Table of Contents 04 Director’s Message 07 Faculty Affairs Report 13 Academic Departments y Department of Biological Sciences y Department of Chemical Sciences y Department of Earth Sciences y Department of Mathematics and Statistics y Department of Physical Sciences 37 Centres for Interdisciplinary Science y Centre for Advanced Functional Materials (CAFM) y Centre for Climate and Environmental Studies (CCES) Research and y Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) 47 y National Centre for High Pressure Studies (NCHPS) Development Report y Overview y Department of Biological Sciences y Department of Chemical Sciences y Department of Earth Sciences y Department of Mathematics and Statistics y Department of Physical Sciences y Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) y Centre for Advanced Functional Materials (CAFM) Publications y Centre for Climate and Environmental Studies (CCES) 61y Department of Biological Sciences y Department of Chemical Sciences y Department of Earth Sciences y Department of Mathematics and Statistics y Department of Physical Sciences y Centre for Advanced Functional Materials (CAFM) y Centre for Climate and Environmental Studies (CCES) y Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) Academic Report y National Center for High Pressure Studies (NCHPS) 79 y Overview of Academic Activities: y PhD Programme y Integrated PhD Programme y BS-MS Programme y List of Degree Recipients: 6th Convocation 2018 y Best MS Thesis Award Recipients in 6th Convocation y Medal Recipients in 6th Convocation 91 Students’ Achievements y Students who were given Institute travel grants 95 Students’ Affairs Report y Overview y Inter IISER Sports Meet y Inquivesta 2018 y Spic Macay y Inter-IISER Cultural Meet y Smarane Rabindranath y Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat International Relations y International Yoga Day y Voluntary Blood Donation 111 Celebration Camp and Outreach Report y Independence Day y Students Activity Centre y International / National tie-up and MOUs Celebration y Alumi Card y Mou with the University of Kalyani y Teachers’ Day Celebration y Career Development Cell y Initiatives taken for establishing collaboration with the y Agomoni 2018 y E-Cell following institutes/ Body in the near future y Distinguished Visitor to IISER Kolkata y International Outreach y MHRD mandated competitions in 2018 at IISER Kolkata y Events organized by the DoIRO Office y Office members of International Relations and Outreach office 123 Library Research and Development Report 128 Computer Centre 131 Administrative Report 135 Administrative Staff List 139 Important Administrative Committees Director’s Message t is a matter of great pleasure and privilege to present the report on various activities and accomplishments of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata during the financial year 2018-19. In the second year as the Director of IISER Kolkata, I note with gratitude the continued support of the Board of Governors, the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Ifaculty, staff members and students enabling us to take the right initiatives towards the growth and development of the Institute. Since the inception in 2006, IISER Kolkata, through an eventful journey, has been established as a premier academic institution of International standard. IISER Kolkata has now become a coveted institution for bright minds striving to fulfill their academic dreams both as students and as faculty members. I am happy to share with you that our family has grown to 114 faculty members, distributed in five academic departments, and supported by a dedicated team of 95 administrative staff members. In addition, we have a few visiting, adjunct and honorary faculty of great distinction, who add to the vibrant teaching and research atmosphere at IISER Kolkata. Our combined student strength is at a record high comprising of 917 BS-MS, 158 Integrated-PhD (IPhD), 3 MS in space physics and 351 Doctoral students. To maintain the momentum of growth, we are now in the final stages of introducing two new departments, namely, the department of humanities and the department of computer science. These departments will expand the horizon to explore newer research paradigms in one hand and to develop a holistic human resource for the future on the other. IISER Kolkata is committed towards excellence in science and research and has shown exemplary performance in the year 2018- 19. Our faculty members in all disciplines have embarked on a mission to address the most relevant scientific problems and have been able to contribute significantly, resulting in around 255 publications in the reporting year. It is also important to note that graduate students have independently published their research in peer-reviewed journals. There are also instances where graduate students of different research areas have Ministry of Human Resource Development recently. collaborated and have successfully addressed important IISER Kolkata has also been honored for being selected problems. It is necessary to nurture the independence for hosting a national leadership development program of young researchers and we are also working on the designed to create and nurture top level leaders of Indian Committees implementation of a scheme to attract post-doctoral higher education organizations called “Leadership for researchers. I have strongly encouraged and provided Academicians Programme (LEAP). The LEAP program Administrative Important support to faculty members and to research students had two weeks of Indian training at Kolkata followed by simultaneously, ensuring that all can exercise the one week foreign training component in the Cambridge academic freedom essential for good research. I am campus of Harvard Graduate School of Education. happy to state that the excellent performance of our students and faculty members are getting recognized An essential ingredient in sustaining knowledge-based Staff List Staff both nationally and internationally in the form of research in developing countries is to foster academic Administrative Administrative prestigious awards, fellowships and distinctions. IISER research that has potential of translating into an Kolkata’s pursuit for excellence in research has been industrial application. Since my joining at IISER Kolkata, aptly recognized in the conferment of the prestigious I have taken the initiative to create a common platform Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prizes to two of our faculty such that our team of researchers can interact and share members from the Department of Chemical Sciences, their expertise with prominent industrial R&D units. In Dr. Rahul Banerjee and Prof. Swadhin Mandal. In this this year, IISER Kolkata have signed agreements/MOUs Report reporting year, Prof. Punyasloke Bhadury has also been with industrial organizations like Gas Authority of India Administrative Administrative awarded the prestigious Swarnajayanti Fellowship Award Limited, Tata Steel Limited, Cipla Limited, Tata Medical in the discipline of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Center to name a few. I also believe that research areas These achievements are commendable and reassuring, with the potential of industrial applications need to be giving us confidence that we are in the right path in initiated as start-ups which are being supported by the achieving our scientific goals. Government of India. The incubation centre, named, Research, Innovation and Scientific Entrepreneurship It is a matter of great satisfaction that our faculty (RISE) Foundation IISER, with the generous support of members are attracting support from national and the Department of Science and Technology is at work Centre Computer International funding agencies. Thirty-seven new on building an ecosystem of start-ups involving our sponsored research projects/schemes amounting to scientists, students and other entrepreneurs of the Rs.17 crores have been obtained by our faculty members country. I am happy to note that RISE foundation IISER during the financial year 2018-19. It has enhanced our has been registered as a section 8 company in this total tally to 87 number of ongoing projects with a total financial year. Library of Rs. 47 crores. A few notable projects obtained by IISER Kolkata: extramural projects Impacting Research, In the last financial year, IISER Kolkata, has strengthened Innovation and Technology-2 [MHRD/DST], System their existing research facility by acquiring a number Medicine Cluster [DBT], renewable and sustainable of state-of-the-art instrumentation facilities, namely, energy storage and production [SERB], development of solvent purification system, fluorescence spectrometers, diverse lab-on-chip platform [SERB], decoding the late biomolecular interaction core facility, etc. Another Quaternary track of Indian monsoon in the Gangetic significant addition is the supercomputing facility – Dirac plain [SERB], bulk synthesis and discovery of COF with a configuration capable of achieving 80 Teraflops. materials [GAIL], etc. Many of these projects involve All these facilities have been accommodated in the A J C and Outreach Report Outreach and other national as well as international institutions and Bose Research Complex and C V Raman Administration- Relations International are interdisciplinary in nature. The detailed facts and cum-Academic Complex. At this point I would also like figures of our research accomplishment are presented to mention that with efficient space management we in the relevant section of this report. Several members have