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Post-Graduate Admissions IIT Palakkad 2021-22
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CONTENTS
1. The Institute 3 2. About the Post-Graduate Programs 5 2.1 M. Tech. Programs 5 2.2 M.Sc. Programs 7 2.3 Financial Assistance 8 2.4 Scholarships and Freeships 9 2.5 Reservation of Seats 9 3. M.Tech Admissions 3.1 Who can apply for M.Tech? 9 3.2 More details on the Minimum Eligibility: 10 M.Tech. Admissions 3.3 How to apply for M.Tech. Admission? 11 3.4 Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP) 11 3.5 Whom to contact in case of queries 12 regarding M.Tech. Admission to IIT Palakkad? 4. M.Sc. Admissions 4.1 Who can apply for M.Sc.? 13 4.2 How to apply for M.Sc. Admission? 13 5. Structure of Fees and Deposits 14 6. Major highlights of Disciplines at IIT Palakkad 6.1 Chemistry 15 6.2 Civil Engineering 19 6.3 Computer Science and Engineering Interdisciplinary M.Tech Programs 27 a) M.Tech in Data Sciences b) M.Tech in System on Chip Design c) M.Tech in Computing and Mathematics 6.4 Electrical Engineering 32 6.5 Humanities and Social Sciences 43 6.6 Mathematics 44 6.7 Mechanical Engineering 45 6.8 Physics 51 7. Academic, Co-curricular and Extracurricular 54 facilities at IIT Palakkad 8. Hostel Facilities and Student Wellness 69 9. Refund Policy 71 Page 3 of 71
1. THE INSTITUTE The Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad (IIT Palakkad) established as an autonomous institute of national importance in 2015 by the Government of India as one of the third generation IITs. IIT Palakkad conducts the undergraduate academic program of B. Tech and research programs leading to M.S and Ph. D in various disciplines.
The Academic Block in Ahalia Campus where IIT Palakkad started/continues (partly) functioning Presently the programs are conducted one half in the temporary campus of Ahalia International Foundation and the other half in the Nila campus which houses the transit facilities at the permanent campus site at Pudussery. The permanent campus is about 7km from Palakkad in the Palakkad-Coimbatore highway. The scenically charming sprawling permanent campus is now being developed into an excellent and modern technological campus. As of now, the Institute is proud of fast growth in terms of the very qualified and committed faculty and staff, well equipped laboratories, excellent computing infrastructure, well stacked library and a brilliant student community. Page 4 of 71
Main Entrance to the Nila campus (Transit facilities)
A birds-eye view of the Nila Campus (Transit Facilities) Page 5 of 71
2. ABOUT THE POST-GRADUATE PROGRAMS
2.1 M.Tech Programs
The four semester M.Tech. Programs are offered in six specialisations at the institute. They are based on the credit system and provide a student with a wide choice of courses. The curricula are drafted carefully to provide the students to realistic Engineering and Technological exposure with strong theoretical foundation. Each program comprises several core and elective courses and project work. The six M.Tech. Programs, beginning in the academic year 2021- 22 are as given in Table 1:
Table 1: M.Tech Programs Spcialisation Discipline Minimum qualification for admission
Geotechnical Civil Engineering UG degree in Civil Engineering Engineering GATE qualification in CE for HTTA Manufacturing and Materials Engineering Mechanical UG degree in Mechanical/ Engineering Production Engineering GATE qualification in ME / PI for HTTA Data Science Multidisciplinary UG degree in Computer (Computer Science Science and Engineering / and Engineering/ Information Technology/ Electrical Electrical Engineering / Engineering/ Electronics and Mathematics/ Communication Engineering/ Humanities and Instrumentation Engineering/ Social Science/ Civil Civil Engineering/ Agricultural Engineering/ Engineering / Mechanical Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace Engineering/Physics) Engineering
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Masters in Mathematics /App. Mathematics /Statistics / Operational Research
M.Sc Physics with project/course in the following topics: (1) Astrophysics and/or Astronomy, (2) Statistical Physics and Condensed Matter, (3) Quantum Information and Quantum Many-Body Theory GATE qualification in CS / IT / EC / EE / IN/ CE/ AG / ME/ AE / MA / ST / PH for HTTA Computer Science and System-on-Chip Design Engineering / UG degree in Computer Science Electrical Engineering and Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Electronics and Communication Engineering/ Instrumentation Engineering GATE qualification in CS / EE / EC / IN for HTTA Computing and Computer Science and UG degree in Computer Science Mathematics Engineering / and Engineering / Information Mathematics Technology
Masters in Mathematics
GATE qualification in CS / IT / MA for HTTA Power Electronics & Electrical Engineering UG degree in Electrical Power Systems Engineering / Instrumentation Engineering / Electrical and Electronics Engineering
GATE qualification in EE for HTTA Page 7 of 71
2.2 M.Sc. Programs The post graduate program of M. Sc. in the disciplines of Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics is intended to take the students to a higher and specialized realm in the respective disciplines. M. Sc. at IIT Palakkad is a 4-semesters long program. The entry qualifications to the M.Sc. programs of IIT Palakkad are given in Table 2. The carefully chosen curriculum drafted by a team of experts from academia and industries provides for sound theoretical base and ample practical exposure. The curriculum provides for choice of Elective courses and aims at equipping the students to take up careers in industry, in R&D and in academia. In the case of the curriculum of M. Sc. (Chemistry) a paradigm shift in treating Chemistry as Structure, Dynamics and Synthesis perceptibly deviating from conventional practices. In the curriculum of M. Sc. (Physics) theoretical coverage is included along with considerable scope for hands on training. M. Sc. program in Mathematics provides students with a strong mathematical foundation and gives them opportunities to specialize in such diverse areas as pure mathematics, applied mathematics, data sciences and theoretical computer science.
Table 2. The M.Sc. Programs Discipline Minimum qualifications for admission
Chemistry JAM (Joint Admission Test for Masters) qualified candidates having Bachelor’s degree with Chemistry as a subject for 3 years/ 6 semesters and Mathematics at (10+2) level. JAM (Joint Admission Test for Masters) qualified candidates Physics having Bachelor’s degree with Physics as a subject for at least 2 years / 4 semesters and Mathematics for at least 1 year/ 2 semesters. JAM (Joint Admission Test for Masters) qualified candidates Mathematics having Bachelor’s degree with Mathematics courses for at least 2 years / 4 semesters.
Page 8 of 71 2.3 Financial Assistance (Half Time Teaching Assistantship (HTTA) – [For M.Tech. students (Indian Nationals only)] Financial assistance in the form of Half-Time Teaching Assistantship (HTTA) at the rate of Rs.12,400/- p.m. (tenable for a maximum period of 24 months) will be awarded to Indian Nationals doing the M.Tech. Programs, subject to Institute rules. Only candidates admitted under Category A of Section 3.1 are eligible for HTTA. HTTA students are required to assist the Institute’s academic and curricular activities for 8 hours of work per week. These activities could be related to activities such as laboratory demonstration, tutorials, evaluation of assignments, test papers, seminars, research projects, etc.
2.4 The Scholarships and Freeships available to M.Sc. students are as follows: a) Institute MCM Scholarship for 25% of sanctioned intake/admitted strength whichever is less. In this case, the full tuition fee will be waived and will include a monthly payment of Rs. 1000/-. b) Prof. Valsakumar Memorial Scholarships for M.Sc. Physics Students. i. Merit Award for one student with a certificate of appreciation and Rs. 5000/- prize money. ii. Prof. Valsakumar Merit cum Means Scholarship for one student of Rs.35000/- per semester.
2.5 Reservation of Seats Seats are reserved for Indian Nationals under the categories, SC/ ST/ OBC (Non- creamy layer), PwD (Persons with Disability) and Economically Weak General category students (EWS) according to the Government of India rules.
Page 9 of 71 3. M. Tech. ADMISSIONS
3.1 Who can apply for M.Tech.? A) GATE qualified candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology as given in Table 1 either completed or to be completed by July 2021. B) Candidates sponsored by the Industries, established Institutes/ R&D Organizations/National laboratories and fulfilling educational qualifications listed in Table 1 are eligible to apply provided a) employer grants 2 years of study leave and (b) employer undertakes to financially support the candidate for the entire duration of 2 years. The sponsored candidates do not require GATE qualification.
C) Foreign nationals who got Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology and a valid GRE score are eligible to apply
D) DEFENCE SPONSORED CANDIDATES Selected Candidates who are sponsored by Defence Authority (Research & Training and Post Graduate Training) .
E) IIT B.Tech Graduates IIT B.Tech graduates who have secured a CGPA greater than 8.0 will be eligible for the M.Tech program.
3.2 More Details on the Minimum Eligibility: for M.Tech. Admission A) FOR GATE QUALIFIED CANDIDATES Candidates qualified in GATE 2019, GATE 2020 or GATE 2021 and satisfying one of the qualifications given in Table 1. (i) Bachelor’s degree** in Engineering / Technology from educational Institutions approved by AICTE/ Government of India (ii) Degrees obtained through Distance Education/ correspondence mode for the qualifying degree. (iii) Associate Membership holders of professional bodies for admission into their parent disciplines.
Page 10 of 71 The Institute may conduct suitability test/ interview procedure for screening in cases under category (ii) and (iii) above. Candidates yet to appear or have appeared in the final examination for the qualifying degree specified in [(i), (ii) or (iii)] and whose results are likely to be declared by July 15, 2021. ** If the degree is issued by a university in countries other than India, the degree must be recognized by Association of Indian Universities (AIU)/ Commonwealth Universities/ International Association of Universities (IAU) as equivalent to the corresponding Indian Degrees/ Certificates. Additional requirements of GRE/ TOEFL may be required. B) FOR SPONSORED CANDIDATES Candidates sponsored by the Industries, established Institutes / R&D Organizations / National laboratories whose a) employer grants 2 years of study leave and whose(b) employer undertakes to financially support the candidate for the entire duration of two years. They should have the educational qualifications as given in Section 3 .2 A but need not have the valid GATE score C) CANDIDATES WHO ARE FOREIGN NATIONALS Foreign nationals who got Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology and a valid GRE score are eligible to apply. D) FOR DEFENCE SPONSORED CANDIDATES Selection to M.Tech. Program sponsored by Defence Authority (Research & Training and Post Graduate Training) is through a separate selection procedure as followed by the Ministry of Defence. E) IIT B.Tech Graduates IIT B.Tech graduates who have secured a CGPA greater than 8.0 will be eligible for the M.Tech program but need not have the valid GATE score.
Page 11 of 71 3.3 How to Apply for admission to M.Tech.? Applying for M.Tech program can be done ONLINE only. Apply ONLINE at https://pgadmit.iitpkd.ac.in (Instructions and further links available on the Website)
Application Timeline Opening Date : 22 March, 2021 Closing Date : 30 April, 2021 (23:59 hrs)
Application Fee SC/ ST/ Female Candidates : Rs.250/- All Others Candidates : Rs.500/-
IMPORTANT SUGGESTIONS: (i) Along with applying for M.Tech admission, please register in the Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP).The details of COAP are given in the Section 3.4. (ii) After completing the online application form, download the complete application form for safe keeping and record purposes. There is NO need to send the hard copy to IIT Palakkad.
3.4 Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP) IIT Palakkad is a participant in Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP) which provides a common platform for a candidate to make the most preferred choice for admission into an M.Tech. Programme of the participating academic
Institutes (IITs and IISc).
In the past few years, a significant number of seats in M.Tech. programmes of various Institutes fell vacant at the end of the admission process. One of the main reasons being multiple offers received by candidates from different Institutes and accepting a final offer of admission only towards the end of the admission process. This resulted in vacant seats, which could have been made available to other deserving candidates. It is important to take necessary measures to overcome such an undesirable scenario of vacant seats and to provide Page 12 of 71 opportunities to many other deserving candidates for available seats in a program of interest. Hence, it has been agreed among the participating institutes to develop a Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP) for M.Tech. admissions using which candidates can choose the most suited offer from the list of offers made available to them. IT IS NECESSARY THAT APPLICANTS TO M.TECH. PROGRAM OF IIT PALAKKAD REGISTERS WITH THE COAP WEBSITE. https://coap.iitd.ac.in
3.5 Whom to contact in case of queries on M.Tech. admission to IIT Palakkad :
PG Admission Committee
Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad Ahalia Integrated Campus, Kozhipara, Palakkad – 678557 Kerala E-mail: [email protected] The application fee should be paid ONLINE only through the Application website. Page 13 of 71
4. M.Sc. ADMISSIONS
4.1. Who can apply for M.Sc.? Only JAM qualified candidates who fulfill the qualifications as listed in Table 2.
4.2. How to apply for admission to M.Sc. Programs?
Application for Admission to M.Sc. program of IIT Palakkad should be done through the JAM portal of IIT Kanpur Apply ONLINE through https://jam.iitk.ac.in (Instructions and further links available on the Website)
Application Timeline Opening Date : 15 April 2021
Closing Date : 28 April 2021 Page 14 of 71
5. STRUCTURE OF FEES FOR M.Tech. & M.Sc. FOR 2020-21 ADMISSIONS
S. No. Particulars MSc MTech
A. ONE TIME FEES 1 Admission Fee 300 300 2 Grade Card / Thesis Fee 300 300 3 Provisional Certificate 150 150 4 Alumni Life Membership Fee 1500 1500 5 Modernization Fee 300 300 6 Student Welfare Fund 700 700 7 Publication Fee 250 250 8 Institute Caution Deposit (Refundable) 1000 1000 9 Library Caution Deposit (Refundable) 1000 1000 Sub-Total 5500 5500
B. INSTITUTE FEES 1 Tuition fee (Statutory) # 3000 5000 2 Examination fee 500 500 3 Registration - Enrolment fee 300 300 4 Hostel Seat Rent * 6000 6000 5 Electricity, Water & SWD Charges * 900 900 Sub-Total (for day scholars) 3800 5800 Sub-Total (for hostellers) 10700 12700
C. ONE-TIME HOSTEL FEES 1 Hostel Caution Deposit * 3500 3500
D. STUDENTS' SECTOR FEES & ADVANCE DINING CHARGES 1 Medical insurance 300 300 2 Wellness fees 400 400 3 Gymkhana fee 1300 1300 4 Establishment A 5000 5000 5 Hostel Admission Fee * 200 200 6 Establishment B * 1500 1500 7 Advance Dining Charges * 18000 27000 Sub-Total (for day-scholars) 7000 7000 Sub-Total (for hostellers) 26700 35700
* For hostellers only # Tution fee is waived for SC/ST students
Page 15 of 71 6. MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUBJECT DISCIPLINES AT IIT PALAKKAD All the disciplines / streams of the Institute started functioning in August 2015. B.Tech programs in the four disciplines of Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering started in 2015. Research programs leading to Ph.D and M.S commenced in August 2017. M.Tech. programs in Geotechnical Engineering (Civil Engineering) and Manufacturing and Materials Engineering(Mechanical Engineering) and M.Sc. program in Chemistry and Physics commenced from the academic year 2019- 20. Major highlights very briefly of the different disciplines which are available in IIT Palakkad as of now are given in the following pages:
6.1. CHEMISTRY The Faculty
Dr Debarati Chatterjee, PhD (IISc, Bangalore)
Dr Dinesh Jagadeesan, PhD (JNCASR, Bangalore)
Dr Mintu Porel, PhD (University of Miami, USA)
Dr Padmesh A, PhD (Massey University, New Zealand)
Dr. Priyakumari C P, (Inspire Faculty), PhD (IISER TVM)
Dr Supratik Sen Mojumdar, PhD((IACS, Kolkata)
Dr Sushabhan Sadhukhan PhD (Case Western Reserve University, USA)
Dr Shanmugaraju Sankarasekaran, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
In the initial years from 2015, the Discipline of Chemistry was involved in instructional work of the B.Tech courses. In July 2017, the department took a leap to start its Ph. D. program. Currently, a total of 11 Ph. D. scholars and 1 postdoctoral fellow are working in various areas of theoretical and experimental chemistry under the guidance of the highly motivated faculty of the department. The areas of research of the department are quite wide and interdisciplinary in nature, and include:
Page 16 of 71 ▪ Fundamentals studies on Biophysical chemistry. ▪ Molecular dynamics simulations. ▪ Mechanochemistry. ▪ Equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of soft matter. ▪ Structure and dynamics of the biopolymers / macromolecules. ▪ Materials chemistry and Heterogeneous catalysis. ▪ Organic macromolecules - design, synthesis and applications. ▪ Self-assembly formation of discrete supramolecular ensembles and study of their functional applications. ▪ Engineering mesoporous polymers for selective adsorption and sequestration of pollutants/ hazardous substances. ▪ Fabrication of functional nano-structures for bio-medicine. ▪ Design, synthesis and development of novel molecular entities for targeted therapy. ▪ Bio-orthogonal chemistry in drug discovery.
Moreover, as part of expanding activities, a two year M. Sc. program in Chemistry is also started from July, 2019 onwards.
M.Sc. Program in Chemistry: Students with a bachelor's degree in basic sciences with Chemistry as a subject for at least two years are eligible for the MSc. in Chemistry in IITPKD. The curriculum of M.Sc. (Chemistry) of IIT Palakkad has been developed in a modern and effective format instead of following a traditional framework. The emphasis it to help students to have a sufficient breadth of knowledge on the different sub- disciplines in chemistry while delving deeper in their Page 17 of 71 preferred area. This is a four semester program with the courses designed around a common theme emphasizing synthesis, structure, energetics and dynamics. Under this common theme, several important theoretical and experimental fundamentals of Physical, Inorganic, Organic and interdisciplinary Biochemistry will be covered. The first two semesters will consist of common core courses, whereas, the higher semesters will contain electives and a project as the major components, and will include both theory and experiments. This curriculum will be helpful for the students to pursue their higher studies in future and will be crucial to get them exposed to basic research activities. Facilities: The Department has an undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory (1650 sq. feet), well equipped with several basic Physical, Inorganic, and Organic experimental infrastructure such as ▪ Analytical balance, ▪ Benchtop conductivity meter, ▪ Benchtop pH meter, ▪ Digital colorimeter with micro control and 8 filters, ▪ Ice flake machine, ▪ Melting point apparatus, ▪ spectrophotometer, ▪ Ultrasonic bath ▪ UV-vis spectrophotometer ▪ Fluorescence spectrophotometer ▪ Microwave reactor ▪ Cyclic Voltammeters ▪ Physisorption ▪ Optical microscope ▪ Polarimeter ▪ Bomb Calorimeter Page 18 of 71 ▪ Electrophoresis A number of analytical equipment required for chromatography and
spectroscopy such as TG-DTA-MS, Bench top NMR, FT-IR, Chemisorption, UV- vis, and Fluorescence spectrophotometer are available. In addition to this, for conducting advanced research, IIT Palakkad has set up different central facilities for experimental and theoretical studies such as the Chandra High Performance Computing Cluster, Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF), and Central Micro Fabrication Facility (CMFF). As a part of the central facilities, sophisticated instruments (relevant to the field of chemistry) such as High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Liquid Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), Thermal Gravimetry Analysis, gas Chromatography, FT-IR, Raman and Fluorescence spectrophotometers, Automated Flow Chemisorption, Scanning Electron Microscope, X-ray diffractometer and a bench-top Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer for analysis and characterization of samples are already set for use. Other central facilities in Materials and manufacturing, and Data mining are being planned. Further details of the available central facilities at IIT Palakkad can be seen at https://cif.iitpkd.ac.in/ and https://iitpkd.ac.in/central-facility- materials-and-manufacturing-engineerig. Page 19 of 71
UG / PG Lab of the discipline of Chemistry
6.2. CIVIL ENGINEERING
The Faculty
Prof Tom V Mathew, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr Anil Kumar M V, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr Athira P, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr B K Bhavathrathan, PhD (IIT Bombay)
Dr. C V Veena Venudharan, PhD (IIT Kharagpur)
Dr Divya P V , PhD (IIT Bombay)
Dr Madhu Karthik M, PhD (Texas A&M University, USA)
Dr Praveena Gangadharan, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr Rakesh J Pillai, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr Sanjukta Chakraborty, PhD (IIT Kanpur)
Dr Sarmistha Singh, PhD (Auburn University)
Dr Senthilkumar V, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr Subhasis Mitra, PhD (Auburn University, USA)
Dr Sudheesh T K, PhD (The University of Florida, USA)
Dr Sunitha K Nayar, PhD (IIT Madras) Page 20 of 71
Civil Engineering is one of the four B.Tech. programmes that is being offered at IIT Palakkad since its inception in 2015. Ph.D. and M.S. programmes in Civil Engineering, with specialisations in Structural, Geotechnical, Water Resources, Transportation and Environmental Engineering started in July 2017. A total of 27 Research scholars (22 at Ph.D level and 5 in Masters level)are currently enrolled in the research-oriented programs. The Discipline of Civil Engineering started offering a two-year M.Tech. programme with a specialisation in Geotechnical Engineering in the academic year 2019-20. The M.Tech program has an annual intake of 15 students, with the curriculum focused towards addressing current issues and the multitude of challenges that the state faces with regard to Geotechnical Engineering.In a short span of four years, the Civil Engineering stream has successfully set up all basic labs for the B.Tech program. In addition, several advanced labs have also been set up for use of the undergraduate and postgraduate students and to execute research projects.
Some basic laboratory equipment Page 21 of 71
The fifteen faculty members in Civil Engineering come with academic training and experience from various reputed institutes in India and abroad. The diverse background of the faculty helps to bring in different perspectives to teaching and in research to the students in Civil Engineering. The areas of research in Civil Engineering are quite diversified and include:
▪ Pavement materials, maintenance and rehabilitation, sustainable pavements. ▪ Characterization of construction materials and special concrete, fibre reinforced concrete. ▪ Planning design phases and process management, lean construction, automation in construction, policy making in infrastructure projects.
▪ Bioelectrochemical systems for wastewater treatment, desalination,
defluoridation, nutrient recovery from urine, metal reduction and recovery.
Some advanced laboratory equipment
Page 22 of 71 ▪ Ground improvement and soil stabilization, geosynthetics, green geotechnics, cyclic behaviour of soils, constitutive modelling in geomechanics, deep foundations, soil-structure interaction.
▪ Predictions in ungauged basins, hydrological modelling and uncertainty analysis, hydroclimatology, water policy analysis, climate and anthropogenic impacts on surface and groundwater hydrology.
▪ Buckling and post-buckling behaviour of thin-walled open sections, reinforced and prestressed concrete, deteriorating structures, vibration control using passive and feedback control mechanisms, optimal control, and base isolation. ▪ Urban road networks, traffic flow modelling and simulation, network disruption, and transportation systems' simulation. The faculty members of Civil Engineering are also actively involved in executing several state specific projects such as:
▪ Climate and land use change impact analysis on Bharathapuzha river Basin Drought preparedness in Kerala: A comprehensive assessment with respect to climate change
▪ Site inspection for feasibility of preliminary geotechnical investigation for rail fencing at Walayar range Stability study on elephant guard fence in Anakulam, Munnar
▪ Three day short term course on roadway materials, design and Construction organized for for Kerala PWD engineers ▪ Ground improvement and integrity of existing BPCL cross-country pipelines, Cochin, Kerala Apart from the scholastic activities, the students, staff, and faculty members in Civil Engineering are actively involved is several outreach programs such as Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, clean energy and clean water campaign, national science day, and vigyan jyothi to name a few.
Page 23 of 71 M.Tech. in Geotechnical Engineering:
The major objective of the program is to train and prepare students for a career in Geotechnical Engineering in accordance with the current industrial needs. It is also intended that the programme develops a passion and a firm base for research at doctoral level (Ph.D.). The program offers courses in various specialised areas of Geotechnical Engineering, such as soil mechanics, geotechnical investigation, foundation engineering, ground improvement techniques, environmental geotechnics, slope stabilisation, retaining structures, and soil dynamics, to name a few. The course work is broadly divided into core and elective courses. While the core courses are meant to provide a solid foundation to the M.Tech. students in Geotechnical Engineering, the elective courses offer the students the flexibility to choose courses that best suit their future career aspirations. The elective courses include advanced topics that are relevant to current industry requirements. The program has also been planned meticulously to have a good blend of theory and practice, wherein, in addition to the theory courses, students are exposed to experimental methods and the computational/modelling aspects of geotechnical analysis and design.
The Geotechnical Engineering laboratory is well equipped with all the basic equipment for the characterization of geomaterials and advanced testing equipment. The state-of-the art advanced testing equipment currently includes automated static and cyclic triaxial systems, computerized direct shear system, automated consolidation apparatus, computer-controlled flexible wall permeameter, and large soil-geosynthetic interface resistance testing system. In addition, X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) are available in the Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) of the Institute. The Institute is in the process of procuring additional advanced equipment and various sensors for model and large– scale geotechnical studies.
The institute has a state-of-the-art High-Performance Computing Cluster (HPC) ‘Chandra’ that is available to the students, research scholars, staff and faculty. Computational facilitates for conducting studies in geotechnical engineering include ABAQUS, PLAXIS 2D, PLAXIS 3D, ANSYS, GeoStudio 2018 (SLOPE/W, Page 24 of 71 SEEP/W, SIGMA/W, QUAKE/W, TEMP/W) for finite element modelling of geotechnical problems, FB-Multipier and FB-Deep (educational version) for individual and group analyses of deep foundation and MATLAB and other programming software packages. Purchase of additional relevant software packages is underway.
Photographs of some of the facilities in the Geotechnical Laboratory are given in the following pages.
Automated Cyclic Triaxial System Page 25 of 71
Computerized Static Triaxial System and Flexible Wall Permeameter
Automated Direct Shear System and Consolidation Test apparatus Page 26 of 71
Large Soil-Geosynthetic Interface Resistance Testing System Page 27 of 71
6.3. COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING The Faculty
Dr Albert Sunny, Phd (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Chandrashekar Lakshminarayanan, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Deepak Rajendraprasad, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Jasine Babu, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Krithika Ramaswamy, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr Mrinal Kanti Das, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Piyush P Kurur, PhD (IMS Chennai)
Dr Sahely Bhadra, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Sandeep Chandran, PhD (IIT Delhi)
Dr Satyajit Das, PhD (University of South Brittany, France, University of Bologna, Italy)
Dr Unnikrishnan Cheramangalath, PhD (IISc, Bangalore)
Dr Vivek Chaturvedi, PhD (Florida International University, USA)
The Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The CSE envisions to impart knowledge across depth and breadth of computer science and engineering. Unlike most contemporary CS programs, we introduce the students to state-of-the-art technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning and High Performance Computing through well designed courses in early semesters and encourage innovation through projects using these technologies. Our programs build a strong foundation in students and prepare them for both cutting edge technology industry jobs and higher education. We witness very high percentage in placements every year. Many of our students are pursuing higher education in reputed universities in India and Abroad.
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Undergraduate Program:
Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering
Graduate Programs: 1) Master of Science (Research) in Computer Science and Engineering 2) M.Tech in Computing and Mathematics (MCaM) together with the Discipline of Mathematics 3) M.Tech in System on Chip Design (SoCD) in collaboration with Electrical Engineering 4) M.Tech in Data Science in collaboration with the Centre for Research and Education in Data Science (CREDS) IIT Palakkad. This is a multidisciplinary program involving SIX other disciplines of the Institute. 5) Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering
Research at CSE IIT Palakkad The core research areas and subareas of CSE stream are listed below 1) Theoretical Computer Science: Research areas include combinatorics, graph theory, algorithms, data structures, type theory, logic and complexity theory. 2) Systems and Software: Research areas include computer architecture, Operating systems, compilers and programming languages, cyber security, IoT, software engineering, distributed systems, performance analysis and high performance computing. 3) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Research areas include Bayesian learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, Kernel learning, Privacy aware learning. The CSE faculty members are active in research and continuously engage with industry and academia around the globe. There are active research collaborations with world class Universities such as Nanyang technological University Singapore, University of Alberta Canada, Aalto University Finland, University of South Brittany France and University of Bologna Italy to name a few. Page 29 of 71
+ Interdisciplinary Masters programs (i) M.Tech in Data Science M.Tech in Data Science is a Masters degree program under the auspices of the Centre of Research and Education in Data Science (CREDS) at IIT Palakkad. A major highlight is that it is interdisciplinary in nature with four engineering streams (CSE, EE, CE, ME) and three science streams (Physics, Mathematics, Humanities & Social Science) participating in the program. The curriculum developed by leading data scientists in the country making it relevant for the current and future requirements of Data Science in the industry as well as in academic research. The Faculty of CREDS comprises young yet experienced researchers in various fields of data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics, information theory, and several application areas like climatology, traffic engineering, fluid mechanics, data security, econometrics, linguistics, material science etc. Students from various backgrounds are admitted to the program. They will go through foundational training, e,g, Linear algebra, Probability, Data Engineering Machine Learning Optimization, in the first semester, with more depth and breadth in various application areas in the following semesters through electives. Higher semester courses include Deep Learning, Big Data Lab, Data Security, Reinforce Learning, Kernel learning, responsible AI, etc. Core courses in the MTech Program will be mainly instructed by faculty members from CSE, MA, and EE.
Students will work on a year-long research or development project with state-of-the-art computational and experimental facilities which will likely lead to publications, patents, products, or software. To achieve expertise in both fields, students will be encouraged to do projects on the application of data science in their areas of specialization. There will be ample opportunities for the graduates of this program after the program whether it be a PhD at overseas top universities or a job within or outside the country. The students will get the opportunity to learn data science in a vibrant ecosystem around the area and actively contributing to the front line research. Page 30 of 71
(ii) M.Tech in Computing and Mathematics
Computing and Mathematics have been tied together ever since the notion of computability was formalized. Algorithmic procedures accompanied by their well founded mathematical proofs of guarantees are integral components of computational problem solving. The focus of this program is to cover some aspects of this interrelationship between Computing and Mathematics. The program offers a unique mix of computer science courses with supporting mathematics courses that together cover theoretical and practical aspects of computation. The targeted audience come from two backgrounds (1) B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology (2) M.Sc in Mathematics, thus providing an opportunity for diverse peer learning to the students. The objective of the program is to train students in areas which are integral to both Computing and Mathematics. To facilitate this goal, the first semester will comprise an appropriate set of bridge courses for the students depending on their background. That is, M.Sc Mathematics students will be trained in certain basic core courses from computer science and B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering students will be trained in some core mathematics courses. This would make the advanced elective courses offered in both the domains accessible to all students in the subsequent semesters. Major areas include Algorithms, Graph Theory, Combinatorics, Logic, Programming Languages, Computational Methods, Foundations of Data Science & Machine learning, Probability & Statistics and Linear Algebra. The program culminates with a year long Project/Dissertation in the second year, that prepares students to pursue careers that require innovations involving sophisticated applications of mathematics in computer science. (iii) M.Tech - System on Chip Design (SoCD) With deep-penetration of Intelligent Systems into our everyday lives through advances in the Internet-of-Things (IoT), there is an increased demand for highly-skilled engineers in both academia and industry who can take an idea and develop it into a fully-functional system. Developing such cutting-edge, state-of- Page 31 of 71 the-art systems require deep expertise in a wide-range of fields such as system design, circuit design, physical design, device design, verification, testing and validation. M.Tech in System-On-Chip Design (SoCD) is a program that caters to this demand for highly-skilled and well-trained engineers.
This is an interdisciplinary program offered jointly by the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and Electrical Engineering (EE) Disciplines at IIT Palakkad. The curriculum of this course has been designed by experts from Industry and academia to cover both the fundamentals, as well as the engineering aspects of designing and developing IC based systems. The M.Tech curriculum is well- balanced where every course has a companion lab component and prescribes a year-long project. This gives a firm platform for graduating students to excel in industry or academia.
The facilities at IIT Palakkad include latest boards and software from ARM,
Cadence, Xilinx necessary for developing modern Systems-On-Chip. We also have a micro-nano device fabrication facility with Class 1 lakh and 10000 clean room, and a characterization facility.
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6.4. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING The Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) at IIT Palakkad offers a vibrant environment for under graduate, post graduate education and research in many areas of Electrical Engineering. We are a team of 16 faculty members, 180 students and 4 staff members engaged in cutting edge research and teaching in several frontier areas of Electrical Engineering. The Faculty Prof. Vinod A Prasad, PhD (NTU Singapore)
Dr. Anirudh Guha, PhD (IISc Bangalore) Dr. Arun Rahul S, PhD (IISc Bangalore) Dr. Arvind Ajoy, PhD (IIT Madras) Dr. Jobin Francis, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Lakshmi Narasimhan T, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Mahesh R Panicker, PhD (NTU, Singapore)
Dr. Manas Kumar Jena, PhD (IIT Delhi) Dr. Revathy P, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Shaikshavali Chitraganti, PhD (University of Lorraine, France)
Dr. Sneha Gajbhiye, PhD (IIT Bombay) Dr. Sreenath Vijayakumar, PhD (IIT Madras) Dr. Subrahmanyam Mula, PhD (IIT Kharagpur) Dr. Sukomal Dey, PhD (IIT Delhi) Dr. Swaroop Sahoo, PhD (Colorado State University, USA) Dr. Vijay Muralidharan, PhD (IIT Madras) Specialization
▪ Antennas, Microwave Engineering and Radar Systems ▪ Biomedical Signal Processing and Imaging ▪ Communication and Signal Processing ▪ Measurements and Instrumentation Page 33 of 71
▪ Nanoelectronics, Plasmonics and Semiconductor Devices ▪ Power Systems and Power Electronics ▪ Robotics, Instrumentation and Control ▪ VLSI Signal Processing Circuits and Systems
Laboratories ▪ Electronics Technology Laboratory Electronics Technology Laboratory provides an integrated environment for students to understand the working of analog and digital circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and the interplay between computational tools and electronics hardware. Each desk is equipped with digital storage oscilloscopes, arbitrary waveform generators, power supplies and various prototyping boards (Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Microcontrollers, etc.) and a desktop PC. In addition, it houses the set-ups for control systems experiments such as ball and beam, rotary inverted pendulum, magnetic levitation and closed loop temperature controller. Digital Circuits, Analog Electronics, Computer Aided Design and Control Systems lab courses are also run in this laboratory.
(General Electronics Lab, Left: 3D Printer, Right: Typical Data Acquisition Set Up) Page 34 of 71
(Computer Aided Design, Left: KiCAD for Layout, Right: Toner Transfer for PCB)
(Control Systems Lab, In Clockwise Order from Top: Temperature Control, Magnetic Levitation, Inverted Pendulum and Ball and Beam Balancing)
(Measurements and Instrumentation Lab, In Clockwise Order from Top: Electro- oculogram EOG Data Acquisition, Analog Signal Conditioning (TI ASLK) and Data Acquisition (NI MyDAQ) and Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) setup) Page 35 of 71
▪ Communications and Microwave Laboratory Communications and Microwave Laboratory provide an environment for understanding and experiencing the signal chain of a typical analog and digital communication system and microwave systems. Typical facilities include optical fiber training kits that have a multi-channel multiplexing encoder and a corresponding decoder with demultiplexer, where one can perform various wired optical communication experiments. The laboratory also houses software defined radios - national instruments 2901 and 2920 which are very versatile and reconfigurable radios that can operate in the range 70MHz to 6GHz and can be used to prototype various communication systems and new technologies for applications such as 5G and IoT.
(Communications and Microwave Lab, Left: Software Defined Radio (SDR) Kit, Right: Microwave Communication Set Up) ▪ Electrical Machines Laboratory Electrical Machines Laboratory provides students with an opportunity to understand the working of various AC and DC machinery. Some of the facilities include: 14 machine beds each consisting of 2 DC machines coupled with induction machine and synchronous machine, fully isolated voltage and current measurement units, data acquisition systems for capturing real time data, a unique make your own electrical machines by integrating various parts and its testing facility, bidirectional power DC power supply, special machines like BLDC, SRM, single phase and 5 phase machines, single phase and three phase and multi winding transformers. Page 36 of 71
(Electrical Machines Lab, Left: Electrical Machines, Right: Advanced Human Machine Interface)
M. Tech in Power Electronics and Power System
Our vision in starting an M. Tech Programme in Power Electronics & Power System is to ”Develop and maintain a high quality teaching and research environment in Power Systems, Power Electronics and Control and to emerge as a center of excellence for contributing towards the society”
Topics in power electronics are essential for key enabling technologies and understanding of the diverse disciplines encompassed by power electronics - semiconductor devices, power converter control and its application in power systems and motor drives - is therefore important to all power engineers. The M. Tech curriculum is designed to train the students with adequate domain knowledge and skill-sets in Power Electronics & Power Systems and related subjects along with the flexibility to choose interdisciplinary electives. Thoroughly designed course contents and hands-on laboratory exercises enable students to pursue successful career options in various research programmes (higher studies) in Power Electronics / Power Systems/ Renewable Energy Systems and related areas, roles in design and development with government/ private organizations, employment in R & D organisations related to sustainable technologies etc.
The curriculum focuses on learning the concepts through design and development. Electrical engineering laboratories are well resourced with modern scientific equipments that are calibrated for accurate measurements. Well equipped laboratory facilities are installed for developing new design/testing and verifying an existing design or hardware modules. To provide more exposure towards Page 37 of 71 industry standard software tools, we have research level licenses for simulation software's like PSCAD, DSA tools, Labview, Mathematica, ANSYS, MATLAB, etc.
▪ Power Systems Laboratory Power Systems Laboratory provides students with an environment to experiment on various aspects of power systems including safety and quality. Some of the facilities include: Fault simulator for studying and analyzing various power systems faults, facility for studying parallel operation of alternators, facility for studying earth fault protection, differential protection, over voltage and over current protection, solar simulator for studying PV array characteristics, air blast circuit breaker assembly with earth fault protection, earth resistance measurement unit, power quality analyzer, insulation testers and Mipower for power system analysis.
(Power Systems Lab, Left: Alternator Fault Simulator With Grid Synchronization Facility, Right: Solar Photo Voltaic Array Simulator) Page 38 of 71
▪ Power Electronics Laboratory Power Electronics Laboratory provides students with an exposure to latest trends in power electronics research and development. Facilities include: IGBT modules with isolated gate drive assembly45 kw Bidirectional DC power supply, TMS320f28379D controller boards, Spartan 6 FPGA cards, High end Oscilloscopes with differential probes for high voltage and high current measurement, Hall effect voltage and current sensors, Iron core and ferrite core inductors.
(Power Electronics Lab, Left: IGBT based Inverter Modules, DSO and Differential Probes, Right: Facility to Assembling and Test Various Machines)
Research Facilities Laboratories / Research Centers ▪ Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) Electrical characterization facilities include DC probe station, RF probe station, parameter analyzer, wire bonder, vector network analyzer and signal analyzer, signal generator, solar simulator Page 39 of 71
(CIF Electrical Characterization Facilities)
▪ Central Micro-Fabrication Facility (CMFF) Facilities include class 10000 1 lakh cleanroom, class 100 wet bench, DI water, sputtering system and mask aligner
(CMFF Facilities) Page 40 of 71
▪ Center for Computational Imaging (CCI) Facilities include 128-channel research ultrasound system, 128 channel 5-10 MHz piezo electric linear array probe, 256 channel 5-25 MHz CMUT linear array probe, tissue mimicking Doppler phantom with average flow velocity of at least between 3-60 cm/s and with possibility of pulsatile and constant velocity flow, Vitus Siu-3 portable ultrasound system and 64 channel 40 kHz airborne ultrasound system and Maxim 2084 16 channel ultrasound transmitter/receiver analog front end.
Page 41 of 71
▪ Brain Machine Interface Systems Laboratory (BMISL) Facilities include 64-channel Electroencephalograph (EEG) Amplifier, EMOTIV EPOC+ 14-channel Wireless EEG, Muse 4-channel EEG, Mobile Workstation Dell 3520
▪ Microwave monolithic integrated circuits lab (MMICL)
Major highlights of M.Tech in Power Electronics & Power Systems
The vision in starting an M. Tech Program in Power Electronics and Power Systems is to ”Develop and maintain a high quality teaching and research environment in Power Systems, Power Electronics and Control and to emerge as a center of excellence for contributing towards the society”.Power electronics is a key enabling technology and understanding of the diverse disciplines encompassed by power electronics - devices, converters, control theory and its application in power system - is therefore essential to all power engineers.
The primary objectives of the M.Tech. program in Power Systems and Power Electronics are to train the students with adequate domain knowledge and skill- set in Power Systems and Power Electronics and to prepare them for Page 42 of 71
the following career options:
▪ research programs (higher studies) in Power Electronics / Power Systems/ Renewable Energy Systems and related areas ▪ In design and development with major international companies or government agencies ▪ obtain consultancy posts with leading contract consultant companies ▪ employment in R & D organisations related to sustainable technologies ▪ to work in power electronic circuit design and fabrication industries ▪ to work with reputed companies who provide software and hardware solutions to the utilities ▪ move into successful academic careers
Key learning outcomes of the course are for students to: ▪ become competent users of relevant equipments and software used for research as well as industrial design ▪ develop problem-solving skills ▪ develop the ability to think logically and critically ▪ develop a thorough understanding of current practice and its limitations and appreciation of likely new developments in the field of power electronics and power system engineering. ▪ develop an appreciation for the challenges related to power electronics, power system, its control and realisation ▪ be able to participate in collaborative-multidisciplinary engineering / research tasks and work as a team member in such tasks related to Power system domain, giving due consideration to ecological and economical intricacies, and lead the team in specific areas ▪ be a responsible professional with intellectual integrity, code of conduct and ethics of research Serve towards the sustainable development of the society Page 43 of 71
6.5. HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES The Faculty
Dr Amrita Roy, PhD (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
Dr Anoop George, PhD (IIT Bombay)
Dr Reenu Punnoose, PhD (Newcastle University, U.K)
Dr Sujatha G, PhD (University of Madras)
The Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at IIT Palakkad comprises a team of four faculty members and six PhD scholars who work on diverse research areas in Philosophy, Economics, Gender and Culture Studies and Linguistics. We offer a range of elective courses for undergraduate and postgraduate engineering and science students as well as core PhD- level courses for our doctoral scholars which encourage critical thinking, create awareness of real world issues and enable a comprehensive understanding of topics from multiple perspectives. The courses on offer also include those that aim to hone the soft skills of students and initiate pertinent conversations on ethical practices in research, in the workplace and life in general. In the long run, we hope to launch postgraduate programs within subject areas in the Humanities and Social Sciences and continue to engage in research at the intersection of subject areas within the HSS and between the HSS, science and technology.
Presently, two of our faculty members are part of the transdisciplinary Centre for Data Sciences inaugurated recently at IIT Palakkad., with varied interests in how to make AI platforms more linguistically diverse, the scope of AI to make English language teaching and learning a more inclusive process and also in exploring the scope of data science tools and techniques to inform economic policies. Page 44 of 71
6.6. MATHEMATICS The Faculty
Prof. S H Kulkarni , PhD (IIT Bombay)
Dr. Arpan Kabiraj, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Ashok Kumar M, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr G P Balakumar, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Jaikrishnan Janardhanan , PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr Jayanarayanan C R, PhD (ISI Bangalore)
Dr Lakshmi Sankar K, PhD (Mississippi State University, USA)
Dr. Parangama Sarkar, PhD (IIT Bombay)
Dr Rohith Varma PhD, (Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai)
Dr Sarath Sasi, PhD (Mississippi State University, USA)
The Discipline of Mathematics at IIT Palakkad is strongly committed to excellence in research and teaching. Current expertise of the faculty members include Algebraic Geometry, Commutative Algebra, Functional Analysis, DifferentialEquations, Several Complex Variables, Topology, Mathematical Statistics, Probability and Information Theory. We envisage a period of fast growth leading to a strong and diverse Mathematics community at IIT Palakkad. A PhD programme in the discipline of Mathematics was started in 2017. There are five Ph.D level research scholars working in the Discipline of Mathematics now.
M.Sc Program:
The MSc Mathematics program provides students with a strong mathematical foundation and also offers an opportunity to specialise in diverse areas such as pure mathematics, applied mathematics, data sciences and theoretical computer Page 45 of 71 science. The proposed curriculum has 12 core courses and 8 electives which gives the students plenty of freedom to focus on the areas of their interest. Selected students will also have the option to pursue a project in place of some of the electives, helping them to gain hands-on training in a specific area. It is believed that this curriculum will help graduates of this masters program to pursue careers in both academia and industry.
6.7. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The Faculty Dr. Afzaal Ahmed, PhD (NUS Singapore)
Dr. Anand T. N. C. (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Anoop Akkoorath Mana (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Buchibabu Vicharapu (IIT Bombay)
Dr. D. Chakradhar, PhD (NIT Warangal)
Dr. D Kesavan, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr. Dinesh Setti, PhD (IIT Delhi)
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. S Kanmani Subbu, PhD (IIT Kanpur)
Dr. Krishna Sesha Giri, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. K. V. N. Surendra, PhD (IISc Bangalore)
Dr. Pramod Kuntikana, PhD (IIT Bombay)
Dr. Pramod S Mehta, PhD (Loughborough University, UK)
Dr. Samarjeet Chanda, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr. Santhakumar Mohan, PhD (IIT Madras)
Dr. Sovan Lal Das, PhD (Cornell University, USA)
The discipline of Mechanical Engineering offers a 4-year undergraduate B.Tech. Page 46 of 71
Program; 2-year Masters’ program and research (MS and PhD) programs. The undergraduate curriculum of the stream mainly integrates fundamentals of mechanical sciences & engineering along with electives concerning allied and general topics including professional ethics. M. Tech. at PG level is offered in Manufacturing and Materials Engineering emphasis on developing depth in both fundamental and applied aspects with inquisitiveness. The Mechanical Engineering stream has three broad sub-disciplines – thermo-fluids, design and manufacturing. Research in the thermo-fluids stream include experimental and numerical heat transfer and combustion, laser diagnostics, thermal management for batteries and computational fluid dynamics. Faculty in the field of design carry out research related to fracture mechanics, vibrations, robotics and bio- physics. Among the research areas in the manufacturing sub-stream are additive manufacturing, friction-stir welding and solid-state welding, tribology, super finishing and minimum quantity lubrication. Some of the current research projects include studies on soot modelling, studies of battery thermal management systems, modelling of adhesion in thin and soft structures, bio- inspired underwater vehicles, evaluation of cryogenic cooling for machining, rolling contact fatigue studies on bearing steels and micro electric discharge milling of metal matrix composites.
There are Research level Laboratories in Thermal stream and in the Manufacturing and Materials stream. Some of the facilities are described below:
Combustion and laser diagnostics lab
The experimental facility consists of laser diagnostic equipment in addition to burners fabricated for studying flames in different configurations. The lab is equipped with a high pressure compressor (45 bar), 1 m3 air receiver, air-dryer with flow lines for delivery to the setups in the lab. Fuel supply from a cylinder bay is also available. Flow control is achieved using Alicat mass flow controllers (MFC) of various ranges. A high capacity exhaust system is also in place for handling of product gases from combustion experiments. Page 47 of 71
The laser diagnostic capabilities include a Q-smart NdYAG pump laser and a Sirah dye laser, with the accessories like energy monitor and collimator attached in line, to measure the output energy and to create a laser light sheet respectively. The PIV laser is a 200 mJ double cavity pulsed Nd:YAG laser of 532 nm output wavelength. The laser is synchronised using a LaVision PTU X. Fluorescence imaging is carried out using a CCD camera (Imager SX 6M) for intensifying the photon count. Image acquisition and processing is done through Davis 8.0. In addition an Andor 750 mm focal length spectrograph is also available for carrying out spectroscopic studies. A Hamamatsu PMT is employed to record image intensity. A He-Ne laser and Si Photodetectors are being procured for line-of-sight measurements. Optics like mirror, filters and optomechanical components like posts, lens holders etc are available. The following techniques can be conducted with the existing equipment 1. Particle Image Velocimetry 2. Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence 3. Laser Induced Incandescence 4. Extinction measurements A counterflow diffusion flame burner has been designed and fabricated with a contoured nozzle. The burner can generate a wide range of flames of different strain rates with varied fuels.
Combustion and laser diagnostics experimental facility
M. Tech in Manufacturing and Materials Engineering
The major objective of this M. Tech program is to prepare graduate students Page 48 of 71 to face challenges posed by research and industries involved in manufacturing and materials. In addition, this program focuses on improving research skills of the students, and develops a passion for doctoral programs. This program offers core courses like Advanced Engineering Materials, Advanced Manufacturing Processes, Mechanics of Machining, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Mechanical Behaviour of Materials and Computer Aided Metrology. Further, electives prescribed in the curriculum provide specialized knowledge in the area of the individual interest. For the first two semesters, students are required to do a substantial amount of coursework. In subsequent third and fourth semesters students will be working on the projects. Facilities at Manufacturing and Materials Engineering Laboratory:
Manufacturing research laboratory has an advanced materials processing facility consisting of state-of-art metal additive manufacturing (AM) system, the method that relies on a digital data file being transmitted to a machine then builds the component. The technology helps us to make complex parts from various engineering materials with high standards of quality that are not possible using conventional manufacturing methods. Few other facilities available in this laboratory are Wire electric discharge machine, coordinate measuring machine, Stir casting setup, Compression molding machine, Polymer 3D printer, Laser marker machine, Modular Production System and Virtural Reality system. Materials testing laboratory is equipped with mechanical and materials characterization facilities to measure hardness, tensile strength, fatigue strength and bending strength of any engineering materials. Along with that, a twin disc rolling contact fatigue (RCF) tester and axial fatigue testing machine with the capacity of 100 kN servo-hydraulic frame are also available. Page 49 of 71
3D Metal additive manufacturing facility
Components processed using additive manufacturing facility Page 50 of 71
Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) Setup
3 D Coordinate Measuring Machine Page 51 of 71
6.8. PHYSICS The Faculty Prof. P B Sunil Kumar, PhD (RRI, Bangalore)
Dr. Amit Kumar Pal, PhD (Bose Institute Kolkata)
Dr. Bibhu Ranjan Sarangi, PhD (RRI Bangalore)
Dr. Jayakumar Balakrishnan, PhD (National University of Singapore)
Dr. Kusum Dhochak, PhD (TIFR, Mumbai)
Dr. Prithvi Narayan P, PhD (TIFR, Mumbai)
Dr. Projjwal Banerjee, PhD (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA)
Dr. Soham Manni, PhD (Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen Germany)
Dr. Uma Divakaran, PhD (IIT Kanpur)
Dr. Vishwas V, PhD (JNCASR Bangalore)
Dr. Moumita Nandi, PhD (SINP Kolkata), Inspire Faculty
Overview : The Discipline of Physics, IIT Palakkad started functioning from August 2015, and has now grown into a vibrant part of the Institute with its creative and passionate teaching endeavours at the undergraduate and postgraduate level along with cutting-edge research components in the forefront of experimental and theoretical physics. There are currently 10 Faculty members, 1 Inspire Faculty, and 1 Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Discipline, engaged in various research projects in several topical and multidisciplinary topics covering the following areas:
1. Astrophysics 2. Experimental Biophysics 3. Experimental Condensed Matter Physics 4. High Energy Physics and String Theory 5. Statistical Physics 6. Soft-Matter Physics Page 52 of 71
7. Many-Body Physics 8. Quantum Information Theory and Quantum Computation 9. Non-Equilibrium Dynamics and Quantum Phase Transitions
In July 2017, the Department started its dedicated PhD program, and at present a total of 16 students are pursuing research in these exciting fields. Besides its thriving research activities, the Discipline also runs a two year M.Sc programme in Physics, and supports in training young Engineering undergraduate students in basic sciences.
M.Sc Program in Physics:
Kick-starting from July 2019, the two years (four semesters) MSc programme in Physics is now open to students with Bachelor’s degree in basic sciences with Physics as a subject for at least 2 years / 4 semesters, and Mathematics for at least 1 year / 2 semesters. The selection process is based on the national level “Joint Admission Test for MSc” (JAM) conducted by the IITs. The four semester program has core-theory courses in the first two semesters emphasizing the fundamentals of the subject, and laboratory courses which allow the students to explore and familiarize themselves with classic experiments in the field. In the third and fourth semester, the students will get an opportunity to explore advanced electives (theory) and laboratory courses, which are in the forefront of research, along with a yearlong project guided by faculty members experienced in the respective field. The elective courses and the projects offered by the Faculty are at par with the current worldwide trends in research and industry. The course structure has been formulated to enable students to pursue research in leading national and international universities and research institutions, as well as to explore jobs in research and development sectors.
M.Sc Program: The MSc Physics program is open to students with Bachelor’s degree in basic sciences with Physics as a subject for at least two years. The selection will be based on the national level test; Joint Admission Test for MSc (JAM) conducted Page 53 of 71 by IITs. The four semester program has core-theory courses in the first two semesters that will emphasize the fundamentals of the subject and laboratory courses that will allow the students to explore and familiarize with classic experiments in the field. In the third and fourth semester, the students will get an opportunity to explore advance electives (theory) and laboratory courses which are in the fore front of research along with a one- year project guided by experienced faculty in the respective field. The course structure has been formulated to enable students to pursue research in leading national and international universities and R & D institutions. Experimental Facilities: The Department has at present a teaching Physics laboratory to cater the needs of undergraduate/graduate students and is equipped with experimental setups that can boast of the latest technology. The M.Sc. Physics laboratories are categorized by different themes, namely, Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Thermal Physics, Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, and Electronics and Instrumentation. The M.Sc. Physics laboratory houses state of the art experimental setups such as Eddy Current Pendulum, Thomson Tube, Michelson Interferometer, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometer, Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Spectrometer, Liquid Nitrogen Cryostat, Scanning Tunneling Microscope, Epifluorescence microscope and Polarizing Microscope. Currently there are three technical staff in the Physics laboratory to manage experimental setups and assist students in experiments.
In addition to this, for conducting advanced research IIT Palakkad has set-up different central facilities namely Chandra High Performance Computing Cluster, Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) and Central Micro Fabrication Facility (CMFF). Other Central facilities in Materials and Manufacturing, and Data Mining will be operational soon. Details of the available central facilities at IIT Palakkad are listed in section “Central Research Facilities at IIT Palakkad”. Page 54 of 71
UG/ PG Lab of the discipline of Physics 7. ACADEMIC, CO-CURRICULAR & EXTRA CURRICULAR FACILITIES AT IIT PALAKKAD Institute Library As the informatics center of the Institute, the Central Library provides an enjoyable learning experience with a carefully developed collection of books, journals, standards, magazines and newspapers. The library also stores collection of audio-visual materials such as CD-ROM, scientific kits etc. The library opened its doors to the students, faculty and staff in August 2015 with a collection of 700 printed books which has grown more than 6000 printed barcoded and RFID tagged books (textbooks, reference, popular sciences and literature) in the past six years. Based on the needs and requirements of researchers, the library has subscribed to a number of electronic journals for its users. The library also has the support of national consortium E-Shodh Sindhu (INFLIBNET) to fulfill maximum journal requirement. The operations of the library are fully computerized and enabled with the RFID system for fast transactions, for ease of access as well as for the security of the library. The RFID based kiosk provides self-check-in and self-check-out of books. Library is under a 24x7 CCTV surveillance system for security. The library is also enabled with Wi-Fi and LAN facility for unlimited high-speed internet access. Online facilities of the library are available 24x7x365 days for its registered users. Users can renew, reserve books through Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) at anytime. The library also renders services such as Reference and Consultation as well as updates the users with the Current Awareness Services. The users of Central Library of IIT Palakkad are also registered with the National Digital Library sponsored by MHRD and coordinated by IIT Kharagpur. Page 55 of 71
High Performance Computing Cluster (HPC) The Chandra High performance computing cluster (HPC) provides a powerful computing platform for research in engineering and physical sciences. This system has been operational since June 2017. The HPC consists of 64 compute nodes, each with a dual 12-core Intel processor. Each core runs at 2.2 GHz and has 4 GB of RAM per core. The HPC is one of the first systems in India to use a 100 Gbps high-speed Omni Path interconnect from Intel. The system provides about 50 TFlops of computing power. Chandra also accesses 100 TB of disk space setup as a parallel file system running Lustre from Intel.
The HPC is used by faculty, research staff and students at IIT Palakkad to investigate complex research problems in science and engineering. Some of the problems currently being studied are: 1. Understanding and designing materials with novel physical properties by performing atomistic quantum mechanical simulations. 2. Design of nanoscale transistors for next generation electronic applications.
3. Design of novel bio-molecules with applications in medicine. 5. Design of large structures such as bridges and buildings. 6. Performing computational fluid dynamic simulations 7. Understanding the process of heat transfer in complex systems such as engines. 8. Solving non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum Hamiltonians
Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) Advancements in technology are closely tied to success in the research and development of new molecules and materials. The journey to success becomes all the more exciting and challenging when the technology meets the constraints of sustainability. One of the thrust areas of research in IIT Palakkad is to develop new functional molecules, assemble them into materials and fabricate nano- scale machines using them. In 2019-2020, IIT Palakkad established the Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) and the Central Micro-Nano Fabrication Facility (CMFF) to support high- quality research in design and development of Page 56 of 71 functional molecules, materials and devices. At an expenditure of Rs 23 crores, these facilities maintain a high operational standard of sophisticated equipment. Functionally, the facilities in CIF & CMFF are grouped under the themes of Synthesis, Characterization and Fabrication. CIF houses sophisticated equipment for synthesis and characterization, while CMFF maintains a clean room and other facilities needed for the fabrication of devices at the micro and nanoscale.
Sophisticated equipment of CIF in Ahalia Campus.
Central Micro-Nano Fabrication Facility
Facilities in Nila Campus. Page 57 of 71
The CIF houses a range of sophisticated analytical equipment capable of studying the physical, chemical, electrical, mechanical and magnetic properties of molecules as well as materials. The equipment are installed and operated across the Ahalia and Nila campus presently but will eventually be relocated to a dedicated Research Complex at the permanent campus of the Institute. The details of the equipment are provided below.
1. Equipment Name: Fourier Transformed IR Spectrophotometer Model: Schimadzu IR Tracer 100 ▪ IR spectrophotometer is an essential characterization tool to study the vibrational frequencies of the chemical bonds. It is useful to study different modes of vibrations of chemical bonds such as stretching and bending. ▪ Capable of studying vibrational spectroscopy of solid and liquid samples in the wavenumber range of 7800 - 350 cm-1 at 0.2 cm-1 resolution. ▪ Available with DLATGS and MCT detectors ▪ Equipped with DRIFTS accessory to study the surface chemistry of solids at high temperature during a chemical reaction.
2. Equipment Name: Automated flow Chemisorption Model: Anton Parr - Quantachrome make Chemstar TPX ▪ The equipment is capable of quantifying the nature, strength and number of chemically distinct reactive sites on solids by systematic adsorption / desorption of gases. This is useful in studying specific components in nano composites e.g. metal dispersion in polymers or ceramics, heterogeneous catalysis, metal component in fuel cells, adsorbents for filtration and membranes. This is a fundamental characterization equipment commonly used by Chemists, Materials, Chemical & Mechanical engineers. The equipment is necessary to carry out projects that are of industrial importance such as batteries, fuel cells and Page 58 of 71
catalysts. ▪ The equipment must be capable of carrying out following studies in an automated fashion: Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD), Temperature Programmed Oxidation (TPO), Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) and Quantitative Pulse Titration.
3. Equipment Name: Semiconductor Parameter Analyser Model: B1500A (from Keysight) The semiconductor parameter analyzer integrates multiple measurement and analysis capabilities to perform the current‐voltage (I-V) and capacitance measurements [C-V (capacitance‐voltage), C‐f (capacitance- frequency), and C‐t (capacitance-time)] accurately. It has: ▪ 4 source measure units (SMUs): 3 high-resolution SMUs, and 1 high- power SMU ▪ 1 multi-frequency capacitance measure unit (MFCMU) [upto 5 MHz] ▪ 1 waveform generator unit ▪ an upgradability and support of 9 slot modules ▪ ground unit with ±4.2 A sink current
4. Equipment Name: Manual DC Probe Station Model: Probe Station Model BD-6DC with accessories (from Precise Measurement Technologies) The manual DC probe station supports DC parametric measurements (IV and CV; DC to 10 MHz) with semiconductor parameter analyzers, and allows integration with standard characterization instruments for a wide range of device measurement test setups.
The probe station has: ▪ a high-resolution microscope ▪ wafer chuck: to mount a wafer with diameter upto 150 mm. ▪ temperature range: room temperature to 2000C Page 59 of 71
▪ dark box, capable of EMI shielding
5. Equipment Name: Manual RF Probe Station Model: Probe Station Model EPS150RF-EDU with accessories (from Cascad Microtech) The manual RF probe station can mate with any vector network analyzer (VNA); and allows seamless calibration and integration with standard characterisation instruments, for a wide range of device and circuits measurement test setups. The probe station has: (a) a microscope; (b) wafer chuck: to mount a wafer with diameter upto 150 mm, temperature range: room temperature; (c) can make make RF measurements upto 40 GHz
6. Equipment Name: Vector Network Analyzer Vector network analyser is a test system that enables the RF performance of radio frequency (RF) and microwave devices. The characterised in terms of network scattering parameters, or S parameters can be determined. Model: N5224B
Vector network analyser is a test system that enables the RF performance of radio frequency (RF) and microwave devices ▪ The characterised in terms of network scattering parameters, or S parameters can be determined. ▪ The permeability and permittivity of various material can be determined.
▪ Measurement frequency range: 10 MHz to 43.5 GHz ▪ Number of ports: 4 ports with bias tees on all port ▪ Noise floor: -114 dBm ▪ Measurement of all S parameters both phase and magnitude, Y/Z parameters, wave Quantities, Impedance ▪ Measurement capability (hardware and software) for mixer measurements like conversion loss, matching & isolation measurements. Page 60 of 71
Power meter for source and receiver power Unique Capability : ▪ Measurement frequency range: 10 MHz to 43.5 GHz ▪ Number of ports: 4 ports with bias tees on all port
7. Equipment Name: Signal Analyzer A signal analyzer is an instrument that measures the magnitude and phase of the input signal at a single frequency within the IF bandwidth of the instrument. It employs digital techniques to extract useful information that is carried by an electrical signal. Model: N9020B MXA Signal Analyzer
▪ measures the magnitude and phase of the input signal at a number of frequencies within the IF bandwidth ▪ Measurement frequency range: 10 Hz to 44 GHz ▪ Noise floor: -150 dBm ▪ Phase noise Noise figure measurement and plotting ▪ Spectrum and time domain envelope of RADAR signals ▪ Measure and list rise time, fall time, PRI, PRF, duty cycle, peak power, average power, pulse to pulse phase, pulse to pulse frequency, detect and
list the modulation within the pulse like FM
Unique Capability: ▪ Noise figure measurement ▪ Vector signal measurement ▪ Phase noise measurement
8. Equipment Name: Analog Microwave Signal Generator An electronic device that generates repeating or non-repeating electronic signals in the analog. The signal could be carrier frequency or modulated. Model: N5173B ▪ Measurement frequency range: 9 kHz to 40 GHz ▪ Noise floor: -150 dBm Page 61 of 71
▪ Max. output: 11 dBm ▪ Modulation for both internal and external AM, FM, PM, Pulse ▪ Narrow pulse modulation: 30 ns ▪ Generate pulse of various widths and demonstrate the corresponding spectrum characteristics
9. Equipment Name: Thermogravimetric Analyzer coupled with Mass Spectrometer(TG-DTA-MS) Model: Perkin Elmer STA 8000 and Clarus SQ8T
▪ The equipment is useful to closely monitor the thermal events of solid samples such as weight loss, weight gain etc with temperature. This may also be used to study events like temperature dependent phase transitions and mechanistic aspects related to thermal reactions. ▪ The equipment can measure thermal events in the range of room temperature to 1600 ˚C at a heating rate of 0.1°C/min to 100°C/min from ambient to 1000 ˚C and 0.1oC/min to 25 oC/min from 1000 to 1500 oC
▪ The MS has the capability of measuring the mass in the range of 1-300 amu or more.
10. Equipment Name: High Performance Liquid Chromatography Model: Shimadzu LC-20AP Analytical -cum-Preparative HPLC System ▪ Chromatographic separation of the components from a mixture ▪ Quantification of each component in a mixture ▪ Large scale purification by preparative system (flow rate of 150 mL/min) ▪ Small scale purification by analytical system (flow rate of 0.01 mL/min) ▪ Wavelength range of detection: 190 nm to 800 nm ▪ Detection via both the photodiode array detector and refractive index detector ▪ Equipped with both the manual and automated fraction collection Unique capability: Page 62 of 71
▪ From small scale to large scale purification possible by analytical-cum- preparative systems in a single HPLC machine 11. Equipment Name: Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy Model: Shimadzu Triple Quadrupole LCMS-8045 Mass spectrometer ▪ A coupled system: liquid chromatography (LC) + mass spectroscopy (MS). LC separates individual component of a mixture and MS identifies of each component by mass of the ionized molecule ▪ Measurement of mass range: m/z 2 to 2,000 ▪ Ionization at both positive and negative ion mode ▪ MS/MS analysis for structural characterization ▪ Sensitivity suited for quantitative analysis ▪ Fully automated multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) optimization ▪ Seamless integration with Nexera UHPLC to support high speed analysis
Unique capability: ▪ High sensitivity with the help of Selective Ionization Mode(SIM) ▪ Fastest scan speed (30,000 u/Sec) ▪ Fastest positive-negative ionization switching speed (5 msec)
12. Equipment Name: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer Model: Inkarp NMREADY 60Pro benchtop NMR ▪ Characterization of an unknown chemical compound ▪ Measurement of reaction kinetics ▪ Assessment of reagent/product purity ▪ Recording 1H NMR spectrum of a compound ▪ Recording 13C NMR spectrum of a compound ▪ Recording 2D NMR ( COSY, TOCSY, HSQC/HETCOR, HMBC) spectra of a compound Page 63 of 71
Unique capability: ▪ Equipped with flow cell for monitoring the reaction progress 13. Equipment Name : Non Contact Optical Profilometry Model : AEP Nanomap 1000WL I ▪ To measure the surface features (Roughness parameters, topography, height variation, material loss, etc) with 3 dimensional imaging ▪ Max. Scan Range : Up to 10 mm ▪ Lateral Resolution : 0.38 µm min ▪ Max Scan Speed : 47 µm/sec
14. Equipment Name : Universal Hardness Tester Model : 251 VRSA AFFRI ▪ Capable of measuring hardness of the materials using Rockwell, Superficial Rockwell, Brinell, Vickers and Knoop techniques with the highest load capacity of 250 kgf.
15. Equipment Name: Raman spectrophotometer Model: Horiba Labram HR Evo This is a basic material characterization equipment. Equipment used to observe vibrational modes in a system thus giving the structural fingerprint of materials under study. An equipment used by Physics, Chemistry, Material Sciences and Electrical Engineering Department Faculties for the characterization of samples. The equipment is essential for 2D material Characterization ▪ The equipment has three laser lines - 632 nm (Visible), 514 nm (Visible) and 325 nm (UV) ▪ Performing Raman measurements in the range of 10 cm-1 (or lower) to 5000 cm-1 (or higher) with a resolution of ▪ 0.5 cm-1 or better with suitable optics. ▪ Performing photo-luminescence measurements in the range of 300 nm (or lower) to 1050 nm (or higher) with a ▪ resolution better than 0.1 nm. Page 64 of 71
▪ Performing confocal Raman Imaging/Mapping with a spatial resolution of 100 nm (or better) on a large area of 0.5 ▪ mm x 0.5 mm (or higher). ▪ Performing temperature dependent Raman and PL measurements down to 77 K with ultra-low vibrations, and for measurements above room temperature up to 800 K (or higher) using a suitable heating stage. The temperature-controlled stage is equipped with 4 probes for simultaneous electrical transport measurements.
16. Equipment Name : Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with EDS, EBSD and Lithography attachment Model : Gemini SEM 300 (Carl Zeiss)
▪ To examine metallic/non-metallic specimens microstructure at 2000000 X magnification with the resolution of 0.8nm at 15 kV; 1.3 nm at 1 kV ▪ EDS (EDAX-make) attachment to detect chemical composition ▪ EBSD (EDAX-make) attachment to analyse the texture (orientation) of microstructure of metallic components ▪ Lithography - Raith Lithography system (ELPHY Multibeam 20 MHz ) with Zeiss electrostatic beam blanker attachment for electronic micro device fabrication.
17. Equipment Name: XRD Model: Rigaku XRD SmartLab ▪ 9kW system ▪ characterization of the material crystal structure as well as the effect of impurities, strain, meso-structural ordering, particle size. ▪ The system allows characterization of thin films, powders at large and low incident angles and has attachment for characterization at high temperatures (1500 C). ▪ Residual Stress and Pole figure analysis ▪ Page 65 of 71
18. Equipment Name: VTI Model: Oxford Teslatron ▪ 12 T Magnet, Temperature range from 300mK - 473K
▪ Electrical and Magneto transport measurements at high magnetic field (upto 12T)
▪ Allows measurement of the sample at different orientations in a magnetic field with the help of a rotating probe. ▪ Magneto Resistance measurement in in-plane and out-of –plane magnetic field ▪ Temperature dependent characterization of gated electrical devices.
19. Equipment Name: Wire Bonder Model: TPT ▪ Manual Wedge Wire Bonder with adjustable height (60mm) and heater stage (250 C) ▪ Bond using Aluminum or Gold wires ▪ For bonding the devices with the measurement pad
20. Equipment Name: Mixed signal digital storage oscilloscope Model: Keysight MSOS404A Mixed Signal Oscilloscope – Infiniium S Series 4 GHz 4 channel Current Status : Demonstration as well as training completed and equipment is fully functional. Needs to be placed at the CIF which can be done by institute faculty and staff without external help ▪ Measurement frequency range: DC to 800MHz ▪ Measuring low voltage as well as high voltage quantities ▪ 16 digital channels, I2c, SPI, UART, CAN/LIN protocol decoding ▪ Measure and list rise time, fall time, duty cycle, peak power, average power, pulse to pulse phase, pulse to pulse frequency, Math functions like integration, differentiation, FFT, Envelope measurements
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Unique Capability : ▪ Capture a longer signal trace with 20 GSa/s max sample rate and 100 Mpts/channel of standard memory ▪ 4 GHz bandwidth (upgradable) ▪ 50 standard automated measurements with statistics and 16 independent math function ▪ See up to 20 measurement results simultaneously with statistics ▪ Multi-touch support for multi-touch (gestures) such as zooming and panning Central Micro Fabrication Facility The Central Micro Fabrication Facility (CMFF) of IIT Palakkad will house equipment and facilities capable of performing wet-chemical processes, thin film deposition, and lithography/patterning. The facility will be established in a clean space spanning about 50 m2, with two areas: one which is class 10000 (about 12 m2), and another that is class 1 lakh.
Broadly, research is proposed in areas including (but not limited to): (i) Design, fabrication and characterisation of 2D spin devices (including GMR devices), heterostructures of 2D materials and perovskites; (ii) Design, fabrication and characterisation of CMOS-compatible photodetectors; (iii) Fabrication and characterisation of RRAMS, non-linear selector devices for RRAMS, and one-time programmable memories; (iv) 2D material-based MEMS sensors, and new strategies for design of MEMS-based structures that incorporate negative capacitance; (v) Design and characterisation of GaN- based mm wave devices and circuits; (vi) Fabrication and characterization of Perovskite solar cells.
The equipments that will be housed in the CMFF are given below.
1. Equipment Name: Mask Aligner Model: SUSS MA/BA6 Mask Aligner (from SUSS MicroTec) This system is to be utilized for performing multilevel photolithography on Page 67 of 71
top and bottom side of substrates, with minimum feature of sub-micron size. The system can process: a) Wafer size: 50-mm-diameter (or lower) to 150-mm-diameter wafers b) Exposure wavelengths: (i) 365 nm (i-line); (ii) 405 nm (g-line); (iii) 248 nm (DUV) c) Alignment accuracy: d) Topside alignment accuracy: ±0.5 훍m e) Bottom-side alignment accuracy: ±1 훍m
2. Equipment Name : RF/DC/Pulsed DC Sputtering System Model : AJA Orion ▪ VHV capability with guaranteed chamber pressure as low as 5x10-8 Torr. Load lock chamber available. ▪ Three sputter guns, all of which can be used either for DC, Pulsed DC or RF Sputtering. Support for magnetic materials available. ▪ Three power supplies : one DC, one Pulsed DC one RF supply. ▪ Support for reactive sputtering in O2 rich environment
3. Equipment Name : Spin Coater Model : Apex Instruments EZSpinA1 ▪ Speed range : 100 rpm to 10000 rpm ▪ Spin speed accuracy : better than +/- 1 rpm ▪ Dimensions L:1520 mm x D: 1190 mm x H:2400 mm
Central Facility for Materials and Manufacturing Engineering (CFMM Engg.)
CFMM houses advanced materials processing, testing and manufacturing processing facilities to support basic and applied research activities in various streams of engineering. It is an essential platform not only to compete intellectually with the rest of the world but also enables us to make ingenuine contributions relevant to our country in the growing field of materials Page 68 of 71 processing, manufacturing of engineering components and products. This supports the research on materials processing that includes development of alloys and composites, manufacturing of components includes turbine & compressor parts, aerofoils, medical implants, actuators, medical scaffolds, machine tools, energy components, etc., and manufacturing of product includes robots, devices, unconventional machines, energy efficient vehicles, etc. Career Development Center (CDC)
▪ The Career Development Center (CDC) of IIT Palakkad employs significant efforts to refine the capabilities, personality and work readiness of students with the help of placement training and career preparation workshops. In order to facilitate better career opportunities, CDC constantly engages with industry through internships, industry visits, Industry-Academia conclave and also by hosting industry experts at the campus. A combination of rigorous yet sufficiently flexible curriculum prepares the students for the challenges in a competitive industrial environment.
▪ IIT Palakkad witnessed a perfect culmination of the campus placement year after year in which several offers were received from coveted MNC’s with excellent profiles, as desired by the students. The CDC at IIT Palakkad dominated the peer IITs on account of the highest percentage of job offers received by students. In addition to these, several PSUs visit the campus for recruitment each year.
▪ The statistics given below gives a quick glimpse of the campus placement. Academic Year 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 (till 10 March 2021)
No. of Companies Visited 62 70 55
No. of Offers 64 87 82
No. of PPO’s 5 15 5
Highest CTC INR (in Lakhs) 16.75 21.34 30
Average CTC INR (in 8.44 9.98 12.23 Lakhs) ▪ Some notable companies which offered employment and internship are Page 69 of 71
Sprinklr, Cargill, Adobe, Amazon, Arista networks, Mathworks, Texas Instruments, Honeywell, Jio Platform Limited (Reliance), McKinsey, Target Corp., Signalchip Innovations, L&T Group, TCS, Syngene International Limited etc. Key PSUs/Government agencies which offered positions include ITI Limited, FCRI, BEML, Ordnance factory etc.
▪ The centre is functional under a Professor In-Charge and the Training and Placement officer (TPO) dedicated to the endeavour of grooming the students.
8. HOSTEL FACILITIES AND STUDENT WELLNESS
HOSTEL FACILITIES
IIT Palakkad has Four hostels each in its Temporary campus and Three hostels inNila campus in which the UG, PG and Research students are accommodated.
Most of the rooms in the hostels have attached washrooms. A common mess serves food to the students in the respective dining halls in the two campuses.
The mess halls are provided with TV with DTH connection. All hostels are equipped with heavy duty washing machines and water dispensers with RO purifiers.
STUDENT WELLNESS Anti-ragging measures The motto of the Institute is zero tolerance to ragging. The students and parents are sensitized to this aspect through written documents and posters. A structured mechanism has been put in place to monitor ragging related issues and meet out the most stringent punishment to the wrong-doers, and enforce the anti-ragging regulations in letter and spirit.
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Counselling services A professional counselling service has been set up in order to ensure that the students receive help when they face social/emotional issues that require a professional approach.
The services of two resident counsellors who are experienced clinical psychologists, one male and one female, are available to the students all the time. Apart from this, online counselling services are also made available to the students. Life skill classes Students are given a course in life skills to help them cope with stress, improve communication skills and manage conflicting objectives. This outbound training, conducted by experts, provides the students with a platform to discover new friends and develop new bonds. It enables them to come out of their shells and mingle with others. They are also taught the art of forming well-knit teams on whom they can lean when in need, without hesitation. This course is mainly aimed at developing inter-personal relationships, building confidence, and making the students comfortable while facing the public, interview boards and so on. Health care The students are covered by a comprehensive medical insurance scheme for a nominal yearly subscription. IIT Palakkad has MOUs with Ahalia Diabetes Hospital, Athani Hospital, Malabar Hospital, Manomitra and Thangam Hospital for cashless medical attention. Students can also go to the hospitals of the Ahalia Foundation for treatment as outpatients. Sports facilities IIT palakkad is continuously improving its sports and games facilities. Good facilities exist for football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and cricket. There is a resident sports coach in the campus, who trains students in different games, physical fitness, weight lifting, etc. and takes care of the Institute gym. Other coaches are hired as and when needed.
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9. REFUND POLICY If a candidate withdraws his/her admission before the official joining date, the amount paid by him/her will be refunded after deducting the administrative charge of Rs 2000/-. Once the student is admitted, only the deposit part will be refunded.
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