SRM-AP All News
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- Impact of Surface Chemistry on the Excited State Interactions of CsPbBr3 October 20, 2021
Dr Nimai Mishra, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, SRM University-AP along with his team comprising of his PhD scholars Mr. Syed Akhil, Ms. V.G.Vasavi Dutt, and Mr Rahul Singh have published a research article titled “Surface-State-Mediated Interfacial Hole Transfer Dynamics Between CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals and Phenothiazine Redox Couple” in The Journal of Physical Chemistry-C, published by The American Chemical Society with an impact factor of ~4.126.Dr Mishra’s research interests lie in Semiconductor nanocrystals, Core/shell branched structures, Nanowires, Perovskite nanocrystals and Optoelectronic device fabrication. He studied the role of surface chemistry for improving excited state hole transfer from CsPbBr3 nanocrystals to an acceptor, potentially applicable for photocatalytic applications.
About the research:
Recently, caesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) gained enormous attention for designing photocatalytic reactions because of their photocatalytic properties. But the surface chemistry of nanocrystals is often ignored which dictate the excited state interactions of these semiconductor nanocrystals with the charge shuttling redox-active molecules. In this work, we have explored the impact of CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals with the three different surface chemistries on the excited state interactions with the standard hole acceptor phenothiazine molecule. From the steady PL-lifetime decay measurements we have calculated the photoinduced hole transfer (PHT). In the amine-free PNCs case, PHT is 6 times higher than the conventional amine capped ligands. Using the lifetime fast component (1) rate constants, we have calculated the hole transfer constant (kht) which is 3.942 × 108 s-1 and it is 4 times higher in amine-free ligands when compared with conventional amine ligands system.According to Dr Nimai Mishra, the most important contribution of this research is that these results highlight the impact of surface chemistry on the excited state interactions of CsPbBr3 PNCs and conclude amine-free PNCs could be an ideal candidate for photocatalytic reactions.
Read the full paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c07129
Continue reading → - Better Kinetics with MXene-based Electrocatalysts in Fuel Cells October 8, 2021
A cutting-edge research paper on MXene-based electrocatalysts for fuel cells has been published by Dr Lakhveer Singh of the Department of Environmental Sciences. In the journal of Advanced Materials Interfaces, Impact factor 6.14, his paper, titled “Recent Advances on MXene-Based Electrocatalysts toward Oxygen Reduction Reaction: A Focused Review”, has been published in collaboration with Dr S. G. Peera and Dr. T. G. Lee from the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering Keimyung University Daegu 42602, Republic of Korea.Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) takes place in the fuel cells. Improving the kinetics of the reaction would be a major step in improving the efficiency of the fuel cells. Extensive studies have been done to find cathode catalysts that are both highly active and also maintain stability in a corrosive environment. Recent research has been leaning towards 2D materials owing to the larger surface area they provide for catalyst dispersion. MXene-based catalysts have become popular due to their impressive electrical conductivity as well as their thermal and chemical stability.
A summary of Dr Singh’s paper:
MXene, a novel transition metal carbide and/or nitride based two-dimensional material has been gaining a considerable interest in the field of energy storage and conversion, due to their unique layered structure, electronic properties, and surface chemistry, that are beneficial for various electrochemical reactions. Most of the MXenes research done so far is in the field of supercapacitors, batteries, overall water splitting, and other catalytic applications. The research done on fuel cell cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is scarce. There is a need for intensive review on Mxenes. Uniquely, this review article describes the ORR catalysis of MXene based catalysts both in theoretical and experimental view.
In future they plan to work on investigations on theoretical and computational screening to elucidate the ORR mechanism, stability, and strategies for improving the electrocatalytic activity of MXene catalysts; these studies can serve as a guide for experimentalists, especially for selecting optimal catalyst compositions.
Continue reading → - Pavan Mohan wins TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt Challenge bagging Rs.25,000 October 7, 2021
SRM University-AP is proud to announce that Pavan Mohan Neelamraju, a student of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) has shown extraordinary problem-solving abilities and won the TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt 10 and has been rewarded with Rs. 25,000.The TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt poses challenges to aspiring innovative students in the fields of scientific and technological research. The students are required to come up with solutions individually and the most viable solutions are rewarded with exciting cash prizes, certificates of recognition and an invaluable opportunity to learn from experts in the industry.
Pavan’s challenge in the TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt was to classify steel wire bundles based on their shining appearance. Pavan developed an algorithm which quantified the gloss in the image using image processing and machine learning techniques. The algorithm went through three rounds of rigorous evaluation before being declared best.
Though Pavan worked on his solutions all by himself adhering to the guidelines of the TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt, he believes his vastly flexible course choices helped him a lot. The knowledge and perspective he gained in “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” coupled with the hands-on experience he acquired while working on cutting edge technology as a part of Next Tech Lab at SRM AP enabled him to make vital winning decisions.
“The academic work has actually helped me to think out of the box and to imagine a wide range of possibilities to a single problem,” Pavan thanked Dr Ramesh (HOD ECE) and Prof. Siva Shankar along with the faculty of ECE Department for grooming him. In industrial problems such as the ones provided by TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt Pavan was able to implement machine learning and image processing which he had learnt in classroom.
We, the SRM Family, wish Pavan luck for all his future endeavours and plans which include obtaining a doctorate degree as well as working in teaching and research fields. Winning TATA InnoVerse SolverHunt is the first step on the path of recognition for him. We are extremely pleased that he could serve as an inspiration to all the students out there.
Continue reading → - C&EN features Dr Anil’s Research on sustainable biofilm October 6, 2021
Dr Anil K Suresh’s innovative research has been brought into the limelight by the revered weekly magazine Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), published by the American Chemical Society. Dr Anil K Suresh, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, and his team from SRM University-AP recently developed a see-through transparent (with 85% above transmittance) biotemplate which they derived from the fish scale wastes to substitute the extensive usage of eco-unfriendly disposal plastic cuvettes for UV-Visible Spectroscopy measurements in the spectrum of 350-900 nm.UV-Vis spectroscopy is a versatile analytical tool used to examine the nature of various synthetic, biological and clinical molecules for pharmaceutical and environmental applications. The team members demonstrated the practical on-biotemplate analysis of diverse analytes such as DNA, proteins, nanoparticles, organic dyes, bacteria, BSA assay and dye-degradations. Dr Anil K Suresh owns the copyrights for this pathbreaking invention by being granted an Indian patent. This work was published in the prestigious Journal “Green Chemistry” by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Read the full paper here.
Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), which is widely known to feature articles of the best professional and technical innovative research work and analysis in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering, has acknowledged Dr Anil’s research by allowing it little room in their magazine in Volume 99, Issue 36 (Read the news here). C&EN includes information on recent news and research in chemistry and chemical engineering along with career and employment information, business and industry news, government and policy news, funding in these fields, and special reports.
“The magazine is very celebrated among researchers across the world. It is a great honour for my team and me to be featured in the magazine. This news magazine usually picks only top nature cell science publications among thousands, and My team and I are feeling great to be one of them,” said Dr Anil. Dr Anil further said that it would not be possible to carry out such prominent research work in a newly built establishment without the constant support from the management of SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh. He has profoundly thanked Dr P Sathyanarayanan, President; Prof V S Rao, Vice-Chancellor; Prof D Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, for their kind help and cooperation.
The University Management congratulated Dr Anil K Suresh on his achievement. Dr Sathyanarayanan said, “It is indeed a proud moment for the university to be featured on C&EN. I compliment Dr Anil and his team on their tireless work.” “Dr Anil and his team have executed an extraordinary work towards a green environment which should be emphasised in international journals. The Team’s dedication towards their research is commendable,” said Prof V S Rao. Prof D Narayana Rao opined that Dr Anil K Suresh is one of the most talented young biologists in the nation. “I have personally known him for some time being and working with him for a few years. Dr Anil is devoted biologist and pride of the university,” asserted Prof D Narayana Rao.
Continue reading → - Dr Sumit Kumar publishes two research articles in reputed journals October 6, 2021
Dr Sumit Kumar, Assistant Professor from the Department of Management has recently published two papers in highly reputed Scopus indexed journals. The paper titled “Managing employees’ turnover: findings from AHP model” is published in the International Journal of Economics & Business Research and “Economic Prosperity and Environmental Sustainability: Role of Infrastructure Development” in the Indian Journal of Ecology.Managing employees’ turnover: findings from AHP model is an attempt to compare and evaluate the relative significance of myriad HR issues leading to better management of the employee turnover problem. The research questions explored and examined in this study provided deeper insights and a better understanding of the problem of retaining and nurturing human capital and have relevant implications for scholars, policymakers, and retail organisations. An important theoretical contribution of the study is in enriching the literature on employee retention in the organised retail sector. The practical implications of this study mainly emanate from the results of this study and are related to practices of managing people at work. The findings of the study can be effectively used to design a robust retention policy.
Read the full paper hereThe second paper titled Economic Prosperity and Environmental Sustainability: Role of Infrastructure Development is co-authored by A. Mishra, M. Sharma, and et. al. This pragmatic investigation strives to divulge the relationship between infrastructure expansion and environmental defilement in the Indian outlook by realistically exerting panel data of 10 Indian states, which contributes 70 per cent of the total national population. The precise outcome of the investigation demonstrates that some proxies of infrastructure improvement such as electric capacity, railways network, road network and telecommunication have linkage with the air quality index in India.
Dr Sumit Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the School of Entrepreneurship and Management Studies, SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh, India. He has done his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad in Marketing Management. He has eight years of rich experience in the industry, research, and academia. His research, interests focus on the areas of marketing and consumer behaviour, green products, private label brands (PLB), virtual retail environment and online retail. He has also presented papers at premier national and international conferences. He authored and co-authored several research articles in reputed international and national journals.
Continue reading → - Paying tribute to the father of the nation on his 152nd birth anniversary October 5, 2021
SRM University-AP paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 152nd birth anniversary on October 2, 2021, at the university campus. Vice-Chancellor, Prof V S Rao; Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof D Narayana Rao; Director- Campus Life Management, Wg Cmdr Venkataachalam Sekkappan; and Assistant Director- Student Affairs, Ms Revathi Balakrishnan talked about the venerable life of Mahatma that inspired civil rights movements across the world.Every year on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, prayer sessions and tributes are held across the country. Mahatma Gandhi, who was instrumental in India’s freedom, is recognised for his nonviolence and truth ideals, which he began to practise early in his life. The ideals of Mahatma Gandhi motivated the freedom fighters to think of “Swaraj” and quietly work for it. Non-violence was his motto and India could free herself from colonial authority without violence because of his ideals.
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- IIT Indore Selected Akash Yadav for M-Tech Programme with Scholarship September 30, 2021
SRM University AP is happy to inform everyone that IIT Indore selected Akash Yadav of our Mechanical Engineering Department class of 2021 into a coveted Master’s Program. Akash is excited to start his M-Tech journey in Production and Industrial Engineering Program at IIT Indore in Madhya Pradesh.Indian Institute of Technology, Indore or IIT Indore was established by the Government of India for Engineering Studies to provide research-based education. It has become one of the pioneer research institutes in the country and is known for its innovation driven research and entrepreneurship.
Getting selected into IIT Indore is not the first of Akash’s many successes. Akash hails from Nepal and is a recipient of a prestigious scholarship under “Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha Scholarship Scheme” from Embassy of India, Kathmandu for his higher education. This scheme provides full scholarship to all students and even provides stipend to selected students.
Akash showed tremendous potential and was a feather in the cap of SRM University AP even before getting selected for M-Tech at IIT Indore. Along with pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, he completed four projects in four years in our labs. His project titled “Experimental Investigation of laminar length for Non-impinging Submerged Jets” was also awarded with a gold medal.
“I cannot forget the conscientious support of my mentors Dr. Prakash Jadhav and Dr. Surfaraz S Halkarni from Department of Mechanical Engineering during my projects.” Akash said, “Research based learning at SRM University AP, is the key to my success.”
We, the SRM Family, wish Akash all the success in his chosen path and are proud to share the table with IIT Indore as his alma matres. We are pleased that our research facilities could accommodate his innovative mind in the classroom and his ideas and designs in our laboratories.
Continue reading → - Image retrieval scheme with object detection and quantised colour histogram September 30, 2021
Yuvaraj Tankala and Joseph K Paul, 5th-semester B Tech Computer Science and Engineering students of SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, India has worked with Dr Manikandan V M, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Engineering Department on a research project and their research paper “A Content-based Image Retrieval Scheme with Object Detection and Quantized Color Histogram” got accepted for publication in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering.Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is an active area of research due to its wide applications. Most of the existing CBIR schemes are concentrated to do the searching of the images based on the texture, colour, or shape features extracted from the query image. In this manuscript, we propose an object detection based CBIR scheme with quantized colour histograms. In the proposed scheme, the meaningful objects will be identified from the query image by using you only look once (YOLO) object detection techniques and the quantized histograms of each of the object categories. The object lists, their count, and the area covered by the objects along with quantized colour histograms will be used during feature matching to retrieve the related images from the large image pool. The experimental of the proposed scheme is carried on the Corel 1K and Caltech image dataset. We have observed an average precision of 0.96 during the experimental study which is quite high while comparing the precision from the well-known existing schemes.
To retrieve relevant images from a large image pool, we use content-based image retrieval (CBIR) schemes. In a CBIR scheme, the properties of the query image will be matched with the properties of the images in the image pool. The images which are very close to the given query image will be returned by the CBIR scheme. Most of the existing CBIR schemes use colour, shape and texture properties for image comparison. In the proposed scheme, we use an object detection-based approach with quantized colour histograms to retrieve the relevant images from the image pool.
The real-life applications of the proposed scheme are listed below:
● In the fashion designing and textile industry, CBIR systems can be used to find the existing designs.
● The CBIR systems are useful in crime prevention by retrieving similar crime scenes or the images of criminal persons based on the query image.
● Professional web designers or poster designers want to retrieve relevant images depends on the specific context that they are working.
● To retrieve similar medical images with the relevant treatment details in a computer-assisted diagnosis system.The team currently continue their research work in the same domain to come up with a content-based image retrieval system that will return the relevant images by understanding the relationships among the objects in the image. The classes of the objects in the scene and their properties also will be considered along with the relationship between the objects in the scene.
Continue reading → - SRM University-AP joins in One Nation, One Day, One Million Blood Sugar Tests September 30, 2021
SRM University-AP organised a medical camp, “One Nation, One Day, One Million Blood Sugar Tests”, to spread awareness on Diabetes on World Heart Day on September 29, 2021. The camp was conducted in collaboration with the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI).Every year on September 29, World Heart Day is observed to raise public awareness about heart disease. One of the primary causes of death from a heart attack is diabetes. India is considered the “Diabetes Capital of the World” since it is home to an estimated 74 million diabetics. Prediabetes affects almost the same number of persons as diabetes. According to various studies, 50 per cent of Indians are undiagnosed, and only 25% of those who are diagnosed are adequately regulated.
Research Society for Study of Diabetes (RSSDI) in India has attempted for the Asia Book of Records for the largest number of blood glucose testing in one single day on September 29, 2021, as a diabetes awareness drive named ONE NATION, ONE DAY, ONE MILLION TESTS. As a part of this, the medical team of SRM University-AP conducted a Diabetes screening test for all the staff, faculty and their family members from 10.00 am – 4.00 pm on the day. Dr Ch Lakshmi Rajyam, Medical Officer of the university, commenced the camp.
Diabetes is a major illness that affects the way our body converts food into energy. When your blood sugar levels rise, your pancreas is prompted to release insulin. Insulin functions as a key, allowing blood sugar to enter our cells and be used as energy. If one has diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not use it as effectively as it should. Too much blood sugar persists in the bloodstream when there isn’t enough insulin or when cells stop responding to insulin. Over time, this can lead to major health issues like heart disease and vision loss.
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- Integration of Science, Engineering and Technology is the key to sustainable development September 29, 2021Continue reading →
The 12th edition of the widely popular University Distinguished Lecture Series delved into the pertinent relationship between Science, Engineering and Technology. During the distinguished lecture, “Science-Engineering-Technology Synergy for Sustainable Growth”, Prof Indranil Manna well explained the correlation between the streams and how scientists, engineers and industry experts should work together for maximum societal benefits. Prof Indranil Manna, a JC Bose fellow of DST, is currently the Vice-Chancellor of BIT Mesra. The event took place on September 24, 2021, in virtual mode.In his address, Prof Indranil Manna asserted that India is no longer a poor country but a mighty economic power with a 3 trillion dollar economy. “We are considered as one of the strongest nations of the world today, not because of the population or because of the youth living in the country, but we are the ones who could send mission to mars at the cheapest cost, and also successfully identified the existence of water on the surface of the moon. Further, we are one of the very few nuclear harnessing nations of the world,” said Prof Manna.
Science began its journey in order to find out the truths of nature. “Why?”- this question is the driving force behind Science. Though Science unravels nature and truth primarily through curiosity or need inspired acts, and the occasional outcome is significant earth-breaking discoveries, sometimes it needs technology to prove it. On the other hand, Engineering deals with “How?” and for Technology, the question is “What?”. Engineering produces certain products and devices by specific designs and inventions. However, what is absolutely essential for the society is Technology, knowledge through the path of knowing ‘why’ and ‘how’ to know ‘what’ sells. Thus, Prof Manna prescribes SET, a conjugation of Science+Engineering+Technology, as the way forward for maximum societal benefits.
Prof Manna explained that innovation means new ideas, creative thoughts, new imaginations in the form of a device or method. It is incremental, cross-disciplinary, directed and translational. Innovation matures itself via Engineering or Technological interventions. Further, sustainability is a composite concept that means the ability to maintain the desired rate or level, avoiding depletion of resources, energy or disturbing the related ecosystem.
Engineering and Technology are the key factors to sustainability. Engineers are not technicians meant only for routine production, maintenance or testing. Instead, Engineering applies the principles of science and logic to develop viable solutions to societal aspirations and challenges. The core of engineering lies in the translation, fundamental concepts to design, develop, fabricate, exploit, analyse, model, stimulate and predict,” Prof Manna elaborated.
Government of India’s Technology Vision-2035 focuses on developing the quality of life of each Indian. Science is pursuing the truth relentlessly regardless of its necessity or immediate scope of application. It provides clues, if not answers and extends as far as imagination goes. Engineering is all about enabling and providing solutions borrowing from the fundamentals of science. Technology is the last mile for societal benefit, based on scientific discovery and engineering inventions and innovations.
India is a great innovator and showcasing continuous gradual progress in it. In the Global Innovation Index (GII), India ranks 48 (2020), making it into the top 50 for the first time. Prof Manna believes that India has enough talent and potential to make it into the top 10. “Let us ensure that Science-Engineering-Technology in India complement each other and flourish together so that our society soon achieves the desired culture, growth and prosperity,” Prof Manna Concluded.
In his welcome address, Prof D Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, SRM University-AP, said that the development and use of Science & Technology are critical for the achievement and sustenance of various sectors. The importance of Science and Technology to modern society and the role of the technologically educated population in promoting social and environmental developments have long been recognised. Science and technology are considered the most effective means to enhance the growth and socio-economic developments of nations. Moreover, the universalism of science and the globalisation of technological production and trade offer unprecedented opportunities for focused cooperation for scientists, engineers and the institutions that employ them to further progress in sustainable development. Even, National Education Policy-2020 advocated multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research for sustainable development.
In his concluding remarks, Prof V S Rao, Vice-chancellor, SRM University-AP, congratulated Prof Indranil Manna on delivering such a motivating lecture. He further honoured him by presenting a memento.
