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American Chemical Society publishes Dr Lakhveer Singh’s book on Advanced Applications of 2D Nanomaterials

Dr Lakhveer Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh has edited a book on “Adapting 2D Nanomaterials for Advanced Applications” which is published in the globally renowned publishing house American Chemical Society. The book emphasizes on his collaborative work with Dr Durga Mahapatra, TERI Deakin Nanobiotechnology Center (TDNBC), TERI, India on 2D nanomaterials for various sustainable applications such as energy production and storage, biosensor, water treatment etc.

2D nanomaterials, or graphene equivalents, possess an exceptional array of characteristics due to their unique structure, configuration, and properties. Such materials have gained attention for countless applications due to their progression into wide varieties of crystallographic structures via abundant elemental compositions. These characteristics distinctively impart qualities to their unique chemical reaction capabilities and adjustable structural properties and therefore enable applications in energy transitions, storage, and conservation.

In his research, Dr Lakhveer has developed a variety of nanomaterials and catalysts having several applications. He mentions, “We have developed Mesoporous MnCo2O4 nanorods for electricity production, NiO, and CoO nanoparticles for biohydrogen production and Cu-ZnO nano heterojunction for degradation of chlorpyrifos pesticide.” Recently, Dr Lakhveer has developed reduced graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles on a melamine sponge skeleton by a simple coating method in collaboration with Oregon State University, USA, and Xiamen University, China. The modified sponge retained the high porosity of the sponge substrate and exhibited photothermal properties. This material provides a new idea for the recovery of heavy crude oil and provides new applications for photothermal-conversion materials.

Dr Lakhveer is currently vested in developing efficient and economical nanocatalysts that possess commercial applications in the energy and water sectors. In the next few months, he will be publishing two more books in the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Elsevier. These books will focus on novel electrodes, nano catalytic materials, and subnanometric-scale catalysts having applicability at the Nanoscale.

On the occasion of Independence Day, Prof. V. S. Rao, Vice-Chancellor hoisted the national flag and addressed the employees and students. During his address, Prof V. S. Rao remembered our freedom fighters and emphasized on how non-violence freedom struggle set an example for the entire world to imbibe. He further urged everyone to dedicate ourselves to the nation by contributing in advancement of science and technology, especially in the domain of Information Technology, healthcare, nutrition, and agriculture. Dr. D. Gunasekaran, Registrar, Wg Cmdr Venkataachalam Sekkappan, Director-CLM, Ms. Revathi Balakrishnan, Assistant Director-Student Affairs and others participated in the ceremony.

Ph.D. students of SRM AP, D. Lenin babu and Yarramsetti Saisrinu who nobly served the needy during the pandemic were praised by Prof. V. S. Rao and Dr. D. Gunasekaran. During the lockdown, the two students distributed free essentials such as rice and condiments to the poor. They were honored with shawls and were presented the “Care Humanity” award along with mementos. Further, cultural events were organized where students participated in dance and song performances through online platform.

K. Sree Rama Murthy, Second Year B. Tech-CSE student presented a paper at a conference in IIT-Kharagpur

K. Sree Rama MurthySRM University-AP always inspires the students in their pursuits, be it a job of their choice or a career in research and higher studies. K. Sree Rama Murthy, a 2nd-year student of B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering, has recently presented a research paper on “A Block-wise Histogram Shifting based Reversible Data Hiding Scheme with Overflow Handling” in the Eleventh International Conference on Computing, Communication and Networking Technologies (11th ICCCNT), held at IIT Kharagpur, India in association with IEEE Kharagpur Section, during July 1 – 3, 2020.

Data hiding is a process of embedding a secret message into a cover medium for secure message transmission. The reversible data hiding techniques are recently explored in the domain of data hiding in which the cover image can be recovered while extracting the hidden secret message. The overview of a reversible data hiding scheme is shown in Figure. 1.

Figure 1. Overview of reversible data hiding

In this research paper, Sree Rama Murthy introduced a new reversible data hiding algorithm based on the histogram of the blocks of the cover images with an efficient overflow management technique to achieve a better embedding rate without compromising the visual quality of the stego image.

Design and development of reversible data hiding schemes are widely studied topic due to its wide scope in cloud computing and medical image transmission. This paper introduces a new reversible data hiding algorithm based on the histogram of the blocks of the cover images with an efficient overflow management technique. In the new scheme, the peak intensity value from each block is used for data hiding, and to make sure the correct recovery of the original image, the grayscale value used for data hiding from each block is embedded in the same block itself by replacing the least significant bits of eight selected pixels. The lossless recovery is ensured by embedding those least significant bits in the same block itself along with the secret message. Detailed theoretical analysis and experimental study of the scheme are carried out and discussed in this paper. The images from the standard image dataset of the University of Southern California (USC-SIPI) are used in their study.

“To be able to publish a research paper at such an early stage in a reputed conference like ICCCNT-2020 is an achievement that has acted as a cornerstone for my research aspirations. I feel highly encouraged, motivated and inspired to contribute more in the fields of research. I express my sincere gratitude to my professors, especially to Dr Manikandan V. M for providing me with the opportunity to collaborate. He put his trust on me, encouraged to do research with him and guided me with his knowledge and experience throughout the journey. I feel this is only the beginning for me, and I will try my best to accomplish more and retain more knowledge,” said Sree Rama Murthy.

Sree Rama Murthy plans to acquire a master’s degree in computer science and aspires to be a researcher who can make significant contributions in the domain of Computer Science and Engineering.

Distributing fruits and jute bags on the auspicious occasion of Founder Chancellor and MP, Dr. T.R. Paarivendhar’s birthday

Founder’s Day Celebration at SRMAPSRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh celebrated ‘Founder’s Day’ on the propitious occasion of the birthday of Dr. T.R. Paarivendhar, Founder Chancellor of SRM Group and Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Perambalur Constituency, Tamil Nadu. Soon after, as part of the occasion, jute bags were distributed among the dwellers of Neerukonda and Kuragallu, encouraging them to quit using plastic products. Further contributing to the environment, Prof Vajja Sambasiva Rao, Vice-Chancellor, planted saplings around SRM AP campus.

The celebration continued with SRM AP staff visiting the elderly at the Sri Krishna Chaitanya Old Age Home, Mangalagiri. Chief Guest of the event, Ram Prasad himself rendered a hand in the noble gesture of distributing fruits to the elderly. Prof Vajja Sambasiva Rao lauded the gesture of the university to extend services to the society. SRM University-AP Seva Programmes were also appreciated and attended by Dr. B. Sivakumar, Deputy Registrar, Wg Cmdr Venkataachalam Sekkappan, Director-CLM, and Ramesh Babu, Chief Liaison Officer, among others.

Prof VS Rao, VC, planting trees

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