Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi Archives

Anchal Sharma

Ms. Anchal Sharma is a Ph.D. candidate at IIT Delhi. Her research encompasses tactile perception of objects in the visually challenged. Drawn towards innovations exercising imagination, scientific thinking, and strong user empathy, she has mentored and participated in diverse social innovation projects and won two awards by IISc, Bangalore and IIT-Delhi with her team. She has led and been a speaker in events propagating innovation including those by AIM, NITI AYOG.

She completed her M.Des. in Industrial design (from SPA, New Delhi) and interned at GVIC, PepsiCo, India. She was acknowledged for her thesis work for integrating cultural spatial forms in a unique product using principles of light and shadows to educate children about unity. The project was sponsored by the Design Clinic Scheme by GoI and NID and was featured as a finalist in Toycathon 2021 and TISDC 2018. During her B.Arch. she emerged as a 2nd ranker both for her thesis work on ‘a school for experiential learning’ and overall 5-year academic performance.

In her Fulbright-Nehru project, she will analyse how to better convey three-dimensionality in two-dimensional tactile stimuli. Although layered and complex, she believes with continual deep-work and problem-solving acumen, this work can profoundly advance and contribute towards accessible STEM education for those without vision.

She believes in a multi-faceted growth and commends the perseverance sports can bring to life. She has played Throwball at National level and won silver medal (Badminton) at college level. Being perceptive towards life, she exercises self-expression through art, writing, and short videos.

Abhisek Sahoo

Abhisek Sahoo grew up close to nature, in the coastal city of Puri, Orissa. He believes in creating a safe and healthy ecosystem for all species. Innovations in the field of solid waste management eventually led him to work in the area of sustainable development during his tenure at the esteemed laboratories of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and the Indian Institute of Petroleum Dehradun. Abhisek is currently working at IIT Delhi on the development of a process for the upgradation of bio-liquids via the thermo-catalytic route. Previously, he worked at University College London (UCL) as a Commonwealth fellow.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Climate fellow at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Abhisek is working on the thermo-catalytic conversion of waste biomass and plastic into aromatics and fuel-range hydrocarbons for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Employing green carbon-supported heterogeneous catalysts, his research aims to unlock the vast bioenergy potential inherent in waste substances. This breakthrough could pave the way for establishing biorefineries, supported by comprehensive techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessments.

Abhisek advocates for the idea that sustainability is our responsibility. His research endeavours reflect a dedication to addressing environmental challenges through innovative and practical solutions. His journey exemplifies the spirit of academic excellence and a deep commitment to the global pursuit of sustainable energy solutions. He is also interested in photography, traditional cuisines, and exploring historical sites.

Chiranjit Das

Chiranjit Das is a Ph.D. candidate at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, under the supervision of Prof. Ravi Kumar Kunchala. He is working on improving understanding of the current state of carbon dioxide exchange among biosphere-atmosphere-ocean and its spatiotemporal evolution using a wide variety of observation and state-of-the-art modelling methodologies. He has published various research articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at national and international conferences and workshops.

Chiranjit has completed his master’s from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, and was an IASc-INSA-NASI summer research fellow at the Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. He has a bachelor’s in physics from Barasat Government College, West Bengal.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Climate fellow at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, Chiranjit is evaluating the role of fire in perturbing atmospheric carbon dioxide budget and its adverse effect on ecosystems across global tropics. The expected results from this study will improve carbon road map policy, ecosystem management, and emission mitigation strategy for stakeholders. Chiranjit hopes to go on treks in Pasadena while he is there. He enjoys playing badminton and volleyball, and is enthusiastic about exploring new places.

Manabendra Saharia

Dr. Manabendra Saharia is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He obtained his PhD in water resources engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Saharia has received young scientist awards from the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) and the International Society for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (ISEES). Before joining IIT Delhi, Dr. Saharia worked in the hydrology labs of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. His primary expertise is in developing techniques and systems for monitoring and mitigating natural hazards such as floods and landslides, with a special focus on the worst-affected regions of the world. His research seeks to disentangle the complex relationships between geomorphology, climate, precipitation, and runoff generation using physics-based and data-driven models.

During his Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship for Academic and Professional Excellence, Dr. Saharia is studying how one can incorporate reservoir models into land data assimilation systems for better assessment of climate change impacts. This includes incorporation or satellite and ground-based observations of reservoir water levels using a multi-source reservoir operation scheme. The goal is to quantify the impact of reservoirs on water storage, floods, and droughts, and also, to assess how reservoirs are responding to ongoing climate change and what measures would be required in the future

Nilotpal Majumder

Nilotpal Majumder is a Ph.D. candidate at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He is currently designing a biomimetic chemically modified silk fibroin gelatin bioink for 3D bioprinting of cartilage tissue. His doctoral thesis primarily focuses on modulating the associated chondrogenic signalling pathways using various small-molecule modulators to develop phenotypically stable articular cartilage grafts. He has publications in reputed journals like Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Healthcare Materials, and ACS Applied Material & Interfaces.

Nilotpal holds a BTech-MTech dual degree in biotechnology from KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. He worked on a project funded by the government of India (BIRAC) as a project engineer to develop an automated electromagnetic wave-based tissue processing device.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Tufts University, Medfor, MA, Nilotpal is exploring various external cues (microgravity, magnetism) to induce cellular assembly within the 3D bio-printed constructs. The main objective of his research will be to develop a 3D bio-printed macroscale organoid that can closely recapitulate the native human tissue microarchitecture and physiology. In his free time, he enjoys reading non-fiction, watching sci-fi movies and television series, and exploring historical places.

Souvik Chakraborty

Dr. Souvik Chakraborty is assistant professor at the Applied Mechanics Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He also holds a joint faculty position at the Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence. His research interest is at the intersection of scientific computing and machine learning, with a focus on developing scalable, interpretable, and trustworthy machine learning algorithms for solving scientific and engineering problems. He is a recipient of the prestigious INAE Young Engineers Award.

Dr. Chakraborty joined IIT Delhi in 2020. Prior to that, he spent two years at the University of Notre Dame. He also spent some time at the University of British Columbia as a postdoctoral researcher. He obtained his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence (Research and Teaching) fellowship, Dr. Chakraborty will do a combination of both research with teaching. He is developing novel algorithms and frameworks for seamless fusion of data and physics. It is expected that the developed algorithm will address challenges such as out-of-distribution generalization and interpretability and will be a step towards realizing the dream of digital twins for infrastructural systems. Dr. Chakraborty is also teaching a course on operator learning, with the goal of developing synergy between teaching and research.