12 July 2024 

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will host this year’s convocation on Monday, 15 July 2024, from 11:00 am at the JN Tata auditorium to confer degrees upon students who are graduating this year.

Viswanathan Anand, five-time world champion in chess and Padma Vibhushan awardee will be the Chief Guest of the event. The Guest of Honour will be Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, Chair, IISc Council.

A total of 1,136 degrees will be awarded during the ceremony, with 465 Research degrees, 571 Master’s course degrees and 100 undergraduate degrees conferred on students. Gold medals will also be awarded to 57 students for academic excellence.

IISc currently offers PhD and Integrated PhD programmes, several Master’s programmes (MTech, MTech (Res), MDes, MMgmt), a four-year Bachelor of Science (Research) programme and a BTech in Mathematics and Computing.

5^th July 2022

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a design framework to build next-generation analog computing chipsets that could be faster and require less power than the digital chips found in most electronic devices.

Using their novel design framework, the team has built a prototype of an analog chipset called ARYABHAT-1 (Analog Reconfigurable technologY And Bias-scalable Hardware for AI Tasks). This type of chipset can be especially helpful for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based applications like object or speech recognition – think Alexa or Siri – or those that require massive parallel computing operations at high speeds.

ARYABHAT-1 Chip Micrograph. Credits: NeuRonICS Lab, DESE, IISc

Most electronic devices, particularly those that involve computing, use digital chips because the design process is simple and scalable. “But the advantage of analog is huge. You will get orders of magnitude improvement in power and size,” explains Chetan Singh Thakur, Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE), IISc, whose lab is leading the efforts to develop the analog chipset. In applications that don’t require precise calculations, analog computing has the potential to outperform digital computing as the former is more energy-efficient.

Test Setup of the ARYABHAT-1 Chip. Credits: NeuRonICS Lab, DESE, IISc

However, there are several technology hurdles to overcome while designing analog chips. Unlike digital chips, testing and co-design of analog processors is difficult. Large-scale digital processors can be easily synthesised by compiling a high-level code, and the same design can be ported across different generations of technology development – say, from a 7 nm chipset to a 3 nm chipset – with minimal modifications. Because analog chips don’t scale easily – they need to be individually customised when transitioning to the next generation technology or to a new application – their design is expensive. Another challenge is that trading off precision and speed with power and area is not easy when it comes to analog design. In digital design, simply adding more components like logic units to the same chip can increase precision, and the power at which they operate can be adjusted without affecting the device performance.

To overcome these challenges, the team has designed a novel framework that allows the development of analog processors which scale just like digital processors. Their chipset can be reconfigured and programmed so that the same analog modules can be ported across different generations of process design and across different applications. “You can synthesise the same kind of chip at either 180 nm or at 7 nm, just like digital design,” adds Thakur.

Different machine learning architectures can be programmed on ARYABHAT, and like digital processors, can operate robustly across a wide range of temperatures, the researchers say. They add that the architecture is also “bias-scalable” – its performance remains the same when the operating conditions like voltage or current are modified. This means that the same chipset can be configured for either ultra-energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) applications or for high-speed tasks like object detection.

The design framework was developed as part of IISc student Pratik Kumar’s PhD work, and in collaboration with Shantanu Chakrabartty, Professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St Louis (WashU), USA, who also serves as WashU’s McDonnell Academy ambassador to IISc. “It’s good to see the theory of analog bias-scalable computing being manifested in reality and for practical applications,” says Chakrabartty, who had earlier proposed bias-scalable analog circuits.

The researchers have outlined their findings in two pre-print studies that are currently under peer review. They have also filed patents and are planning to work with industry partners to commercialise the technology.

REFERENCE

Kumar P, Nandi A, Chakrabartty S, Thakur CS, Process, Bias and Temperature Scalable CMOS Analog Computing Circuits for Machine Learning, arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.05664 (2022)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.05022

Kumar P, Nandi A, Chakrabartty S, Thakur CS, CMOS Circuits for Shape-Based Analog Machine Learning, arXiv:2202.05022 (2022)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.05022 

Thakur CS, Chakrabartty S, Kumar P, A RECONFIGURABLE AND SCALABLE MULTI-CORE ANALOG COMPUTING CHIP, Provisional IP, Challan: 2511210015847

CONTACT

Chetan Singh Thakur
Assistant Professor
Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE)
Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
csthakur@iisc.ac.in
080-22933608

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:

1. a) If any of the text in this release is reproduced verbatim, please credit the IISc press release.
2. b) For any queries about IISc press releases, please write to news@iisc.ac.in or pro@iisc.ac.in.

8^th July 2022

• Center of Excellence to conduct research on 5G, AI technologies
• Focus on solutions enabled by next-gen telecom networks for industrial and social use

08 July 2022

Bengaluru, India – Nokia and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) today announced the opening of the Nokia Center of Excellence (CoE) in Networked Robotics at the IISc Bengaluru. The CoE will promote inter-disciplinary research involving robotics and advanced communication technologies in 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The CoE will also develop use cases across industrial automation, agriculture and disaster management. The center will facilitate engagement and cooperation between academia, start-ups and industry ecosystem partners to research and develop these use cases. 

The research projects undertaken by the CoE will include the design of advanced robotics, AI and automation solutions built upon next generation telecom networks and their applications for solving societally relevant problems. The agreement for setting up the CoE in Networked Robotics was concluded in August 2020, and since then a core group has worked tirelessly to set up and equip the center.

Nokia will fund the CoE for three consecutive years in order to sustain the first phase of the partnership between Nokia and IISc.

Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Nokia, said: “We want India to drive global innovation in an era of convergence where a few years from now, extended reality (XR) and digital-physical fusion will allow us to create, collaborate and communicate in unprecedented ways. There is substantial untapped intellectual capability and competence in India, and our collaboration with a prestigious institution like IISc will enable exciting possibilities for industry and society.”

Professor Govindan Rangarajan, Director at IISc, said: “Next generation communication technologies like 5G and 6G will contribute enormously to the growth of India’s economy. Our collaboration with a world-class company like Nokia will enable us to explore new frontiers for advanced technology research to benefit society as well as provide state-of-the-art training to our students to enable them to become technology leaders in the coming decades.”

From launching and enabling rapid growth of 2G/GSM technology in India in early 2000 and bringing high-quality 3G services in 2011 to pioneering 4G/LTE technology in 2012 and now preparing the nation for 5G, Nokia is an integral part of India’s remarkable progress in technology and connectivity over last 22 years.

Nokia’s active CSR programs in India align with Nokia’s key themes of Corporate Community Investment and Section 135 and Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 and Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014. Nokia has invested a cumulative amount of over 150 crores INR in CSR efforts in India so far.

Resources

 Press Release: Nokia to set up robotics lab at Indian Institute of Science for research on socially relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies | Nokia

 About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.

Media Inquiries:

Nokia Communications
Email: press.services@nokia.com

 About IISc

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was established in 1909 by a visionary partnership between the industrialist Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the Mysore royal family and the Government of India. Over the last 113 years, IISc has become India’s premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education. Its mandate is “to provide for advanced instruction and to conduct original investigations in all branches of knowledge as are likely to promote the material and industrial welfare of India.” In 2018, IISc was selected as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) by the Government of India, and it consistently figures among the top Indian institutions in world university rankings.

www.iisc.ac.in

 Contact:

Public Relations Office (pro@iisc.ac.in); Office of Communications (news@iisc.ac.in)

08ನೇ ಜುಲೈ 2022

ಇಂಡಿಯಾ– ನೋಕಿಯಾ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾರತೀಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ (ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್ ಸಿ) ಹಾಗೂ ಭಾರತೀಯ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್. ಸಿ.ಯಲ್ಲಿ “ನೆಟ್ ವರ್ಕ್ಡ್ ರೊಬೊಟಿಕ್ಸ್”ಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ನೋಕಿಯಾ ಉತ್ಕಷ್ಟತಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಕಾರ್ಯಾರಂಭವನ್ನು ಇಂದು ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಿದವು. ಈ ಉತ್ಕೃಷ್ಟತಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರವು ರೋಬೋಟಿಕ್ಸ್ ಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಅಂತರ್–ಶಿಸ್ತೀಯ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು 5ಜಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಕೃತಕ ಬುದ್ಧಿಮತ್ತೆ (ಎಐ)ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉನ್ನತ ಸಂವಹನ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಉತ್ತೇಜಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೈಗಾರಿಕಾ ಸ್ವಯಂಚಾಲನೆ, ಕೃಷಿ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಕೋಪ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ ವಲಯಗಳ ಕ್ರಮಾನುಸರಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೂಡ (ಯೂಸ್ ಕೇಸಸ್) ಈ ಕೇಂದ್ರವು ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಪಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ವಲಯ, ನವೋದ್ಯಮಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಉದ್ಯಮ ಕಾರ್ಯಪರಿಸರ ಪಾಲುದಾರರ ನಡುವೆ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ಕ್ರಮಾನುಸರಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸಿದ್ಧಪಡಿಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಸ್ಪರ ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಿಕೆಗೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಹಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುವು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ.

ಈ ಉತ್ಕೃಷ್ಟತಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರವು ಕೈಗೊಂಡಿರುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಯೋಜನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಮುಂದಿನ ತಲೆಮಾರಿನ ದೂರಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಜಾಲಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತತೆಯ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಕಂಡುಹಿಡಿಯುವಲ್ಲಿ ಅವುಗಳ ಆನ್ವಯಿಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಆಧರಿಸಿದ ಸುಧಾರಿತ ರೊಬೊಟಿಕ್ಸ್, ಕೃತಕ ಬುದ್ಧಿಮತ್ತೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸ್ವಯಂಚಾಲನೆ ಪರಿಹಾರಗಳ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸಗಳನ್ನು ಒಳಗೊಂಡಿವೆ. ನೆಟ್ ವರ್ಕ್ಡ್ ರೊಬೊಟಿಕ್ಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಒಇ (ಉತ್ಕಷ್ಟತಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರ) ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸುವ ಸಂಬಂಧವಾಗಿ ಒಪ್ಪಂದ ಪ್ರಕ್ರಿಯೆಯು 2020ರ ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಕ್ತಾಯಗೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ಆಗಿನಿಂದಲೂ ತಜ್ಞರ ತಂಡವು ಈ ಕೇಂದ್ರದ ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಯ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಿರತವಾಗಿ ಶ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

ಈಗ ಒಪ್ಪಂದದ ಅನ್ವಯ ನೋಕಿಯಾವು ಈ ಉತ್ಕಷ್ಟತಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಕ್ಕೆ (ಸಿಒಇ) ಸತತ 3 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಅವಧಿಯವರೆಗೆ ಅನುದಾನ ಒದಗಿಸಲಿದೆ.

“ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಸಮಾಗಮಗಳ ಕಾಲಘಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತವು ಜಾಗತಿಕ ನಾವೀನ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಬೇಕೆಂಬುದು  ನಮ್ಮ ಬಯಕೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನು ಕೆಲವೇ ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಸ್ತರಿತ ವಾಸ್ತವತೆ (XR- ಎಕ್ಸ್ ಟೆಂಡೆಡ್ ರಿಯಾಲಿಟಿ) ಮತ್ತು ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್-ಭೌತಿಕ ಬೆಸುಗೆಯು ಹಿಂದೆಂದೂ ಕಂಡಿರದ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರೂಪಿಸಲು, ಸಹಭಾಗಿತ್ವ ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಹಾಗೂ ಸಂವಹನ ನಡೆಸುವುದನ್ನು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಿಸಲಿದೆ. ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಕಾಶಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಬೌದ್ಧಿಕ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಾತ್ಮಕತೆ ಗಮನಾರ್ಹ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್ ಸಿ.ಯಂತಹ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯೊಂದಿಗಿನ ನಮ್ಮ ಒಪ್ಪಂದವು ಉದ್ಯಮ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಮಾಜಕ್ಕೆ ಕುತೂಹಲಕರ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡಲಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ ನೋಕಿಯಾದ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯತಂತ್ರ ಹಾಗೂ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ ನಿಶಾಂತ್ ಬಾತ್ರ.

“5ಜಿ ಮತ್ತು 6ಜಿಯಂತಹ ಮುಂಬರುವ ತಲೆಮಾರಿನ ಸಂವಹನಗಳು ಭಾರತದ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಭಾರೀ ದೊಡ್ಡಮಟ್ಟದ ಕೊಡುಗೆ ನೀಡಲಿವೆ. ಜಾಗತಿಕ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟದ ನೋಕಿಯಾ ಕಂಪನಿ ಜೊತೆ ನಾವು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಸಹಭಾಗಿತ್ವದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಸಮಾಜದ ಉಪಯೋಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಉನ್ನತ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಯ ಹೊಸ ಮಜಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಶೋಧಿಸಲು ಹಾಗೂ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಮುಂಬರುವ ದಶಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ನಾಯಕರಾಗುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಪೂರಕವಾಗಿ ಆಧುನಿಕ ತರಬೇತಿಯನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸಲು ಅನುವು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡಲಿದೆ” ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್ ಸಿ. ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಪ್ರೊ.ರಂಗರಾಜನ್ ಅವರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ.

.

ವರ್ಷ 2000ರ ಆರಂಭದಲ್ಲಿ, ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ 2ಜಿ/ಜಿಎಸ್ಎಂ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು, 2011ರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಧಿಕ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟದ 3 ಜಿ ಸೇವೆಗಳನ್ನು, 2012ರಲ್ಲಿ 4 ಜಿ/ಎಲ್.ಟಿ.ಇ. ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಹಾಗೂ ಈಗ ದೇಶವನ್ನು 5ಜಿ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕತೆಗೆ ಸನ್ನದ್ಧಗೊಳಿಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಕಿಯಾ ವಹಿಸಿರುವ ಪಾತ್ರ ಗಮನಾರ್ಹವಾಗಿದೆ.

ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಕಿಯಾದ ಸಕ್ರಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಟ್ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ (ಸಿ.ಎಸ್.ಆರ್.) ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಕಂಪನಿಯ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ವಿಷಯಗಳಾದ  ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೇಟ್ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಹೂಡಿಕೆ, ಸೆಕ್ಷನ್ 135 ಹಾಗೂ ಕಂಪನಿಗಳ ಕಾಯಿದೆ 2013ರ ಷೆಡ್ಯೂಲ್ VII ಮತ್ತು ಕಂಪನಿಗಳ (ಸಿಎಸ್ಆರ್ ನೀತಿ) ನಿಯಮಾವಳಿಗಳು 2014, ಇವಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಗುಣವಾಗಿವೆ. ನೋಕಿಯಾವು ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಎಸ್ಆರ್ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ ರೂ 150 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೂಡಿಕೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ.

ಆಕರ ಮೂಲಗಳು:

ಪತ್ರಿಕಾ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ: Nokia to set up robotics lab at Indian Institute of Science for research on socially relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies | Nokia

ನೋಕಿಯಾ ಬಗ್ಗೆ

ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ರಚನಾತ್ಮಕ ಕಾರ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳಲು ಪೂರಕವಾದ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನು ನಾವು ರೂಪಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ಮಹತ್ವದ ನೆಟ್ ವರ್ಕ್ ಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ವಿಶ್ವಸಾರ್ಹ ಪಾಲುದಾರರಾಗಿ ಮೊಬೈಲ್, ಸ್ಥಿರ ಹಾಗೂ ಕ್ಲೌಡ್ ಜಾಲ ವಲಯಗಳ ನಾವೀನ್ಯತೆ ಮತ್ತು ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ನಾಯಕತ್ವಕ್ಕೆ ನಾವು ಬದ್ಧರಾಗಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪುರಸ್ಕೃತ ನೋಕಿಯಾ ಬೆಲ್ ಲ್ಯಾಬ್ಸ್ ನೇತೃತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೌದ್ಧಿಕ ಸ್ವತ್ತು ಹಾಗೂ ದೀರ್ಘಾವಧಿ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಮೌಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಮಟ್ಟದ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸಾರ್ಹತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸುರಕ್ಷತೆಗೆ ಒತ್ತುಕೊಟ್ಟು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಉತ್ಪಾದಕವಾದ, ಸುಸ್ಥಿರವಾದ ಹಾಗೂ ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನೂ ಒಳಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ಬೇಕಾದ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಬೆಳೆಸಲು ನಾವು ಕೈಜೋಡಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.

ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ ಸಂಪರ್ಕ:                                                                   ಸಂವಹನಗಳು

ನೋಕಿಯಾ

ಇಮೇಲ್: press.services@nokia.com

ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್ ಸಿ. ಬಗ್ಗೆ

ಉದ್ಯಮಿ ಜಮ್ ಷೇಟ್ ಜಿ ನಸರ್ ವಾಂಜಿ ಟಾಟಾ, ಮೈಸೂರು ರಾಜಸಂಸ್ಥಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾರತ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳ ದೂರದರ್ಶಿತ್ವದ ಪಾಲುದಾರಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯು (ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್ ಸಿ.ಯಲ್ಲಿ) 1909ರಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಗೊಂಡಿತು. ಕಳೆದ 113 ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್.‍ಸಿ.ಯು ಆಧುನಿಕ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ಹಾಗೂ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆ ಮತ್ತು ಶಿಕ್ಷಣಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಭಾರತದ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆದಿದೆ. ಭಾರತದ ಭೌತಿಕ ಹಾಗೂ ಕೈಗಾರಿಕಾ ಅಭ್ಯುದಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುವಂತಹ ಉನ್ನತ ಬೋಧನೆಗೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸ್ವೋಪಜ್ಞ ಪರಿವೀಕ್ಷಣೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜ್ಞಾನಶಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಕಾಶ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕೆ” ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಕಟಿಬದ್ಧವಾಗಿದೆ. ಭಾರತ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು 2018ರಲ್ಲಿ ಐ.ಐ.ಎಸ್ ಸಿ.ಯನ್ನು “ಇನ್ಸ್ ಟಿಟ್ಯೂಷ್ ಆಫ್ ಎಮೆನೆನ್ಸ್”  ಎಂದು ಆಯ್ಕೆಮಾಡಿತು. ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯು ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ, ಜಾಗತಿಕ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳ ರಾಂಕಿಂಗ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತದ ಅಗ್ರಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಎಂಬ ಸ್ಥಾನಮಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಪಾತ್ರವಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ.

www.iisc.ac.in

ಸಂಪರ್ಕಿಸಿ:

ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಕಚೇರಿ (pro@iisc.ac.in); ಸಂವಹನ ಕಚೇರಿ (news@iisc.ac.in)

12^th July 2022

Dasappa believes that green hydrogen could be used in several other industries as well – in the steel industry to decarbonise steel, in agriculture to manufacture green fertilisers, and in many sectors currently using hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.  “Moreover, the same platform can be used for methanol and ethanol production,” he adds.

CONTACT: 

S Dasappa
Chair, Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research
Professor, Centre for Sustainable Technologies
Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
dasappa@iisc.ac.in
080-2293 2338

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:

1. If any of the text in this release is reproduced verbatim, please credit the IISc press release.
2. For any queries about IISc press releases, please write to news@iisc.ac.inor pro@iisc.ac.in.

17^th July 2022

A Viral Genome Sequencing Lab, established with support from CryptoRelief, was inaugurated at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR), IISc, on Sunday, 17 July 2022

The lab was established with a grant from CryptoRelief. The grant supported the expansion of the existing Viral BSL3 facility at IISc. The expanded lab was inaugurated by a team of CryptoRelief core volunteers in the presence of Deans and faculty members of IISc.

The Viral Genome Sequencing Lab will focus on studies related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These include continuous surveillance and tracking of virus mutations and variants. The expanded Viral BSL3 facility will support research on assessment of virulence and cross-reactive immunity of SARS-CoV-2 mutants and variants of concern in cell culture and animal models.

For more than a year, IISc’s Centre for Infectious Disease Research has been actively working with the state and central government to provide COVID-19 RT-PCR diagnostic services and conducting research involving SARS-COV-2 virus.

The new viral genome sequencing facility will be an important addition to the Centre and will enhance the ongoing efforts to better understand SARS-CoV-2 virus evolution and its impact on our health.

Professor Govindan Rangarajan, Director of IISc, said: “The Viral Genome Sequencing Lab will contribute not only towards tackling the threat that COVID-19 poses, but will also ensure that we are ready to handle future health emergencies as well. We are grateful to CryptoRelief for partnering with us on this critical initiative.”

A member of the CryptoRelief core volunteer team said: “It is an honour for CryptoRelief to support and partner with the Indian Institute of Science. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been evolving over time. Understanding the new variants that are coming up and whether existing vaccines can combat these variants is important. Through this support, we intend to take a step towards that.

About IISc

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was established in 1909 by a visionary partnership between the industrialist Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the Mysore royal family and the Government of India. Over the last 113 years, IISc has become India’s premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education. Its mandate is “to provide for advanced instruction and to conduct original investigations in all branches of knowledge as are likely to promote the material and industrial welfare of India.” In 2018, IISc was selected as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) by the Government of India, and it consistently figures among the top Indian institutions in world university rankings.

www.iisc.ac.in

About CryptoRelief

Crypto Relief is the result of the global crypto community mobilizing to help India combat the COVID19 crisis, and to help it prepare for future outbreaks. The fund was started by Sandeep Nailwal (co-founder, Polygon) and has since been supported by Vitalik Buterin (co-founder, Ethereum) and Balaji S. Srinivasan (former CTO at Coinbase).

https://cryptorelief.in/

25^th July 2022

– Narmada Khare

A crucial but poorly-studied parameter that dictates battery performance is the migration barrier. It determines the rate at which ions move through an electrode inside the battery, and ultimately the rate at which it charges or discharges. Because it is hard to measure the migration barrier in the lab, researchers typically use different computer simulations or approximations to quickly predict migration barrier values. However, very few of these simulations have been experimentally verified so far.

In a new study, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and their collaborators comprehensively analysed widely-used computational techniques, and verified their predictions of the migration barrier values against actual data observed in lab measurements. Based on their analysis, the team proposes a set of robust guidelines to help researchers choose the most accurate computational framework for testing materials that can be used to develop highly efficient batteries in the future.

Schematic of ionic migration in a sample intercalation host framework. Yellow spheres are the moving ions (e.g., Li, Na, Mg), while the other species constituting the structure are indicated by blue and orange spheres. The inset indicates the nominal variation of the potential energy as the ion migrates within the structure, with E_m signifying the migration barrier. Credit: Reshma Devi

Lithium-ion batteries, which power mobile phones and laptops, consist of three major components: a solid negative electrode (anode), a solid positive electrode (cathode) and either a liquid or solid electrolyte that separates them. While charging or discharging, lithium ions migrate across the electrolyte, creating a potential difference. “The electrodes in lithium-ion batteries are not 100% solid. Think of them like a sponge. They have ‘pores’ through which a lithium ion has to pass,” explains Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials Engineering, IISc, and corresponding author of the paper published in npj Computational Materials. 

An important parameter that determines the rate at which the lithium ions penetrate these pores is the migration barrier – the energy threshold that the ions need to overcome to traverse through the electrode. “The lower the migration barrier, the faster you can charge or discharge the battery,” says Reshma Devi, PhD student at the Department of Materials Engineering and first author of the study.

“The same migration barrier value is calculated by one group using one computational technique and another group by using another technique. The values may be equivalent, but we cannot know that for sure,” explains Gopalakrishnan.

Two specific approximations, called Strongly Constrained and Approximately Normed (SCAN) and Generalised Gradient Approximation (GGA), are the most widely used methods to computationally arrive at the migration barrier, but each one has its own disadvantages. “We took nine different materials,” Reshma Devi explains. “We checked which of the approximations come closest to the experimental values for each.”

The team found that the SCAN functional had better numerical accuracy overall, but the GGA calculations were faster. GGA was found to have a reasonable level of accuracy in calculating the migration barrier in certain materials (such as lithium phosphate), and might be a better option if a quick estimation was needed, the researchers suggest.

Such insights can be valuable for scientists who seek to test new materials for their performance before they are adapted for battery-related applications, says Gopalakrishnan. “Suppose you have an unknown material and if you quickly want to see whether this material is useful in your application, then you can use computations to do that, provided you know which computational approximation gives you the closest values. This is useful when it comes to materials discovery.”

The team is also working on developing machine learning tools that can help speed up predictions of migration barriers for a diverse range of materials.

REFERENCE:  

Reshma Devi, Baltej Singh, Pieremanuele Canepa, Gopalakrishnan Sai Gautam, “Effect of Exchange-Correlation Functionals on the Estimation of Migration Barriers in Battery Materials”, npj Computational Materials 8, 160 (2022).

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41524-022-00837-0

CONTACT: 

Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan
Assistant Professor
Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
Email: saigautamg@iisc.ac.in
Phone Number: +91-80-2293-2342

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:

1. If any of the text in this release is reproduced verbatim, please credit the IISc press release.
2. For any queries about IISc press releases, please write to news@iisc.ac.inor pro@iisc.ac.in.

30^th July 2022

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Navy signed an MoU on 29 July 2022, to collaborate on aviation research and development, and to ramp up self-reliance efforts for the Indian Navy, in line with the goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The MoU provides a formal basis for the Indian Navy to interact with relevant faculty members at IISc and will promote joint research programmes in areas of mutual interest.

  The MoU was signed by Captain Sridhar Warrier, Registrar, IISc and Captain P Vinayagam, Capt (APP), Indian Navy, in the presence of senior members of the Navy including Rear Admiral Deepak Bansal, VSM, ACNS (Air Materiel), and Commodore Raja Vinod, Commodore Superintendent, NAY (Goa), apart from other senior officers from the Indian Navy. Also present at the occasion were Chairs of several departments in the Division of Mechanical Sciences, and the Office of Research Grants at IISc.

The areas of collaboration under this MoU will fall under the domain of Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering, including design and education technology. Specialisations that will be under focus include Propulsion and Propulsion Systems, Steel Technology, Metallurgy and Material Sciences, and Corrosion Science; Systems and Controls, Instrumentation and Sensors; Environmental Science and Engineering, Energy Science and Engineering; Management (Technical and Logistics), Industrial Engineering and Operational Research, Nanotechnology and MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, and Machine Learning.

“It is a privilege for us to collaborate with the Indian Navy in these important areas of mutual interest. We look forward to the many exciting research and development outcomes that will emerge from this partnership,” said Capt Warrier.

The collaboration will also foster regular interactions between IISc faculty members and officers of the Indian Navy.

CONTACT: 

Office of Research Grants | office.org@iisc.ac.in
Office of Communications | news@iisc.ac.in

Photos: KG Haridasan

11 July 2023

– Soumya Mishra

Scientists at the Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed a super flexible, composite semiconductor material that can have possible applications in next-generation flexible or curved displays, foldable phones and wearable electronics.

Traditional semiconductor devices – such as transistors, the building blocks of most electronic circuits – used in display industries are either made of amorphous silicon or amorphous oxides, both of which are not flexible and strain tolerant at all. Adding polymers to the oxide semiconductors may increase their flexibility, but there is a limit to how much can be added without compromising the semiconductor’s performance.

In the current study, published in Advanced Materials Technologies, the researchers have found a way to fabricate a composite containing a significant amount of polymer – up to 40% of the material weight – using a solution-process technique, specifically inkjet printing. In contrast, previous studies have reported only up to 1-2% polymer addition. Interestingly, the approach enabled the semiconducting properties of the oxide semiconductor to remain unaltered with the polymer addition. The added large quantity of polymer also made the composite semiconductor highly flexible and foldable without deteriorating its performance.

The composite semiconductor is made up of two materials – a water-insoluble polymer such as ethyl cellulose that provides flexibility, and indium oxide, a semiconductor which brings in excellent electronic transport properties. To design the material, the researchers mixed the polymer with the oxide precursor in such a way that interconnected oxide nanoparticle channels are formed (around phase-separated polymer islands) through which electrons can move from one end of a transistor (source) to the other (drain), ensuring a steady current flow. The key to form these connected pathways, the researchers found, was the choice of the right kind of water-insoluble polymer that does not mix with the oxide lattice when the oxide semiconductor is being fabricated. “This ‘phase separation’ and the formation of polymer-rich islands helps in crack arrest, making it super flexible,” says Subho Dasgupta, Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering, and corresponding author of the study.

The composite semiconductor-based transistors on flexible Kapton substrate and envisioned fully printed flexible display (Image: Jyoti Ranjan Pradhan)

Semiconductor materials are usually fabricated using deposition techniques such as sputtering. Instead, Dasgupta’s team uses inkjet printing to deposit their material onto various flexible substrates ranging from plastics to paper. In the present study, a polymer material called Kapton has been used. Just like words and images printed on paper, electronic components can be printed on any surface using special functional inks containing either electrically conducting, semiconducting or insulating materials. However, there are challenges. “Sometimes it is very difficult to get a continuous and homogeneous film. Therefore, we had to optimise certain protocols, for example, preheating the printed semiconductor layer on the Kapton substrate prior to high temperature annealing,” explains first author Mitta Divya, former PhD student at the Department of Materials Engineering and currently a postdoc at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. Another challenge is ensuring the right environmental conditions under which the ink can be printed. “If the humidity is too low, you can’t print, because the ink dries up within the nozzle,” says Subho Dasgupta.

He adds that in the future, such printed semiconductors can be used to fabricate fully printed and flexible television screens, wearables, and large electronic billboards alongside printed organic light emitting diode (OLED) display front-ends. These printed semiconductors will be low-cost and easy to manufacture, which could potentially revolutionise the display industry. His team has obtained a patent for their material and plans to test its shelf-life and quality control from device to device before it can be scaled up for mass production. They also plan to look for other polymers that can help design such flexible semiconductors.

REFERENCE:
Divya M, Cherukupally N, Gogoi SK, Pradhan JR, Mondal SK, Jain M, Senyshyn A, Dasgupta S, Super Flexible and High Mobility Inorganic/Organic Composite Semiconductors for Printed Electronics on Polymer Substrates, Advanced Materials Technologies (2023).

CONTACT:
Subho Dasgupta
Associate Professor
Department of Materials Engineering
Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Email: dasgupta@iisc.ac.in
Phone: +91-80-2293 2455
Website: https://materials.iisc.ac.in/~dasgupta/index.html

Mitta Divya
Former IISc PhD student
Post-Doctoral Researcher
IMPACT Lab, CEMSE Division
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Email: divya.mitta@kaust.edu.sa

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:
a) If any of the text in this release is reproduced verbatim, please credit the IISc press release.

b) For any queries about IISc press releases, please write to news@iisc.ac.in or pro@iisc.ac.in.

18 July 2023

– Malavika P Pillai

Picolinic acid, a natural compound produced by mammalian cells, can block several disease-causing viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A viruses, according to a new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and collaborators.

Published in Cell Reports Medicine, the study describes the compound’s remarkable ability to disrupt the entry of enveloped viruses into the host’s cell and prevent infection. The team hopes to develop the compound into a broad-spectrum therapeutic that can help fight against a variety of viral diseases.

Picolinic acid is known to help in the absorption of zinc and other trace elements from our gut, but in its natural form, it stays inside the body only for a short duration and is usually excreted out quickly. In recent years, scientists have begun noticing that it may also exhibit antiviral activity.

A few years ago, the IISc team began investigating endocytosis, a cellular process often co-opted by viruses and bacteria to enter our cells. During their investigations, the researchers stumbled upon picolinic acid and realised that the compound could slow down viral entry into host cells. Therefore, they decided to test the compound’s antiviral potential. “Coincidentally, the pandemic emerged during the study. So, we extended our research to examine its impact on SARS-CoV-2 and found it to be even more potent in this context,” explains corresponding author Shashank Tripathi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (MCB) as well as the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR), IISc.

Notably, picolinic acid displayed a preference for blocking enveloped viruses. In addition to the usual protein coat found in all viruses, these enveloped viruses also have an extra outer membrane made of lipids derived from the host. This envelope is crucial for virus entry into its target cell. Incidentally, a majority of human viruses with high prevalence and pandemic potential are enveloped viruses.

During their entry into host cells, the virus envelope and the host cell membrane fuse, creating a pore through which the virus’s genetic material enters the host cell and starts replicating. The researchers found that picolinic acid specifically blocks this fusion, which explains its effectiveness against a variety of enveloped viruses, including flaviviruses like the Zika virus and the Japanese encephalitis virus. The compound did not have much effect on non-enveloped viruses like rotavirus and coxsackievirus.

Picolinic acid is a broad-spectrum antiviral (Image: Rajesh Yadav)

Usually, antiviral drugs target either the virus directly – which can sometimes lead to drug resistance – or some part of the host cell – which may lead to negative side-effects. “This compound, on the contrary, stands out because it falls in between … it is targeting a host-derived component of the virus,” explains Tripathi. “Since the viruses borrow this component from the host, they don’t have the machinery to repair the damage to their envelope. So, with the same compound, you are damaging the virus permanently, while causing very transient minimal effect on the host cell with self-repair ability.”

When the compound was tested in SARS-CoV-2 and influenza animal models, it was found to protect the animals from infection. It was also found to reduce viral load in the lungs when given to infected animals. In addition, the researchers found that picolinic acid led to an increase in the number of immune cells in the animals.

Rohan Narayan, Research Associate in CIDR and first author of the paper, says, “Our current focus is on enhancing the compound’s efficacy, stability and absorption in the host body. We are seeking partnerships with pharmaceutical industries to facilitate its clinical development and use against present as well as impending viral outbreaks.”

REFERENCE:

Narayan R, Sharma M, Yadav R, Biji A, Khatun O, Kaur S, Kanojia A, Joy CM, Rajmani R, Sharma PR, Jeyasankar S, Rani P, Shandil RK, Narayanan S, Rao DC, Satchidanandam V, Das S, Agarwal R, Tripathi S, Picolinic acid is a broad-spectrum inhibitor of enveloped virus entry that restricts SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus in vivo, Cell Reports Medicine (2023).

CONTACT:

Rohan Narayan
Research Associate
Centre for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR)
Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Email: rohannarayan@iisc.ac.in

Shashank Tripathi
Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (MCB)
Centre for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR)
Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Email: shashankt@iisc.ac.in
Phone: +91-22932884
Website: https://cidr.iisc.ac.in/shashank/

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS:

a) If any of the text in this release is reproduced verbatim, please credit the IISc press release.
b) For any queries about IISc press releases, please write to news@iisc.ac.in or pro@iisc.ac.in.