Six IIT Madras professors receive ANRF JC BOSE Grant for research; to get Rs 25 lakh annually for 5 years

Six faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have been selected for the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) JC Bose Grant for their outstanding research achievements across various domains in engineering and science. The foundation will provide a grant of Rs 25 lakh annually for five years to support the research.

Sujatha Srinivasan from the department of mechanical engineering, Thalappil Pradeep, department of chemistry, Deepa Venkitesh, department of electrical engineering, Jitendra S Sangwai, department of chemical engineering, Ramakrishnan Swaminathan, department of applied mechanics and biomedical engineering, and Sundargopal Ghosh, department of chemistry are the six IIT Madras professors, who have been awarded the ANRF JC Bose Grant.

V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, said: “I congratulate all my distinguished colleagues. This demonstrates the high quality of research and development in critical and emerging technologies happening at IIT Madras.”

ANRF JC Bose Grant for engineers, scientists

The ANRF JC Bose Grant is open to scientists and engineers aged between 45 and 65 years working in recognised academic and research institutions across India.

The professors are selected on the basis of outstanding research achievements, including publications, patents, technology transfer, research outcomes, grants and other indicators of scientific excellence.

The ANRF JC Bose Grant provides Rs 25 lakh annually for five years to support frontier research, including human resource, consumables, travel, contingency, equipment and other research-related expenses, along with institutional overhead support.

The grant enables accomplished researchers to pursue ambitious, high-impact research in frontier areas of science and engineering, according to an official statement.

Professor Sujatha Srinivasan from mechanical engineering

Among the awardees, professor Sujatha Srinivasan, has made significant contributions to prosthetics, assistive and rehabilitation technologies.

Her team has developed affordable assistive devices suited to Indian lifestyles, including the commercially deployed NeoFly-NeoBolt system, standing wheelchair, kadam prosthetic knee and lightweight YD one wheelchair.

Professor Thalappil Pradeep from Chemistry

Professor Thalappil Pradeep is globally recognised for pioneering research in clean water technologies, nanomaterials, microdroplets and ice chemistry.

He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri and his affordable water purification technologies have enabled access to safe drinking water for millions across India.

He has also founded the International Centre for Clean Water at IIT Madras Research Park to accelerate the translation of laboratory research into societal technologies.

Professor Deepa Venkitesh from electrical engineering

Professor Deepa Venkitesh is the project lead for the Advanced Optical Communication Testbed, a major academia-industry consortium initiative funded by the department of telecommunications, Government of India.

She has made contributions in high-capacity optical communications, microwave photonics and optical signal processing.

Professor Jitendra S Sangwal from chemical engineering

Whereas, professor Jitendra S Sangwai’s research focuses on carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS), gas hydrates, and upstream oil and gas engineering.

He has published over 200 journal papers, holds an h-index of 60 with nearly 11,000 citations, and has filed 43 patents.

Professor Ramakrishnan Swaminathan, applied mechanics, biomedical engineering

Professor Ramakrishnan Swaminathan has headed impactful research in the areas of medical device design and biomedical instrumentation to analyze brain and muscle functions.

He has worked to enhance the diagnostic relevance of medical equipment through measurements, models, and informatics.

Professor Sundargopal Ghosh from chemistry

Furthermore, professor Sundargopal Ghosh conducts pioneering research in transition metal boron chemistry. His extensive work investigates the synthesis, structural frameworks, electronic bonding, and chemical reactivity of various boron-containing molecular systems.

These investigations have substantially progressed the field of boron-rich chemistry, particularly concerning catalysis and the activation of small molecules.