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	07/11/2023- 06/11/2026	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	Sanctioned	30.06

Research funding

Science and Engineering Research Board-Startup Research Grant, GOI
Additional Competitive Research Grant, BIT Pilani
Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani

Projects

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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 RESEARCH PROJECT

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.

BITS-RMIT Research Project Approved:

Design and development of hybrid organic-inorganic nanoparticles for co-delivery of DNA and a chemotherapy drug in cancer treatment

(Project ID: BITSRMIT024B001261)

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.

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

Completed Projects

Start-up Research Grant (SRG) Sponsored by DST-SERB

Role: Principal Investigator

Cost: Rs. 9 Lakhs

Title: A Novel 2:1 Multiplexer based Approch 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.
"Low-Power Approximate Ternary Multiplier using CNFETs" (To be Submitted.)
"Design of CNTFET-Based Ternary Logic Circuits Using Low Power Encoder"( Selected for iSES 2022).
"Design of Ternary Conditional-Sum Adders" (Manuscript Under Preparation).

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", (Unpublished)
"An Approximate Adder with Inaccurate Addition of Lower Significant bits" (Unpublished)
"Design of Resource Efficient Binary and Floating Point Comparator Using FPGA Primitive Instantiation", (Under Review; Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers).
"FPGA Based Implementation of Approximate Booth Multiplier" (Manuscript Under Preparation)

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

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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: Research Collaborator from India for the Project.

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: 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 (Started in 2024)

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 (Started in 2023)

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)

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)

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)

Sponsored Projects

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 1789950/-)
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

Research and Consultancy Projects

Ongoing Projects:

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).

Feasibility Studies to Assess the Use of Spent Grains as Feedstock for Biomethanation
(Principal Investigator, GPS Renewables, January, 2022).

Technology Integration for the Production of Clean Energy from Organic Waste (Biomethanation, Catalytic Conversion, Photocatalysis and Fuel Cell)
(Principal Investigator, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, February, 2021).

Industrial-scale Thermophilic Biomethanation of Food Waste and Sewage Sludge for Production of Bioenergy and Biofertilizer
(Principal Investigator, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Sanctioned in August, 2020)

Completed Projects:

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 earthworm as a model bio indicator 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 modeling, 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/ Projects 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 RoyChoudhury (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

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/"A Study on the State of Supply Chain Finance for Indian MSMEs working in the Automobile Sector" (Supervisor)/ Thesis Writing stage.
Ritesh Ashok Deore/ Circularity Assessment of the Indian Automotive Sector (Supervisor)/ Data analysis stage.

Projects 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)
Submitted a project proposal to STRIDE, UGC titled "Creating Entrepreneurship Education Ecosystem (EEE) in Indian Higher Education" with a budget of Rs. 29,57,900/-(Principle Investigator)- Shortlisted by UGC for interaction.
Submitted a project proposal to DST, Rajasthan, titled "Optimisation of the number of fire stations and their location for emergency planning in Jaipur city" with a budget of Rs 14,42,100/-. (Principal Investigator)- Currently under review.

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

DST-FIST Grant-135 lakhs 2022 to 2027 (Co-ordinator of the Project)
Mechanistic insights of CO₂ methanation using core-shell catalysts, 32 Lakhs (In Progress) Co-PI
Harnessing the Duality of Mesoporous Core-shell Materials for CO2 Capture and Methanation-CSIR-25 lacs-(2022-2025-In Progress)-Co-PI
Waste Minimization and carbon capture by coa-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

Doctoral Supervision

Completed

Divya Dosaya - Teacher Professionalism and Student Achievement: An Empirical Study at Secondary School Level.
Nayan Jyoti Nath - Communication for Health: Reckoning Health Settings in India's Borderland.
Mounika Prashanthi - Learning Ecology and Student Well Being: Towards an Integrated Approach of School as a Learning Organization.
Deepanjana Chakraborty - Socio-Emotional Competencies and Educational Attainments: Probing Higher Education Readiness in the Transitional Phase

Ongoing

Ranjini S Nadig - Higher Education and Technological Interventions in the Contemporary Milieu.

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)

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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

Projects

Extra-mural projects as principal investigator (Completed and ongoing)

Sr. No	Title of the projects	Funding Agency	Funds	Duration
1	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
2	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
3	Brain-Targeted Antibacterial Nanomedicine to Revolutionize the Existing Therapy for Bacterial Meningitis	ICMR	55.08 L	2023-2026
4	3D-Bioprinted Contact Lens Embedding Host-Defense Peptide S100A12 as Precision Medicine for Bacterial Keratitis	DBT	39.10 L	2023- Feb 2025
5	Carbon dioxide-fueled Janus Motors for Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Cargo in Helicobacter pylori Infection	MoE-STARS	46.85 L	2023-2026
6	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
7	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
8	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	55 L	2017-2020
9	Development of paclitaxel nano-formulation (CONSULTANCY)	Dr. Reddy's Laboratory, Hyderabad, India	8.27 L	2017-2019
10	Development of epigenomes-targeted liposomes for the cancer-specific delivery of chemotherapeutic drug	Sun Pharmaceutical Advanced Research Company, Vadodara, India	29 L	2016-2019
11	Sustained release injectable depot formulation	Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, Hyderabad, India	22 L	2015-2017
12	Tumor-targeted nanomedicines for photodynamic therapy	DST (Indo-Belarus)	9.58 L	2015-2017
13	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
14	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	Funds	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:

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).
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

Completed:

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. Approved.
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. 2024
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 : Sanctioned
- Duration: Jun. 2023 --
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 --

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).

Opening: On-Campus PhD Position in Computer Vision and Deep Learning

Interested candidates may contact me directly (asish.bera@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in) for more information about the open positions for PhD and research areas.

Broad domain: AI-ML in Agriculture and Healthcare

Medical Image Analysis

Plant Disease Detection and Health Monitoring

Sponsored Projects

Stability Analysis of Structures using Element Free Galerkin Method

Status100%

Principal Investigator

Dr. Gaurav Watts

Amount Sanctioned

2.00 Lakhs

Agency

BITS Pilani

Scheme

Research Initiation Grant

Duration

2019-2021

Publications from the Project

Blast Response of Functionally Graded Auxetic Sandwich Structures with Tunable Material Properties

Status10%

Principal Investigator

Dr. 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

Status10%

Principal Investigator

Dr. Shashank Gupta

Co-Investigators

Dr Gaurav Watts

Dr Shuvendu N Patel

Amount Sanctioned

11.88 Lakhs

Scheme

I-DAPT HUB Foundation, IIT BHU, Varanasi

Duration

2023-2025

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 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 Universita De Lille, France during 22 - 24 May 2024 (Co-Convener)

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 Sponsored	17 Lakhs	2022-24 (Ongoing) PI
3	Investigating the performance of neck exoskeleton in reducing the 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

Ongoing

“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: 2023-24.

–

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

Interpretation of Tuberculin Reaction Using Medical Photography and Computer Aided Diagnosis

Duration of the project : 2 Years (Dec-2019 to Mar-2022)

OBJECTIVES and DESCRIPTION

Design and develop Computer Aided Systems for minimizing errors and bias in medical observations.
Design and develop image processing algorithms for object detection and performing geometric operations in medical images.
Develop smart data storage and retrieval systems leveraging cloud and security frameworks for healthcare data

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)

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 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

Number of Ongoing Sponsored Project : 10

Total Project Fund Sanctioned : Rs. 1,96,52,490

1.	Project Title	Development, optimization and evaluation of stable multidose injectable formulation of anticancer drug
	Funding Agency	Industry funded research project
	Fund Approved(Rs.)	21,44,000
	Duration	July 2023- June 2025

2.	Project Title	Upscaling and preclinical evaluation for commercialization of a novel and affordable anti-fungal drug product
	Funding Agency	BIRAC setup by DBT
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	49,95,600
	Duration	Jan 2024-July 2025

3.	Project Title	Long-Acting Injectables (LAI)
	Funding Agency	Novartis Healthcare
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	5,28,050
	Duration	2021-2023

4.	Project Title	Novel Therapeutic approaches for the treatment of Leukemia
	Funding Agency	ICMR
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	42,00,000
	Duration	2021-2024

5.	Project Title	Development & optimization of stable anti-leukemic drug loaded long circulating liposomes
	Funding Agency	Parenteral Drug Association, India Chapter
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	30,00,000
	Duration	2020-2023

6.	Project Title	Novel formulation for oral bioavailability enhancement of anticancer drug
	Funding Agency	Slayback Pharma
	Fund Approved(Rs.)	20,68,540
	Duration	2020-2022

7.	Project Title	Development and characterization of a novel lipid based Nano emulsion for parenteral drug delivery
	Funding Agency	Slayback Pharma
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	8,14,200
	Duration	2020-2022

8.	Project Title	Surface Modified Nanoparticulate Carrier System for the Effective Delivery of Antileukemic Drug
	Funding Agency	BITS Pilani - Additional Competitive Research Grant
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	10,00,000
	Duration	2019-2021

9.	Project Title	Development & characterization of nano-emulsion based drug product for the management of emetogenic cancer chemotherapy
	Funding Agency	Slayback Pharma
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	7,02,100
	Duration	2018-20

10.	Project Title	Development, Optimization and Characterization of nanostructured carrier system for effective delivery of anticancer therapeutics
	Funding Agency	BITS Pilani – Research Initiation Grant
	Fund Approved (Rs.)	2,00,000
	Duration	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

List of Sponsored Research Projects:

(A) Ongoing Projects

22) 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

21) Project Title: “DBT- Builder BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus Interdisciplinary Life Science Program for Advanced research and Education”

Funding amount: Rs 8.43 crore

Funding Agency: DBT

Role of Dr. N N Ghosh: Research Group Leader (Biomaterials Group) and Co-coordinator

Status: Sanctioned Started November 2022

Duration 5 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

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)

(B) Completed Projects

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) 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 “Novel biosensors techniques for analysis of pesticide residues, aflatoxin, heavy metals and bacterial contamination in milk Project no. Comp4/C10125.

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

Prof. Sunil Bhand (Consortium PI)

Co-Investigator (Prof. NN Ghosh)

NDRI Karnal: Dr. Naresh Kumar Consortium (partner)

IIT Delhi: Prof Sudhir Chandra & Prof Ratnamala Chatterjee (partner)

Punjabi University Patiala: Prof Neelam Verma (partner)

Total funding 2943.736 lakh

Status: Completed (Feb 2008- March 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

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

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

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

2024–2026
Physiological and pharmacological significance of formate-nitrite transporters in Toxoplasma gondii: ICMR Research Grant, ca. INR 7 million

2022–2024
Biosensor monitoring in Toxoplasma gondii: Indo-Japan Scholar Mobility Program by DST-JSPS (co-PI, Takeharu Nagai @ Osaka University, Japan), ca. INR 1 million

2022–2025
Pyruvate homeostasis in Toxoplasma gondii: DST-SERB Core Research Grant, ca. INR 6 million

2021–2025
Lipid and cyclic nucleotide signaling in Toxoplasma gondii: IA/S/19/1/504263 by Wellcome Trust – DBT (India Alliance) Senior Fellowship, ca. INR 45 million

Previous Grants

2019–2021
A novel lipid-regulated calcium homeostasis in Toxoplasma gondii. GU1100/4-3 from German Research Foundation, ca. 260,000 €

2019–2020
Functional and physiological significance of phosphatidylethanolamine biogenesis in Toxoplasma gondii: GU1100/15 from German Research Foundation, ca. 10000 €

2017–2020
Cyclic nucleotides-mediated ion homeostasis in the malaria parasite: IRTG2290 from German Research Foundation; co-PI: Alexander Maier (ANU), ca. 230,000 €

2016–2020
Metabolic basis of obligate intracellular parasitism: GU1100/8 & GU1100/13 from German Research Foundation, ca. 520,000 €

2015–2018
Optogenetic dissection of cyclic NMP signaling T. gondii: GU1100/7 from German Research Foundation, co-PI: Peter Hegemann, ca. 197,000 €

2015–2021
Cyclic NMP signaling and metabolic regulation in T. gondii: GRK2046/A2 from German Research Foundation, ca. 460,000 €

2014–2017
Synthesis vs. import of host-derived phospholipids by T. gondii: GU1100/4-1 from German Research Foundation; co-PI: Maik Lehmann, ca. 320,000 €

2013–2016
Carbon metabolisms of acute and chronic stages of T. gondii: GU1100/3-1 from German Research Foundation, ca. 160,000 €

2010–2012
Phosphatidylcholine synthesis as a drug target in T. gondii: Young scientist grant from European Society of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, 20,000

2009–2014
Biogenesis of inositol-lipids in T. gondii: GRK1121/A7 from German Research Foundation, co-PI: Andreas Herrmann (HU, Berlin), 362,000 €

2009–2013
Modeling of lipid biogenesis in Toxoplasma-infected human cell: SBF618/C7 from German Research Foundation, co-PIs: Herrmann Holzhütter (Charité, Berlin) and Richard Lucius (HU, Berlin), ca. 411,000 €

2009–2011
High-throughput anti-coccidian drug screening using YFP-parasite, Novartis Animal Healthcare, co-PI: Richard Lucius (HU, Berlin), ca. 33,000 €

2009–2011
In vivo parasite-host interactions in the Eimeria-mouse model. Manuela Schmid (doctoral student) & Nishith Gupta (host PI), Helmholtz Foundation, ca.120,000 €

2008–2010
Central carbon metabolism of T. gondii. Martin Blume (doctoral student) & Nishith Gupta (host PI), Helmholtz Foundation, ca.120,000 €

RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS

Ongoing Projects:

Topic: To Predict Surface Location Error in Micromilling of Thin-walled Ti6Al4V for low cost Biofabrication

- Role: Co-Principle Investigator
- Agency: SERB
- Duration: 2024-2027
- Funding sanctioned: Rs 22,92,000/-

Topic: Development of Intelligent System for Sustainable Micro-manufacturing of Microneedle Arrays of Difficult-to-cut Materials with an Application to Bio-fabrication

- Role: Co-Principal Investigator
- Agency: SERB
- Funding sanctioned: 22.37 Lakhs
- Duration: 2023-2026

Completed Projects:

Topic: Simulation and analysis of cellular materials against blast loading

- Role: Principal Investigator
- Agency: CVRDE (DRDO)
- Funding sanctioned: 9.77 Lakhs
- Duration: 2021-2023

Topic: Novel casting approach to improve quality of aluminum alloy casting

- Role: Principal Investigator
- Agency: DRDL
- Funding sanctioned: 9.84 Lakhs
- Duration: 2017-2020

Topic: Studies related to control of porosity in casting

- Role: Principal Investigator
- Agency: ISR
- Funding sanctioned: 8.03 Lakhs
- Duration: 2016-2019

Topic: Novel minimal SLM application method for performance improvement in turning

- Role: Principal Investigator
- Agency: DST-SERB
- Funding sanctioned: 40.16 Lakhs
- Duration: 2013-2017

Topic: Solid lubricant coated tools for sustainable machining

- Role: Principal Investigator
- Agency: CSIR
- Funding sanctioned: 18.52 Lakhs
- Duration: 2012-2015

Topic: Development of novel coated tools for green machining

- Role: Principal Investigator
- 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

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

On going projects

Project Title: Design and Development of MEMS Gyroscope for NAVAL Applications

Funding Agency: DRDO-NAVAL RESEARCH BOARD (NRB)

Duration: October 2020- December 2023

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 (June 2021- May 2024)
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 2021-March 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 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 (February 2013- January 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 2013 to March 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 2008-March 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 2003-September 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 lacs || 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. 27 lacs || Duration: 2 years [2023-2025]
Other Principal Investigators:
1. Prof. Swati Biswas (Department of Pharmacy, BITS Pilani-Hyderabad Campus)
2. Dr. 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 lacs || 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

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

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), jointly with Prof. R. Ganesan.

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), jointly with Prof. A. Guha Roy, Prof. S. Ganesh & Dr. A. Raghuram.

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:

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:

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)

Funding Agencies: Monash University (Australia) and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia ERIA (Indonesia)

Broad Theme: Global Trade and Economic Recovery in the Post Pandemic World

Duration: 2022-2023

Research Team: Mini Thomas, Archana Srivastava and Keerti Mallela

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

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

Additional Competitive Research Grant (ACRG)

Sponsored by: BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus

Sanctioned Amount: 600,000 INR

Duration: 2 years (2021-2023)

Status: Ongoing

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: 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

PROJECT 2

· 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

PROJECT 1

· 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 2

· 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 3

· 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 4

· 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 5

· 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 6

· 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: 2

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.

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

Academic collaborations

Government collaborations

other collaborations

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	03	05

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.

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

Consultancy Project

Funding Agency: Poddar Infra Pvt. Ltd.

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
Status: Ongoing

Funding Agency: MPM Pvt. Ltd.

Amount: INR 2,13000

Project Title- Development of Image processing method for casting industry

Status: Approved

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

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 Research Projects

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: BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus Research Initiation
Project Title: Women on board and corporate policies in India (Sep 2019-Sep 2021)

Grant Amount: INR 2,00,000

2. Funding Agency: Dvara Research Foundation- Household Finance Initiative (with Dr. Priya Rampal)

Grant Amount: INR 2,70,000

Project Title: Socio-economic determinants of household investment portfolio in India (July, 2020-April, 2021)

Working paper version - www.dvara.com/research/conference2021/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sharda-University-and-BITS- Pilani.pdf

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

DETAILS OF INTERNAL PROJECT PROPOSALS

Project Proposal(s) submitted to BITS-Pilani (till date): 1

Project Proposal(s) accepted by BITS-Pilani (till date): 1

Project Proposal(s) under-review/rejected (till date): 0

PROJECT DETAILS

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.

DETAILS OF EXTERNAL PROJECT PROPOSALS

Project Proposal(s) submitted for funding (till date): 1

Project Proposal(s) accepted for funding (till date): 1

Project Proposal(s) under-review/rejected (till date): 0

PROJECT DETAILS

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

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

Total Number of Approved/Ongoing Projects: 07
Total Research Grant Sanctioned: Rs. 2,13,78,368 (PI: Rs. 1,26,98,308 & Collab/Co-I: Rs. 86,80,060)
Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Fund Sanctioned	Duration	Role
Development and characterization of injectable biologics	Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, India	Rs.5,00,000	2023-2026	Principal Investigator
Preclinical development of long acting delivery systems to treat posterior uveitis.	Department of Health Research (DHR), India	Rs.49,00,028	2023-2026	Principal Investigator
Biomimetic corneal patch for treating fungal keratitis	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India	Rs. 24,98,280	2022-2025	Principal Investigator
Investigate natural drugs as a non-invasive therapeutic option in mitigating keratoconus	Velux Stiftung, Switzerland	Total budget sanctioned: 1,59,82,620; BITS: 44,80,060	2022-2024	Collaborator
Therapeutic potential of drug loaded light-responsive sustained release gel depot in treating diabetic retinopathy	Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India	Rs. 28,00,000	2021-2024	Principal Investigator
Nanocarriers for delivery of ocular therapeutics to treat ocular infection	Parenteral Drug Association, India Chapter	Rs. 20,00,000	2020-2023	Principal Investigator
Novel Therapeutic Approaches for the treatment of Leukemia	Department of Health Research (DHR), India	Rs. 42,00,000	2020-2023	Co-Investigator

Research Projects Completed

Total Number of Completed Projects: 04
Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Fund Sanctioned (Rs)	Duration	Role
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation of new chemical entities for ocular diseases	Incilia Therapeutics	Rs. 8,14,200	2019-2022	Principal Investigator
Screening of Novel Chemical Entities for Dry Eye Disease	Incozen therapeutics private limited	Rs. 1,20,360	2021-2022	Principal Investigator
Fate of Drug Encapsulated Lipid Vesicles after Subconjunctival Delivery	BITS Pilani, Hyderabad (Competitive research grant)	Rs. 10,00,000	2019-2021	Principal Investigator
Optimization and characterization of deformable vesicle nanocarriers for ocular therapeutics	BITS Pilani, Hyderabad (Research Initiation Grant)	Rs. 2,00,000	2018-2020	Principal Investigator

Sponsored Research Projects

As Principal Investigator (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.

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.

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).

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.

Duration : 3 years; August, 2021 - July, 2024. (Ongoing)

5. 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.

Duration : 3 years: 25th January 2024 - 24th January 2027 (Ongoing)

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: 2023-2025, 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 Projects

Ongoing:

Title	Agency	Duration	Amount	Role
Bio-CPS Device Security	DST, Govt. of India (National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems)	2022-2024	28.68 lakhs	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 EAI SecureComm 2024)
- Oblivious Two-way Ownership Verification in Deduplicated Cloud Computing Systems (Completed)
- 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 Elsevier Computer Communications)
- 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: Photovoltaic Fed Microgrids: Integrated Intelligent Harmonic Control to Enable Electric Vehicle Charging

Role: Principal Investigator

Funding agency: Central power Research Institute, Banglore

Amount: 20.55 Lakhs

Duration: Two years (Feb 2023-Jan 2025)

Status: Ongoing

2.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

3. 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

4. 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

CO2 Utilization and Sequestration to Prepare Sustainable Structural Concrete Mix Using Recycled Aggregate

Cement Composite Based Thermoelectric Material for Building Energy Harvesting

Innovative Accelerated Carbonation Process for the Preparation of Ready-mix Recycled Aggregate Concrete

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 proposal is approved (as Co-PI).

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

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]

On going Projects

Title: Interdisciplinary Life Science Programme for Advanced Research and Education in Epigenetics and Genome Editing. [Funded by DBT]- Principle Investigator [9.10 crores]
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

Consultancy project on Probiotics [Funded by Tablets (India) Limited, Chennai]- Principle Investigator [5.74 lakhs]

Approved Projects

Title: Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Thiazolidinedione Hybrid Analogues as Potent Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitors for Obesity Treatment. [Funded by ICMR, New Delhi] - Principle Investigator [32 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 "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 Research Project "Creating UI/UX for Different Question Types", from Trajectorie Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, India (August 2023 - November 2023)
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 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.

Research/Industry Projects:

Ongoing Projects:

1) 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.

2) M/s Rangsons Aerospace Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore, Consultancy guidance of Thermal projects, Rs 21.24 Lakhs for 3 years starting September 2021.

3) ARDB-DRDO Project on "Development of All-Electric Environmental Control System for Fighter Aircraft", Cost Rs. 58.2 Lakhs, till Feb. 2025.

4) CASDIC-DRDO Project on "Development of Graphene/ Graphite Encapsulated high thermal conductivity heat sinks", Cost Rs. 28.72 Lakhs, till Jan. 2025.

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) – Ongoing (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.]

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:

1. Principal Investigator (September 2018 onwards)- "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/-)

2. Co-Principal Investigator (September 2018 onwards)- "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/-)

Research Projects Completed:

1. UGC sponsored project entitled “Writing Competence: An Assessment of Tribal Students.”
2. A video documentary entitled "Parivartan: Women Empowerment in Rural Shekhawati Region" Sponsored by UGC Centre of Women's Studies, BITS Pilani.

Sponsored Research Project

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	Dr. Abhijit Das (CSIS, BITS), Dr. Aritra Mukherjee (CSIS, BITS), Dr. 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 laks	2 Years	PI	Abhishek Sarkar (ME, BITS), Dr. Abhijit Das (CSIS, BITS)	September 15, 2023	BITS CDRF

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 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.

Projects as PI

Sanctioned Projects. Awaiting Fund Release.

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

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.

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), 16,80,900 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 Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), 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	Cost in Lakh	Duration	Role as PI/Co-PI	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

Completed-

S. No	Title	Cost in Lakh	Duration	Role as PI/Co-PI	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

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).

Projects

1. Role: Advisor

Title: Frustum CAM in Medical Ventilators

Nature: Research

Funding Agency: SRISTI, in collaboration with BIRAC, Department of Biotechnology, (INDIA)

Amount Sanctioned: 1500000 INR (~75000 AED)

Duration: - January'21 - December'23

Status: Completed

2. 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

3. 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 – 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 - 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 - 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 01/03/2024
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 - 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 7, 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)

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

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’)

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 Interests

Machine Learning and Computer Vision
Renewable Energy Planning & System Sizing
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
IC Engines

Sponsored Projects

Ongoing:

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.
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'.
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'.

Completed:

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-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

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: Ongoing

Amount: Rs. 1.8 Lakhs.

Role: Mentor

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: Ongoing

Amount: Rs. 25.289 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: Ongoing

Amount: Rs. 10 Lakhs

Role: PI

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: " 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: Ongoing

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: Sanctioned.

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).
Waveguides
Surface wave transmission line
Microwave Sensor development.

Research Facilities in Department:

CST Microwave Studio (Simulation Software), Vector Network Analyzer (20 GHz), Anechoic Chamber (Antenna Testing), Multiple antenna experiment kits, Waveguide test benches, RF cables, RF Connectors.

Research Projects:

(1) Additional Competitive Research Grant from BITS, Pilani for Project titled "High power compact UWB TEM antenna and mode converter design " [Nov. 2018-Oct. 2020]

(2) Industrial Consultancy Project for Intel Technology India pvt. ltd. Project Investigator : Ashish Chittora , Co-PI: Prof. M. K. Deshmukh [Duration: Feb., 2021-March, 2022]

Research Projects

Role and Name of the project	Funding agency	Sanctioned	Date of completion	Amount in Rs.	Duration
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	Feb 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 (Completed)	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)	01.09.2018 to 30.06.2019 (Completed)	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	Sept, 2018 (Completed)	01.09.2018 to 31.03.2020 (Completed)	Rs. 3,15,000	16 months
Principal Investigator (PI)- Political Ecology of South India	Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research and Academics (OPERA)	Aug, 2017 (Completed)	Aug, 2017 to Aug, 2022 (Completed)	Rs. 22,80,000	5 years
Principal Investigator (PI)- Alternative ecological ways of being	Research Initiation Grant	28^th Aug, 2018 (Completed)	Aug, 2018 to Aug, 2020 (Completed)	Rs. 2,00,000	2 years

Sponsored Research Projects

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: Prof. Anasua GuhaRay, Duration: 2023-2025.
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.
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

Research

I am fascinated by the area of Integer Partitions. A partition is a natural object: it answers the question "In how many ways can we split up a positive integer n into a sum of smaller positive numbers?" Partitions have connections to a wide variety of fields like Combinatorics, Number Theory, Hypergeometric Series, Lie Algebras, Statistical Physics, and many more. As with many areas in mathematics, one of the earliest drivers of research in partitions was Leonhard Euler, and more recently, it received a fillip through Ramanujan's fundamental contributions in the first two decades of the 20th century and whose impact continues to be felt to this day. Two books for a good introduction are:

Number Theory in the Spirit of Ramanujan by Bruce Berndt
Integer Partitions by George Andrews and Kimmo Eriksson

Ongoing Projects

Waste cooking oil biodiesel microemulsion as a sustainable alternative fuel for CI engines: Rs. 2,00,000 (to be started)

Funding: SPARKLE Grant, BITS Pilani

Development of alcohol-gasoline-water microemulsion fuels for spark-ignition engines: Rs. 9,50,000 (2021-2023)

Funding: Additional Competitive Research 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

Microemulsion fuels as an alternate for spark ignition engines: Rs. 2,00,000 (2021-2023)

Funding: Research Initiation Grant, BITS Pilani

Research Interests

Approximation Algorithms
Theoretical Computer Science
Computational Geometry
AI and ML

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). [Ongoing]
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). [Ongoing]
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)

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) (C0-PI - Jagadeesh Anmala, Civil Engineering, and Prof. Krishnan R, Deparment of Chemistry)

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

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

Sponsored Projects

1. 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: Ongoing

2. Title of the Project: 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
3. 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 eightyseven thousand)

Duration: 2 Years

Status: Ongoing

4. Title of the Project: Measuring Segregation in Hyderabad: Introspecting Multiple Indexes and Multiple Pattern

Principle investigator: Dr. Suchismita Satpathy

Funding Agency: 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

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

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.

1. A Target Guided Approach for Design, Synthesis, and Screening of Host-directed Therapies for TB associated Metabolic Disorder (PCOS) in Women (Role: Co-PI)

Project duration: Oct 2023 – Sep 2025
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 30 lakhs
Funding Agency: CDRF - BITS Pilani
Project status: Ongoing

2. Discovery and Biological Evaluation of Novel Dual Inhibitors of DprE1 and InhA as Potential Anti- Tubercular Agents (Role : PI)

Project duration: Sep. 2023 – Aug. 2026
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 34.52 lakhs
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology, - CRG, New Delhi
Project status: Ongoing

3. Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Thiochromene Analogs as Potential Anti-leishmanial agents (Role : Co-PI)

Project duration: Sep. 2023 – Aug. 2026
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 36.56 lakhs
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology, - CRG, New Delhi
Project status: Ongoing

4. Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 1,2,3-triazole Hybrids as Novel Quorum Sensing Inhibitors (Role : PI)

Project duration: Apr. 2022 – Mar. 2025
Amount sanctioned: ₹19.2 lakhs
Funding Agency: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi
Project status: Ongoing

5. Development of novel anti-leishmanial analogs loaded with novel Nano-formulations (Role : Co-PI)

Project duration: Apr. 2018 – Mar. 2021
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 60 lakhs
Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi
Project status: Completed

6. Structure Based Rational Design and Synthesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis inhibitors (Role : PI)

Project duration: Jan. 2014 – Dec.2017
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 22 lakhs
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology, SERB New Delhi
Project status: Completed

7. Synthesis and Biological Activity of Various Triazoles as Effective Antifungal Agents (Role : PI)

Project duration: Nov.2012 – Oct.2015
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 21.44 lakhs
Funding Agency: Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi
Project status: Completed

8. Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Bishomo(hetero) arylpiperazines as atypical antipsychotic agents (Role : PI)

Project duration: Apr. 2011 – Mar.2014
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 6.44 lakhs
Funding Agency: University Grants Commission, New Delhi
Project status: Completed

9. Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Various Indole Analogues for the Treatment of Schizophrenia (Role : PI)

Project duration: Jul. 2010 – Aug. 2013
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 18.28 lakhs
Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology, Fast Track Scheme, New Delhi
Project status: Completed

10. 3-Benzisoxazolyl piperidines and Quinoxalinyl Piperazines as Potential Atypical Antipsychotic Agents (Role : Co-PI)

Project duration: Jan. 2005 – Dec. 2007
Amount sanctioned: ₹ 4.94 lakhs
Funding Agency: University Grants Commission, New Delhi
Project status: Completed

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 Details:

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: 1 Cr. (INR)

Project Details:

“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)

Interested PhD Student:

The project will start from January 2024. The candidates having ME/MTech (Industrial/Production/Mechanical/Transportation) are encouraged to send theirs CV to Prof. Srikanta Routroy (srikanta@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in).

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: 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: 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 (2021-2024)

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: 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-Feburary 2024)

Total Sanctioned Amount to BITS Pilani: 7.5 Lakhs

Role in Project: Prof Srikanta Routroy [Co-Project Director]

Title: “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 (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 (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 solar PV integration	Lab	CGPA>7.5, Control Systems, Basic Power Electronics, DSP/Micro-controller/FPGA programming	Laboratory prototype
3	Simulation-based study of a bidirectional DC-DC converter for interfacing battery energy storage	Study	CGPA>8.0, Control Systems, MATLAB programming, Basic Power Electronics	Good review paper

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).

Ph.D. Students

Ms. Shreya Sangal (Thesis theme: Business applications of Blockchain, LinkedIn Profile).
Mr. Vatsal Tripathi (LinkedIn profile)
Mr. Bharat Bhushan (LinkedIn profile)

Research

Research Areas

Big Data Analytics, High Performance Computing, Stream Analytics, Parallel Data Structures and Algorithms for ML/DM, Federated Learning, Computer Vision, Materials Informatics, Human-Computer Interaction

Sponsored Research Projects

Project: Resolving Bottlenecks of Cross-Device Federated Learning using Anytime Algorithms

Funding agency: BITS Pilani (under the Additional Competitive Research Grant)

Amount: Rs. 9.98 lakhs

Duration: Two years (Sep 2022 - Aug 2024)

Status: On-going

Project: Utilizing web3 to construct a more efficient and participative advertising audience

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: On-going

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)
Facial Emotion Recognition in the Indian Context
Chemical Properties Prediction in Additive Manufacturing
Federated Learning for Computational Photography
Federated Learning based Data Mining Algorithms
Parallelization of Clustering Algorithms
Human Computer Interaction Studies for LLMs

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 pre-requisites has been mentioned below (next subsection).

Students will be chosen on the following criteria:

Sound knowledge of concepts related to the project (as per in the pre-requisites given below for each Project).
Excellent programming skills in C/C++/ Python (Pandas, TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch).
Strong paper writing skills and willing 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 2nd Sem 2023-24

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.

Facial Emotion Recognition for the Indian Context

This Project aims at developing a Facial Emotion Recognition System for the Indian context considering our indegenious ethnic diversity. Age and Gender detection is also a part of this project.
We would be developing Deep Learning models for the same.
Pre-requisites: Very strong hands on experience on Deep Learning related technologies, especially CNN, RNNs, Trasnformers, etc.

Computational Photography using Federated Learning

This Project aims at developing federated learning models for tasks related to computational photography such as Bokeh rendering, Image Restoration and Image Signal Processing.
Pre-requisites:Very strong hands on experience on Deep Learning related technologies, especially CNN, RNNs, Trasnformers, etc. Students have hands-on experience in using Pysyft and other FL related libraries would be preferred.

Human Computer Interaction Studies for LLMs

This Project aims at conduct Human Computer Interaction Studies for various LLM technologies such as ChatGPT and other tools that are openly available or built in-house. The work involves understanding the use cases of LLM technologies, conduct surveys & interviews, perform thematic analysis to extract insights of the study conducted, and present them as a research article.
Pre-requisites: Basic understanding of LLMs and their use cases, programming in python to build rapid prototypes, good technical writing and communication skills.

To Apply

Please send your application via email along with the details of your CGPA, grades in all the courses done so far, projects done so far, knowledge on the relevant topics related to the project you are applying for and preference order of the projects 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 ₹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 total sanctioned amount is ₹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

Research Projects
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. (Ongoing)
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, INR 53.2 L, Co-PI.
McWane Gulf LLC, UAE have sponsored industrial cut valves worth 4000 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).
"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: Ongoing

(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 Barton Engineering FZ

Role: Principal Investigator;

Duration: 3 Months, 2023

Funding: Barton Engineering, Dubai;

Status: Completed

(4) 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

(5) 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

Research Areas

Modeling of Micro/Nano Electronic Devices;
Flexible and Wearable Electronics;
Computational Material Science;
Electromagnetics & Antennas

Govt. Funded Research Projects

Carbon Nanomaterials for Chemical Sensing Applications.
Amount: INR 4611610
SPARC Scheme. Joint project with Tel Aviv Univ Israel.
Sponsored by MHRD, New Delhi.
Role: Co-Investigator
Duration: 2019-2023
Status: Ongoing
IoT based energy management system of a Microgrid with V2G (Vehicle to Grid) feature
Amount: INR 4753100
Sponsored by DST-ICPS
Role: Co-Investigator
Duration: 2019-2023
Status: Ongoing
Investigation of Elastic and Inelastic Dephasing in Carbon Nanotube FET.
Amount: INR 1825450
Sponsored by SERB-DST, New Delhi.
Role: Co-Investigator
Duration: 2019-2022
Status: Completed
Design and Analysis of Metamaterial Based Antenna for Wearable Application.
Amount: INR 1182350
Indo-Bulgaria Joint Project with Univ. of Sofia
Sponsored by DST-International Bilateral Cooperation Division
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 2019-21 (Oct. 2021)
Status: Completed
Study on Electronic Transport Behaviour of Carbon Nanotube Based Field Effect Transistors.
Amount: INR 2181800
Sponsored by DRDO, New Delhi.
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 2017-2020 (Dec 2020)
Status: Completed
Development of Nanostructured Graphene as a Transparent and Current Spreading Electrode in Solar Cells.
Amount: INR 1920000
Sponsored by SERB-DST, New Delhi.
Role: Mentor of NPDF
Duration: 2017-2019. (Aug. 2019)
Status: Completed
Study of Electrical Behaviour of Nanocrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Transistor (nc-TFT).
Amount: INR 70000
Sponsored by UGC, New Delhi.
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration: 2011-2013.
Status: Completed
Modeling and Study of Polycrystalline Silicon for Solar cells and Thin-Film Transistors.
Amount: INR 288000
Sponsored by DST (Fast Track Project for Young Scientists), New Delhi.
Role: Principal Investigator
Duration:2006 -2009
Status: Completed

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

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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.

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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

Co-PI: Modelling of Drivers and Barriers of electric vehicle penetration in emerging economy : A study of Indian Market:Sponsored by: ICSSR: Duration in Months:24:Rs. 525000

Project Completed

Co-PI: Modeling of Employee performance and human capital Assessment and optimization of productivity of Indian manufacturing industry:Sponsored by: ICSSR: Duration in Months:24:Rs. 500000

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-Principal Investigator	BUILDER	975

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-Principal 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-Principal 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
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	SERB, DST Govt of India	Principal Investigator	Fast Track for Young Scientist	22.21
10	Esculetin a Therapeutic Intervention Targeted at Cardio-Renal Syndrome in Type 2 Diabetes	SERB, DST Govt of India	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 (04)

Completed (01)

Dr. Piyush Gupta. Title: Dhananjaya’s Dasarupa: The Analysis of Plot, Characters and Rasa in Shakespearean Hindi Film Adaptations (Omkara, Maqbool and Angoor). Completed 15 Sep. 2016

Ongoing (03)

Kanupriya Arya. Topic: Paradigms of marginalised voices in partition narratives.
Punita Raj. Topic: Competencies in the Selected War Adaptations.
Abhijith Venugopal. Transversal Competencies in Engineering Education.

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 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) (as co-PI 2019-23): 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): 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) (as co-PI 2021-23): 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.

Projects as PI (Currently Ongoing):

1. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2021-24): Targeting chromatin modifiers- Jumonji Histone Demethylases in tumor cells surviving acute drug stress: an in vitro and in vivo study.

2. BITS BioCyTiH Foundation (CyTIH) (2022-2024): Identification of novel biomarkers in ovarian cancer and design of appropriate prognostic probes.

3. 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.

4. 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. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB, DST) (as co-PI 2021-24): Neuronal regulation of tumor cell migration- understanding the role of semaphorins in tumor cells undergoing EMT and subjected to differential flow dynamics.

2. 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.

3. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (2021-2024, as co-PI): Exploring the role of 'Secretary Arm of Autophagy' in Glioblastoma therapy resistance: an in vitro and patient data based study.

4. 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.

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]

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	18.48 lakhs	1.5 Year
3	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
4	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

5	Ultra-Portable Â μ-fluidic Nucleic Acid Amplification System with Integrated Detection	Team member Co- Founder & Director	Mr Sohan Dudala, Dr Sanket Goel	BIRAC BIG Grant to Cleome Innovations	50 Lakhs	1.5 Years
6	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

DST FIST Project to Mechanical Engineering Department ( Sanctioned)

Project Implementation Group (PIG) member and Co-Principal Investigator received a grant of Rs 117 Lakhs from DST-FIST Grant for Development of infrastructure facility of micro fabrication in Mechanical Engineering Department, Hyderabad Campus.

Completed Project:

#	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	DST Agot-Tech	18.71	1 Year
3	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
4	Development of Coupled Numerical Heat Transfer Model for Predictions of Three Dimensional Billet Temperature with Growing Oxide in Reheat Furnace	PI		RIG BITS	2.00 lakhs	2years
5	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
6	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

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

Title	Type	Sponsored By	Status
Green Quantum Computing: Benchmarking, Performance Analysis, Modeling and Optimization of Quantum computing algorithms and communication Protocols	Sponsored	BITS	Ongoing
Efficient domain-specific storage and query system for High-speed IP flow analysis [PI]	Research Project	CAIR-DRDO	Ongoing
Solutions for Virtual Farming [PI]	Industry Sponsored	KSKT Agromart Private Limited	Ongoing
Big Data Management and Privacy Preservation for Wearable Biosensor Data in Healthcare Monitoring Using Feature Vector Store And Federated Deep Learning [PI]	Industry Sponsored	MapmyIndia	Ongoing
Designing Optimal and Targeted Advertisement Campaign Strategy for Online E-Commerce Platforms using AI and Machine Learning [co-PI]	Industry Sponsored	CommerceIQ	Ongoing
Multilingual Conversational AI to Enhance Customer Experience [co-PI]	Industry Sponsored	C-Zentrics Pvt. Ltd	Ongoing
Classification of Medical Conditions [PI]	Consultancy Project	liveSmart KK Japan	Completed
Development of Real-Time Multi-Objective Route Recommender System using AI [co-PI]	Industry Sponsored	MapmyIndia	Completed
Information Gathering from Encrypted Mobile Phone Applications [PI]	Research Project	CAIR-DRDO	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

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 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

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Dr. Surekha Bhanot

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Research Projects of Prof. Shamsher Bahadur Singh

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Development of small drug like molecules to deal with Cancer

Development of small drug like molecules for Peripheral Neuropathy.

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External and Internal Research Grants

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

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Completed supervising > 100 theses/projects @ BITS...

First Degree/ Under graduation:

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PhD:

Tracing Enzymatic Activities

PhD Guidance

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