NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH An autonomous institution of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India

 

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Professor T. K. Chandrashekar, Director

School of Biological Sciences

Dr. Palok Aich, Chairperson

Dr. Abdur Rahaman Dr. Kishore CS Panigrahi Dr. Rajendra K Behera Dr. Anita Roy Dr. Manjusha Dixit Dr. Rona Banerjee Dr. Chandan Goswami Dr. Pankaj V Alone Dr. S Chattopadhyay Dr. Debasmita P Alone Prof. Rabindranath Nayak Prof. Trailokya Nath Naik Dr. Harapriya Mahapatra

School of Chemical Sciences

Dr. A Srinivasan, Chairperson

Dr. Subramanian Arunachalam Dr. Moloy Sarkar Prof. R K Mohanty Prof. Chandra Sekhar Panda Dr. Nagendra K Sharma Dr. Sanjib Kar Dr. Chandra Sekhar Purohit Dr. Pradeep K Chaudhury Dr. Sudip Barman Prof. Mahendra K Mahanti Dr. Prasenjit Mal Dr. U Lourderaj

School of Mathematical Sciences

Dr. Varadharajan Muruganandam, Chairperson

Dr. Ashis Mandal Dr. Kamal Lochan Patra Prof. P C Das Dr. Binod K Sahoo Prof. Narahari Parhi Dr. Sanjay Parui Dr. Deepak K Dalai

School of Physical Sciences

Prof. Ahmed Ansari, Chairperson

Dr. A V Anil Kumar Dr. Pratap K Sahoo Dr. Subhasis Basak Dr. Joydeep Bhattacharjee Dr. Sanjay K Swain Prof. Suresh G Mishra Prof. Minaketan Parida Prof. Shashikant C Phatak Dr. Tania Moulik Dr. Prasanjit Samal

Humanities

Dr. Debashis Pattanaik Dr. N K Mahalik Dr. U N Dash Prof. Manmatha Kundu

National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) was set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India at Bhubaneswar, Orissa in 2007. The mandate of NISER is to impart high quality science education in a vibrant academic ambience and to conduct cutting edge research in all branches of science. At present NISER is functioning from the campus of Institute of Physics, a premier research Institute of India situated in Bhubaneswar. Very soon, it will move to its campus situated at about 20 kilometers from Bhubaneswar and about 5 kilometers from Khurda Road station on Kolkata-Chennai rail route.

NISER is envisaged to be a unique institution of its kind in India. It has been the first institute set up by DAE for training world class scientists for conducting research in Indian laboratories as well as for producing teachers who will generate future scientific man power. It strives to be recognised as a premier center of excellence in science education and research. At present, NISER has established schools in four basic sciences, namely biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. At a later stage, activities in other branches of science, such as earth and planetary sciences, computer science and engineering sciences will be started. The main aim of NISER is to train and nurture motivated world class researchers who will take up challenging research and teaching assignments in universities, research laboratories and industry. Besides training students at masters and PhD levels, NISER intends to carry out cutting edge research in all branches of science.

The academic programme at NISER has been designed to provide a strong science foundation to students, through core courses, before they embark at the threshold of research in the field of their choice. It will ensure that every student is introduced to excitements in the frontiers of knowledge in all branches of basic sciences. NISER recognizes that modern scientific research is carried out in a domain without any boundaries. The undergraduate students and research scholars are expected to flourish in the ambiance of this scientific culture. In this perspective, it is expected that faculty members from different schools would try to establish centers of research in inter-disciplinary areas, in addition to their core competencies, while discharging their teaching duties of core courses of the respective schools.

NISER will have a faculty strength of approximately 250 (including those for Humanities). The faculty is expected to nurture the students with close interaction. The process for hiring regular faculty has started. Presently there are about 30 permanent faculty and about 20 fixed-term faculty on contract for 2-5 years. The faculty in different schools of NISER is selected after rigorous procedure. Besides teaching, the faculty is expected to spend substantial amount of their time in pursuing research in their field of interest. Visits by the faculty to other research institutes and their active participation in conferences, workshops and symposia is strongly encouraged. In addition to the permanent and long-term visiting faculty members, NISER invites renowned scientists from other institutions for a period of a semester or more for participating in research and teaching activities.

NISER has an active seminar and colloquium programme. Every week, a well-established scientist from within the country and abroad is invited to deliver a colloquium on the subject of his interest and interact with students and faculty. Such talks are expected to expose the students to current research interests in world and motivate them to take up such problems for their research. Further, each school has a seminar programme in which visitors, faculty members and students give technical talks in areas of their interest.

At present, NISER conducts two student programmes, the integrated MSc programme and the PhD programme. NISER is planning to start the integrated PhD programme where students will

be selected after their BSc degree. There are short term programmes, like summer and winter schools, for faculty and advanced students. Besides these, NISER organises workshops, symposia and conferences focusing on specific subjects. Scientists from all over the world participate in these activities.

Integrated MSc Programme The activities at NISER started with commencement of integrated MSc programme. Students for this programme are selected after they complete their 12th standard examination from any of the recognized boards in India. An entrance examination (NEST) is conducted every year for selecting the students. The details of NEST examination are available on NISER web site (http://nest.niser.ac.in).

The integrated MSc programme is a five year programme. In the first year students get an overview of all four science subjects. After completion of two terms they are allotted to one of the four schools (biology, chemistry, mathematics or physics) depending on their liking and performance during the first year. After first year, most of the courses they take are in their school. However, they are required to take at least one course every semester outside their school. Besides these, they take one humanities course every semester. This is intended to make them rounded scientists with some understanding of what is going on in other branches of science. During the last two years the students do theoretical or experimental project work as a part of their course work.

The students at NISER get INSPIRE fellowship of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, provided they maintain minimum level of grades. This fellowship includes a scholarship of Rs. 5,000/- per month and a support for doing project work at different laboratories and universities during the summer.

PhD Programme

The PhD programme in NISER has started from January 2010. The students are selected from among those who have qualified in national qualifying examinations such as NET, GATE, and JEST. The candidates then appear for an interview (and a written test in case of physics students) before they are selected. They undergo a one-year course work, in which they have to maintain grade points of seven or above and a comprehensive written and oral examination. Only after passing the comprehensive examination they are admitted for doing PhD.

Because of the privileged relation of NISER with DAE, NISER students have an advantage over others in getting jobs in DAE research institutions. For example, integrated MSc students of NISER, maintaining certain minimum grades will be able to appear for an interview for the training schools of DAE, without appearing in a written exam. Similarly, PhD students will be able to appear for K. S. Krishnan fellowship after their PhD. Besides these possibilities in DAE institutions, the students have good prospects of getting positions in different research laboratories, universities and industry.

NISER has sought affiliation with Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), a deemed University within Department of Atomic Energy for awarding MSc and PhD degrees. In the long run, however, NISER is expected to get its own status as Deemed University or it may get autonomous status like Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER's) under an act of Parliament.

Other Amenities

The students of NISER are accommodated in hostels which are situated at a distance of about two kilometers from Institute of Physics campus, from where NISER operates. Staying in hostel is compulsory for both MSc and PhD students. A NISER bus shuttles between hostels and Institute of Physics campus on a periodic basis. The hostels have a mess, some games facilities, rudimentary internet facility and a TV room. When NISER moves to its own campus, faculty and students will be staying on campus.

NISER has a very good library containing a large number of text and reference books. It is open from 8 am to 9:30 pm. The teaching laboratories at NISER are modern and students are encouraged to explore during their experimental classes. NISER has state-of-art computer center with excellent internet connection. The whole campus is connected by Ethernet cable as well as Wi-Fi enabled.

School of Biological Sciences

At a glance

The School of Biological Sciences, a start up establishment of National Institute of Science Education and Research in Bhubaneswar (Orissa, India), aims to developing programs in research and teaching with harmonious synthesis of classical and modern biology.

Teaching curriculum of the school spans from basic molecules and processes of life to understanding intricate design and interactions of elements of life with hands on training of various classical and modern methodologies.

Research curriculum with state-of-the art facilities attempts to understand how knowledge acquired through teaching can lead to understanding how life shapes up and propagates.

We offer a 5-year integrated MSc course to the NEST qualified students after +2 with the goal to produce world standard resources for future need of the country in academics and industry.

NISER also offers PhD program to the students who want to take their career further in science.

Vision

The School of Biological Sciences aims to establish itself as a leading international centre for research and teaching with harmonious synthesis of classical and modern biology.

Mission

To become a centre of excellence in education and research in biological sciences providing training at undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral level.

To provide effective interdisciplinary learning ambience through extensive subject coverage in all fields of modern biology and inter-phasing with other scientific disciplines.

To equip and nurture students to keep pace with recent developments in the field of

scientific research. To undertake high quality research activities in defined areas of biosciences so as to make

an impact at national and international level. To impart professional training for skilled human resource development across the state

and country through short term training courses. To develop state of the art infrastructure comparable to best anywhere in the world. School of Biological Sciences

Biology, which begins with the study of life and living organisms to understand their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution and taxonomy, has evolved to understand the properties of molecules of life (nucleic acids, proteins etc.). The subject of biology has even expanded to the extent that it not only tries to understand the molecules of life and their properties but also the interactions and networking among various molecules of life. By understanding the networking and the mechanisms underlying complex biological processes as integrated systems of many interacting components it is possible to understand laws governing intricate biological systems as well as to predict the systems properties. This power enables us to explore previously unreachable corners of life as well as leading to develop intervention which was not otherwise possible earlier.

In order to keep with the pace of progress in modern biology without compromising with the contribution of classical biology, School of Biological Sciences at NISER has designed its teaching courses in such a way that it could accommodate both aspects and train young minds in a way which would be unique as well as highly competent so that our students will be on high demand by the employers. Research goals of our schools are also in commensurate with such objectives. Complying with our goals we have started with a group of highly trained and very aspirant scientists and the search is ongoing to expand in the right direction on that note.

Ours is a dynamic and vibrant school with basic questions in mind to explore and pave the path for future biologists to carry forward the torch.

School of Chemical Sciences

The School of Chemical Sciences was established in 2007. Since its inception, the department has been engaged in imparting the highest level and quality of academic education and has focussed upon addressing key scientific problems.

The School of Chemical Sciences constitutes a 15 member faculty expertise in frontier areas of research. The main areas of research in the school include synthetic organic chemistry, quantum chemistry, inorganic materials, coordination chemistry, analytical

chemistry, bio-inorganic chemistry, bio-organic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, photochemistry, chemistry of heterocyclics, carbohydrates, peptides, nucleic acids, combinatorial chemistry, nanomaterial, supramolecular chemistry, molecular resonance, molecular reaction dynamics and spectroscopy. The entire faculty have the exposure and scopes to carry out independent research contributing towards the enhancement of academic and industrial interactions.

The main objectives of the School of Chemical Sciences are:

To provide a strong foundation to students in fundamentals of chemistry through courses offered by the department in the institute.

To provide broad based post-graduate programmes in chemistry with the aim of producing chemists with high professional competence and with awareness on the importance of chemistry in the technological world.

To carry out research in cutting-edge areas, both of basic and applied nature, on par with international standards and thereby educate and train M.Sc. and Ph.D. students to become world class scientists.

To develop state-of-the-art research facilities that would enable modern approach and solutions to a variety of problems in chemistry and chemical industry, collaborative projects with other science departments and close liaison with industrial undertakings.

The school imparts education towards the award of integrated M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Currently, there are 30 M.Sc students and 5 Ph.D. students. The integrated M.Sc syllabus provides a unified approach towards chemical sciences covering all branches of chemistry and no specialization is awarded. The curriculum is rigorous in accord to international standards and covers theory and practical courses with full emphasis to construct intellectual assets. The students are exposed to research activities from their fifth semester. A research project of one year is compulsory as a requisite for the partial fulfilment towards the award of degree. For the Ph.D. students, in addition to research, the institute provides them scopes to present their valuable results at national and international meetings and symposia.

The department is adequately equipped with the state-of-the-art instruments required to carry out modern day chemical research. The students are provided a comprehensive practical exposure to the various instrumental techniques required for their research.

The rigors of academic study at each level are balanced with a number of other related activities, which include co-curricular activities. Special lectures on varied topic of academic relevance are held under the extra mural lecture series.

The academic atmosphere at NISER, Bhubaneswar is a rare blend of modern day technical skills and the traditional emphasis on imparting knowledge. At the School of Chemical Sciences, we believe that chemistry is a team spirit. Hence our students grow enviable qualities like leadership, entrepreneurship and collective social citizens. Our students are assets to the nation and are global citizens in the true spirit.

School of Mathematical Sciences

“The laws of Nature are written in the language of mathematics.” - Galileo

“Mathematics - the unshaken Foundation of Sciences, and the plentiful Fountain of Advantage to human affairs.” - Isaac Barrow

The School of Mathematics

The School of Mathematics strives to become a citadel for mathematics and allied subjects in terms of teaching and research. In the process, it draws its sustenance from within the mathematics and the allied subjects and is poised for a rapid and tremendous growth which would ultimately earn international acclaim. This apart, School of Mathematics plays a critical and substantial role in NISER'S teaching and research mission towards the advancement of science. The School of Mathematics is committed to excellence in teaching and research in a wide variety of mathematical disciplines and has a vibrant academic and research ambience for faculties, students and visitors.

Faculty

We have an active, internationally-recognized faculty. They have a strong penchant for acquiring and updating their knowledge and imparting it to the students. The faculty members are active at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate programs, integrating their expertise with teaching to give all their students the best training possible.

Besides, they take an active role in developing and maintaining the curriculum and teaching methods. It includes experts in Algebra, Analysis, Applied and Computational Mathematics, Differential Equations and Dynamics, Mathematics Education, and Statistics.

Curriculum

The school currently, offers masters programme, M.Sc. (5-year integrated) in Mathematics and a strong Ph.D programme. The undergraduate program in the school is carefully designed to train the students to acquire creative mind and analytical skills that are needed to pursue their career. Both undergraduate and Ph.D students are encouraged in a in-depth program of study, which would ultimately lead to professional excellence in mathematical research, or in an area of application. The active fields of research covered, include real analysis, complex analysis,

harmonic analysis, functional analysis, combinatorics, graph theory and linear algebra, finite geometries, Computer Science, Discrete Mathematics, Cryptology, Coding Theory.

Outreach

The department keeps in pace with the advances in technology, by providing its students with separate and state-of-the-art computer facilities for the M. Sc/M. Tech. and Ph. D students. Thus, the students get an opportunity to gain knowledge of various new areas of research using the facilities available in their labs. The department also has its own library with a large collection of books on Mathematics and Computer Science.

Extension

In addition to formal courses and research, seminars are conducted regularly. In the seminars, outstanding mathematicians from throughout the world present their latest research findings in various fields of mathematics.

Road map

For its future growth, the School envisages to introduce strong curriculum in the fields of applied mathematics, financial mathematics and computer science so that students can take up prominent careers in financial/industrial establishments.

School of Physical Sciences

Physics is concerned with the most basic principles that underlie all phenomena in the universe. They search for the most elementary particles; they seek understanding of the behavior of collections of particles ranging from quarks in nuclei and electrons in atoms to stars in galaxies; they strive for insights into the nature of space and time, and they explore the behavior of matter and energy. On a more human scale, physicists study an enormous range of topics including all the devices of modern electronics, complex biological molecules, the atmosphere, and all forms of energy and its uses. Studying physics prepares some students to push back the boundaries of knowledge in this most fundamental of the natural sciences. For others it provides training in the concepts and methods of science for application in many professional areas, and for many it gives a more substantial basis for understanding many aspects of modern society. Despite all the breakthroughs of the 20th century, there are still so many fundamental questions to answer: what is dark matter? Why doesn’t gravity work like the other fundamental forces? How many universes are there? These are hard problems and we need the best brains out there to crack them.

The School of Physical Sciences is designed so that you can explore subjects in ways that interest you, as you develop your knowledge and understanding.

We offer excellent teaching: Our degree programs offer breadth as well as depth of learning, and our flexible approach gives you the opportunity to explore your individual interests within your chosen subject. We have a high faculty student ratio. We are constantly developing new courses and improving existing ones. Our courses are reviewed on a rolling basis both internally and externally. Problem solving and computing are already strong components of the program. The upper-level physics laboratories and independent research courses are structured to provide excellent opportunities for developing skills in both oral and written communication of technical material. Personal computers and computer systems are widely available. A computer facility is open to all majors, and there are computers in the lower level labs. All are linked through local networks and to national and worldwide networks. We carry out excellent research: You will be taught by physicists who are established researchers in their fields, ensuring you are taken to the very edge of current understanding. You get ample opportunities to get involved with our research. We offer a variety of options to suit your research interests, including solid state physics, nuclear and particle physics (both theory and experiments). This allows you to specialize in one particular science strand. Depending on your preferences you can choose theoretical projects in order to gain new and

improve existing theoretical skills, or you can choose an experimental project. Pursuing your project in one of our first class experimental groups gives you the chance to work with state-of-the-art equipment in order to develop your experimental skills. In condensed matter physics, the school has broad spectrum of research topics starting: electronic structure calculations of atoms, molecules and solids employing density functional methods and molecular dynamics, fundamentals of materials science and quantum chemistry, methods for ab initio firsts principles based studies of ground and excited electronic states and quantum transport of electrons in

materials (development and application), designing new materials for nano-electronics and green energy, simulation study of phase behavior and transport in simple and complex fluids, synthesis and understanding the novel materials and using ion and molecular beams, nano-photonics. The high energy physics covers the following research topics of interest: electroweak physics and CP violation. Collider physics, quantum chromo-dynamics and lattice gauge theory. To keep everyone up to date with the current research areas, we also regularly invite scientists/researchers for departmental seminars. We are friendly: From the moment you join the School of Physical Sciences here at NISER, you’re instantly part of what is a friendly and encouraging environment. We have large faculty to student ratio. So, faculty get to know the particular aspirations of the students and are quick to point out relevant opportunities and to tap into their network of contacts to help students get a foot in the door of their chosen career. Starting from first week, incoming students form lasting friendships with students in other year groups. Overall, the school is welcoming and supportive, with faculty members and students working side by side to create a first class environment, making your years at NISER the truly great journey a teaching and research institute experience should be.

ABOUT LOGO

National Institute of Science Education and Research has been established to promote and nurture excellence in education and research in basic sciences. The logo of NISER symlises important aspects of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. It is recognised that revolutionary discoveries are made with important ingredients such as intuition, creativity and imaginations. The central dividing strip is a DNA. The discovery of double helix structure was a major breakthrough in biology. It has been said that revealing the structure of DNA is the most important step forward in life sciences after Darwin's theory of evolution. The story of DNA is like thriller as has been narrated by Crick and Watson. On the left side is a Benzene ring. Kekule's idea revolutionised understanding of organic chemistry. The original idea that there are alternating single and double bonds in Benzene is very radical. The study of the nature of chemical bond, in the optics of quantum chemistry, has occupied several generations of chemists. The picture on the right hand side represents horizon of a black hole. Chandrashekar's seminal work, based on general theory, did not gain acceptance. However, subsequent works revealed his genius. Physics of the black hole is not understood completely to-day and it presents major challenges to conceptual foundations of physics. The ornamental fractal like structure with eight arms inside the circle is of deep mathematical significance. It represents a genus 2, compact Riemann surface of constant negative curvature. The theory of Riemann surfaces marks a significant advancement in various branches including physics and imaging human brain. The beauty of the above curve represents the beauty and elegance of mathematics.

CM Shri. Navin Patnaik planting a tree CM in the inaugural meeting of the new academic building

PM Dr. Manmohan Singh lays the foundation stone of NISER Prof. Jacques Faraut in DHA-11 Conference

 

National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) Institute of Physics Campus, Sachivalaya Marg,

PO : Sainik School, Bhubaneswar, Orissa – 751 005

Phone : +91-674-2304000 FAX : +91-674-2302436 Website : http://niser.ac.in e-mail : director@niser.ac.in