Home Institution India: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur

Kumar Biradha

Professor Kumar Biradha is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. His research focuses on designing multifunctional supramolecular materials using innovative crystal engineering strategies. Specifically, his work explores cocrystals, gels, organic polymers, coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and covalent organic frameworks, with potential applications in electrocatalysis, molecular sensing, solid-state [2+2] photo-dimerizations and polymerizations, gas adsorption, inclusion materials, semi conductivity, luminescence, and proton conductivity. Prof. Biradha earned his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, India, in 1997. He completed postdoctoral research at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada (1997–1998), and at Nagoya University in Japan (1998–2002). He has held several editorial and advisory roles throughout his career. He also worked as Associate Editor of Crystal Growth & Design, an ACS publication. With an H-index of 58, Prof. Biradha has published over 240 research articles in reputed international journals.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship, Prof. Biradha is primarily looking to develop methods to reduce carbon dioxide into valuable small molecules. He is specifically working with MOFs that incorporate electron-rich aromatic struts and redox-active metal centers.

Amiya Kumar Jana

Dr. Amiya K. Jana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He has received research funds as principal investigator from DST, DAE (BRNS), CSIR, MHRD, and ISRO, among others. He has authored over 150 research articles in several international journals of repute. He is the sole author of three textbooks in the area of numerical analysis, modeling, simulation and control.

Dr. Jana has received numerous awards and recognitions, including Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK, 2023), Faculty Excellence Award (IIT Kharagpur, 2021), Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany, 2017), inclusion in World’s Top 2% Scientists list (Stanford University, 2020 – 24), and is an editorial board member of Scientific Reports (Nature Group) and Frontiers in Control Engineering (Frontiers Publisher, Switzerland). His research focuses on renewable energy, clean fuel, desalination, process integration and control.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence fellowship, Dr. Jana is planning to work on the proton exchange membrane fuel cell with its optimization and control by the use of AI-based state estimator.

Gopikrishnan Gopalakrishna Pillai Sreerekha

Gopikrishnan is a Ph.D. candidate in atmospheric chemistry-climate interactions. As a child he enjoyed stargazing, which sparked his fascination with the skies. The allure of the unseen intricacies of the atmosphere led him to pursue a path in science.

Gopikrishnan, a graduate in physical oceanography, with a university level first rank from the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, investigates the relationships between climate, meteorology and ozone in the atmosphere. As a Prime Minister’s Research Fellow (PMRF) at ATMOS lab, CORAL, IIT Kharagpur, he studies complex chemistry feedback systems that regulate and are governed by ozone at both the surface and the troposphere. He employs cutting-edge techniques, such as remote sensing methods and 3D numerical models, to better understand the convoluted connections that influence atmospheric processes.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Climate fellow at Columbia University, New York, NY, Gopikrishnan is working on chemistry transport models and investigating the chemical and dynamic aspects of atmospheric ozone. His primary goal is to identify the impact of aerosols on ozone variability using an extensive strategy supported by observations from a number of remotely sensed and ground-based data sources. His research findings are expected to elucidate the role of aerosol in ozone photochemistry using a global chemical transport model, with the goal of better parameterization of this process. He also plans on exploring the bustling streets of New York City, absorbing its warmth, vitality and vigour.

Amarjeet

Amarjeet was born and brought up in a farmer family in western Uttar Pradesh, a state known as the sugar bowl of India. Since his childhood he has had an interest in understanding the science behind natural phenomena. He pursued his bachelor’s and master’s from Gurukula Kangri (Deemed to be University), Haridwar, under the DST-INSPIRE scholarship program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. He pursued his post-graduation in physics, where he studied atmospheric physics as one of his specializations. He is currently working at CORAL, IIT Kharagpur as a DST-INSPIRE doctoral fellow.

For his doctoral research, Amarjeet is studying the changes in monsoon dynamics in recent climate change scenarios. He looks into the dynamical and thermodynamical features of atmosphere-ocean interaction that induce and modulate the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR).

As a Fulbright-Kalam Climate fellow at Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, Amarjeet will be studying state-of-the-art climate models at a supercomputer cluster to understand the mechanism of extreme rainfall events over India and its hill regions. He is focusing on future climate projections of such events and on shaping policies to mitigate and adapt to upcoming warming conditions. . Amarjeet is fond of singing and listening to regional folk songs. He writes poems in Hindi and enjoys reading ancient Vedic literature.

Poulomi Ganguli

Dr. Poulomi Ganguli is an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Her research focuses on modeling and predicting natural hazards in a multivariate context, which can help credible assessment of the risk of extreme events, especially droughts, low flows and floods, and compound weather and climate extremes in hydrology. Dr. Ganguli has received several awards, such as the Alexander von Humboldt fellowship for early career scientist, the Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) grant by the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre, the best PhD thesis award in civil engineering for the 2012-2013 academic year at IIT Bombay, and University gold medals for undergraduate studies. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) task committee on compound flooding.

During her Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship for Academic and Professional Excellence, Dr. Ganguli is developing a probabilistic coastal compound flood hazard assessment model for low-latitude areas. She will identify and contrast compound hazard potentials of tropical cyclone-heatwave events across eastern and western coastal plains of India in the present day and projected climate scenarios, quantify the associated projected uncertainty, and identify vulnerable regions.

Zehra Mahdi

Zehra Mahdi is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal. Her doctoral research focuses on neighborhood change in informal settlements that are predominantly inhabited by the Muslim community and influenced by the presence of anchor institutions. She employs visual geography along with oral research traditions to examine internal heterogeneity, particularly through the built environment, and capture residents’ perceptions and experiences.

Zehra holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi and a master’s degree in city planning from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal. She is a licensed architect and has worked on design and construction of public housing and healthcare infrastructure projects in the past.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, Zehra is exploring the role of infrastructural provision in gaining legitimacy in informal settlements. Her research will highlight the role of informal institutions, social capital and collective action in establishing channels of tacit understanding between the State and non-State actors. The study strives to contribute to the knowledge of the dynamics of informal settlements in the Global South. Zehra loves cycling, and enjoys curating cycling trails for exploration of heritage, food and art in cities.