The IIT Bombay-Ohio State Frontier Center announced more than $200,000 in funding to eight collaborative research teams through its second round of awards under the Frontier Center Scholars Program.
The IIT Bombay-Ohio State Frontier Science and Engineering Research Center is a joint research center operated by the Institute for Materials Research at The Ohio State University and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay that builds on both institutions’ research strengths in materials and their applications to systems.
Teams set to receive the total of $208,412 in funding bring together investigators with complementary expertise from India and the U.S. to enable unique projects that push the frontier of science and engineering research beyond what could be accomplished by a single institution. Funding costs are shared by Ohio State and IIT Bombay.
“We are excited to announce this round of Frontier Center Scholar Grants,” said Prof. Saurabh Lodha, professor in IIT Bombay’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Frontier Center co-leader. “We increased the awarded amount and number this year based on the strength of the proposals and the successes we’ve witnessed from the initial awards. In spite of the travel and work impediments from the pandemic, PIs and students at the two institutions have found creative ways to keep working together.”
Each supported project under the Frontier Center Scholars Program is carried out by a team that includes a pair of principal investigators, one from Ohio State and one from IIT Bombay, and a graduate student from one of the partnering institutions. These students, or Frontier Scholars, spend approximately one semester visiting the host institution to complete the research project.
Click here to read about Chandan Joishi’s time as an IIT Bombay doctoral student researching energy-efficient electronic devices at Ohio State. Joishi (shown left), now an IIT Bombay project research scientist, said he had a pleasant and positive experience gaining skills and knowledge in his field as a visiting scholar in the U.S.
The Frontier Center focuses its support in areas of strength and strategic growth, with initially supported research focusing on renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, electronics, photonics, and emergent materials. This year’s Frontier Center Scholar awards include projects in all of these areas.
“I’m thrilled at the diverse strength of this year’s proposals and funded awards,” said Prof. Ardeshir Contractor, professor of practice in Ohio State’s Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the Fisher College of Business, and Frontier Center co-leader. “Even within our targeted areas, we are seeing a range of ideas brought to the table that will increase the reach and impact of this collaboration.”
Last year, six collaborative research teams received funding through the inaugural round of Frontier Center Scholar Grants. Those teams are now conducting research across a wide range of areas, from additive manufacturing to quantum materials.
2021 Frontier Center Scholar Projects
Design Control and Implementation of Medium Voltage Modular Converter Using Si and SiC Devices
Principal investigators: Jin Wang (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ohio State) and Anshuman Shukla (Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholars: Rajat Shahane and Satish Shamsundar Belkholde (IIT Bombay)
Development of Robust Catalysts for Sustainable H2 Evolution
Principal investigators: Hannah Shafaat (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio State) and Arnab Dutta (Chemistry, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholar: Abhishek Saini (IIT Bombay)
Development of Robust System Designs for Maximizing the Energy Yield of Space – Efficient Photovoltaic Systems
Principal investigators: Navni Verma and Sandip Mazumder (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and Narendra Shiradkar (Electrical Engineering)
Frontier Center Scholar: Karan Rane (IIT Bombay)
Enabling SiC based Power Converters: Gate Drivers to AI-enhanced System Design
Principal investigators: Anant Agarwal (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ohio State), and Sandeep Anand and Swaroop Ganguly (Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholars: Aditya Aman and Sudipta Mukherjee (IIT Bombay)
Facile synthesis of BaZrS3 nanoparticles absorber material for photovoltaic application
Principal investigators: Patrick Woodward (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio State) and K. R. Balasubramaniam (Energy Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholar: Shubhankar Mishra (IIT Bombay)
Hybrid Organic-inorganic Metal Halide Based Perovskite Infrared Detectors and its Application in Imaging
Principal investigators: Sanjay Krishna (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ohio State) and Dinesh Kabra (Physics, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholar: Bhupesh Bhardwaj (IIT Bombay)
Impact Welding of Nano-structured Bainitic Steel: Efficacy and Microstructural Study
Principal investigators: Anupam Vivek (Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State) and Aparna Singh (Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholar: Bhawesh Chhajed (IIT Bombay)
Understanding the Structure-Property Linkages in Electron Beam Melted Ti-6Al-4V
Principal investigators: Joerg Jinschek (Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State) and Alankar Alankar (Mechanical Engineering, IIT Bombay)
Frontier Center Scholar: Aayush Trivedi (IIT Bombay)
Story by Mike Huson, IMR and Frontier Center Communications Coordinator
Contact: huson.4@osu.edu
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