Bhubaneswar: A week long high-end workshop on Materials Advancement and Methods for Technological Applications (MAMTA-2023) started from Tuesday at CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar. This workshop is supported by SERB “Accelerate Vigyan – Karyashala” Scheme as well as CSIR Integrated Skill Development Initiative-IMMT.

Dr. Ramanuj Narayan, Director, CSIR-IMMT, delivered briefly about the philosophy of development of materials for technology through a presentation. On this occasion, Dr. Ramanuj said, This workshop will provide a vital platform for gaining knowledge based on the several materials’ synthesis techniques for the development of electronics, energy and environmental devices by highly experienced speakers.

Renowned speakers, like Prof. Surojit Gupta, University of North Dakota, Dr. Shova Neupane, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, Dr. Kalpataru Panda, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany, Dr. Rani Mary Joy, Hasselt University, Belgium, Dr. Raviraj Vankayala, IIT-Jodhpur, Prof. Animesh Mandal, IIT-Bhubaneswar, Dr. Sivaiah Bathula, IIT-Bhubaneswar, Dr. Rambabu Dandela, ICT-IOC, Bhubaneswar, Prof. Jyotirmayee Nanda, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar, Dr. Swetapadma Praharaj, KIIT, Bhubaneswar and Scientists from CSIR-IMMT will deliver their talk during the Workshop. The out station speakers will be in virtual mode.

Through this program, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) is looking to take up the challenge of skilling a select group of individuals as it has several years of research and technical experience in the fabrication of advanced materials using physico-chemical methods for applications in electronics, photonics, electrochemistry, sensors etc.

The workshop will focus on:
• To educate the PhD and PG students about the fundamentals on the top-down and bottom-up synthesis approaches of advanced materials using physical and chemical methods and the progress of these materials in technological applications.
• Lectures from experienced scientists will include the basics of advanced materials, their synthesis, properties and characterization, and applications in the areas such as photovoltaic, magnetic sensors, energy storage, photocatalytic dye degradation, gas sensing and opto-electronic applications.
• To provide understanding and insight to PhD and PG students about the practical aspects of synthesis of materials and hands-on experience on the processing equipment such as field emission scanning electron microscopy, Hall effect measurement, four- probe measurement, microplasma illumination, electrochemical work station, UV- visible spectroscopy and gas sensing equipment.
• The discussion sessions will offer a fertile atmosphere for brainstorming and creative thinking among students and scientists to compare and contrast the requirements for developing advanced materials across both domains and apply this knowledge to a real- world problem.

Since the core concept of this program is centered on the advanced materials and their technological applications, it fits perfectly within the aims and objectives as well as the core research capabilities of CSIR-IMMT.