-Jasmeet Singh
Chandigarh, The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) under the aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India will hold its 13th convocation on the successful completion of the academic session 2023-24 at its Mohali campus on June 19. During a press conference held at the Chandigarh Press Club on Saturday, IISER’s Director Professor (Dr) Anil K Tripathi said that Prof Ashutosh Sharma, President, Indian National Science Academy and former Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India will grace the occasion as the chief guest while Prof JS Yadav, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IISER Mohali will preside over the convocation. Nearly 300 students will receive degrees during the program. At the sidelines of the event, a nearly 900 room hostel complex will also be inaugurated. Currently 1700 students are pursuing BS-MS program in the institute while 475 students are pursuing PhD.
Prof (Dr) Tripathi, while lauding the contribution of IISER’s mohali in national prosperity laid down the achievements of the institution. He informed hat 440 publications have been published in the last one year while three new patents have been filed while three previously filed patents have been granted He highlighted that the institute has brought laurels to the country on the global platform as Professor Purnananda Guptasarma of the Department of Biological Sciences at IISER Mohali and the Dean of Faculty Affairs, has been bestowed with the prestigious Tata Transformation Prize by Tata Sons and The New York Academy of Sciences. Professor Guptasarma’s enzyme-driven strategy demonstrates that solid PET can be broken up into its smallest molecular building blocks with high yield and ultra-high purity to enable PET’s degradation and recycling into virgin plastic.. Dr Subhabrata Maiti and his team at the Department of Chemical Sciences have achieved a significant milestone in imitating dynamic adaptability, a characteristic often observed in living systems. These systems can revolutionize information processing, cargo transportation, and sensor technology. The research article is published in Nature Communications, 2024.
Dr Sabyasachi Rakshit, Dr K. P. Yogendran, and Dr Abhishek Chaudhuri from the Departments of Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences have developed a new understanding of how the ear works. These new findings could have profound implications for the field of audiology.
In a similar feat, Dr Abhishek Chaudhuri and his team have inferred the movement of the suspended passive object in the active fluids. It could potentially lead to the development of tiny nanomachines and new materials with extraordinary properties, inspiring future advancements in biophysics and fluid dynamics.
Prof (Dr) Tripathi while detailing the startups encouragement, revealed that the IISER’s Technology Business Incubator (TBI), i-RISE, promotes the culture of startups and industry academia collaboration. The i-RISE has cutting edge infrastructure worth 2 crores and has supported around 40 start-ups in the past three years, with 20 currently incubated across various sectors like Biotech, Agritech, Healthcare, Waste Management and IoT. i-RISE hosts the Open Knowledge Session Series. It promotes innovation-led entrepreneurship among researchers and students. i-RISE conducted a Tech Startup Mentoring Workshop to promote women in Business. It incubates and funds 20 women-led tech start-ups.
i-RISE’s incubated start-ups have made notable achievements, including filing 12 patents with 9 patents granted to start-ups. Eighteen incubated start-ups have received cumulative funding of Rs 4.2 Cr from various agencies.
Speaking about his outreach activities, Professor (Dr) Tripathi said that in partnership with the School Education Boards of Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal, Haryana, Uttarakhand, they are providing training in Maths and Science to students and teachers.
