Five doctoral students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay came to Ohio State to perform research through the Frontier Center Scholars Program within the IIT Bombay-Ohio State Frontier Science and Engineering Research Center. This center, operated by IMR and IIT Bombay, builds on both institutions’ research strengths to develop and advance research. These doctoral students, also known as Frontier Center Scholars, spent about one semester researching at their partnering institutions.
The Frontier Center Scholars researching at Ohio State were Sumit Saha (pictured), who worked with Ohio State PI Nima Ghalichechian on the project “Integration of Zero-Leakage NEMS Switch With a Flexible Antenna for RF Energy Harvesting,” Suvendu Nayak who worked with Ohio State PI Anant Agarwal on “Towards Rugged SiC Technology for Electric Transportation,” Anuj S. Vora who worked with Ohio State PI Abhishek Gupta on “Selling Renewable Generation to Flexible Consumers with a Data-driven Tariff Scheme,” and Satish Belkhode and Rajat Shahane who worked with Ohio State PI Jin Wang on “Design Control and Implementation of Modular Medium Voltage Converter Using Si and SiC Devices.”
Saha, whose work at IIT Bombay was guided by Prof. Maryam Shojaei Baghini, spent much of his time at Ohio State at the ElectroScience Laboratory, on West Campus. There, he worked with Ohio State collaborators to create a new radio frequency energy harvesting technology by using an electrically actuated nanoelectromechanical relay switch to make an electrical connection. The team’s objective was to extract the maximum amount of energy from an ambient source at a Wi-Fi frequency band. For Saha, the opportunity for hands-on work and time with his Ohio State PI and students was a good experience.
“After coming here, I have met many people; they are also very good. I like this place, obviously, and wish to come once again,” he said. “The overall journey is very good.”
Beyond his research experience in the U.S., Saha reflected on readjusting to his new research-life balance, socializing with his, now, fellow Buckeyes, and taking in the scenic beauty, adding, “Everyone should come, at least once.”
His project was among six that were funded in the Frontier Center’s inaugural round of awards to research teams under the Frontier Center Scholars Program.
In August 2021, Saha accepted a position at Intel in Bengaluru, India. He works as a compact device modeling engineer.
Story by Mike Huson, Communications Coordinator for the Institute for Materials Research and IIT Bombay-Ohio State Frontier Science and Engineering Research Center.
Contact: huson.4@osu.edu
Follow: @OhioStateIMR