

INR 20 Lakhs is funded by CDRF-BITS for this project (August 2024- July 2026). This project is co-supervised by Prof. Kumar Pranav Narayan.

Surface Modified Nanoparticulate Carrier System for the Effective Delivery of Antileukemic Drug

INR 10 Lakhs is funded by BITS Pilani under the Additional Competitive Research Grant scheme (2019-2021).

Development and characterization of a novel lipid based Nano emulsion for parenteral drug delivery

INR 8.2 Lakhs is funded by Slayback Pharma for this project (2020-2022).

Development & characterization of nano-emulsion based drug product for the management of emetogenic cancer chemotherapy

INR 7 Lakhs is funded by Slayback Pharma for this project (2018-2020).

Long-Acting Injectables (LAI)

INR 5.3 Lakhs is funded by Novartis Healthcare for this project (2021-2023).

Development, Optimization and Characterization of nanostructured carrier system for effective delivery of anticancer therapeutics

INR 2 Lakhs is funded by BITS Pilani under the Research Initiation Grant for this project (2018-2020).

Research

Trust Areas of Research:

Advanced nanostructured materials: Development of Novel but Cost-effective synthesis routes to prepare nanomaterials and Demonstration of the performances of the synthesized materials and lab scale fabricated prototypes/ devices. Some of the synthesized nanostructured materials are: (i) varieties of single phase ferrites, (ii) hard-soft ferrite nanocomposites, (iii) pure metal and metal alloy nanoparticles, (iv) TiO₂ (v) nanoparticles with engineered bandgap energy, (vi) nanoparticle loaded porous materials, (vii) reduced graphene oxide-nanoparticle based nanocomposites, (viii) biomass derived porous carbon- nanoparticle based nanocomposites, (ix) graphitic carbon nitride (gC₃N₄)- nanoparticle based nanocomposites, (x) polymer based nanocomposites, etc.

Applications of the designed and synthesized materials in the following areas:

Materials and Technology for Energy Harvesting from Renewable Sources: Nano-materials to develop high performance mechanically flexible all solid state supercapacitor devices.

Advanced Materials for the Wastewater and Contaminated Water Treatment Technology : Advanced photo-catalysts to treat wastewater, discharged from dye- based industries under natural sunlight irradiation.

Adsorbents to treat flouride contaminated water.

Advanced catalysis: Heterogeneous versatile catalysts for model organic reactions.

Materials for Defense Applications: Microwave absorbing smart nanocomposites.

Fundamental Science: Use of Quantum Mechanical Calculations (DFT) for designing the nanomaterials and, to predict and explain their properties.

Some representative developed materials and prototypes

Sponsored Research Projects

Number of Sponsored Projects: Total: 24 (i) National Project: 21 and (ii) International: 3

As PI: 16, Coordinator: 1, and as Co-PI: 7

Received grants from different National Funding Agency (DST, CSIR, DRDO, BRNS, DAE-UGC, DBT- Builder) International Funding Agency (Royal Academy on Engineering, UKIERI), BITS Pilani, and Industry (Aditya Birla Group), Dempo.

(A) Ongoing Projects

24) Project Title: “DBT- Builder BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Program for Advanced research and Education” (BT/INF/22/SP42543/2021)

Funding amount: Rs 8.43 crore

Funding Agency: DBT

Role of Dr. N N Ghosh: Deputy Co coordinator (for Goa Campus), Research Group Leader (Biomaterials Group)

Status: Sanctioned Started November 2022

Duration 5 years

23) Project Title: Development of New and Novel Nanostructured Materials

Funding amount: Rs 35 lakhs

Funding Agency: Dempo Charities Trust

Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Collaboration: Dempe College of Arts and Science

Status: Ongoing (Started March 2023)

Duration 5 years

22) Project Title: Development of high performance supercapattery device: synthesis of novel electrode materials, electrolytes, and simulation study (C1/23/121) (Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) scheme)

Funding amount: Rs 20 lakhs

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Coordinator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Other team members: Dr Anshuman Dalvi, Tribeni Roy

Status: Ongoing (Started October 2023)

Duration 2 years

21) Project Title: a-IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) based technology for biosensors (under Center for Research Excellence in Semiconductor technology)

Funding amount: Rs 20 lakhs

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Coordinator: Dr. Abhijit Pethe

Other team members: Dr N N Ghosh, Dr Sunil Bhand

Status: Ongoing (Started October 2023)

Duration 2 years

20) Title: Radioactive Ion Beam irradiation of a multifunctional nanocomposite composed of multiferroic BiFeO₃ nanoparticle and semiconducting graphitic carbon, for tuning its electronic structure and properties and its application in the fabrication of high-performance mechanically flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor device and photo-catalyst for Industrial dye-containing wastewater treatment under natural sunlight and solar power generated simulated solar light.

Sanction reference no. is: CRS/2021-22/02/522

Funding Agency: University Grant Commission and Department of Energy (UGC DAE) Consortium For Scientific Research

Name of Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Principal Collaborator from UGC-DAE CSR: Dr. Sandeep Sitaram Ghugre (Director, Kolkata Center)

Status: Sanctioned (30^th March 2022), Started 1^st April 2022

Duration 3 years

(B) Completed Projects

19) Title: Investigations on synthesis of a polymer which will exhibit photoresponsive features and its structural characterization

Funding Agency: BITSAA

Name of Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Status: Started 2^nd May 2022

18) Development of Novel Biolilm Resistant Coat for Implant Devices from Moringa Leaf Extract

Name of Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Funding agency: Indian Council of Medical Research

Status: Ongoing (Starting December 2019)

17) International Project: Newton Research Collaboration Programme award (Reference NRCP/1415/244, code: FEFE.RSDP18534)

Funding Agency: The Royal Academy Of Engineering (UK)

Amount: £4635

Name of Scientist (India): N N Ghosh

Name of Scientist (UK): Professor Gerard Franklyn Fernando (University of Birmingham)

Status: Completed (2015- 2016)

16) International Project: Title: Development and characterisation of nanomaterials for biosensors and biocatalysts (reference number INT/UK/UKIERI/P-41/2013)

Funding agency: UKIERI (DST and British Council)

Amount: Rs 91 lakh

Status: Starting May 2013

Completed (March 2016).

Indian Lead scientist: Dr Narendra Nath Ghosh,

UK lead scientist: Prof. Paul Anthony Millner, University of Leeds

15) International Project: The Royal Academy Of Engineering for Research Exchanges with China And India Award (2010)

Funding Agency: The Royal Academy Of Engineering (UK)

Name of Scientist (India): N N Ghosh

Amount : GBP 2870

Name of Scientist (UK): Professor Gerard Franklyn Fernando (University of Birmingham)

Status: Completed (2011)

National Projects:

14) Title: Development of Mesoporous Silica (or Alumina)- SiC-metal nanoparticle based nanocomposites for Radar Absorption Application at High Temperature (ERIP/ER/201803003/M/01/1737)

Funding Agency: Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India

Amount: Rs 15 lakhs

Name of Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Status: Completed Sanctioned (October 2018- August 2022)

13) Title: Development of Photocatalyst embedded Graphene based membranes for Treatment of Dye containing waste water under sunlight.

Funding Agency: The Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company Private Limited and BITS Pilani

Amount: Rs 53 lakhs

Name of Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Status: (Starting June 2018)

Completed (31^st march 2021)

12) Title: Design and synthesis of graphene oxide based AIE-sensor for selective detection of Hg(II) and organic mercury in aqueous medium

Funding Agency: DAE-UGC consortium, India

Amount: Rs 7 lakhs

Name of Principal Investigator: Dr Amrita Chatterjee

Name of Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Status: Starting March 2017

Completed 31^st March 2020

11) Title: “Investigation on microstructures of hard-soft ferrite nanocomposites and influence of microstructure on their properties” (Ref: CSR-KN/CRS-68/2014-15/ 508)

Funding Agency: University Grant Commission- Dept. of Atomic Energy Consortium for Scientific Research, India

Amount: Rs 7,00,000/-

Name of Principal Investigator: N N Ghosh

Status: Completed

starting 2014

Completed March 2017

Duration: 3 years

10) Title "Development of Polymer-Ferrite (and/ or Graphene Nanocomposites having High Thermal Stability and Microwave Absorption Property for Radar Absorbing Coating Applications (ERIP/ER/1305004/01/1523)

Funding Agency: Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India

Amount: Rs 14,59,000/-

Name of Principal Investigator: N N Ghosh

Status: Completed

(starting 2014)

(Completed 2017)

Duration: 3 years

9) Title: “Preparation of Magnetically Separable, Mesoporous TiO₂ Catalysts and Study of their Catalytic Properties” CSIR Sanction letter No 02(147)/13/EMR-II)

Funding Agency: CSIR, New Delhi

Amount 16,30,000/-

Principal Investigator: Dr. Narendra Nath Ghosh

Status: Completed

(Staring date: 1^st December, 2013)

Completed December 2016

Duration: 3 years

8) Title: Development of Nanostructured High Surface Area Alumina and Silica based adsorbent with Tailored Pore structure for Removal of Fluoride ions from Ground Water (Sanc no: 2010/37C/2/ BRNS/ 827)

Funding Agency: Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS), India

Amount: Rs 29,07,150/-

Name of Principal Investigator.: N N Ghosh

Status: Completed (2014)

Duration: 3 years

7) Title: Imprinted polymer for sensing and removal of selected antibiotic and pesticide residue”Project no. NFBSFARA/PHT-4007/2013-14

Funding Agency: National Funds for Basic and Strategic Research in Frontier Areas of Agricultural Science, ICAR, New Delhi

Principal Investigator: Prof. Sunil Bhand

Co-Investigator :Prof. NN Ghosh

Cooperating Centre PI: Dr. Y.S. Rajput

Cooperating Centre PI: Prof Sudhir Chandra

Total Sanctioned Amount: Rs. 125.25511 Lakh,

Status: Completed (1^st October 2013 to 31^st March, 2015).

6) Multi-institute Consortium Project entitled “Development of biosensors and micro techniques for analysis of pesticide residues, aflatoxin, heavy metals and bacterial contamination in milk Project no. Comp 4/C10125.

Funding Agency: National Agricultural Innovation Project, ICAR, India & The World Bank USA.

(Consortium PI) Prof. Sunil Bhand BITS, Pilani-KK Birla Goa Campus

Co-Investigator (Prof. NN Ghosh) BITS, Pilani-KK Birla Goa Campus

NDRI Karnal: Dr. Naresh Kumar Consortium (partner)

IIT Delhi: Prof Sudhir Chandra & Prof Ratnamala Chatterjee (partner)

Punjabi University Patiala: Prof Neelam Verma (partner)

Total Revised funding ₹ 3107.318 lakh (USD 5 Million)

BITS, Pilani-Goa Campus funding share Rs. 450.4799 lakh

Project Funding Period: Feb 2008- June 30, 2014.

5) Title: "Development of a novel aqueous solution based “one pot” synthesis route for hard-soft-ferrite nano-composites and their properties.”

(ERIP/ER/0904500/M/01/1204)

Funding Agency: Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India

Amount: Rs 14,98,000/-

Name of Principal Investigator: N N Ghosh

Status: Completed (2013)

4) Title: Preparation and characterization of Nano- Ferrite Powders and Polybenzoxazine-Nanoferrite Composite (ERIP/ER/060/5042/M/01/929)

Funding Agency: Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India

Amount: Rs 16,53,300/-

Name of Principal Investigator: N N Ghosh

Status: Completed (2010)

3) Title: Synthesis of Mesoporous Silica and Alumina based Oxide Materials (SR/S1/IC-39/2006)(SERC)

Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India

Amount: Rs 21,79,400/-

Name of Principal Investigator.: N N Ghosh

Status: Completed (2010)

2) Title: Studies on Moulding Compounds and Compression Moulding Techniqes for Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Fasteners

Funding Agency: DST, India

Principal Investigator: Prof. B G C Babu (Dept of Mechanical Engineering)

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Total Amount: 19,51,200/-

Status: Completed (2010)

1) Title: Techno-economic feasibility studies on an alternative process route for removal of methanol, ammonia and carbon di-oxide from process condensate in an ammonia fertilizer plant.

Funding Agency: Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizer, India

Principal Investigator: Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy (Dept of Chemical Engineering)

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. N N Ghosh

Total Amount: Rs. 86,98,800/-

Status: Completed (2010)

Sponsored Research Projects

Project Title	Hyper spectral Image analysis and Machine learning for germ detection and precision agricultural
Role	Co-Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation
Amount	Rs. 9,90,000/-
Status	On-going (2022-2023)

Project Title	Development of A Real Time Crop Advisory System Exploiting Nanotechnology Based Nitrogen Sensor with Internet of Farming (IoF) Framework
Role	Co-Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India., New Delhi
Amount	Rs. 46,15,240/-
Status	On-going (2021-2024)

Project Title	Intelligent planning of Prosumer Microgrid (PMG) Load Management in Smart Cities for Optimal Energy Consumption
Role	Co-Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	BITS Pilani and La Trobe University (Australia) under Asian Smart Cities Research Innovation Network (ASCRIN) Scheme
Amount	Approx. Rs. 12,00,000/- (Fellowship of a full time Ph.D. scholar)
Status	On-going (2022-2026)

Project Title	IoT Based Energy Management System of a Microgrid with Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Feature
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi
Amount	Rs. 47,53,100/-
Status	On-Going (2019-2023)

Project Title	Management of Distributed Energy Resources in Smart Cities: Challenges and Advanced Control Strategies
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Govt. of India, New Delhi- Under SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration)
Amount	Rs. 42,50,000/-
Status	On-Going (2019-2022)

Project Title	Development of Improved Design and Control Techniques for Unified Power Quality Conditioner with Distributed Generation (UPQC-DG)
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bangalore under Ministry of Power, Govt. of India.
Amount	Rs. 21,09,000/-
Status	Completed (2019-2022)

Project Title	National Mission Project on Education through ICT: Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes intellectual calibers and research in e-learning Title of Course: Advanced Electrical Machines
Role	Principal Developer
Funding Agency	Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Govt. of India, New Delhi
Amount	Rs. 7,00,000/-
Status	Completed (2016-2017)

Project Title	Inter-area oscillation Control using Embedded Energy Storage in Interconnected Power System with Distributed Generation
Role	Principal Investigator
Funding Agency	Seed Grant Scheme, BITS, Pilani
Amount	Rs. 11,50,000/-
Status	Completed (2011-2013)

Research Interest

English Language and Literature
Professional Communication and Soft Skills
Minority Literature
Comparative Literature
Post colonial literature
Indian literature

Thesis Evaluation:

Examined and evaluated a Ph.D Thesis for EFL University.( 2020 )

Sanctioned Project :

Sl.

No.

Project Name

Principal Investigator

Funding Agency

Sanctioned Amount

Duration

Self and Social Exclusion: Representation of Parsi community in Theatre and Films

Dr.M.G.Prasuna

UGC

Rs.7,28,600

3 years

Doctoral Thesis Guided :

Name of the Research Scholar Thesis Title

Swati Alok Application of Theory of Planned Behaviour in Conflict Management

Doctoral Theses Guiding :

Shruti Chakraborthi Alternative narratives to Mahabharatha in select modern fiction

Saritha Sasidharan Gender and LGBTQ representations in literature

Aysha Femin Faith Healing

First Degree Thesis Guided :

V. Abhinay Teja The Role of Humanities in Technical Education

Reading Course Guided :

Dilip K V S R -Trends and Analysis of the Spoken Language.

Vamsee Kotaru -Akhil Sharma’s ‘Family Life’ and ‘Jerry Pinto’s ‘Em and the Big Hoom’ _ A Comparative Study.

B. Arvind -The Effect of Social Group on an Individual’s Language Use : A Campus Lingo Case Study.

J. Susruth Sathyanvesh -A Critical Analysis of Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things“.

Reviewed a research article titled ‘ Is it obscurity or the polemics of symbolism ? A study of Wole Soyinka’s poetry for the International journal “ Asian Journal of Language, Literature and Culture Studies”.( August 2018 )
Reviewed a book titled Technical Communication for Engineers for Cambridge University Press ( June 2018 )
Evaluator - Cambridge University Press
Member, Board of Studies, Anurag University, Hyderabad
Member, Board of Studies, Lords College of Engineering, Hyderabad
Member, Board of Studies, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, Vishakhapatnam.
Guiding students in study oriented projects in the areas of the Role of Humanities, Professional Communication, Indian Writing in English
Member, Doctoral Research Committee
Member, Doctoral Advisory Committee
Examiner, Ph.D qualifying exam and Ph.D Viva-voce

Research Interests

Research

1. Safety controllers for autonomous vehicle lane-keeping

2. Control under limited data rate

Sponsored Projects

Quantum back-action evasion using reservoir engineering and hybrid quantum systems (2021-23)

Sponsor: Science and Engineering Research Board, India.

Research Projects

As PI: "Characterization of surface errors in machining of thin-walled curved geometries" funded by SERB,DST, Government of India, 13th July, 2013 to 12th July, 2016, Completed, Project cost: INR 26.13 lacs.
As Co-PI: "Study of lubricant and application method for enhanced surface finish and reduced draw load on cold drawn steel tubes", Sponsored by Tube Investment India Ltd (TIIL), Chennai, August, 2017 to August, 2020, Completed, Project cost INR 27.44 lacs.

Research and Consultancy Projects

“Investigations on Impacts of Variations in Local Site and Climatic Conditions on Field Performance of Grid-connected Solar Photovoltaic and Small Wind Energy Systems at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa-Campus” funded by BITS Pilani under the Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) September 2023 – September 2025, Total cost Rs 45,00,000/- (Other collaborators Prof M K Deshmukh from Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Prof Chandradev Sharma from Department of Physics).
"Investigation on operating performance of Rotary Kiln in coke calcination process: Modeling and Simulation studies" funded by Goa Carbon Limited, Goa, Total cost Rs 30,18,440/- November 2023 – October 2025 (PI: Dr Amol Deshpande Department of Chemical Engineering).
“Environmental Impact assessment of the process for the production of, 1-((1,1-bis (4-Fluorophenyl) Propan-2-yl) oxy)- 1-Oxopropan-2-Aminium chloride (BFPA HCl)”, funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 4,78,000/- August 2023- March 2024.
“Development of Bio-Based Antioxidant for Application in Rubber Composites- A Sustainable Material” funded by Apollo Tyres, Chennai, Total cost Rs 38,00,000/-, September 2023 – August 2026.
“Value-added products from cashew apple and its pulp wastes - An Economic boost to cashew farmers” funded by Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA), Total cost Rs 32,06,060/- September 2023 to September 2026 (PI: Prof Vivek Rangarajan, Department of Chemical Engineering).
“Life Cycle Assessment Study of Chlorfenapyr, Disulfur, NPPT and MPDC” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 2,12, 400/- April 2023 – Jan 2024.
“Study on effective recovery & modification of carbon black from waste/scrap tyres, and its application in fabrication of membranes for water desalination/purifications” funded by CSIR –HRDG, New Delhi, Total cost Rs 27,00,000/- July 2023 to June 2026. (In collaboration with Dr. Hiren D. Raval (Co-PI), Principal Scientist, Membrane Science and Separation Technology Division, CSIR -CSMCRI, Bhavnagar).
Environmental Impact Assessment of 2, 6, Difluroaniline and 4,4-Dimethoxy-2-butanone (DMB) funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 8,85,000/- October 2022- May 2023
“Environmental Impact Assessment of DIMPA (2-(4-Chloro-2,6-dimethylphenyl)acetic acid), Revysol (Mefentrifluconazole), BAS-560I (Fenmezoditiaz,(3R)-3-(2-chlorothiazol-5-yl)-8-methyl-7-oxo-6-phenyl-2,3,7,8-tetrahydro[1,3]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-4-ium-5-olate), Amino Ethyl Phenol, Mandipropamid, and Ortho substituted Phenyl Amide” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 25,00,000/- July 2022 – December 2023.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Study of Thiamethoxam, Pretilachlor, CPTAP, TCAN and Metobromuron funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 2,06,000/- November 2022 – March 2023
Modeling and Simulation of production processes of Dichlorophenyl (DCP) Ketone and Triflumezopyrim (RAB) 55 funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 8,26,000/- November 2021 – April 2022
“Modeling and simulation of production processes of Picoxystrobin, MOAT (N Methoxy 1 -(246 Trichloroprophenyl)Propane -2 amine), and DCF-TFAP (Dichloro Fluro Trifluro Acetophenone)” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 12,62,000/- October 2021 – June 2022.
“Synthesis of Carbon-Silica Dual Phase Filler using modified approach”, Funded by Fluor & Compounds, India, Koura Global, Vadodara, Gujrat, Total Cost Rs 1,25, 000/- October 2021 – May 2022.
“Performance assessment of the manufacturing process of pig iron, Vedanta Limited, Goa” funded by Vedanta Limited, Goa, Total cost Rs 7, 02,000/- April 2021-April 2023
“Study on recovery of high volatile components during the feni production” funded by Department of Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus Goa, Total cost Rs 2,00,000/- April 2021- December 2022
“Air Dispersion Study (Modeling) of Coal Particles Released during the manufacture of calcined petroleum coke (CPC)from raw petroleum coke (RPC) at Salcet Plant of Goa Carbon” funded by Goa Carbon Limited, Goa, Total cost Rs 11,00,000/- March 2021- December 2022
Life Cycle Assessment of Dorf Ketal Chemicals Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, Total Cost Rs 1,00,000/- May 2020- August 2020.
Environmental impact assessment of production process of soft gelatin capsules” funded by Proctor and Gamble, Mumbai, Total Cost Rs 3, 89,400/-, August 2020 –March 2021.
“Environmental Impact Assessment of 5-chloro-2-cyclopropyl-6-hydroxypyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid (MAT 26)” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs 4,24,800/-, September 2020 –March 2021.
Life Cycle Assessment Study for M/s Shree Pushkar Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, at MIDC, Lote, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, Total Cost Rs 1,29,800/-, February 2020- September 2020.
“Study on performance comparison between MTB process and TMX-OZA process” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. Rs 4, 01,200/-, March 2020 – October 2020. December 2019- June 2020.
“Life Cycle Assessment study for Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd” funded by Laxmi Organic Industries Ltd, Mahad, Mumbai, Total cost Rs 6,75,000/-
Performance assessment studies on the production process of Tri-chloroanilene (T-CAN)” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs 4, 01,200/-, December 2019 – July 2020.
“Study on treatment of emerging contaminants using ozonation”, funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs 1, 50,000/-, August 2019 – May 2020.
“Prime Minister's Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research awarded to a PhD student Mr Chandresh Dwivedi” funded by SERB in coordination with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and industry partner Apollo Tyres Ltd., Total cost Rs 24,00,000/-, July 2019 – July 2022.
“Performance assessment studies on the production process of BFBTF” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs 3, 54,000/-, March 2019 – February 2020.
“Water Audit for Ammonia, Urea, & Phosphate Fertilizers Units and Utility & Storage sections,” funded by Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited, Goa, Total cost Rs 8,51,960/-.May 2019 – April 2020.
Design and Development of cost effective method for synthesis of “carbon-silica based hybrid Fillers” for application in Rubber Products, ”funded by Apollo Tyres, Chennai, Total cost Rs 35,00,000/-, April 2019 – July 2022.
“Performance assessment studies on the production process of MNQ” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 3, 54,000/-, May 2019 – October 2019.
“Environmental Audit for Ammonia, Urea, & Phosphate Fertilizers Units and Utility & Storage sections, ”funded by Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited, Goa, Total cost Rs 8,51,960/-. January 2019 – March 2020.
“Study on Dispersion of Particles Generated from Handling of Cargo at Mooring Dolphins for Mormugao Port Trust Goa”funded by Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), Vasco, Goa, Total cost Rs 16,75,600/-, September 2018 – December 2019.
“Life Cycle Assessment study for Maharashtra Aldehydes and Chemicals Ltd” funded by Maharashtra Aldehydes and Chemicals Ltd, Mahad, Mumbai, Total cost Rs 6, 90,000/-, November 2018-April 2019.
“Performance assessment studies on the production process of Thiamethoxam” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 3, 00,900/-, July 2018 – December 2018.
“Optimization studies on fermentation of cashew apple juice for feni production in Goa” Funded by M/s Navika Nursery Total cost Rs. 2, 50,000/- February 2018- December 2020.
“Performance aassessment studies on the production process of MTB (a herbicide)” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad,Total Cost Rs. 2, 44,850/-September 2017 – March 2018.
“Performance aassessment studies on the production process of CPTAP” funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 2, 56,650/- July 2017- February 2018.
“Process improvements in Urrakh and Feni production in Goa” Funded by Department of Science and Technology, Govt of Goa, Total cost Rs. 7,50,000/-November 2018 – December 2021.
“Environmental Impact assessment studies on increased production of Pretilachlor”, funded by Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd. Hyderabad, Total Cost Rs. 1,72,500/- November 2016 - May 2017.
Feasibility studies on Common Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage & Disposal Facility at Pissurlem Industrial Area, Goa funded by SMS ENVOCARE LTD, Total cost Rs 50,000/- March 2017-April 2017.
“A Parametric Study of the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Performance” funded by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Total cost Rs. 10, 47,000/- August 2007 – March 2011.
“Application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to DAP Production” funded by Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt. of India Total cost Rs. 27,00,000, January 2008 – March 2010.
“Design, Modeling and Simulation of a High Efficiency Solar Distillation Unit”, funded by BITS Pilani, Rajasthan, Total cost Rs. 1,25,000/-, January 2004 - May 2005.
“Adsorption Equilibrium Study For Different Adsorbate – Adsorbent System” funded by UGC, Delhi (minor project) and partly by BITS Pilani, Rajasthan, Total grant Rs. 1, 00,000/- January 2001 - December 2002.
Investigating the effect of co-digestion and advanced sludge pre-treatment methods on the anaerobic conversion potential of the organic wastes” funded by DBT, New Delhi, Total cost Rs 27,48,800/-, July 2013 - June 2016, This project is in collaboration with NIT Warangal (PI: Prof PV Rao. Associate Professor Dept of Chemical Engg
“Development of Environmental Pollution control Laboratory” funded by KK Birla Academy, New Delhi, Total grant Rs. 8, 00,000/-, August 2000 - May 2002 (PI: Prof R.K. Gupta, Professor, Dept of Chemical Engg).

RESEARCH INTERESTS & SCHOLARS

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Machine Dynamics, Vibration & Control
Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos
Optimization using Genetic Algorithms.
Acoustics
Vibration Based Condition Monitoring using Machine Learning
End of Arm Tooling - Robotics arms with Human Sensory Intelligence

RESEARCH SCHOLARS

Sr. No.	Name of candidate	Title of Ph.D. Thesis
1	K.V.R.B. Prasad	Genetic algorithms for optimum design of turbo-alternator (January 2012)
2	Raghavendra D. Naik	Stability, Resonance and Bifurcation in Vehicle Suspension System (October 2014)
3	Kiran D. Mali	Vibration Analysis Perforated Plates (January 2016)
4.	D.K.Mohanty	Effect of Fouling on the Performance of a Heat Exchanger (July, 2012)
5.	Varinder Singh	Development of Models for Analysis and Design of Integrated Manufacturing System. ( October, 2013)
6.	Amit Rajput	Preparation and characterization of polybenzoxazine-ferrite based magnetic nanocomposite, Prof. N.N. Ghosh (Supervisor), Prof. P.M. Singru(co-supervisor) ( October, 2013)
7.	Vivek Chandran	Gyro-less Attitude and Attitude-Rate Estimation For A Satellite Using Non Linear Models and Star Vector Observations. Supervisor: Dr. N.S. Manjrekar, EEE., Co-supervisor (Prof. P.M. Singru) (January, 2024)
8.	Chandrashekhar Chauhan	An acoustic study, characterization and Standardization of Sarswati Veena: Co-supervisor: Prof. Radhika Vathsan, Physics , (August , 2023)
9.	Ramesh Bhat	Vibration Based Ship Propeller Condition Monitoring using Machine Learning (Ongoing), Co-supervisor: Prof. R.S. Joshi, Computer Science (Joined August 2023)
10.	Avdhut Jakhi	Feature Engineering for Condition Monitoring of Machines Using Vibration Signature Analysis using Machine Learning (ongoing), Co-supervisor: Prof. R.S. Joshi, Computer Science (Joined November 2023)

RESEARCH FUNDING:

National MEMS Design Center from NPMASS. Coventorware, Comsol, Intellisuit Softwares are received throgh this grant.
DST -FIST grant of Rs. 80 lakhs for Mechanical Department, out of which Rs. 25 lakhs are for Dynamics & Vibration Lab. (2011-2016)
RO-RO Challenge for C130J Aircraft (Lockhead Martin Corporation) 2015-16 , US$ 25,000
DST -SERB the project titled, "An acoustic study, characterization and standardization of the Sarasvati Veena ". approved on January 4, 2017, amount Rs. 36..96 Lakhs under EMR Grant scheme. Co-PI: Prof. Radhika Vathsan, Physics
BITS CDRF grant title , "Feature Engineering for Condition Monitoring of Machines Using Vibration Signature Analysis using Machine Learning " ( PI : Prof Ramprasad Joshi, Prof. P.M.Singru), Rs 20 lakhs (C1/23/135)
BITS Sparkle grant for Staircase Climbing wheelchair, Rs 2 lakhs
BITS grant under Teaching Learning Center " Software for Machine Component Design ", Rs 77,500 ,2023
BITS grant under Teaching Learning Center " Software for Machine Component Design ", Rs 98,000 ,2024
BITS-WIPRO Win PhD Fellowship Award for one " End of Arm Tooling - Robotics arms with Human Sensory Intelligence” under the supervision of Prof. Pravin Singru and Prof. K.R. Anupama. Rs 25.67 Lakhs

Funded Projects & Fellowships

Project/Fellowship	Funding Agency	Year	Project Type
MASTIC: ML-Aided Secure SoC and Analytics (Role: PI)	Axiado	2021-2024	R & D
MUT-DROCO: Multipath Networking Test-bed for Drone Communications (Role: PI)	DST-SERB, Govt. of India.	2020-2022	R&D
NANCY: Neural Adaptive Network Coding methodologY for video distribution through wireless networks (Role: Advisor)	TCS, India	2019-2023	Fellowship for PhD Student
Real Time Performance Analysis of Network Coding Implementation (Role: PI)	BITS Pilani, India	2020-2022	R&D
Network Coding for Multipath Transport (Role: PI)	AnsuR, Norway	2019-2020	R&D
Visiting Researcher Fellowship, Oslo, Norway (Role: Research Fellow)	AnsuR, Norway	2019	Fellowship
Network Coding with Deterministic Coefficients for Unreliable Networks (Role: PI)	AnsuR, Norway	2018-2019	R&D
HENCSAT: Highly Efficient Network Coding for Satellite Applications (Role: Work Package Manager)	European Space Agency, Netherlands	2016-2019	R&D
SatNetCode: Satellite Network-Coding for High Performance, Semantic-Aware Mission Critical Visual Communications (Role: Work Package Manager)	European Space Agency, Netherlands	2015-2018	R&D
PhD fellowship (PIF) from Government of Spain, UAB, Barcelona, Spain (Role: Research Fellow)	Government of Spain, Barcelona, Spain.	2009-2014	Fellowship
Visiting Researcher Fellowship, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada (Role: Research Fellow)	Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.	2008	Fellowship
National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) Fellowship	National Council of Educational Research and Training, India.	2002	Fellowship

Acknowledgement

Ongoing Projects

Physiological and pharmacological significance of formate-nitrite transporters in Toxoplasma gondii: ICMR Research Grant.
Biosensor monitoring in Toxoplasma gondii: Indo-Japan Scholar Mobility Program by DST-JSPS (co-PI, Takeharu Nagai @ Osaka University, Japan).
Pyruvate homeostasis in Toxoplasma gondii: DST-SERB Core Research Grant.
Lipid and cyclic nucleotide signaling in Toxoplasma gondii: Wellcome Trust – DBT (India Alliance) Senior Fellowship.

Previous Grants

A novel lipid-regulated calcium homeostasis in Toxoplasma gondii. German Research Foundation.
Functional and physiological significance of phosphatidylethanolamine biogenesis in Toxoplasma gondii: German Research Foundation.
Cyclic nucleotides-mediated ion homeostasis in the malaria parasite: German Research Foundation; co-PI: Alexander Maier (ANU).
Metabolic basis of obligate intracellular parasitism: German Research Foundation.
Optogenetic dissection of cyclic NMP signaling T. gondii: German Research Foundation, co-PI: Peter Hegemann.
Cyclic NMP signaling and metabolic regulation in T. gondii: German Research Foundation.
Synthesis vs. import of host-derived phospholipids by T. gondii: German Research Foundation; co-PI: Maik Lehmann.
Carbon metabolisms of acute and chronic stages of T. gondii: German Research Foundation.
Phosphatidylcholine synthesis as a drug target in T. gondii: Young scientist grant from European Society of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology.
Biogenesis of inositol-lipids in T. gondii: German Research Foundation, co-PI: Andreas Herrmann (HU, Berlin).
Modeling of lipid biogenesis in Toxoplasma-infected human cell: German Research Foundation, co-PIs: Herrmann Holzhütter (Charité, Berlin) and Richard Lucius (HU, Berlin).
High-throughput anti-coccidian drug screening using YFP-parasite, Novartis Animal Healthcare, co-PI: Richard Lucius (HU, Berlin).
In vivo parasite-host interactions in the Eimeria-mouse model. Manuela Schmid (doctoral student) & Nishith Gupta (host PI), Helmholtz Foundation.
Central carbon metabolism of T. gondii. Martin Blume (doctoral student) & Nishith Gupta (host PI), Helmholtz Foundation.

RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS

Ongoing Projects:

Topic: To Predict Surface Location Error in Micromilling of Thin-walled Ti6Al4V for low cost Biofabrication

- Agency: SERB
- Duration: 2024-2027
- Funding sanctioned: Rs 31.63 Lakhs

Topic: Development of Intelligent System for Sustainable Micro-manufacturing of Microneedle Arrays of Difficult-to-cut Materials with an Application to Bio-fabrication

- Agency: SERB
- Funding sanctioned: 25.86 Lakhs
- Duration: 2023-2026

Topic: Dynamic Response of Honeycomb Sandwich Panels subjected to High Velocity Impact

- Agency: CSIR-HRDG
- Funding sanctioned: 18.74 Lakhs
- Duration: 2024-2027

Completed Projects:

Topic: Simulation and analysis of cellular materials against blast loading

- Agency: CVRDE (DRDO)
- Funding sanctioned: 10.00 Lakhs
- Duration: 2021-2023

Topic: Modelling and Simulation of Highly Reliable Functionally Graded Material

- Agency: CSIR
- Funding sanctioned: Rs 15.55 Lakhs
- Duration: 2019-2022

Topic: Novel casting approach to improve quality of aluminum alloy casting

- Agency: DRDL
- Funding sanctioned: 10.00 Lakhs
- Duration: 2017-2020

Topic: Studies related to control of porosity in casting

- Agency: ISR
- Funding sanctioned: 8.03 Lakhs
- Duration: 2016-2019

Topic: Novel minimal SLM application method for performance improvement in turning

- Agency: DST-SERB
- Funding sanctioned: 41.16 Lakhs
- Duration: 2013-2017

Topic: Solid lubricant coated tools for sustainable machining

- Agency: CSIR
- Funding sanctioned: 18.52 Lakhs
- Duration: 2012-2015

Topic: Development of novel coated tools for green machining

- Agency: BITS-SG
- Funding sanctioned: 11.80 Lakhs
- Duration: 2011-2013

Research Projects

5. SERB-POWER Grant- (2022-2025):

Design and Simulation of Improved Polysaccharide based Membranes, the Future Must for Food Packaging

4. SERB MATRICS Grant- (2022-2025):

Design and simulation of oligosaccharide wrapped super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as promising theranaustics

3. SERB Core Research Grant- (2019-2022):

High potency of complex dietary β-glucan fibers as Cholesterol and Low-Density Lipoprotein lowering agents: A comprehensive mechanistic investigation through advanced dynamical simulations

2. DST-SERB Young Scientist Grant-(2015-2018):

Investigation of the folding of Cysteine-rich Neurotoxins in Ionic Liquid by Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Quantum Mechanical Calculations

1. BITS research initiation grant- (2013-2015)

Research Projects

"Treating waste water using pilot plant ", Sponsored by Ocean Corner Water Treatment Equipment & Chemicals (L.L.C) Dubai, UAE (As Co Investigator).

Projects

Sponsored Research Projects

SPARC Project: MHRD Sponsored Grant (Indo-UK Project)

Title: Concrete and value-added chemical production, Role: PI, 2023-2025, BITS- Leeds University Joint Project, Amount: 47 Lakhs (Ongoing)

Core Research Grant: SERB-CRG

Title: Alternative Construction Technology for the Seismic Prone Areas, BITS-NIT Trichy Joint Project, 2022-25, Amount:21.46 Lakhs (Ongoing).

DST-TDP Research Grant

Title: A potential supplementary cementitious material, BITS-IIT Bombay Joint Project, 2023-26, Amount:50 Lakhs (Ongoing).

Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) Research Grant

Title: Eco friendly concrete and value-added chemical production, 2023-25, Role: PI, Amount:20 Lakhs (Ongoing).

Nehru- Fulbright Visiting Specialist program, 2023

Title: Sustainable concrete construction -An engineering education perspective; Role: PI, BITS- Clarkson University USA Joint work; 2023 (Completed)

SPARC Project-MHRD Sponsored Grant (Indo-Japan Project)

Title: Bagasse and Its Sustainable Utilization as a Raw Material in an Innovative Industrial Process, BITS- Kyushu University Japan Joint project, 2019-2023, Amount: 32 Lakhs (Completed)

MHRD Sponsored National Mission Project on Pedagogy

Title: "Learner-centric Outcome based Pedagogy project. Construction materials and Technology” Role: PI; Amount: Rs 7 lakhs (Completed)

OPERA (Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Teaching) Grant Title: Devolvement of agro-waste based binders, Duration: 2015 - 2020, Role : PI; Amount: 22.2 Lakhs (Completed)

Research Initiation Grant

Title: Assessment of Pozzolanic Performance of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash from Different Disposal Sites, Sponsor: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Duration: 2016 - 2018, Amount: 2 Lakhs (Completed).

Additional Competitive Grant

Devolvement of low carbon ternary cement for durable and sustainable cement, Duration: 2016 - 2018, Role: PI, Amount: 9.25 Lakhs (completed)

Consultancy projects

Assessment of potential of Industrial Shed Exposed to Fire Accident.

Sponsor: Nilgiri Oil & Allied Industries, Hyderabad. Duration: Aug 2018-Nov 2018

Amount: 4.13 Lakhs (Completed)

Condition assessment of Raw Mill- Field and Laboratory investigation

Sponsor: Star Cement Co. L.L.C.

Duration: July 2019 -Sept 2019

Amount: INR 5.15 Lakhs (Completed)

Non-destructive testing of Coal Mill- Field and Laboratory investigation

Sponsor: Star Cement Co. L.L.C.

Duration: INR 4.6 Lakhs, June 2020 - Dec 2020, (Completed)

Sponsored Projects

Finding Agency	Project Title	Approved Fund	Duration
DST SERB-CRG	Therapeutic potential of endogenous peptides in hypertension	36 Lakhs	2021-2024
ICMR	Role of novel endogenous peptides in cardiometabolic disorders	29 Lakhs	2021-2024
ICMR	Therapeutic potential of novel MAD2 inhibitors in ovarian cancer	35 Lakhs	2022-2025
ISSAR Pharmaceuticals	Pre-Clinical Efficacy Evaluation of synthetic Peptides For the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Sepsis	29 Lakhs	2020-2023
Department of Science and Technology (DST) and SERB Under Young Scientist Scheme)	Role of double stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR) in hypertension: Mechanism and prevention	27 Lakhs	2015-2018
CSIR	Pharmacological evaluation of novel double stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR) inhibitors for diabetic cardiomyopathy”.	24 Lakhs	2015-2018
BITS (Under additional Competitive grant)	Evaluation of novel pharmacological agents targeted at methylglyoxal in diabetic cardiomyopathy	10 Lakhs	2015-2017
UGC	Evaluation of pharmacological agents targeted at double stranded RNA dependent protein kinase (PKR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus	6 Lakhs	2014-2016
BITS (Research Initiation Grant)	Role of methyglyoxal in diabetic cardiomyopathy	2 Lakhs	2014-2016

Ongoing Undergraduate Projects

Shreyya Nair (Biotech)- Growth Kinetics and Experimental Optimization of Yeast and Pichia pastoris Biomass (FD Thesis)
Krishna Sunil (Chemical)- Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion-Coupled experimental and modelling study (Laboratory Project)
Shreya Varanasi (Chemical)Lignocellulose to ethanol conversion (Laboratory Project)

Shreyya Nair (Biotech)– Growth Kinetics and Experimental Optimization of Yeast and Pichia pastoris Biomass (FD Thesis)
Krishna Sunil (Chemical)– Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion-Coupled experimental and modelling study (Laboratory Project)
Shreya Varanasi (Chemical)-Lignocellulose to ethanol conversion (Laboratory Project)

Shreyya Nair (Biotech)– Growth Kinetics and Experimental Optimization of Yeast and Pichia pastoris Biomass (FD Thesis)
Krishna Sunil (Chemical)– Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion-Coupled experimental and modelling study (Laboratory Project)
Shreya Varanasi (Chemical)-Lignocellulose to ethanol conversion (Laboratory Project)

Shreyya Nair (Biotech)– Growth Kinetics and Experimental Optimization of Yeast and Pichia pastoris Biomass (FD Thesis)
Krishna Sunil (Chemical)– Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion-Coupled experimental and modelling study (Laboratory Project)
Shreya Varanasi (Chemical)-Lignocellulose to ethanol conversion (Laboratory Project)

Shreyya Nair (Biotech)– Growth Kinetics and Experimental Optimization of Yeast and Pichia pastoris Biomass (FD Thesis)
Krishna Sunil (Chemical)– Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion-Coupled experimental and modelling study (Laboratory Project)
Shreya Varanasi (Chemical)-Lignocellulose to ethanol conversion (Laboratory Project)

Shreyya Nair (Biotech)– Growth Kinetics and Experimental Optimization of Yeast and Pichia pastoris Biomass (FD Thesis)
Krishna Sunil (Chemical)– Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion-Coupled experimental and modelling study (Laboratory Project)
Shreya Varanasi (Chemical)-Lignocellulose to ethanol conversion (Laboratory Project)

Conversion of sustainable biomass materials for biomedical applications

Sponsored Projects

Title: Meshfree adjoint based sensitivity analysis for 3D aerodynamic design.
Co-PI: Keshav S. Malagi, Computational and Theoretical Fluid Dynamics Division, CSIR - National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru.
This research is funded by CSIR under the Extra Mural Research scheme (EMR-II).
Status: Ongoing. Duration: July 2023 - July 2026.
Title: GPU accelerated meshfree adjoint solver for inviscid compressible flows.
Co-PI: Bharat Kumar Sharma, NVIDIA Corporation.
This research is sponsored by NVIDIA under NVIDIA's AI Technology Center (NVAITC) program.
Status: Ongoing. Started in April 2021.
Title: Development and application of a meshfree adjoint approach for aerodynamic shape optimisation.
Co-PI: Dr. N. Kishore Kumar, Department of Mathematics, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus.
This research is funded by Aeronautics Research and Development Board (AR&DB), DRDO.
Status: Completed. Duration: October 2020 - October 2022.
Title: Development of an unstructured grid-based adjoint solver for compressible turbulent flows.
Co-PI: Prof. C. Praveen, Center for Applicable Mathematics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru.
This research is funded by DST-SERB under the Extra Mural Research scheme.
Status: Completed. Duration: March 2017 - March 2020.

Sponsored Projects

1. Title of the project: Security for transmission of images in an open network

Sponsor: University Grants Commission, New Delhi, Government of India

Amount: 6,00,000 INR

Period: 2013-2015

2. Title of the project: A certain study of wavelet analysis and its applications

Sponsor: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Hyderabad, Telangana State, India

Amount: 1,36,000 INR

Period: 2013-2015

3. Title of the project: Development of an encryption algorithm for secure transmission of color images

Sponsor: DST-SERB, New Delhi, Government of India

Amount: 15,08,053 INR

Period: 2016-2019

4. Title of the project: Uncertainty Principles in Generalized Function Spaces: Theory and Applications

Sponsor: NBHM (Department of Atomic Energy), Mumbai, Government of India

Amount: 3,47,500 INR

Period: 2023-2026

5. Title of the project: Mathematical Modeling and Optimization of Multi-Sized Discrete Cosine Transform Architectures for High-Efficiency Video Coding

Sponsor: BITS Pilani, Under the CDRF Scheme

Amount: 28,96,000 INR

Period: 2024-2028

Role: Co-PI

6. Title of the project: Adversarial deep learning for robust LM-based systems

Project ID: BITSRMIT024B001324

BITS Supervisors: Prof. Aneesh Chivukula and Prof. Manish Kumar

RMIT Supervisor: Professor Jenny Zhang

Areas of Active Research:

Improvement of Auger Recombination and Theoretical Optical Spectroscopy

Spin fluctuations, Spin spirals and Superconductivity for Device Applications

Quantum Transport and Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in Topological Materials

Many body Physics: Excitons and Phonon-assisted Optics

Quantum Method Development for Exascale Computing

Quantum Machine Learning & Quantum Computing

Sponsored Projects

S. No.	Sponsoring Agency	Project Title	Role & Other investigator(s)	Duration	Budget in Rs.
9.	Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) at BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad	Design of Catalysts and Reactors for Green Hydrogen via photo- and photoelectro-catalysis	PI Co-PI: Prof. Sounak Roy	2 Years (2024 - 2026)	20,00,000/-
8.	Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)	Harnessing the Duality of Mesoporous Core-shell Materials for CO₂ Capture and Methanation	PI Co-PI: Prof. I. Sreedhar	3 Years (2023 - 2026)	25,77,696/-
7.	Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) - Core Research Grant (CRG)	'Single step' conversion of CO₂from Thermal Power Plant Exhaust to Dimethyl Ether	Co-PI PI: Prof. Sounak Roy Co-PI: Prof. B.M. Reddy	3 Years (2022 - 2025)	44,69,696/-
6.	DRDO - Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL)	Synthesis and characterization of vrantage VW 10200 FRP	Co-PI PI: Prof. D. Purnima Co-PI: Dr. Chanchal Chakraborty	1.5 Years (2022 - 2024)	15,20,000/-
5.	Department Level Project	-	Co-investigator for DST-FIST (Level-I)	Project approved in March 2022.	1,35,00,000/-
4.	University Level Project	-	Co-investigator for DST-PURSE Project	4 Years (2022 - 2026)	23,40,12,320/-
3.	Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) - Core Research Grant (CRG)	Mechanistic insights of CO₂ methanation using core-shell catalysts	PI Co-PI: Prof. I. Sreedhar	3 Years (2021 - 2024)	32,04,660/-
2.	Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) at BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad	Synthesis of Core-Shell Nanoparticles (CSNs) for Photocatalytic Reforming	PI	2 Years (2019 - 2021)	10,00,000/-
1.	Research Initiation Grant (RIG) at BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad	Nanocomposites Synthesis and Stability Enhancement for Methane Combustion	PI	2 Years (2018 - 2020)	2,00,000/-

Sponsored Research Projects

Research Projects: Completed/Ongoing/Approved/Sanctioned

1) Title: Applications of Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms to Analyze the Drivers of Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activities in India: The Role of Socio-cognitive Traits and Institutional Environments

Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, Government of India

Duration: Two years

Role: Principal Investigator

Status: Ongoing (2023- 2025)

2) Title: Impact of Indigenous S&T innovations developed by Start-ups incubated in Academic Institutes in India

Funding Agency: PCPM (NSTMIS), DST, New Delhi, India

Duration: Two years

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI-Dr. Rajorshi Sen Gupta)

Status: Ongoing (2023- 2025)

3) Title: Impact of E- National Agriculture Market (e- NAM) on the Farmers from Goa and Maharashtra

Funding Agency: ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science Research), New Delhi, India

Duration: Two years

Role: Principal Investigator

Status: Ongoing (2022- 2024)

4) Title: Impact of “Make in India” and new IPR Policy on Innovation of MNCs and Indian MSMEs in Medical Device Sector

Funding Agency: Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS)Scheme, ICSSR, New Delhi, India

Duration: Two years

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI-Dr. Rajorshi Sen Gupta)

Status: Completed (2019- 2021)

5) Title: Mining Closure, Economic Disruption & Local Level Sustainability: A Case Study of Goa, India

Funding Agency: ICSSR (Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi)

Duration: Two years (2014 - 2016)

Role: Principal Investigator

Status: Completed (2014-2016)

6) Title: Natural Disasters, Socioeconomic Vulnerability and Policy Responses: A Comparative Study of Odisha and Uttarakhand in India

Funding Agency: UGC, New Delhi

Duration: Two years (2014 - 2016)

Role: Principal Investigator

Status: Approved (2014- 2016)

Sponsored Projects

(i) DST Fast track project titled ‘Synthesis and spectral, redox and solid state coordination properties of asymmetric and highly functionalised thienyl- and furyl- porphyrins’ (SR/FTP/CS-57/2007) (Completed, 19.9 lakhs)

(ii) CSIR project titled ‘An investigation on derivatives of meso-tetrathienylporphyrin as dyes in dye sensitised solar cells (DSSCs)’ (02(0076)/12/EMR-II) (Completed, 16.18 lakhs)

(iii) SERB project titled ‘Steric and Conformational Influences on the Performance of Nonplanar and Highly Functionalized Phenyl- And Heteroaryl- Porphyrins in the Sensing of Anions and Heavy Metal Ions’ (EMR/2016/002367) (Completed, 28.2 lakhs)

Projects

Title of the Project: Ship-building in Folklores: Orality and Memory in Tottam Pattu of Marakkalathamma
Funding Agency: ICSSR
Principal Investigator: Prof Maya Vinai
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Tony Sebastain
Amount Sanctioned: 24.9 Lakhs
Status: Ongoing

Title of the Project: Challenging the representation of women in the matrilineal communities of Kerala through selected fiction.
Funding Agency: Research Initiation Grant (Bits-Pilani )
Role: Principal Investigator
Amount Sanctioned: 2 Lakhs
Status: Completed

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

Research grant funded by BITS Pilani, Hyderbad Campus under Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA) (22 Lakhs) (December 2018-December 2023) as PI

Completed Projects

Harvesting of Energy from Underwater Currents through Coupled Vortex Induced Vibration, Flapping Dynamics, Electro-Magnetic Induction and Piezoelectric Effects, funded by SERB under Startup Research Grant (SRG) (27.36 Lakhs) (October 2019 - October 2021) as PI
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Insect/Bird Flight Inspired Flexible Flapping Wing Propulsion, funded by BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus under Advanced Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) (9.5 Lakhs) (September 2019 - September 2021) as PI
Flow induced vibration/flapping dynamics of multi-layered flexible foil in a uniform flow, funded by BITS Pilani, Hyderbad Campus under Research Initiation Grant (RIG) (2 Lakhs) (March 2019- March 2021) as PI
Development of heterogenous MPI-CUDA based parallel 3D fluid-structure solver, funded by NVIDIA under Hardware Grant Program (October 2021 - October 2022) as PI

Research Projects

Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA)

PI: Dr. SAYAN KANUNGO

Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India

Amount: INR 21 Lakhs.

Duration: August 2018 to July 2023;

Present Status: Completed.

Start-up Research Grant (SRG)

PI: Dr. SAYAN KANUNGO

Project Title: Investigation of Van der Waals Hetero-structures of Transition Metal Di-Chalcogenides (MX2) and Tin Di-Chalcogenides (SnX2) for Broad-band Photodetector Design

Funding Agency: DST-SERB, Govt. of India.

Amount: INR 11.2 Lakhs

Duration: January 2021 to January 2023;

Present Status: Completed

Asian Smart Cities Research Innovation Network (ASCRIN) Joint Ph.D. Program

Lead PI: Dr. SAYAN KANUNGO (BITS-Pilani)

PI: Prof. ING KONG (La Trobe)

Project Title: Field Enhanced Volatile Organic Compounds Detection in Doped Platinum Di-chalcogenides- Theoretical Investigation to Experimental Realization

Funding Agency: La Trobe University, Melbourne, and Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India.

Amount: INR 20 Lakhs (Approx.)

Duration: July 2023 (Approved)

Present Status: Ongoing

Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF)

Lead PI: Dr. SAYAN KANUNGO (EEE Department)

PI: Dr. NILANJAN DEY (Chemistry Department)

Project Title: Precursor Design and Optimization for Atomic Layer Deposition of Two-Dimensional Semiconductors on Different Inorganic Oxide Surfaces- an Ab- initio Theoretical Calculation and Experimental Realization based Complementary Approach

Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India

Amount: INR 20 Lakhs.

Duration: November 2023 to November 2025;

Present Status: Ongoing.

5. BITS-RMIT Joint Ph.D. Program

Lead PI: Dr. SAYAN KANUNGO (BITS-Pilani)

PI: Prof. RAVICHANDAR BABARAO (RMIT)

Project Title: Theoretical Investigation of Pollutant Gas Sensing using Engineered Novel 2D-Materials

Funding Agency: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Melbourne, and Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India.

Amount: INR 20 Lakhs (Approx.)

Duration: November 2023 (Approved)

Present Status: Ongoing

Completed projects

Project Title: Design and Development of MEMS Gyroscope for NAVAL Applications.

Funding Agency: Naval Research Board (NRB), DRDO.

Duration: October 2020–May 2024

Project Total cost: Rs. 46.5 lakhs

Research

About My Research

Passionate about both experimental and theoretical research, my current focus revolves around unraveling the fundamental intricacies governing the electronic structure and properties of transitional metal-doped pure and hybrid semiconductor nanoclusters, superatoms, nanotubes, lithium-ion batteries, and their applications in pollution control. I delve into water electrolysis, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen fuel, employing various wave function-based methods in 'quantum chemistry' and 'Density Functional Theory (DFT)' to address these multifaceted challenges.

In the realm of experimental research, I specialize in studying magnetism at low temperatures through Mossbauer spectroscopy. My experimental endeavors are closely intertwined with industrial materials, metallurgy, mineral sciences, and fuel research, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of these fields.

Furthermore, I take pride in my substantial contribution to calculating the Ti-C-based ternary alloys phase diagram, a pivotal aspect with implications in defense. This diverse research portfolio reflects my commitment to advancing knowledge and addressing real-world challenges at the intersection of materials science, physics, and engineering.

I regularly serve as a reviewer for the following journals across various fields:

DST Project ongoing 2023 as PI from 21 March 2023 for 36 months

File Name :CRG/2022/003249
Project Title :Study of renewable photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen generation and storage in hydrogen fuel cell
Proposed amount: 28,72,826/-

DST Project Completed

"Substrate Supported Transition Metal Doped Alkaline Earth Clusters as Hydrogen Storage Materials and Their Applications in Hydrogen Fuel Cell" by Debashis Bandyopadhyay
Reference Number: 182017002877, Dated: 27th July 2017 for 36 months
Project amount: INR: 2413200/-

Sponsered Research Projects

8. Title: “Doubling farm women’s income: Entrepreneurship development through post-harvest and technology integration in arid zones”
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, New Delhi (SEED-ASACODER scheme).
Duration: 3 Years 10 Months (June 25, 2021 - March 31, 2025)
Consortia Partners: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus and CAZRI, Jodhpur
Amount: 2.3586541 Crore (BITS Pilani Grant 70.20481 Lakh)
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

7. Title: “Development of a Real Time Crop Advisory System Exploiting Nanotechnology based Nitrogen Sensor with Internet of Farming (IoF) Framework”
Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Duration: 3 Years (April 01, 2021 -March 31, 2024)
Amount: 46.15240 Lakhs
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

6. Title: “Integrated approach for the efficient removal and recovery of heavy metal catalyst (Zinc) used in viscos fiber industries”
Funding Agency: BITS, Pilani and Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company Pvt. Ltd. (ABSTCPL), Mumbai
Duration: 2.5 Years (June 2018-November 2020); Completed in March 31, 2020
Amount: 49.42 Lakhs
Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

5. Title: “Mechanistic studies on extracellular biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles”
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, New Delhi (Nano Mission scheme).
Duration: 4 Years (January 24, 2013 - January 23, 2017)
Amount: 50.14566 Lakh
Principal Investigator (PI)

4. Title: “Investigations on metal tolerance ability of soil fungi and their potential towards nanoparticle synthesis”
Funding Agency: University Grant Commission (UGC), Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Duration: 3 Years (April 01, 2013 to March 31, 2016)
Amount: 15.05800 Lakh
Principal Investigator (PI)

3. Title: “Nano technology for enhanced utilization of native phosphorous by plants and higher moisture retention in arid soils”
Funding Agency: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Govt. of India, New Delhi (NAIP scheme).
Duration: 6 Years (July 18, 2008 - March 31, 2014)
Consortia Partners: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus; IIT, Mumbai; PAU, Ludhiana; IISS, Bhopal and CAZRI, Jodhpur
Amount: 6.147119 Crore (BITS Pilani Grant 41.539 Lakh)
Consortium Co-Principal Investigator (CCPI)

2. Title: “Natural and Engineered Lipases for Biodiesel Production”
Funding Agency: Aditya Birla Group (ABG), Mumbai.
Duration: 2 Years (October 2011-September 2013)
Amount: 10 Lakh
Co-Principal Investigator (CPI)

1. Title: “Conservation of some endangered medicinal plants of Indian Thar Desert by arbuscular mycorrhizae”
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, New Delhi (Young Scientist scheme).
Duration: 3 Years (February 05, 2003 – February 04, 2006); Completed in September 30, 2005
Amount: 11.28 Lakh
Principal Investigator (PI)

Sponsored Projects

Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani:

Title : Testing the Hypothesis that the Null is the Union of Multiple Cones

Duration : 19.05.2021 to 18.05.2023

Amount : 2 lakhs

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani:

Title : Testing the Hypothesis that the Null is the Union of Multiple Cones

Duration : 19.05.2021 to 18.05.2023

Amount : 2 lakhs

Sponsored Projects

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

PI: Sushil Bhunia
Title: Conjugacy classes of centralizers in algebraic groups.
Duration: August 2022 to July 2024 (2 years).
Amount: 2,00,000 INR.

2. New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG), BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

PI: Sushil Bhunia
Title: Conjugacy classes of centralizers in exceptional and solvable groups.
Duration: November 2023 to October 2025 (2 years).
Amount: 17,00,000 INR.

3. Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support (MATRICS), SERB, Govt. of India.

PI: Sushil Bhunia
Title: Conjugacy classes of centralizers in solvable algebraic groups.
Duration: January 2024 to December 2026 (3 years).
Amount: 6,60,000 INR.

Ongoing Projects:

1. Start-up Research Grant (SRG)

Title: Simulation-based optimization framework for waste cold recovery in LNG regasification terminals.

Role: PI || Funding Agency: DST-SERB || Amount: Rs. 15.05 lakhs || Duration: 2022-2024

2. Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) Grant

Title: De novo design of antibacterial peptides to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Role: PI || Funding Organization: BITS Pilani || Amount: Rs. 30 lakhs || Duration: 2 years [2023-2025]

Other Principal Investigators:

1. Prof. Swati Biswas (Department of Pharmacy, BITS Pilani-Hyderabad Campus)
2. Prof. Debirupa Mitra (Department of Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani-Hyderabad Campus)

3. DST-FIST (Level-I) Grant (Department level)

Role: Co-investigator || Funding Organization: DST || Amount: Rs. 1.35 crores

Completed Projects:

1. Research Initiation Grant

Title: Technoeconomic feasibility analyses of sustainable energy systems using simulation based optimization paradigm.

Role: PI || Funding Organization: BITS Pilani || Amount: Rs. 2 lakhs || Duration: 2 years [2020-2022]

Research Projects

Sponsored Research Projects

1. Principal Investigator for DST project titled "Fourier Analysis and Development of Two-Dimensional Finite Element Schemes for Shallow water equations and Transport Related Systems" (July 2012-July 2015, Amount: Rs. 11,00,000)

2. Principal Investigator for CSIR project titled "Experimental and Computational studies of Surface Water Quality Parameters from Morphometry and Spectral Characteristics" (November 2019-November 2022, Amount: Rs. 33,16,334, Co-I: Dr. R R Murari Varma, Dr. K. Rajitha)

3. Principal Investigator for BITS, Pilani sponsored CDRF project titled “Study of Emerging contaminants (ECs) in drinking water sources in Hyderabad city” (September 2023-September 2025, Amount: Rs. 50,00,000 approximately)

Sponsored Consultancy Projects

1. Team Member for Proof checking of Minor and Major Bridges Design and Drawing, IL&FS Engg. Construction Compnay Ltd., 9.5 lakhs, 13th June 2017 to 10th March 2018.

2. Team Member for Testing of index and engineering properties of soil for construction of earthen dam as a part of Palamuru RangaReddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) and Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme (DLIS), Government of Telangana, 81.96 lakhs, October 2016 to September 2019.

3. Team Member for Pilot Time Motion studies under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for Govt. of Telangana and Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, 4.0 lakhs, April 2018 to September 2018.

Research projects

Inspire Faculty Grant (2023-27)
Project title: Probing compact objects with gravitational waves
Total amount: Thirty Five lacks (Rs. 35,000,00)

Research projects

Ongoing

Project 1
Title: Public transport policies and women’s mobility in Indian cities
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: Azim Premji University’s Research Funding Programme 2021
Grant Amount: INR 10,00,000

Project 2
Title: The co-benefits of expanding water supply in urban India - Evidence from a quasi-experiment
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics-International Centre For Integrated Mountain Development (SANDEE-ICIMOD)
Grant Amount: USD 25,000

Project 3
Title: A Study on Factors Affecting Students’ Academic Performance
Role: Joint Investigator
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani

Completed

Project 4
Title: Women’s Falling Participation in Labour Force in India: A Ground Level Investigation into Factors and Obstacles in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Human Rights Commission, India
Grant Amount: INR 11,86,290

Project 5
Title: Socio-Economic Impacts of Cyclones and the Coping Strategies of the Local Communities in Odisha, India with a Special Focus on Women
Role: Team Member
Funding Agency: Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute under Shastri Institutional Collaborative Research Grant (SICRG) 2020-21
Grant Amount: INR 10,00,000

Project 6
Title: Urban Low-Income Households’ Savings: Understanding Issues and Challenges in Indian Context
Role: Lead Researcher
Funding Agency: Dvara Research under Household Finance Research Initiative, 2020
Grant Amount: INR 14,05,000

Project 7
Title: Sustainability of Cashless Banking in Unorganized Retail Sector: A Comparative study of two districts of Telangana
Role: Joint Investigator
Funding Agency: Indian Institute of Banking & Finance, under Macro Research Proposals for the year 2018-19
Grant Amount: INR 2,50,000

Project 8
Title: Does Financial Awareness lead to Better Financial Inclusion Outcomes? An Investigation
Role: Co-Project Director
Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, under IMPRESS Scheme, 2019
Grant Amount: INR 4,50,000

Project 9
Title: An investigation into child nutrition in India
Role: Principle Investigator
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus under Research Initiation Grant, 2018
Grant Amount: INR 1,90,000

Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund (CDRF)

Title: Development of Surface Plasmon Resonance-Assisted OFC-Based Multichannel Sensing Device

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Duration: 2 Years (2023-2025)

Amount: ₹30,00,000

Sponsoring Agency: BITS CDRF

Status: Ongoing

Industrial Project I

Title: Memristor for Neuromorphic and In-Memory Computing Applications

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Duration: 3 Years

Amount: ₹31,00,000

Sponsoring Agency: Ceremorphic Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Status: Ongoing

No. of Publications: 01 (Communicated)

Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG)

Title: 2D-Materials Based Advanced Photodetectors.

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: 2 Years (August 2021 to August 2023)

Amount: ₹10,00,000

Sponsoring Agency: BITS

Status: Completed

No. of Publications: 04

Related Publications

1. S. Mathew, K. K. Sai Chandu, S. Halder, G. Polumati, C. Chakraborty, P. Sahatiya, and Subhradeep Pal*, "Band Alignment and Charge Transport study of Au nanoparticles decorated over MoS₂/MoSe₂ Hybrid Heterostructure for Plasmon Enhanced Photodetection," Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, vol. 156, 107302, March 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.mssp.2022.107302 [IF: 4.1].

2. Keerthi C. J., T. Mishra, S. Hussain, A. Rajeev, P. Sahatiya, and Subhradeep Pal*, "ReS₂-MoSSe Heterostructure Based High Performance Broadband Visible Photodetector," Accepted in IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, November 2023 [IF: 3.1].

3. S. Halder, Keerthi C. J., C. Chakraborty* and Subhradeep Pal*, "Donor-Acceptor Covalent Organic Framework for High-Performance Broadband Flexible Photodetector," Accepted in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, November 2023 [IF: 4.9].

4. Keerthi C. J., S. Halder, P. Sahatiya, C. Chakraborty, and Subhradeep Pal*, "Surface Plasmon Resonance Assisted Donor-Acceptor Type Covalent Polymeric Framework for Hybrid Photodetectors," Submitted to Applied Physics Letters, October 2023.

Research Initiation Grant (RIG)

Title: Development of thin-film MXenes based NIR photodetectors for photonic integrated circuits.

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: 2 Years (April 2021-April 2023)

Amount: ₹2,00,000

Sponsoring Agency: BITS

Status: Completed

No. of Publications: 02

Related Publications

1. Keerthi C.J., S. Halder, S. Siraj, C. Chakraborty, P. Sahatiya, Subhradeep Pal*, "A MoSSe/MXene-based High-Performance UV-Vis-NIR Photodetector," IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 35, no. 14, pp. 801-804, July 2023, doi:10.1109/LPT.2023.3281637 [IF: 2.6].

2. Soumi Saha, Keerthi C. J., S. Roy, P. Sahatiya, S. S. Dan and Subhradeep Pal*, "Engineering Oxygen Vacancies in CeO2 for High-Performance UV-Vis Photodetector," IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 35, no. 22, pp. 1207-1210, November 2023, doi: 10.1109/LPT.2023.3311869 [IF: 2.6].

Research Projects

12. Microfluidic chip-based point-of-care device (PoC) for rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of Hepatitis C virus - DST NIDHI PRAYAS - Mar 2025 - Sept 2026 as Lead Innovator with Prof. R. Ganesan.

11. Establishing an innovative non-invasive in vivo model for Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media and its treatment using hemocompatible carbon quantum dots - ICMR, 3rd Mar 2025 - 2028 as PI.

10. A Multifunctional C-Dot Nanozyme-infused Dressing Prototype for Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcer - ICMR, start date: 22nd Jan 2025 - 2028 as PI.

9. Nanofabrication of semiconducting heterojunctions exhibiting highly efficient photodisinfection characteristics - Funded by BITS Center of Excellence, Center for Research Excellence in Semiconductor Technologies (CoE CREST), sanctioned September, 2023, start date 11th Nov, 2023 - 2025) as Co-PI.

8. Performance Evaluation of Problematic Soils Treated with Different Bacterial Strains as a Foundation Material - Funded by BITS Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), sanctioned September, 2023, start date 28th Nov, 2023 - 2025) as Co-PI.

7. Development of a wound dressing material with a simultaneous dual function of antibacterial and visible colorimetric detection of infection - DST SERB CRG, (Sanctioned date 19th June, start date 9th Aug, 2023 -2026), PI.

6. Semiconductor-based thin-film coatings for mitigating nosocomial infections through antibacterial action under dark-light dual mode' - DST SERB POWER, (sanctioned date 18th July, start date 3rd Aug, 2022-2025), PI.

5. “Economic Construction Practice Using Bacterial Inclusions in Concrete to Improve its Durability”, CSIR --21.24 lakhs--- 1st September, 2018-31st March, 2022 - Co-PI. [22(0770)/18/EMR-II]

4. "Evaluation of the efficiency of bacterial inclusions in concrete" - Aliens Developers Pvt. Ltd. --1st August, 2019-31st, July, 2022 - 11.40 Lakhs... Co-PI. MoU signed between BITS & Aliens on 28^th July, 2019.

3. Microbial lipase-catalyzed production of ester intermediates for various processing applications in pharmaceutical and food industries --- UGC-MRP---13 lakhs (approx.), approved in April, 2015 --- PI.

2. Enzymatic Production Of Tagatose And Fructose---DST, SERC, FAST TRACK--- 12 lakhs approx. (2006-2009) --PI. (SR/FT/L-46/2005).

1. Discovery Of Novel Modulators Of NAD⁺ Dependent Protein Deacetylase Sirt 1 For The Treatment Of Various Disorders----DBT----30 lakhs approx. (2011-2014)---Co-PI. (BT/PR13326/BRB/10/749/2009 (Letter II).

Research Projects

1. In situ Wittig-Horner reactions in dioxygen: Direct and facile access to versatile vinylene-linked small and polymeric π-conjugates as potential molecular materials
2. Testing on-spot food quality focusing with detection of mainly biogenic amines for the defense personnel using simple fluorophores
3. In search of unsymmetrically substituted anthracenyl π-conjugates as tunable mechanofluorochromic small molecules
4. Investigations on naphthalene and anthracene based phosphonates/ phosphates: important sources for alkene based new AIEgens and polyarylalkanes
5. Investigations on synthetic and catalytic reactions of unsaturated organophosphonates with oxaziridines
6. Finding Aggregation-Induced Emission Active Materials: Design, Synthesis and Photophysical Studies of Sterically Hindered Triarylethenes and Tetraarylethenes

Research Projects

Completed Projects:

Broad Theme: Global Trade and Economic Recovery in the Post Pandemic World, Duration: 2022-2023, Research Team: Mini Thomas, Archana Srivastava and Keerti Mallela, Funding Agencies: Monash University (Australia) and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Indonesia
Funding Agency: National Human Rights Commission

Title: Women's Falling Participation in Labor Force in India - A Ground Level Investigation into the Factors and Obstacles in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana

Role: Co-Investigator

Grant Amount – 11.86 Lakhs

Funding Agency: Shastri Institutional Collaborative Research Grant (SICRG) 2020-21 by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute

Title: Socio-Economic Impacts of Cyclones and the Coping Strategies of the Local Communities in Odisha, India with a Special Focus on Women

Role: Principal Investigator (In collaboration with Professor Dolagobinda Pradhan, Kwantlen Polytechnic University)

Grant amount Rs.10 Lakhs

Funding Agency: ICSSR

Title: Impact of Modern Organized Multi Brand Retail Trade (MOMBRT) on Street Vendors: Case Study of Two Capital Cities (Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar)

Role: Principal Investigator

Grant Amount Rs. 4,50,000

Funding Agency: DVARA Research Foundation

Title: Urban Low-Income Households’ Savings: Understanding Issues and Challenges in Indian Context

Role: Co-Investigator

Grant Amount – 14,05,000

Funding Agency: Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (Macro Research Proposal Award 2018-19)

Title: Sustainability of Cashless Banking in Unorganized Retail Sector: A Comparative Study of Two Districts of Telangana

Role: Principal Investigator

Grant Amount: Rs. 2,50,000/.

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Title: Role of Informal Institutes for Small and Micro Entrepreneurs: An Empirical Assessment

Role: Principal Investigator

Grant Amount: Rs.1,82,000

Ongoing Projects:

Funded by Kotak School of Sustainability and IITK on the topic, "India and the ASEAN: Partial and General Equilibrium Analysis and it's Economy Wide Impact Including Carbon Emissions using Structural Gravity and Applied General Equilibrium Models", Rs.1010,000.00/, Role: Co-PI
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Title: Post Maternity Health Literacy (PMHL) among Working Women of Low Economic Strata in India: Challenges, Effects and Intervention through Training, Role: Principal Investigator (In collaboration with Dr. Bidisha Banerjee, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, Grant Amount: Rs.20,000,00/- on the topic, “” (2023)

Sponsored Projects

(1) Broad Theme: Sustainable Development Goals: Midway Assessment and the Road Ahead

Duration: 2023-2024

Status: Ongoing

Principal Investigator: Prof. Mini P. Thomas

Co-PI: Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan (Madras School of Economics)

Funding Agency: Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Tokyo

(2) Broad Theme: Global Trade and Economic Recovery in the Post Pandemic World

Duration: 2022-2023

Status: Completed

Research Team: Prof. Mini Thomas, Prof. Archana Srivastava and Dr. Keerti Mallela

Funding Agencies: Monash University (Australia) and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia ERIA (Indonesia)

(3) Title: "Financial Inclusion through Urban Cooperative Banks: An Exploratory Study of Telangana State"

Duration: 2019-2022

Amount: INR 560000

Status: Completed

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: MHRD-ICSSR (IMPRESS Scheme), Government of India

(4) Title: "Determinants of Total Factor Productivity Growth in India’s Service Sector"

Duration: 2017-2019

Amount: INR 200000

Status: Completed

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: Research Initiation Grant, Sponsored Research and Consultancy Division, BITS Pilani

Research Projects

Title: Probing into the molecular mechanisms of “conditional pathogenesis”- a phenomenon where beneficial soil microbes turn pathogenic to plants, under adverse environmental conditions.

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India

Amount- 40 lakhs

Status: Ongoing

Title: Allele mining for the epigenetic regulator NGR5 and other yield-associated gene (GRF4) and their modulation using multiple genomic and molecular approaches to enhance rice yield under low nitrogen conditions.

Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator- Dr. Gireesha Mohannath)

Funding Agency: National Agricultural Science Fund-Indian Council of Agricultural Research (NASF-ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India

Amount: 1.47 crores

Status: Ongoing

Title: Molecular mechanisms in plant-rhizobacterial interaction for abiotic stress tolerance

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India

Amount: 28 lakhs

Status: Ongoing

Title: Conditional pathogenesis: understanding why potentially beneficial rhizobacteria turn pathogenic under certain environmental conditions.

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India

Amount: 45 lakhs

Status: Completed

Title: Delineating the impact of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on plant polyamine metabolism: novel insights into plant-PGPR interactions

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: Scientific and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India

Amount: 25 lakhs

Status: Completed

Title: Elucidating signaling mechanisms in plant responses to drought stress mitigation by beneficial soil bacteria

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding Agency: BITS-Pilani (Seed Grant Scheme)

Amount: 13.7 lakhs

Status: Completed

Sponsored Projects

4. Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF)

Sponsored by: BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

Sanctioned Amount: 10,00,000 INR

Duration: 2 years (2023-2025)

Status: Ongoing

3. Start-up Research Grant (SRG)

Sponsored by: Science and Engineering Research Board, India

Sanctioned Amount: 3,300,000 INR

Duration: 2 years (2022-2024)

Status: Ongoing

2. Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG)

Sponsored by: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus

Sanctioned Amount: 600,000 INR

Duration: 2 years (2021-2023)

Status: Ongoing

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG)

Sponsored by: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus

Sanctioned Amount: 200,000 INR

Duration: 2 years (2021-2023)

Status: Ongoing

Research Projects

ONGOING

PROJECT 1

· Title: Harnessing Technology to empower Informal Female Entrepreneurs_ Telangana Insights.

· Role: Principal Investigator (In collaboration with Dr. Subhrakanta Panda-Department of Computer Science)

· Funding Agency: CDRF-BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

PROJECT 2

· Title: Drivers and Outcomes of Digitalization in a Resource Scarce Context: A Study among Informal Women Entrepreneurs.

· Role: Co-Principal Investigator (In collaboration with ICFAI Foundation of Higher Education - IFHE)

· Funding Agency: ICFAI Foundation of Higher Education (IFHE) under the IFHE Seed Money Project.

COMPLETED

PROJECT 1

· Title: Women’s Falling Participation in Labour Force in India: A Ground Level Investigation into Factors and Obstacles in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana

· Role: Co-Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC), India

· Completed: 2024

PROJECT 2

· Title: Impediments to Women Entrepreneurship in India: a multi-stakeholder, multi-stage, multi-state perspective

· Role: Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Human Resource, 2022

· Completed: June, 2023

PROJECT 3

· Title: Evaluation of Determinants of Iron Deficiency Anemia among the SC/ST Non-Pregnant Women of Mancherial District of Telangana State followed by Intervention and Analysis of its Reach & Efficacy”

· Role: Co-Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: DST-TSCOST (Telangana State Council of Science and Technology) 2022

· Completed: March 2023

PROJECT 4

· Title: Post-COVID Workplace: Implications of Long-Term Work from Home in India’s IT/ITES Sector

· Role: Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: GOA Institute of Management, Research grant

· Completed: Feb 2021

PROJECT 5

· Title: Investigation of Knowledge on Dengue Fever Followed by Education and its Post Impact Behavioral Changes Among the Rural Communities of Shameerpet Mandal of Ranga Reddy District of Telangana State.

· Role: Co-Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)- ICSSR joint project

· Completed: April 2019

PROJECT 6

· Title: Determinants of Women Empowerment and Trickle-Down Effect of the Same on Children’s Overall Educational and Health Development: Challenges, Effects and Intervention through Training

· Role: Co-Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Human Resource

· Completed: April 2019

PROJECT 7

· Title: Career Persistence of Indian Women Professionals in Information Technology (IT) Sector: Brakes, Accelerators, Challenges and Opportunities

· Role: Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ministry of Human Resource

· Completed: August 2018

PROJECT 8

· Title: An examination of Conflict style preferences in India

· Role: Principal Investigator

· Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus under Research Initiation Grant, 2018

· Completed: March, 2018

Projects

Research Interest

Solar Thermal Systems Design and Optimization
Thermodynamic Optimization and Second Law Analysis of Thermal Systems
Thermal Management
Concentrating Photo-Voltaic Systems
Earth Air/Water Heat Exchangers
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Supply Side and Demand Side Management (DSM)
Energy Planning, Analysis and Review of Energy Efficiency proposals.
C. Engines
Refrigeration and Air conditioning
SPIRITUAL THERMODYNAMICS

Projects Awarded (Ongoing)

DRDO Project

Methodology for Specifications generation and system identification of environmental control system based on requirement analysis and system modelling,

PI: Prof. Chennu Ranganayakulu,

Co-PI: Prof. Manoj Kumar Soni, Amount: 22.335 Lakhs,
Agency: DRDO

Projects completed

Industrial Project:

Project Title: Design and Development of Fixed and Floating Solar PV Installations for Water Management Infrastructures,

PI: Prof. R.K. Mittal

Co-PI: Prof. Manoj Kumar Soni

Amount Rs. 11.36 Lakhs

Industry: First Green Consulting Pvt Ltd, MA 74, DLF Ph III Gurgaon Haryana 122002

Consultancy Project:

Project Title: National Mission Project on Education through ICT: Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes (Energy Technology) intellectual calibers and research in e-learning - Anchored by IIT Kharagpur

Association: Developer

Sponsoring Agency: MHRD

Amount: Rs. 0.7 million

Project Status: Completed

Executive Training programs

Conducted a two days executive training program for executives of Grasim Industries at Grasim Industries, Nagda, MP, on "Boiler Technology" on 23rd and 24th August 2018.
Conducted a two day executive training program for executives of Grasim Industries at Grasim Industries, Nagda, MP, on "Steam and Power Balance" on 22nd and 23rd September 2017
Conducted a two days executive training program for executives of Grasim Industries at Grasim Industries, Nagda, MP on "Boiler Technology" on 30th and 31st May 2017.
Conducted a two days executive training program for executives of Grasim Industries at Grasim Industries (Cellulosic Division), Vilayat, Gujrat on "Power Plant Engg - Power Plant Performance Calculation" on 24th and 25th March 2017.

(10) Small-scale Resistance Welding of Various Configurations of Fuel Assembly in PHWR: Model development, weld-schedule testing and quality enhancement

Objectives: The primary objective is to develop a Finite-Element based transient 3D electrothermal-mechanical model considering the instantaneous contact surface(s) behavior and validate against the measured data on nugget diameter, maximum voltage and dynamic resistance for a Strip-On-Strip and Wire-On-Wire Resistance Spot Weld (RSW) joints. Subsequently, extend the validated model and test the weld schedules of three differently configured resistance weld joints (Spacer-pad to clad tube, End-cap to clad tube and End-plate to end plug) of Fuel Assembly used in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). Finally, minimize the quality variation band by optimizing the respective weld schedules.

PI: Jeevan Jaidi

Sponsored by: Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), DAE

Project duration & amount: 3 years & Rs. 49.96 lakh (proposal seminar given on 22/08/2022

(9) Process and hybrid tool design for higher productivity in FSW butt-joints of thick Al-alloy 2219 plates

Objectives: Design the hybrid tool profile with optimum process parameters for FSW butt-joints of AA2219-T8 thick plates (up to 15 mm) with enhanced welding speeds (up to 1000 mm/min).

PI: Jeevan Jaidi

Sponsored by: Aeronautics Research and Development Board, DRDO

Project duration & amount: 3 years (Sept 2021-Sept 2024) & Rs. 33.12 lakh

(8) Heat Transfer Enhancement Study of Li-ion Battery Pack

Objectives: To design and suggest the optimum coolant conditions such that the maximum temperature (hot spot) on Cell (or Pouch) surface lies within the permissible limit of 25-30°C and the variation of maximum temperatures across the battery is less than 5°C.

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsored by: HBL Power Systems Pvt Ltd., Hyderabad

Project duration & amount: 6 months (Jan 2018- June 2018) & Rs. 5.31 lakh

(7) 300 kW Motor-Controller: Thermal Simulations and Analysis to Study Hot Spots

Objectives: To perform detailed thermal simulations and predict the “Hot Spots” on Controller-Shell surfaces for different motor speeds, Controllers (Derlin and MOSFET) and Controller capacities. Subsequently, based on the predicted peak temperatures on Controller surface, suggest the reliable and economical Controller for the 300kW Motor-Controller used as part of underwater propulsion system.

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsored by: HBL Power Systems Pvt Ltd., Hyderabad

Project duration & amount: 3 months (May - July 2016) & Rs. 2.5 lakh

300 kW Motor-Controller: Thermal Simulations and Analysis to Study Hot Spots

300 kW Motor-Controller: Thermal Simulations and Analysis to Study Hot Spots

300 kW Motor-Controller: Thermal Simulations and Analysis to Study Hot Spots

300 kW Motor-Controller: Thermal Simulations and Analysis to Study Hot Spots

(6) CFD based Process Optimization of Flotation Cell and Scale-up for Larger Cells

Objectives: To redesign the Flotation Cell process parameters by comparing the proposed CFD based predictions with the experimental data in terms of the air bubble size, dispersion and residence time. Subsequently, propose and develop the process maps for large size Flotation Cells using the concepts of scale-up.

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsored by: Tenova Delkor India, Bangalore

Project duration & amount: 12 months (Dec 2014- Dec 2015) & Rs. 33.16 lakh

(5) Process Modeling and Validation of Flotation Cell: Development of 3-D Multiphase Turbulent Model

Objectives: To develop three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model and predict the water-air bubbly flow dynamics in terms of air bubble size, dispersion and residence time in industrial Flotation Cell. Subsequently, to optimize the design and process parameters for maximum dispersion and residence time of air-bubbles and thereby enhance the Flotation Cell process efficiency. Finally, the selection of best macro-scale models for turbulent two-phase water-air bubbly flow used for scale-up.

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsored by: Tenova Delkor India, Bangalore

Project duration & amount: 4 months (June 2014- Sept 2014) & Rs. 7.83 lakh

(4) Effect of the Dynamic Contact Angle (DCA) on Inkjet Droplet Characteristics

Objective: To elucidate dynamic contact angle (DCA) effect on drop characteristics (size and velocity) formed at a commercial piezo-electrically driven drop-on-demand printhead.

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsored by: DuPont R&D, U.S.A

Project duration & amount: 3 months (Year 2006) & Rs. 12 lakh

(3) Model based Optimization of Continuous Carburizing Operation

Objective: To design optimum process cycles for carburization of different auto components in continuous carburizing and heating furnace (CCHF).

Role: Co-Principal investigator

Sponsored by: Tata Motors, Pune

Project duration & amount: 6 months (Year 2005) & Turnkey project (Rs. Not Available)

(2) Model based Optimization of Roller Hearth Annealing Operation

Objective: To design optimum process cycles for annealing bundles of high speed steel (HSS) rods in a roller hearth furnace.

Role: Principal investigator

Sponsored by: GKW Steels Pvt Ltd., Titlagarh, Orissa

Project duration & amount: 6 months (Year 2004) & Turnkey project (Rs. Not Available)

(1) Studies on Weld Pool Convection and Evolution of Macro-microstructures in GMAW Process

Objectives: To study the heat effects on weld pool geometry and final micro-structures in low-carbon alloy steel weldments.

Role: Doctoral Scholar under Prof. Pradip Dutta, IISc, Bangalore

Sponsored by: DST, India

Project duration & amount: Year 2003

RESEARCH CONTRIBTIONS

Associate Professor, BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus, India Mar 2023 – Till date

Assistant Professor, BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus, India July 2015 – Feb 2023

FUNDED RESERACH PROJECTS: 2

DST SERB Research Grant: Improving the seismic performance of dynamically similar buildings using damper connected control technique July 2017- Jan 2021

Role: Principle Investigator
Funding: Rs. 43,14,540/-

DST CRG Research Grant: Low-cost fibre reinforced elastomeric isolation using locally available materials - design methodology, numerical and experimental investigation Dec 2021- Nov 2024

Role: Principle Investigator
Funding: Rs. 47,99,696/-

Ph.D. Thesis Guided: 2

Hareen Cherukuru B V, Energy-based damper design methodology to mitigate seismic torsional response of buildings: development, numerical and experimental verification, PhD, 2022. Received Senior Engineer – Structural R&D position at Thornton Thomasetti, Pune.
Ramakrishna U, Improving the seismic performance of dynamically similar buildings using damper connected control technique, PhD, 2021. Received H.O.D position at VBIT Hyderabad and a licenced Consulting Engineer.

Ongoing Ph.D. Thesis: 4

Ambili P, Low-cost fibre reinforced elastomeric isolation using locally available materials – design methodology, numerical and experimental investigation, PhD, 2022-till date, Sponsored by DST-SERB.
Sheik Mohammed Zoheb Nawaz, Low-cost base isolation technique for masonry structures using natural rubber, PhD, 2019 – till date, Dr. Kalyana Rama J (Co Guide), Mahindra Ecole University, Hyderabad.
Shibajee Sutar, Combined elastomeric and sliding isolator for Low-rise buildings, PhD, 2025-till date.
Ankit U, Artificial Intelligence Enabled Health Monitoring of RC Girder Bridge through Digital Twin Technology, BITS RMIT Joint PhD, 2025-till date, Dr. Mojtaba Mahmoodian (Co Guide), RMIT University, Australia.

Post Graduate (PG) Thesis Guided: 7

Shrinivas N Vyasasmudra, Low-cost base isolation system for low-rised rc building using natural rubber, PG, 2022. Received Design Engineer position at STRUCTCON Designs, Mumbai.
Razal Abdulla T K, Energy based optimal design methodology for unbonded fibre reinforced elastomeric isolator, PG, 2021. Received Design Engineer position at Thornton Thomasetti, Pune.
Sistla Saiteja, Numerical and mathematical modelling of fibre reinforced elastomeric isolators using locally available materials, PG, 2020. Received Ph.D position at University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Chakravarthula B Ajay Mani Tej, Two stage damage assessment of structure with minimal structural data through dynamic analysis of categorized building, PG, 2019. Received Ph.D position at IIT Madras.
Chakravarthula B Ajay Mani Tej, Structural health assessment of existing buildings without base line data using inter-storey drift correlation, PG, 2018. Received Ph.D position at IIT Madras.
Rajasugantha A, Nonlinear study on the connected control technique for similar building using viscous damper and optimization technique, PG, 2017. Received teaching position at Ace Academy
Stuti Mandal, Experimental characterisation and numerical investigations of seismic base isolators and base isolated structures. PG, 2017, Dr. Vasant A. Matsagar (PI), IIT Delhi. Received Design Engineer Position at Thornton Thomasetti, Pune.

Under Graduate (UG) Thesis Guided: 5

Kotha Chakravarthi, Seismic Response of Ductile RC Frames with and w/o Dampers, UG, 2021. Received Master’s program at the University of Texas at Austin.
Ghantasala Varun, Response of Asymmetric Structures with Infill Walls using SEISMOSTRUCT, UG, 2020. Received Research Assistant position at the Virginia Tech, U.S.
T Devi Sriya, Application of Micro-modelling for Compressive Strength of Masonry Structures, UG, 2020. Received Master’s degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia.
Pritish Dey Sarkar, Rotation Capacity of Prestressed Beams And Corrosion Effect on Steel Rebars under Seismic loading, UG, 2019, Dr. Luigi di Sarno (PI), University of Liverpool, UK. Received Master’s degree at Stanford University, CA.
N Vedavyas C M Reddy, Application of IoT in structural health monitoring, UG, 2019. Community Manager at NxtWave, Hyderabad.

Post Graduate (PG) Research Practice Guided: 17

Venkatasalam K L, Triaxial damper design for coupled control technique in adjacent buildings, PG, 2017.
Ajay Mani Teja, Improving the seismic performance of structure using Magnetorheological Elastomer based TMD, PG, 2018.
Sai Pavan Kumar, Optimal configuration of viscous dampers connected to adjacent similar buildings using PSO, PG, 2018.
Sammed Jinendra, Structural health assessment of bridge using wireless sensors and hilbert transform, PG, 2019.
Mehta Manish Manoj, Low cost spread base isolation technique for masonry buildings using natural rubber pads, PG, 2019.
Anshuman P, Structural health monitoring of transmission tower and conducting wires due to ambient vibration, PG, 2019.
Prathik Anand Krishnan, Effect of wind on adjacent similar tall buildings, PG, 2019.
Razal Abdulla, T K, Micro-modelling of masonry structures in opensees, PG, 2020.
Varada Vinod Nambiar, Response of asymmetric structures with infill walls using seismostruct, PG, 2020.
Ashmita pathak, Low cost earthquake protection technique for buildings on hilly (sloping) terrain, PG, 2021.
Rishika venu, Practically feasible, innovative low cost seismic protection technique for buildings, PG, 2021.
Sandeep satapathy, Optimzation of base isolation and super-structure with fiber reinforced elastomeric isolator, PG, 2021.
Shrinivas n vyasasamudra, structural health monitoring of railway bridges under moving train load using openstaad, PG, 2021.
Geet .d. Makwana , Evaluation of ageing effects on rubber isolators coated with bitumen, PG, 2022.
Nishant, Low cost elastomeric base isolator using natural rubber with holes filled with sand, PG, 2022.
Aditya Rajendra Mokadam, Rubber based partial slipping isolator for masonry building - earthquake engineering, PG, 2022.
Pritam Priyadarshan Panda, Unbonded fiber reinorced elastomeric isolator with locally available low-cost fibers, PG, 2023.
Ankit Ullegaddi, 3d printed concrete for seismic application, PG, 2023.
Aslam Muhammed S, Study on methods to increase the vertial stuiffness of unreinforced rubber, PG, 2023.
S, Low weight high strength and high ductile concrete for seismic aplications, PG, 2023.

Research Lab/Equipment’s Established:

Strucural Dynamics Lab: APS 113 Shaker system, MTS Actuator 250KN, Acceleromers, Impact hammer, Data Acquisition.
Shake Table Setup: Uniaxial earthquake simulation table with size of 2m×3m and payload of 12 ton, Sesimic accelerometers,
Base Isolator Test Setup: To test isolatotors under simultanious vertical and horizontal loads, Laser displacement sonsors.
Pushover Test Setup: Strong supporting frame to test structures under latteral loads.

Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India July 2010 – Aug 2014

Frequency response function (FRF) based structural damage assessment using particle swarm optimization (PSO): numerical and experimental studies - Damages in framed structures are assessed using combined frequency & FRF emplying unified PSO. The extensive study of the proposed method shows an improvement in the accuracy of damage prediction and encourages its application for structural damage assessment purpose. Related journal papers are published.
Structural optimization of rotating disk using genetic algorithm: A constraint non-linear optimization procedure based on genetic algorithms has been used for designing rotating disk. Related journal paper is published.
Response surface equations for natural frequencies of damaged cantilever beam: Developed a simplified response equation representing first six natural frequencies in terms of damage locations and damage depths for a particular cantilever beam.

Research Assistant, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India July 2006 – June 2008

Gas turbine axial flow compressor rotating disk was optimized for its weight, within design requirements. Further the geometry based sensitivity analysis and probabilistic fatigue life of the disk was estimated.
Optimization of cantilever plate with varying thickness using NASTRAN (FEM Method). Optimize the weight under static and dynamic loads by keeping design variable as thickness, and constraints as stress, displacement and first natural frequency.

Sponsored Projects

RESEARCH INITIATION GRANT

PI: Farida Parvez Barbhuiya
Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Amount: INR 2 lakh
Duration: March 2021- February 2023
Status: Completed

Research Experience

Areas

FACTS devices in application to Power System stability, Power Quality, Renewable energy sources, Frequency, and voltage stability in Hybrid Systems, reactive Power Compensation using FACTS devices in Microgrids.
Modeling of the FACTS device, and FACTS based controller design for enhancing the stability of the power system. Other areas are mathematical modeling, control designs, and Modal analysis.
Battery Modeling, Remaining Useful Life Prediction, Data Driven Models, Digital Twin

Grants

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG)-Rs 2 Lakhs, sponsored by BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Project Title: “Placement of FACTS device: Interline Power Flow Controller, in Multi-machine Power System to increase the power system stability”

2. ITS travel grant granted from SERB to 53^rd International Universities Power Engineering Conference (UPEC 2018), Glasgow, Scotland. Presented two conference papers.

3. Project Title: “Management of Distributed energy resources in smart cities: Challenges and Advanced control strategies” MHRD (SPARC), Rs 42,55,900, Dr. Hitesh Datt Mathur, Dr. Bijoy Mukherjee, Dr. Alivelu M Parimi, Prof. Houria Siguerdidjane, Centralesupelec, France, 2019-2023, Two years project extended.

4. Project Title: “Intelligent planning of Prosumer Microgrid (PMG) Load Management in Smart Cities for Optimal Energy Consumption” Approved proposal for ASCRIN Scheme between LaTrobe and BITS Pilani for joint collaboration on supervising a PhD student, March 2021: Collaborators: Dr. Alivelu M Parimi, Prof. Mathur (Indian Campuses) and Prof. Abdun Mahmood and Prof. Naveen Chilamkurti. Starting date Jan 2022.

5. Project Title: “Design and development of a multisensory system for health monitoring of defence stored article” Center for Advanced Systems (CARS) project Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Rs 10 Lakhs, 18 months from Jan 24^th 2022 to July 23 2023 Prof Sandip S Deshmukh, Dr. Parikshit Sahatiya, and Dr. Alivelu M Parimi.

6. Project Title: “Prediction of RUL (Remaining Useful Life) of the Lithium-Ion Battery pack using machine learning techniques for second life usage”, HBL, Rs. 13,22,600, August 2022 for two years, Dr. Alivelu M Parimi, Dr. Parikshit Sahatiya, Dr. Ankur Bhattacharjee, Prof Sandip S Deshmukh.

7. Project Title: “Regeneration of Graphite anode and Li Metal recovery from used LFP Batteries”, HBL, Rs. 15,56,300 August 2022 for two years, Dr. Afkham Mir, Dr. Alivelu M Parimi, Dr. Ankur Bhattacharjee, Prof Sandip S Deshmukh

8. Project Title: “Fault Prediction Modeling, Power system dynamics and stability study in digital substation solutions integrated with DER”, ABB, Rs 18 Lakhs, August 2023 for three years, Dr. Alivelu M Parimi and Dr. Mayukha Pal (ABB).

9. Project Title: “Development of a prototype model for optimal load balancing strategy in a Peer-to-Peer energy trading network of renewable energy prosumers with economic benefits”, Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), Rs 20 Lakhs approved Sept. 2023, for two years, Prof Sandip S Deshmukh, Prof. Alivelu M Parimi

10. Project Title: "Computer vision-based search and surveillance system for detecting human activity", ARDB DRDO, Rs. 4976925 December 2023 for three years, Prof. Sandip S Deshmukh, Prof. Alivelu M Parimi, Aruna Malapati, Dr. Paresh Saxena.

Collaborations

Industrial collaborations

HBL Power Systems Ltd. | LinkedIn ABB Logo PNG vector in SVG, PDF, AI, CDR format

Academic collaborations

La Trobe University: Conciliation – Theory & Practice subject – Conflict Resolvers Network

Government collaborations

What is DRDO | DRO Recruitment News, DRDO Jobs, DRDO Vacancies

other collaborations

South Western Railway Recruitment 2023: Apply Online Now for 713 Assistant Loco Pilot, Technicians & Junior Engineers Pos… in 2023 | How to apply, Recruitment, Top colleges Yashoda Hospitals Announces 'Freedom Health Check Package' for Senior Citizens Above 75yrs – Medgate Today Home: Science and Engineering Research Board, Established through an Act of Parliament: SERB Act 2008, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India

Research Facilities

Hardware:

Softwares:

PSCAD
DSA Tools
MATLAB 2024 Ra
NI Labview 2019
Data Acquisition system

Sponsored Projects

State University Research Excellence grant (Grant of 22 lakh rupees), by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India, 2023-2026 (PI)
Core research grant (Grant of 17 lakh rupees), by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India, 2023-2026 (Co-PI)
DST INSPIRE fellowship grant (Grant of 35 Lakh Rupees), by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, 2021-2026 (PI)
OPERA grant (Grant of 21 lakh rupees), by BITS Pilani, 2020-2025. (PI)
Research Initiation Grant ( Grant of 2 Lakh Rupees), by BITS Pilani Hyderabad, 2021-2023. (PI)

Research Projects

Sponsored Projects

Sl No.	Project Title	Role	Duration	Amount in Lakh (₹)	Funding Agency	Status
1	Investigation of the weldability of the mild steel during A-TIG welding	PI	2019-2021	2	BITS-PILANI	Completed
2	Investigation of the mechanical properties of A-TIG welded mild steel and Ti6Al4V alloy	PI	2019-2021	9.5	BITS-PILANI	Completed
3	Development of the Ti6Al4V alloy structure using wire arc additive manufacturing process for aerospace application	PI	2021-2024	18.3	SERB	Ongoing
4	Designing a low-cost additive manufacturing technology for magnesium-based implants	PI	2023-2025	28.106	DBT	Accepted

Projects open for Students

Metal additive manufacturing
Temperature distribution study during additive manufacturing
Dissimilar metal joining
High temperature mechanical property study

Research Projects

Core Research Grant (2023-2026) (Ongoing)
Funding Agency- SERB (Govt. of India)
Amount - 17 Lakhs (Approx.)
Duration - 3 Years
Title - A novel phase field framework for microstructure driven crack propagation in polycrystalline materials

Research Initiation Grant (RIG) by BITS Hyderabad (Completed)

Amount - 2 Lakhs
Duration - 2 Years
Title - Effect of fillers on the mechanical performance of adhesively bonded joints

Sponsored Projects

The Effect of Mantras on the Human Mind, Personality and Life.

Period: 2 years (Sept, 2013-Sept, 2015)

Co-Investigator: Reach Beyond NGO #495/2011 Centre for Positive Psychology

Funded Projects

Number of ongoing Projects	Number of Completed Projects	Number of Projects under Review
05	04	03

Completed

Funding Scheme: Research Initiation Grant, Funding Agency: BITS,

Sanctioned Amount: INR 2,00,000, Role: PI,

Project Title-Development Effect of Inherent Non-linearity on operational Failure of Damaged Structural Elements.

Duration: from 02/11/2019 to 01/11/2021.

Funding Agency: DRDO

Sanctioned Amount: INR 9,76,000, Role: Co-PI, (PI: Dr. Sabareesh GR)

Project Title- Fabrication and Vibration Testing of 3-D Printed Polymer Structures

Duration: 2021-2022.

Funding Scheme: Additional Competitive Research Grant, Funding Agency: BITS,

Sanctioned Amount: INR 10,00,000, Role: PI,

Project Title-Development of a robust and efficient crack detection technique for wind turbine rotor
blades using nonlinear vibration response characteristics,

Duration: from 02/11/2020 to 01/11/2022.

Funding Agency: Poddar Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Consultancy Project)

Amount: INR 1765280

Project Title- Development of an integrated software and hardware-based system to estimate the axial

stresses in hangers used in network arch bridges

Duration: 2022-2023

Ongoing

Funding Agency: ICMR

Amount: INR 1,892,236.80 Role: PI,

Project Title- Design and Development of a Miniature Broadband Vibration Energy Harvester to Power Biomedical Implantable Device

Status: Ongoing

Funding Agency: BRNS

Amount: INR 2569600 Role: Co-PI,
Project Title- Development of a meta-material based vibration isolation frame for housing fuel bundles

Status: Ongoing

Funding Agency: DST

Amount: INR 4118000 Role: Co-PI,
Project Title- Development of Robotic-Milling System using Topology Optimization Method

Status: Ongoing

Funding Agency: ARDB

Amount: INR 2636900 Role: PI,

Project Title- Design and development of a smart integrated sensor-transducer-actuator system for space application

Status: Ongoing

Funding Agency: SERB

Amount: INR 2237000 Role: Co-PI,

Project Title- Development of intelligent systems for sustainable micromanufacturing of microneedle arrays of difficult to cut materials with an application to biofabrication.

Status: Ongoing

Research Projects

High Speed Micromachining Process Development for Thin Beam Manufacturing

Funding Agency: BITS, Research Initiation Grant

PI: Dr. Kundan Kumar Singh

Grant: 2 Lakh

Duration:2019-2021

Chatter Identification & Control for Thin-walled Workpiece Machining

Funding Agency: BITS, ACRG

PI: Dr. Kundan Kumar Singh

Grant: 10 Lakh

Duration:2020-2022

Fabrication and Vibration Testing of 3D Printed Polymer Structures

Funding Agency: DRDO

PI: Dr. Sabareesh G R

Co-PI: Dr. Kundan Singh

Grant: 9.76 Lakh

Duration: 2021-2022

Research Projects

CDRF Project (20 lakhs INR), 2024, BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, for the project titled " Next Generation Financing Recommendation Engine for WomenPreneurs" (Ongoing)

SPARKLE fund (2 lakhs INR), 2023, BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, for the project titled " Corporate Bankruptcy prediction." (Ongoing)

Additional Competitive research grant (8.5 lakhs INR), 2020, BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, for research titled “ Minority investor protection and Business group ownership structure in India.” (Completed)

R.I.G. Grant, of 2 lakhs, 2019, BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, for research proposal titled “ Mobilizing Clean energy finance.” (Completed)

Completed Projects

Wind Resistant Design for proposed LIGO India Observatory funded by IUCAA (DST) between 2018 to 2021 as a Co-PI (Grant Amount: 45.02 Lakhs).
Analysis and Design modifications to the existing form of Laparoscopic Forceps funded by BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus between 2017 and 2021 as a PI (Grant Amount: 2 Lakhs).

Sponsored Projects

S.No	Project Title	Investigators	Funding Agency	Amount	Duration
1	Designing a low cost additive manufacturing technology for magnesium based implants	Dr. Pavan Kumar P (Co-PI) Dr. Ravi Shanker V (PI)	DBT	Rs 28,00,000
2	Developmental studies on influence of temperature on Carbon/Epoxy composites	Dr. Pavan Kumar P (PI) Prof. Ramesh Babu A (Co-PI)	ASL-DRDO	Rs.45,78,518	2022-2025
3	3D printing of graphene based nanocomposites for energy storage applications	Dr. Pavan Kumar P (PI)	SERB-DST	Rs.24,30,040	2019-2022
4	Linear Contraction measurement in aluminum alloys during solidification	Dr. Pavan Kumar P (PI)	BITS-Pilani	Rs.2,00,000	2017-2019

Sponsored Projects

Sponsored Research Projects

11) Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of Telecom Centre of Excellence India (Duration 2024-2027) – Project Title: "Joint Networking, Sensing, and Compute on Demand over 6G: A Use-case for Ubiquitous Landslide Detection and Prevention (LandSense)", Role: Co-PI, (PI- Dr. Basabdatta Palit, NIT Rourkela, Other Co-PIs: Dr. Sandip Chakraborty, IIT Kharagpur, dr. Raghuram Ammavajjala, BITS Hyderabad) - (Total Amount: INR 2,55,11,600, Amount sanctioned to BITS – INR 68,43,000) - sanctioned

10) BITS-RMIT Joint PhD Programme (Duration 2024-2028) - Project Title: "Investigating unsaturated behaviour of carbon sequestrated sustainable binders to stabilize soft clays - A reliability based approach", Role: Co-PI, (PI- Dr. Raghuram Ammavajjala, Co-PI - Dr. Annan Zhou, STEM, School of Science, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) - sanctioned

9) National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) India Limited (Duration 2024-2026) - Project Title: "Sustainable Geomaterials: A Key to Foundation Decarbonization and Ground Improvement", Role: Co-PI, (PI- Dr. Raghuram Ammavajjala) - (Amount: INR 30,35,080) - on-going

8) Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) - BITS Pilani (Duration: 2023-2025) - Project Title: "Performance Evaluation of Problematic Soils Treated with Different Bacterial Strains as a Foundation Material", Role: PI, Co-PI - Dr. Shankar Ganesh and Dr. Jayati Ray Dutta (Dept. of Biological Sciences, BITS Hyderabad) and Dr. Raghuram A.(Dept. of Civil Engg., BITS Hyderabad) - (Amount: Rs. 20 Lakhs) - on-going

7) India-Japan Cooperative Science Programme between JSPS (Japan) and DST (India) (Duration: 2023-2025) - Project Title: "Performance Evaluation of Soft Soil Treated with a Novel Geopolymer of Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation in Waste Material for Sustainable Development", Role: Indian PI, Japanese PI: Dr. Toshiro Hata (Hiroshima University, Japan) - (Amount: INR 7,53,500) - on-going

6) SERB Power Grant (DST-SERB) (Duration: 2021-2024)- Project Title: "Performance Evaluation of Construction and Demolition Waste as Stone Column Material for improving Bearing Capacity of Soft Soil" Role: PI - Project ID: SPG/2021/001552 (Amount: INR 28,92,296) - on-going

5) Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN) (Duration: 2021-2025) - Project Title: "Feasibility Studies for reusing Construction and Demolition Waste for Smart Cities", Role: Indian PI, Australian PI: Dr. Aboel Naga Hossam (LaTrobe University, Australia), Indian Co-PI: Dr. G.V. Ramana (IIT Delhi) - on-going

4) Indo-Austria Scientific and Technological Cooperation between WTZ (Austria) and DST (India) (Duration: 2019-2021) - Project Title: "Implementation of plants and treated natural fibers to enhance the strength properties of soft soil and to decrease the rate of surface erosion (Nat-Treat)", Role: Indian PI, Austrian PI: Dr. Wei Wu (Universität für Bodenkultur BOKU), Indian Co-PI: Dr. A. Kar, Austrian Co-PI: Dr. M. Acharya (BOKU) (Amount: INR 6.40 lakhs) Project ID: INT/AUSTRIA/BMWF/P-22/2018 - completed

3) Early Career Research Award (DST - SERB) (Duration: 2016-2020)- Project Title: "Performance Evaluation of Backfill Soils partially replaced with Building Derived Materials" Role: PI - Project ID: ECR/2016/000522 (Co - PI: Dr. A. Kar, BITS Hyderabad and Dr. N. James, IIT Ropar) (Amount: INR 24.43 lakhs) - completed

2) Additional Competitive Research Grant for New Faculty (Duration: 2016-2018) - Project Title: "Performance of Building Derived Materials on Bearing Capacity of Soft Soil under Static Loading Conditions". (Amount: INR 9.2 lakhs) Role: PI - completed

1) Research Initiation Grant (RIG): BITS- Pilani Hyderabad Campus (Duration: 2015-2017) - Project Title: “Effect of variation of soil parameters on performance of stone column improved ground: a probabilistic risk factor based approach". (Amount: INR 2 lakhs) Role: PI - completed

Projects and grants

Sponsored projects

1. Funding Agency: ICSSR (with Saibal Kar, Vivekananda Mukherjee, Paramita Mukherjee, Saheli Bose, Sayoree Gooptu)

Grant Amount: INR 2 crores

Duration: Sep, 2024-Sep, 2029

Project Title: Tracing the transition: A longitudinal study of skilling and labor market outcomes of Indian youth in Orissa, Jharkhand, Telangana and West Bengal.

2. Funding Agency: Dvara Research Foundation- Household Finance Initiative (with Dr. Priya Rampal)

Grant Amount: INR 2,70,000

Duration: July, 2020-April, 2021

Project Title: Socio-economic determinants of household investment portfolio in India

Working paper version - www.dvara.com/research/conference2021/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sharda-University-and-BITS- Pilani.pdf

3. Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus Research Initiation
Duration: Sep 2019-Sep 2021

Project Title: Women on board and corporate policies in India

Grant Amount: INR 2,00,000

Other grants

Travel grant to attend Middle Eastern Universities Development Conference, 2023 - New York University, Abu Dhabi
Travel grant to attend Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April 2020
Travel grant to attend International Corporate Governance Society Conference, October 2018
Travel grant to attend INET Annual Conference in Hong Kong, April 2013

Research Project

Sponsored Projects

1. Title of the project

Construction of arbitrary Tensor Networks using cross approximation techniques (jointly with Prof. Jan Schneider, Westsächsische Hochschule, Zwickau, Germany)

Role: PI

Funding Agency

National Board of Higher Mathematics, India

Status

Completed

2. Title of the project

Spectral element methods for elliptic and parabolic interface problems in R² on parallel computers (jointly with Dr. Pankaj biswas, NIT Silchar, India)

Role: PI

Funding Agency

National Board of Higher Mathematics, India

Status

Completed

3. Title of the project

Spectral element solvers for stationary and non-stationary Stokes equations (Jointly with Dr. Subhashree Mohapatra, IIIT Delhi)

Role: Co-PI

Funding Agency

National Board of Higher Mathematics, India

Status

Ongoing

PhD topics in Fluidization and Petroleum Engineering (contact email: priya@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in)

Research Projects

PROJECT DETAILS (Internally Funded)

Funded by BITS-Pilani through the Research Initiation Grant (RIG)

PI: Debopam Chakraborty

Project Title: On generating some new families of congruent and non-congruent numbers.

Amount: INR 1.5 Lakh.

Duration: April, 2019 to April, 2021.

PROJECT DETAILS (Externally Funded)

Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST-SERB) through the START-UP research grant (SRG)

PI: Debopam Chakraborty

Project Title: Fine Selmer groups and class number divisibility of ideal class groups: A look into the rank computation of elliptic curves.

Amount: 14,21,805 INR.

Duration: January 2021 to January 2023.

Extramural/ Intramural Grants

Intramural grant - Completed

BITS-RIG: 2 lacs - Startup to setup the laboratory working on Hearing loss models - 2021-22

Intramural grant

BITS-ACRG: 10 lacs - Competititve grant to help procure equipment to work on hearing loss using electrophysiology - 2022-24

Intramural grant

BITS-CDRF: 30 lacs (PI for multi-PI grant)- Competitive grant to work on design/fabrication of biodegradable electrodes, measure electrophysiological changes in hearing loss and perform computational analyses - 2023-25

Extramural grant

DBT (36 lacs) - Development and validation of sensor-augmented pump for neurological disorders - 2024 - 26

Extramural grant

SERB SRG: ~30 lacs - To decipher the role of basal forebrain neurons in modulating the activity of the auditory cortical neurons - 2022-25

Extramural grant

ICMR IIRP: ~65 lacs - Small molecule therapeutics for drug-resistant epilepsy - 2024-27

Sponsored Projects

Geometric tolerancing and precision measurement skill enhancement, Mitutoyo South Asia Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 93 lakhs, January 2020 – December 2023
Joint Indo-German Academy towards Sustainability in Engineering, Education and Entrepreneurship, German Academic Exchange Programme, January 2020 - December 2023, 200000 €.
Indo-German Challenge for Sustainable Production, Stifterverband, Germany, January – December 2022. 14.3 Lakh INR.
Assessment of problem solving and social skills in engineering education: Bridging the gap between academia and industry, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), 2020-2021, 7.94 lakhs
Life Style Life Cycle Assessment, UNEP, IGES, Japan, Swechha, BITS Pilani, September 2019-September 2020, 25000 USD (Indian Funding)
Indo-German Challenge for Sustainable Production, Stifterverband, Germany, January – December 2019. 42,000 €.
Joint Indo-German Experience Lab at BITS Pilani, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Programme) and FESTO, January 2016 - December 2019, 346954 €.
3-Cycle studies in India, AKB Stiftung, Germany, 2005-2006, 5000 €
Development of drivers, barriers and key performance indicators for implementation of green manufacturing in Indian Micro, Small and Medium Ceramic Enterprises, UGC Major Research Project, (PI)2013, INR 9.91 lakhs
Development and validation of sustainability measurement framework for manufacturing industries (Co-PI), UGC Major Research Project, 2013, INR 3.22 lakhs
Automotive Life Cycle Engineering, DAAD and Volkswagen, Jan 2013 – December 2016, 94 423 €.
Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Higher Educational Institutions (FIST), DST, Coordinator, 2012-2017, 163 Lakhs
Lean and Green Manufacturing, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Programme), 2010-2011, 54030 €.

Agro-homoeopathy: Potential of Homoeopathy as a tool to manage phytopathogen / nematode complex for a sustainable agriculture

Agency

CCRH-AYUSH

Amount Sanctioned

30.32580 Lakhs

Duration

2018 - 2022

Role

Co-PI

Evaluation of Determinants of Iron Deficiency Anaemia among the SC/ST Non-Pregnant Women of Mancherial District of Telangana State followed by Intervention and Analysis of its Reach & Efficacy

Agency

DST-TSCOST

Amount Sanctioned

4.0 lakhs

Duration

2022-2023

Synthesis of novel coumarin-based lignans targeting pro-inflammatory cytokines for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases

Agency

DST - CRG

Amount Sanctioned

33.91540 lakhs

Duration

2021-2024(ongoing)

Investigation of Knowledge on Dengue Fever Followed by Education …. Shameerpet Mandal of Ranga Reddy District of Telangana State

Agency

ICMR-ICSSR

Amount Sanctioned

10.89792 lakhs

Amount Sanctioned

2017-2019

Investigation on pro-inflammatory cytokine inhibitory low molecular weight metabolites of Pseudomonas sp. ABS-36 for the treatment of renal injury

Agency

DST

Amount Sanctioned

24.39363 lakhs

Duration

2017-2020

Investigation of Natural Coumarinolignans …Agents in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Agency

CSIR

Amount Sanctioned

21.026 lakhs

Duration

2012-2015

Lead Identification from Rubiaceous Plants for Treating Cancer

Agency

BITS-RIG

Amount Sanctioned

2.0 lakhs

Duration

2012-2014

Projects

Sponsored Projects

Externally Funded Projects:

1. Project Title: Completely Positive Maps and Quantum Conditional Entropy

Funding Agency: MATRICS - Science and Engineering Research Board [SERB]

Sanctioned Amount: 6,60,000 INR

Status: Ongoing [2023-2026]

Internally Funded Projects:

1. Project Title: Conditional von Neumann entropy and its implications in quantum information processing tasks

Funding from: Research Initiation Grant [RIG], BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Sanctioned Amount: 1,96,000 INR

Status: Completed [2019-2021]

Research Project(s)

“Impact of the Intellectual Property System on Economic Growth” - Multi Country WIPO-UNO Joint Research Project (Japan India China Korea Malaysia and Vietnam) Sponsored by WIPO, JAPAN (2007). (with Prof. SK Verma)
Involved in UGC Major Research Project: “An Empirical Test of Causal Relationships of Total Quality Service Constructs for Indian Hospital Industry"

Research Project Grant

Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani

Title: Permutation Polynomials over Finite Fields
Duration: 2020-2022
Amount: 2 lakhs

Quality Control Studies and Standardization of Safflower Petals of Different Indian Cultivars as per World Health Organization (WHO) Requirement.

Agency

UGC

Amount Sanctioned

10.53842 lakhs

Duration

2011-2014

Research Projects

Ongoing

International Project

Cooperative Research Project of Research Center for Biomedical Engineering, Japan

Title of Project: Modelling for microfabrication and biomedical applications

Role: Member Investigator

Duration: One year (2022-2023)

Grant amount: JPY 600,000

National Project

Mathematical Research Impact Centric Support (MATRICS) Grant funded by SERB-DST

Title of Project: A posteriori error analysis for evolution equations with positive type kernels

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Three years (2023-2026)

Grant amount: INR 6.60 lakhs

Completed

International Projects

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship funded by Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Brazil

Title of Project: Efficient Numerical Solution of the Inverse Stefan Problems using the Method of Fundamental Solutions

Duration: Three years (2016-2019)

Grant amount: R$297.186,79

National Projects

Start-up Research (SRG) Grant funded by SERB-DST

Title of Project: Adaptive and efficient method of fundamental solutions for the numerical reconstruction of boundary data in two-phase inverse Stefan problems

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Two years (2019-2021)

Grant amount: INR 10.45 lakhs

Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) funded by BITS-Pilani

Title of Project: Efficient reconstruction of boundary data using the method of fundamental solutions for the two-phase inverse Stefan problem

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Two years (2019-2021)

Grant amount: INR 7 lakhs

Research Initiation Grant (RIG) funded by BITS-Pilani

Title of Project: Adaptive discretizations of parabolic integro-differential equations by finite element methods

Role: Principal Investigator

Duration: Two years (2019-2021)

Grant amount: INR 2 lakhs

Sponsored Research Projects

Sponsored Research Projects & Sponsored Fellowships

Total Number of Ongoing Projects as PI: 8
Total Research Ongoing Research funding: 5.04 Crores (4.24 Crores as PI)
Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Duration	Role
A platform delivery system to tackle ophthalmic infections.	Velux Stiftung, Switzerland	2024-2028	Principal Investigator
An alternative approach to treat keratoconus.	Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). India	2023-2026	Principal Investigator
Development and characterization of injectable biologics	Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, India	2023-2026	Principal Investigator
Preclinical development of long acting delivery systems to treat posterior uveitis.	Department of Health Research (DHR), India	2023-2026	Principal Investigator
Biomimetic corneal patch for treating fungal keratitis	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India	2022-2025	Principal Investigator

Research Projects Completed

Total Number of Completed Projects: 09
Total Research Grant Sanctioned: Rs. 1.2 Crores.
Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Year of Completion	Role
Therapeutic potential of drug loaded light-responsive sustained release gel depot in treating diabetic retinopathy	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India	2024	Principal Investigator
Investigate natural drugs as a non-invasive therapeutic option in mitigating keratoconus	Velux Stiftung, Switzerland	2024	Collaborator
Determining the safety and ocular pharmacokinetics of the NCE formulation.	Serentrix, USA	2024	Principal Investigator
Nanocarriers for delivery of ocular therapeutics to treat ocular infection	Parenteral Drug Association, India Chapter	2023	Principal Investigator
Novel Therapeutic Approaches for the treatment of Leukemia	Department of Health Research (DHR), India	2023	Co-Investigator
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation of new chemical entities for ocular diseases	Incilia Therapeutics	2022	Principal Investigator
Screening of Novel Chemical Entities for Dry Eye Disease	Incozen Therapeutics Private Limited	2022	Principal Investigator
Fate of Drug Encapsulated Lipid Vesicles after Subconjunctival Delivery	BITS Pilani, Hyderabad (Competitive research grant)	2021	Principal Investigator
Optimization and characterization of deformable vesicle nanocarriers for ocular therapeutics	BITS Pilani, Hyderabad (Research Initiation Grant)	2020	Principal Investigator

Sponsored Fellowships to Postdoc & PhD Scholars

Total Fellowship Amount: Rs. 1.91 Crores
Title of the Project / Candidate Name	Funding Agency / Fellowship	Duration	Role
Topical products to treat various ocular diseases. (PhD candidate: Susmit Prashant Nikam)	BITS Pilani, School of Interdisciplinary Research & Entrepreneurship (SIRE)	2024 - 2028	Supervisor
Drug eluting nanocarrier loaded ocular drug delivery system for treating keratoconus. (PhD candidate: Shridula Sankar)	CSIR, India (Senior Research Fellowship-Direct)	2024-2026	Supervisor
Novel molecular targets for ocular diseases. (PhD candidate: Kendre Sandhya Rani)	UGC, India (Junior Research Fellowship)	2023-2028	Supervisor
Long-acting injectable to treat chorioretinal diseases (PhD candidate: Sai Shreya Cheruvu)	LTMT, India (Junior Research Scholarship)	2023-2028	Supervisor
Ocular drug delivery and ocular pharmacokinetics. (PhD candidate: Paulkar Suraj Srihari)	CSIR, India (Junior Research Fellowship)	2022-2027	Supervisor
Injectable in-situ gel for peptide delivery. (Postdoc candidate: Dr. Rohit Bisht)	DBT, India (Research Associate)	2020-2022	Mentor
Role of physico-chemical properties of nanocarriers in the ocular clearance of drugs. (PhD candidate: Ridahunlang Nongkhlow)	ICMR, India (Senior Research Fellowship)	2020-2023	Supervisor
Transporter targeted drug delivery for ocular therapeutics. (PhD candidate: Priyadarshini Sathe)	ICMR, India (Senior Research Fellowship)	2020-2023	Supervisor
Artificial intelligence and experimental studies to delineate ocular toxicity. (PhD candidate: Manisha Malani)	UGC, India (Senior Research Fellowship)	2019-2024	Supervisor

Sponsored Research Projects

Research Interests and Completed/Ongoing Sponsored Research Projects As Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-

Principal Investigator (Co-PI):

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG) : 2 lakhs.

Sponsored by : BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus.

Project Title : Development of New Synthetic Methodologies for Fluoroalkylation

Reactions by Visible-light Photoctalysis: Access to New Classes of Potent Molecules.

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 24 months; April, 2018 - April, 2020. (Completed)

2. Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) : 8 lakhs.

Sponsored by : BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus.

Project Title : Synthesis of Highly Functionalized and Medicinally Potential Bioactive

Heterocycles through Trifluoromethylative Cyclization Strategy.

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 24 months; September, 2019 - September, 2021. (Completed)

3. Industry Project (Research and Development) : 10.07 lakhs.

Sponsored by Chanceux Labs LLP, Hyderabad.
Project Title : Synthesis and Development of Pharmaceuticals (Code: CXL-001).

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 24 months; December, 2020 - December, 2022. (Completed)

4. CSIR - Extra Mural Research Grant (CSIR-EMR) : 28.11 lakhs.

Sponsored by : Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt. of India.

Project Title : Development of Cost-effective, Electrophilic Trifluoromethylating Reagents and Their Application to the Syntheses of New Classes of Medicinally Potential Trifluoromethylated Heterocycles.

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 3 years; July, 2021 - July, 2024. (Completed)

5. SPARKLE (Student Program for Advancing Research, KnowLedge, and Entrepreneurship) Grant (CSIR-EMR) : 2 lakhs.

Sponsored by : BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus.

Project Title : Development of Green Synthetic Strategies to Access Biologically-Active N-Heterocycles and Their Analogues.

Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

Duration : 2 years; October, 2023 - October, 2025. (Ongoing)

6. SERB - Core Research Grant (SERB-CRG) : 43.48 lakhs.

Sponsored by : Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India.

Project Title : Electrochemical green synthesis of medicinally potential organo-chalcogenides and chalcogenoxides and evaluation of their anti-cancer activities in search of novel anti-cancer agents.

Role: Principal Investigator (Co-PI: Prof. Balaram Ghosh)

Duration : 3 years: 25th January 2024 - 24th January 2027 (Ongoing)

7. Cross-Disciplinary Research Funding (CDRF) : 20 lakhs.

Sponsored by : BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus.

Project Title : Small molecule-based therapeutic intervention to cure Huntington’s disease (HD) and related neurodegenerative diseases via improving mitochondrial health. (Joint collaborative project with Prof. Shuvadeep Maity)

Role: Joint Principal Investigator with Prof. Shuvadeep Maity

Duration : 2 years (Project is Sanctioned but yet to start)

8. Cross-Disciplinary Research Funding (CDRF) : 20 lakhs.

Sponsored by : BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus.

Project Title : Phenanthrene-based new fluorescent molecules for probing protein-surfactants interactions, DNA detection, gene delivery to cells, and bioimaging. (Joint collaborative project with Prof. Subit K. Saha and Prof. S. Murugesan)

Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Duration : 2 years (Project is Sanctioned but yet to start)

Ongoing Research

There are several ongoing projects in our lab. Please contact me for more information.

Antimicrobial Dressings for Wound Healing Applications: We are trying to develop facile strategies for the fabrication of antimicrobial dressings that can aid in prevention and mitigation of wound infections. A part of this work is in collaboration with Prof. Swati Biswas from Pharmacy department @BPHC.
Copper-containing Coatings for Antimicrobial Applications: We are working on fabrication of copper-based coatings for application as antimicrobial surfaces for infection control.
Machine-learning Based Model Development of Antimicrobial Peptides: With a steady rise in antimicrobial resistance, the world is now speeding up the discovery of novel antimicrobial therapeutics. In collaboration with Dr. Arnab Dutta and Prof. Swati Biswas, we are trying to discover novel antimicrobial peptides using an integrated computational-experimental approach.
Nanopatterned Surfaces for Antimicrobial Application: In this project, we are exploring surfaces patterned with micron-scale and nano-scale structures for the development of fouling-resistant and mechano-bactericidal surfaces. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Nandini Bhandaru.
Development of Bacteria Detection Sensors: In collaboration with Dr. Ramendra Pal, we are trying to develop point-of-care diagnostic tools for the detection of infection in wounds.

Sponsored Projects

Research Initiation Grant (RIG), "Copper-containing coatings for antimicrobial applications", Principal Investigator, Amount: 2 lakhs, Duration: 2021-2023, Funded by: BITS
Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG), "Multifunctional antimicrobial hydrogels for next-generation wound dressings", Principal Investigator, Amount: 2 lakhs, Duration: 2021-2023, Funded by: BITS
DBT BME, "A Point-of-Care Tool for Monitoring Bacterial Infection in Wounds", Co-Principal Investigator, Amount: 22.5 lakhs, Duration: 2024-2026, Funded by: DBT
Cross-disciplinary Research Fund (CDRF), "De novo design of antibacterial peptides to combat antimicrobial resistance", Amount: 30 lakhs, Duration: 2023-2025, Funded by: BITS

Projects

Worked on the project granted by BITS- HYDERABAD campus, on "An application of Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic method in the study of the flow of non-Newtonian fluids through a pipe" from Jan 2013- Jan 2015, 2 Lakhs.
Worked as a Co-P.I for the project entitled "Study of the Impact of ICT in Secondary Education" jointly with BITS- Goa campus, 9 Lakhs from June 2013-April, 2015.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

Collaborative researcher for the MoD Project entitled: "Analysis of Blood Flow Characteristics in Carotid Artery Bifurcation and Design of a Simulator," Military Technological College, Muscat, Oman, 2022- 23.

Invited as an "Honorary Associate" by the Department of Bio-Medical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, from May to July 2016.

Research Interests

Areas of Research Interest: Fluid Dynamics, Machine Learning, Quantum Computing.

Currently working on

Steady/ unsteady flows of non-Newtonian fluid through rigid/ elastic circular pipes with applications in Human Circulatory system.

Approximate analytical solutions / numerical solutions to Heat transfer problems in porous media

Fluid flow problems in non-conventional coordinate systems

Data Analysis

Students

Karthik A.

A Study of Fluid flow in Tapered Elastic Pipes with Applications in Human Arterial System. (Thesis Defended)

Ketana K.

Title of the thesis: A study on Statistical and Machine Learning Models for the blood flow in the Human circulatory System

Debismitha Nayak.

Title of the thesis: A Pipeline Network Model for Arterial Blood Flow Analysis in Humans

Research and Consultancy Projects

Ongoing:

Title	Agency	Duration	Amount	Role
Adoption of Generative AI Models in Business Processes	Mindmap Digital Private Limited, Hyderabad	1 year (Sept 2024 -Sept 2025)	INR 3,54,000	C. R Hota (Consultant PI)
Bio-CPS Device Security	DST, Govt. of India (National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems)	3 years (Aug 2022-Aug 2025)	INR 28,68,000	C. R Hota (PI), Sameera Muhammed Salam (Co-PI)

Completed:

Title	Agency	Duration	Amount	Role
Building Lightweight Tamper-proof Codes for IoT Devices	MeitY, Min. of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India & NWO,Netherlands	2015-2020	42.94 lakhs	PI
Automated Detection of Security Threats in P2P Networks	DeitY, Govt. of India	2012-2015	61.95 lakhs	PI
Designing & Implementing Efficient Overlay Networks over IP	UGC, Govt. of India	2011-2014	12.78 lakhs	PI

Sponsored Projects

Research Initiation Grant (RIG), BITS Pilani.

PI: Nijjwal Karak
Title: Theory of weekly differentiable function spaces
Duration: December, 2020 to December, 2022
Amount: 2,00,000 INR
Start-Up Research Grant (SRG), DST-SERB

PI: Nijjwal Karak
Title: Embeddings and extensions of Sobolev-type spaces
Duration: December, 2021 to December, 2023
Amount: 15,09,816 INR

Research Projects

Completed

1) Sponsor and Scheme: Research Initiation Grant (RIG)

Title of the project: On theoretical and numerical aspects of renewal equation with diffusion

Duration: 2 years (2019-2021)

Grant: Rs. 2,00,000.00

2) Sponsor and Scheme: SERB-DST; National Postdoctoral Fellow (NPDF)

Title of the project: On theoretical and numerical aspects of the renewal equation in population dynamics

Duration: 2 years (2017-2019)

Grant: Rs. 19,20,000.00

Research Projects

Students Projects

2023-24 (First)
- An Efficient Proof of Ownership Scheme for Deduplication Systems (Completed, Work submitted to Scopus Conference)
- Oblivious Two-way Ownership Verification in Deduplicated Cloud Computing Systems (Completed, Work submitted to SCIE Journal)
- A Comprehensive Survey on Recent Advances in Ownership Verifications in Deduplication Systems (Completed)
2022-23 (Second)
- Secure and Efficient Key Management for Deduplicated Cloud Storage System (Completed, Work published in IEEE SINCONF 2023)
- Randomized Encryption Mechanism for Deduplicated Cloud Storage System (Completed, Work submitted to SCIE Journal)
- Secure and Efficient Data Deduplication Framework for Internet of Things and Fog Computing (Completed, Work published in IEEE COMPSAC 2023)

Sponsored Projects

Secure Deduplication Framework for IoT and Fog Computing Systems
Funded by: BITS Student Program for Advancing Research, Knowledge, and Entrepreneurship (SPARKLE)
Funds: 2,00,000/-
Duration: Dec 2023 to Dec 2025
Secure and Storage Efficient Framework for Integrated Edge-Cloud Computing Systems
Funded by: BITS New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG)
Funds: 20,00,000/-
Duration: Nov 2023 to Nov 2025

Research Interest and collaborations

1. Research themes: Driven systems

Central question: Is it possible to tune the functionality of a material so that it supports non-trivial properties not present in the static system?

Prime examples: 1. Topological phase is engineered out of non-topological phase (Floquet topological insulator), 2. current is suppressed in the time-evolved state while starting from a current-carrying ground state (dynamical localization), 3. long-lived thermal state in a driven classical system (Floquet prethermalization) and many others: see publications 5, 26, 32, for example.

Open questions for future research: Minimise the heating to achieve the target state, consequences of temporal noise, and many more ...

2. Research themes: Topological phases of matter

Central question: How one can characterise various topological phases in non-interacting systems? are they robust against interaction, disorder? How does drive modify the situation?

Prime examples: 1. Higher-order topological phase is engineered out of lower-order topological phase (static and Floquet higher-order topological insulator), 2. proximity induced topological superconductivity (static and Floquet higher-order topological superconductor), 3. real space examination of transport signatures, currents (topological Anderson insulator), 4. drive-mediated dynamical synchronization transition in interacting system and many others: see publications 13, 15, 24, 28, 35 for example.

Open questions for future research: Floquet Anderson insulators and higher-order analogues, translation activity in presence of defects, application to twisted systems and many more ...

3. Research themes: Quantum transport

Central question: How do we come to know about the system of interest from the conductivity tensors? How do transport coefficients change in different regimes such as semi-classical Boltzmann regime, quantum regime and mesoscopic regime?

Prime examples: 1. Electrical Hall and thermal Hall conductivities in Weyl semimetal where Berry curvature plays crucial role (chiral anomaly mediated transport), 2. linear and non-linear conductivity tensors (planar Hall conductivity, circular photogalvanic effect), 3. Landauer Buttiker technique (scattering matrix formalism), Landau levels and Kubo formula (quantum regime) and many others: see publications 16, 23, 27, 36, 41 for example.

Open questions for future research: Current through Josephson junction, Boltzmann transport in superconductor, effect of non-Hermiticity, twisted systems, and many more ...

4. Research themes: Many-body correlated phenomena

Central question: How magnetism and superconductivity emerge in an interacting system? How does the localization property change in an interacting many-body disordered systems?

Prime examples: 1. Hubbard interaction-mediated magnetism in graphene like systems, 2. algebraic localization in long-range hopping models (sub-extensive growth of entanglement entropy with many-body dynamics), 3. interaction-induced charge order and many others: see publications 13, 17, 18 and upcoming ones for example.

Open questions for future research: Develop new techniques such as Gutzwiller mean field, renormalization group analysis (analytically) and DMRG (numerically), application to various twisted systems, long-range models, interplay between drive and many more ...

5. Research themes: Quantum information and computation

Central question: How to engineer high-entangled states and characterise them with appropriate measures? How to prepare such states from solid-state systems even in the presence of disorder?

Prime examples: 1. Majorana zero modes as qubits (topological superconductivity), 2. Floquet anomalous Majorana modes as a possible route to withstand the disorder to some extent (dynamical robustness of Majorana boundary modes) and many others: see publications 28, 39 for example.

Open questions for future research: Quantum thermodynamics of open topological systems, quantum engines and batteries from build from topological systems, quantum computations with braiding of Majorana qubits and many more ...

6. Research themes: Quantum phase transition and quantum quench

Central question: How the defects are generated following a quench through a quantum critical point?

How do various quantum information theoretic measures change with quench rate and the critical exponents associated with the quantum phase transition?

Prime examples: 1. Unusual scaling of decoherence factor for various quench protocols and paths (renormalization of Kibble-Zurek law), 2. entanglement between two spins globally connected with the spin chain environment (concurrence in central spin model) and many others: see publications 1, 2, 9, 10 for example.

Open questions for future research: Quantum correlations, entanglement for various quantum spin, fermionic models in equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium, non-Hermitian counter parts, explorations in spin liquid and spin glass systems, and many more ...

Collaborations:

Collaborators outside India:

1. Prof. Annica Black-Schaffer, Uppsala University, Sweden

2. Prof. Takashi Oka, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (formerly at MPIPKS, Germany)

3. Prof. Carsten Honerkamp, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

4. Prof. Dante M. Kennes, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

5. Prof. Bitan Roy, Lehigh University, USA

6. Prof. Vladimir Juricic, NORDITA, Sweden

7. Dr. Robert-Jan Slager, University of Cambridge, UK

Collaborators inside India:

1. Prof. Amit Dutta, IIT Kanpur, India (Ph.D. supervisor)

2. Prof. Arijit Saha, IOP, India

3. Prof. Diptiman Sen, IISc, India

4. Prof. Atanu Rajak, IIT Hyderabad, India

5. Prof. Ranjan Modak, IIT Tirupati, India

6. Prof. Saptarshi Mandal, IOP, India

7. Prof. Banasri Basu, ISI Kolkata, India

Apart from the above collaborators, I am also very much grateful to my other academic coworkers, friends such as Dr. Snehasish Nandy, Dr. Banasree Sadhukhan, Dr. Sanjib K. Das, Dr. Xiong Feng, Arnob K. Ghosh, Debashish Mondal, Sudarshan Saha, Prof. Uma Divakaran, Prof. Tutul Biswas

For interested students: Please feel free to drop by D-323 or write to me for a detailed discussion on research topics

Projects

1.Title: Development of Renewable Energy Integrated Charging Grid with V2G facility: A Need of Smart Cities

Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (CDRF Scheme)
Amount: 20 Lakhs
Duration: Two years (July 2024-June 2026)

Status: ongoing

2.Title: Photovoltaic Fed Microgrids: Integrated Intelligent Harmonic Control to Enable Electric Vehicle Charging
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: Central power Research Institute, Bangluru
Amount: 20.55 Lakhs
Duration: Two years (Feb 2023-Jan 2025)
Status: Ongoing

3.Title:Modelling the Drivers and Barriers of Electric Vehicle Penetration in Emerging Economy: A study of Indian Market
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding agency: ICSSR-IMPRESS, New Delhi
Amount: 5.25 Lakhs
Duration: Two years (Sept 2019-2021)
Status: Completed

4. Title: Design and development of an efficient soft-switching converter with adaptive maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller for a standalone photovoltaic power generation system
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Funding agency: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), New Delhi
Amount: 29.39 Lakhs
Duration: Two years, 2014-2016
Status: Completed

5. Title: Inter-area oscillation control using embedded energy storage in interconnected power system with distributed generation

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Funding agency: Seed Grant Scheme, BITS, Pilani

Amount: 11.15 lakhs

Duration: Two years, March 2011-2013

Status: Completed

Research Area

Energy Optimization in Hybrid/Electric Vehicles (XEVs)
Battery Modelling, SoC Estimation, Hybrid Energy storage System for XEV applications
Mitigation of Power Quality issues, Active power filters
Distributed Generation and controls of smart grid/Micro grids/Charging grids.
Applications of AI techniques to Power Systems and Control Systems

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

Innovative Accelerated Carbonation Process for the Preparation of Ready-mix Recycled Aggregate Concrete

Principal Investigator: Subhasis Pradhan

Co-PI: Mukund Lahoti
Duration: 2023 - 2026

Funding Agency: SERB SURE

Budget: ₹ 28.2 lakhs

Cement Composite Based Thermoelectric Material for Building Energy Harvesting

Principal Investigator: Subhasis Pradhan

Duration: 2022 - 2024

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani (Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Budget: ₹ 8.6 lakhs

Completed

CO₂ Utilization and Sequestration to Prepare Sustainable Structural Concrete Mix Using Recycled Aggregate

Principal Investigator: Subhasis Pradhan

Duration: 2021 - 2023

Funding Agency: BITS Pilani (Research Initiation Grant)

Budget: ₹ 2 lakhs

Sponsored Research Project

Completed Projects

Principal Investigator, Young Scientist Project (Funding Agency-DST-SERB: SR/FTP/MS-038/2011), Duration (Dec. 2014 – Nov. 2017, Amount: Rs. 11.62 Lacs)
Project Coordinator (Indian side) of joint Indo-Russian Project (Funding Agency-DST: INT/RUS/RFBR/P-212), Duration (Aug. 2015- Feb 2018, Rs. 12.86 Lacs)

R & D Projects

Projects Undergoing:

As PI: Seed funding to ideas/startups and Entrepreneurship development activities. The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India for the implantation of Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) Scheme As a Group-2 TIDE 2.0 Centre(G2C) at PIEDS at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Meity/IPR/TIDE/16(19)/2019, Duration 60 Months, Grant Rs 3.10 Crores.
As Co PI Doubling Farm Women’s income: Entrepreneurship development through post-harvest and technology integration in arid zone) submitted with CAZRI, Jodhpur to DST under the ASAR Programme of SEED Division Duration in Month 36, Budget 70 Lakh File No.ASACODER- 018/2018

Projects Completed:

As PI: Measuring the Impact of Socially Responsible Supply Chains and Development of Framework for Implementation, Sponsored by:ICSSR, Start date JAN 2018, Completed JAN 2020. Duration in Months:24, Budegt INR 550000
As Co-PI: Concurrent evaluation of food distribution under National Food Security Act (NFSA 2013), Aug 2018, Completed in June 2019. Duration 24 Months, Budget INR 720000.
Consultancy project on Supply chain improvement project in Jaipur Rugs Completion date 2015
MDP: Management Development programme was conceptualized, designed, marketed and conducted a Co-coordinator and resource faculty for Shree Cement on: “Effective Projects management” during 5-7 June, Shree Cement Beawar Rajasthan. Total amount INR 200000

Submitted Projects:

As PI: Stakeholder priority assessment for Urban logistics to improve urban life quality, Scheme for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India's Developing Economy (STRIDE), Duration 36 months, Budget Rs 3209800
As PI: Effect of Covid 19 on employment in Manufacturing sector, , Impress, ICSSR, Duration 09 months, Budget Rs 550000
As PI: Investigating the Demand-Supply mismatch in Higher Education Sector (Science and Technology Institution) in India and Its Economic Costs, CHORD (MSTMIS) DIVISION, Department of Science and Technology, Duration 36 months, Budget Rs 2032800
As Co-PI: Creating Entrepreneurship Education Ecosystem (EEE) in Indian Higher Education, Scheme for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India's Developing Economy (STRIDE), Duration 36 months, Budget Rs 2995790
As Co-PI: Evaluating Working Capital Management for Make in India Competitiveness: A Study of Small and Medium Enterprises in Rajasthan, , Impress, ICSSR, Duration 24 months, Budget Rs 1150000
As Co-PI Study of E-Waste Management in Science and Technology Institutes of India and development of Social relevant models for Effective E Waste Management, Impress, ICSSR, Duration 24 months, Budget Rs 1060500
As Co-PI: The Diffusion of Electric Vehicles in India: Exploring Supply Chain Strategies, Social Impact, and Consumer Preference Scheme for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India's Developing Economy (STRIDE), Duration 36 months, Budget Rs 3209800
As Co PI: Study the Implications of National and Corporate Culture on Buyer-Supplier Relationship in Manufacturing Supply Chain, SPARC 2019-2020., Duration 36 Months, 4632000

Research Project

Postbuckling analysis of CNT-Reinforced composite plates under different types of in-plane mechanical loads. Amount- INR 2 lakhs, Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani, Duration-2 years, Dec. 2017- Nov. 2019, (Completed)
Failure analysis of MWCNTs-reinforced laminated composite plate subjected to mechanical loads. Amount- INR 8.8 lakhs, Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani, Duration-2 years, Feb. 2019 - Jan. 2021, (Completed)
Development of Semi-Analytical Methodology as a Design Aid for Small-Scale Structures using Non-Classical Continuum Mechanics. DST-SERB (SUR/2022/000828), Duration-3 years, (Approved)
Structural stability analysis of thin-walled steel structures subjected to elevated temperature due to fire. Amount-INR 52.0804 lakhs, The Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), Duration-2 years, (Approved)

Research projects

Current Research projects

One ICMR-funded project (as Co-PI; PI: Prof. PR Deepa).
One BITS-Pilani funded project, CDRF scheme (as Co-PI; PI: Prof. Mukul Joshi).

Past Research projects:

As PI: "Phytochemical and Metabolic Characterization of Prosopis cineraria pods (sangri) as Potential Nutraceuticals", sponsored by DST-SERB, Dec 2012 - Dec 2015, "completed", Rs. 22 Lakhs.
As Principal Developer of the course 'Science of Living Systems' (alongwith Prof. Rajesh Mehrotra and Dr. Manoj Kannan as co-developers) in the project "Developing Suitable Pedagogical Methods for Various Classes, Intellectual Calibres and Research in e-Learning", sponsored by Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India, Aug, 2016-Dec, 2016, "completed", (PI: Dr. Bani Bhattacharya, IIT Kharagpur), Rs. 7 lakhs.
As Project team member: "Bring back the Peacocks", sponsored by BITSAA, Feb 2017-till date - "ongoing", (PI: Prof. Sangeeta Sharma, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS, Pilani, Pilani Campus), Rs. 10 lakhs.
Assisted Sr. Prof. Rajiv Gupta, Civil Engg. Dept., in designing biochemical assays for nail fluoride testing, in the project "Costs and Remediation of Groundwater Contamination in India", sponsored by College of Arts and Sciences, at University of Virginia, USA. Dollar 1.50 lakhs.

Faculty advisor in funded First degree student projects

Bryophyte based Bio-filter development for combating air pollution.
Characterization of hydrolytic enzymes and bioactives in peel extracts from local fruit and vegetable cultivars for potential development of sustainable, bio-based cleaning agents.

Research

Major Thrust Area of Research

Molecular Parasitology with special emphasis to Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases
Apicoplast of Plasmodium sp.

I'm currently working on the apicoplast of Plasmodium vivax. We are the first group to report complete sequences of some major coding regions from P. vivax apicoplast Genome where we have characterized the differences between the major coding regions of apicoplast genome of P. vivax in comparison with that from P. falciparum and other Plasmodium species.

My group is also looking into various nuclear encoded proteins that are hypothesized to be targeted to the apicoplast and may be invovled in the various metabolic pathways believed to be functional within the organelle.

Other Areas of Research Interests

Malaria Parasite Biology and Immunology, Host – Parasite Interaction studies, Cancer Cell and Molecular biology, Cancer Gene Transcriptional and Translational Regulation, Drug target identification and designing.

Projects Completed

University Grants Commission, Govt. of India funded major project "Characterization of Isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway enzymes from Plasmodium vivax" (2013-2016)
DST Fast Track project (2010-2013): Cloning and Characterization of the major regions of the plastid DNA from Plasmodium vivax

Projects

Financial support received:

DST-TIDE: “Design and development of a power assistive hybrid e-trike (PAH e-trike) for differently abled person in rural and urban regions of India.” (Joint project with Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, CEERI -Pilani),

Duration: 2017-2021

Total sanctioned amount Rs. 67.76 Lakh as Co-PI

UGC Major Research Project: “Design and Development of Test Rig to understand Dynamics of Nanorobots”

Duration: 2012-14

Grant of Rs 9.37 Lakhs as Co-PI

Sponsored Research Projects

Completed Projects (10)

Title: Development of ecofriendly nonionic surfactant coupled ultrasonic extraction technology for conophylline, an anti- diabetic lead molecule and its comparison with conventional extraction techniques [Funded by BITS Pilani (Research Initiation Grant)] – Principle Investigator [2 lakhs]
Title: Development of botanical based novel formulation with mosquito larvicidal action for Indian population. [Funded by DST-SEED (SYST), New Delhi] - Principle Investigator [12.19 lakhs]
Title: Exploring The anti-obesity potential of selected Ayurvedic medicinal plants using pancreatic lipase inhibition assay and synergy guided fractionation approach [Funded by DST- SERB (YSS), New Delhi]- Principle Investigator [27.30 lakhs]
Title: Development and evaluation of lipid based nanoparticles of Quinapyramine and Isometamidium chloride for treatment of trypanosomiasis in camels. [Funded by DBT, New Delhi]- Co-Principle Investigator [43.52 lakhs]
Title: Industry-Academia Symposium on Analytical Sciences [Funded by BIOCON-BMS, Bangalore] - Coordinator [1.74 lakhs]
Title: Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Molecular Modelling Oxoacetamides as New Class of Potent Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitors. Funded by CSIR]-Mentor [3.92 lakhs]
Title: Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Molecular Modelling Studies of Indolyl Oxoacetamide Quinazolinone Based Hybrid Analogs as Potential Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitors for Obesity Treatment. [Funded by DST-SERB (CRG), New Delhi] - Principle Investigator [35.05 lakhs]
Title: Development and evaluation of endophytic bacteria based formulation against clinical MRSA and VRSA strains. [Funded by DST-SEED (SYST) New Delhi] – Co-Principle Investigator [29.28 lakhs]
Title: Design, Molecular Modeling, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Coumarin Analogues as Potential Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitors. [Funded by DST New Delhi Under INSPIRE Programme] – Mentor [19.60 lakhs]
Title: Design, Molecular Modelling, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Chromone Analogues as Potential Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitors.[Funded by DST New Delhi Under INSPIRE Programme] – Mentor [19.60 lakhs]

Industry Projects (02)

Consultancy project on Probiotics [Funded by Tablets (India) Limited, Chennai]- Principle Investigator [5.74 lakhs]
Research project on "Building a Nature Intelligence Platform, a repository of novel species of microbes found in the extreme climatic regions through the application of novel biotechnological tools" [Funded by Absolute, Gurugram]- Principle Investigator [8.00 lakhs]

On going Projects (03)

Title: Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education in Epigenetics and Genome Editing. [Funded by DBT]- Principal Investigator [9.10 crores]
Title: Development of test method for determination of chicory content in coffee-chicory powder [Funded by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi]- Principal Investigator [5.82 lakhs]
Title: Micro-and nano-plastics as emerging food contaminants: Establishing validated Methodologies and understanding the prevalence in different food matrices [Funded by FSSAI, New Delhi]-Principal Investigator [19.44 lakhs]

*Candidates with INSPIRE/ CSIR/ ICMR/ UGC - JRF/SRF fellowships and interested to work in the area of Pharmacognosy / Phytochemistry / Natural Products/ Pharmacology of herbal drugs/ Formulation and Analysis of herbal drugs, can contact by sending curriculum vitae to Dr. Atish T. Paul (atish.paul@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in)

Research Area(s)

Educational Informatics [The primary focus is to investigate how the intersection of Technology and Education helps deliver and manage teaching-learning processes.]
Governance Informatics [In Governance Informatics, the objective is to explore the use, design and consequences of Technology interventions in governance domains such as social welfare delivery, surveillance, privacy and administration.]
Technology Adoption Behavior [Technology Adoption research explores the user behavior when the user is interacting with other users and technology artifacts - what motivates and encourages a user to adopt specific technology interventions.]
Discourse Analysis of Computer-Mediated Communication [The main focus in this area is to understand the nuances of text and other discourse types generated in Social Media/online/virtual communities through specific approaches such as Sentiment Analysis, Influencer Analysis, Linguistic Analysis.]
Cultural Studies [Language and communication being an inherent part of any culture, this area focuses on exploring the contours of intersections of a global culture emanating from a networked society with inherent convergence of heterogeneous identities.]

Research Projects

1. An Empirical Study on Accountability and Learning Outcomes in Public School Systems in Rajasthan.

(Co-Principal Investigator)
Amount: 10 Lakhs
Grant Agency: IMPRESS-ICSSR (2019-2021) COMPLETED

2. Awareness, Uses and Implications of Web2.0 in Supplementing Classroom Teaching at Undergraduate Level

(Principal Investigator)
Amount: 7.84 Lakhs
Grant Agency: UGC (2013-15) COMPLETED

3. Integrating New Media Technologies in Teaching at Higher Education

(Principal Investigator)
Amount: 1.95 Lakhs
Grant Agency: BITS Pilani [Research Initiation Grant] (2012-13) COMPLETED

4. Developing Teaching Modules for English Learning Through Multimedia Technology for Rural Children from Class V-VIII

(Co-Principal Investigator)
Amount: 4.50 Lakhs
Grant Agency: UGC (2009 - 2011) COMPLETED

Extra-Mural Funded Projects

Ongoing

As a principal Investigator received Industry Research Project "Pattern recognition of voice to predict Customer and employee personality, behaviour and emotions", from Trajectorie Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, India (December 2024 - March 2025)
As a Principal Investigator received a research project titled “Cognitive Multi-Articulatory Sign Language Generation Tool for Auditory and Articulatory Processing Disorder People” funded by Birla Institute by Technology Pilani, Dubai Campus under New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG) (2024 to 2026).
As a principal Investigator received Industry Research Project "Creating UI/UX for Different Question Types", from Trajectorie Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, India (August 2023 - July 2024)
As an Overseas Applicant received an International Joint Research Grant entitled “Diagnosis of respiratory diseases from lung images using self-supervised deep learning” along with University of York funded by Royal Society, United Kingdom (2023 to 2025)
As a Principal Investigator received the project entitled "Cognitive Computer Vision Based Sign Interpretation and Generation Network for Signer Education" funded by Birla Institute by Technology Pilani, Dubai Campus under Research Initiation Grant (RIG) (2023 to 2025)
As a Co-Principal Investigator received the project entitled "Al Based Early Detection of Hormonal lmbalance and Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome in Young Women" funded by AICTE under Research Promotion Scheme (RPS) (2022-2025)

Completed

As a principal Investigator received Industry Research Project "Educational Virtual Roleplay through Interactive Design and Integration Using OpenAI", from Trajectorie Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, India (September 2023 - December 2023)
As a principal Investigator received Industry Project "100% Virtual RolePlay using Generative AI" from Trajectorie Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, India (June 2023 - August 2023)
As a Co-Principal Investigator received the project entitled "Regional atmospheric visibility forecasting model using soft computing techniques" funded by iDEX-DIO, DRDO under DISC 4 Challenge (25.8 Lakh) (2021-2023)
As a Principal Investigator received a research project entitled "Deep Neural Architecture for Multimodal and Multilingual Sign Language Translation and Recognition" funded by Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) New Delhi under Startup Research Grant (SRG) Scheme (14.5l Lakh) (2019-2021)
As a Principal Investigator received bilateral research project entitled "Hybrid Deep Learning for Indo-Russian Sign Language Recognition" jointly funded by Department of Science & Technology (DST), India and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), Russia under Indo-Russian Joint Grant (22.64 Lakh-Indian Side) (2020-2022)
As a Principal Investigator received a consultancy project entitled "Reinforcement Learning for TVSC" funded by TVS Credits, India (15.26 Lakh) (2021-2022)
As a Principal Investigator received a consultancy project entitled "Recommender Systems for TVS Group Applications" funded by TVS Motors, India (11.3 Lakh) (2021-2022)

Research Grants

Completed

Principal Investigator for “Multiobjective Evolutionary Approach for Solving Water Distribution Network Design Optimization” funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India. (Grant No. 22(0723)/17/EMR-II dated 16.05.2017; July 2017-June 2020; 18,46,000/-)
Principal Investigator for “Multiobjective Reservoir Optimization Using Swarm Intelligence Algorithms” funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India. (Grant No. 25(0193)/11/EMR-II dated 02.02.2011; April 2011-March 2014; 11,18,000/-)
Principal Co-Investigator for “Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Sandwiched Modular Multilayer Self Compacted Cement Concrete Pavements” funded by Aditya Birla Group (ABG), Mumbai, India. (October 2011-September 2013; 10,00,000/-)

Research Funding

BITS Additional Competitive New Faculty Grant
Principle Investigator. Project titled "Investigations into Issues in Deploying Software Defined Networks on Traditional Network Infrastructure". 2015-17. Funding 8.2 lakhs.
NVIDIA Academic Hardware Grant Program
Project titled "Processing and Analyzing High Speed Traffic For Accurate Network Forensics". Grant of 2 Bluefield-2 P-Series 25GbE Crypto Disabled DPUs. Aug 2021. Funding ~$2,877.98 ~2.36 lakhs.
CAIR DRDO
Co-PI. Project titled "Efficient domain-specific storage and query system for High-speed IP flow analysis". Grant of ~46lakhs. July 2022.

Sponsored projects

Ongoing projects
1. Title: Calpain mediated disruption of axon-glia interaction in peripheral neuropathies
Funding agency: DST INSPIRE Faculty fellowship
Fund sanctioned: Rs. 35 lakh
Duration: 2021-2026
Role: Principal Investigator

2. Research Initiation Grant
Funding agency: BITS
Funds sanctioned: Rs 2,00,000
Duration: 2022-2024
Role: Principal Investigator

3. Title: Calpain mediated disruption of axon-glia interaction in peripheral neuropathies
Funding agency: ICMR
Fund sanctioned: Rs. 73 lakh
Duration: 2023-2026
Role: Principal Investigator

Completed projects
1. International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN) CAEN 1B award
Funding agency: International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN)
Fund sanctioned: USD 4919 (INR 3,80,000)
Duration: 2022-2023
Role: Principal Investigator

2. Title: Exploring the therapeutic role of Panax ginseng in drug-induced peripheral neuropathies
Funding agency: The Korean Society of Ginseng (KSG), South Korea
Fund sanctioned: KRW 5 million (INR 3,12,000)
Duration: 2022-2023
Role: Principal Investigator

Research/Industry Projects

Ongoing Projects:

ADE-DRDO Project on Methodology for Specification generation and system identification of Environmental Control System for new Aircraft Program, Cost Rs 23.5 Lakhs – Duration 2.5 Year till June 2024.
M/s Rangsons Aerospace Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore, Consultancy guidance of Thermal projects, Rs 21.24 Lakhs for 3 years starting September 2021.
ARDB-DRDO Project on "Development of All-Electric Environmental Control System for Fighter Aircraft", Cost Rs. 58.2 Lakhs, till Feb. 2025.
CASDIC-DRDO Project on "Development of Graphene/ Graphite Encapsulated high thermal conductivity heat sinks", Cost Rs. 28.72 Lakhs, till Jan. 2025.

Sponsored Project

Project (Sponsored Internal) – Completed (1)

Model Studies Demonstrating Gravity and Capillary Dominated Flow of Contaminants in Porous Media [PI – Amount 2.0 lakhs INR (2013-2015) funded by BITS RIG (Research Initiation Grant)]

Project (Sponsored External) – Completed (1)

Design and development of fixed and floating solar PV installation for water management infrastructures, [Co-PI, Amount 11.36 lakhs INR (30th Sept. 2019 to 29th Sept. 2022), Industry Sponsored by First Green Consulting Pvt. Ltd.]

Project (Sponsored External) – Ongoing (1)

A Human-Computer Interaction Study: Exploring the Impact of GenAI on Undergraduate and Graduate Students' Employability in India [PI – Amount $35,000 USD (30 lakhs INR) (2024-2025) funded by WISE-IIE (World Innovation Summit for Education, Qatar Foundation- Institute of International Education, New York)

SOP/ LOP/COP/Dissertation/Thesis Projects

During Second Semester 2021 - 22, I would be offering the projects under the umbrella topics of:

Zero Trust Networks
Encryption techniques for preventing DDoS attacks
Machine Learning techniques for preventing DDoS attacks.

If interested to work as project student (as Thesis/SOP/LOP/COP), send me a mail. For it, you must have done Computer Network course and "preferably" Network Security course. Please mention your current CGPA in your EMail.

Research Projects

Project Title: Wireless Network Virtualization: IEEE 802.11 Test-Bed Implementation and wireless NIC virtualization

PI: Vishal Gupta

Total Funding: 8.50 Lakh

Duration: 2 years [February 26, 2016 to February 25, 2018]

Consultancy Project Title: Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes, intellectual calibres and research in e-learning" under National Mission Project on Education through ICT.

Sponsor: Mininstry of HRD, Government of India (through IIT Kharagpur).

PI: Vishal Gupta

Total Funding: 7 Lakh

Status: The project is complete

Sponsored Projects

Completed Projects

"Characterization of major components of (FeS) Cluster assembly pathway in Plasmodium vivax". Duration: 3 years, Sanctioned amount 25.6 lakhs, Funding Agency: DST Young Scientist Start up Grant.
"Analysis of genetic diversity of malaria parasite from Bikaner, India". Duration: 2 years, Sanctioned amount 2 lakhs, Funding Agency: BITS- Research Initiation Grant
"Analysis of hypothetical and putative proteins dual targeted to apicoplast and mitochondria in Plasmodium vivax". Duration: 2 years, Sanctioned amount 6 Lakhs. Funding Agency: UGC - BSR Research Start up Grant for newly recruited faculties.

Ongoing Projects

"Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) as a sustainable method for utilization of copper tailing" (Principal Investigator) Duration: 2years; Approved Budget: 20 Lakhs; Funding Agency: BITS CDRF Scheme; BITS Pilani.
“Understanding vir Genes: Potential Mediators of Cyto-adherence in Severe Malaria from Plasmodium vivax” (Co – Principal Investigator) Duration: 3 years; Approved Budget: 1.15 crore; Funding Agency: ICMR
“Exosome as prognostic and Diagnostic marker”. (Co-Investigator) Duration: 2 years, Approved Budget: 50.91 Lakhs; Funding Agency: DST “BioCyTiH Foundation”.

Research Projects

Ongoing Research Projects:

Principal Investigator (July 2024 - July 2026): CDRF sponsored research project "Digital Restoration of Heritage Paintings of Shekhawati Havelis: Recreating the Magic Using Advance Machine Learning Algorithms." (Amount Mobilized: INR 20,00,000 lakhs + One Research Scholarship for 5 years @ INR37,00 – 42,000 per month depending upon the year of PhD and performance).

Research Projects Completed:

Principal Investigator (September 2018 - September 2020) - "Efficacy & Effectiveness of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities for Health Awareness and Promotion Among Women in Rajasthan: Towards a HOPE Approach" [Sanction No.16/2016/ICMR-ICSSR-SBR] (Amount Mobilized: INR 25,11,490 lakhs).
Co-Principal Investigator (September 2018 - September 2020) - "Development & Validation of a Prototype of a Web/Mobile App Based Positive Psychological Intervention for Adolescents" [Sanction No.24/2016/ICMR-ICSSR-SBR] (Amount Mobilized: INR 17,01,650 lakhs).
UGC sponsored project entitled “Writing Competence: An Assessment of Tribal Students.”

A video documentary entitled "Parivartan: Women Empowerment in Rural Shekhawati Region" Sponsored by UGC Centre of Women's Studies, BITS Pilani.

Sponsored Research Project

Sponsored Project

Project Title : Digital Restoration of Heritage Paintings of Shekhawati Havelis: Restoring the Past Glory Using Advance Machine

Learning Algorithms.

Role : Principal Investigator

Funding Agency : Cross-disciplinary Research Funding (CDRF), (C2/24/201), BITS Pilani.

Amount : Rs. 20,00,000/-

Status : On-going (2024-2026)

Project Title : Hyper spectral Image analysis and Machine learning for germ detection and precision agricultural

Role : Principal Investigator

Funding Agency : Short Term Project Scheme of Technology Development Programme (DRISHTI CPS/TDP-ST/SL/2022/003) from IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation.

Amount : Rs. 9,90,000/-

Status : Completed (2022-2024)

Project Title : Multimodal Biometric based person Identification System

Role : Principal Investigator

Funding Agency : Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani

Amount : Rs. 9,00,000/-

Status : Completed (2016-2018)

Project Title : Person Re-identification (Re-ID) for Video Surveillance Applications

Role : Principal Investigator

Funding Agency : Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani

Amount : Rs. 2,00,000/-

Status : Completed (2015-2017)

Ongoing Funded Projects

Sl. No.	Title of Project	Cost of Project	Duration of Project	Role	Collaborators	Date of Approval	Sponsoring Agency
1	Low-cost empathetic robotic solution for caregiving (LERSCe)	-	-	Co-PI	Prof. Abhijit Das (CSIS, BITS), Prof. Aritra Mukherjee (CSIS, BITS), Prof. Abhishek Sarkar (ME, BITS), Prof. Simon Egerton (CSIT, La Trobe)	July 21, 2023	BITS-La Trobe University ASCRIN Program
2	Design, development and control of a low cost AI enabled 3-DOF compliant manipulator for intelligent Manufacturing	20 lakhs	2 Years	PI	Prof. Abhishek Sarkar (ME, BITS), Prof. Abhijit Das (CSIS, BITS)	September 15, 2023	BITS CDRF
3	Machine Vision Integration	-	-	Co-PI	Prof. Abhijit Das (CSIS, BITS), Prof. Abhishek Sarkar (ME, BITS)	July 23, 2024	Wipro WIN Fellowship

Research Projects

One of the most significant realizations in the field of genome biology for the last decade has been that the human genome is pervasively transcribed and codes for a large number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). They play critical roles in regulating gene expression in almost all cellular processes by interacting with RNA-binding proteins(RBPs) or other coding and non-coding RNAs.

My lab is interested in understanding the role of lncRNAs, miRNAs and circRNAs as potential therapeutic targets in Cancer (Brain and Oral Cancer) and host-pathogen (virus) interaction. Our work utilizes cutting-edge technologies from the fields of genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and computational biology.

These studies will provide insights into fundamental biological mechanisms and lay the foundation for novel diagnostics and treatments for human diseases.

Funding as PI

1. ICMR 2023. Elucidating the role of Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) regulated long-non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and as therapeutic targets for Oral Cancer.

Completed Projects

1. DBT RLS Fellowship- Identification and characterization of long non-coding RNAs involved in Genome stability. Dec 2016- March2022

2. DST SERB ECR-Understanding the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) pathway in Glioblastoma. Dec2018-March 2022

3. DBT-Elucidating the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in neuronal cell death during Japanese Encephalitis (JE). March 19- July 21.

Projects as PI

Sanctioned Projects. Awaiting Fund Release.

1. ICMR 2022. Elucidating the role of Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) regulated long-non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and as therapeutic targets for Oral Cancer.

Completed Projects

1. DBT RLS Fellowship- Identification and characterization of long non-coding RNAs involved in Genome stability. Dec 2016- March2022

2. DST SERB ECR-Understanding the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) pathway in Glioblastoma. Dec2018-March 2022

3. DBT-Elucidating the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in neuronal cell death during Japanese Encephalitis (JE). March 19- July 21.

Sponsored Projects

1. “Study of cosmological models in bimetric theory of gravitation”, funded by University Grants Commission (UGC) F.41-1385/2012 (SR), Govt. of India, New Delhi: (2012-2014) , 1,80,000 INR.

2. DAAD - Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) Worldwide – 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024

IN-PH-3348 - Theoretical study of compact stars and wormholes in modified gravity

2018: Intern: Ms. Annika Kirschner, Nürnberg - Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm during 01-08-2018 to 26-09-2018.

2019: Intern: Mr. Daniel Krogmann, Berlin - Technische Universität Berlin during 11-08-2019 to 12-10-2019.

2023: Intern: Ms. Marlene Funck, Hannover - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover during 12-08-2023 to 24-09-2023.

2024: Intern: Mr. Niklas Loewer, Leipzig - Universität Leipzig during 27-07-2024 to 13-09-2024.

3. “Cosmic acceleration with observational constraints of the universe in modified gravity”, funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), 03(1454)/19/EMR-II Dt.02/08/2019, Govt. of India, New Delhi (2019-2022), 19,21,496 INR

4. “Astrophysical objects in modified theories of gravity: theoretical predictions and observational perspective”, funded by National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM), 02011/3/2022 NBHM(R.P.)/R&D II/2152 Dt.14.02.2022, Govt. of India under Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), (2022-2025), 22,12,980 INR

5. Working group member of CA21136-Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics (CosmoVerse) by EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ECOST) from 21-10-2022 to 20-10-2026

6. “Study of late-time cosmic acceleration in curvature-less and torsion-less theories of gravity with recent observations”, funded by Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), CRG/2022/001847, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, New Delhi (2023-2026),21,48,696 INR

7. Co-PI of “A Fundamental Study on Cosmic Acceleration in Modified Gravity Approach”, funded by Ministry of Higher Education, Govt. of Malaysia, (2023-2026) FRGS/1/2023/STG07/UM/02/3, RM109600.

8. Working group member of CA22113-Fundamental challenges in theoretical physics (THEORY-CHALLENGES) by EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ECOST) from 10-10-2023 to 09-10-2027

Sponsored Projects

Collaborating Sponsored Project 'Rainfall-Runoff Modelling for Lower Godavari Basin in a Changing Climate', Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India; Co-Investigator: Prof D.Nagesh Kumar, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore [September 1, 2019-August 31,2022]
Collaborating Sponsored Project 'Integrated Urban Flood Management in India: Technology-Driven Solutions', Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India; Co-Investigators: Prof PP Mujumdar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Dr. Rominus Valsalam, C-DAC, Thiruvanathapuram; Prof. NV Umamahesh, National Institute of Technology, Warangal. [January 1, 2014-July 31, 2017]
Collaborating Sponsored Project 'Multicriterion Analysis for Ranking of Various General Circulation Models to Study Water Resources of India', Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India; Co-Investigator: Prof D.Nagesh Kumar, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore [November 1, 2012-October 31, 2015]
Research and Development Project 'Artificial Neural Networks for Water Resources Planning: An Innovative Approach', Indian National Committee on Hydrology, Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of India.[February 2006-April 2010]
Sponsored Project 'Multiobjective Optimization in Irrigation Planning using Evolutionary Algorithms', Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India. [November 2006-November 2009]
Research and Development Project 'Multicriterion Decision Making in Water Resources Systems', All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, India. [May 1998-September 2000]

Projects

Industry Projects

Project 1 - CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF RAW MILL FOUNDATION - FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATION
Status - Completed.
About the project - The project assess the level of damage of the foundation of a vertical grinding mill at STAR CEMENT CO. L.L.C. Clinkerisation Unit- Ras Al Khaima. The multi- phased approach includes a comprehensive field and laboratory investigation. Includes:
1. Detailed visual inspections to point out a qualitative and preliminary estimate of damage state as well as to identify key locations for detailed investigations.
2. Field investigation includes:
• Non-destructive testing with Acoustic emission, Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), Half-cell potential (HCP), Rebound hammer, Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and break-out window test.
• Sample collections for laboratory experiments
• Topographic survey
3. Laboratory investigation includes compression tests, depth of carbonation test and chloride contamination test as well as petrographic analysis.

Project 2 – VISUAL INSPECTION OF AN UNDER PASS TUNNEL FOR AL NAKHLA CRUSHER, FUJIRA
Status - Completed
About the project – To perform a visual inspection of the external appearance of the structure as well as surface, interior and surrounding environment of the structure

Project 3 – NDT of COAL MILL FOUNDATION
Status - Completed
About the project - The project is to conduct a series of non-destructive and laboratory tests to evaluated the level of damage of the foundation of a Coal Mill at STAR CEMENT CO. L.L.C. Ras Al Khaima. Scope of the work includes:
1. Field investigations with Acoustic emission, Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), Half-cell potential (HCP), Rebound hammer, Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and break-out window test.
2. Laboratory investigations like compression tests, depth of carbonation test and chloride contamination test as well as petrographic analysis.

Research Projects undertaken

Ongoing-

S. No	Title of the project	Cost in Lakh	Duration	Role	Agency
1.	Development of Theranostic Agents for Photodynamic/ Photothermal Treatment of Oral/Lung Cancer and Related Diseases	800	2022 -2025	Co-PI	PROMOTION OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE (PURSE) SCHEME of DST, India
2.	Investigating heterogeneous catalysis on bi- and tri-metallic alloy microflowers by in-situ SERS measurement in liquid phase	47.18	2024 -2027	PI	ANRF (SERB)

Completed-

S. No	Title of the project	Cost in Lakh	Duration	Role	Agency
1.	Metal selective fluorescence modulation of biologically important chromophores: Effect of micellar charge, pH, and solvent	2	2012 - 2014	PI	BITS Pilani
2.	Towards metalloneurochemistry inside a niosome : a fluorescence spectroscopy approach	24.98	2014 - 2017	PI	DST-SERB
3.	Investigations on naphthalene or anthracene based phosphonates as potential sources for useful ketones and aldehydes leading towards new AIEgens and polyarylalkanes	16.75	2017 - 2020	Co-PI	CSIR

Projects

"I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you fund research and you learn the basic facts."

Bill Gates

Research Initiation Grant

- Under RIG Scheme of BITS Pilani
- Topic: ThermoFluid investigation of freely falling three dimensional rigid and deformable objects.
- Grant amount: 20,000 AED
- Duration: November 22 to December 24

CDRF

- Under 2nd Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) Call
- Topic: Optimization of Energy consumption and Thermal comfort in Buildings in a BIM framework
- Grant amount: 20 lakhs INR
- Duration: 2 Years
- Team: Prof. Meghana Charde, Prof. Majid Hassan Khan, Prof. Shashank Khurana, Prof. Deepthi Mary Dilip

Projects

Research Initiation Grant (RIG): BITS- Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Project Title: “Designing an Attribute Enhanced Spatially and Temporally Aware Role Based Access Control (AESTARBAC) Model for Electronic Healthcare Systems", Duration: 2017-2019, Grant Amount: 2 lakhs, Role: PI (Completed).
BITS-RMIT Joint PhD Program: Project Title: "Intelligent Deployment and Administration of Access Control Models", Collaborators: Prof. Iqbal Gondal (RMIT University) and Prof. Fabio Zambetta (RMIT University).
ASCRIN Scheme: Project Title: "Intelligent Intrusion and Anomaly Detection in Smart Air Pollution Monitoring Systems", Collaborator: Prof. Naveen Chilamkurti (La Trobe University).
CDRF: Project Title: "Empowering rural women in Telangana through systematic study, training, and development of a chatbot for fostering adoption and secure usage of digital applications", Collaborators: Prof. Sudatta Banerjee and Prof. Swati Alok (Economics and Finance Dept. BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus).

Projects

1. Title: Design & Develop a Bio-inspired Robotic Fish with Reliable Underwater Sensing System for Pollutant Detection

Team: Prof. Nilesh Goel, Prof. Majid Hassan Khan, Prof. Shashank Khurana

Nature: Research

Funding Agency: SPARKLE Grant, BITS Pilani

Amount Sanctioned: 10000 AED

Duration: - 1 Year

Status: Awarded

2. Title: Optimization of Energy consumption and Thermal comfort in Buildings in a BIM framework

Team: Prof. Meghana Charde, Prof. Majid Hassan Khan, Prof. Shashank Khurana, Prof. Deepthi Mary Dilip

Nature: Research

Funding Agency: Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) Grant, BITS Pilani

Amount Sanctioned: 2,000,000 INR (~87500 AED)

Duration: - 2 Years

Status: Ongoing

3. Role: Advisor

Title: Frustum CAM in Medical Ventilators

Nature: Research

Funding Agency: SRISTI, in collaboration with BIRAC, Department of Biotechnology, (INDIA)

Amount Sanctioned: 75000 AED (~1,500,000 INR)

Duration: - January'21 - December'23

Status: Completed

4. Role: Advisor

Title: Extraction of Hydrogen from Waste Water

Nature: Research

Funding Agency: EXPO LIVE University Innovation Grant, Dubai (UAE)

Amount Sanctioned: 25000 AED

Duration: - February'18 - March'19

Status: Completed

5. Role: Co-Prinicipal Investigator

Title: Comprehensive analysis and customized solutions for Energy Auditing and Energy Conservation

Nature: Consultancy

Funding Agency: Star Cements Pvt. Ltd., Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)

Amount Sanctioned: 12000 AED

Duration: July'17 - August'18

Status: Completed

Sponsored Projects

Project title – Autonomous measurement and tracking of deep-sea plumes using swarm of heterogeneous underwater vehicles
Trust Area – Underwater Robotics
Funding Agency – Ministry of Earth Sciences, Deep Ocean Mission
Duration – 2 years (April 2024 onwards)
Grant amount – INR 87,43, 520/-

This collaborative research project between BITS Goa (Dr. Sarang C. Dhongdi), CSIR-NIO Goa (Pramod Kumar Maurya) and NIT Calicut (Dr. Rakesh R. Warier) aims to explore deep sea plumes with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The project focuses on various aspects such as underwater communication and networking techniques, co- operative control of multi-vehicular fleet, and effective navigation and localization techniques for the exploration of deep-sea underwater plumes.

Equipment - Evologics DMACE S2C Acoustic Network Emulator Box

Project title – Networked Marine robotic system for ocean exploration
Trust Area – Underwater Robotics and Networks
Funding Agency – SPARC
Duration – 2 years (April 2024 onwards)
Grant amount – INR 84,42,000/-

Project Title - Development of Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network for Monitoring of Coral Reef (BBF/BITS(G)/FY2022-23/BCPS-113)
Principle Investigator- Sarang Chandrashekhar Dhongdi
Co-PI – Prof. K R Anupama, Dept of EEE, BITS Goa
Thrust Area –Underwater Sensor Networks
Funding Agency – DST NM-ICPS
Duration - 01/09/2022 to 30/06/2025
Grant Amount - 34.86 Lakhs

Coral reefs are a very important environment that maintain a great variety of life forms and are indicators of ocean health. Currently coral reefs are monitored using divers and researchers have been collecting data periodically on environmental conditions. The current system does not provide real-time data through all seasons. In addition, it is invasive in nature. The main objective of the proposal is to develop an underwater acoustic sensor network which can be deployed for monitoring the regional coral reef non-intrusively and through all seasons. For deployment of this network, series of underwater nodes would be developed with the capability of sensing, communication, data processing and networking. Using these nodes an ad hoc self-configuring underwater acoustic sensor network will be built to monitor various parameters ocean environment using oceanographic sensors.

Project Title - Flying Ad hoc Network for disaster rescue operations (SERB SRG/2019/001204)
Thrust Area – Wireless Sensor Networks, Airborne Networks
Funding Agency – Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)
Duration – 2 years (Dec 2019 – Dec 2021)
Grant amount – 21.56 Lakhs

During the disaster rescue operations, such as fires in building spaces or natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes, mini-UAV’s can be deployed which can fly at much lower altitudes. At times, multiple mini-UAVs are required in the network formation for improving capabilities, reducing completion time of mission, and for allowing sharing of tasks among themselves. In this project, an autonomous network of multiple mini-UAVs will be deployed for an example of disaster rescue operations.

In this project, we developed a Flying Ad-hoc Network Simulator (FANS) platform. This co-simulator platform interlinks Network Simulator (ns-3) and robot simulator (Gazebo) with help of Robot Operating System (ROS).

More about it here -https://github.com/Sarang-BITS/FANS

: FANET applications

: FANS simulator

Project title – Design and Development of Underwater Acoustic Modem
Trust Area – Underwater communication
Funding Agency – BITS Pilani
Duration – 2 years (Nov 2018 – Oct 2020)
Grant amount – 8.88 Lakhs

In this project, an underwater acoustic modem will be developed for the shallow water UASN deployment. With two such modems, communication link will be tested between them by using a lab-based testbed set-up. Various modulation schemes, coding techniques and signal processing techniques can be tested using these modems.

: Water tank

: Hydrophone and Transducers

Project Title - Development of IoT system for monitoring gases
Principle Investigator- Sarang Chandrashekhar Dhongdi
Thrust Area –IoT
Funding Agency – BITS Pilani (Research Initiation Grant)
Duration – April 2018 to April 2019
Grant Amount – 2.0 Lakhs

Government Projects (International & National)

Ministry of Education, Government of India: "Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture" Prof. Navneet Goyal (Chief Project Manager), Prof. Poonam Goyal (Project Manager), Prof. Sanket Goel, Prof. Santonu Sarkar, Prof. Sravan Danda, Prof. Aneesh S Chivukula, and Prof. Rajesh Mehrotra, Consortium: Iowa State University, International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Space Application Center (SAC), Wadhwani AI, Pixxel, IFFCO Kisan Suvidha Limited, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Duration: 1 Year ( INR 2C).

Govt. of Victoria (Australia) VESKI-SMRP Project (Completed): "International Making data-driven quality management accessible to small scale dairy cooperatives in India" Investigators: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Suman Kapur (Hyd Campus), Prof. Poonam Goyal, Dr. Ashutosh Bhatia, Collaborators: La Trobe University (Australia), IIT Kanpur, SensaData Pty Ltd, & The Product Makers (TPM) Pty Ltd ( AUD $ 1,70,000 ).

United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) Project for hosting US expert under Full Bright Nehru Scheme(Completed): "High performance computing and IoT data analytics", Cordinator: Poonam Goyal ($11000)

CRG-SERB Research Project (Ongoing): "An automatic multi-modal learning system for image/video analytics" Investigator: Poonam Goyal (35 Lakhs).

MeitY Research Project (Completed): " A New Distributed Computing Framework for Data Mining". Investigators: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal & Prof. Sundar S. Balasubramaniam (120 Lakhs)

Industry Projects

Industry (Mercedes-Benz) Research Project (Jan 2024: Dec2024) (Phase II) "Mechanical Design using Generative AI", Investigators: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal, and Dr. Amit Singh (24.75 lakhs)

Industry (Adobe) Research Project (Ongoing): "Multimodal Learning" Investigator: Poonam Goyal (5 lakhs/problem/ semester)

Industry (Micron Technology) Research Project (Jan 2024: Dec 2024): Layout Automation Tool using Generative AI, Graph NN, and Deep Reinforcement Learning, Investigators: Prof. Poonam Goyal, & Prof. Navneet Goyal, (Budget: 22.40 Lakhs)

Industry (Founding Years Learning Solutions) Research Project (Ongoing): "Project SWATCH" Investigators: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal, Dr Manish Dave, Dr Jennifer Ranjani (21.373 Lakhs)

Industry (Mercedes-Benz) Research Project (Aug 2022: April 2023) (Completed) "Mechanical Design using Generative AI", Investigators: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal, and Dr. Amit Singh (8 lakhs)

Industry (Nucleus Software, Noida) Research Project (Ongoing): "Intent Analysis of Customers Based on Telephonic Conversations" Investigators: Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal (2.5 lakhs/semester)

Research Projects[SPONSORED]

Completed projects

MeitY-QCAL Project (Supported by AWS)

[May 2022-23] The following research proposal has been selected to grant credits for research work under Quantum Computing Applications Lab (QCAL), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY).

Title: Quantum Algorithms for Efficient Wireless Energy Transfer in Renewable Sensor Networks.

Team: Sainath Bitragunta (PI), Shantom Kumar Borah, Taha Raja, Raj Bhattacherjee

AWS Credits: $ 4,200.00

[2016-17] Research Initiation Grant

Title: Modeling, design, and performance analysis of device-to-device (D2D) wireless communication system

Amount: 1,00,000 /-

Sponsor: BITS Pilani, Pilani campus, Rajasthan.

Projects currently in progress

CDRF Project

TITLE: Green Quantum Computing: Benchmarking, Performance Analysis, Modeling and Optimization of Quantum computing algorithms and communication Protocols.

Research Grants

1

Consultancy for Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Project: Curating open educational resources for Interactive Flat Panels in Schools in Telangana (2023)

Role of the researcher: Subject matter expert for English

Duration: 6 months (June-December, 2023)

2

Title: English for the EDI generation: Predicting and tracking the role of English and digital/mobile technologies in Higher Education across East and South Asia

Duration: 3 years (2022-2025, I became a part on August 9, 2023)

Amount: 249,594 GBP

Funding agency: British Council

Role of the researcher: CO-PI (PI: Prof. Agnes Kukul-Hulme, Open University, UK)

3

Title: Relationship between TOEFL iBT and Academic Writing Practices in English-Medium Universities of South Asia

Duration: 1 year (Agreement signed on June 19, 2024)

Grant amount: 99,783.33 US Dollars

Funding agency: Educational Testing Service

Role of the researcher: CO-PI (PI: Prof. Tony Green, University of Bedfordshire, UK)

4

Title: IATEFL Projects Grant 2023 (‘ESL teaching strategies for linguistically diverse classrooms: An exploratory study’)

Duration: From May 24 2023 to May 2024

Amount: 1500 GBP

Funding agency: IATEFL (through FORTELL)

Role of the researcher: PI (Dr Jani Reddy as CO-PI)

5

Title: Swavalamban: A Co-constructed Online Professional Development Toolkit for English Language Teachers Working in Resource-constrained Schools in India

Duration: 6 months (September 16, 2022 - March 31, 2023)

Amount: £23,771

Funding agency: British Council

Role of the researcher: PI for India [PI for the UK: Dr Taslima Ivy from the University of Manchester, Project Partners: Dr. Gary Motteram (Expert) and Dr Felix Kwihangana from the University of Manchester, and Ms Shambhavi Singh (Project Coordinator), an independent researcher from India]

6

Consultancy for British Council

Duration: 1 year (March 2019 - March 2020)

Amount: 1.5 lakhs

Role of the researcher: Assistant Coordinator for AARMS (Aptis Action Research Mentoring Scheme)

7

Title: An Evaluative Study of ESP Programmes in India

Duration: Two years (06.10.2017 to 05.10.2019)

Amount: 1.70 lakhs

Funding agency: BITS Pilani

Role of the researcher: Sole investigator

8

Title: Aptis Action Research Mentoring Scheme

Duration: March 2017 March 2018

Amount: 1 7 1,990 INR

Funding agency: British Council

Role of the researcher: Sole investigator

9

Title: Using CEFR-based Bilingual Rating Scales to Improve the Writing Ability of ESL Learners

Duration: One year (December 2015 December 2016)

Amount: 1.48 lakhs Funding agency: British Council

Role of the researcher: Sole investigator

——————————————————

Research Projects

Research Interests

Machine Learning and Computer Vision
Renewable Energy Planning & System Sizing
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
IC Engines

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing:

2024 to 2027. As PI: DRDO-ARDB funded research project on 'Computer Vision-based Search and Surveillance System for Detecting Human Activity'.
2023 to 2025. As PI: DSIR-PRISM funded research project on 'Development of an Efficient Solar Distillation Apparatus'.
2023 to 2025. As PI: BITS-CDRF funded research project on 'Development of a prototype model for optimal load balancing strategy in a Peer-to-Peer energy trading network of renewable energy prosumers with economic benefits'.
2022 to 2025. As PI: DST-SERB funded research project on 'Development of a Cost Effective Solar Energy based Drinking Water cum Cold Storage Facility for Coastal Communities in India.
2022 to 2024. As Co-PI: HBL funded research project on 'Prediction of RUL (Remaining Useful Life) of the Lithium-Ion Battery pack using machine learning techniques for second life usage'.
2022 to 2024. As Co-PI: HBL funded research project on 'Regeneration of graphite anode and Li metal recovery from used LFP batteries'.
2022 to 2024. As Mentor: ANRF-NPDF funded research project on 'Synthesis of Transition Metal-Phosphate-Based Nanocomposites And Investigation of Their Applications Towards Thermal Energy Storage, Thermal Management And Solar Thermal Energy Storage'.

Completed:

2020 to 2023. As PI: DRDO funded research project on 'Machine Vision based Adaptive Quality Assurance System for Aerospace Vehicle Assembly Unit'.
2022 to 2023. As PI: DRDO funded research project on 'Design and Development of a Multi Sensor System for Health Monitoring of Defence Stored Article'.
2021 to 2022. As Co-PI: NVIDIA funded research project on 'Development of heterogeneous MPI-CUDA based parallel 3D fluid-structure solver'.
2019 to 2020. As PI: DRDO funded research project on 'Design and Development of an Automated Flow Calibration System for Fuel and Oxidizer Injectors of Reaction Control System'.
2015 to 2017. As PI: BITS Pilani funded research project on 'Development of an integrated approach for modelling and management of micro grid operations'.
2014 to 2017. As Co-PI: Centre for Research Excellence in Waste, Water & Energy, BITS Pilani funded research project on 'Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste for the production of biogas and concomitant use of biogas as fuel for cooking and spent slurry as fertilizer.
2014 to 2016. As PI: UGC funded research project on 'Design and development of an interactive decision support system for regional energy management'.
2013 to 2015. As PI: BITS Pilani funded research project on 'Design and Development of an Urban Energy-Water Optioneering Tool (UEWOT)'.
2009 to 2011. Team Member of a EPSRC funded ‘Ashford’s Integrated Alternatives’ (AIA) project headed by University of Exeter, UK from 2009 to 2011 (Completed on 31^st March 2011)
2008 to 2012. Team Member of a EPSRC funded ‘Regional Visions of Integrated Sustainable Infrastructure Optimised for Neighbourhoods’ (ReVISIONS) project headed by University of Cambridge, UK (Completed on 30^th September 2012, www.regionalvisions.ac.uk)

RESEARCH PROJECTS

ONGOING PROJECTS

Indo-Japan Bilateral Research Project by DST-JSPS (2023-2025): "Systemic delivery of senescence associated miRNA-3140 in pleural mesothelioma tumor by a multifunctional cationic nanocarrier" (PI) Recommended
Extramural project by ICMR (2019-2022): "Gel-based composite formulation containing asiaticoside and neurotensin for rapid healing of diabetic wounds" (PI) (25.67 lakhs)
DBT Builder project (2021-2026): Nano-carrier mediated targeted delivery of therapeutics to suppress epigenetic modulation in diabetic nephropathy (Co-I) (9.018 Crores)
DST sponsored Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs)- Member of the Bio-CPS team. "Exosome as prognostic and Diagnostic marker" (Co-I) (50 lakhs)

COMPLETED PROJECTS

Core Research Grant by DST-SERB (2019-2022): "Peptide tethered multifunctional cationic nanocomplexes for delivery of IL-1 receptor antagonist for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus" (PI) (40.46 lakhs)
Task force project under in Nanomedicine by ICMR (2019-2022): "Self-assembling, pH-sensitive temozolomide conjugate nanomedicine for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme" (Co-I) (25.12 lakhs)
Nano-intervention in Management of Opthalmic Diseases by DBT (2018-2022): "cRGD decorated lipo-polymeric nanoplexes of CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) for the management of retinal dystrophic conditions" (Co-I) (125 lakhs)
Extramural project by DST Nanomission (2018-2021): "Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived Exosomes as Biogenic Nanocarriers of miRNA and Chemotherapeutic Drug for Reversal of Chemoresistance in Breast Cancer" (PI) (Total-56.46 lakhs)
Extramural project by DST-Rajasthan (2016-2020): "Cyclic RGD modified lipopolymeric micelles for targeted delivery of Tamoxifen in ER+ breast cancer" (PI) (12.53 lakhs)
Young scientists Award by DST-SERB (2015-2018): "Nano-formulation of lysophylline-fatty acid conjugate for effective treatment of diabetes" PI (26.90 Lakhs)
BITS Research Initiation grant (2014-2016): "Development and Evaluation of Lipo-polymeric Micelles For Drug Delivery" (02 Lakhs)

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

1. SERB-CRG Project

Title: Development of Metal-organic polymeric nanostructure-based indicative electrochromic supercapattery: An energy storage smart window

Research Grant: 37.23 L

Funded by: DST-SERB, Govt. of India

Duration: March 2024- March 2027

Role: As PI

2. ICMR Project

Title: Development of Self-Powered Electrochromic SmartDisplay for Visual Detection of Folate Receptor Overexpressed Cancer Cells

Research Grant: 40.07 L

Funded by: ICMR, Govt. of India

Duration: February 2024- January 2027

Role: As PI

3. SERB-SURE Project

Title: Development of covalent organic framework-based Vis-to-NIR electrochromic smart windows for solar heat modulation

Research Grant: 29.956 L

Funded by: DST-SERB, Govt. of India

Duration: October 2023- September 2026

Role: As PI

2. DST-Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE)

Title: Waste-to-Energy: Technology Integration for Production of Clean Energy from Organic Waste (Theme 3 for BITS Pilani)

Research Grant: 581.27 L for Theme 3

Funded by: DST, Govt. of India

Duration: March 2022- March 2026

Role: As Co-PI

3. DRDO-LSRB

Title: Testing on-spot food quatity mainly focusing with detection of biogenic amines for the defence personnel using simple fluorophores

Research Grant: 28.89 L

Funded by: DRDO-LSRB

Duration: 10/09/2021 - 09/09/2024

Role: As Co-PI

4. DRDO-Contract for Acquisition of Research Services (CARS)

Title: Synthesis and characterisation of virantage VW10200RFP

Research Grant: 15.03 L

Funded by: DRDO-CARS

Duration: 18/10/2022 - 17/04/2024

Role: As Co-PI

Completed Projects

1. Industry Sponsored Project by Hyderabad Battery Limited

Title: Developing the Conducting Cathode Materials for Li-ion Batteries.

Research Grant: 7 Lakhs

Funded by: Hyderabad Battery Ltd.

Duration: Dec. 2018 to Nov. 2019

Role: As co-PI

2. Industry Sponsored Project by Hyderabad Battery Limited

Title: Developing the Zn-air battery

Research Grant: 13 Lakhs

Funded by: Hyderabad Battery Ltd.

Duration: May 2019 to Apr. 2021

Role: As co-PI

3. DST-INSPIRE Faculty Project

Title: Nanostructured metallo-supramolecular polymers for stable ultrafast electrochromic display device

Research Grant: 35 Lakhs

Funded by: DST, Govt. of India

Duration: 13th Nov. 2017-12th Nov 2022

Role: As PI

4 Research Initiation Grant

Title: Metallo-supramolecular polymer based self-powered electrochromic devices

Research Grant: 2 Lakhs

Funded by: BITS Pilani

Duration: 03.03.2021 to 02.03.2023

Role: As PI

5. Additional Competitive Research Grant

Title: Metallopolymer based electrochromic supercapattery: A dual performance smart windows

Research Grant: 10 Lakhs

Funded by: BITS Pilani

Duration: August 2021-August 2023

Role: As PI

Sponsored Projects

Name of the project: Design and implementation of algorithms for drone-based surveillance application

Funding Agency: BITS-Pilani (Research Initiation Grant)

Duration: 2020-2021

Status: Completed

Amount: Rs. 1.5 Lakhs

Role: PI

Name of the project: Design and implementation of protocols for autonomous FANETS for search and rescue application

Funding Agency: BITS-Pilani (Additional Competitive Research Grant for New Faculty)

Duration: 2021-2023

Status:Completed

Amount: Rs. 10 Lakhs

Role: PI

Name of the project: “LoRa-WSN- based IoT Communication Platform for Precision Agriculture”

Funding Agency: Technology-Innovation Hub (TIH), IIT Bombay

Duration: 2022-2023

Status: Completed

Amount: Rs. 25.289 Lakhs.

Role: PI

Name of the project: "Design and deploy a LoRa-based Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for precision agriculture application"

Funding Agency: Technology-Innovation Hub (TIH), IIT Bombay

Duration: 2022-2023

Status: Completed

Amount: Rs. 1.8 Lakhs.

Role: Mentor

Name of the project: " Computational Learning through Context Adaptation for Effective and Efficient Agriculture "

Funding Agency: National Science Foundation, USA amd Technology-Innovation Hub (TIH), IIT Bombay

Duration: 2022-2023

Status: Completed

Amount: Rs.2.48 Lakhs.(BITS-Pilani’s Share)

Role: Co-PI

Name of the project: " AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Soil Management for Diversified Agricultutre "

Funding Agency: ISRO Bengaluru under YUKTI-Sanchita Scheme

Duration: 2023-2024

Status: Ongoing.

Amount: Rs.18.53 Lakhs.

Role: Co-PI

Funding Agency: ISRO Bengaluru under YUKTI-Sanchita Scheme

Duration: 2023-2024

Status: Sanctioned.

Amount: Rs.18.53 Lakhs.

Role: Co-PI

BE Projects – Study Project / Lab Project / Design Project

Application of environmental impact assessment method for integrated solid waste management activities.
Implementation of Process Integration in LCA
Physicho-Chemical Analysis & Environmental Impact Assessment of Textile Industry Effluent
E- waste management
Life Cycle Inventory Analysis on Bio-Medical Waste Management between different Health Care Institutions of Southern Tamilnadu, India
Life cycle for coal fired power plants assessment
A detailed study on carbon credits and carbon footprints
Environmental rules, regulations and permits
Risk Management for Chemical Industries
Life cycle assessment for urea production plant
Life cycle inventory analysis for sugar plant
Role of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Nanotechnology
Implementation of Fuzzy Logic for Environmental Impact Assessment
Solvent-Solvent extraction of products from Carbon dioxide mitigation
Removal of heavy metals from waste water using graphene oxide based nano adsorbents
Non-photosynthetic conversion of flue gases (CO₂/SOx/NOx) in lab scale bioreactor
Experimental approach for design & development of anaerobic reactor for conversion of mess waste (solid waste) into bio-gas
Life cycle assessment (LCA) of RO systems
Estimation of emission factors from various data sets available in literature or other sources/ Bodies.
Life cycle assessment studies of flue gas
Life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) for comparative analysis for removal of flue gases from various methods
Development of effective technology for defluoridation of drinking water using nanoadsorbents
Solvent solvent extraction for the recovery of products from carbon dioxide mitigation
Modeling and simulation of continuous bioreactor for the CO₂ mitigation
Lab to pilot scale studies for effective development of biofilter system
Strategies of data collection for life cycle assessment of process
Life cycle assessment of fuel cells using Umberto Nxt tool (LCA tool)
Anaerobic digestion of food waste
Life cycle inventory studies of anaerobic digestion of food waste
Analysis of design parameters for anaerobic digestion of food waste
Life cycle assessment of fuel cells using Umberto Nxt tool (LCA tool)

S No.	Name of Candidate	Title of the Project	Date of Completion
1.	Isha Nagpurkar	CO₂Mitigation by Microalgae	December, 2012
2.	Pratibha Pal	CO₂ mitigation using mixed culture	December, 2013
3.	Garima Verma	Development of an efficient system for defluoridation of drinking water using nano adsorbents	May, 2016
4.	Siva Krishna	Reactive extraction of products obtained from CO₂ mitigation	May, 2016
5.	Harshal Dongre	Removal of trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) using biofiltration technique	May, 2016
6.	Ch. Ramakrishna	LCA of biodiesel production from microalgae grown in wastewater	May, 2017
7.	Akshay Khandelwal	Development of Continuous Bio-mitigation of CO2 and Recovery of Products (Fatty acids and Fatty alcohol) from Leachate	May, 2019
8.	Shrinidhi	LCA of Recycling Spent LiBs from Electric Vehicles	May, 2020
8.	Aravindh N.	Bio mitigation of flue gases (CO₂, SO_x, NO_x) through algal route	May, 2021
9.	Arjun S.	Experimental understanding and life cycle impact assessment of anaerobic digestion of food waste	Ongoing

Research Projects

Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Participation	Amount (Lakhs)	Year	Status
Process development for bio-mitigation of flue gases (CO₂, SO_x, and NO_x) using chemolithotrophs and production of value-added products.	SERB	PI	31.61	2019 - 2022	Ongoing
Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (Chlorinated VOCs, Non methane hydrocarbons, ethylene glycol) from waste streams using Biofiltration	DST- fast-track	PI	14.5	2012 – 15	Completed
Removal of Heavy Metals from Industrial Wastewater using Biofiltration	UGC	PI	5.50	2012 – 15	Completed
Experimental Studies on Bio-mitigation of CO₂	BITS Pilani	PI	1.2	2011-2013	Completed

Research Project

‘Ayushman Bharat: Outreach and Efficacy across States in India’, funded by ICSSR (ongoing). (Co-PI)
‘A Study of Ranking of Higher Education Institutes in India’, funded by BITS-Pilani (ongoing). (PI)
‘CSR Budgeting and its Consequences for Corporate Financial and Societal Performance’, funded by RWTH, University of Aachen, Germany (ongoing). (Co-PI)
‘Ancillary Benefits of Climate Policy Activities and their Assessment by Different Agents: A Consideration on the basis of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)’, funded by University Grant Commission, India and DAAD, Germany (completed in February, 2021). (PI)
‘Creating a Market for Indian Refined Gold’, funded by India Gold Policy Research Centre (completed in December, 2019). (Co-PI)
‘Preparation of District Development Report of Purba Medinipur District’, funded by Government of West Bengal (Completed in July, 2022). (PI)
‘Estimation of Import Elasticity of Gold in India’, funded by International Management Institute, Kolkata (Completed in May, 2016). (Co-PI)
‘Efficient Utilization of Funds at Rural Local Governments: the Case of West Bengal’, funded by Centre for West Bengal Economy, Jadavpur University (Completed in December, 2016). (PI)
‘Efficiency of VAT in West Bengal’, funded by Centre for West Bengal Economy, Jadavpur University (Completed in February, 2015). (PI)
‘Determinants of Stamp Duty Revenue in West Bengal’, funded by Centre for Training and Research in Public Finance and Policy, Kolkata (Completed in December, 2014). (PI)
‘Determinants of Stamp Duty Revenue in Indian States’, funded by Centre for Training and Research in Public Finance and Policy, Kolkata (Completed in October, 2012). (PI)
‘Valuation of an Ecosystem and its Impact on Livelihood Support: The Case Study of East Kolkata Wetlands’, funded by South Asian Network for Development and Environment Economics (Completed in December, 2010). (Co-PI)
‘Trade Policy and Increasing Return Based Agglomeration: Is There Any Evidence in India?’, funded by UNCTAD-Government of India-DFID Project, Young Scholar Programme (Completed in November, 2008). (PI)
‘Aspects of Behavior of the Multinational Corporations: Technology Transfer and Selection of Product Quality’, funded by Jadavpur University (Completed in February, 2007). (PI)
‘Globalization, Income Inequality and Regional Disparity : Analyzing the Indian Experience in the 1990s’ (with R. Acharyya, S. Marjit and S. Kar), funded by South Asia Netwok for Economic Research Institute, New Delhi. (Completed in February, 2006). (Co-PI)
‘Export Potential of Education from Jadavpur University’ (with J.R. Burman), funded by DSA Centre for Regional Economic Studies, Jadavpur University. (Completed in March, 2004). (Co-PI)

Research Project

Ongoing research project details:

Industry Sponsored

EON’s DINI (Diet-Infection-Nutrition-Immunity) Axis approach – Proof of Concept: Immunomodulatory Nutritional Intervention for CRC Management (PI)

Government funding

DBT Grant: Glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-targeted liposomal nano-platform for drug sensitization, EMT reversal toward effective treatment of aggressive oral cancer (Multi-Institutional Grant: PI), EON (May 2021 - May 2023)
DBT Grant: Antibacterial, host-modulating and regenerative nanofibers membrane for guided tissue regeneration (Multi-Institutional Grant: PI) (Nov 2022 - Nov 2025)
DST Grant: CRISPR mediated genetic correction of Sickle Cell disease towards clinical trials in a small patient cohort” (Multi-Institutional Grant: as collaborator with CSIR-IICT)

PI of research funding for fellowship

ICMR-SRF Project: Folate receptor mediated targeting of Oral Cancer: therapeutics and mechanistic investigation of tumor regression (PI).
JRF-Lady Tata Memorial Trust Award: Investigating the role of GR mediated liposomal delivery system against OSCC and Tumor Microenvironment for targeted therapeutics (PI)

Completed research Project:

In house sponsored project: OC3-Centre for Human Diseases Research (CHDR), Test the efficacy of SHR-mediated drug delivery system for oral cancer.
DBT Grant: Transgenic Embryonic stem cell models for studying the role of elevated levels of DNMT1 and DNMT3A in neuropsychiatric disorders funded by DBT, India. (Co-PI)
In house sponsored project: Development of personalized DNA markers in breast cancer patients for early diagnosis and prognosis using a non -invasive method. Seed Grant (Co-PI)
In house sponsored project: Screening of steroid hormone receptors and their ligands for targeted delivery of cationic liposome in cancer cells, Research Initiation Grant. (PI).

Collaborators:

Industrial collaborator: Dr. Anubhab Mukherjee, Principal Scientist, Esperer Onco Nutrition, Mumbai
Dr. Rajkumar Banerjee (CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad)
Dr. Madhusudan Rao Gummanur, (ACDS, Secunderabad).
Dr. Jyotsnendu Giri, (IIT, Hyderabad)
Dr. Venkata Srilakshmi P (NIT, Warangal)

Acknowledgment:

I thank Director, BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus for providing fund through CHDR. I also thank DBT, DST, ICMR, EON & Lady Tata Memorial Trust for sponsoring research grant/ fellowship. I sincerely thank my collaborators and highly appreciate their support in running our collaborative grants.

Research Projects

Principle Investigator: Uma S. Dubey

Title: Investigating the role of Aryl hydrocarbon receptors in mediating the anticancer

properties associated to camel milk.

Amount: Rs. 7,43,200

Funding agency: DST Rajasthan

Duration: 2016-2019

Investigators: Suman Kapur (PI) ; Uma Dubey (Co-PI).

Title: Functional Mutations in the Opiod Receptors and their impact on immune cell function.

Amount: Rs. 55.76 Lakhs

Funding Agency: ICMR

Duration: 2009-2012. Years

Uma S. Dubey (PI)

Title: A study on Immunomodulatory properties of Glycyrrhizin.

Funding agency: UGC

Amount: Minor grant

Duration: 2002-2003

ONGOING PROJECTS

1. SERB-CRG: 38.32 Lakhs (December 2021-November 2024) [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Enriching Unnatural Amino Acids (UAAs) Toolkit via Transition-metal Catalyzed Site Selective Functionalization/Annulation of Distal C(sp2)-H bonds

2. CSIR-EMR: 27.14 Lakhs [July 2021-July 2024) [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Metal-catalyzed and metal-free strategies for the synthesis of of modified bile acids as novel anticancer agents

3. SERB-CRG: 36 Lakhs (February 21, 2023: Approval Letter Received) [as a Co-Investigator] [Principal Investigator: Dr. Deepak Chitkara]

Title: Novel non-viral vectors comprising functionalized-lipids and amphiphilic polymers for delivery of mRNA-based Therapeutics

COMPLETED PROJECTS

1. Research Initiation Grant: BITS Pilani: 2 Lakhs [May 2012-May 2014] [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Design & Synthesis of Bile acid-Nucleosides conjugates linked via amino acids as potential anticancer agents.

2. UGC Startup Grant: University Grant Commission: 6 Lakhs [April 2013-March 2015] [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Novel α-Amino, α-Aminoxy and α-Hydrazino acids Linked Bio-conjugates: Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation.

3. BITS SEED Grant: BITS, Pilani: 9.80 Lakhs [February 2012-February 2014] [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Design of Ionic Liquid linked Benzotriazoles as useful Synthetic Auxiliaries in Organic Synthesis.

4. DST fast track: 24.7 Lakhs [September 2013-September 2016] [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Design of Synthetically Tunable Azino-fused Chromene Conjugates as Potential Organogelators

5. BITS Additional Research Grant: 4.5 Lakhs [February 2016-February 2018] [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Design and Synthesis of Multi-functional Smart Low Molecular Weight Gelators (LMWGs)

6. SERB-CRG: 33.28 Lakhs [October 2017-February, 2021) [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Transition metal-catalyzed synthesis of fused heterocycles via C-C/C-N bond forming strategies

7. Joint Industrial Project with Sub Pharmaceuticals Limited: 14.5 Lakhs (January 2021-January 2023) [as Principal Investigator]

Title: Design and Synthesis of API Impurities-II

Research Profile

Research Interests:

Microwave Engineering
Antenna Design (High Power Microwave)
Waveguide Component Design
Surface wave transmission line
Microwave Sensor development

Microwave Research Facilities in EEE Department:

CST Microwave Studio (Simulation Software)
Vector Network Analyzer (18 GHz),
Anechoic Chamber (Antenna Testing)
Microwave Signal Generator (12 GHz)
ADLAM Pluto SDR Kits
Multiple antenna experiment kits
Waveguide test benches, RF cables, RF Connectors.

Research Projects:

(1) Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) scheme of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, sponsored Project titled " Microfludic Device for Blood Plasma Separation and detection of Rheumatoid Arthritis Markers. Project Investigators: Prof. Siddhartha Tripathi (Mechanical Engineering), Prof. Ashish Chittora (EEE Department). [Duration: Aug., 2024 to July, 2026]

(2) Industrial Consultancy Project for Intel Technology India pvt. ltd. Project Investigator : Ashish Chittora , Co-PI: Prof. M. K. Deshmukh [Duration: Feb., 2021 to March, 2022]

(3) Additional Competitive Research Grant from BITS, Pilani for Project titled "High power compact UWB TEM antenna and mode converter design " [Nov. 2018 to Oct. 2020]

Research Projects

Role and Name of the project	Funding agency	Sanctioned	Date of completion	Amount in Rs.	Duration
PI Mapping Institutions, Rules, and Norms Defining Commons	Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)	July 2024	June 2025	Rs. 24,50,000	1 year
PI Remote sensing enabled public policy analysis of air-pollutants in peri-urban environments: An Indo- Australian case study – (RESPIRE)	Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN) La Trobe University	March 2021	March 2026	Rs. 14,88,000	5 years
Co-I Team III: Waste-to-Energy: Technology Integration for production of clean energy from organic waste	DST (PURSE 2020 program) TPN-57086	February 2021	February 2025	Rs. 26.0 Crores	4 years
Project Partner- Institutional Changes for Rural Innovation: The Civic Space and the State in India, the 1980s through 2010s	Ford Foundation	September 2020 (Completed)	May 2023	Rs. 68,40,000 (US $ 95,000)	2 Years
Principal Investigator (PI)- Alternative ways of understanding ecological conservation practices to enable justice for all	NALSAR, Hyderabad	September 2018 (Completed)	June 2019	Rs. 2,95,000	8 months
Principal Investigator (PI)- Resistance to the Western Ghats Conservation and Undercurrents: A study of the people’s protest and the role of the local bodies in Idukki, Kerala	Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Kerala	September 2018 (Completed)	March 2020	Rs. 3,15,000	16 months
Principal Investigator (PI)- Political Ecology of South India	Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA)	August 2017 (Completed)	August 2022	Rs. 22,80,000	5 years
Principal Investigator (PI)- Alternative ecological ways of being	Research Initiation Grant	August 2018 (Completed)	August 2020	Rs. 2,00,000	2 years

Sponsored Research Projects

4. Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of Telecom Centre of Excellence India: – Project Title: "Joint Networking, Sensing, and Compute on Demand over 6G: A Use-case for Ubiquitous Landslide Detection and Prevention (LandSense)", (Total Amount: INR 255.12 Lakhs, Amount sanctioned to BITS – INR 68.43 Lakhs), Co-PI: Raghuram Ammavajjala, (PI- Dr. Basabdatta Palit, NIT Rourkela, Other Co-PIs: Dr. Sandip Chakraborty, IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Anasua GuhaRay, BITS Hyderabad), Duration: 2024-2027, sanctioned.

3. National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC): Project Title: “Sustainable Geomaterials: A Key to Foundation Decarbonization and Ground Improvement". (Amount: INR 30.35 lakhs) PI: Raghuram Ammavajjala, Co-PI: Dr. Anasua GuhaRay, Duration: 2023-2025.

2. New Faculty Seed Grant (NFSG): BITS- Pilani Hyderabad Campus - Project Title: “An Experimental and Numerical Evaluation of MSW Incinerated Bottom Ash Based Capillary Barrier System for Stabilizing Rainfall Induced Landslides.". (Amount: INR 18 lakhs) PI: Raghuram Ammavajjala, Duration: 2023-2025.

1. Research Initiation Grant (RIG): BITS- Pilani Hyderabad Campus - Project Title: “Modelling the Influence of Climate Change on the Stability of Soil Slopes". (Amount: INR 2 lakhs) PI: Raghuram Ammavajjala, Duration: 2023-2025.

Ongoing projects

DBT - Ramalingaswami Fellowship Project (2019-2024) [PI]

Exploring known and novel HSPs and HSFs in a thermotolerant plant Prosopis cineraria by genome-wide studies, and application of genome editing for enhanced heat stress tolerance in rice.

BITS - Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) (2023-2025) [PI]

Growth assessment, phenotyping and biochemical characterization of edible desert plants with machine learning approaches for environmental impact evaluation

Completed projects

DST-SERB - Start-up Research Grant (2022-2023) [PI]

Root system architecture and root-omics during drought and thermotolerance in Prosopis cineraria, a promising plant of desert

Research Initiation Grant (2021-2022) by BITS Pilani

Ongoing Projects

Sustainable Reclamation: From Battery Spent Materials to Valuable Components: Rs. 1,00,00,000 (2025-2027)

Funding: Rubamin Private Limited (PI: Prof. Afkham Mir)

Waste cooking oil biodiesel microemulsion as a sustainable alternative fuel for CI engines: Rs. 2,00,000 (2023-2025)

Funding: SPARKLE Grant, BITS Pilani

Research Projects

Ongoing Projects

“Development of Deterioration Model for Top-Down Cracking in Bituminous Surfaces” (Rs. 1,55,10,000/- as a Principal Investigator and Dr. Akshay Gundla as a Co-Principal Investigator) as a part of the Project - “Development of Damage Prediction-based Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guidelines for India” (Rs.10,58,69,000/-) sponsored by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, New Delhi (March 2023 to December 2026)
Mitigation strategy to counter top-down cracking due to non-uniform contact stresses in Flexible Pavements (Rs. 26,50,000/- as a Principal Investigator and Dr. Chandu Parimi as a Co-Principal Investigator). Sponsored by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi (August 2020 - December 2023).

Completed Projects

Experimental investigation of half warm asphalt mixture using polymer bitumen emulsions - laboratory studies (Rs. 2,00,000/- as a Principal Investigator) Research Initiation Grant (RIG400) sponsored by BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. Start date: 4th September 2015 Date of completion: 31st March 2018.
Preparation of state-of-the-art report (SOAR) on utilization of higher percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in hot asphalt mixes (HAM) with warm mix additives - laboratory and field evaluation (Rs. 6,25,000/ - as a Principal Investigator) - Sponsored by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H). Start date: 15th September 2017 Date of Completion: 23rd January 2019.
Semi field evaluation of geo-composite drainage layer (GDL) as a sub - base for sustainable pavement construction (Rs. 4,00,000/ - as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by M /s. Strata Geosystems (India) Private Limited, Mumbai. Start date: 15th December 2019 End date: 15th June 2021.
Laboratory performance of bituminous mixtures with shell bio-based additive (Rs. 8,61,400/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by Shell India Markets Private Limited, Bangalore. Start date: 21st December 2021 - End date: 31st December 2022
Feasibility study to assess the use of waste plastic aggregate in the design and performance of BC-I and BC-II mixtures for sustainable pavements (Rs. 6,50,000/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by K.K Waste Management Private Limited, Bengaluru, India. Start date: 1st September 2021 - End date: 31st August 2022.
Field Evaluation on the Effect of Binder Reduction due to Traffic Movement and its effect on Binder Aging (Rs. 9,90,000/ - as a Principal investigator and Dr. Prasanta Sahu as a Co-Principal Investigator) - Sponsored by the office of Engineer - in - Chief, Roads and Buildings Department, Government of Telangana. Start date: 1st June 2019. End date: 31st May 2021.
Evaluation of the efficiency of Bacterial Inclusions in Concrete (Rs. 11,70,000/- as a Co-Principal Investigator and Dr. Arkamitra Kar as a Principal Investigator), Sponsored by M/s. Aliens Group, Hyderabad. Start date: 10th August 2019 - End date: 9th August 2022.

Consultancy Projects

Six Laning of National Corridor NH 19 from Panagarh to Palsit from Km. 521+120 to Km. 588+870 (Total Design Length 67.750 Km) in the state of West Bengal under Bharatmala Pariyojana Civil & Associated works on EPC basis - Vetting of Bituminous mix designs (7 mixture designs, Rs. 2,06,500/- as Principal Investigator).
Vetting of SMA Design Mix, Rutting rectification works of E Taxi GMR Airfield (Rs. 1,41,600/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by the Vishwasamudra India Pvt Ltd., Telangana. Start date: October 2022
Rutting Analysis for BC-I mix using HINCOL PMB as per AASHTO T324 (Rs. 88,500/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by the HG Infra Engineering Ltd. Start date: September 2022
Design of Bituminous mixture as per BC-I grading with PG76E-10 binder for Mancherial site, Telangana State (Rs. 88,500/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by the TikkiTar-Shell India, Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Start date: August 2022 – Date of completion: September 2022.

Design of Bituminous mixture as per BC-II grading with PG76E-10 for Radial road ext-7, R&B Department, Telangana State (Rs. 88,500/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by the Roads and Buildings Department, Radial roads, Government of Telangana, India. Start date: January 2022. Date of completion: March 2022.
Design of Bituminous mixture as per BC-II grading with PG76E-10 binder for Bijapur road, R&B Department, Telangana State (Rs. 88,500/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by the Roads and Buildings Department, Goshamahal, Government of Telangana, India. Start date: January 2022. Date of completion: March 2022.
The assessment of the quality of VG30, VG40, PMB40, and PG76E-10 grade binders (Rs. 1,29,300/- Principal Investigator). Sponsored by M/s. Bitumen Corporation India (BITCOL) Pvt Ltd, Mumbai. Start date: November 2021. Date of completion: February 2022.
Design of Bituminous mixture as per BC-I grading with both the PG76E-10 and VG30 binders for Yadadri temple flyover, R&B Department, Telangana State (Rs. 88,500/- as a Principal Investigator). Sponsored by Roads and Buildings Department, Bhongiri, Government of Telangana, India. Start date: November 2021. Date of completion: December 2021.
Collection of additional Bituminous core samples from the Agapally to Kalwakurthy road as a part of the quality audit (Rs. 66,080/- as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by the office of Engineer-in-Chief, Roads and Buildings Department, Government of Telangana. Start date: January 2021. Date of completion: February 2021.
Testing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) material for bituminous mixtures (Rs. 27,750/- as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by M/s. Ashoka Buildcon, Nashik. Start date: July 2017. Date of completion: August 2017.
Collection of additional Bituminous core samples from the Maheswaram gate to Thimmapuram road as a part of the quality audit (Rs. 59,000/- as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by the office of Engineer-in-Chief, Roads and Buildings Department, Government of Telangana. Start date: January 2021. Date of completion: February 2021.
Assessment of damages to the highway property at GMR Pochampalli expressway on NH - 44 (Rs. 3,10,000/- as a Principal investigator) sponsored by M/s. Team Insurance Surveyors and Loss, New Delhi. Start date: October 2020. Date of completion: March 2021.
Inspection and quality audit report for the roads from Maheshwaram gate to Thimmapuram road and Agapally to Kalwakurthy Road (Rs. 2,50,000/- as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by the office of Engineer-in-Chief, Roads and Buildings Department, Government of Telangana. Start date: February 2020. Date of completion: October 2020.
Consultancy report on repair of rain-damaged stabilized Wet Mix Macadam (WMM) layer near Lucknow, Basti, UP. (Rs. 47,200/- as a Principal investigator) Sponsored by M/s. P.P. Pandey Infrastructure Private Limited, Lucknow. Start date: January 2020. Date of completion: February 2020.
Testing of soil for Palamuru RangaReddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) project (Rs. 81,96,000/- as a Member). Sponsored by M/s. Palamuru RangaReddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), Irrigation Department, Telangana State. Start date: October 2016 Date of completion: September 2019.
Laboratory Testing of Aggregate (Rs. 1,29,800/- as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by M/s. Palamuru RangaReddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), Irrigation Department, Telangana State. Start date: August 2017. Date of completion: October 2017.
Bitumen & Aggregate Testing (Rs. 51,000/- as a Principal investigator). Sponsored by M/s. Ashoka Buildcon, Nashik. Start date: August 2018. Date of completion: October 2018.
Proof Checking of Vehicle UnderPass (VUP) (Rs. 1,80,000/- as a Member). Sponsored by M/s. GeoSewa, Hyderabad. Start date: December 2017 - Date of completion: March 2018.
Proof checking of Bridges (Rs. 11,21,000/- as a Member). Sponsored by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services. Start date: August 2017 - Date of completion: November 2017.

Completed Projects

Experimental evaluation of the effectiveness of DeCarb - Plus Diesel fuel conditioner (Additive): Rs. 1,23,900 (2024)

Funding: Le Gazole Plus Eco Solutions Private Limited (Consultancy project with Prof. Sandip Deshmukh)

Development of alcohol-gasoline-water microemulsion fuels for spark-ignition engines: Rs. 9,50,000 (2021-2023)

Funding: Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani

Microemulsion fuels as an alternate for spark ignition engines: Rs. 2,00,000 (2021-2023)

Funding: Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani

Sponsored Research

Project Title : Development of a Deterioration Model for Top-Down Cracking in Bituminous Pavements

Role: Co-PI (PI - Prof. Sridhar Raju)

Funding Agency - Ministry of Roads Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India

Grant Amount : INR 1.55 Crore

Research Interests

Approximation Algorithms
Theoretical Computer Science
Computational Geometry

Research Funding (2017-present)

Ongoing Projects:

February, 2023- present: PI/ Understanding the onset and progression of Parkinson's disease via regulating mitochondrial dynamics. (Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India)

2020- Present: Co-PI: To study and gain mechanistic insights into the regulation of Salmonella pathogenesis by endogenous CRISPR-Cas system." PI: Prof. Sandhya Marathe, (Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, Pilani), and Dr. Vidya Negi (NIT, Rourkela, Current Affiliation for Dr. Negi: IISER Mohali) [Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India)

Completed Projects:

2019-2021:PI/ Understanding the genetic interactions of parkin and α-Synuclein affecting pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease”. (Start Up Research Grant, from Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India)

2019-2021: PI/ Insights into genetic interactions manifesting into onset and progression of Parkinson’s Disease. (Additional Competitive Research Grant for new faculty at BITS Pilani)

2017-2019: Research Initiation Grant at BITS Pilani

Sponsored Research Projects

Principal Investigator: Development of a Digital Ecosystem for Leather Authentication and Species Identification, Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India: 3 Years, January 2023- January 2026, and 30.77 Lakh (INR). [Ongoing]
Principal Investigator: Development of FPGA-Based Dynamically Reconfigurable Smart-NIC with Accelerator IPs For Efficient Distributed Hardware Acceleration, Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS Pilani: 2 Years, January 2024- January 2026, and 30.00 Lakh (INR). [Ongoing]

Principal Investigator: MPSoC Based Automated Digital Signal Processing System for Tokamak Reflectometry, Mega Science Scheme Committee, Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS), Govt. of India: 3 Years, April 2021- March 2024, and 25.29 Lakh (INR). [Completed]
Mentor: Image Processing and Machine Learning Techniques for Species Identification, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), RSP: 4 years, July 2019 - June 2023, and approx. 23 Lakh (INR). [Completed]
Principal Co-Investigator: Development of Remotely Configurable Arbitrary Ramp Generator for FMCW Reflectometry, Plasma and Fusion Research Committee, Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS), Govt. of India: 2 Years, April 2017- March 2019, and 28.025 Lakh (INR). [completed]
Principal Investigator: FPGA Based Fuzzy Logic Picomotor Controller for Laser Beam Pointing Stability Correction, Plasma and Fusion Research Committee, Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS), Govt. of India: 2 Years, April 2016- March 2018, and 24.46 Lakh (INR). [completed]
Principal Investigator: Design and Analysis of MEMS Switches for the Arc-less Operation and Control of Electric Energy Processing Systems, Additional Competitive Research Grant (BITS-Pilani): 2 Years, August 2015 – August 2017, and 7.50 Lakh (INR).[completed]
Principal Investigator: Hardware Implementation of Time Frequency Distribution of Mirnov Oscillations in Tokamak Using the Hilbert-Huang Transform, Board of Research in Fusion Science & Technology (BRFST), Government of India: 2 Years, September 2012 – August 2014, and 22.58 Lakh (INR). [completed]
Co-Investigator: Analysis of Motherboard Manufacturing Process [Gigabyte make], D-Link Pvt. Ltd. Verna, India: May 2006. [completed]

Funded projects

Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani, Pilani, India (Sanctioned on October 15, 2018; duration: 2 years). Amount: 2 lakhs. Role: PI (Completed)

Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani, Pilani, India ( Sanctioned on January 7, 2020; duration: 2 years). Amount: 8.25 lakhs. Role: PI (Completed)

DBT -BME- (Phase-I Category) Grant, India ( Sanctioned; duration: 1.5 years). Amount: 15 lakhs. Role: Co-PI (Ongoing)

CDRF Project Grant: (Sanctioned, duration: 2 years). Amount: 20 lakhs. Role: PI (On-going)

SPARKLE Project Grant: (Sanctioned, duration: 2 years). Amount: 2 lakhs. Role: PI (On-going)

Projects

Ongoing Undergraduate Projects

Rahul Sitaraman, Keiara Nicole Goveas (Biotech)-Rheological studies of polymers(Laboratory Project)
Rishabh M Somani (Chemical)- Optimization of parameters for ion exchange membrane. (Laboratory Project)
Karthik Sairam M (Chemical)-Preparation of Intelligent films (Laboratory Project)
Shriyedita Ramesh (Biotech)-Preparation of intelligent packaging films from natural sources (Laboratory Project)
Sabreen Zama (Chemical)-Intelligent Films from natural sources (Laboratory Project)

Completed Undergraduate Projects

Kaeshaun Singh-Polymeric Membranes for water treatment (Laboratory Project)
Ummal Fahadha- Optimization of Hydrogel for dye adsorption. (Laboratory Project)
Swadha Rohit Garg-Preparation of Intelligent films (Design Project)
Swadha Rohit Garg-Preparation of packaging films from natural sources (Laboratory Project)
Kaeshaun Singh-Preparation and Characterization of Polymeric Membranes (Laboratory Project)
Ummal Fahadha-Preparation, characterization and Optimization of Hydrogel for adsorption application. (Laboratory Project)
Natasha Ranjan Basu-Formulation of an effective topical product with extracts of essential oils (Laboratory Project)
Yatik Mohan Thakwani- Preparation and Characterization of Biodegradable Packaging Films (Laboratory Project)
Siddhant Vinodkumar Singh- Oil-Water Emulsions Treatment by Adsorption Process (Study Project)
Swadha Rohit Garg- Extraction of Cellulose from Banana Peel to Produce Biodegradable Polymers (Laboratory Project)
Anisha Das- Preparation of Hydrogel for Treatment of Dye Water (Laboratory Project)
Karwa Anugraha Anand- Development and Application of a Biodegradable Film Enhanced by Date-Seed Extracts (Laboratory Project)
Gayatri Biju Manappully- Preparation and Characterization of Hydrogel for Absorption (Laboratory Project)
Natasha Kondatil Khader Shanavas- Water Treatment (Study Project)

Research Projects

Ongoing

As PI - "Study of emerging Pollutants in Driniking Water Sources " Funded by BITS, Pilani under Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) (Reference: C1/23/209 dated 15/09/2023) (2023-2025) ( Rs 30 Lakhs) (Joint PIs - Jagadeesh Anmala, Civil Engineering, and Prof. Krishnan R, Department of Chemistry)

As COPI -"Integrated physical-biological treatment of biopharmaceutical fermentation wastewater for ensuring environmental safety and circular economy" Funded by DST, Water Technologies Cell (WTC) under Optimal Use of Water in Industrial Sectors(OUWIS) for an amount of 41.93 Lakhs- (Nov 2023 - 2025) (PI -Prof. Sankar Ganesh, Department of Biological Sciences; Other investigators Prof. Mithun Mondal, Department of EEE and collaboration with Biological-E limited, Hyderabad)

Completed

As Co- PI - CSIR project titled "Experimental and Computational studies of Surface Water Quality Parameters from Morphometry and Spectral Characteristics" (09/2019-09/2022, Amount: Rs. 41,98,080) (PI: Prof Jagadeesh Anmla ; Co-PI Dr. K Rajitha)

As Co-Investigator for “Multiobjective Evolutionary Approach for Solving Water Distribution Network Design Optimization” funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India. (Grant No. 22(0723)/17/EMR-II dated 16.05.2017; May 2017-April 2020; Rs.18,46,000/-)

As PI - Research Initiation Grant of 2 Lakhs by BITS Pilani for the proposal titled " Suitability of available integrated surface and subsurface hydrological models with reference to India subcontinent having high evapotranspiration and large regolith storage" (2012-2014)

Consultancy Projects

Team Member for Testing of index and engineering properties of soil for construction of earthen dam as a part of Palamuru RangaReddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) and Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme (DLIS), Government of Telangana - - 81.96 lakhs - completed

Pilot Time Motion studies under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for Govt. of Telangana and Govt. of Andhra Pradesh April 2018- September 2018

PROJECT

Ongoing project entitled " Investigating the potential of using construction and demolition wastes as a raw material for the development of sustainable binder”, BITS-RMIT Collaborative Research Program, PI from BITS Pilani: Dr. Dipendu Bhunia, PI from RMIT: Prof. Guomin (Kevin) Zhang, 26.07.2024 to till date.
Completed entitled "Waste Management of Generated Sludge from Indian Steel and Steel Related Plants: A Sustainable Business Model" under Ministry of Steel, Government of India, as Co-Principal Investigator, Prof. Srikanta Routroy as Principal Investigator and Prof. Anupam Singhal as Co-Principal Investigator, Rs. 38,04,600/-, 20.11. 2018 – 31.03.2022.
Completed project entitled "Effect of Partial replacement of cement with marble slurry on concrete", DST-SERB, 01.08.2014-31.03.2018, 28.38 lakhs, PI: Dr. Anshuman, Co-PI: Dr. Dipendu Bhunia
Completed the project entitled "Investigation of the Effect of Carbonation on the Properties of Concrete" received from from DST, New Delhi Rupees 34 Lakhs, as a Principal Investigator and Prof. S.B.Singh (Co-principal Investigator), 30.07.2012 to 28.02.2016.
Completed the project entitled "Investigation into the Behavior of Coupling Beam" under the category of Research Initiation Grant of Rupees 2 Lakhs received from BITS, Pilani as a Principal Investigator and Prof. S.B.Singh (Co-principal Investigator) on 14.12.2011 to 15.12.2013.

Sponsered Projects

Research Initiation Grant: "Experimental investigation of suspended nano-solid particles lubricant in eco-friendly machining of turbine blade materials for better surface finish", Source:BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus Amount: Rs.2 lakhs.2014-16. PI
Additional Research Grant: "Heat transfer modeling of cold water mist at the cutting zone using FSI model in machining of turbine blade materials" , Source: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus, Amount: Rs. 9 lakhs2015-17. PI
Grant-In-Aid scheme of ARMREB: “Machinability assessment and material characterization of Tungsten Heavy Alloy Used in Defence applications as KE penetrators”, Amount: Rs. 16.87 Lakhs 2019-21. Co-PI, PI-Dr.Amrita Priyadarshini
SERB-CRG, "Enhancing Gas barrier properties of Type IV pressure vessel liner for Hydrogen storage", Amount:30.67 Lakh 2024-27, PI, Co-PI -Prof.Sujith

Funded Projects

Conference Funding

An International Conference- Sustainable Urban Water Management For Fast Growing Cities. Dated: 21-Oct-2024 to 23-Oct-2024; Assistance to Professional Bodies & Seminar / Symposia Scheme by SERB, Govt. of India. Fund: INR 2,00,000/

Sponsored Projects

Title of the Project: Analyzing the determinants of water stress, household resilience, and awareness for alternative water sources in Coastal India; Principle investigator: Prof. Suchismita Satpathy, Prof. Geetilaxmi Mohapatra. Funding Agency: Cross Disciplinary Research Funding, BITS Pilani. Duration: 2 years; Status: Ongoing.
Structured Dialogues for Sustainable Urban Water Management; WP 2 Anthropology of water; Principle investigator: Dr. Suchismita Satpathy; Co-PI: Prof. Biswanath Dash; Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST) India. Total Sanctioned amount: INR 57,26,400/ (Fifty seven lakhs twenty six thousand four hundred), Duration: 5 years ; Status: Ongoing
Title of the Project: Challenges to the scalability of women-led enterprises: A case study of the MSME units in Telangana State; Principle investigator: Dr. Suchismita Satpathy, Co-PI: Dr. Pranesh Bhargava, Dr. Thota Nagaraju; Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) India, Minor project 2022; Total Sanctioned amount: INR 4,00,000/ (Four Lakhs), Duration: 1 years Status: Completed
Title of the Project: Understanding commercialization of Breast milk from Sociological perspective ; Principle investigator: Dr. Suchismita Satpathy; Funding Agency: AIA Hyderabad; Total Sanctioned amount: INR 1,87, 000 (One lakh eighty seven thousand); Duration: 2 Years; Status: Completed
Title of the Project: Measuring Segregation in Hyderabad: Introspecting Multiple Indexes and Multiple Pattern; Principle investigator: Dr. Suchismita Satpathy; Funding Agency: RIG, BITS Pilani Hyderabad; Amount: INR 2 lakhs (Two Lakhs), Duration: 2 years ; Status: Completed

Sponsored Projects

Modeling the hydrodynamics of various wave energy converter devices in real sea conditions

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Sponsored

Agency

DST, Govt of India

Amount Sanctioned

35.00 Lakh

[01/04/2019 to 31/03/2024]

Mathematical modelling of oscillating water column wave energy converter devices under irregular and multidirectional incident waves

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Sponsored

Agency

SERB, Govt of India

Amount Sanctioned

21.87 Lakh

[25/02/2022 to 24/02/2025]

Hypersingular Integral Equation Techniques for Wave-structure Interaction Problem

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Sponsored

Agency

BITS-Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

2.00 Lakh

[26/03/2019 to 25/03/2021]

Modeling the Hydrodynamics of porous breakwaters in ports and harbors under irregular and multi-directional incident waves

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Sponsored

Agency

BITS-Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

7.00 Lakh

[19/09/2019 to 18/09/2021]

Making Transcripts and Lecture Notes for the Marine Hydrodynamics NPTEL course

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Consultancy

Agency

IIT Madras

Amount Sanctioned

55,500 INR

[01/09/2018 to 31/08/2019]

Modelling and development of hybrid solar-wave energy harvester (SOLWAVE)

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Sponsored

Agency

BITS-Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

20 Lakhs (Equipment) + Manpower (JRF for Five Years with Fellowship 37000 - 42000 per month)

[15/09/2023 to 14/09/2028]

Create and use of graphics in the teaching and learning processes

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Teaching and Pedagogy Category

Agency

TLC, BITS Hyderabad

Amount Sanctioned

0.5 Lakh (Adobe Illustrator Software License)

[2023-2024 First and Second Semesters]

Multi-objective optimisation for drone propeller designs

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

Sponsored

Agency

BITS-Pilani - RMIT University, Australia

Amount Sanctioned

One JRF for Five Years

Modeling the hydrodynamics of the oscillating water column wave energy converter (OWC) device in real sea conditions

Principal Investigator

Dr. Kshma Trivedi

Co Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

International Sponsored Project (Joint Research 2024, RIAM)

Agency

RIAM, Kyushu University, Japan

Amount Sanctioned

3.00 Lakh JPY

Develop 1:20 scale prototype of wave energy converter devices

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

SPARKLE Project

Agency

BITS-Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

1.00 Lakh

University Exposure Abroad 2025 (UEA) Program

Principal Investigator

Prof. Santanu Koley

Project Type

UEA 2025 BITS-Pilani

Agency

BITS-Pilani

Amount Sanctioned

Paid leave for 2 Months and Travel Support

2023

SERB SURE Research Grant (Funding Agency: SERB-GOI, 2023 - 2026) worth INR ~27 Lakhs.

2022

Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG) (Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, 2022 - 2024) worth INR 10 Lakhs.
Research Initiation Grant (RIG) (Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, 2022 - 2024) worth INR 2 Lakhs.

Ongoing Projects

Project Title: Doubling Farm Women’s income: Entrepreneurship development through post-harvest and technology integration in arid zone: Funding Agency: DST-SEED (ASACODER), Ministry of Science and Technology, GoI;Indian Institutions involved: CAZRI Jodhpur and BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus; Duration: 3 Years (June 2021-May 2024); Total Sanctioned Amount: 235.86541 Lakhs; Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 70.20841 Lakhs; Co-PI
Eco-Friendly Solution with Metal Recovery and Value Added Products from Stainless Steel Spent Pickle Liquor: A Zero Waste Business Model [Approved]; Funding Agency: Ministry of Steel, New Delhi; Industrial Partner: Jindal Stainless Limited; Institutions involved: CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur and BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus; Total Sanctioned Amount: 125.164 Lakhs; Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 34.614 Lakhs; PI
Climate Based Smart Prediction of Failure and Overflow Conditions of Buried Sewer Pipe , BITS -RMIT project. Project is approved. PI : Professor R Srinivas , and Professor Dilan Robert from RMIT University. Start year 2024. Co-PI

Completed Projects

1. A study on sludge minimization during the treatment of pickling effluent and sludge utilisation, Funding Agency: Aditya Birla Group, Principal Investigator, Amount: Rs. 10 lakhs.

2. GIS based characterization of ground water in Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi, Principal Investigator, Amount: Rs. 18 Lakhs.

3. Development of Copper Bio-Leaching methodology/technique from tailing waste at Hindustan Copper Limited, Khetri, Funding Agency: Ministry of Mines, New Delhi, Principal Investigator, Amount: Rs. 30 Lakhs.

4. Zinc Recovery from Industrial Waste using Bioleaching, Funding Agency: BITS Pilani, Proposal under centre of Research Excellence in “Waste , Water and Energy Management”, Co-Investigator, Amount: Rs. 48 lakhs.

5. Waste Management of Generated Sludge from Indian Steel and Steel Related Plants: A Sustainable Business Model”. Funding Agency: Ministry of Steel, New Delhi. (Rs. 38 Lakhs); Co-PI

6. Development of Advanced Environmental Engineering Laboratory including a Faecal Sludge Management Laboratory (AREL-FSM); Funding Agency: Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Veraval, Gujarat; Funding Amount : Rs. One Crore; Co-PI

Ongoing Completed

Projects Ongoing and Completed

Project Title: Edge-FL-based intelligent IDS to safeguard Sustainable HetIoT applications against DDoS cyberthreat, Funding Agency: University of Sharjha, UAE, Amount:10000 AED, Current Status: Ongoing, 2023-24.
Project Title: 100% Virtual Roleplay, Funding Agency: Trajectories Solutions, India, Amount: 16500 AED, Current Status: Ongoing, 2023-24.
Project Title: Distributed Deep Reinforcement Learning for Wireless Channel Allocation, Funding Agency: Israel Planning and Budgeting Committee and Israel Science Foundation, Isreal, Amount: 170000 NIS, Current Status: Completed, 2019-2020.
Project Title: Green and Secure Medium Access Protocol for WSN, Funding Agency: SIT and GISFI, India, Amount: 2500000 INR, Current Status: Completed, 2012-2015.
Project Title: Energy-Aware Medium Access Control for WSN, Funding Agency: Board of College and University Development,Pune, India, Amount: 160000 INR, Current Status: Completed, 2011-2013.

Strengthening of local soil using Fly Ash (Principal Investigator) Funding Agency : University Grants CommissionFunding Amount: 2,00,000/- Status: Completed (2013-15), Three journal publications based on the project

Projects Ongoing

Project Title: Characterization of Indigenous Cow's Dung and Urine for Scientific Advancement and Development of Utility Items
Association: Co-Principal Investigator
Sponsoring Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India.
Amount: Rs. 31,04,162/-

Project Title: Biomass Pellets/Briquettes Assessment in Gujarat & Maharashtra States
Association: Principal Investigator
Sponsoring Agency: Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute, Anand
Amount: Rs. 12,49,500/-

Projects Completed

Project Title: Modeling and Simulation of Viscose Flow through JetPack Assembly
Association: Principal Investigator
Sponsoring Agency: Aditya Birla Group, Birla Cellulosic, Kharach.
Amount: Rs. 5.52 Lakhs

Project Title: Production of hydrogen-rich fuel gas from Jatropha residue cake
Association: Principal Investigator
Sponsoring Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST) under FAST TRACK Scheme
Amount: Rs. 27.06 Lakhs

Project Title: National Mission Project on Education through ICT: Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes (Energy Technology) intellectual calibers and research in e-learning - Anchored by IIT Kharagpur
Association: Co- Developer
Sponsoring Agency: MHRD
Amount: Rs. 7.00 Lakhs

Project Title: Design and development of a novel biomass stove for cooking application
Association: Principal Investigator
Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus under Advanced Competitive Research Initiation Grant (ACRIG)
Amount: Rs. 9.00 Lakhs

Project Title: Experimental investigations on Catalytic Treatment of Producer Gas
Association: Principal Investigator
Sponsoring Agency: Ankur Scientific Energy Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Amount: Rs. 7.026 Lakhs

Sponsored Research Project

Research Projects (as PI)

Sr. No.	Project Title	Funding Agency	Period
1.	Synthesis and C-H bond functionalization of N-heterocycles employing novel pincer-type complexes of late transition metals	DST-SERB	Dec. 20 - Nov. 23
2.	Synthesis of heterocycle-fused chromenones and quinolinone through transition metal-catalyzed cascade reactions.	CSIR	July 19 - June 22
3.	Synthesis of novel N-fused polycyclic compounds through transition metal catalyzed cascade/C–H functionalization reactions	DST-SERB	Jan. 17-Dec 20
4.	Exploration of novel ionic liquid-supported sulfonyl reagents for organic synthesis	CSIR	July 13 – Dec. 16
5.	Novel synthetic methodologies for biologically important compounds using lanthanide triflates as Lewis acids in ionic liquids	UGC	Feb 11 – Jan 14
6.	Synthesis of novel ionic liquid supported reagents and their use in various organic transformations under eco-friendly conditions	CSIR	Aug 08 – March 12
7.	Novel safety catch linkers for solid phase synthesis of organic compounds with potential medicinal applications	DST	Sep. 07 – Oct 10

Research Projects (as Co-PI)

Sr. No.	Project Title	Funding Agency	Period
1.	Targeting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-COV2 for the development of inhibitors	DST-SERB	Aug. 2020 - Dec. 2021
2	Design, synthesis, and biological studies of novel cationic porphyrin hybrids as potential anticancer agents	DST	Oct. 2007-March 2011
3	Development of a novel synthetic method for anti-HIV drugs	Ranbaxy	Aug. 10 – Dec. 17

Case Study and Report Developed

Case Study Developed and Published

Published (July, 2020) in The Case Centre, Cranfield University, Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK

Jaipur Rugs: A Socially Responsible Supply Chain- Connecting Marginalized Producers to Global Markets (Case) with reference 720-0037-1 (Authors: Satyendra K Sharma and Srikanta Routroy).
Jaipur Rugs: A Socially Responsible Supply Chain- Connecting Marginalized Producers to Global Markets (Teaching note) with reference 720-0037-8 (Authors: Satyendra K Sharma and Srikanta Routroy)

Published (April, 2019) in The Case Centre, Cranfield University, Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK

AKSHAYA PATRA: Delivering Food to School Children (Case) with reference 619-0012-1 (Authors: Satyendra K Sharma and Srikanta Routroy)
AKSHAYA PATRA: Delivering Food to School Children(Teaching Note) with reference 619-0012-8 (Authors: Satyendra K Sharma and Srikanta Routroy

Reports Developed

M Thakur, S Routroy, MS Dasgupta, R Slizyte, EC Cowan, N Kaushik (2021), "Exploitation of ReValue results: ReValue Project Deliverable 4.3", SINTEF Ocean AS 2021-08-25, OC2021 A-072- Unrestricted, pp. 1-12
Dasgupta, Mani Sankar; Routroy, Srikanta; Bhattacharyya, Souvik; Sultan, Abdullah; Saini, Santosh Kumar; Gupta, Khushboo; Kaushik, Nutan; Widell, Kristina Norne; Tveit, Guro Møen; Thakur, Maitri (2021) ReValue Project Report Deliverable D1.1: Value stream map and supply chain interdependencies in India. ISBN 978-82-7174-375-8
Dasgupta, M. S., Routroy, Srikanta, Bhattacharyya, S., Sultan, A., Saini, S. K., Widell, K. N., & Thakur, M. (2020). ReValue project Report–D1. 3: Report on energy efficient refrigeration systems-Surimi case, ISBN 978-82-7174-394-9.
Dasgupta, M. S., Routroy, Srikanta, Bhattacharyya, S., Sultan, A., Saini, S. K., Gupta, K., ... & Thakur, M. (2020). ReValue project Report–Deliverable 1.2-Logistics and Cold Chain Management Concepts- A-094. RCN 978-82-7174-393-2
A K Vaish, Satyendra Kumar Sharma and Srikanta Routroy, (2019), “Evaluation Study of National Food Security Act 2013 in Churu District, Rajasthan”, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
A K Vaish, Satyendra Kumar Sharma and Srikanta Routroy, (2019), “Evaluation Study of National Food Security Act 2013 in Kaurali District, Rajasthan”, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
A K Vaish, Kishna M and Srikanta Routroy, (2018), “Concurrent Evaluation of NFSA 2013: A Case of Sheopur District, Madhya Pradesh”, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
A K Vaish, Srikanta Routroy and Kishna M, (2018), “Evaluation Study of National Food Security Act 2013 in Dungarpur District, Rajasthan”, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
A K Vaish, Kishna M and Srikanta Routroy, (2018), “Concurrent Evaluation of NFSA 2013: A Case of Neemuch District, Madhya Pradesh 2018”, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
A K Vaish, Srikanta Routroy and Kishna M, (2018), “Evaluation Study of National Food Security Act 2013 in Jhunjhunu District, Rajasthan”, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI

Sponsered Research Projects

Project On-Going

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Project Title: Development of Fodder Pellets Using Locally Available Leaves: An Approach to Doubling Farmer Income

Budget: INR 26.18 Lakhs; Duration: 3 Years; Agency: NABARD

Project Team:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Sushil Kumar Yadav ( Department of Pharmacy) and Co-PI: Prof. Srikanta Routroy ( Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Title of the Project: Design of Green Logistics System for Milk Supply Chain: A Business and environmental Sustainable Approach

Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

Project Investigators: Srikanta Routroy & Subhasis Pradhan

Collaborators: Dr. Suvanjan Bhattacharyya and Dr. Sushil Yadav

Sanctioned Amount: As per 2^nd Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) Call

Duration: 02 Years

Title of the Project: Study of the warehouse operations and services parameters to frame guidelines and requirements for Non-Agri warehousing service providers.

Funding Agency: Bureau of Indian Standards, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Govt. of India

Project Investigators: Prof. Satyendra Kumar Sharma (PI), Srikanta Routroy (Co-PI) & Krishna Manyur (Co-PI)

Sanctioned Amount: 6.6 Lakh

Duration: Six Months

Title of Project : Encapsulated PCM-based Magnetic Nanoparticles and AI Applications for Optimising Separation of Carcinogenic Industrial Solvents Using Solar Energy: Shaping Towards Sustainable Development

Research Team:

Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Suvanjan Bhattacharyya (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)

Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs): Prof. Ranjan Dey (BITS Pilani, Goa Campus); Prof. Srikanta Routroy (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus) and Dr. Saket Verma (BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus)

Duration: 01/04/ 2024 to 31/03/2026

Proposed Budget: 73,20,000 (INR)

Title of Project: Integrating supply chains in smart cities for enhanced community service: A business and environmental sustainability approach”-Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN), La Trobe University, Australia, 2021 - 2025. This is a collaborative project between BITS Pilani and La Trobe University, Australia.

Research Team:

BITS Pilani: Prof. Srikanta Routroy (PI) & Prof. Prasanta Kumar Sahu (Co-PI)

LA TROBE University: Prof. Sean Arisian (PI), & Prof. Aniruddha (Ani) Desai (Co-PI)

PhD Student: Selected to join in 01 August 2024

Project Title: Lean Supply Chain Designs to Reduce Food Waste for Business and Environmental Sustainability: An Indo-Australian Study

Research Team:

BITS Pilani: Prof. Srikanta Routroy (PI) and Dr. Prasanta Kumar Sahu (Co-PI)

RMIT University: Professor Prem Chhetri (PI) and Prof. Mathews Nkhoma (Co-PI)

PhD Student: Rishabh Gupta

Title of Project: Eco-Friendly Solution with Metal Recovery and Value-Added Products from Stainless Steel Spent Pickle Liquor: A Zero Waste Business Model

Funding Agency: Ministry of Steel, New Delhi

Industrial Partner: Jindal Stainless Limited
Institutions involved: CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur and BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Total Sanctioned Amount: 125.164 Lakhs

Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 34.614 Lakhs

Investigators in the Project from BITS Pilani:

Prof. Anupam Singhal as Principal Investigator (PI) and Prof. Srikanta Routroy as Co-Principal Investigator (PI)

Title of Project: Doubling Farm Women’s income: Entrepreneurship development through post-harvest processing and technology integration in arid zone

Funding Agency: DST-SEED (ASACODER), Ministry of Science and Technology, GoI

Indian Institutions involved: CAZRI Jodhpur and BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Duration: 3 Years (April 2021- March 2025)

Total Sanctioned Amount: 235.86541 Lakhs

Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 70.20841 Lakhs

Role in Project: Prof. Srikanta Routroy [Principal Investigator (PI)]

Title of Project: Opportunities and Challenges in Enhancing Farm Income through Farmer Producer Organizations

Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR, MHRD, New Delhi).

Duration: 2 Years (March 2022- 2024)

Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 7.5 Lakhs

Role in Project: Prof Srikanta Routroy [Co-Project Director]

Title of Project: "Design and development of crop residue-based roof insulation with Phase Change Materials for livestock rearing shelters: An environment-friendly business model for doubling farmer women’s income in Arid and Semi-Arid zones”

Funding Agency: DST, New Delhi.

Duration: 3 Years (February, 2023-January, 2026)

Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 40 Lakhs (Approximately)

Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. P Srinivasan; Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): Prof. Srikanta Routroy

******************************************************************************

Project Completed (06)

Title: Waste Management of Generated Sludge from Indian Steel and Steel Related Plants: A Sustainable Business Model

Funding Agency: Ministry of Steel, New Delhi

Duration: September 2018- March 2022

Amount: 38.046 Lakhs

Role in Project: Principal Investigator (PI)

Title: Innovative technologies for improving resource utilization in the Indo-European fish value chains

Funding Agency: DBT, New Delhi

Duration: 3 Years (2018- August 2021)

Total Sanctioned funding: 800,000 Euro

Amount Sanctioned to BITS Pilani: 62.092 Lakhs

Indian Institutions involved: Amity University; BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus (Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya (PI); Prof. MS Dasgupta (Co-PI) and Prof. Srikanta Routroy (Co-PI))

Institutions involved from other countries: SINTEF, Norway and Grupo CARINSA, Spain

Title: Development of e-waste management strategies for selected e-products in Rajasthan

Funding Agency: DST Rajasthan

Duration: 2018- 2022

Amount: INR 7.536 Lakhs

Role in Project: Co-Principal Investigator (C0-PI)

Title: Design of Healthcare Supply Chain for Enhancing Availability and Reducing Wastage of Generic Medicines for Rural Areas in Rajasthan.

Funding Agency: DST Rajasthan

Duration: Sept 2016-January 2021

Sanctioned Amount: INR. 5.886 Lakhs

Role in Project: Principal Investigator (PI)

Title: Design of Supplier Development Implementation Framework for Indian Manufacturing Industries

Funding Agency: UGC, New Delhi

Duration: 3 Years (2013-2016)

Sanctioned Amount: INR. 9.408 Lakhs

Role in Project: Principal Investigator (PI)

Title: Concurrent Evaluation of the implementation of NFSA (State: Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh)

Funding Agency: Department of Food & public Distribution, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi

Duration: One Year: Third and Fourth Quarter, 2018; First and Second Quarter, 2019

Faculty Involved: Arun Vaish, Srikanta Routroy, Krishna M

Sanctioned Amount: INR 7.2 Lakh

Academic (BE/ME) Projects

BE/ME Students work with me on the following broad project areas. Appropriate students with the required skills can approach me for the projects.

S.N.	Title of Project	Type of Project	Skillset Required	Outcome Expected
1	IoT and data-driven approach for observation and control of a power conversion system	Lab	CGPA>7.5, IoT, data-analysis, Basic Power Electronics, DSP/Micro-controller programming	Laboratory prototype
2	Microcontroller/DSP/FPGA-based control of Power Electronic converters for various applications	Lab	CGPA>7.5, Control Systems, Basic Power Electronics, DSP/Micro-controller/FPGA programming	Laboratory prototype
3	Study and development of applied power converters (like portable chargers, active filters, and modern loads)	Study/Lab	CGPA>8.0, Control Systems, MATLAB programming, Basic Power Electronics	Good review/Simulation/ Prototype

Funded projects

I have been working in power quality and renewable energy integration.

I have the following ongoing projects in this area:

As PI in "IoT and Digital Twin Enabled Enhanced Operation and Control of a Solar PV and Battery Integrated Smart Microgrid" funded by BITS-Pilani under the Cross-Disciplinary Research Fund (CDRF) scheme (Rs. 30 lakh), a cross-disciplinary project with Dr. Sumanta Pasari (Mathematics department, BITS-Pilani, Pilani campus) and Dr. Udayan Chanda, Management, BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus.

Following are completed projects:

As Co-I in "Development of Improved Design and Control Techniques for Unified Power Quality Conditioner with Distributed Generation" funded by Central Power Research Institute Bangalore (Rs. 21.09 lakh).
As PI in " Advanced design and control strategies for DSTATCOM integrated with Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage System" funded by BITS-Pilani under the Research Initiation Grant scheme (Rs. 2.0 lakh).
As PI in "Investigations on Start-up Methods and Operating Techniques for Distributed Energy Resource Integrated Distribution Static Compensator" funded by BITS-Pilani under Additional Competitive Research Grant (Rs. 10.0 lakh).

Sponsored Projects

Predicting OTT consumption behavior of the young Indian consumer based on their player type as per Bartle classification. Grant of INR 1,00,000 from BITS Pilani. January, 2021. (Completed)

Research

Research Areas

Big Data Analytics, AI for Education, Federated Learning, Computer Vision, Materials Informatics, Meta Data Analytics

Sponsored Research Projects

Project: Engineering GenAI for Vision Tasks

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Funding agency: Impact Sure Tech

Amount: 88,00,000 INR

Duration: 5 Years (Jan 2025-Dec 2029)

Status: On-going

Project: Impact of GenAI on Higher Education in India

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: WISE x IIE Global Research Consortium

Amount: 35,000 USD

Duration: One year (Aug 2024 - May 2025)

Status: On-going

Project: Development, Deployment, and Evaluation of LLM-based Educational Tools for educators and students in rural and underprivileged sections of India

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the CDRF funding scheme)

Amount: Rs. 20 lakhs

Duration: Two years (Aug 2024 - Aug 2026)

Status: On-going

Project: Resolving Bottlenecks of Cross-Device Federated Learning using Anytime Algorithms

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Amount: Rs. 9.98 lakhs

Duration: Two years (Sep 2022 - Aug 2024)

Status: Completed

Project: Utilizing web3 to construct a more efficient and participative advertising audience

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: BITS Pilani SPARKLE Scheme

Amount: Rs. 2 lakhs

Duration: Two years (Sep 2023 - Aug 2025)

Status: On-going

Project: Enhancing emotion and demographic inference for low-resolution video feeds in the Indian context

Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Funding agency: kwipic.in

Amount: Rs. 6 lakhs

Duration: Two years (2022-2024)

Status: Completed

Project: A multi-core framework for anytime mining of multiple high speed streams

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Research Initiation Grant for new faculty)

Amount: Rs. 2 lakhs

Duration: Two years (2021-2023)

Status: Completed

Project: A New Distributed Computing Framework for Data Mining

Role: Research Assistant (while pursuing PhD)

Funding Agency: MeitY, Govt. of India

Amount: Rs. 121.00 Lakhs

Duration: Three years, 6 months (2012-2016)

Status: Completed

Specific Research Projects currently working upon

Anytime Mining of Data Streams (Sequential and Parallel)
GenAI Applications for Tutoring and Evaluation
GenAI Applications for Vision/NLP Tasks
Human-Computer Interaction Studies to understand the Impact of AI in Higher Education

For Students

For Students at BITS Pilani who wish to apply for a project-type course (SOP, RP, SAT, thesis, dissertation, etc.) with me, the list of projects along with the prerequisites has been mentioned below (following subsection).

Students will be chosen based on the following criteria:

Sound knowledge of concepts related to the project (as per the pre-requisites given below for each Project).
Excellent programming skills in C/C++/ Python (Pandas, TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch, Django)/ JavaScript (React, NodeJS)
Strong paper writing skills and willingness to write a research paper with me (and not just code!).
Available to work for a year (or more).

I do not offer projects to students outside BITS Pilani.

List of Projects offered for 1st Sem 2025-26

Anytime Mining of Data Streams and Large Static Data

This Project aims at design and development of data structures and algorithms for anytime mining (classification, clustering, frequent pattern mining, anomaly detection) of data streams and large static datasets.
The above designs shall be parallelized for shared memory and distributed memory architectures.
Pre-requisites: Very strong coding fundamentals in C/C++. Students who are active in Competitive Coding are strongly encouraged to apply in this. Having fundamentals related to Parallel Programming such as MPI would also be benefecial (although not compulsory). Students having background of Data Mining Algorithms shall also be preferred.

GenAI Tools for Tutoring and Evaluation

This Project aims to build tools for tutoring and evaluation in higher education and K-12 education using Generative AI. The work involves building custom GenAI-based tools using prompt engineering, RAG & fine-tuning; conducting an HCI Study over those tools to understand their adaptability, and presenting them as a research article.
Pre-requisites: Basic understanding of LLMs and their usage, programming in Python / JavaScript to build rapid prototypes, good technical writing and communication skills.

GenAI Tools for Vision/NLP tasks

This Project aims to build Deep Learning and GenAI-based tools for various Vision and NLP tasks related to document archives.
Pre-requisites: Good Hands-on experience in writing code in python using Deep Learning frameworks such as tensorflow, pytorch, and good hands-on experience on using APIs of LLMs. Programming in Python / JavaScipt to build rapid prototypes is also essential.

Demographic Fair Federated Learning

This project focuses on developing a demographic fair federated learning framework that addresses fairness issues while preserving data privacy. Federated learning is a distributed machine learning approach that allows multiple parties to collaborate on model training without sharing their data, thus maintaining privacy.
Pre-requisites: Good hands-on experience writing code in Python with Deep Learning Libraries. Familiarity with machine learning algorithms.

To Apply

Please send your application via email along with:

Your performance sheet
A brief description of projects done so far
Your knowledge (theoretical and hands-on) of the relevant topics/technologies related to the project(s) you are applying for
Preference order of the projects you wish to apply for

Sponsored Projects

Project Name: RESilience-by-DEsign (RESIDE)—an open-source software tool for ranking cyber-attacks and performing quantitative safety-security risk assessment for critical infrastructures under adversarial attacks. Funding agency: Data Security Council of India (5.81 Lakhs), Time-line: 2022, Outcome of the project: Cyber resilience tool (Available freely at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bits.riskio), Role: Principal Investigator
Project Name: Predictor and Analyzer of Security Threats (PAST): A model based risk analysis framework for critical interconnected infrastructures. Funding agency: IHUB-NITIHAC Foundation (IIT Kanpur, DST, 18.14 Lakhs), Time-line: 2021-2024, Outcome of the project: Tool for Cyber risk assessment of interconnected architectures (http://afmt-simulator.com/), Role: Principal Investigator

Sponsored Research Projects

- 2017-18, "An Economic Appraisal of Renewables Versus Non-renewables: A Case of Rajasthan" project report submitted to Indian Council of Social Science Research [ICSSR], GoI. [Role: Principal Investigator]
- 2018-19, "Concurrent Evaluation of Implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013", Project sponsored by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI [Role: Co-investigator and total sanctioned amount is ₹7.5 Lakh]
- 2021-24, "Doubling Farm Women's Income: Entrepreneurship Development through Post Harvest and Technology Integration in Arid-zone", Funded by DST-SEED/ ASACODER, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India [Role: Co-investigator and total sanctioned amount is ₹2.35 crore]
- 2022-24, "Opportunities and Challenges in Enhancing Farm Income Through Farmer Producer Organizations: A Case Study of Rajasthan" Project sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research [ICSSR], GoI. [Role: Principal Investigator and Sanctioned Amount ₹7.5 Lakh]
- 2023-24, "Understanding Millet Crop Patterns, Productivity, Consumption, and Farmers' Income in Jodhpur and Jhunjhunu Districts of Rajasthan: A Study on the Year of Millets 2023 Scheme" Project sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research [ICSSR], GoI. [Role: Co-investigator and the total sanctioned amount is ₹5.5 Lakh] {Jointly with Venkatesha Murthy, Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur}

The reports of sponsored projects

2018, "An Economic Appraisal of Renewables Versus Non-renewables: A Case of Rajasthan" project report submitted to Indian Council of Social Science Research [ICSSR], GoI.
2018, "Concurrent Evaluation of NFSA 2013: A Case of Sheopur District, Madhya Pradesh, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
2018, "Concurrent Evaluation of NFSA 2013: A Case of Neemuch District, Madhya Pradesh, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.
2019, "Concurrent Evaluation of NFSA 2013: A Case of Gwalior District, Madhya Pradesh, project report submitted to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI.

Grants

International Travel Award - For delivering an invited talk and chairing a session at the Conference on Experimental Design and Analysis (CEDA 2023).

Funding Agency: Organizing Committee CEDA2023, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Amount: NTD 36106 + Accommodation and Registration Fee.

RIG - Algebraic and Computational Methods for Construction of Mixed-level Screening Designs

Funding Agency: Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Goa

Duration and Amount: 2 Year (2021-2023), INR 2,00,000
SERB ITS - 2015, International Travel Grant for DEMA2015, Sydney, Australia.
NBHM Travel Grant for ICIAM 2015, Beijing, China.

Research Activities

Are you looking for :

PhD Admissions

Visiting Scholars/ Researchers Program

Internship Opportunities

Research Collaborations - Send a mail for an interaction

Research Projects

Research articles published in collaboration with the CleanCo, AbuDhabi, UAE in high impact factor journal.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124692

Textile Industry wastewater treatment by moving bed biofilm bioreactors and photocatalysis” Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS Pilani, Vincent Shantha Kumar& Dr. Prakash Kumar (BITS Pilani Dubai Campus); Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri (BITS Pilani Goa Campus), INR 30 Lakh (AED:132,685) Sept 2023 to Sept 2025 (Ongoing).

Core Project Member, STINT (The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education), “Collaboration for net-zero emission targets of Sweden and India - Higher education institutions approach”, SEK 150 000 (AED 53,600), January 2023 – February 2024. (Completed)

Research articles published in collaboration with the Shimadzu Middle East in high impact factor journal.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133616

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.133194

"Development of Photocatalyst Embedded Graphene based Membranes for Treatment of Dye-Containing Wastewater under Sunlight" sponsored by Aditya Birla Science and Technology Co. Pvt. Ltd (ABSTC) Mumbai, April 2018- April 2020, 38,927 AED (INR 71.3 L), Co-PI.

McWane Gulf LLC, UAE have sponsored industrial cut valves worth 4,000 AED to Dr Prakash Kumar B G and Dr Amaranath G, as a token of appreciation for their safety analysis to predict TNT equivalency and potential damage to structures due to compressed gas cylinders in their industry.

"Treating waste water using pilot plant ", sponsored by Ocean Corner Water Treatment Equipment & Chemicals (L.L.C) Dubai, UAE (PI).(75,000 AED)

"Optimization of Selected High Yield Grass Species for Biomass and Bioenergy Applications Using Saline and Recycled Wastewater", sponsored by BPDC (Seed Grant), Feb 2017 - Jan 2020, AED 245,000, Co PI.

Cultivation of Microalgae using Tubular Photobioreactor for biomass production. The custom built photobioreactor is used for lab scale research on high quality microalgal biomass production for applications in nutritional supplements, biodiesel production and Carbon sequestration.

Research Interests

Solar Photocatalysis

Waste Water Treatments

Biofuels from Biomass, Activated Carbon from Biomass

Separation Processes

Journal Reviewer

Chemosphere (Elsevier)

Chemical Engineering Journal (Elsevier)

Carbohydrate Polymers (Elsevier)

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (Elsevier)

Groundwater for Sustainable Development (Elsevier)

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (Elsevier)

Professional Membership

Life Associate Member of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE)

International Visits

Attended Process Safety Faculty Workshop, conducted by American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) on 6th to 9^th Aug, 2018 at the Chemours Company, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA.

Delivered an invited talk entitled "Current Developments in Mass Production of Microalgae for Industrial Applications", at symposium on Current Perspectives and Challenges in Chemical Engineering and Technologies, May 14^th, 2015, Salalah College of Technology, Salalah, Oman.

B.G. Prakash Kumar*, Roseline and Lima Rose Miranda, “Photocatalytic Degradation of Remazol Brilliant Red by TiO2-UV Process”, International Conference on Chemical and Environmental Engineering (ICCEE 2012), April 25-26, 2012, Paris, France.

Ankit Sachdeva, Veena V.D, Meyyappan, N, Prakash Kumar B.G* ‘Reliability of Solar Energy System’, International Conference on Harnessing Technology (ICHT), Feb 2011, Caledonian College of Engineering, Muscat, Oman.

Prakash Kumar B. G*., Gulyani B. B., Vijaikumar B., Lima Rose Miranda, ‘Chemical Activation of Mango Seed Coat (Mangifera Indica L) – Preparation and Characterization’ Proc. International Conference on Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering (CBEE 2009), Oct 2009, Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore.

Sponsored Projects

Research Interests and Students

Groundwater Hydrology, Experimental Hydraulics, Contaminant Transport, Urban Flooding, Sustainable Water Management, Coastal Aquifers

Current Projects:

"Experimental and Numerical Study of Saltwater Intrusion Control Measures under Tidal Influence" funded by SERB-SURE (25.78 Lakhs)
"Instabilities in Upper Saline Plume and its Interactions with Pumping Well in Coastal Aquifers" funded by BITS Pilani for Research Initiation Grant.

Research Scholar:

Pratik Shashwat (Aug 2023 - )

Sponsored Projects

Sponsoring Agency	Amount
University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi	(completed)
FAST-Track Project, Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi [2012-2015]	(completed)
RIG, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani [2012-2014]	(completed)
OPERA-Grant by BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus[2014-2019]	For 5 years (completed)
CRG, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani [2015-2017]	(completed)
DST-SERB, New Delhi [2017-2020]	(completed)
DST-SERB New Delhi N-PDF Fellowship project to Dr. Sateeshvarma Vanaparthi[2017-2019]	(completed)
Praveen Lab. Pvt. Ltd., Surat[2019-21][Industrial Project]	(on-going)
DST-SERB, CRG-Project, New Delhi [2020-2023]	(on-going)

Ongoing

Design and Development of MEMS Gyroscopes for Naval Applications

Role

Project Type

Extramural

Agency

NRB DRDO

Amount Sanctioned

46.70 Lakh

“Neuronal” regulation of tumor cell migration- understanding the role of semaphorins in tumor cells undergoing EMT and subjected to differential flow dynamics

Role

Project Type

Extramural

Agency

SERB

Amount Sanctioned

54.16 Lakh

Design and evaluation of low-cost lab-on-chip noninvasive device for diagnosis of Psoriasis skin disorder: Investigation of skin elasticity in skin psoriatic disease condition and correlation with treatment efficacy of designed nanoformulation

Role

Co-PI

Project Type

Extramural

Agency

DHR

Amount Sanctioned

43.77 Lakh

Understanding the supercooled drop impact ice accretion dynamics under controlled environmental conditions and developing the anti-icing strategies for aerospace applications

Role

Co-PI

Project Type

Extramural

Agency

SERB

Amount Sanctioned

54.00 Lakh

Understanding the role of nuclear membrane associated proteins under differential flow dynamics driving EMT and survival of tumor cells

Role

Co-PI

Project Type

Extramural

Agency

SERB

Amount Sanctioned

40.42 Lakh

Development of lab-on-chip diagnosis tool based on electromechanical properties of skin

Role

Project Type

Intramural

Agency

CDRF

Amount Sanctioned

20.00 Lakh

Research Projects Ongoing/ Completed

(1) Title of the Project: Collaboration for net-zero emission targets of Sweden and India - Higher education institutions approach

Team Members from BITS: Dr. Vincent Shantha Kumar & Dr. Prakash Kumar (BITS Pilani Dubai Campus); Dr. Rajesh Mehrotra & Dr. Srinivas Krishnaswamy (BITS Pilani Goa Campus); Dr. Tribeni Roy & Mr. Manikantan R. Nair (BITS Pilani Campus)

Team Members from KTH Sweden: Dr. Shareq Mohd Nazir, Dr. Matthäus Bäbler, Dr. Amirreza Khataee, Dr. Frederico Penha & Ms. Pia Schmitt

Value: SEK 150,000 (AED 53,000).

Duration: 1 year

Funding Agency: STINT (The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education)

Status: Completed

(2) Title of the Project: Textile Industry wastewater treatment by moving bed biofilm bioreactors and photocatalysis

Investigators: Dr. Vincent Shantha Kumar & Dr. Prakash Kumar (BITS Pilani Dubai Campus); Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri (BITS Pilani Goa Campus)

Value: INR 30 Lakh

Duration: 2 year

Funding Agency: Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS Pilani

Status: Ongoing

(3) Title: Consultancy Project for NDTCCS

Role: Principal Investigator;

Duration: 4 Months, 2024

Value: AED 20,000

Funding: NDTCCS, Dubai;

Status: Completed

(4) Title: Consultancy Project for Barton Engineering FZ

Role: Principal Investigator;

Duration: 3 Months, 2023

Funding: Barton Engineering, Dubai;

Status: Completed

(5) Title: Bio-tribo-corrosion of Bulk Metallic Glasses
Role: Principal Investigator

Value: AED 90,000

Duration: 3 years, (January 2017 to January 2022)

Funding Agency: BITS SEED Grant

Status: Completed

(6) Title: Consultancy Project

Role: Principal Investigator;

Duration: 1 year, 2017

Funding: Indo-Gulf, Dubai;

Status: Completed

Funded Projects

Ongoing/ completed projects

Formulation of bio-functionalized cosmetic emulsions using biosurfactant and essential oil as green ingredients (DST SERB) PI (Aug 2018 to July 2021) (Completed) Equipments Purchased in this project: Shaking Incubator 5- 80 °C (LE-TT-A, Scigenics), High Speed Cooling centrifuge, (NEYA 16 R, Remi), Ultrsonicator (Qsonica), High Speed Homogenizer (IKA)

Improvement in Feni/Urrak production (DST-GOA) Co-PI (2017-2019) PI : Prof SD Manjare (Completed) Equipment/-s Purchased in this project: Environmental Shaker (Remi), Glass distillation setup

Isolation and characterization of biopolymer producing bacteria, and media optimization based on cheaper substrates for the optimal production of biopolymer (PI) ACG, BITS Pilani (2018-2019) (Completed) Equipments Purchased in this Project: Solar Bioreactor (Custom made); Shaking Incubator 5-80°C (LETTA, Scigenics), Biological cells filtration system (Tarsons), Magnetic Stirrer-4 places (Tarsons)

Bioremediation of Red mud using acidogenic fermentation byproducts and by Biopiling. (ABSTCPL) Co-PI (2018-20): Equipments Purchased in this Project: Mini Environmental Shaker), Bacteriological Incubator(Completed)
Microbial peptides for therapeutic applications(DBT Builder Project), Co-PI (2022-2027) (PI- Prof Utpal Roy)
Valorization of cashew apple and its wastes (Goa Energy Development Agency, GEDA (PI) 2023-2026 (Ongoing) CoPIs: Prof SD Manjare; Dr. Jayita Chopra; Equipments purchased in this project: UV-Visible Spectrophotometer

Unlocking the Potential of Green Cosmetic Nanoemulsions for Targeted Acne Vulgaris Therapy: Advanced Modeling and Optimization Strategies, CDRF BITS Pilani, PI 2023-2025 (Ongoing); CoPIs: Prof Utpal Roy & Prof Riju De; Equipments: LAF; Autoclave; high-speed emulsifier

Other Equipments: Equipments Purchased through RIG, BITS Pilani: Environmental shaker (Remi), Refrigerator (LG), Soxhlet extraction apparatus, Mini Centrifuge (Remi), Solar-Powered Bioreactor (Custom made), Probe sonicator (Athena make), Optical microscope.

Other facilities in the department: Laminar Hood, Autoclave (Prof SS Baral)

Sponsored Research Projects

Ongoing Projects: 03

Completed Projects: 08

R&D Lab Supported Projects

Deposition of Nanocrystalline Silicon (nc-Si:H) film using e-Beam evaporation
Supporting Agency: Indian Nanoelectronics User Program (INUP), IIT Bombay, Mumbai
Investigators: Ms. Prachi Sharma and Dr. Navneet Gupta
Status: Completed (July 2015)
Investigation of leakage current density and threshold voltage shift in ZnO TFT with high k-dielectrics
Supporting Agency: CSIR-CEERI, Pilani, Rajasthan
Investigators from BITS: Dr. Navneet Gupta; Dr. Chandra Shekhar and Mr. Kavindra Kandpal
Investigator from CEERI: Dr. Jitendra Singh
Status: Completed (May 2018)

Projects and content development

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Projects

Design and establishment of continuous neutral and weak acid zinc leaching pilot plant at CRDL of 20 liter leaching tanks capacity for laboratory tests at Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Debari. Year of completion: 2009, Approx budgeted cost: 5 Lack (INR).
Optimization of process parameters for improvement in magnesium removal section of zinc hydro smelter at Central Research & Development Laboratory, Debari (HZL). Year of completion: 2009.
Dynamic simulation of shell and tube heat exchanger using HTRI simulation tool at Technip India Ltd., Chennai. Year of completion: 2008.
Study of sulfur recovery unit process at Technip India Ltd., Chennai. Year of completion: 2008.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Content Development

Content development of Fluid Mechanics & Machine course- Total Nine (9) modules.
Course repackaging of the Fluid Mechanics & Machine course consisting of teacher notes, student notes, and multiple choice questions.
Course repackaging of Mechanical Technology course consisting of teacher notes, student notes, and multiple choice questions -Total Nine (9) modules.
Overview of Fluid Mechanics & Machine Remote Laboratory and experimental design.
Developed case studies & tutorials based on Flownex software for Fluid Mechanics & Machine and Mechanical Technology courses.
Developed case studies & tutorials based on Fluid Mechanics & Machine Remote Lab for Mechanical Technology and FMM courses.

Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) Based Lock and Release Mechanism for

ARMREB, DRDO

Prof Amit Kumar Gupta (PI), Dr Abhishek Sarkar (Co-PI), and Dr G Pardha Saradhi (Co-PI)

Defense Applications

Design, Development and Control of a low-cost AI enabled 3-DOF Compliant Manipulator for Intelligent Manufacturing

Cross Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF), BITS Pilani

Dr. Abhishek Sarkar, Dr. Joyjit Mukherjee and Dr. Abhijit Das

Low-cost empathetic robotic solution for caregiving (LERSCe)

Asian Smart Cities Research and Innovation Network (ASCRIN) Joint PhD program between BITS Pilani and La Trobe University

Dr Abhijit Das, Dr Aritra Mukherjee, Dr Joyjit Mukherjee, and Dr Abhishek Sarkar

PhysX Based Simulation of the Erection Scheme for a Network Arch Bridge

Poddar Infratech Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi

Prof Amit Kumar Gupta, Dr Pardha Saradhi G V & Dr Abhishek Sarkar

Development of Robotic-Milling System using Topology Optimization Method

Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) Program, DST

Prof Arshad Javed Dr Abhishek Sarkar, Dr Kundan Kumar Singh, Dr Brajesh Kumar Panigrahi

Learning based Dual-arm Coordination for Humanoid Robot

Additional Competitive Research Grant, BITS Pilani

Quadruped Robot Design and its Gait Analysis

Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani

Sponsored Projects

Project Ongoing

PI, “Assessing the impact of environmental education on Pro-environmental behavior among the students of Higher Education Institutions in India” sponsored by: ICSSR (5 Lakhs).

Project Completed

PI, “Value Chain Analysis of Isabgol in select districts of Rajasthan”, sponsored by: CCS NIAM, (Rs. 7.31 Lakhs)
PI, “A Study on the problems and prospects of Agro-tourism in Rajasthan State”, sponsored by: CCS NIAM, (Rs. 5 Lakhs)

Co-PI: "Modelling of Drivers and Barriers of Electric Vehicle penetration in emerging economy : A study of Indian Market", Sponsored by: ICSSR under IMPRESS Scheme (Rs. 5.25 Lakhs)

Co-PI: "Modeling of Employee performance and human capital Assessment and optimization of productivity of Indian manufacturing industry", Sponsored by: ICSSR (Rs. 5 Lakhs)

Sponsored Projects

Projects Ongoing

S.No	Title of the project	Funding agency	Principal Investigator /Co-investigator	Type of project	Amount (Lakhs)
1	Identification and characterization of novel long non-coding RNAs in AKI-CKD transition using CRISPR/Cas9-based epigenome editing: revealing the potential of long non-coding RNAs as a biomarker and therapeutic strategy	ICMR	Principal Investigator	EMR	41.85
2	Interdisciplinary life science programme for advanced research and education in epigenetics and genome editing	DBT	Co-investigator	BUILDER	975
3	Novel pharmacological interventions against chronic kidney disease using clinically approved Inodilators, ET-1A antagonists, and Bisphosphonates: drug repurposing approach	SERB	Principal Investigator	EMEQ	36.12
4	Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel dual inhibitors of angiotensin-II type 1 receptor and neprilysin for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy	SERB	Co-investigator	CRG	33.02
5	Pharmacological intervention using α-Klotho with AT1 receptor blocker and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor against diabetic kidney disease	SERB	Principal Investigator	CRG	38.62
6	Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel dual inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPPIV) and neprilysin for the treatment of diabetes	ICMR	Co-investigator	IIRP	41.12

Projects Completed

S.No	Title of the project	Funding agency	Principal Investigator /Co-investigator	Type of project	Amount (Lakhs)
1	Klotho regulation as a novel therapeutic strategy against acute kidney injury-diabetes comorbidity: Impact of epigenetic driven and epigenetic independent reactivation of endogenous Klotho expression	SERB	Principal Investigator	EMEQ	50.33
2	To study the role of hyperglycemia on the progression of acute kidney injury	SERB	Principal Investigator	Early Carrier Research Award	47.18
3	Understanding hyperglycemia induced alterations in non-coding RNA expression pattern and post translational histone protein modifications contributing to drug resistance and progression of pancreatic cancer	DST-SERB	Co-investigator	EMR	40.32
4	Peptide decorated pH sensitive nanoconjugate hybrid micelles for codelivery of temozolamide and an autophagy inducer, rapamycin for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme	DBT	Co-investigator	Nanobiotechnology	41.94
5	Alternate day fasting resembles recurrent insulin-induced hypoglycemia model in rat	SERB	Mentor	NPDF	19.20
6	Role of histone ubiquitination & angiotensin converting enzyme 2 in the development of renal fibrosis under type I diabetic condition	CSIR, Govt of India	Principal Investigator	EMR	14.86
7	Effect of esculetin on the development of type II diabetic nephropathy	BITS	Principal Investigator	Research Initiation Grant	2.00
8	Effect of esculetin on angiotensin II in rat thoracic aorta under hyperglycaemic and hyperinsulinaemic conditions	UGC, Govt of India	Principal Investigator	Major Research Proposal	13.43
9	Understanding the epigenetic regulation in modulating inflammatory response mediated by NF-kB through AT1 or AT2 receptor in type II diabetic nephropathy	DST-SERB	Principal Investigator	Fast Track for Young Scientist	22.21
10	Esculetin a therapeutic intervention targeted at cardio-renal syndrome in type 2 diabetes	DST-SERB	Principal Investigator	Empowerment and Equity Opportunities for Excellence in Science	39.66

Research

Research Interests

Research Areas

Feminism
Literature
Cinema

Research Projects (02)

Completed (02)

PI, Devika. Title: Development of Listening and Speaking Modules of English Language through Multimedia Lab for Rural students of Classes XI-XII. Funding Agency: UGC. Amount: 4,09,500 Rs/-. Duration: 2 Years. Year: 2013
PI, Devika and Rajni Singh. Title: Influence of English Teachers’ Efficacy, Competence and Motivation on their Instructional Strategy: A study of Secondary Schools Teachers in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. Funding Agency: NCERT. Amount: 6,80,400 Rs/-. Duration: 2 Years. Year: 2018.

PhD (06)

Completed (02)

Dr. Piyush Gupta. Dhananjaya’s Dasarupa: The Analysis of Plot, Characters and Rasa in Shakespearean Hindi Film Adaptations (Omkara, Maqbool and Angoor). Completed 15 Sep. 2016.
Dr Punita Raj. Living the Moment: Capturing the Critically Decisive and Strategic Manoeuvring of 21^st Century War Front Competencies in the Selected War Adaptations. Completed 28 Feb 2023.

Ongoing (04)

Kanupriya Arya (2016PHXP504P). Restorying the partition narratives in Select Works of Sadaat Hasan Manto.
Abhijith Venugopal (2019PHXP0035P). Role of Transversal Competencies in Shaping Future Engineers.
Rajitha M. (2020PHXF0032P) Paniya Films and Language Revitalisation.
Kethan Preethi B. (2024PHXP0049P) Oppari in Tamil Nadu: Lamentation and Liberation.

First Degree Thesis (11)

Nikhil Chandrashekhar Bhalerao (2015C2TS0558P). Title. The Subversive Cinema of the Lucrecia Martel. May 2020.
Sumit Godara (2014B5A30858P). Title: Cinematic Techniques in Film-Making. May 2019.
Vikas (2014D2TS0991P). Title: Role of Communication Skills in Marketing Strategies. May 2018.
Ravindra Singh (2011D2TS596P). Title: Editing Techniques in the Movies of James Cameron. Dec 2015.
Rakesh Kumar Saini (2010D2TS889P). Titel: Editing Techniques in the Work of Spielberg. May 2015.
Tamanna (2009B1A2421). Title: Critical Study of Distinguished Action and Adventure Movies. Dec 2014.
Kritika Mandad (2010D2TS878P). Title: Study of Film Techniques. May 2014.
Manish Saini (2010D2TS867P). Title: Role of Speaking and Listening Skills. May 2014.
Varishti (2008D2TS846P). Title: Some Famous Saints of India. May 2013.
Rekha (2008D2TS892P). Title: Significance of the Presentation Skills in the Professional Communication. May 2012.
A Yashwanth (2003B5A8590). Title: Modern Fiction: A Collage of Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, and Philosophical Works. May 2008.

Ongoing Sponsored Research Projects

Synthesis of chlorophyll-a derived photosensitizers and developing their nano-formulations for enhanced photodynamic therapy, DST New Delhi (2022-2025).
Design and synthesis of supramolecularly functionalize porphyrin based efficient photosensitizers, BRNS (2023-2026).
Design and Synthesis of Drug Development, Sun Pharma (2021-2023)
Heteroaromatics-annulated porphyrins: Design, Synthesis and Study of Optoelectronic Properties, DST New Delhi (2018-2021)
Design, synthesis and tubulin inhibition activity studies of novel indolyl heterocycles, CSIR New Delhi (completed)
Design and Synthesis of Novel Bioactive Heterocycles as Anticancer Agents, CSIR, New Delhi (Completed)
Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of indole-based heterocycles as anticancer agents, UGC, New Delhi (Completed)
Development of Novel Synthetic Methods, Ranbaxy, India (Completed)
Synthesis of novel N,O,S containing heterocycles and evaluation of their anticancer activities, DBT, New Delhi (Completed)
Design and synthesis of Porphyrin-based photosensitizers as anticancer agents Supported by the India-Japan Science Council under DST-JSPS S&T Programme of Cooperation (Completed)

Sponsored Projects

Externally Funded Projects (Completed):

1. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2013-2016-Completed as PI): The Role of Hippo Signaling Pathway Components in Autophagy Regulation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

2. University Grants Commission (UGC) (2013-2015-Completed as PI): Identifying miRNA signatures associated with autophagy induced chemoresistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

3. Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (2015-2019-Completed as PI): Mutant-p53 gain-of-function: its role in regulating long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression and associated chemo-resistance.

4. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2017-2020-Completed as co-PI): Evaluation of anti-tumor efficacy and pharmacokinetics of polymeric nanoparticle formulation targeted to cancer stem cells.

5. Department of Science and Technology (DST, Rajasthan) (2018-2021-Completed as co-PI): Activity targeted nano-formulations for co-delivery of a taxane and anti-oxidant molecule, alpha lipoic acid for treating breast cancer.

6. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2018-2022-Completed as PI): Understanding hyperglycemia induced alterations in non-coding RNA expression pattern and post–translational histone protein modifications contributing to drug resistance and progression of pancreatic cancer.

7. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2019-22-Completed as co-PI): Studying the Efficacy of ADAM Inhibitors in Treating Diabetic Nephropathy.

8. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2019-22-Completed as co-PI): Analysis of mitochondrial dynamicity (fusion/fission and mitophagy) post drug exposure in human glioblastoma cells and understanding its correlation with drug resistance.

9. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) ( 2019-23-Completed as co-PI): Repurposing of CNS accumulating drugs as autophagy modulators for potential treatment against glioblastoma: an in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo study.

10. Life Sciences Research Board (LSRB, DRDO) (2019-2023-Completed as PI): High Altitude-Hypoxia Mediates Thrombosis in Soldiers; Modulation of Autophagy as A Strategy To Combat High Altitude-Hypoxia Induced Thrombosis.

11. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2021-23-Completed as co-PI): An in silico and in vitro characterization of binding affinity and internalization potential of Indian SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants with hACE-2 and identification of potential small molecules hindering the interaction.

12. BITS BioCyTiH Foundation (CyTIH) (2022-2024-Completed as PI ): Identification of novel biomarkers in ovarian cancer and design of appropriate prognostic probes.

13. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2021-24-Completed as co-PI): Neuronal regulation of tumor cell migration- understanding the role of semaphorins in tumor cells undergoing EMT and subjected to differential flow dynamics.

14. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2021-24-Completed as PI): Targeting chromatin modifiers- Jumonji Histone Demethylases in tumor cells surviving acute drug stress: an in vitro and in vivo study.

Projects as PI (Currently Ongoing):

1. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (2023-2026) Understanding hyperglycemia induced metabolic alterations in pancreatic cancer cells and its regulation by specific long non coding RNAs.

2. Cross-Disciplinary Research Framework (CDRF) “Exploring the efficacy of chemo-photodynamic combination therapy for skin cancer and design of nanocarriers for their site-specific delivery”

Projects as co-PI (Currently Ongoing):

1. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (as co-PI 2021-24): Development of novel Aggregation Induced Emission (AIE) Active iridium (III) based Near IR Emissive compounds and their encapsulation into pH sensitive nanoparticles for tumor targeting and photodynamic therapy.

2. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (as co-PI 2021-2024, ): Exploring the role of 'Secretary Arm of Autophagy' in Glioblastoma therapy resistance: an in vitro and patient data based study.

3. Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (as co-PI 2021-24): Rapid, low cost fluorescent AIE based detection of renal dysfunction from urine samples and fabrication of portable and real time device.

4. Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) (as co-PI 2024-2027): Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Stimuli Responsive Molecular Scaffolds for Bio-analyte Sensing and Cancer Diagnostics

Sponsored Project

Completed/Ongoing

Ongoing Project(s):

1. Project Title: On the theoretical studies of vortex electron impact scattering and ionization of atoms and molecule
Funding agency: DST, New Delhi
Budget: Rs. 20.53 lacs.

Project Completed:

1. Title: Theoretical Study of Electron impact double ionization of atoms and molecule.
Funding Agency: DST, New Delhi
Amount: 22.3 lacs
JRF under the project: Ms. Nikita Dhankhar
Duration: 2017-2019 (as a PI).

2. Title: Study of spin polarization of electrons in the relativistic (e, 3e) process on atoms.
Funding Agency: DST, New Delhi
Amount : Rs. 9.6 lacs
Duration : 2008-2011 (as a PI)

3. Title : A multiple scattering computing platform for (nano) materials
Funding Agency: European Commission (under Mari Curie-IRSES-FP7)
Duration : 2012-2016
Amount : Total fund: euro 2.69 lacs (to European institute of the network)
Job Profile: Work Package Leader 7 related to "Impact spectroscopy with in Multiple Scattering Framework" .

4. Title: Modeling of Plasmon loss in photoemission and (e, 2e) spectroscopies
Funding Agency: Region Bretagne (France)
Amount: Euro 10,000
Duration: 2018 (1 year) (as a Co-PI)

5. Title: Plasmon induced (e, 2e): Understanding the role of plasmons in the generation of secondary electrons in condensed matter physics
Funding Agency: Institute de Physique de Rennes , UR1, Rennes (France)
Amount: Euro 10,000
Duration: 2018 (1 year) (as a Co-PI)

Sponsored Research Projects

SSr. No.	Research Project Details	Status
1	Project Title: Development of Graphene/Graphite Encapsulated High Thermal Conductivity Heat Sinks Duration: Fund: Rs. 24.43 Lakhs PI: Prof. Chennu Ranganayakulu Co-PI: Dr. Sachin U Belgamwar Co-PI: Dr. A. R. HariKrishnan Funding Agency: DRDO	Ongoing
2	Project Title: Dynamic Modelling and Experimental Analysis of Double Row Deep Groove Ball Bearing with Multiple Localized Defect Duration: 2018-2020 Fund: Rs. 10 Lakhs PI: Dr. Arun Kumar Jalan Co-PI: Dr. Sachin U Belgamwar Funding Agency: AERONAUTICS R&D BOARD	Completed
3	Project Title: Design and development of a power assistive hybrid e-trike (PAH e-trike) for differently abled person in rural and urban regions of India. (In Collaboration with CEERI Pilani) Duration: 2018-2020 Fund: Rs. 67.76 Lakhs PI: Dr. Sachin U. Belgamwar Co-PI: Dr. Jitenra S. Rathore Funding Agency: DST;SEED/TIDE/037/2016	Completed
4	Project Title: Electrical and Thermal characterization of nano-composite Duration: 2016-2017 Fund: Rs. 1 Lakhs PI: Dr. Sachin U. Belgamwar Funding Agency: BITS Pilani Research Initiation Grant	Completed
5	Project Title: CNT Reinforced Metal Matrix Duration: 2011-2013 Fund: Rs. 19.8 Lakhs PI: Dr. N. N. Sharma Co-PI: Dr. Sachin U. Belgamwar Funding Agency: BITS Pilani Seed Grant	Completed

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing

1. DST-SERB: Selenium centered hydrogen bonding interaction.

Finished:

1. DST-SERB: Proton transfer process in Schiff Base molecules (2014-2017).

2. UGC - BSR: Research Start-Up Grant for newly recruited faculty (2014-2016).

3. DST-SERB: Matrix Isolation Infrared Spectroscopy of weakly bound complexes (2017-2020).

4. CSIR: Photodegradation of organic dyes (2018-2021).

Sponsored Projects

Projects

Ongoing Projects :

Title: Investigation on Langmuir-Blodgett films of pristine and functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes and application
Funding agency: SERB - Core Research Grant
Duration: 3 yrs
Date of Commencement: 28/3/2019
Fund value: Rs 45.7 Lakhs

Advertisement for the post of Junior Research Fellow(JRF) for this project.

Title: Surface Plasmon Resonance Instrument
Agency: DST, India under IDP
Fund Value: Rs 56 lakhs
Duration: 2 years
Date of commencement: 28th Dec 2016
PI: Dr. RK Gupta
Co-PI: Dr Manjuladevi V.
Industrial Partner: Optiregion, New Delhi

Advertisement for the post of Junior Research Fellow(JRF) for this project.

Title: Soft Computing framework based Integrated Multi Sensor Array for Water Quality Assessment: Targeting Fluoride as major parameter
Agency: DST, India under WTI
Proposed Fund: ~ Rs 49 lakhs
PI: Dr. K K Gupta, EEE, BITS Pilani
Co-PI: Dr RK Gupta (Physics)
Date of commencement: 23/12/2016

Advertisement for the post of Junior Research Fellow(JRF) for this project.

Projects Completed:

Title: Development of Surface Plasmon Resonance Instrument with a novel optical design

Agency: Department of Science, India under IDP

Fund: Rs 25.66 Lakhs

Duration: 3 years (2010 - 2013)

Co-PI: Dr. Manjuladevi V.

Participating Industry: Optiregion, New Delhi

Awarded 7 out of 10 by DST.

Title of the main project: "Rooftop rainwater harvesting for sale potable healthy drinking

water and ground water replenishment for BITS Pilani campus "

PI: Prof Rajiv Gupta

RK Gupta (Co-PI) and P Shukla (Co-I) are working on sub project titled as

Detection of contaminants in water using functional ultrathin films

Agency: BITS Pilani under Waste Water Energy

Date: 17/2/2014

Duration: 3 years

Fund value: Rs 10.35 lakhs

Co-I: Dr Paritosh Shukla (Dept of Chemistry, BITS Pilani)

Project Submitted:

Title: Development of surface plasmon resonance array biosensor for rapid molecular drug resistance detection for MDR and XDR TB
Agency: DST, India under TDSP
Proposed Fund: ~ Rs 194 lakhs
PI: Dr. RK Gupta (Physics, BITS Pilani) & Dr. Urvashi Singh (AIIMS, New Delhi)
Co-PI: Dr. Manjuladevi V (Physics, BITS Pilani) & Dr. Hitender Gautam (AIIMS, New Delhi)

Projects

Sponsored Projects

Project Title: Experimental Investigation on Structural Performance of RC Frame with Deep Beams under Gravity Loading
Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Research Initiation Grant
Amount: Rs. 2 Lakhs
Project Status: Completed (October 2018)

Project Title: Investigation of ductile characteristics of high strength concrete beams reinforced with high strength steel and basalt fibre under elevated temperature conditions

Sponsoring Agency: BITS Pilani Additional Competitive Grant

Amount: Rs. 9.75 Lakhs

Project Status: In progress (Expected to submit report by October 2019)

Sponsored Projects

Japanese Science and Technology (JST)- SAKURA onsite training fund as PI from BITS Pilani

Project description: Group works and field survey on environmental-friendly agriculture and regional development in the islands of Hiroshima will be carried out by participants rom a total of four Universities including Hiroshima University, Japan; BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, India; University of Texas at Austin, USA; and Tribhuvan University, Nepal will participate in this international collaboration from 21-29, August 2002 to be held at Hiroshima University, Japan.

ICMR-ICSSR Major Research Project: (2018-2020) as Co-PI

Project Title: 'Efficacy & Effectiveness of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Activities for Health Awareness and Promotion among Women in Rajasthan: Towards a HOPE Approach'.

ICSSR Major Research Project: (2017-19) As Principal Investigator

Project Director for the ICSSR Major Research Project titled, “Participatory Exclusions of Women and the Poor in Community Forestry: A Comparative Study of Implementation of the ROFR Act Across 3 States of India”.

RIG Research Project: (2015-16) As Principal Investigator

Project Title: "Women and Equity in Higher Education: A Comparative Study of Power Dynamics in India and Dutch Academia"

Sponsored Research Project

Ongoing Projects:

Waste-to-Energy: Technology Integration for Production of Clean Energy from Organic Waste
Theme-3, Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE), Department of Science and Technology, Since March 2022).

Industrial-scale Thermophilic Biomethanation of Food Waste and Sewage Sludge for the Production of Bioenergy and Biofertilizer

Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Sanctioned in August 2020).

Completed Projects:

Design and Development of an Automated Flow Calibration System for Fuel and Oxidizer Injectors of Reaction Control System. CAS-DRDO 2019 - 2020

Sponsored Projects

AS PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR: 22

1. DBT-VINNOVA [INDO-SWEDEN]: 90.64 LAKHS [5 YEARS, 2010-2015]

2. DBT-SRC [INDO-SWEDEN]: 61.92 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2014-2017]

3. DBT-VINNOVA [INDO-SWEDEN]: 67.00 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2017-2020]

4. DBT-COE [BITS-IISC]: 39.56 LAKHS [5 YEARS, 2005-2010]

5. DBT-ICMR [BITS-NIRT]: 51.67 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2012-2015]

6. DST-IBSA [INDIA-BRASIL-SOUTH AFRICA]: 31.84 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2012-2015]

7. DST: 27.61 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2014-2017]

8. DST: 23.80 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2010-2013]

9. CSIR-OSDD [BITS-NII]: 31.70 LAKHS [1 YEAR, 2010]

10. CSIR-OSDD [BITS-NII-IIT KANPUR]: 38.64 LAKHS [3 YEAR, 2011-2014]

11. DST-[INDO-POLISH]: 11.89 LAKHS [2 YEARS, 2015-2017]

12. DBT-TATA INNOVATION: 45.00 LAKHS [5 YEARS, 2016-2021]

13. CSIR: 16.98 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2005-2008]

14. ICMR: 23.03 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2004-2007]

15. CSIR: 7.96 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2010-2013]

16. UGC: 10.21 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2005-2008]

17. UGC: 5.32 LAKHS [3 YEARS, 2009-2012]

18. AstraZeneca: 11.11 LAKHS [2010-2013]

19. Aditya Birla Group: 12.00 LAKHS [2011-2014]

20. Karolinska Institute: 18.00 LAKHS [2021-2023]

21. ISSAR Pharmaceuticals: 29.00 LAKHS [2020-2022]

22. Pravi Bio: 14.20 LAKHS [2022- ]

AS CO-INVESTIGATOR: 9

1. DBT INDO-BRAZIL project - ENZYMES FROM PURINE AND PYRIMIDINE BIO-SYNTHETIC PATHWAY AS TARGETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS DRUGS-2014-2017|

2. DST INDO-PORTUGAL project- DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL COMPOUNDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEURAL COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES-2014-2017|

3. ICMR-INSERM (Indo-France) project- STRUCTURE-BASED DESIGN OF ORPHAN NUCLEAR RECEPTOR MODULATOR TO TREAT DIABETES AND ITS COMPLICATIONS BY TARGETING RORALPHA AND REV-ERBALPHA-2014-2016|

4. DST INDO-UKRAINE JOINT PROJECT-DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIEPILEPTIC LEADS TO SUPPRESS HIPPOCAMPAL EPILEPTIC SEIZURES-2012-2015|

5. DST Major Research Project- DRUG DISCOVERY OF INHIBITORS OF THE PROTEASE OF PERIPHERAL MACROPHAGES AND MICROGLIAL CELLS IN THE SPINAL CORD FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN- 2011-2015|

6. CSIR project- DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF PHARMACOPHORIC HYBRIDS AS POTENTIAL LEADS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN-2012-2015|

7. DBT Project- DISCOVERY OF NOVEL MODULATORS OF NAD(+) DEPENDENT PROTEIN DEACETYLASE SIRT1 FOR THE TREATMENT OF VARIOUS HUMAN DISORDERS -2011-2014|

8. DBT Neuroresearch Project- STRUCTURE-GUIDED DESIGN OF NOVEL NON-PEPTIDIC NONCOVALENT SELECTIVE INHIBITORS OF THE SPINAL MICROGLIAL CATHEPSIN S FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN-2011-2013|

9. CSIR project - SYNTHESIS AND NEUROPHARMACOLOGY OF 4-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID ANALOGUES-2006-2009|

Funded Projects

SERB-DST project Entitled, “ Design and development of crop residue-based roof insulation with Phase Change Materials for livestock rearing shelters: An environment-friendly business model for doubling farmer women’s income in Arid and Semi-Arid zones, worth Rs.40 Lakhs is sanctioned during January 2023.

Currently Running Projects:

Doubling Farm Women's income: Entrepreneurship development through post-harvest and technology integration in arid zone submitted with CAZRI, Jodhpur to DST under ASAR SEED division has received funding of Rs.2.37 Crores. (BITS-Share Rs.70 Lakhs). (I am one of the Co PIs of the project to work on solar drying of Pearl Millet to improve shelf life) PI: Prof. Srikanta Routroy.
“High Impact Class room Teaching using Industrial case studies”, funded by TLC, BITS-Pilani 10 January 2021. (Rs.50,000/-) Phase-I of the project is completed.

Project Submitted for funding:

“Conceptualizing, Sizing, Materials Selection, steady state and transient performance of pre cooler for Advanced high Mach aero engines” Submitted to RSQR program of DRDO to Gas Turbine Research Establishment. (PI: Prof. Chennu Ranganayakalu). Date: 26 July 2021. Project Cost: Rs.16.63 Lakhs
“Design and development of Perforated Plate Heat Exchanger(PPHE) for cooling of gaseous Helium by using liquid Hydrogen” Yukti-Sanchita scheme of ISRO in collaboration with MNIT, Jaipur. ( PI: Prof.Chennu and Co PI; Dr.Amit from MNIT). Date: 20 July 2021, Project Cost: Rs.13.54 Lakhs.
“Development of Thermal Conditioning unit (TCU)” Yukti-Sanchita scheme of ISRO in collaboration with Industry. PI: Dr. Aneesh, Co PI: Prof. Chennu , Date: 20 July 2021 Project Cost: Rs.18.00 Lakhs
“Development of two-phase flow heat transfer devices: Flexible Heat Pipe for Space Application” Yukti-Sanchita scheme of ISRO in collaboration with VNIT, Nagpur. Date: 30 May 2021. Project Cost: Rs.12.96
“Thermal Energy Storage System Using Solar Parabolic Trough for Spatial Heating application in cold and composite region of India”, National Innovation Challenge for Design and Developing energy storage system for rural household /Establishment, DST, India. Applied on 31 December 2020.
“Development of renewable energy controlled and IoT based onion supply chain integrated with optimized logistics operations for enhancing farmers’ income”, Applied under NASF Under Indian Council of agricultural research as one of the Co PI for Rs.345 lakhs in collaboration with NIT, Surat and KVK. Rajasthan. (PI Prof. Srikanta Routroy). 31 August 2020.
“Development of 3D Numerical Heat Transfer Model with Growth of Oxide and Design of Control Algorithm for Walking Beam Reheat Furnaces” - Invited for presentation by the ministry of steel for funding on 08/08/2018. (Presented for possible funding from DST, after the presentation the authorities asked us to share the account details, Results awaited).PI: Dr. Satish Kumar Dubey. (Results Awaited). Rs.29 Lakhs.
“Thermal and Life Cycle Assessment of AlSi12 based Thermal Energy Storage System for Concentrated Solar Power Plants” - Submitted to DST under the scheme of Technology Mission Division on 30/06/2018. (Results Awaited).Rs.32 Lakhs (Under consideration).
“Economic and Environmental Impact Assessment of Future Technological Changes and Retrofitting the pollution control equipment in Indian coal based Thermal Power Plants using Impact pathway approach and external cost” - Submitted to DST under CHORD(NSTMIS) scheme on 31/03/2019. (Results Awaited). Rs.32 Lakhs (Under Consideration)
“Fault detection and diagnosis of roof top HVAC units”- A technical consultancy project was presented to Johnson Controls, at Techno Connect meet on invitation during 28-29 May 2019. (Results Awaited)
"Estimation of Gas Emission and External costs of Coal-fired Power plants in India" Submitted to DST under CHORD(NSTMIS) Scheme as a Co PI along with Dr. Krishna. M on 31/03/2019.
"Increasing the Thermal efficiency of Organic solar cell using PV/T system". Proposal was sent to Hiroshima University after the visit during 2018. (Waiting for the response from the University).

Completed:

Industrial consultancy project to increase percentage of Yield of casting for ABG completed. 2013. (PI: Prof.Dasgupta)

Ongoing

1. PI-Computational Biology Group, Builder project, DBT, One Crore. (2021-2025)

2. PI- Privacy Preserving ML in Malaria Screening, ICMR, 0.84 Cr. (2022-2024)

Completed

PI, An interdisciplinary study in Machine Learning and Classification for Astronomy, SERB-DST, Twenty-Six Lacs Approximately, over three years. EMR/2016/005687- 2018-2021

Co-PI, PI-Jayant Murthy, IIAP Bangalore, Indo-Russian Project on Machine Learning in Multi-Wavelength Astronomy; Sixty-five Lacs Approximately, over three years, Russian Investigators: Yuri Shchekinov, Evgeniya Kalinicheva. Russian Academy Of Sciences

Co-PI, DST EMR, PI-Pritam Ranjan, IIM Indore, From Small Data to Big Data: Complex Computer Modeling and Optimization-Twenty-four Lacs Approximately, over three years, India. EMR/2017/003332

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Funded Project:

#	Title	Role	Collaborators	Funding Agency	Total Funds	Duration
1	High Precision, Miniaturized and Smart Colorimetric Device for Pesticide Quantification and Monitoring Applications in Food and Environment	PI	Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE) (Co PI), Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI	SERB (CRG)	36.56 Lakhs	3 Years Dec. 2022-2025
2	Integrated Microfluidic/Miniaturized Electrochemical Sensing Platform for multiple bio-analytes	PI	Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI	BITS BiocyTIH	32.88 Lakhs	2.5 Year
3	Micro Chip Electrophoresis for Bio Analyte Sensing	PI	Dr Vivek Sharma (Bio Sc)	CREST BITS Pilani	20 Lakhs plus 01JRF	2 Years
4	Design and Development of flexible thermoelectric devices (TEDs) for various applications	Co-PI	Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) PI, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE) Co-PI	DRDO	34.34 Lakhs	2 Year
5	Integrated Multiplexed IoT Enabled Microfluidic Point of Care Sensing Platform for Various Explosives" has been started and one JRF (Mr. Ankit Patil) joined the project.	Co-PI	Dr. BVSN Prabhakar Rao EEE(PI) Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI, Dr.	DRDO	53.50	03 Years
6	DST FIST Project to Mechanical Engineering Department On Micro Fabrication	Co-PI & Lead Project Implementation Group (PIG) member	PI HoD of Mech Department	DST	117 lakhs	05 years
7	Development of Fluorescent Probe-based Microfluidic Point-of-Care Testingkits for the early phase detection of urinary tract infection	Co-PI	Dr. Amrita Chatterjee, 9PI) Chemistry, K K Birla Goa Campus Dr Malabika Biswas, Biological Science, KK Birla Goa Campus	CDRF BITS Pilani	20 Lakhs plus 01JRF	02 Years
8	Smart Hydraulic Cylinders	Co-PI	Dr. Arshad Javed (PI) Dr. A Sarkar (CO-PI)	Wipro WIN	01 PhD scholar and Contingency	3 Years
9	Development of a Laser Assisted CVD Reactor system as an addition/alternative to Siemens CVD reactor for polysilicon production	Investigator	Prof. Amol Deshpande (Chemical Engg, Goa Campus)m, Investigators: Prof. S. D. Manjare (Chemical Engg, Goa Campus) Prof. Apurba Chakraborty (EEE, Goa Campus), Prof. Parikshit Sahatiya (EEE, Hyderabad Campus), Prof. Rahul Kumar (EEE, Pilani Campus) Co-Ordinator: Prof Sanket Goel	ASM HHV Engineering Ltd	Rs 131.2 Lakhs	2 Years

Completed Research Projects

#	Title	Role	Collaborators	Funding Agency	Total Funds	Duration
1	IoT enabled wearable nasal cap for air filter, viral guard and sensors for early detection of Covid-19 symptoms	PI	Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI, Dr. Ruchi Jain Co-PI (Bio Sc)	DST BDTD	20.15 lakhs	1 year
2	Fully Integrated Smartphone and IoT enabled Microfluidic Sensor for Real-time Quantification of Soil Macronutrients	PI	Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI, Dr. R. N. Ponnalagu (EEE) Co-PI	DSTAgot-Tech	18.71	1 Year
3	Ultra-Portable Â μ-fluidic Nucleic Acid Amplification System with Integrated Detection	Team member Co- Founder & Director	Dr Sohan Dudala, Dr Sanket Goel	BIRAC BIG Grant to Cleome Innovations	50 Lakhs	1.5 Years
4	Cardiac-Organ-on-Chip: Integrated Microfluidic Cardiac Platform for Drug Screening and Toxicity Detection.	Co-PI	(EEE) PI, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE) and Dr. Anasuya Ganguly (BioSc)	DST-BDTD	43.76 Lakhs	03 Years
5	Real time Investigation of various analytes using droplet microfluidics integrated with highspeed vision	Co-PI	Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE) (PI), Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI	National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)	21.22 lakhs	2 Years
6	IoT and ML enabled Multiplexed Fully Integrated Portable Platform for Onsite Measurement of Water Quality Indicators	Co-PI	Dr. R. N. Ponnalagu PI (EEE) Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) Co-PI, Dr. Manik Gupta Co-PI (Comp.Sc)	SERB	26.93 lakhs	03 Years
7	Modelling and Simulation of Quartz Accelerometer for Navigation System	PI	Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE), Dr. Arshad Javed and Dr. Amit K Gupta (MechE)	RCI, DRDO	5.3 lakhs	2years
8	Smartphone-enabled, Lab-free and Onsite Multiplexed Diagnostic Device for Health Management of Rural and Underprivileged Population	Co-PI	Dr. Sanket Goel (EEE) PI, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE)	TSCOST	4 Lakhs	01 Years

Sponsored projects

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (INDEE+) sponsored (86.4 L) “Future Refrigeration India”, Total funding 24946,000 NOK (Ongoing)
Research Council of Norway (INTPART 2020-23) sponsored (11.47 L) Co-Investigator, "Educational Program for Sustainable Heating and Cooling Solutions for India", EduCool, Total funding 5874000 NOK (Ongoing)
DST (2020-2022) sponsored (48.66 L) as PI "Analysis design and development of low cost cold storage for selected agricultural products based fully on solar and geothermal energy" (Completed)
DBT (INNO-INDIGO 2018-21) sponsored (62.092 L) as Co-Investigator, Project Title "Innovative technologies for improving resource utilization in the Indo European fish value chains". Total funding 800,000 Euro (Completed)
Rajasthan DST sponsored (7.536 L) as PI, Project Title "Development of e-waste management strategies for selected e-products in Rajasthan" 2018 (Completed)
DST sponsored major research project, (30.40 Lakh) as PI, Project Title "Experimental Investigations On CO2 Based Refrigeration System in Trans-Critical Cycle", Project concluded in July 2017.
Aditya Birla Nuvo sponsored onsultancy project (5.00 L), “Re-design of Insulator metal cap”, Project concluding in 2016
UGC sponsored (38.00 Lakh) project under SAP as Co-PI. Project topic " Product Design and Rapid Prototyping", (Concluded)
One DST sponsored (7.08 Lakh) project, as PI, titled: "Air-water Two Phase Flow Prediction in Horizontal and Near-horizontal Pipe Using Fuzzy Decision Maker", Project concluding in 2008
Three UGC Minor research Projects of two-year duration with funding about 20K each as PI.

Ongoing Funded Project

#	Title	Cost	Duration	Role	Collaborator(s)	Agency
16	Design and development of flexible thermoelectric devices (TEDs) for various applications	34.34 lakhs	2 years	PI	Dr. Satish Dubey, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE, Hyderabad)	DYSL-SM (DRDO)
15	Sweden-India Collaboration in Higher Education and Energy Research (CHEER)	150,000 SEK (12 lakhs)	2 years	PI	Dr. Shrikant Joshi (University West, Sweden) and Dr. Ponnalagu R N	STINT, Sweden
14	Cyber-Physical System Enabled Integrated platform with Microfluidic biofuel cell and Supercapacitor for powering and monitoring biomedical implants	24.98 lakhs	1.5 years	PI	-	BITS BioCyTiH Foundation
13	Miniaturized MIP Nanomaterial Enhanced Electrochemical Devices for Insulin Detection	10.31 lakhs	2 years	PI	Prof. Peter Lieberzeit (University of Vienna, Austria)	DST (India-Austria)
12	Design and development of a portable Bio-Cyber Physical System based microfluidic cell culture platform	34.32 lakhs	1.5 years	PI	-	BITS BioCyTiH Foundation
11	Development of Wearable ECG Devices	13.5 lakhs	1.5 years	PI	-	Vital Probes
10	Development of this novel POC diagnostic device	15 lakhs	12 months	PI	-	TruEnergy Inc.
9	Integrated Multiplexed IoT Enabled Microfluidic Point of Care Sensing Platform for various Explosives	53.51 lakhs	3 years	Co-PI	Dr. BVVSN Prabhakar Rao and Dr. Satish Dubey (MechE, Hyderabad)	DRDO
8	Integrated Microfluidic/Miniaturized Electrochemical Sensing Platform for multiple bio-analytes	18.48 lakhs	1.5 years	Co-PI	Dr. Satish Kumar Dubey	BITS BioCyTiH Foundation
7	Integrated droplet microfluidic device for ultra-high throughput biochemical applications	~20 lakhs	2023 – 2026 (3 years)	Co-PI	Dr. Jayaprakash K S and Dr. Nilanjan Dey	SERB (SURE)
6	IoT and ML enabled Multiplexed Fully Integrated Portable Platform for Onsite Measurement of Water Quality Indicators	26.93 lakhs	2021-2024 (3 years)	Co-PI	Dr. Ponnalagu R N	SERB
5	Real time Investigation of various analytes using droplet microfluidics integrated with high- speed vision	21.23 lakhs	2021-2023 (2 years)	Co-PI	Dr. Arshad Javed	National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) under DST & MeiTY
4	Partners in Energy & Environment Engineering Education and Research for Sustainable development (PEERS)	NOK 3.6 million	2021-2026 (5 years)	Co-PI	Prof. Bjorn Reidar Sorensen, Prof. Rajnish Calay (UiT The Arctic University of Norway), Hokkaido University (Japan), CSIR-IICT, D Y Patil School Of Engineering, Multiconsult (Norway)	Directorate for Internationalization and Quality Development in Higher Education (DIKU), Norway
3	Collaboration in Microbial Fuel Cell Research and Innovation Driven Graduate Education (Co-PI, PI from India), The Research Council of Norway, NOK 12.50 million (India NOK 1.24 million), 5 years (2022-2027).	NOK 12.50 million	2022-2027 (5 years)	Co-PI	Prof. Rajnish Calay (UiT, Arctic University of Norway), Northern Arctic Federal University (Russia), IIT Kharagpur, CSIR-IICT, Lehigh University (USA), Drinkwell (USA), SINTEF (Norway)	The Research Council of Norway, NOK
2	High Precision, Miniaturized and Smart Colorimetric Device for Pesticide Quantification and Monitoring Applications in Food and Environment	36.56 lakhs	3 years	Co-PI	Dr. Satish Dubey, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE, Hyderabad)	SERB (CRG)
1	Design and Development of System-on-Chip for Multiplexed Biomarker Detection	~$12,000	1 year	Co-PI	Dr. Ponnalagu R N and Dr. Syed E Ahmed (EEE, Hyderabad)	Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC)

Research Interest

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:

Google Citations

The effect of pore geometry on the denaturation of a DNA molecule during translocation

The recent years witnessed significant advances in nanopore technology and the DNA sequencing. Translocation of DNA in biological processes involves many constraints, and among them, the pore through which it translocates is worthy of attention. In this manuscript, we construct two different shaped confining wall, a cone-shaped and a cylindrical shaped, and investigate the denaturation of DNA molecule during various stages of translocation in a thermal ensemble. For the conically shaped confinement, we study the effect of the cone angle (θ) and the pore diameter (δ) on the melting profile of a DNA molecule. Similarly, for the cylindrically shaped confinement, we investigate the effect of pore diameter (r) on the melting profile of a DNA molecule. By varying the fraction of pairs (φ) that are on either side of a pore, we study the melting behaviour of DNA molecule in these two confinement geometries.

Presence of molecular crowders & effect on the melting profile of DNA

This is a known fact that about 15-20% of the total volume of cell is occupied by the molecular crowders. The crowders that surround the DNA molecule are randomly distributed along the molecule. Hence we consider the base pairs that are surrounded by crowders randomly. The presence of these crowders, reduces the free volume for the base pairs, hence the movement of base pairs is restricted. We study the thermal melting of a homogeneous DNA molecule using PBD model. The presence of crowders in the model is realized through the potential term. Using the equilibrium statistical calculations we find the melting profile and the melting probabilities of the chain. We also find a correlation between the melting temperature and the crowder density of the solution. The power law behaviour shows that the melting temperature scale linearly with the crowder density. The opening of a DNA molecule in presence of these crowders is shown through the density plots. The results display interesting features of opening of DNA molecule.

The probability analysis of opening of DNA:

We have studied the separation of a double stranded DNA (dsDNA), which is driven by either the temperature or force. By monitoring the probability of opening of entire base pairs along the chain, we show that the opening of a dsDNA depends not only on the sequence but also on the constraints on the chain in the experimental setups. Our results clearly demonstrate that the force-induced melting of dsDNA, whose one of the ends is constrained, is significantly different from the thermal melting, when both ends are free.

http://link.aip.org/link/doi/10.1063/1.3563633

Phase diagram of unzipping of DNA: role of salt concentration

The cations, in form of salt, present in the solution containing DNA play a crucial role in the opening of two strands of DNA. We use a simple non linear model and investigate the role of these cations on the mechanical unzipping of DNA. The Hamiltonian is modified in terms of cations present in the solution. We calculate the melting temperature as well as the critical force that is required to unzip the DNA molecule as a function of salt concentration of the solution. The phase diagrams are found to be in close agreement with the experimental phase diagrams.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2013.01.029

http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-6301-2011

Project

1. DNA duplex stability: Effect of salt concentration and cation valency, funded by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, Amount: Rs. 28,12,497 /- Status: Ongoing (2023-2026)

2. Statistical Mechanics of Biopolymers in Confined Geometry, funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST-SERB), India, Amount: Rs. 23,41,979 /- Status: Completed (2018 - 2021)

3. Thermodynamic studies of force induced transitions in DNA in crowded environment, funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST-SERB), India, Amount: Rs. 18,64,866. Status: Completed (2014-17)

4. Force Induced Unzipping in Biopolymers, funded by University Grant Commission, New Delhi., Amount: Rs. 10.66 lacs Status: Completed (2009-2012).

Completed Funded Projects

Go on Top

#	Title	Cost	Duration	Role	Collaborator(s)	Agency
28	Shellac Mediated Laser Induced Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) Films to study Docking of Biomarker at Nano-Bio Interfaces	6 lakhs	6 months	PI	-	Tata Steel
27	Smartphone-enabled, Lab-free and Onsite Multiplexed Diagnostic Device for Health Management of Rural and Underprivileged Population	4 lakhs	1 year	PI	Dr. Satish Dubey, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE, Hyderabad)	TSCOST
26	Automated IoT based Microfluidic Electrochemiluminescence ECL Biosensing platform for various biomarker detection	51.42 lakhs	3 years	Co-PI	Dr. P. K. Pattnaik	SERB
25	Development of a Device with Optimized Circuit to Comprehend Fast Charging from Supercapacitors	9.80 lakhs	2021-2023 (1.5 years)	PI	-	DMSRDE, DRDO
24	Cardiac-Organ-on-Chip: Integrated Microfluidic Cardiac Platform for Drug Screening and Toxicity Detection.	43.76 lakhs	2019 – 2022 (3 years)	PI	Dr. Satish Dubey, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE, Hyderabad) and Dr. Anasuya Ganguly (BioSc, Goa)	DST
23	28S Ribosomal RNA Capture Assay for the Sensitive Detection of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax	110 lakhs	2020 – 2022 (2 years)	Co-PI	Dr. Ashis Das (Pilani), Dr. Sunil Bhand (Goa)	ICMR
22	IoT Enabled Wearable Nasal Cap for Air-filter, Viral-guard and Detection of Various Parameters	20.15 lakhs	2021 - 2022 (1 year)	Co-PI	Dr. Satish Kumar Dubey	DST
21	Digital 3D Printed Electronic Technology for Space Electronic Packaging Applications	26.36 lakhs	3.5 years	PI	-	ISRO
20	Microfluidic Enzymatic Biofuel Cell for Energy Harvesting & Blood Parameters Monitoring	10 lakhs	1 year	PI	-	DSIR
19	Lab on a chip-based point of care device for DNA amplification for TB diagnostics (under Center for Human Disease Research, internal)	~10 lakhs	3 years	Co-PI	Dr. D. Sriram (Pharmacy)	Internal
18	Fully Integrated Smartphone and IoT enabled Microfluidic Sensor for Real-time Quantification of Soil Macronutrients	27.98 lakhs	1 year	Co-PI	Dr. Satish Dubey (MechE)	DST (Agro Tech)
17	Modelling and Simulation of Quartz Accelerometer for Navigation System	5.3 lakhs	1 year	Co-PI	Dr. Satish Dubey, Dr. Arshad Javed (MechE)	RCI, DRDO
16	Underwater Characterization of Solar cells and its Optimization	9.85 lakhs	2 years	PI	Dr. Radhika Sudha (EEE)	DMRDE, DRDO
15	Training and Deployment of Smart and Miniaturized Sensors	US$ 1000	3 months	PI	-	Swechha - US Alumni Micro Grant
14	Microfluidic-Diffusivity-meter: CO2 diffusivity sensor during Carbon Sequestration in the Oil reservoirs	21.91 lakhs	4 years (1 Jan 2014 - 31 Dec 2017)	PI	-	DST/SERB Young Scientist Scheme
13	Shale Gas Modelling and Simulation (Consultancy)	22.65 lakhs	3 years	Coordinator	Dr. Santosh Dubey (UPES)	ABB
12	Micro-fluidic lab-on-a-chip sensor to detect and monitor viscosities for a variety of Biochemical applications	70.11 lakhs	2 years(1 Nov 2014 - 31 Oct 2016)	PI	Dr. Ajay Agarwal (CSIR-CEERI, Pilani)	DST-TSDP
11	Membrane less Microfluidic devices for rapid, automated and self-sustainable enzymatic biofuel cell with 3D electrodes for in vivo and ex vivo devices	24.70 lakhs	3 years (1 Mar 2013 - 28 Feb 2016)	PI	Dr. Ashutosh Sharma (IITK) and Dr. Gyu Man Kim (KNU, Korea)	DST Bilateral Program (Indo-Korea)
10	Immobilization of enzymes on various nanostructures for the fabrication of bio-sensors	Exchange visit based	3 years (1 June 2015 – 31 May 2018)	Co-PI	Dr. Zeljko Knez (Univ of Maribor, Slovenia)	DST Bilateral Program (Indo-Slovenia)
9	Technical Cooperation for Energy and Environment in India	NA	Involved between 1 Jan 2014 -30 June 2015	Consortia Member	Various people from India, Spain	European Union
8	Establishment & Demonstration of Hydrogen Production and Utilisation Facility through Solar Photovoltaic-Electrolyser System at NISE, Gwalpahari	14 Crores	Involved between 1 Jan 2015 -30 June 2015	Coordinator	Various people from UPES	MNRE
7	Leadership in higher Education Reforms in Renewable Energy - 2014	EUR 10,000	1 Mar 2014 - 28 Feb 2015	PI	Dr. Ahmed Addo (KNUST, Ghana)	IAU (UNESCO)
6	Leadership in higher Education Reforms in Renewable Energy - 2012	EUR 10,000	1 Mar 2012 - 28 Feb 2013	PI	Dr. Julius Mwobora (Univ of Nairobi, Kenya)	IAU (UNESCO)
5	Development of microfluidic DNA sequencer integrated with sample preparation process	S$ 750,000	1 Jul 2008 - 30 June 2011	PI	-	A*STAR, Singapore
4	Array based Pyrosequencing (100,000 USD genome)	US$ 1.5 million	1 Jul 2006 - 30 June 2009	Collaborator	Dr. Mostafa Ronaghi (PI and Consortia lead)	NIH, USA
3	Digital Micro-fluidics based Pyrosequencing (100,000 USD genome)	US$ 4 million	1 Jul 2006 - 30 June 2009	Collaborator	Dr. Mostafa Ronaghi (PI and Consortia lead)	NIH, USA
2	Lab-on-a-chip with Integrated Optics	CA$ 100,000	Jan 2001 – Dec 2005	Collaborator	Dr. J. N. McMullin (PI)	Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada
1	Biochips with integrated microoptics for cell-sorting	CA$ 80,000	Jan 2002 – Dec 2005	Collaborator	Dr. J. N. McMullin (PI)	Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovation (CIPI)

AI/ML for Cyber Security

Detection of malicious websites using ML
Detecting threats from android hybrid apps using ML

Data Provenance

Design and Implementation of Zero-information loss databases
Data Provenance Models for Relational and Big Data
Data Provenance Framework for Graph Databases

Big Data Analytics

Design and Implementation of Entire Computing Stack for Big Data Analytics

Data Mining

High Performance Computing Framework for Data Mining
- Parallelization of Data Mining Algorithms
- Domain Specific Language for Data Mining (DWARF)
- Parallelizing Compiler for DWARF
Mining Multi-variate Time Series data
- Crop yield prediction
Incremental Algorithms for Data Mining
Anytime Data Mining

IoT Data Analytics

Framework for IoT Data Analytics

Funded Research Projects

Title	Investigators & Collaborators	Funding Agency	Status
Mechanical Design using AI	Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal, & Dr. Amit Rajnarayan Singh (Mech.)	Mercedes-Benz Research & Development, India (MBRDI) Budget : INR 8.00 Lakhs Year(Duration) :2022 (10 months)	Ongoing
Making data driven quality management accessible to small scale dairy cooperatives in India	Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Suman Kapur (Hyd Campus), Prof. Poonam Goyal, Dr. Ashutosh Bhatia Collaborators :La Trobe University (Australia), IIT Kanpur, SensaData Pty Ltd, & The Product Makers (TPM) Pty Ltd	Govt. of Victoria (Australia) VESKI-SMRP Budget : AUD $ 1,70,000 Year(Duration) :2022 (10 months) Keywords :Small scale dairy, milk quality, Artificial Intelligence, Spectroscopy, Spatio-temporal Data Analytics	Ongoing
AI Intervened Tribal Development by improving Water Conservation, Livelihood, and Health	Prof. S K Barai & Prof. Navneet Goyal	Ministry of Tribal Affairs Budget : INR 147.392 Lakhs Year(Duration) : 2022 (03 years) Keywords : AI, Tribal Development, SCD, NLP, Low Resource Languages, Water Conservation, Earth Observation, Process Analytics	Ongoing
Intent Analysis of Customers Based on Telephonic Conversations	Prof. Navneet Goyal & Prof. Poonam Goyal	Nucleus Software, Noida Budget : INR 2.50 Lakhs/ semester Year(Duration) :2022(1 year) Keywords : Voice analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Speaker Diarisation, Spectrograms, Speech to text	Ongoing
Safety solutions for school kids using AI	Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal & Dr. Manish Dave	Industry Funded Budget : INR 21.75 Lakhs ($ 29,000) Year(Duration) : 2021(1 year) Keywords :Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Anomaly Detection, Video Analytics, Sound Analytics, Person Re-identification, IR-NIR imaging, HAR	Ongoing
Collating & Analyzing Multi-modal, Multi-lingual data for reducing Wildlife Crime	Prof. Poonam Goyal & Prof. Navneet Goyal Collaborator : Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Bangalore	Google Inc. – Google AI for Social Good Budget : USD$10,000 Year(Duration) :2021(1 year) Keywords : Multi-modal Learning, Multi-lingual learning, NLP, Earth Observation, GIS, Satellite imaging, Artificial Intelligence,	Ongoing
A New Distributed Computing Framework for Data Mining	Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal & Prof. Sundar B Collaborator : Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), New Delhi	Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MEITY), Govt. of India. Budget :INR 1.20 Cr.($1,60,000) Year(Duration) : 2012 (3.5 years) Keywords : Automatic Parallelization, DSL, Parallelization on multicore clusters, AI, ML, Clustering, Automatically Parallelizing Compiler	Completed
Developing a Smart Crop Management System using Data Analytics	Prof. Navneet Goyal, Prof. Poonam Goyal & Dr. Anil Rai (IASRI) Collaborator :Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), New Delhi	IBM – Smarter Planet Initiative Budget : USD$15,000 Year(Duration) :2010(open -ended) Keywords :Crop yield prediction, Early prediction, multi-variate time series, Spatio-temporal data, multi-stage classification	Completed

Research Interest

Environmental Biotechnology

Doctoral thesis entitled "Uptake and toxicity of copper in the diazotrophic cyanobacteriium Nostoc calcicola" mainly focuses on the parameters and kinetics of active uptake and the mechanism of metal toxicity in photoautotrophic microbe. The enzyme kinetics under heavy metal stress has also been studied.
Post-Doctoral work included two important aspects of cyanobacterial research-that is biological nitrogen fixation, herbicide resistance and genetic regulation of heavy metal resistance. We have reported for the first an energy- and light- dependent efflux of copper as the mechanism of metal resistance in cyanobacteria (FEMS Microbiol Let) and genetic transformation of glutamine prototrophy in cyanobacteria (Archieves Microbiol.).
Currently, leading a team of Post-Doc, PhD, and several M.Sc and M.E. students which is focusing on aspects related with biosensor development, aptamer technology, biodiesel production, bio sorption of heavy metal from industrial effluent. In the recently completed major research project funded by Department of Atomic Energy, we have developed a series of microbial mutants with increased metal accumulation. Attempts are being directed towards the optimization of process parameters for this purpose
Another project which was related with the development of recombinant-DNA based biosensor for the detection of antibiotics from the biological samples, we have cloned tetracycline sensitive promoter into a DsRed and GFP plasmids. Such strains have proved to be highly sensitive system to detect antibiotics at nanomole concentration. Similar work on metal and radioisotope biosensor is also in progress.
Completed a WIPO funded multi-centre project” Impact of IP system on economic growth” as country expert.
Supervised over 70 graduates and Master's project in the area of Environmental Biotechnology. Twelve students have been awarded Ph.D. degree.

Ongoing Research Projects

Aptamer based impedimetric sensor for detection of toxic metals in potable water

Completed Research Projects

Integrated approach for the efficient removal and recovery of heavy metal catalyst (Zinc) used in viscos fiber industries- ABSTCL, Mumbai
Bio-leaching of copper from low grade ore at Hindustan Copper Limited, Khetri, Union Ministry of Mines, New Dehli
Zinc Recovery from Industrial Waste using Bioleaching. Under Centre for Research Excellence, BITS Pilani
Development of recombinant DNA based Biosensor device for detection of arsenic in water samples, DST, New Delhi
Characterization and Pharmacological Evaluation of Bioactive Compound (Cyanotoxins) from the Cyanobacterial Isolates from Shekhawati Region of Rajasthan, UGC, New Delhi.
Bio-diesel production from microalgae, CSIR, New Delhi
Recombinant DNA based biosensor development for the detection of antibiotics – UGC major research project, New Delhi
Development of biosorbent technology for the treatment of radioactive waste –BRNS/ DAE, Mumbai.
Prokaryotic Vector Design using Cryptic Plasmids from Leuconostoc sp., Lactococcus species and Cyanobacteria, funded by Dabur Research Foundation, INDIA.
Impact of Intellectual Property system on Economic Growth. WIPO Japan
Development of Biosorption technology for the removal of copper from Khetri copper mine complex-UGC Minor research Project, New Delhi.
Fabrication and testing of a non-conventional machine for DNA amplification, - UGC Minor research Project, New Delhi
Development of herbicide resistant mutants of cyanobacteria- DST, Rajasthan.
Designing of a biofuel cell for hydrogen production- DST, Rajasthan

Ongoing/Completed Projects as Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator (ongoing / started/ completed in the last 5 years)

International malarial research consortium for the development of novel classes of antimalarials, Indo-Canadian DBT Project (Indo-Canadian joint Research Project on Anti-Malarials; DBT ; Rs, 21.86 Lakhs; two years, Phase-II; Completed Sept 2016) , Joint Investigator
Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of novel phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors for their anti-depressant and anxiolytic potential (DBT, Rs. 51.69 Lakhs; three years, Completed March 2013), Principal Investigator
Novel Neuro-Pharmacological Agents for the Treatment of Depression, Anxiety, Cognitive Dysfunction and CCIE: Design, Synthesis and Screening of Potential Serotonergic Modulators (ICMR, Rs. 31.20 Lakhs; 3 years, Completed Dec 2013), Principal Investigator
International malarial research consortium for the development of novel classes of antimalarials, Indo-Canadian DBT Project (Indo-Canadian joint Research Project on Anti-Malarials; DBT ; Rs, 35.50 Lakhs; three years, Phase-I; Completed Sept 2013), Joint Investigator
Infrastructural development of the department (level II) (UGC Rs. 72 Lakhs; five years) - Deputy Co-ordinator.
Novel Quinoxaline Carboxamides: Design, Synthesis and neuro-pharmacological evaluation as antidepressants, anxiolytics and in the management of cancer chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting, ( UGC, Rs. 8.476 lakhs, three years, completed March, 2010)-Principal Investigator.
Design and Synthesis of Novel Agents for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis, (UGC, 2010-13, 11.98 Lakhs, three years, Completed August 2013), Co-Investigator.

Besides the above, few minor research projects have been completed in the past.

Research Areas

Entrepreneurship
Energy – Manpower & Economics
Capital Markets
Risk Management
Financial Management
Values in Management
Banking
Higher Education

Research Achievements During last 9 years (projects/grants/publications)

Thesis / Project Supervision

5 PhD’s under supervision completed and another three in different stages.

Akhilesh Tripathy, “A Model Framework for Measuring and Managing Operational Risks in Treasury Operations in Financial Institutions”, BITS Pilani.
Arun Kumar Vaish, “Development of Credit Scoring Methodology for Assessment of Micro-finance Borrowers” BITS Pilani.
Mr Rajiv Agarwal, “Factors influencing Career Choices of Successors in Family Managed Businesses”, BITS Pilani - Co-supervisor.
Mr. Rajan Pandey, “Empirical Investigation and Analysis of Volatility Forecasting Models for Indian Stock Market”, BITS Pilani.
Mr Parimal Merchant, “Induction in Family Business: A Study of Alternative Approaches” , BITS Pilani– Co-supervisor
Mr Manish Dave,” Knowledge Management Relationship with Competitiveness: An Empirical Study of Indian Cement Industry” – Submitted under examination stage
Mr. Aditya Sharma, Predicting Stock Returns in Indian Equity Markets: A Behavioral Finance Approach, BITS Pilani, (Thesis Writing Stage)
Ms Neha Gupta, Empirical Study on Dynamics of International Financial Markets and the Role of Investor sentiment.

Examined 12 PhD Thesis from Different Universities

An Analysis of the Performance of Indian Banks in the Emerging Competitive Environment and Suggested Strategies for Regulation by Meera Sharma, BITS Pilani, 2002.
“An Analytical Study of the Challenges and Problems of Survival and Success of Family Owned Business in Pharmaceutical Industry in India” by Mr. Rajesh Jain, BIMTECH, Greater Noida, 2009.
“A Business Continuity Management (BCM) Model for Medium Sized Banks (MSRB) in India” by Mr. Sunil Rai, S P Jain Institute of Management & Research, BITS Pilani 2008.
Analysis of Banking Sector Operations in India With Special Reference to Private Banks in Response to Technological and Other Developments with a View to Develop a Future Banking Model” by Prakash Singh of BITS Pilani, 2005.
Business Excellence Models and Leadership Styles Adopted by Small Scale Organizations – A Case Study” by Satyajit Mujumdar, BITS Pilani 2008.
Fiscal Deficit and Economic Development in India’ by Mr. Pankaj Kumar of Ch. Charan Singh University Meerut, 2010.
Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Model – Concept of a Sixth Dimension as ‘Comfort with Foreign Cultures’ By Vijesh Jain, BIMTECH Greater Noida 2013.
Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth by Faraji Kasidi, BIMTECH, 2011.
“Development of an Integrated Framework for Environment Management System in Food Packaging Industry” by Ms Archana Shekhawat, BITS Pilani, 2010.
Impact of Deposit Mobilsation and Credit Creation by Scheduled Commercial Banks in Indian Economy since 1991 with Reference to SBI in an Input-output Framework by Harsh Kumar, Mysore University, 2014.
Essays on Outward FDI from Developing Countries by Khanindra Ch. Das, University of Madras, 2014.
Interrelated Essays in Development Economics by Jyoti Prasad Mukhopadhyay, University of Madras , 2015.

As a Doctoral Advisory Committee Member (DAC) guided and examined more than 12 PhD theses

Fifteen Students did their First Degree thesis in the area of Entrepreneurship, capital markets and Financial Management, Manpower Planning in Power Sector etc.

Sixty Students have undertaken project studies spread over a semester each in the areas of – Entrepreneurship, Capital Markets, Financial Management, Banking etc.

Papers and Books Reviewed

Regularly was reviewing 6-8 papers for Biannual Journal Business Perspective brought out by BIMTECH, Greater Noida, Quarterly Journal brought out by ISS, University Jaipur, Journal brought out by IMS, Greater Noida, Abhigyan, Management Journal from FORE School of Management New Delhi, Reviewed research paper for Metamorphosis, Journal of Management Research, IIM Lucknow. and Journal brought out by Council of Social Development Southern Regional Center, Hyderabad,

Reviewed the book titled Financial Management by Rajiv Srivastava and Anil Misra brought out by Oxford University Press, 2010.

Reviewed the book titled “Understanding Strategic Management” by Anthony E. Henry , Oxford University Press ,Second Edition with a view to adapt it for Indian context in the month of July August 2014.

Reviewed the book titled “Investments” By Bodie, Kane, Marcus and Mohanty, McGraw Hill ,11th ed.

Research Projects/Entrepreneurship Development Promotion Funding

Contributed to set up TBI in the area of VLSI Design and Embedded System with DST grant support of 138.35 Lakhs for Non- recurring and Rs 58 Lakhs for recurring expenses for a period of 5 years from 2004-05.
Entrepreneurship Development Programs on campus National Entrepreneurship Network grant support of Rs 22.67 Lakhs from 2007 onwards ongoing as Principal Investigator along with Prof Anil Bhat.
Strategies to Meet Manpower Requirements for Power Sector up to 2020, NSTMIS, Department of Science &Technology, funding of Rs 9.60 Lakhs in June 2009 for three years period along with Prof Anil Bhat, Management Dept. Project Report Submitted.
Got grant sanctioned amounting Rs 1 core from Technology Development Board (TDB) for assisting incubates by way of loan, equity or grant in the month of March 2011. Shall plan to systematically release the fund to existing and prospective incubates.
Project funding of Rs 10 Lakh by Aditya Birla Group for undertaking study on Educational Excellence as co-investigator along with Prof Anil Bhat as Principal Investigator.
Got a grant support of Rs 155 Lakhs from Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, New Delhi under Technology Incubation & Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) in the areas of Electronics and ICT.

Entrepreneurship
Energy – Manpower & Economics
Capital Markets
Risk Management
Financial Management
Values in Management
Banking
Higher Education

Research Funded Projects

S.No	Project Title	Funding agency	Period of funding	Amount
1.	An Agent-Based Tool for Prediction, Analysis, Reporting and Dispensing of Climate Data (PI)	University Grants Commissions (UGC)	3 Years (July 2012- June 2015)	8.85 lakhs
2.	Design and Development of Opinion Mining Framework (PI)	Department of Science & Technology(DST)	3 Years (July 2013- Jan 2017)	13.26 lakhs
3.	Roof top Rainwater Harvesting for Safe, Potable and Healthy Drinking Water and Ground Water Replenishment for BITS Pilani, Pilani campus(CO-PI)	Centre of Excellence, in Waster, Water and Energy Management, BITS- Pilani	4 Years (July 2014- June 2017)	91 lakhs
3.	Design and implementation of Content Based Recommender System for effectively answering Web based User Queries.(PI)	Department of Science & Technology(DST)	3 years and 9 months (July 2019- March 2023)	46.07Lakhs
4.	Multilingual Conversational AI to Enhance Customer Experience (PI)	C-Zentrics Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon(India) www.c-zentrix.com	3 years (Aug 2021 – July 2024)	18.60 lakhs
5.	Designing Optimal and Targeted Advertisement Campaign Strategy for Online E-Commerce Platforms using AI and Machine Learning(PI)	CommerceIQ (rBoomerang Retail Commerce Technologies India Private Limited) Bengaluru, India https://commerceiq.ai/	3 years (Jan 2022 – Dec 2024)	36.28Lakhs
6.	Big Data Management and Privacy Preservation for Wearable Biosensor Data in Healthcare Monitoring Using Feature Vector Store And Federated Deep Learning (CO-PI)	MapMyIndia Pvt. Ltd. https://www.mapmyindia.com/	3 years ( Apr 2022 – Mar 2025)	18.85 lakhs
8.	Efficient domain-specific storage and query system for High-speed IP flow Analysis(CO-PI)	CAIR-DRDO, CV Raman Nagar Bengaluru -560 093	3 years (July 2022 – June 2025)	45.95Lakhs

Note : If you wish to work on any of the projects, you need to work with me one semester informally

Funded Research Projects

Project title: Determinants of mis-pricing in Indian Initial Public Offerings

Funding agency: Research Initiation Grant (BITS, Pilani)

Status: Completed, Year 2021

Research

Research Interest

Security and Privacy
Quantum Cryptography, Post Quantum Cryptography
Blockchain Technology
Internet of Things
Applied Machine Learning

Current Research Focus

Design and Development of QKD networks for real-world scenarios and its integration with Post Quantum Cryptography
Privacy-Preserving Personal Data Sharing
Privacy-preserving Biometric Authentication
Machine Learning-based Intoxication Detection
Traceable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning using Blockchain
AI-Powered Internet of Things Security

Sponsored Research/Consultancy Projects

S No	Title	Duration	Amount (in lakh)	Type	Sponsored By	Role	Status
1	Age Invariant Automatic Speech Recognition	Oct 2023 - Sep 2024	4	Academic Sponsored	University of Galway	Co-PI	Ongoing
2	Non-Invasive Intoxication Detection through Computer Vision & AI	April 2024- March 2026	25	Industry Sponsored	WAISL Pvt Ltd.	Co-PI	Ongoing
3	Multisensor Fusion Toolbox for Edge-AI Computing to Support IoT and MIoT driven Building Automation and Management Applications’	Dec. 2023 – Nov 2025	45	Sponsored	TIH IITB	Co-PI	Ongoing
4	Green Quantum Computing: Benchmarking, Performance Analysis, Modeling and Optimization of Quantum computing algorithms and communication Protocols	July 2023- June 2025	20	Sponsored	BITS	PI	Ongoing
5	Efficient domain-specific storage and query system for High-speed IP flow analysis	Oct-2022-Dec 2024	45	Research Project	CAIR-DRDO	PI	Ongoing
6	Big Data Management and Privacy Preservation for Wearable Biosensor Data in Healthcare Monitoring Using Feature Vector Store And Federated Deep Learning	April 2022- March 2025	18	Industry Sponsored	MapmyIndia	Co-PI	Ongoing
7	Designing Optimal and Targeted Advertisement Campaign Strategy for Online E-Commerce Platforms using AI and Machine Learning	Dec 2021- Nov 2024	36	Industry Sponsored	CommerceIQ	Co-PI	Ongoing
8	Multilingual Conversational AI to Enhance Customer Experience	July 2021- June 2024	18	Industry Sponsored	C-Zentrics Pvt. Ltd	Co-PI	Ongoing
9	Classification of Medical Conditions	Jan 2022 – July - 2022	15	Consultancy Project	liveSmart KK Japan	Co-PI	Completed
10	Development of Real-Time Multi-Objective Route Recommender System using AI	Jan 2020 – Dec - 2021	8	Industry Sponsored	MapmyIndia	Co-PI	Completed
11	Information Gathering from Encrypted Mobile Phone Applications	Aug 2018 - Oct 2019	9	Research Project	CAIR-DRDO	PI	Completed
12	Solutions for Virtual Farming	Aug 2022 – Dec 2022	4.4	Industry Sponsored	KSKT Agromart Private Limited	PI	Completed
13	Realization of SDN-based VANETS	Dec – 2016 – Nov 2017	2	Sponsored	BITS Pilani	PI	Completed
14	Making data driven quality management accessible to small scale dairy cooperatives in India	Dec 2021 – Nov 2022	AUD 27,500	Sponsored	Victorian Government, Australia (Veski - SMRP)	Co-PI	Completed

Sponsored Projects

Project Title: Wearable Visual Assistant with Semantic Feature Recognition and Recommendation System for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) individuals

Funding Organization: AutoNxt Automation Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

Principal Investigator (PI) : Dr. Virendra Singh Shekhawat

Co-Investigator (Co-PI) : Dr. Avinash Gautam

Amount: INR 22.50 Lakh, Duration: 2021-2025

Project Openings

Applications are invited for Project type courses (SOP/LOP/Thesis/SAT) to be offered in the First Semester 2023-24 for the research problems described below.

How to Apply?

Send an e-mail at vsshekhawat@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in with your credentials and interest. One can fill the Online Application Form on ERP portal after receiving a formal approval from me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Title: Indoor Obstacle finding and avoidance for visually impaired people

Project Description: Indoor spaces are busy with activity and assumption of static environment for navigation of a VI user may not be convenient. Mapping of the environment helps improve navigation. Static objects temporarily placed in the environment can hinder navigation of the user. Similarly, sections of the environment may be blocked for cleaning, maintenance, etc. These cannot be addressed apriori and can only be detected in real-time during navigation.

Project Title: Performance Evaluation of BBR Protocol

Project Description: Bottleneck Bandwidth and Round-trip Propagation Time (BBR) is a congestion-based congestion control protocol developed by Google as an open-source. Unlike TCP, BBR prevents congestion in the network by estimating BDP using bottleneck bandwidth and Round-trip Propagation time estimation. The first version of the protocol (BBRv1) was released in 2016. Many studies have reported performance issues through empirical and experimental analysis studies. Some of the major issues reported by the researchers are RTT unfairness, coexistence with loss-based algorithms (e.g., CUBIC and Reno), excessive packet loss in shallow buffers, and unfairness between BBR flows, and so on. Google is developing a new version of BBR, BBRv2, to resolve the performance issues of BBRv1, and the alpha version of it was released in 2019. A few studies have also been conducted to evaluate BBRv2 performance and its comparison with BBRv1. These studies indicate that some of the issues listed above still exist. The BBR protocol is in its experimental stage and requires more exhaustive analysis, experimentally and simulated under different use case scenarios before being declared a de facto standard for use.

Project Title: Performance Analysis of QUIC Protocol in Wi-Fi Networks

Project Description: QUIC is relatively new and still under development. Its performance in real-world wireless networks has not been rigorously investigated. In particular, the interplay between transport layer attributes like packet acknowledgments and congestion window growth and MAC layer features such as frame aggregation can significantly affect the overall throughput. Research in this direction is critical to improve the performance of QUIC in Wi-Fi networks.

Project Title: Vulnerability Analysis of QUIC Protocol

Project Description: The QUIC is an encrypted, multiplexed, and low-latency transport protocol designed by Google from the ground up to improve transport performance for HTTP2 traffic. QUIC has been globally deployed at Google on thousands of servers and serves traffic to a range of clients, including a widely-used web browser (Chrome) and a popular mobile video streaming app (YouTube). Like TCP, QUIC is also vulnerable to different types of attack such as Web Fingerprinting and DoS. The objective of this project is to reveal QUIC protocol vulnerabilities

Project Title: Performance Evaluation of HTTP/2 and QUIC

Project Description: The primary goals for HTTP/2 are to reduce latency by enabling full request and response multiplexing, minimize protocol overhead via efficient compression of HTTP header fields, and add support for request prioritization and server push. Unlike TCP, QUIC inherits the stream multiplexing of HTTP/2 at transport layer and enables asynchronous data transfer from server. Therefore, it would be interesting to see the combined effect of HTTP/2 and QUIC on the network traffic load and the server load.

Routing in Delay Tolerant Networks:

Project Description: Delay-Tolerant Networks (DTNs) have the potential to interconnect devices in regions that current networking technology cannot reach. The idea is that an end-to-end connection may never be present. To make communication possible, intermediate nodes take custody of the data being transferred and forward it as the opportunity arises. Both links and nodes may be inherently unreliable and disconnections may be long-lived. The routing solutions in DTNs are based on two aspects, one is replication of messages and another is amount of knowledge (e.g., mobility, contact time, contact duration, etc.) assumed about the nodes in the network. A good routing solution achieves maximum message delivery with minimum replication and least amount of network information desire.

Traffic Engineering Solutions for Software Defined Networks:

Project Description: The emerging network architecture concept of Software-Defined Networking possesses unique characteristics that make SDNs well-suited for developing sophisticated Traffic Engineering (TE) systems. A TE framework usually consists of a traffic measurement and a traffic management component. The traffic measurement component collects status information from the network that could include information about the network structure, its current performance or about the traffic transmitted through it. The traffic management component, which runs at the SDN controller, utilizes this information to equip the network with certain desired functionalities by implementing them as network services.

Projects

Internal grants from BITS

Research Initiation Grant (INR 2 lakhs, 2014-16 completed)

2. OPERA award (INR 9 lakhs, 2013-16 completed)

External grants

Title : Development of Dielectric Resonator based Displacement Sensor

Sponsoring agency : Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB)

Role : Principal Investigator

Duration : 3 years (14/09/2018 to 13/03/2022)

Amount : INR 20.75 lakhs

Status: Completed

Keep Exploring

Faculty

Events

News

Campus
Academics
Admission
BITSAT
Research & Innovation
Departments
- Pilani
- Dubai
- Goa
- Hyderabad
Important Contacts
- Pilani
- Dubai
- Goa
- Hyderabad
Divisions
- Pilani
- K K Birla Goa
- Hyderabad
- Dubai
Explore BITS
Links For
- BITS Library
- Admissions
- Faculty
- Practice School
- Placements
- Student Arena
- Career
- News
- Alumni
- Internationalization
- Events
- MOUs
- Current Students
- Invest in Leaders
- Outreach
- Picture Gallery

Parameters	Specifications for the Application	Proposed ADC Achieved Results
Resolution	Medium	8 bit
Sampling Rate	Low-Medium	0-5 MS/s Variable
External Clock	No	No
Power Dissipation	Low	30 mW at 5 MS/s
Area	Low	0.8544 mm²
SNDR	High	48 dB
DNL	Low	0.9 LSB (max)
INL	Low	1.9 LSB (max)
ENOB	Same as Resolution	7.68 bits
SFDR	Very High	54.68 dB
Signal to Noise Floor	Very High	72 dB

Integrated first degree

Higher Degree

Doctoral Programmes

WILP

Student Activities

Student Services

Integrated First Degree

Higher Degree

Doctoral Programmes

WILP

Dubai Campus

Give us your feedback

Upload Screenshot

Private: Dinesh Wamanrao Wagh

Research Funding

SPONSORED/CONSULTANCY PROJECTS

Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator for the following funded sponsored / consultancy projects:

Research Projects

Ongoing Projects

Role in other Institutional Projects:

Research Project

1. "Ecotourism": A roadmap to promote tourism in Goa

Research grant

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Projects

Smart Manufacturing Learning Factory

Conversion of Predictive and Prescriptive Maintenance Analysis from Cloud to On-Premise

Roll Shop Management System

Enhancing steel cleanliness for automotive grades using Image Analytics and Fluid Dynamic Simulations

Chatbot Development for Hydraulic System Troubleshooting

Create and Deploy a Unified System that Monitors the Longevity & Condition of Rolls in Steel Industry

Automate ferroalloy addition in steelmaking for cost efficiency

Reduce breakdowns in electrical control rooms through proactive temperature management

Enhance security and reduce vendor dependency in predictive maintenance systems

Enable predictive maintenance for descaler motors in hot strip mills

Predict mechanical properties of steel to reduce reliance on tensile testing

Energy optimization and monitoring in steel plant

Automated inspection of grate bars in pellet cars to enhance efficiency

Optimization of carbon measurement and reduce arc-to-tap times in steelmaking

Automated defect detection in steel production to reduce rejection rates and waste

Furnace Operations: A Model for Smart Line Efficiency with AI-ML Integration

Research Directions, Topics And Projects

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing Projects

Completed Projects

Research Projects:

Research Projects

test project

This is the title

This is the title

Finance and Management-Focused Projects

To be updated soon.

SPONSORED PROJECTS / COMPETETIVE GRANTS

SPARC PHASE 3 PROJECT WITH STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY, & University of CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA – APRIL 2024; 24 MONTHS : FUNDING INR 73,20,000/-.

CDRF PROJECT OF RS. 50 LAKHS (WITH MANPOWER) – SEPT. 2023- 2 YEARS; PI

UNIVERSITY IMMERSION GRANT IN 2018 (COMPETITIVE GRANT) FROM BITS PILANI UNIVERSITY FOR ACADEMIC EXPOSURE IN A WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY.

RESEARCH PROJECT: CSIR, NEW DELHI, INDIA .

Completed: 30/11/2015

SANCTIONED AMOUNT: 10.3 LAKHS - P I and Sole Investigator

INTERIM RESEARCH GRANT OF Rs. 93,650/- IN 2020 BY SRCD, BITS GOA.

CO – PI OF PROJECT FUNDED BY MINISTRY OF FERTILIZERS (2007-2010);

FUNDING: 70 LAKHS (Rs. 7 MILLION)

2 INTERNATIONAL & 2 NATIONAL projects submitted to Funding Agencies for Approval

Sponsored Research Projects

Development of Design Codes

Research Interest

Research Interest

Active Student Projects

Ongoing and Completed Projects

List of Grants Received

Open-Source Projects

Sponsored Projects

Research Topics

1. Theoretical Study of Nano-Materials for Hydrogen Storage

2. Study of Kinetics of Lithiation-Delithiation in Li ion Battery

3. Protein Docking and Drug Design

4. Computational and geotechnical studies on preservation of heritage monuments in the arid and semi-arid regions of Western India

Research Interest

Other Funding

Projects