Chairman-AICTE elucidated the changing scenarios of the education sector in the Post COVID era
2021-06-06 08:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
The Tenth edition of the University Distinguished Lecture (UDL) Series, organised by SRM University-AP, expounded on a pertinent problem of the current time, “Higher Education in India in the Post-COVID-19”. Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), delivered the Distinguished Lecture, and Shri Satish Chandra, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh, gave a special address.

In his welcome address, Prof D Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of SRM University-AP, set the context of the event, emphasising on how the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has resulted in the temporary closure of about 1000 Universities and about 40,000 Colleges in the country, severely disrupting the teaching and learning process and research activities. The transition to “Learn From Anywhere (LFA) happened overnight and people had to get used to it. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recognises the importance of leveraging the advantages of technology while acknowledging its potential risks and dangers. Online education calls for carefully designing and appropriately scaled studies to determine how the benefits of online/digital education can be reaped while addressing or mitigating the downsides. There is a need to establish a “Digital and online Wing” in the Departments of Education in different states of the country.

Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe in his Distinguished Lecture, delineated that the use of technology in the education environment has been initiated in the Pre-COVID days. Platforms such as Swayam, National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) came into existence to digitally bring quality education to everyone. Digital education carries a boon that no one can ignore, i.e. making physical distance irrelevant in education. Digital education has the ability to reach students anywhere and everywhere provided they are equipped with gadgets and internet connectivity. Thus, the Government of India has undertaken a nationwide project under, Bharat Net, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan to connect every corner of India through the internet. Prof Sahasrabudhe accepted that all subjects cannot be taught online, especially lab-based practical courses that will have the need to attend physical classes. Music, Drama, sports, other performing and fine arts, which are an essential part of a pedagogical system, cannot be studied online. Moreover, a digital class can never replace the bonding humans tend to develop while working in close proximity. However, it cannot be debated that the education system as we know it has changed. The future of education comes with a blended environment. Fortunately, National Education Policy-2020 envisioned the change long ago and introduced a relevant policy to ensure the educational growth of the country. Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU), Academic Bank of Credits, National Academic Depository are some of the revolutionary changes that are going to benefit the next generations in the post COVID days. The government has already established National Research Foundations to support mega research projects, which may need several crores of rupees. Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe emphasised that studying in one’s native language is an essential requirement that NEP looks into. Prof Sahasrabudhe asserted that proper administration, governance and autonomy are some of the deciding factors for the education sector in the coming days. While concluding his speech, he further elucidated AICTE’s initiatives towards the advancement of the education sector-Curriculum Revisions, Project-Based Experiential Learning, Faculty Training, Industry Internships, Students Internship Programmes are soon to be inseparable aspects of the changing education sector.
Shri Satish Chandra highlighted the challenges associated with online education in respect to the state of Andhra Pradesh. 3000 colleges and 17 universities with 12 lakhs students in Higher Education Sector have got affected because of the pandemic. However, the future of education brings a blended environment with both online and offline teaching-learning options. He opined that LMS, Online Platforms, gadgets such as desktops, laptops or tablets are going to be a part of the new normal of the education sector. The Government of Andhra Pradesh strives to help economically backward students by providing the gadgets at an affordable cost under various scholarship schemes.

Dr K Kasturirangan expounds the nuances of NEP-2020
2021-07-24 11:00 - 13:00
The eleventh edition of the University Distinguished Lecture Series in SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, is scheduled to be held on July 24, 2021, Saturday, at 11.00 am. Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr K Kasturirangan, Chairman, National Education Policy-2020 (NEP), will deliver the virtual lecture as the chief guest. Dr Audimulapu Suresh, minister of education in the government of Andhra Pradesh, will also join the esteemed lecture.
In the lecture titled “Creating a Vibrant Knowledge Society – An Indian Strategy for 21st Century”, Dr Kasturirangan will explicate the nuances underlying the conceptualisation of National Education Policy 2020. Being the first education policy of the 21st century, NEP 2020 proposes to address the many growing developmental imperatives of our country. This policy aims to revise and revamp all aspects of the education structure, including its regulation and governance, and create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st-century education while building upon India’s traditions and value systems.

More about the Distinguished Guest:
Dr K. Kasturirangan is currently Chancellor, Central University of Rajasthan; Chairman, Governing Board, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA); Chairperson, NIIT University, Neemrana; Member, Atomic Energy Commission, Emeritus Professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore and Honorary Distinguished Advisor, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He has been conferred with the highest civilian honours Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000) by the President of India, the Rajyotsava Prashasthi (2014) from Government of Karnataka and Award of ‘Officer of the Legion d’honneur’ (2002) by the President of the French Republic, France.

Every month, the University Distinguished Lecture (UDL) hosted by SRM University-AP is being attended by about 2000 members from IITs, NITs, IISERs, Universities/institutions, CSIR, DST, DBT, DRDO, DAE, ISRO, NARL, MoES and several others from different parts of the country. We gladly invite you to attend the enlightening UDL-11 session with the doyen of the Indian education system, Dr K Kasturirangan.

Science-Engineering-Technology synergy for sustainable growth
2021-09-25 10:30 - 12:30
SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh is organising the twelfth edition of the University Distinguished Lecture Series on September 25, 2021, at 10.30 am. Professor Indranil Manna, eminent scholar and JC Bose fellow, will deliver the distinguished lecture on the topic “Science-Engineering-Technology Synergy for Sustainable Growth”.
Sustainable development will necessitate new engineering and technology-based solutions to address the challenges of climate change, population increase, and urbanisation. Engineering infrastructure and competence-building initiatives are essential to assure that an adequate number of engineers are capable and ready to work on these global challenges. Developing a contingent of engineering creativity calls for a generation of future engineers who are committed to sustainable innovation.
About the Speaker:
Professor Manna, a JC Bose fellow of DST, is currently the Vice-Chancellor of BIT Mesra. He obtained his B. Engg. Degree from Calcutta University (BE College) in 1983, M. Tech. from IIT Kanpur in 1984 and PhD from IIT Kharagpur in 1990. He was a Premchand Roychand Scholar (1992) and a Mouat Medal awardee (1999) of Calcutta University. He is an educationist and materials engineer with wide-ranging research interests covering phase transformation, structure-property correlation and modelling in nanometric metals and ceramics, laser/plasma assisted surface engineering, nano/ferrofluid and bainitic steel. His studies on amorphous Al-alloys, laser surface engineering of steel/Mg/Al alloys, boundary diffusion-controlled phase transformations, and thermal/magnetic properties of nano/ferrofluid are highly cited. He teaches subjects related to physical metallurgy and surface engineering. As a guest scientist, he visited different renowned Institutions and Universities abroad like Max Planck Institute at Stuttgart, Technical University of Clausthal, Liverpool University, Nanyang Technological University, NIMS, Unipress and the University of Ulm. His research exploits have been published in over 275 peer-reviewed publications; he has guided 30 doctoral theses and conducted 35 sponsored projects worth over Rs 25 crore as the PI. He is a Fellow of all the national academies of science (INSA, IASc, NASI) and engineering (INAE) in India. He was honoured as a distinguished alumnus by IIEST Shibpur and IIT Kharagpur. He is a recipient of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) prize for engineering sciences (2014) and was elected a Fellow of TWAS (2015). He is also a Member of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials. He received the MRSI Medal in 2000, Binani Gold Medal (1999) and G D Birla Gold Medal (2008) of IIM, AICTE Career Award for Young Teachers (1995), and INSA Medal for Young Scientist (1992). He was felicitated by the Ministry of Steel with the Young Metallurgist (1991), Metallurgist of the Year (2002) and National Metallurgist Award (2018). He was the National Coordinator of IMPacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT), a unique technology development initiative of MHRD during 2015-20. He is a member of the Research Boards of several industry/R&D like RINL, GAIL, BHEL, ARCI, Min of Steel and serves in several national-level committees of DST, CSIR, SERB, INSA, etc. Earlier, he served as an expert in NAAC and NBA. He is a former President of the Indian Institute of Metals and Vice President of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). The University of Kalyani and Kazi Nazrul University have conferred DSc (hc) on him in 2017. He served as the Director of CSIR-CGCRI in Kolkata during 2010-2012 and of IIT Kanpur during 2012-2017. Professor Manna is now the 14th President of INAE since Jan 1, 2021, for the next 2 years.

Every month, the University Distinguished Lecture (UDL) hosted by SRM University-AP is being attended by about 2000 members from IITs, NITs, IISERs, Universities/institutions, CSIR, DST, DBT, DRDO, DAE, ISRO, NARL, MoES and several others from different parts of the country.
All are cordially invited to the latest UDL-12 session that will address the vital knowledge gap for sustainable growth on September 25, 2021, at 10.30 am.

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Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2020
2021-10-30 10:30 - 12:00
SRM University-AP is bringing forth the thirteenth edition of the University Distinguished Lecture on October 30, 2021, Saturday at 10.30 am. The globally established Dr Sandeep Verma, known for his contribution to the fields of bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology, will deliver a lecture on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 2020: A Transformative S&T Agenda.
About the Speaker:
Dr Sandeep Verma is a member of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body established by the Parliament of India in 2008. He took charge as the secretary of SERB in 2019. SERB aims to accelerate research in Scientific and Engineering fields at a global scale by providing funds through calibrated funding for researcher mobility, awards, and honours to name a few.
Dr Sandeep Verma reserves the credit for the synthesis of enzyme mimics using metal-mediated systems. His group is engaged in developing bio-inspired soft matter and protocols for using biological building blocks as diagnostic tools for diseases.
Dr Verma received his master’s degree from Benaras Hindu University and then went for a PhD in the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, USA. He went for two post-doctoral research, first at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the second at Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, before returning to India to join the Indian Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor. Dr Verma serves as an affiliated faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Center for Nanoscience, and Center for Environmental Science and Engineering at IIT, Kanpur.

Additionally, Dr Verma is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and a Senior Fellow of the Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, Germany. The Chemical Research Society of India awarded him with a Silver Medal in 2017. He also received the National Prizes for Research on Interfaces between Chemistry and Biology (2017).
Along with it, Dr Verma is an Associate Editor for Chemical Communications (Royal Society of Chemistry, UK). He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of ChemBioChem, Cell Chemical Biology, and Journal of Peptide Science.

In 2010, Dr Sandeep Verma was awarded one of the highest Indian awards in the field of Science, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize by The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Dr Verma won the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund Award, P. N. Bhargava Medal and BHU Vice Chancellor’s Gold Medal for academic excellence in master’s degree examination, and the J. Watumull Endowed Award of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He won the B. M. Birla Science Prize (2003), Swarnajayanti Fellowship (2005) in Chemical Sciences, and Bronze Medal (2005) of the Chemical Research Society of India.
It is an honour and an incomparable opportunity for all to have such a distinguished guest in our midst and to learn from him. The University Distinguished Lecture (UDL) hosted by SRM University-AP is attended by about 2000 members from IITs, NITs, IISERs, Universities/Institutions, CSIR, DST, DBT, DRDO, DAE, ISRO, NARL, MoES and several others from different parts of the country.
SRM University-AP cordially invites everyone to the thirteenth University distinguished Lecture that will promote transformative Scientific and Technological innovations on October 30, 2021, Saturday at 10.30 am.

Dr Chennupati Jagadish on Semiconductor Nanostructures for Optoelectronics Applications
2022-01-22 11:00 - 13:00
In the next installment of the University Distinguished Lecture, SRM University-AP brings to you Dr Chennupati Jagadish, a distinguished professor in Physics in the Research School of Physics and Engineering at the Australian National University. He leads the Semiconductor Optoelectronics and Nanotechnology Group as its head since its establishment in 1990 by him.
Date: January 22, 2022 (Saturday)
Time: 11.00 am IST

About the Topic:
Semiconductors have played an important role in the development of information and communications technology, solar cells, solid state lighting. Nanowires are considered as building blocks for the next generation electronics and optoelectronics. In this talk, I will present the results on optoelectronic devices such as lasers/LEDs, THz detectors, energy devices such as solar cells, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting and Neuro-electrodes. Future prospects of the semiconductor nanowires will be discussed.

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About the Speaker:
Dr Chennupati Jagadish obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the Acharya Nagarjuna University in Tenali, Andhra Pradesh in the year 1977. He received his Master of Science in Applied Physics with a specialisation in Electronics from Andhra University in the year 1980. He acquired his PhD in Physics, by working on ‘Semiconducting Thin Films’, from the University of Delhi in the year 1986. He also held the position of a post-doctoral fellow in the Queens University.
Dr Jagadish moved to the Australian National University in the year 1990 and joined the newly established Department of Electronic Materials Engineering in the Research School of Physics and Engineering. He was the Vice-President and Secretary at the Australian Academy of Science for Physical Sciences for four years.
Committed to his role as an academician, Dr Jagadish also holds many honorary and guest faculty positions around the world in leading Universities such as the Oxford University, the Cambridge University, South Central University (The Republic of China), the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, the University of Tokyo and the Taiwan National University to name a few.
He makes a frequent appearance, by invitation, to various international conferences and seminars on Material Sciences, Electronics, Quantum Electronics, Semiconductors, Physics, Photonics, and Material Sciences. As an active member of the Material Research Society, IEEE, he has delivered many talks and guest lectures as well as organised several sessions in MRS, IEEE meetings throughout the world.
Dr Chennupati Jagadish is currently the Editor-in-Chief for Applied Physics Reviews. He was earlier the Editor-in-Chief for Progress in Quantum electronics and Co-Editor-in-chief for the International Journal of High-Speed Electronics and Systems. He is also the Editor for the Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science, Springer Series in Material Science, Springer Series in Nanoptics and Nanophotonics, Elsevier Series in Semiconductors and Semimetals, IEEE Electron Device Letters, and Light: Science and Applications of Nature Publishing Group. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of over 20 journals including ACS Nano, Physica Status Solidi: Rapid Res. Lett., IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine, IEEE Photonics Journal, Solid State Electronics, among others.
Dr Jagadish holds many laurels to his name. He became a Champion of the Order of Australia for his eminent contributions to Physics and Engineering at the Australia Day Honours 2016. He has acquired the IEEE Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology (2015), the Walter Boas Medal from the Australian Institute of Physics (2013) and the Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal from the Australian Academy of Science (2019).
He became an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2003). In 2020, he also became an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to the nanotechnology of optoelectronic devices. The Australian Research Council awarded him with the Federation Fellowship (2004-09) and with the Laureate Fellowship (2009-14).
It would be a privilege to have Dr Chennupati Jagadish, an astoundingly celebrated research personality, in our midst. We urge everyone to make the most of this opportunity. The University Distinguished Lecture (UDL) hosted by SRM University-AP is attended by about 2000 members from IITs, NITs, IISERs, Universities/Institutions, CSIR, DST, DBT, DRDO, DAE, ISRO, NARL, MoES and several others from different parts of the country.
SRM University-AP cordially invites everyone to the fourteenth University distinguished Lecture on January 22, 2022, Saturday at 11.00 am IST.

Dr C Rangarajan to invoke perception on “India at 75 and beyond”
2022-10-29 11:00
India has become a leading exponent of stellar growth in its 75 year long journey since independence. The nation has transgressed subsisting limitations to make remarkable progress as an emerging power. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering is organising the fifteenth edition of the University Distinguished Lecture series on the topic “India at 75 and beyond” to reflect and devise a holistic approach to attain our future vision for our country. Dr C Rangarajan, renowned economist and former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, is the keynote speaker of this insightful session.
About the speaker
Dr C Rangarajan is a prominent economist of India who has played a key role both as an academician and a policy maker. He has held several esteemed positions which include Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Governor of Andhra Pradesh as well as Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister in the rank of Cabinet Minister. He is currently the Chairman of Madras School of Economics.
He served as the 19th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India during 1992-97 at a time when India embarked on wide-ranging economic reforms which fundamentally altered the structure of the Indian economy. India became a member of the Bank for International Settlements during his tenure.
Dr C Rangarajan has authored numerous books on Indian economy including “Tracking the Indian Economy: A Collection of Articles” (2017), “Federalism and Fiscal Transfers in India” (co-author) (2011) and several others. He was the President of the Indian Economic Association in 1988 and the President of the Indian Econometric Society in 1994.
Dr Rangarajan is the recipient of several prestigious awards. Notable among them are the Honorary Fellow of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and the ‘Finance Man of the Decade’ by the Bombay Management Association. In recognition of his distinguished service to the country, the Government has honoured him with Padma Vibhushan in 2002 (Second Highest Civilian Honour).
Join the webinar on October 29, 2022 at 11.00 am for an enthralling session and explore the contours of India’s development and engagement with the world.

Prof. Pant Delivers Lecture and Workshop on Lighter-than-Air System
2023-10-16 10:30 - 12:30 | ALC 1, Homi J Bhabha Block
An esteemed academician and a seasoned expert in the Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) system, Prof. Rajkumar S Pant from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, will be delivering a University Distinguished Lecture. The lecture about “The Design and Development of Lighter Than Air Systems”, the lecture will be followed by a workshop on “Sizing of Reusable Indoor Hot Air Balloon” (RIHAB). The Department of Mechanical Engineering’s initiative in organising the event will provide valuable insights to the university’s new-age engineers.
About the Speaker
Prof. Rajkumar S Pant has been a member of the faculty of the Aerospace Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay since December 1989. He has also worked for five years in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in the Design & Engineering Department at Kanpur (3.5 years) and Nasik (1.5 years) Divisions. Prof. Pant is an alumnus of the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield University, UK, where he earned his PhD under the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme, and IIT Madras, where he did his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering.
Prof. Pant was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding advancement of the Art and Science of Buoyant Flight by the Lighter-than-Air Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics on 14 June 2023. He also won the Uttarakhand Science Pioneer Award at the 17th State Science Congress of Uttarakhand held in February 2023. He has won three awards for excellence in teaching at IIT Bombay, viz., Departmental Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2022, Hotchand and Jamunabai Lala Teaching Award in 2021, and D P Joshi Excellent Teacher Award in 2014. He received the Special Recognition in Academic Excellence (Faculty-National category) award from the Institution of Engineers (India) in January 2021. In 2019, he was felicitated by the Institution of Engineers (India) as an Eminent Engineering personality in Aerospace Engineering.
Abstract of the Talk
Lighter-than-air (LTA) systems are aerial platforms that overcome gravity primarily by the buoyancy force acting on them due to a lighter-than-air gas (e.g., Hydrogen or Helium)
enclosed in their envelopes. Design development and flight testing of prototypes of several LTA systems have been conducted at the Lighter-Than-Air Systems Laboratory of IIT Bombay for nearly two decades. The aim of this talk is to discuss the latest developments in the area of conceptual design, sizing, design, development and flight/field testing of LTA Systems. The talk will also showcase some of the research and development activities that have been carried out in the LTA Systems Laboratory of IIT Bombay.
Join the lecture for an enriching learning experience!

UDL #17: Dr Girish Sahni to Expound on Tech-Market Progression
2024-01-25 15:00 - 17:00 | APJ Abdul Kalam Auditorium
SRM University-AP is organising its 17th University Distinguished Lecture (UDL) on January 25, 2024. The university places great emphasis on research as a fundamental aspect of its academic pursuits and holds such events regularly. The varsity’s 17th UDL will host Dr Girish Sahni, former Director General of CSIR and Former Secretary – Government of India, as its guest speaker. Dr Sahni will address the audience on the topic “Scientific Progress to Grand Progression: Opportunities and Challenges in Science-to-technology-to-market Paradigms”.
Dr Sahni is an exceptional scientist with a specialisation in Protein Engineering, Molecular Biology, and Biotechnology. His contributions in the field of protein cardiovascular drugs, particularly in the area of ‘clot busters’ and their mode of action in the human body, are truly inspiring. Dr Sahni has authored several papers in high-impact scientific journals and has several national and international patents to his credit.
Abstract
As India prepares to be one of the top-ranking economies in the world, we need to ponder the pathways that require strengthening for the future, in science education, innovation and investment strategies leading to useful products and services at a world-class level. The challenge involves the many impressive achievements of the past in various science and technology sectors that can be galvanised to catapult us to newer heights of ambitions. The lecture will discuss some of the well-known achievements from the past as well as the speaker’s personal experiences, to enable us to move forward with optimism.
Join the talk for an insightful session!

Stanford Professor Thomas Blom Hansen to Deliver UDL #18
2024-04-04 11:00 - 12:30 | Mini Auditorium
The quest for knowledge can only lead to unparalleled success when the journey is guided by ethical morality and societal understanding. To achieve this, a sound liberal arts education proves imperative to nurture a young generation of ethically, morally and socially sensitive individuals. SRM University-AP is set to host the 18th edition of the University Distinguished Lecture on April 04, 2024. Prof. Thomas Blom Hansen, Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor & Department Chair, Department of Anthropology, from Stanford University, USA, will deliver the session on “Interiority Design: Liberal Arts Education in India”.
Join the talk to hear our distinguished speaker, Prof. Hansen deliberate and explore the complexities of liberal arts education in India!
About the Speaker
Prof. Thomas Hansen is a renowned anthropologist of political life, ethno-religious identities, violence and urban life in South Asia and Southern Africa. He is a leading academician exploring the religious and political violence in India. He has conducted extensive research in India focusing on Hindu nationalism, religious identities, religious revival and the everyday meanings of freedom.
He has written various books such as The Saffron Wave, Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India (Princeton 1999), and Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Postcolonial Bombay (Princeton 2001).
Abstract
In the past decade and a half, the liberal arts model of undergraduate education has become all the rage across India and other parts of Asia. In this lecture, Prof. Hansen will explore the origin of the liberal arts model in Enlightenment Europe, how it travelled to America, and how it became inextricably tied to an idea of the cultivation of a modern self, capable of autonomous, individual interior reflexivity and judgment, while framed as an invitation to join a larger national community. In this lecture, he will question: How does this model of education and self-formation sit with inherited traditions of education in India? How does its implied model of interiority and individuality sit alongside hierarchical ideas of the self and personhood structured by caste hierarchies in India? Does the idea of liberal arts education pave the way for a different and more capacious vision of what modern India might become?
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UDL#19: Explore the World of Nanomaterials with Prof. Ajayan – A Pioneer of Nanotechnology
2025-01-07 11:00 - 13:00 | Mini Auditorium
The 19th edition of the University Distinguished Lecture is scheduled to be held on January 07, 2025. The distinguished lecture will be delivered by the esteemed academician and renowned researcher in the field of nanotechnology, Prof. Pulickel M. Ajayan, Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Engineering at Rice University, Texas, USA on the topic “Nano-Engineered Materials”.
Abstract
The last two decades in materials science have been dominated by spectacular discoveries in nanotechnology. This talk will focus on some of these developments, particularly in relation to the challenges in designing and controllably synthesizing functional nano-engineered materials. The lecture will elaborate on several classes of materials, for example, carbon-based and boron-nitrogen-carbon-based materials, two-dimensional materials such as transition metal di-chalcogenides and their hybrids, defect-engineered materials and single-atom catalysts, and interface-controlled nanocomposites. We will also consider the impact of bottom-up engineering on the design of material systems relevant to many areas of applications. Several aspects, including synthesis, chemical manipulation and hybridization, will be discussed to address the opportunities that are available in creating novel nanoengineered materials.
About the Speaker
Prof. Pulickel M Ajayan has worked in nanotechnology for nearly three decades. He has published more than 1300 journal papers, earning more than 225,000 citations and an h-index of 230 (by Google Scholar). His work covers diverse areas of nanomaterials including nanoparticles, nanotubes, diamond, 2D materials, nanocomposite, energy storage materials and 3D printing. He is the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson professor of Engineering at Rice University and the Founding Chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. He is a recipient of several awards, such as the Spiers Memorial Award, the MRS medal, the Alexander von Humboldt-Helmoltz Senior Award, and the Lifetime Nanotechnology Award from the Houston Technology Center. He received Docteur Honoris Causa from the Universite Catholique de of Louvain and distinguished alumni recognition from his Alma Mater, Banaras Hindu University, and the Materials Science department at Northwestern University.
Join the insightful session and hear from the expert!

Padma Shri Prof. Shanta Sinha to Deliver UDL#20
2025-02-21 14:00 - 16:30 | Mini Auditorium
The 20th University Distinguished Lecture, scheduled to be held on February 21, 2025, invites Padma Shri Prof. Shanta Sinha, Anti-Child Labour Activist, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, Former Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), and professor (Retd.) Dept. of Political Science, Hyderabad Central University, as its keynote speaker. Prof. Sinha’s contributions towards children’s education and child rights have left an indelible mark on Indian society.
The esteemed session will be on the topic “Making Education a Reality and Ending Child Labour: Experience of M.V. Foundation.”
Participate and hear from the honourable personality. Prof. Sinha’s relentless dedication and inspiring journey will ignite all to strive towards a just and inclusive humankind!
Abstract
The lecture gives an overview of the work of M.V. Foundations in the field of child rights in India. Believing in the principle that ‘no child must work and every child must attend full-time formal day school’ as a non-negotiable, the M V Foundation (a Charitable Trust) has worked towards withdrawing over 10 lakh children in the 5-14 years age group from child labour; stopping over 20,000 child marriages and ensuring they finish 10th grade. The Foundation pioneered the program for mainstreaming children to schools through residential bridge courses. 1500 villages where MVF has intervened have achieved retention of 99% of all children in schools up to 10th class. The lecture would highlight the journey of the foundations, its experiences and achievements.
The lecture will further discuss the foundation and subsequent Journey of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which Prof. Shantha Sinha headed as its first Chairperson and led for two consecutive terms from 2007-2013. The lecture will highlight the issues addressed by NCPCR, ranging from violation of children’s rights in relation to child labour and child trafficking, rights of children in areas of civil unrest, children’s right to education, the juvenile justice system, corporal punishment, child abuse and violence on children; child malnutrition.
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UDL#21: Prof. Pramod K. Varshney to Speak On Distributed Inference
2025-04-07 11:00 - 12:30 | APJ Abdul Kalam Auditorium
The 21st University Distinguished Lecture on the topic “Six Blind Men of Indostan: Theory and Applications of Distributed Inference” is scheduled to be held on April 07, 2025. The distinguished lecture will be delivered by Prof. Pramod K. Varshney, esteemed professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering & Science, Syracuse University.
Hear from the seasoned academician on the mesmerizing phenomenon of distributed inference.
Abstract
Distributed inference refers to the synergistic combination of information gathered by various knowledge sources and sensors to provide inference regarding a phenomenon of interest. This fascinating field has evolved over the past four decades and is being applied to a wide variety of fields, such as military command and control, robotics, image processing, air traffic control, medical diagnostics, pattern recognition, environmental monitoring, IoT and smart cities.
This talk will present an overview of the field, present some recent research results, illustrate its utility by means of some examples and conclude with some open problems. Towards the end of the technical talk, some information about Syracuse University’s MS programs in EE/CE/CS will be provided.
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