Host City India: Houston

Rabindranath Garai

Dr. Rabindranath Garai is Research Associate at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, where he works on the fabrication of semi-transparent PSCs for building integration. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in 2014 from Midnapore College, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore and his M.Sc. degree in 2016 from the Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. He then earned his Ph.D. in 2022 under the supervision of Dr. Parameswar K. Iyer at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. His research work focuses on the investigation of multifunctional molecules for efficient and durable polymer and perovskite solar cells (PSCs).

Dr. Garai has published several research articles in recognized international journals and filed three patents in solar cell technology. He also received the “Chemical Science Best Poster Presentation Prize” at ChemSci2021: Leaders in the Field Symposium organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) Bangalore in association with the Chemical Science journal. His other scientific recognitions include the Award of Sakura Science Program-2019 held at Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan.

Dr. Garai is pursuing his Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship at the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department, Rice University. He is working under the mentorship of Dr. Aditya D. Mohite, who is recognized as one of the world’s leading scientists in the field of perovskite-based solar cell devices. Dr. Garai’s project aims to develop high-performance and durable PSCs through structural phase and interface engineering.

Ashish Tiwari

Ashish Tiwari is currently a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering at IIT Gandhinagar. He obtained his MTech in electrical engineering from IIT Gandhinagar in 2020. He is the recipient of the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2020-2024. His research interest lies at the intersection of computer vision, computer graphics, and deep learning with a primary focus on inferring the 3D world from image(s) through photometric methods such as photometric stereo, Shape from Polarization (SfP), and photo-polarimetric stereo. He was awarded the Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship (QIF) 2023-2024 for his project proposal, “Photometric Stereo for Refractive Objects.” He was a part of the core organizing team of ICVGIP 2022, held at IIT Gandhinagar. He was also a part of the Google Research Week 2023.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at Rice University, Houston, TX, Ashish is investigating a scene’s geometry, material, and lighting through a sparse set of images captured through hand-held acquisition devices such as smartphones. Ashish enjoys teaching and has delivered plenty of invited talks on his research on photometric stereo. He likes singing, sketching, playing outdoor sports, especially cricket, and long-hour endurance runs. He also enjoys interacting with people from different regions and cultures and involves himself in community services.

Altaf Pasha

Mr. Altaf Pasha is a PhD scholar at the Centre for Nano & Material Sciences (CNMS), Jain University, Bangalore. His research is focused on developing solar photovoltaic materials and devices with a commitment to solve global energy crisis and contribute to India’s renewable energy target. He is working towards making perovskite solar cells a viable technology by focusing on efficiency, stability, and scaling. His research has been published in reputed peer-reviewed international journals and international conference proceedings.

Prior to joining Jain, he received his BSc (Physics) from SSMRV College and MSc (Physics) from National College Jayanagar. After his MSc, he worked as a research scholar at Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), Germany on a collaborative project with major photovoltaics industry partners. He later joined Photo and Electrocatalysis Research Group at Jain to focus on fabrication of new generation solar cells.

He has also worked as a part-time (four semesters) assistant professor at Department of Postgraduate Studies & Research in Physics at the National College and has guided a few students in projects leading to multiple publications.

In his Fulbright fellowship, Mr. Altaf is studying phase segregation mechanism in mixed halide perovskites, to fabricate photostable tandem solar cells, with a view to futuristic renewable energy technologies.

Mr. Altaf is an avid STEM communicator. He serves as a part-time curator in BV Jagadeesh Science Centre, he has delivered public lectures and moderated debates on important public policies. He is also a Kannada theatre artist and enjoys interconnecting arts with science.

Rajesh Nachiappa Ganesh

Dr. Rajesh Nachiappa Ganesh is a Professor in the Department of Pathology at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry. He works in the broad field of Surgical Pathology with special focus on Renal and transplant pathology, molecular pathology and image analysis. He has been actively working in the field of biomarker research in native and transplant renal diseases.

Professor Rajesh has 17 years of teaching and research experience in the field of surgical pathology after his doctoral degree and has been a faculty at JIPMER for twelve years. He had started the division of renal and transplant pathology services at JIPMER in 2010 and started post-doctoral fellowship in Nephro-pathology. He is actively involved in obtaining extra-mural funded research grants from various national and international agencies and has established a molecular research laboratory which has been expanded for diagnostic patient care with funding from Department of Health Research, India. He is also actively involved in proteomics applications and image analysis in the field of Pathology with several collaborative projects.

Professor Rajesh’s Fulbright project is intended on close interaction with senior consultants in Nephropathology at Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas, to study inter-observer reproducibility in diagnostic reporting of renal biopsies and validate the findings in Polyomavirus infections in transplant biopsies. The teaching component involves regular discussion of the biopsy and clinical findings with Nephrology residents and fellows at the center and is in synergy with the research objective to improve patient care outcomes.

Gagan Kumar Sharma

Mr. Gagan Kumar Sharma is working as a Ph.D. candidate under the DST-INSPIRE Fellowship program at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand. He is conducting research with Professor Davinder Kaur on 2D nanomaterial based composites for lead-free energy storage devices (supercapacitors). Mr. Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree (Honours) in physics from the University of Delhi. He is also a second-rank holder in his master’s in physics from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. During his HSC/Intermediate, he emerged as a third district topper, and the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India has awarded him the INSPIRE Scholarship for UG & PG studies.

Mr. Sharma has published his research work in various peer-reviewed international journals, including Applied Physics Letters. He has presented his research findings at numerous international conferences, including AEM-2022 held at the Imperial College London. He is a recipient of the Best Poster Presentation Award for two conferences. He is also a sportsperson and loves to travel to new places.

As a Fulbright-Kalam Climate fellow, Mr. Sharma is working on the next generation lead-free and environmentally friendly energy storage technology. One of the primary goals of his research on green energy is to benefit every section of human civilization. He expects that the collaborative work will provide a tactic for commercialization at low manufacturing costs and prevent environmental imbalance. He is further optimizing several nanohybrid materials for better capacitive properties, which may solve the current energy crisis of the world. He also plans to explore various metallic foil/mesh/foam as a flexible current collector for bendable supercapacitors.

Shrikant R. Bharadwaj

Dr. Shrikant Bharadwaj trained as a vision scientist at the School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, and the Indiana University School of Optometry. As a DBT Ramalingaswami fellow in 2009, he established the Visual Optics and Psychophysics Laboratory at the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) with the agenda to understand how the optics of the eye influences human visual perception. Dr. Bharadwaj uses a combination of experimental, behavioral, and computational techniques to address this research agenda.

Dr. Bharadwaj actively publishes his research work in international vision science journals, and serves on the editorial board of Nature’s Scientific Reports, Optometry and Vision Science, PLOS One (Public Library of Science) and the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. He also served as a committee member on the WHO development group for refractive error interventions and was awarded the Jaggi Optometrist of the year award in 2021 by the Optometry Council of India.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence fellowship, Dr. Bharadwaj is working to understand visual perception in patients with an eye disease called Keratoconus. This disease distorts the eye’s cornea, causing profound loss of vision and quality of life in the patients. Through his research, Dr. Bharadwaj aspires to develop a comprehensive psychophysical assessment of visual functions in this disease, to dissect the roles of optics and neurology in vision loss using adaptive optics, and to optimize patient’s vision through personalized contact lens designs and perceptual vision training.

Shruti Suriyakumar

Dr. Shruti Suriyakumar did her post-graduation at Lady Doak College, Madurai, where she majored in physics and joined CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi for her Ph.D. Her doctoral thesis on developing nanostructured composite cathodes, permselective separators, and ionic liquid-based hybrid electrolytes for lithium-sulfur batteries was conferred the Best Thesis award in Physical Sciences from the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi.

Dr. Suriyakumar later received the National Post Doctoral Fellowship at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER TVM). Her research was focused on developing sulphide-based solid electrolytes for sodium batteries. As a project scientist at IISER TVM, she has contributed to developing solid electrolytes for lithium and sodium batteries and has been involved in designing electrodes and electrolytes for next-generation battery chemistries.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellow, Dr. Suriyakumar’s research at Rice University, Houston, TX is focusing on electrode-electrolyte interface engineering for solid-state batteries. The project involves the rational design of 2D materials, introducing them as interlayers/ coatings between the solid-solid point of contact and regulating the lithium-ion flux, thereby improving the cycling stability and performance of all-solid-state lithium batteries.

Kavita Haribhau Kadu

Dr. Kavita Haribhau Kadu is a chemical technologist with a bachelor’s degree from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. Following her undergraduate studies, she embarked on a research journey as a Junior Research Fellow at BITS Pilani – K. K. Birla Goa campus. She pursued her Ph.D. from BITS Pilani – K. K. Birla Goa campus on the synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and investigation of their interaction with biomolecules.

Transitioning to the TNBC Precision Medicine Research Group at Tata Memorial Centre Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Dr. Kadu delved into studying the short-term chemotherapy effect on the expression of the GPX4 gene on triple-negative breast cancer subtypes. She showcased her research acumen by securing the Lalit Memorial award at the 18th National Research Scholars Meet held in ACTREC. Throughout her research journey, she demonstrated a commitment to scholarly dissemination, publishing eight papers and actively participating in conferences.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Dr. Kadu is developing Aptamer-siRNA Chimera as a novel targeted therapy for pediatric medulloblastoma. Investigating the roles of AXL and interferons, she aims to contribute significantly to understanding and treating this aggressive brain tumor. With interdisciplinary expertise and a passion for impactful research, Dr. Kadu is set to make substantial contributions to cancer biology and precision medicine, shaping the future of innovative therapeutic interventions.