Report on PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES 2018-2019
Transcript of Report on PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES 2018-2019
Indo-U.S. Science and Technology ForumCatalyzing Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Cooperation
Report on PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
2018-2019
Indo-U.S. Science and Technology ForumCatalyzing Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Cooperation
Report on PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
2018-2019
Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum
The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America in March 2000, is an autonomous, bilateral organization jointly funded by both the Governments to promote science, technology, engineering and biomedical research and innovation through substantive interaction among Federal Agencies, Academia and Industry. The Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and the U.S. Department of State are the respective nodal departments.
From the Executive Director’s Desk 6
History of Indo-U.S. S&T Cooperation 8
IUSSTF: Vision, Mission and Objectives 9
Strategic Programs 11 y Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center y United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund
Indo-U.S. S&T Partnerships 35 y PACEsetter Fund y Partnerships for International Research and Education y Research Initiative for Real-Time River Water and Air Quality Monitoring
Bilateral Workshops 53
Indo-U.S. Virtual Networked Centers 79
Public-Private Partnership Programs 93
y DST-Lockheed Martin Innovation Growth Program y Women Entrepreneur Quest y Make Tomorrow for Innovation Generation
Visitation Programs 103 y Water Advanced Research and Innovation Fellowship Program y Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy Fellowship Program y Bioenergy-Awards for Cutting Edge Research y Building Energy Efficiency Higher & Advanced Network Fellowships y Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in STEMM y Indo-U.S. Genome Engineering/Editing Technology Initiative y American Society for Microbiology-IUSSTF Professorship in Microbiology y IUSSTF-American Physical Society (APS) Fellowships y Research Internships in Science and Engineering y Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide y Khorana Program for Scholars y IUSSTF - Viterbi Program y S.N. Bose Scholars Program y IRIS-ISEF
Key Contacts 149
Contents
I am extremely delighted to present this Programmatic Activities Report that summarizes the progress and accomplishments
of IUSSTF during the Indian fiscal year 2018-19.
Most of you might already know that we originally began with a small portfolio of networking activities comprising of Bilateral workshops/ Conferences and Virtual Centers. While these continue to be an important dimension of our work, we now have several other programs and mechanisms in our basket to carry forward and nurture those initial “points-of-contact” to manifest long-term collaborations. We support R&D programs in strategic areas of mutual interest such as Clean Energy, Environment, Water and Affordable Healthcare. We fund
translation of S&T driven innovations and ideas into market opportunities. In addition, we have a bouquet of fourteen designer fellowship programs, in diverse areas, to enable capacity building of the next generation of scientists and engineers.
This past year, in addition to our existing programs, a few new initiatives were formally announced and put into implementation. In order to further enhance the user experience of our stakeholders, we created a virtual platform for seamless connectivity and delivery of value-added services named “SPARK” (Scout for Partnerships, Resources and Knowledge). The intent is to create a formal network of IUSSTF stakeholders to establish not only an emotional
From the Executive Director’s Desk
Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum6
From the Executive Director’s Desk
bond of ownership with the organization, but more importantly to increase their levels of engagement with us.
In terms of furthering our institutional connections, we signed a three-year Agreement with the American Chemical Society (ACS) to partner and jointly envision initiatives in areas of joint interest. IUSSTF is currently implementing two major R&D initiatives in the areas of Smart Grids and Energy Storage (with support from the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and U.S. Department of Energy) and Real-time River Water and Air Quality Monitoring (with support from the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and Intel®), which are still in the early stages of operation. These initiatives as the titles suggest, deal with the globally relevant issues of Clean Energy and Environment that are critical to the well-being and long-term survival of the human race.
Over the past years, we have added new dimensions to the IUSSTF portfolio to cater to all segments of the S&T and entrepreneurial ecosystem in both the countries. Our
stakeholder base and operational efficiencies have multiplied several times over, and our outreach and brand value have gone up by several orders of magnitude through strategic partnerships with key constituents of the U.S.-India S&T ecosystem. While resources available to us through committed bilateral support have remained stagnant over the years, we have still managed to grow by roughly 20 orders of magnitude.
We continue to look for newer opportunities and mechanisms to further raise the level of this vibrant S&T cooperation in the bilateral space and hope to create more exciting and impactful initiatives in times to come. I would like to place on record my sincere gratitude and genuine appreciation to our patrons, partners and stakeholders for their support and participation to make these accomplishments possible. My special thanks are due to our Reviewers and Technical Experts for their very direct contribution and to my own Colleagues at IUSSTF for their most diligent efforts and creativity in implementing our myriad program portfolio.
Rajiv Kumar TayalExecutive Director, IUSSTF
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From the Executive Director’s Desk
� Green revolution facilitated with the U.S. PL 480 Rupee Funds
� Establishment of Land Grant Colleges1950s
� NASA-ISRO–SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment)
� Indo-U.S. S&T Subcommission1970s
� Indo-U.S. Fellowships Program
� ICAR MoU
� Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program
� DST-NSF Program
� NASA/NOAA-ISRO/DST MoU
� DBT/ICMR-NIH/CDC Health & Medical Sciences Program1990s
� Establishment of IIT, Kanpur
� Establishment of NCERT, New Delhi
� Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
� Tarapur Power Plant1960s
� STI (Science & Technology Initiative)
� USIF (U.S.-India Fund)1980s
� Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum � Indo-U.S. Science & Technology
Agreement y Indo-U.S. Binational S&T
Commission � High Technology Cooperation Group
(HTCG) � Indo-U.S. Strategic Partnership
y Information & Communication Technology
y Knowledge Initiative in Agriculture y Space Cooperation y Energy y Safety & Security y Health Sciences
� Indo-U.S. S&T Agreement/ Joint S&T Commission
� NASA-ISRO Agreement / MOES-NOAA Agreement
� Indo-U.S. Nuclear Agreement
� MoU on Energy Security, Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy and Climate Change
� U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund
� Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy Research & Development Centre
� India-U.S. Grand Challenge: Affordable Blood Pressure Measurement Technologies for Low-Resource Settings in India and the U.S.
� PACEsetter Fund
2000s
History of INDO-U.S. S&T Cooperation
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History of INDO-U.S. S&T Cooperation
IUSSTF: Vision, Mission and Objectives
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IUSSTF: Vision, Mission and Objectives
� Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation space through collaborative initiatives between Indian and the United States of America.
Vision
� Act as a catalyst to promote long-term scientific collaborations between India and the U.S. through partnership amongst individual scientists, scientific institutions and the scientific community at large.
� Establish platforms and mechanisms to connect the S&T eco-systems of both the countries to act as a fertile ground to foster individual and institutional partnerships in a natural and sustainable manner.
Mission
� Create awareness through exchange dissemination of Information and Opportunities in S&T cooperation.
� Capitalize and build on the scientific and technological synergy leading to long term partnership on shared values.
� Support exciting program portfolio that leads to sustainable interactions and strengthens strategic partnerships.
� Nurture contacts between young and mid-career scientists to develop mutual trust, foster excellence and explore new frontiers.
� Encourage public-private partnership to foster elements of Innovation, Application and Enterprise.
Objectives
Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC)
The Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy R&D Centre (JCERDC) is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt.
of India and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program began in the year 2012 with IUSSTF as the implmenting agency. The aim of the program was to facilitate joint research and development on clean energy technologies that may be deployed rapidly with the greatest impact. The JCERDC is based on a public-private partnership model of funding and is a first-of-its-kind initiative that has brought together more than 100 Indian and U.S. academic and industrial partners to work jointly in the space of clean energy research.
JCERDC Phase IThe three priority areas for cooperation under the first phase of the JCERDC were Solar Energy, Second Generation Biofuels, and Energy Efficiency of Buildings. The projects awarded under the First Phase were:
y The Solar Energy Research Institute for India and the United States (SERIIUS), co-led by the Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru (IISc) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
y The U.S.-India Joint Centre for Building Energy Research and Development (CBERD) co-led by CEPT University-Ahmedabad and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
y The U.S.-India Consortium for Development of Sustainable Advanced Lignocellulosic Biofuel Systems co-led by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology-Hyderabad and the University of Florida-Gainesville.
The above projects concluded after their 5 year tenures in March 2018. A Final Review Committee meeting for these projects was held at the IUSSTF Office, New Delhi on 25th March 2019. The committee was chaired by Prof. Anil Kakodkar (Chairman, Rajiv Gandhi Science & Technology Commission) and comprised of
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eminent experts from the relevant fields and representatives from the Govt. of India and IUSSTF. The Review Committee was of the opinion that the JCERDC model has been one of the largest and most succesful collaborative R&D initiatives. They noted that all three tracks had sucessfully achieved their objectives and mandates.
JCERDC Phase IIBased on the success of Phase I of the JCERDC, both countries decided to expand the “Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R)” to two new research areas critical to improving the reliability, flexibility, and efficiency of the electricity delivery system: Smart Grid and Energy Storage. This initiative was envisaged to bring together top researchers from both countries and generate key technological advancements through collaborations between the U.S. and India. The U.S. Department of Energy and the Government of India (through Ministry of Science and Technology) each committed $1.5 million per year over a five year period (with 50% cost share coming in from the consortium partners).
After a multi-level, bi-national review process, a consortium titled “UI-ASSIST: U.S.-India collAborative for smart diStribution System wIth Storage” led in India by Dr. Suresh C. Srivastava from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and in the United States by Prof. Noel Schulz from Washington State University, Pullman, was selected and awarded in September 2017.
Project Objectivesa. Develop and demonstrate the Distribution
System Operator (DSO) functions for optimal utilization and management of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) by interfacing with DER control and microgrid control system as well as analysis of prototype feeders with high penetration of energy storage.
b. Address communication needs; data needs; security, including cyber-security; economy and resiliency issues; social issues; workforce requirements; policy recommendations; and suitable DSO functions.
India USA
y Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur y Indian Institute of Technology Delhi y Indian Institute of Technology Madras y Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee y Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar y The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi y NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance,
Greater Noida y BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd., New Delhi y UP Power Corporation Limited, Lucknow y Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Gurgaon y Customized Energy Solution, Pune y GE Global Research, Bengaluru y Synergy Systems and Solutions, Gurgaon y Mindteck, Bengaluru y Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon
y Washington State University, Pullman y Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge y Texas A&M University, College Station y Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, Honolulu y Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls y Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley y Snohomish County Public Utility District, Everett y AVISTA Utilities, Spokane y Burns and McDonnell, Kansas City y ETAP, Operation technology, Inc., Irvine y National Rural Electric Cooperative Association,
Arlington y GE Grid Solutions, Redmond y Clean Energy Storage, Inc., Temecula y ABB Inc, Sugarland y Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia
Institutional Engagement: UI-ASSIST
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OverviewThe UI-ASSIST project activities are divided into eleven theme areas i) Finalizing Overall Project Management Architecture, ii) Distribution System Modeling and Benchmark System Development, iii) Energy Storage, iv) Microgrid and Active Distribution System, v) Cyber Security, vi) DSO Functions/Energy Management, vii) DSO- Market and Regulatory Issues, viii) Lab Testing and Validation, ix) Field Demonstration, x) Impact Analysis and Policy Recommendations, and xi) Workforce Development.
A Summary of the progress made by the Indian consortium members in collaboration with the U.S. lead team is as follows:
y After Kick off meeting of the project in October, 2017 and official launching on 18th November 2017 at IIT Delhi, periodic review meetings with the India team are being held electronically as well as physically, such as the one held on 24th February, 2018 at IIT Delhi and another on 8th July, 2018 at IIT Kanpur Noida centre.
y The main website of the project (URL: https://uiassist.org) and a project
management website using Redmine platform (URL: https://dash.uiassist.org) have been launched. Only the consortia members have secure access to the latter.
y Research work on control and protection of DC and AC microgrid with reduced communication, microgrid power management and control, virtual inertia control, power quality studies, and development of distributed secondary controller for DC microgrids have been carried out at IIT Kanpur. IIT Kanpur and TERI have started developing benchmark systems of semi-urban and urban microgrids.
y The research work already carried out at IIT Roorkee includes a novel load flow algorithm for AC-DC distribution network in presence of distributed generation. Research has also focused on control of DC microgrid and virtual generators. A multilevel converter configuration to integrate asymmetrical voltage rated DC buses to AC grid using open end transformer is proposed. Full scale test bed development is being developed to test the proposed research concepts.
y IIT Madras is working on control aspects
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of main voltage source inverter, DC to DC converters and AC to DC converters with appropriate interface with the main grid. The operation of the system in presence of storage and super-capacitor is also studied.
y IIT Bhubaneswar is engaged in development of grid resynchronization algorithm. The study of a microgrid under various fault scenarios is also being studied. A lab testbed is developed to verify the algorithms.
y Research work on AC microgrid protection has been initiated at IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Kanpur.
y The research works on energy storage are also initiated at various institutions. A simple linear degradation cost model for Li-ion battery is designed by IIT Roorkee to control the uncoordinated battery operation in the
scheduling process. IIT Kanpur has carried out storage planning study of their semi-urban pilot site, covering two lanes of residential area in the campus. IIT Bhubaneswar has developed a scheme for optimal charge and discharge scheduling of storage system. Depending on the solar-data, weather forecast, and load demand profile, a one-day-ahead optimal battery dispatch schedule is generated. This schedule aims at optimizing the battery utilization cost along with the cost of net energy consumption from the grid. IIT Bhubaneswar is also developing a simulation model for 55 kWh Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LiFePO
4) battery storage. TERI
has carried out initial studies on sizing of the battery storage for their various feeders planned to be used under their urban pilot. A Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
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sizing approach and methodology has been developed for overload management cum peak-shaving application for a Distribution Transformer (DT). Research work on Cyber Security measures are initiated at IIT Delhi. Also, research work has been initiated for tasks on DSO functions and energy management. This specifically pertains to planning and optimization of distribution networks. The procurement for test bed to be developed at IIT Delhi has been started with the purchase of real time digital simulator.
y The research works on Cyber Security measures for micro-grid are also initiated at IIT Kanpur. For anomaly detection in micro-grid distribution system, two algorithms were developed. The first algorithm using partially supervised machine learning
algorithm were developed. The second algorithm, based on unsupervised machine learning algorithm, has been implemented with the neural network architecture. The algorithm detected the anomaly based on reconstruction error.
y Procurement activities and site preparation for lab pilots are under progress. TERI has completed setting up the lab pilot.
y NETRA has completed setting up DC micro/mini-grid in their office complex at Greater Noida. Experiences related to control and protection thereof would be used for setting up a bigger size DC mini grid in a remote village/locality to improve quality of life near Rihand power plant of NTPC.
y IIT Kanpur along with a local NGO Shramik
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Bharati has completed the first round of social survey in the two village hamlets in Kanpur Nagar, selected for the rural pilot.
y Few rounds of consultations with villagers and local distribution utility Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (DVVNL) under UPPCL have been held to decide the site, mode of setting up the rural microgrid.
y The first Joint Meeting of India and U.S. Consortia Members was held during 2-3 August, 2018, at Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. It was organized by Washington State University, and attended by 14 persons from the Indian consortium including 5 Ph. D. students, Dr. Rajiv Kumar Tayal from IUSSTF, Dr. Sanjai Bajpai from DST, and Dr. M. Ramamoorty, Member Advisory Board from India. More than 35 persons attended from the U.S. including consortia members from different organizations, Advisory Board members, students and staff. Michael
Pesin, Merrill Smith and Elena Thomas-Kerr from the U.S. Department of Energy also attended the meeting. On 2nd August, 2018, a brief meeting with the U.S. leads and India team was held, followed by a reception to network for the participants from India and the U.S. The full day workshop on the project activities was held on 3rd August 2018.
y As part of the JCERDC, UI-ASSIST project activities, a two days’ workshop on 'Smart Grid Technology' was held during 13-14 February, 2019 at IIT Delhi. Over 60 participants mainly from utilities, industries and R&D organizations were present for the workshop.
y The First Project Monitoring Committee of the project was held on the 15th February 2019 at IIT Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Ramamoorthy, Former Chancellor, K. L. University, Vijayawada, and attended by domain experts and consortium members.
Project HighlightsS.No Details Numbers
1 Papers published in Journals 12
2 Papers presented in Symposia/ Conferences 37
3 Joint workshops conducted 1
4 Scientists/Faculty Exchange visits undertaken 6
5 Researcher/Student Exchange visits undertaken 3
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United States-India Science and Technology
Endowment Fund
The United States-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF) was established in 2009 by
the governments of the United States of America (through the Department of State) and India (through the Department of Science & Technology) for the promotion of joint activities that would lead to innovation and entrepreneurship through the application of science and technology.
The aim of the Fund is to support and foster joint applied R&D to generate public good through the commercialization of technology developed through sustained partnerships between U.S. and Indian researchers and entrepreneurs. These initiatives can originate from government, academic, non-governmental or commercial entities, and any combination thereof provided they focus on applied R&D, incorporate a business plan and proof of commercial concept, and have significant sustainable commercial potential. Through a competitive grants program, the Fund selects and supports financially promising joint
U.S.-India entrepreneurial initiatives that address the theme of "commercializing technologies for societal impact” by providing grants of up to Rs. 2.50 crores or approximately $400,000 (subject to prevailing exchange rate) in two broad areas: -
Healthy individual: Focus on the development of affordable biomedical devices, diagnostic/preventive/curative measures, or food and nutrition products to improve health. (Drug development and clinical trials are not eligible activities).
Empowering citizens: Focus on to reduce the digital/technology divide including information and communication technologies with societal impact in areas such as water, agriculture, financial inclusion, education and others sectors.USISTEF has thus far supported 32 joint U.S.-India entrepreneurial projects through Eight Calls. The U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund activities are implemented and administered through the bi-national Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
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Projects CompletedThe following projects were successfully concluded and administratively closed in 2018-19:
S.No. Title of the Project Indian PI U.S. PI
1Developing Novel Biological Seed Treatments to confer Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crops
Anup KarwaSFPL Crop Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Jalna
Rusty RodriguezAdaptive Symbiotic Technologies, Seattle
2Commercializing a Transformation-al Modular Roofing Solution for Low-income Urban Homes
Hasit GanatraReMaterials, Ahmedabad
Shashi BuluswarLIGTT Corporation, Oakland
3Modular Diagnosis of Cervical Can-cer utilizing Smartphone Diagnostics and Artificial Intelligence
Adarsh NatarajanAindra Systems (P) Ltd., Bengaluru
Louis AugusteAlexpath, New York
4Digital Braille Accessibility for the Blind Made Affordable by Magnetic Actuator Technology
Surabhi SrivastavaInceptor Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
Shraddha SangelkarThe Pennsylvania State University, Erie
Projects Currently Underway1. Transforming Arsenic and Fluoride Crisis in Drinking Water into an Economic Enterprise
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Abhijeet GanRite Water Solutions (I) Pvt. Ltd. Nagpur, Maharashtra
Minhaj ChowdhuryWIST Inc., Texas
Mike GermanWIST Inc., Texas
Arup K. SenGupta WIST Inc., Texas
Up to 100 million people across 18 of India’s 23 states are at risk of experiencing arsenic and fluoride poisoning from drinking naturally contaminated groundwater, resulting in potentially hundreds of thousands of people suffering from cancers, bone deformities and early death. The project scales-up production
and validates the effectiveness of HIX-Nano technology that is the first adsorbent for both fluoride and arsenic with high capacity across all relevant water conditions. Unlike active Alumina or Reverse Osmosis, this technology uses an ion exchange resin that selectively removes arsenic and fluoride contaminants.
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The polymer beads form the ion exchange resin material within which nanoparticles of Titanium oxide, Zirconium oxide and Iron oxide are infused. These in turn selectively pick up
arsenic and fluoride. The energy needed for using this technology is minimal as compared to other energy-intensive processes like Electro-fluoridation and Reverse Osmosis.
2. Moving Beyond the Pavement: Affordable Mobility for Users around the World
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Sudhir MehtaPinnacle Industries Ltd. Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh
Tish Scolnik Global Research Innovation and Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
People with disabilities face challenges, as regular wheelchairs do not meet most of their needs. Over 75% of them live in rural areas, where standard wheelchairs just do not work
- they are hard to push, they break easily, and they cannot be repaired locally. The Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC) is an all-terrain wheelchair designed to meet the needs of people with
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disabilities. Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC3) combines the mobility offered by LFC1 with the folding and manufacturing improvements of LFC2. This would be achieved by integrating the Lever Drive-train in its mechanism which
allows it to create more torque. Another equally unique technical feature of the chair is its front wheel that allows it to move over obstacles and yet remain comfortable by absorbing shocks.
3. Handheld Forced Oscillation Device for Improved Detection and Monitoring of Airway Diseases
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Anurag AgarwalCSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi
Ashutosh SabharwalCognita Labs LLC, Houston, Texas
The team from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Medicine and Cognita Labs LLC is developing the world’s first handheld, low-cost, portable and battery-powered Forced Oscillation Technique (FOT) device, called PulmoScan, for measurement of lung function. PulmoScan, is a next generation of smart portable airway diagnostic device, with an assistive coaching tablet application and a cloud support. The key breakthrough here is in co-designing the hardware and signal processing algorithms for accurate flow design, combined
with accounting for the unique features of human breathing. The device’s innovative zero-effort, quick test makes it possible to integrate respiratory diagnosis in primary-care work flows and to customize its use in different contexts. PulmoScan allows minimally trained medical professionals to conduct accurate airway testing, including small airways at the periphery of the lung. The device is suitable for testing patients who are very young (<3 years), elderly or highly debilitated.
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4. JaipurBeltTM (Belt System for Body Support)
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Ganesh Ram JangirNewndra Innovations Private Limited, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Paul ScottMedSpark, LLC, San Luis Obispo, California
The JaipurBeltTM is a lightweight, protective and therapeutic device that supports the backbone. Complete with a shoulder strap, thigh pad and a back strap; the load is diverted from the lower back to the thigh region. It is an efficient and economical exoskeleton that supports the
spine and waist by sharing physical workload up to a predefined, variable limit without restricting body movements. Weighing 1.5kg, it will particularly help people who work in the manufacturing, construction and other labour-intensive industrial and agricultural sectors.
5. Wireless Sensor-based Wearable Device for Heart Disease Management
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Ravi BhoguMonitra Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, Telangana
Joseph S. MenezesDuPont, Sunnyvale, California
Some abnormal heart rhythms can be serious or even fatal, and a 24-hour (or longer) recording of the heartbeat is often necessary to detect any rhythm problem that occurs daily but not constantly. ECG and Holter device are conventionally used for such heartbeat
monitoring purposes. The team has developed a wireless, wearable device for cardiac patients as a replacement for conventional ECG and Holter device for early diagnosis and management of heart rhythm disorders. The device would be significantly cheaper leading
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to enhanced affordability and improved user experience and compliance. The device uses a single patch made of breathable polymeric material with long lasting adhesion to capture the signal, which otherwise are sensed through multiple locations in the body using conventional protocols. In addition, the breathable polymeric material (a monolithic film) would prevent external moisture and air from penetrating through the material while allowing excess moisture to escape from the inside. The role of the device is to acquire signals, digitize and compress
them, and then wirelessly transmit them to a server. The server then applies computation to generate meaningful reports for physicians.
6. Development and Certification of a Super affordable, Rugged, Reliable, Connected, and Easy-to-use Defibrillator with a Built-in Power Source for Low-resource Settings
Principal Investigators
INDIA
Ashish Gawade Jeevtronics Pvt. Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra
Aniruddha AtreJeevtronics Pvt. Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. If this happens, blood stops
flowing to the brain and other vital organs. SCA usually causes death if it is not treated within minutes. India’s (and other developing
Solution
No Wires
*Patent Pending
Breathable Water-resistant
Confidential
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countries) death rate due to SCA is 3 to 4 times that of developed countries. This is largely due to inadequate availability of Defibrillators. The defibrillator designed by the team with a built-in hand-cranked generator would enable it to work in un-electrified areas or areas without continuous power. Further, the device is engineered to withstand harsh conditions
in developing countries such as grid power fluctuations, impact, vibrations etc. making it rugged. Batteries are completely eliminated thus making the device virtually maintenance-free and highly reliable. The product’s price point would be around Rs. 85,000 as compared to a similar product of Philips which is priced at Rs. 250,000.
7. Non-Stress Foetal Heart Rate monitoring tool for Ante-natal Check-up
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Balaji TeegalaBrun Health Private Limited, New Delhi
Ivan TzvetanovBerkeley, California
The team has developed a biomedical device for monitoring foetal heart rate during the course of pregnancy to help clinicians screen high-risk
cases and take decisions regarding possible interventions to reduce the high rate of stillbirths. The device is based on plurality of Ultrasound
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and Doppler sensors and captures the foetal movement without causing any stress to the baby. An algorithm analyzes the data to determine if it is reactive or non-reactive. A simple LED indicator then shows whether the baby is safe or not. The device is compact and is equipped to gather data
and transmit it through a smart phone by primary healthcare workers to a point where they can be clinically examined. Its technology ensures easy detection of vital signs improving its ability while keeping costs manageable.
8. Millimeter Wave Transceiver Development for High Bandwidth Secure Communication
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Neha SatakAstrome Technologies Pvt. Ltd.Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Raghunath DasAniaraSpaceCom LLC, Princeton, New Jersey
The project involves high-bandwidth mm-wave wireless communication technology that has applications both in terrestrial and space sectors, coupled with space internet transponder, which will enable access to low cost, high-speed internet, to facilitate point-to-multipoint link
formation through a key-patented technology. The proposed development of microwave equipment supports communication between towers at 20+Gbps speeds as compared to 1-2Gbps available today.
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9. Blood Cell Counter for Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Usama Ahmed AbbasiPratimesh Labs Pvt. Ltd (MicroX Labs), IndianInstitute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Leanna LevineAline Inc., Rancho Dominguez, California
The project proposes an automated point-of-care device for performing rapid Complete Blood Count (including a three-part leukocyte differential count, hemoglobin measurement in parallel to erythrocytes and platelet count at the point-of-care on the same chip) using a single cartridge for low-resource settings based on single-cell impedance measurement
in conjunction with a patented micro fluidic device. Innovations in the cartridge include fluid storage system on-chip without any blister; easy fluid dispensing system without the need of any external actuator; size of the disposable cartridge is 64mm x 43 mm; and, weight of the instrument is less than 4 kg.
10. Lightweight, Ultra-Fast, Next-Generation Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanners
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Arjun ArunachalamVoxelgrids Innovations Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, Karnataka
Shahin PourrahimiSuperconducting Systems Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts
The team is developing the first liquid helium-free, commercial high-field full body MRI Scanner that would impart acceleration in the imaging process as compared to current scanners.
Ownership costs were expected to come down by 3-4x and the device would be 60% lighter in weight as compared to existing solutions. The technology enables increased patient
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throughput by enhancing system utilization, and expands the scope of MRI to real-time imaging of moving organs such as the heart
and the abdomen. Its electricity consumption is 40 percent less than conventional MRIs.
11. Continent Ostomy Management Device
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Pranav ChopraCrimson Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
Peter ThierXimedica, Providence, Rhode Island
The project proposes the development of SphinX – a novel ostomy management system that provides a safe, secure, discreet, accessory-free and cost-effective solution for colostomates and ileostomates. The soft, pliable
and insertable SphinX port is replaced every 29 days, and does not need supporting accessories such as adhesives, belts etc. It also eliminates bag-associated skin excoriations. SphinX will improve the patient’s overall quality of life and
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provide them confidence in performing day-to-day activities while eliminating all complications caused by current products. While currently
an ostomate spends USD 45-70 per month in the United States; the selling price of SphinX is estimated at USD 30 or INR 1,800 per month.
12. Test4Safety: Detection of Adulteration in commonly consumed liquids.
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Deepa BhajekarD Technology Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra
Deepak MehrotraOak Analytics Company, Agoura Hills, California
The technology involves a handheld pocket scanner that transmits a low-power laser beam into the test sample. The captured Raman response is compared to the “golden signature” in Oak's (U.S. Partner) cloud-based database. The user gets instant verification on their phones if the food product is genuine. The U.S. Partners’ role relates to opto-electronic design and application/cloud software comprising of patented technology that measures the spectral response of the food item. The Indian
Partner’s role is to help validate the equipment being developed by using pure unadulterated samples of different types (brands) of oils, milk etc. and identifying specific identity markers of these samples. The product will have built-in capability for self-calibration and temperature compensation to allow for its usage in extreme weather conditions. Machine learning algorithms will allow the evolution of databases to adapt to natural aging in products.
13. Precise Fertilizer Applicator for Doubling Farmers' Profits and Reducing Environmental Damage including Soil, GHG & Water
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Ayush NigamDistinct Horizon Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, Telangana
Nathalie CollinsIDEO.org, San Francisco, California
13
Yr 1 Milestone Completion d technology
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The current method of fertilizer application results in up to 70% wastage, which drastically degrades the soil, pollutes water and yet does not improve productivity. This project proposes precision application of fertilizer through a powered Urea Deep Placement (UDP) applicator
that is integrated with soil testing. The team claims 25% increase in yields; 40% reduction in fertilizer consumption; 7-8 times reduction in labour requirement; doubling of farmers' profits; and increasing soil organic content.
14. Low cost companion diagnostic test for predicting benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in ER+ breast cancer
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Vani ParmarTata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Anant MadabhushiCase Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Mark LloydInspirata, Inc., Tampa, Florida
There has been a dramatic increase in breast cancer incidence over the last decade, which has led to an increased demand for predictive and prognostic companion diagnostic (CDx) assays to ascertain the aggressiveness of cancer phenotypes so that patients with less aggressive biology can be spared chemotherapy. Predictive CDx assays can also aid in design of clinical trials, and help reduce healthcare costs by optimizing treatment regimens. This project
Scientific Fertilizer Application Technology(International Patents Filed)
Doubling Farmers’ Profits Sustainably
INDIAN PARTNER: US PARTNER:
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proposes an accurate and low-cost prognostic test based solely on digitized Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) tissue slides for identifying which Indian women with Estrogen Receptor positive (ER+) breast cancers will receive additional benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. The
technology (image-based risk score; IbRiS) uses computerized image analysis algorithms and needs digitally scanned tissue slide images. IbRiS would have significant cost advantages over molecular-based tests ($50-75 vs. $4,000 per test).
15. Blood Test for All Forms of Active Tuberculosis (TB) for Commercialization in India
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Sarman SinghAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Vivek ChandraNextGen InVitro Diagnostics (P) Ltd, New Delhi
Imran KhanUniversity of California Davis, Sacramento, California
According to a WHO Report in 2016, India ranks at the top among the tuberculosis (TB) endemic countries because TB case detection is inadequate and there are no good diagnostics available for pulmonary, extra-pulmonary and pediatric TB. This project proposes the development of a multiplex blood-based test (RU-1) for the detection of all forms of TB. The test can be used on dried blood spots (ensures easy collection in remote areas); displays 91% - 96% specificity; is instrument agnostic and runs on multiple systems. RU-1 has high throughput (upto
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360 patients/day) and with automation, it can analyze thousands of samples per day. It is suitable for high-burden settings and provides quick turnaround of results when patient loads are high. These are major advancements over
the current front line, WHO recommended, sputum smear (SS) AFB-microscopy test with low sensitivity (~50%) and throughput. One RU-1 kit will provide from 1-90 tests (for up to 90 patients) and each test is priced at INR 500/-.
16. VECTRAX: an Efficacious Long Lasting Semiochemical Based Attract and Kill Formulation for Management of Mosquito Vectors of Human Diseases
Principal Investigators
INDIA U.S.
Markandeya GorantlaATGC Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Secunderabad, Telangana
Agenor Mafra-NetoISCA Technologies, Riverside, California
The project aims at commercializing a unique, efficacious and long-lasting semiochemical-based attract and kill (A&K) formulation to control Dengue, Zika, Malaria, Chikungunya and Filariasis Mosquito Vectors. The product Vectrax, is a patented floral attractant and phagostimulant blend of sugars and proteins with lethal doses of insecticide that lures the mosquito to feed continuously until it is fully engorged. Vectrax is a slow-release, sprayable
formulation, that can be used through micro and macro bait stations and can sustain its A&K capacity in the field for weeks at a time. The product will be optimized for deployment in India as part of various Mosquito-control programs. Prototype formulations for use as passive traps could cost as low as Rs. 12/- per unit, Rs. 30/- per unit for the macro bait stations, and around Rs. 350/- per acre treated with the A&K micro baitstation dollops (sprayed).
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USISTEF Program: 9th CallThe 9th Call for Proposals under the USISTEF program closed on 15th June 2018 and IUSSTF received 389 applications – 217 in the Healthy Individuals (HI) category and 172 in the Empowering Citizens (EC) category. As the first step, all 389 applications were screened internally by IUSSTF to examine eligibility. Following this, 210 applications in the HI category and 170 applications in the EC category were shortlisted for review by the Joint Expert Panel (JEP). The JEP shortlisted 48 proposals in the EC category and 44 in the HI category for Stage-I. These detailed proposals were then reviewed by the JEP and 12 applications in EC Category and 9 applications in HI category were invited for in-person presentations to the Joint Experts Panel (JEP) at Washington DC on 24-25 September 2018. The JEP shortlisted 9 projects (5 in HI and
4 in EC) for subsequent site-visits and Financial Due-Diligence. The Due-Diligence Committee met on 14th November 2018 and reviewed the 9 shortlisted projects. Following this, the Nineteenth Meeting of the U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment Board (USISTEB) was held via DVC on 19th December 2018 under the Co-Chairmanship of Mr. H. K. Mittal, Head, National S & T Entrepreneurship Development Board, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India (Indian Co-Chair) and Mr. J. Robert Garverick, Minister Counselor, Economic, Environment, Science & Technology Affairs, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi (U.S. Co-Chair). The U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment Board recommended the following six projects for support:
S. No. Project Title Lead Partner India Lead Partner U.S.
1 Low Cost, Anti-counterfeiting labels
Deepak GuptaIndian Institute of Technology Kanpur Sudhanshu Bahadur
Ampora LLC, Cupertino Pranav AsthanaTranspacks Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Kanpur
2MIRACLE Dialysis - Wearable Alternate Kidney
Gowrishankar WuppuluruPadmaseetha Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Chennai
Beth KolkoShift Labs, Seattle
3ArmAble: An Interactive Arm Training Rehabilitation Device
Habib AliBeAble Health Pvt Ltd.Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Ramana Kumar VinjamuriStevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken
4
Commercialization of Advanced Multi-layer Wound Dressing, for Accelerated Healing and Infection Prevention of Indian Diabetic Foot Patients
Vijay ViswanathanMV Hospital for Diabetes and Prof M. Viswanathan Diabetes Research Centre, Chennai
Ashwinraj KarthikeyanInMEDBio LLC, Neenah
5Lab-on-a-strip (LOS) : Towards Multi-analyte Screen Printed Biosensor Strips
Vinay KumarPathShodh Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru
Erik SventeckisGSI Technologies, Burr Ridge
6GaN based High Power LNA for 5G Applications
Yogesh Singh ChauhanIndian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Amitava DasTagore Technology Inc., Arlington Heights
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Indo-U.S. PACEsetter Fund
In 2013, the Governments of India and the United States of America launched Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE)
as a new track under the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) alongside the existing research (PACE-R) and deployment (PACE-D) tracks. PEACE aims to harness commercial enterprise to bring clean energy to individuals and communities unserved and underserved by the electricity grid.
In June 2015, the PACEsetter Fund was established to support the PEACE initiative
by providing early-stage grant funding to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy products, systems, and business models. The Fund’s main purpose is to improve the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses that sell small scale (under 1 megawatt) clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid connected power or with limited/intermittent access. The bi-national Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) is the Administrator of this Fund.
In the first round of funding, the following 9 projects were selected for award:
S. No. Project Title Lead OrganizationOther
Partnering Organization
1High rate biomethanation of organic waste for generation of power for off-grid applications
Ahuja Engineering Services Pvt Ltd (AES), Secunderabad
-
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S. No. Project Title Lead OrganizationOther
Partnering Organization
2
Unlocking clean home energy for the base of the pyramid: Developing and Piloting the World’s First Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) integrated home energy system in India
BioLite, Brooklyn, New York -
3 Waste to energy innovation at small-scale Grassroots Energy Inc., Massachusetts
SEWA Bharat, New Delhi
4
Remote performance monitoring & outsourced service management of solar pumps and off-grid solar PV plants through an online portal with pilot demonstration projects in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh states of India
Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Limited, Hyderabad
-
5
Creation of an innovative market maker debt provider (incorporated as cKers Finance Private Limited) to catalyze growth of market players in Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) based energy access projects
Energy Development Finance Company (EDFC), Ahmedabad
Legal entity: cKers Finance Private Limited (cKers), New Delhi
-
6Development of user friendly gasifier and engine system for irrigation
OptimaHeat Technologies, Paramakudi
-
7 Microgrid remote monitoring & controlCustomized Energy Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., Pune
-
8 Solar PV micro grids for remote hamlet electrificationMera Gao Micro Grid Power Pvt Ltd, Lucknow
-
9 Powering agriculture: Community based solar pumps Environment Conservation Society (Switch ON), Kolkata
-
A Techno-Financial Expert Committee meeting (TFEC) comprised of subject experts, members from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India (MNRE), U.S. Embassy and IUSSTF was convened in November 2018 at IUSSTF for the monitoring of four projects of Round I and for deliberation and shortlisting of the detailed proposals under PSF-Round II. On receiving approvals from MNRE in January 2019, 14 teams
have been shortlisted for technical presentation before the Committee and submission of the financial information along with the discussion. The teams presented their project ideas and financial details about their submitted proposals before the Committee in February 2019. The final selection of awards under the Round II is underway.
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Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE)
Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) is a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), program that
supports international activities across all NSF-supported disciplines. PIRE seeks to catalyze a higher level of international engagement in the U.S. Science and Engineering community which is essential to addressing critical science and engineering problems. With this background, in 2014 the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory Body established by Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, entered into a formal understanding with NSF to partner for the PIRE program. The program is administered in India through the binational Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
The primary goal of PIRE is to support high quality projects in which advances in research and education could not occur without international collaboration. PIRE promotes excellence in science and engineering through international collaboration and facilitates development of a diverse, globally-engaged science and engineering workforce. PIRE support high quality research and education projects across all disciplines, which are highly collaborative in nature.
Under the 2014 call, “GROWTH - Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen”, an international collaborative network of astronomers and telescopes dedicated to the study of short lived cosmic transients was selected for award.
Principal Investigators
G. C. AnupamaIndian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru
Mansi M. KasliwalCalifornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena
The Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH) is a network of observatories with a collection of telescopes around the world positioned in a way that allows the collaboration to observe a transient event uninterrupted by daylight. It is an international partnership created by researchers from seven countries pooling their resources towards common scientific goals. GROWTH is poised to discover many fast transients with the advent of the next generation of wide-field synoptic imaging with the Zwicky Transient Facility (2017) and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (2022).
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Partnering Institutions
India : Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and AstrophysicsU.S.A : San Diego State University, University of Maryland, Pomona College, University of
Wisconsin, Los Alamos National LaboratoryJapan : Tokyo Institute of TechnologySweden : Oscar Klein Center at Stockholm UniversityIsrael : Weizmann Institute of ScienceTaiwan : National Central UniversityGermany : Humboldt University of Berlin
An extension for two years was granted to the project considering the progress made during the first three years of the project tenure.
Hanle: the site of GROWTH-India telescope.
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Research Initiative for Real-Time River Water and Air Quality Monitoring
Recognizing the need for developing online River Water and Air Quality monitoring (WAQM) systems in the frontier areas
of sensor technology, data communication and data analysis, the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India (DST) and Intel® have collaborated to jointly initiate a research program titled “Research Initiative for Real-time River Water and Air Quality Monitoring”. The program is being administered by the binational Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
The WAQM program aims to develop key technologies for sensing, communication and analysis of large scale data collected from autonomous networks of perpetual/ long lived sensor nodes, followed by integration and
deployment for water and air quality monitoring in real time. It is envisaged to develop tools and constituent blocks that will enable end to end water and air quality monitoring systems on smart, networked, low cost, low power sensor nodes with large scale cloud based data analysis. The Four Research Vectors (RV) identified for study are:-
1. Sensing and Sense making at the Edge
2. Novel energy harvesting technologies
3. Ultra low power wireless networking
4. Distributed analytics and sense making
After a comprehensive review, two projects each in Air and Water Quality Monitoring were selected for award.
A summary of the progress of these four projects is provided below:
Air Quality Monitoring
I. Title : Streaming Analytics over Temporal Variables from Air quality Monitoring (SATVAM)
Partnering Institutions, India Partnering Institutions, USA
y Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK)
y Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
y Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru
Other Industrial Partners:
y Respirer Living Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
y Duke University (DU), Durham
This inter-disciplinary team is working to develop affordable real-time air-quality monitoring devices based on scientifically calibrated low-power and low-cost sensors, and advanced analytics. The eventual goal of this initiative is to help build a sustainable nationwide real-
time urban air quality monitoring network by leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
SATVAM has 4 research vectors: (i) To methodically calibrate low-cost PM2.5, PM10, O
3 and NOx
sensors, leading to auto-calibration using
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edge analytics; (ii) Utilize energy harvesting technologies to power the devices, with an emphasis on using a Fresnel lens concentrator to improve the photovoltaic energy efficiency; (iii) Leverage low-power networking and IoT protocols such as 6LoWPAN for reliable communication; and (iv) Use machine learning models for analytics and fabric health management on the edge and cloud.
During the first year of the Project, the SATVAM team has accomplished the following milestones:
y Gas Sensor Interface and Low-Power Communications Stack
Team has developed a detailed understanding of the Alphasense NO
2-B
43F and O
3-B
4 analog
sensors to enable hardware and software interfacing. The design of a generic platform for interfacing various gas, PM, temperature and humidity sensors are underway. Four preliminary SATVAM air quality monitoring devices have been built by the team and is currently undergoing evaluation. A highly configurable software stack based on ContikiOS has been developed for transmitting data from the sensor nodes to the Raspberry Pi (RPi) border router over 6LoWPAN open standard. Further, a resilient and scalable software stack on the border router performs basic analytics like averaging and persists the real-time data stream to the Cloud for further visualization on a dashboard.
y Roadmap for Data Sciences & Analytics for Sensor Air quality datasets
Following are some of the key aspects that are being looked
into from the Data Sciences perspective:
- Identify statistical algorithms for data fitting and sensor calibration.
- Identify and train machine learned models for sensor calibration.
- Deploy calibration models to the edge for computation, offline and dynamically (also helps with city-scale deployment).
- Identify statistical and machine-learned algorithms for health, performance and failure modelling.
- Deploy alerts and notifications for fabric management using health models (helps with city-scale deployment).
y Strategy for the city-scale deployment
The current SATVAM gas sensor deployments consist of 2 SATVAM sensor nodes consisting of NO
x, O
3, PM, Temperature & Humidity sensors
co-located with reference grade equipment at MRIU, Faridabad. Additional co-location site has
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also been setup at IIT Bombay with the MPCB gas sampler equipment. The next phase of scaling up will involve additional 40 monitors deployed – 25 of these in Kanpur & 15 monitors in Mumbai, both at the respective IIT campus.
The strategy for city-scale deployment are as follows:
- Validate and enhance scalability of individual edge middleware.
- Validate and enhance scalability of edge and cloud middleware and IoT fabric for city scale deployment using VIoLET (VIoLET is the Data Sciences algorithms & platform from IISc).
- On the low-power communication stack, currently 6LoWPAN based communication stack has been used. Extensive field
evaluations of the communication stack will be done & based on that the suitability for this stack for city-scale deployments will be decided.
- On the SATVAM device side, custom sensor-interface & ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) circuit boards are being developed which will lower costs & optimize performance of the devices. These custom circuit boards will be used in the city-scale deployments.
- In the power module part, the Fresnel lens based concentrator is being designed in order to bring down the required panel area. The issue of dust removal for the panel/concentrator surface is being contemplated to be automated for long term intervention-free operation.
Figure 1: The overall scheme for the simultaneous GPR and simple linear regression calibration model (Zheng, T., S.N. Tripathi et al., 2019, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, under review)
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II. Title: High resolution air quality monitoring and air pollutant data analytics
Partnering Institutions, India Partnering Institutions, USA
y Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru
y CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), Pilani
y University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles
The project addresses three interrelated problems:
1. Development and validation of a low-cost sensor array system to measure parameters needed for air quality index determination.
2. Deployment of sensors at city scale for obtaining high quality air quality data at high spatio-temporal resolution and low cost.
3. Development of novel low cost sensors calibration techniques using statistical and modelling tools.
y Objective 1Metal oxide gas sensor chips for detecting CO, CO
2, NO
2 and SO
2 have been fabricated
at IISc (Figure 3). In parallel, sensing characterizations have been performed at different combinations of temperature and humidity. A sensor calibration protocol has been adopted, along the lines adopted by European Union. All calibration experiments will be in adherence with the defined protocol. Furthermore, the design and specification for the AQ sensor array (AirCeNSE 2.0) were finalized (Figure 4) and prototypes produced. Simultaneously, CEERI Pilani has been working on development of Volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensors and University of Southern California has been developing ozone sensor based on Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR) method.
Figure 4: Air CeNSE 2.0 box
Figure 2: Linear regressions between aggregated PM2.5 mass concentrations (µg m−3 ) of the E-BAM and the two uncalibrated PMS3003 sensors at 1 and 24 h time intervals during the monsoon season (from 8 to 29 June 2017) and the post-monsoon season (from 23 October to 16 November
2017) at IIT Kanpur. (Zheng, T., S.N. Tripathi et al., 2018, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 11(8),4823–4846)
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at IISc (Figure 3). In parallel, sensing characterizations have been performed at different combinations of temperature and humidity. A sensor calibration protocol has been adopted, along the lines adopted by European Union. All calibration experiments will be in adherence with the defined protocol. Furthermore, the design and specification for the AQ sensor array (AirCeNSE 2.0) were finalized (Figure 4) and prototypes produced. Simultaneously, CEERI Pilani has been working on development of Volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensors and University of Southern California has been developing ozone sensor based on Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR) method.
Figure 4: Air CeNSE 2.0 box
y Objective 2
As part of the initial deployment phase along the IISc campus and in Electronic City, LoRa network was set up for collecting data from the different sensors (Climo and AirCeNSE) and anemometers. Cameras, combined with vehicle counting algorithms, were used to estimate the number and type of vehicles on the road adjacent to the deployed sensors. After testing, an array of AirCeNSE sensors will be deployed at
other locations as well. CEERI Pilani is ready to deploy the multi-sensor platform for CO, SO
2,
NO2 and NO. Furthermore, initial versions of a
low-power smartphone-based personal AQM platform and a high-precision fixed node have been developed. The sensors developed by the different partners in the consortium will finally be integrated into one sensor box that can be deployed in a fashion similar to that shown in Figure 5.
y Objective 3
Preliminary statistical analysis of measured pollutant data from the IISc campus and Electronic City using Bosch CLIMO have been performed. The analysis allows to identify the seasonality and drift components in the measured pollutant data. For example, Figure 6 shows the seasonal component for CO concentration over each day of the week.
The data is from sensors in IISc campus and Electronic City. Unlike at IISc, a strong weekly seasonality is observed at Electronic City, which is a busy office locality.
Figure 3: Metal oxide sensor component view
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In a network of sensors there are two main limitations to obtaining robust measurements, viz., 1) Measurement of each sensor is noisy and 2) Sensors can acquire drift due to
degradation originating from electronic noise to meteorological factors. Noisy measurements can be addressed by clustering the correlated sensors while the drift detection can be inferred
Figure 5: Bosch CLIMO sensor deployment at IISc campus, along with anemometer
Figure 6(a): IISc Campus Figure 6(b): Electronic City
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by the increase in the cost function associated to clustering (which can be seen as a measure of the variance of the system). Consequently, a class of algorithms for drift detection and the approximate time of drift acquisition in a sensor network have been developed. In the next step,
the algorithms will be validated using real data obtained from the network of 50 Bosch CLIMO sensors. The goal would be to obtain robust measurements and identify drifting sensors that would then need to be recalibrated.
Water Quality Monitoring
III. Title: Design and Development of Aquatic Autonomous Observatory (Niracara Svayamsasita VedhShala - NSVS) for In situ Monitoring, Real Time Data Transmission and Web based Visualization
Partnering Institutions, India Partnering Institutions, USA
y Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK)
Other Industrial Partners:
y Kritsnam Technologies, Kanpur
y Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
The project team proposes to design and develop low-cost, multi-parameter, water quality monitoring platforms that would consist of array of sensors and Auto Sampler placed on a stationary platform for all-weather, robust, stable and semi-submersible mechanical system. For self-sustenance, the platform will be equipped with different energy harvesting systems. Long ranged, low power, Wireless communication technology that can work in open-source ecosystem will be adopted for data communication. At the final phase, a mobile platform will be developed for the inspection of
pollution sources from the river tributaries.
In the first phase of development, the team were able to develop an initial concept that was stable and could house all river profiling systems, while the wireless communication system was chosen according to the specified needs of the project. An initial hydrodynamic model was developed to aid in analysing the stability of the system as well as ascertaining the waterline, Centre of Buoyancy (CB), centre of Gravity (CG) and Metacentric Height (GM).
Figure 7: Overall dimensions and hydrostatic results of the designed buoy (Left) & Rendered 3D Model for Autonomous Aquatic Observatory (Right).
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The Consortia have completed the preliminary designs of the major sensors proposed in the project. Purchase of components followed by fabrication is underway.
y Conductivity: This will be a compact MEMS-based four pole conductivity sensor. The MEMS design has completed. Fabrication will soon be underway. The MEMS will be fabricated at WHOI. The associated driver electronics and a communications module will be soon designed.
y Oxygen sensor: Team will re-engineer (modify) a present cubic dissolved oxygen (DO) sensor for underwater deployment in this project. The sensor itself is prefabricated by the vendor and provides I2C signals for delivery to a logging and communication processor. Re-engineering of the sensor will soon begin.
y pH sensor: This consists of a conventional glass type pH sensor with a protective covering. Major circuitry consists of a synthesis of analogue devices designed along with the compatible microprocessor.
y Channelized Optical System II (CHANOS II): The CHANOS II sensor package has been designed for in-situ underwater measurements of total CO
2 and trace metals
(e.g. copper) based on spectrophotometric principles. The system consists of a sensor box, a pressure housing containing all electronics, and a
reagent box. An optional battery package is available if necessary during deployment. The fabrication of a CHANOS II sensor is at the final stage.
y Auto-sampler: The auto-sampler for in-situ collecting water samples for E-coli and major ions from rivers has been designed by University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The fabrication is underway.
The team have also focussed on developing the equipment holding assembly apart from developing a full-fledged modular design concept that can hold and house all required
Figure 8: Conductivity Sensor Assembly.
Figure 9: Oxygen Sensor Assembly
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sensors, equipment, energy harvesting devices. The materials used are such that the system is light and robust. A Lenz-type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine system is concurrently developed to utilize the wind energy at the site and help in supplementing power for electrical requirements. Static stability analysis on ANSYS AQWA was carried out to make sure the design is hydro-dynamically stable.
The system has to provide accurate water quality measurements in real-time and with minimal or human assistance. For this purpose, a LoRaWAN protocol for enabling the communication between the sensors and the cloud, while reducing its power consumption has been adopted. The system architecture along with specifications has been finalized.
IV. Title: Integrated low cost water sensors for real- time river water monitoring and decision- making
Partnering Institutions, India Partnering Institutions, USA
y Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-D) Delhi
y National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur
y National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI) Nagpur
y Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET), Pune
y University of Hyderabad (UH), Hyderabad
Other Industrial Partners:
y Asiczen Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., Bhubaneswar
y SunMoksha Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru
y University of California (UC), Riverside
y Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing
y Stanford University (SU), Palo Alto
y New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark
This project focuses on providing solutions to issue of lack of field-adjusted low–cost and energy-sufficient sensors for measuring water quality parameters (primarily COD, microbial indicators, temperature, turbidity,
nitrogen content) and water resource-related parameters (primarily water flow rate, elevation, depth, pH etc.) which are important for water-related decision-making process. The Indo-U.S. team aims to achieve this goal using four
Figure 10: Chanos IIFigure 11: simulation in ANSYS AQWA.
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interconnected work packages (Figure 12) which focus on following research vectors: sensor development (RV1), energy harvesting system (RV2), wireless networking (RV3), and analytics (RV4). The proposed prototype early warning
system will use real-time field data from sensors and modelling for predicting water quality at different locations for warning purposes.
The developed integrated system will be used for
Figure 12: Schematic showing interconnectedness of different tasks and research vectors (RVs)
(AM: A.Mulchandani, UC Riverside, USA; KS-K. Saraswat, Stanford Univ. USA; JR-J. Rose, MSU, USA; DM: Durgamadhab Misra; BR-B Rajendran, NJIT) (SJ: S.Jha, IITD; SK: S. Kar, IITD; VK: V. Komarala, IITD,India;BRM: Mehta, IITD; VRGR: V.Ramgopal Rao, IITD; VD: V Dutta, IITD; BKP: B K Panigrahi, IITD;
SU: S. Udgata, Univ. Hyderabad, India; PP: P. Prasad, NEERI India; ST: S.Tandon, NEERI India;RK-R. Kumar, NEERI, India; AK: A. Kumar, IITD; AG-A K Gosain, IITD; VP:V. Perumal, IITD; AKN-AK Nema, IITD; DCT: Dhanya CT, IITD; AKP: Ajit Kumar Panda; MD: Mrinal Das; SKP: Santosh Kumar Patnaik;
GP:Girish Phatak; CMET)
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regulators for obtaining real-time information on water quality information. The developed sensors and Energy Harvesting System (EHS) will be used for different applications in other fields as well.
Salient achievements so far
(a) Innovations
IITD: Redesigning of the COD chip - cost-effective, yet can withstand the oxidative step without any catalyst (temp. 900C)
UCR: Development of the non-lytic phage based microbial biosensor (Limit of detection=14 CFU/mL)
(b) Patents
IITD: Prof. V. Komarala, IIT Delhi (Room temperature processed >16% solar cell’s; current density-voltage characteristics; Indian patent applied: 201811017912)
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Functional Materials (ISFM-2018): Energy and Biomedical Applications
13-15 APRIL 2018 | CHANDIGARH, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Raju Kumar Gupta Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Vikas Berry University of Illinois at Chicago
In the present era, there is an incredible growth of Advanced Functional Materials that can improve the performance of various advanced
technologies. The scientific community is devoting efforts to harness the potential of materials to cure challenging diseases as well as to solve energy related issues. In the interest of minimizing environmental damage, various renewable forms of energy production have enjoyed substantial progress technologically and economically during the last decade. But much still needs to be done to ensure that our energy infrastructure can stay on a sustainable footing. This cannot be achieved through one technological solution alone, but requires the utilization of several energy production and storage technologies and measures to improve energy efficiency. Various methods of energy harvesting such as solar photovoltaics,
thermoelectric etc., could be employed on a large scale, lessen the burden on conventional energy production systems. Moreover, the efficiencies of these energy harvesting mechanisms could be further enhanced by the synthesis of various functional materials. This Symposium on Functional Materials (ISFM-2018): Energy and biomedical applications organized by Raju Kumar Gupta (Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur) and Vikas Berry (University of Illinois at Chicago), focused on these niche areas and presented an opportunity for scientists and engineers in India and the U.S., working in academic institutions and industry to partner and collaborate with each other to leverage their expertise to accelerate research goals and achieve faster commercialization leading to affordable devices based on Functional Materials.
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Coastal Groundwater Dynamics: Combining Future Climate
Change and Human Development (CLIMWAT-2018) 07-09 JUNE 2018 | PUDUCHERRY, INDIA
Coastal aquifers are susceptible to degradation due to its proximity to seawater, higher population, climatic
influences and human intervenes. For coastal aquifers to continue being used as operational freshwater reservoirs, the development of better tools that facilitate the prediction of aquifer behaviour under climate change conditions and human interference is essential. This Indo-U.S. Workshop on Coastal Groundwater Dynamics: Combining Future Climate Change and Human Development (CLIMWAT-2018) organized by K. Srinivasamoorthy (Pondicherry University, Puducherry) and Saugata Dutta (Kansas State University, Manhattan) aimed to discuss and explore areas for advancing scientific understanding of groundwater and future climate change scenarios. It brought together researchers and practitioners from
Indian and U.S. universities/organizations to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences in combating coastal groundwater dynamics relating to future climate change and human influences using integrated techniques in specialized areas such as Technologies for vertical electrical tomography in assessing coastal vulnerability; Combined hydrochemistry, Isotopes and REEs in isolating coastal dynamics, past and present climatic influences; Application of flow, transport and geochemical modeling for coastal groundwater; Neural networks, multivariate statistical modeling for sea water intrusion and water quality parameters; Biogeochemistry of aquatic ecosystems, adaptability of biota to climate change, exposure to contaminants; and, Remote sensing and GIS techniques for coastal groundwater resource management, climate change resilience and protection scenarios.
Principal Investigators
K. SrinivasamoorthyPondicherry University, Puducherry
Saugata Dutta Kansas State University, Manhattan
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5th Bengaluru Cognition Workshop17-29 JUNE 2018 | BENGALURU, INDIA
Cognitive neuroscience research in India has roots in studies of head-injury and neurosurgical patients in the 1950s. This
tradition of clinical research continues, but over time it has become augmented by basic cellular and systems level research in neuroscience, as well as by the development of non-clinical programs in neuroscience education. The 5th Bengaluru Cognition Workshop organized by Balaji Jayaprakash (Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru) and Thomas D. Albright (Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla) represented a continuation of efforts to build human resource development in the country
in Cognitive Sciences. It was conducted through four modules which were aimed at providing a focused introduction to the problems and concepts in various aspects of neuroscience. These modules were: Vision, Attention – Multiple Scales, Motor Systems and, Memory and Spatial Navigation. The workshop introduced distinguished researchers with expertise in nearly every aspect of neuroscience to the participants. The goal of the workshop was to inspire Indian students to pursue a career in neuroscience while providing a mechanism to facilitate scientific exchanges between India and the United States.
Principal Investigators
Balaji JayaprakashIndian Institute of Science Bengaluru
Thomas D. Albright Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla
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3D Printing: A Solution for Medical Devices
17 AUGUST 2018 | THANJAVUR, INDIA
Principal Investigators
S. Swaminathan SASTRA University, Thanjavur
Sangamesh G. Kumbar University of Connecticut, Farmington
Developing biomedical implants and devices have a huge demand in the medical industry as it extends the
essential function of human organs thereby improving the quality of patient lives. However, designing distinct types of medical implants or
devices demands specific sets of requirements in terms of dimension, architecture and material selection since the application of these biomedical implants may vary based on the implantation site. Emergence of 3D printing technology in the healthcare sector
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enables the rapid customization of implants with high precision and enables new product developments right from the anatomical models, mass production of patient-specific implants to personalized surgery. The main concept of this joint workshop on 3D Printing: A Solution for Medical Devices organized by S. Swaminathan (SASTRA University, Thanjavur) and Sangamesh G. Kumbar (University of Connecticut, Farmington) was to inculcate 3D printing solutions to a broad group of people for replicating the complex prototypes identical to shape, texture and material properties of medical implants. The workshop provided awareness on the quick production of personalized implants and prostheses using 3D printing. It also provided a strong platform to healthcare sector people such as researchers and manufacturers for exploring the emerging technique to fabricate more standard and intricate customized orthopedic implants within few hours. The technical sessions led by eminent researchers from both India and
U.S.A. brought forth problems associated with current methodologies; emergence of newer technologies that are aiming to promote the exchange of ideas and to create a platform for collaborative research in the biomedical field.
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Live Operative Training Workshop and Recent Updates on Urology
Malignancies 18-19 AUGUST 2018 | NEW DELHI, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Niraj Kumar Safdarjang Hospital and Vardhman Mahaveer Medical College, New Delhi
Murugesan Manoharan Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida, Miami
The Indo-U.S. Live Operative Training Workshop on Urology Malignancies was organized by Niraj Kumar (Safdarjang
Hospital and Vardhman Mahaveer Medical College, New Delhi) and Murugesan Manoharan (Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida, Miami) to discuss the recent updates in urological malignancies like prostate, bladder, kidney, adrenal, testis and penile carcinoma. Young Urologists from India got an opportunity to learn both basic and advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgical skills along
with management of patients having various uro-oncological cancers including prostate, renal and bladder cancers. This encouraged them to start performing various advanced robotic surgical procedures including robotic radical prostatectomy, robotic simple prostatectomy, robotic radical cystectomy, etc. helping to significantly reduce the morbidity & mortality of critically ill cancer and kidney failure patients. The workshop witnessed an active interaction, discussion and exchange of knowledge between the Indian and American participants.
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Nano/Micro 2D-3D Fabrication, Manufacturing of Electronic–
Biomedical Devices & Applications 31 OCTOBER TO 2 NOVEMBER 2018
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY-MANDI, INDIA
In the present era, there is an incredible growth of new nano/micro 2D & 3D manufacturing of electronic and biomedical devices that can
improve the performance and functionalities
at lower costs through various advanced technologies. To deepen and broaden expertise and knowledge of new 2D & 3D manufacturing of electronic and biomedical devices and
Principal Investigators
Kenneth Gonsalves Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi
Nan Marie Jokerst Duke University, Durham
Satinder Kumar Sharma Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi
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innovation to ever-increasing international needs, a workshop titled Nano/Micro 2D-3D Fabrication, Manufacturing of Electronic–Biomedical Devices & Applications was organized by Kenneth Gonsalves (Indian
Institute of Technology-Mandi), Nan Marie Jokerst (Duke University, Durham) and Satinder Kumar Sharma (Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi).
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Water-Food-Energy-Climate Nexus: A Perspective towards a Sustainable Future
16-21 NOVEMBER 2018 | VARANASI, INDIA
Water is the basic element of life, livelihood, food security and sustainable development. Escalating
global populations and climate change are placing immense pressure on water and food security. Sustaining a high rate of food production will require innovations in water productivity and soil health, crop cultivar developments, agrochemical inputs, alternative energy sources for irrigation and other cutting-edge agricultural activities. An effective and sustainable solution of global environmental change or climate change requires better understanding and consideration of the linkages and inter-dependencies between climate change, water, energy, food security and sustainability. The purpose of this workshop titled Water-Food-Energy-Climate nexus: A
perspective towards a sustainable future, organized by Rajeev Pratap Singh (Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi), Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi (Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi) and Alan S. Kolok (Idaho Water Resources Research Institute) was to address societal challenges in providing water, food and energy security in the future and how the nexus between Climate-Water-Food-Energy can be exploited to address sustainability challenges. Although these challenges are different in India and USA because of the scale of mechanization, resources availability, and other factors, therefore, the workshop addressed differences and similarities in these challenges to develop mutually beneficial solutions.
Principal Investigators
Rajeev Pratap Singh Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Alan S. Kolok Idaho Water Resources Research Institute
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15th National EEG workshop and Masterclass for Epilepsy Surgery:
A Collaborative Indo-American Workshop21-23 NOVEMBER 2018 | VARANASI, INDIA
Principal Investigators
P. Sarat Chandra All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Ashwini Sharan Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Manjari Tripathi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Epilepsy is said to be the commonest neurological disorder after headache. Over 10 million people suffer from epilepsy in
India, out of 50 million suffering from this disease worldwide. About 20% of persons suffering from epilepsy have drug resistance (DRE). The only option for DRE is surgery. In addition, epilepsy is shrouded by a lot of stigma thus characterized by a large treatment gap. There is also a limited training in the area of epilepsy at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. In addition, there have been significant achievements in this area over the past decade especially in the area of surgery with a better understanding of networks, biomarkers and neurobiology. The event titled 15th National EEG workshop and
Masterclass for Epilepsy Surgery: A collaborative Indo-American workshop organized by P. Sarat Chandra (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi), Ashwini Sharan (Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia) and Manjari Tripathi (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi) is the first Indo-U.S. joint venture fostering a better collaboration for technical advancements and knowledge enhancement in this area.
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Indo-U.S. Training Program and Workshop on Cancer
Proteogenomics06-11 DECEMBER 2018 | IIT-BOMBAY, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Sanjeeva Srivastava Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, Mumbai
D.R. Mani Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge
Cancer research has been significantly aided by advancements in proteogenomics technologies, where proteomics
information derived from mass spectrometry is used to complement genomics using next generation sequencing. With the recent advent of Cancer Moonshot Project, the critical role that proteogenomics can play in improving cancer patient treatment is increasingly being recognized. This event titled Indo-U.S. Training Program & Workshop on Cancer Proteogenomics organized by Sanjeeva Srivastava (IIT-Bombay, Mumbai) and D.R. Mani (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge) utilized advanced genomic & proteomic technologies and their data from
high-quality human biospecimens to identify potentially actionable therapeutic molecular targets. This was a collaborative effort by experts in the fields of proteomics and proteogenomics in cancer research. The program comprised of interactive lectures with case studies, hands-on sessions and demonstrations on proteogenomics aimed at accelerated understanding of cancer. The workshop covered the principles of proteogenomics followed by experimental sessions, where data was processed and analyzed by the participants for proteomics using LC-MS/MS. Hands-on session on computational methods was performed for statistical data analysis of proteogenomics data.
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Understanding Cell Biology through Proteomics and Metabolomics
10-11 DECEMBER 2018 | PUNE, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Srikanth Rapole National Centre for Cell Science, Pune
John R. Yates III The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla
Arun Sreekumar Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
Proteomics and metabolomics are emerging technologies used worldwide to answer key questions in cell biology research. However,
these technologies are rapidly advancing with new applications in cell biology and there is a need for frequent updates to keep pace with fields. The Indo-U.S. workshop on Understanding Cell Biology through Proteomics and Metabolomics organized by Srikanth Rapole (National Centre for Cell Science, Pune), John
R. Yates III (The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla), Shantanu Sengupta (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi) and Arun Sreekumar (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston) aimed at bringing together Indian and U.S. researchers working in the areas of proteomics and metabolomics under one umbrella to exchange scientific ideas and foster future collaborations.
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Advanced instrumentation and computational techniques for
Nuclear Reactor Safety15-19 DECEMBER 2018 | IIT-BOMBAY, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Suneet Singh Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai
Hitesh Bindra Kansas State University, Manhattan
Nuclear power is considered a critically important means of energy generation throughout the world, but due to high
safety standards and process regulations, the cost of energy generation from nuclear fuel is much
higher than natural gas-based energy generation systems. Advanced sensors and modeling techniques can dramatically improve the nuclear reactor safety while making the design of the nuclear plants simple. With the recent advances
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in material science, computational science, and artificial intelligence, there are ongoing development efforts in making robust sensors and computational data-driven techniques for achieving simpler designs, online reactor safety characterization, and accident management. This is a highly inter-disciplinary field and is rich in multiple, coupled physical phenomena ranging over wide length scales and time scales. The
workshop titled Advanced instrumentation and computational techniques for Nuclear Reactor Safety organized by Suneet Singh (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai) and Hitesh Bindra (Kansas State University, Manhattan) aimed to provide the forum necessary to synthesize such recent discoveries into clear predictions for other regions and directives for future work.
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Indo-U.S. Symposium on Allergy and Asthma
15-16 DECEMBER 2018 | NEW DELHI, INDIA
Principal InvestigatorsRandeep Guleria All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Ruchi Gupta Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago
Atopic conditions such as eczema, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and allergies are becoming more prevalent around the world. These
conditions are related through a phenomenon known as the “atopic march” where children
have increased risk of developing asthma and allergies if they are diagnosed with eczema early in life. Occurrence of asthma, environmental allergies, and eczema has risen over the last few decades and remain prevalent. An emerging,
Vartika Mathur Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University
New Delhi
Lucy Bilaver Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago
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worldwide trend of increasing food allergy (FA) prevalence has become a growing public health concern. In the U.S., FA affects 8% of children. FA may also slowly be on the rise in India, especially in urban areas but there is a lacuna in its awareness and monitoring. Despite the increasing prevalence of FA worldwide, factors contributing to this increase are not definitively understood. The Indo-U.S. symposium on Allergy and Asthma organized by Randeep Guleria (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi), Ruchi Gupta (Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago), Vartika Mathur (Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University) and Lucy Bilaver (Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago) aimed
to present the differences in prevalence and trends of atopic conditions in the U.S. and India; understand the biology of the development of atopic conditions; discuss factors that may impact atopic conditions and their relationship to the microbiome - hygiene hypothesis, timing of infant food introduction in different cultures, diet influenced by geographical location and culture, genetics, environmental exposures, pre- and postnatal risk factors, etc.; explore emerging microbiome research to determine factors contributing to and protecting against atopic conditions in India and the U.S.; and, enhance existing Indo-U.S. partnerships in the field of atopic conditions and the microbiome.
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Multiscale Simulation and Mathematical Modeling of Complex
Biological Systems 28 JANUARY - 01 FEBRUARY 2019 | NEW DELHI, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Arnab Bhattacherjee Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Indira Ghosh Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
With the unimaginable gain in computer power over the last decade, the next frontier in computational biology is
to understand complex cellular machinery by investigating the structure and dynamics at the
molecular level. Despite the need, exploring the molecular properties is a daunting task. Experimental approaches are typically limited to a specific window of observable length and time scales. In contrary, integrated mathematical
Anatoly B. Kolomeisky Rice University, Texas
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modelling and multiscale simulation approaches offer unparalleled strategies for exploring biological systems, a philosophy that may open up avenues to understand the etiologies of human diseases and supplement the known actionable findings and also can forecast possible ways of disease progression and resistance. However, the major challenge in such approaches is the sampling of molecular conformational states that often limits experiments to a biased outcome. This Indo-U.S. Symposium on Multiscale Simulation and Mathematical Modeling of Complex Biological Systems organized by Arnab Bhattacherjee (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi), Indira Ghosh (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) and Anatoly B. Kolomeisky (Rice University, Texas) brought together researchers from the U.S. and India to discuss such challenges and the advances
in the development of mathematical models and multiscale simulation techniques that have the potential to unravel the structure-function relations of cellular machinery. The major focus was on the different methods for modelling the dynamics of biomolecular systems, ranging from force-field based all-atom representation of individual biomolecules to coarse-grained models for multicomponent systems. The symposium also provided hands-on training in workshop mode on the necessary practical knowledge of mathematical modelling and development of multiscale simulations of large and complex biological systems. The focal point was on the applications of multiscale models and simulation to gain insights into diseases with specific reference to cancer, genetic disorders and infectious diseases.
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Advancing Environmental Health Science Research and Translation
in India through Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR)
26-28 FEBRUARY 2019 | NEW DELHI, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Rajesh Tandon Society for Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi
Banalata Sen Society for Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi
The 2018 Global Environmental Performance Index, a ranking based on 24 performance indicators for environmental
health and ecosystem vitality, ranks India 177th in a list of 180 countries. Not surprising then that environmental risk factors are among the
Edith Parker University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City
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top risk factors contributing to India’s disease burden. That health is closely interlinked with social and economic determinants is widely recognized, but, the evidence linking environmental exposures and health is limited in India. With rapid economic growth, India faces many environmental challenges, which are affecting the health and quality of life of its population. Improving environmental health research and its translation to practice in India is essential to address its environmental health burden of disease. To achieve this, traditional investigator-led academic research methods will not suffice. This Indo-U.S. Workshop on Advancing Environmental Health Science
Research and Translation in India through Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) organized by Rajesh Tandon (Society for Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi), Banalata Sen (Society for Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi) and Edith Parker (University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City) highlighted the use and benefits of CBPR methodology in environmental health research; showcased different approaches to participatory research; aimed to evolve an environmental health focused CBPR framework relevant for India; and identify collaborative Indo-U.S. CBPR projects to address some of India’s pressing environmental health challenges.
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Training Program in Bioacoustics14-21 MARCH 2019 | TIRUPATI, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Robin Vijayan Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati
Padmanabhan Rajan Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi
Holger Klinck Cornell University, Ithaca
India is a unique country featuring an enormous biodiversity and two global biodiversity hotspots - the Western Ghats and
Eastern Himalayas. Much of this biodiversity is interspersed with a large, rapidly expanding,
human population. Along with the challenges of changes in land use, the Indian economy is also on the rise, which adds another set of challenges. Bioacoustics is a research field at the intersection of physics, biology, ecology, and
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natural history. It can have various applications; in describing new species of various taxa, in helping understand genetic diversity, in understanding cultural diversity, and providing insights into behaviour and behavioural ecology of various organisms. Bioacoustics has also been used to understand the ecological impacts of deforestation and landscape change. With recent technological innovations, bioacoustics has grown to incorporate new automated recording techniques and innovative acoustic analyses that allow examinations of changing soundscapes and the resulting impact on biodiversity and animal habitats. Although research in biology in India has been rapidly increasing, bioacoustics has had limited capacity in the Indian subcontinent, and there are very few research groups in the country working in
this field. RAVEN is a commercially available software developed by Cornell University, and is arguably one of the most popular software being used by the community. This Indo-U.S. Training Program on Bioacoustics organized by Robin Vijayan (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati), Padmanabhan Rajan (Indian Institute of Technology Mandi) and Holger Klinck (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca) invited researchers and trainers from Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bioacoustics Research Program and Macaulay Library to IISER Tirupati to demonstrate and train students in RAVEN. They also demonstrated various recording techniques using hand-held recorders and with their own recorder SWIFT.
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Sensor Technology for Next Generation Internet-of-Things
15-16 MARCH 2019 | BENGALURU, INDIA
Principal Investigators
Shankar Kumar Selvaraja Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Shiv Govind Singh Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
At the core of Internet-of-Things (IoT) is sensor technology. The development of discrete sensor technology and data
collection has created extensive datasets to understand the environment and enables accurate predictions. The concept was
introduced in the early 2000’s that primarily focused on data collection, management, and connectivity. The sensor nodes that are at the bottom end of the IoT architecture are implemented with the off-the-shelf physical and chemical sensors that are not necessarily
Mike A. Carpenter SUNY Polytechnic Institute, New York
Thomas Thundat University at Buffalo, New Yprk
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optimal. A sensor node consists of energy modules, power management modules, RF modules, and sensing modules. Each listed modules should be designed to deliver the highest performance with the lowest energy. It is impossible to achieve the required performance and energy specification with improvement in a single module. Though power and communication modules are well explored for IoT application, development of sensor technology is barely addressed. This Indo-U.S. Workshop on Sensor Technology for Next Generation IoT organized by Shankar Kumar Selvaraja (Indian Institute
of Science, Bengaluru) Shiv Govind Singh (Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad), Mike A. Carpenter (SUNY Polytechnic Institute, New York), and Thomas Thundat (University at Buffalo, New York) discussed in detail physical sensor, chemical sensors, and optical sensor requirements and current status and future specific to IoT application. In addition, the workshop also focused on the packaging and connectivity aspects as well. Overall, the workshop was designed to discuss and deliberate the requirements and propose breakthrough technology that could be taken-up further for execution.
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Investigating Dark Matter and Star Formation in the Outer Disks of
Galaxies using UV, optical and 21cm radio observations
Principal Investigators
INDIA USA
Mousumi DasIndian Institute of Astrophysics
Bengaluru
Stacy McGaughCase Western Reserve University
Cleveland
Partnering Institutions
INDIA USA
Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru University of Oregon, Eugene
BackgroundMost of the studies of galaxy dark matter focus on determining the properties of the halo using galaxy rotation curves and/or nuclear gas kinematics. However, the vertical motion of gas and stars in galaxies indicates that there is considerable dark matter in galaxy disks as well. This disk dark matter will affect the formation of local disk instabilities and will become more important at larger radii where the stellar surface density falls. This is clear from observations of the outer parts of galaxy disks where there is neutral
hydrogen (HI) gas but no strong signatures of stellar disks. In such regions the dark matter must be supporting the gas and contributing to the disk stability. In some galaxies there is also star formation in the outer disks.
Objectives y The effect of disk dark matter on the local
disk stability and star formation in the outer disks of galaxies. This has not been explored earlier but it is very important because it will help to understand (i) how much dark
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matter in galaxies is associated with their disks, and (ii) the star formation and disk growth at large radii in galaxies.
y The global disk stability will be investigated using numerical simulations and compared to observations. One of the ways to do this is to use barred galaxies to understand angular momentum transfer between disks and halos in galaxies.
y Team would use existing data and new Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations to map dark matter in the outer regions of nearby galaxies and understand how it varies with galaxy types. This will include using GMRT 21cm neutral hydrogen observations of face-on spiral galaxies. Team will use both archival data as well as propose for new observations. Team will also explore how the velocity
dispersion of neutral hydrogen can be used to determine the dynamical masses of disk galaxies in their outer regions, where there is no visible stellar disk to gravitationally support the neutral hydrogen disk.
y For nearby face-on galaxies the team will use the near-IR images to estimate the stellar disk masses and compare it with dynamical disk mass surface densities derived from HI velocity dispersion. This will help to determine the dark matter mass distribution in the galaxies.
y To investigate the nature of star formation in the outer, dark matter dominated regions of galaxy disks where the stellar density is low and the metallicity is also poor will be studied. Such regions are also similar to high redshift galaxies, where matter is still in the process of assembling into disks. For this,
Figure 1: The figure shows the Astrosat UVIT far-ultraviolet image of the star formation in the nearby galaxy NGC6946. Our study is focussed on studying the star formation in the extreme outer regions which lie in the dark matter dominated parts of the galaxy.
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team will use ASTROSAT UVIT observations for studying such star forming regions in nearby galaxies. The high sensitivity of the UVIT telescope is essential for isolating the compact star forming complexes from the diffuse UV emission in the disks and estimating the star formation rates.
Salient Research Achievements thus far y Using high resolution N-body simulations, to
understand the evolution of the dark matter halos profiles of disk galaxies, it was found that the angular momentum transfer from disks to halos by bars takes 5 to 6 Gyr to transform the halo cusp to a core profile. Hence, bars are not that important for changing halo profiles. But the initial results of flyby interactions of galaxies with mass ratios 1:10 shows that halo cusps can be transformed into flat cores within a few Gyrs. The centre is now exploring how this depends on peri-center distances and initial positions.
y Archival optical and HI data were used to see whether halo dark matter is important for the vertical support of HI disks. It was found that it is important mainly for low luminosity dwarf galaxies.
y ASTROSAT UVIT data was used to understand star formation in the outer disks of galaxies. The initial observations of XUV galaxies did not yield good results as the observing time was too short. However, for one nearby galaxy NGC6946, the Center has detected a large number of compact star forming regions both in the inner and outer disk in the UVIT FUV image. The team is now comparing the star formation properties for both regions.
y It was also observed the star formation (UVIT FUV) in an HI rich low surface brightness galaxy UGC9024 (GMRT HI image). The results show that although the galaxy is metal poor and optically faint, it can support star formation.
Figure 2: The figures show the effect of increasing the number of particles or resolution of the simulation on the halo cusp removal by the bar. The figure on the left has a low resolution and hence the halo cusp appears to have been changed into a core. But our results show that with improved
resolution, the cusp to core transformation takes too long to be important.
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Principal Investigators
INDIA USA
Amit KumarIndian Institute of Technology
Delhi
Anupam GuptaCarnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
Partnering Institutions
INDIA USA
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Duke University, Durham
Algorithms under Uncertainty
BackgroundHow to optimize a function given a set of constraints is one of the most basic questions in mathematics, computer science, and operations research. In computer science, an efficient algorithm that takes the function parameters and the constraints as input, and outputs a setting of the variables that optimizes the function while satisfying the constraints is needed. Moreover, investigations on the robustness of the problem include: can we find an approximately-optimal solution using much less time? What are the inherent trade-offs between quality and efficiency? These questions are as fundamental as they are practical: in life and work, we optimize all the time, and we would like efficient ways to do so.
ObjectivesThis center aims to foster research collaborations between research groups in India and the U.S. working in several areas related to designing algorithms under uncertainty. These areas (online algorithms, dynamic algorithms,
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stochastic optimization, and machine learning) approach this general theme in different ways. The center aims to find common themes that cut across these traditional boundaries. A central goal is to define new models to capture the theme of uncertainty, and give broad techniques for problems in these models. This will lead to significant progress in theoretical computer science both by solving longstanding questions in these domains and also by expanding its scope to new models, problems, and application areas. In addition, this will bring theoretical progress in algorithm design closer to real applications, where uncertainty is unavoidable in many situations.
Anticipated DeliverablesThe expected outcome at the end of the tenure of the center would be the following:
1. Publications co-authored by the PIs and their students (from both countries) in theoretical computer science to extend the state-of-the-art in the research area.
2. Visits by members of partnering institutions should lead to more collaborations and interactions in future, even after the tenure of the institution.
The research program boot-strapped by this center should lead to other joint-projects in the future.
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Principal Investigators
INDIA USA
Pramod K. GargAll India Institute of Medical Sciences
New Delhi
Dean E BrennerUniversity of Michigan Cancer Center
Ann Arbor
Partnering Institutions
INDIA USA
Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research Amity University, Noida
Arizona State University, Tempe
Pennsylvania State University, State College
Reducing Cancer Mortality through Cancer Prevention
BackgroundBasic biomedical research is providing insight into the carcinogenesis process at the molecular level, facilitating the identification of new screening markers, risk assessment tools, and targets for cancer preventive interventions. However, translation of basic research to the benefit of individuals and populations at risk has not kept pace with discovery.
ObjectivesThe Joint Center aims to address this gap by sharing technologies and resources among strong Institutions in India and the U.S. with
the goal of translating basic science to practical clinical tools in the hope of reducing cancer incidence and mortality. Specific objectives of the Center include:
y Implementing 3 joint projects aimed at 3 representative epithelial sites that are responsible for cancer mortality in India and in USA that model the continuum of translational research from cancer biology to population based risk reduction.
y Using the projects to identify, share and transfer research strategies, data and technologies that will benefit investigators in India and the United States.
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Anticipated DeliverablesThe 3 projects of the Joint Center are designed to gather data through joint funding and document collaborative experience and joint publications. Such productivity will enable future competitive joint funding programs for each of the projects proposed and spin-off projects.
Project 1: The Project supports the development of a library of Breast Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) organoids. Multiple joint projects aimed at identifying mechanisms of breast neoplastic progression and identifying interventions to reverse or delay progression will use this joint resource to build collaborative projects. This resource can be disseminated in India and abroad.
Project 2: The Project will create a new microbiome resource that will serve as a platform to generate hypotheses regarding gallbladder cancer and other upper GI neoplastic progression. Such a platform will support new joint basic science and translational therapeutic projects.
Project 3: The Center will enhance an NCI funded project funded to jointly develop new technologies and apply new technologies in the field. It serves as future infrastructure that will be capable of validating any new technologies and interventions aimed at reducing cervix cancer mortality in India or abroad.
Expected benefits for the Indian side:
y Transfer of new technologies—human epithelial stem cell isolation, 3-dimensional organoid technology, single cell molecular and proteomic analysis tools.
y New, cost effective technologies that can be generalized to a large at risk population.
y Potential reduction in mortality from cancer through implementation of new technologies to detect cervical cancer early in low resource setting.
y Potential to understand gall bladder carcinogenesis by understanding microbial alterations.
y Improved scientific competitiveness of junior faculty at AIIMS.
Breast cancer prevention teams from the University of Michigan and AIIMS working together at the AIIMS-DBT-Center of Excellence for Stem Cell Research in New Delhi
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Expected benefits for the U.S. side:
y The availability of primary DCIS will enable new strategies to identify and define individuals at high risk for transformation and treat them.
y New insights into the role of stroma in transformation of epithelial cancers. The DCIS model will permit intense studies of signaling from different types of stroma and recognition of signals and play a central role in cellular transformation.
y Geographic epidemiology of the microbiome will generate new hypotheses of inflammation and carcinogenesis.
y Ability to validate new point of care technologies for detection of proteins, in this case HPV antibodies. The technology can detect any protein that has a good antibody. The technology reduces costs of complex, hospital based laboratory technology and may improve care in underserved communities in USA. Validation in India is applicable to the U.S.
Progress to DateProject 1: Investigators from both AIIMS and the University of Michigan have jointly trained together at their respective institutions. The primary aim of the study was to establish
breast organoid culture in 3D and to optimize the suitable long term culture condition. The following work has been initiated:
1. Cultures of primary normal human breast epithelial cells have yielded organoids that can be passaged and cryopreserved.
2. Preliminary experience with ductal carcinoma in situ at AIIMS have yielded spheres and some three-dimensional cultures.
3. Long term cultures are in the process of being standardized and established.
Project 2: A pilot research project has been initiated.
Project 3: investigators from Arizona State University, University of Michigan, and AIIMS have produced preliminary experimental data for the function of a point of care device capable of performing immunoassays outside of a laboratory environment. The has been tested at AIIMS in plasma samples from cervical cancer patients and controls. The team has standardized of laboratory and clinical protocols, first use of the device at AIIMS, and a functional web based database for data collection and sharing.
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Nanoscale Transport and Biological Interfaces
Principal Investigators
INDIA USA
Suman ChakrabortyIndian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Narayana R. AluruUniversity of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Partnering Institutions
INDIA USA
Indian Institute of Technology, MadrasNorthwestern University, Chicago
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
BackgroundStudies on nanoscale transport with biological interfaces hold remarkable impact towards progress and development of scientific and technological knowhow. With advancements in modern fabrication processes, biomedical engineering has received a tremendous impetus. Understanding the governing physics of nanoscale transport is essential for developing key functionalities of nanodevices that address such applications.
ObjectivesWith the above perspective, the Center aims to establish a virtual consortium on studying multifarious facets of nanoscale fluidic transport and biological interfaces. The key objectives are:
y Molecular dynamics simulation of ion transport through Graphene oxide membrane.
y Water quality monitoring using soild sorbents: a dry-sampling technology.
y Development of water filters using plant xylem.
y Diffusive spreading of charged dye in paper matrix.
Anticipated DeliverablesThe emergence of nanoscale functional devices having biological interfaces, with the potential to outperform the traditional devices in many areas, has created the need for an effort to put together the many disjointed activities on
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nanofluidics in the U.S. and India and combine them in a single platform where ideas, expertise and resources can be assimilated, exchanged and developed. In response to this need, this Joint Centre on Nanoscale Transport with Biological Interfaces will coordinate their efforts to leverage resources internationally to speed up science discoveries and dissemination of results and education. This will eventually lead to:
y Parallel fund raising on synergistic aspects of nano-bio-technology in different countries.
y Mobility of faculty and students to transfer know-how and speed-up discovery.
y Complimentary lab facilities sharing.
y Organization of joint specialized courses and workshops.
y Development of New Technology.
y Fostering of entrepreneurship in both the countries.
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Functional and Computational Proteomics
Principal Investigators
INDIA USA
Sanjeeva SrivastavaIndian Institute of Technology-Bombay,
Mumbai
Robert MoritzInstitute for Systems Biology,
Seattle
Partnering Institutions
INDIA USA
National Centre for Cell Science, Pune Arizona State University, Tempe
BackgroundFunctional proteomics has emerged as one of the key technologies in biomedical research aimed at developing better understanding of disease pathology and diagnostic cure. However, the sheer amount of raw data generated using functional proteomics approaches warrants specialized computational techniques for data analysis. With this background, a group of scientists from India and the U.S. came together to form a Joint Centre with a goal to employ functional and computational proteomics to understand and unveil several broad biological questions pertaining to cancer (e.g., breast cancer) and infectious disease (e.g., tuberculosis).
ObjectivesThe main objectives of this Joint Centre will be to:
y Conduct functional proteomics analysis such as protein microarrays and Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging for elucidation and validation of cellular pathways involved in breast cancer and Tuberculosis (TB).
y Evaluate and develop selected reaction monitoring (SRM and MRM) assays for validation of breast cancer and TB biomarkers through mass spectrometry.
y Perform computational simulations for the derived data for peptide identification and validation, quantification and data interpretation.
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y Explore the possibility of analyzing individualized omics profiles, and work towards the Wellness Project thorough personalized prevention and treatment.
y Train the next generation of scientists in functional and computational proteomics.
Anticipated Deliverables y Collaborative efforts will lead to enhanced
understanding on critical issues of common concern including functional aspects of breast cancer and TB.
y Identification of additional proteomic biomarkers for breast cancer and TB will benefit early prognosis and better survival rates of patients.
y The training program incorporated with the research activities will provide opportunities to young scholars from various research institutes and organizations to learn the state-of-the-art technologies, enhancing their professional skills in the collaborative arena of proteomics.
A proteomics workshop on Trans-Proteomic Pipeline (TPP) was conducted in December 2018 jointly by ISB and IITB teams at IIT Bombay
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The 2018 Edition of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) 2.0 was launched at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on
21st March 2018 during the concluding session of the Festival of Innovation; in the presence of Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind. The ceremony was also attended by the Union Minister of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India Dr. Harshvardhan; Secretary, Department of Science and Technology Prof. Ashutosh Sharma and Prof. Anil Gupta and representatives from IIGP 2.0 stakeholders and implementation partners. The IIGP is more than a decade old program supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India, Lockheed Martin Corporation, U.S.A and TATA Trusts and being implemented by the bi-national Indo-U.S Science and Technology Forum
(IUSSTF), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IIT-B), Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
As a result of a nationwide call through an extensive social media campaign, newspaper advertisements and roadshows, a total of 3125 applications (710 Applications under the University Challenge and 2415 Applications under the Open Innovation Challenge) were received in response to IIGP 2.0.
From the pool of applications and based on the evaluations, the top 40 in the University Challenge were shortlisted and the top 50 in Open Innovation Challenge were shortlisted.
DST-Lockheed Martin-Tata TrustsIndia Innovation
Growth Program 2.0
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University Challenge Competition The University Challenge Competition was held at IIT Bombay from 29-30 June 2018. The top 40 shortlisted teams (20 from social track and 20 from industrial track) pitched to a jury of 7-8 members in each track. The jury consisting of IIGP 2.0 stakeholders and sectoral experts evaluated the teams based on the pitches made. The jury then went on to select the top 15 teams (7 from social and 8 from industrial) for the final awards. These winning teams represent the best from leading universities in the Tier-I, Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India.
Open Innovation Challenge Bootcamp at IIM AhmedabadAt IIM Ahmedabad campus a week long
bootcamp from 16-21 July, 2018 was held. The top 50 OIC 2018 teams and top 9 university challenge 2017 attended the bootcamp. The bootcamp focused on building the capacities of the top selected innovators from the online evaluations. The sessions held through the week focused on key topics such as understanding business model canvas & product fit, financial modeling, ‘Go to market strategy, scaling up and managing your performance etc. The innovators also received a one-on-one session with mentors. They were also prepared for their pitches for the upcoming OIC innovators competition.
Open Innovation Challenge- Innovation Challenge Following a rigorous weeklong bootcamp at IIM Ahmedabad, the 50 finalists of the IIGP 2.0 Open Innovation Challenge 2018
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presented their innovations to an expert jury panel at an Innovators Competition on 1-2 August 2018 in New Delhi. The 4 top teams from the previous year’s University Challenge also competed alongside the 50 finalists. Based on their performance the innovators were judged on their problem identification, impact, innovation, unique value proposition, market advantage, financial sustainability, operational scalability and team. The jury panel comprising of industry experts and IIGP 2.0 stakeholders announced 16 teams (8 social, 8 industrial) as winners of the Open Innovation Challenge 2018. The IIGP 2.0 award ceremony was held on 2nd August, 2018 at New Delhi.
Final Awards under IIGP 2.0 were as follows: y University Challenge Competition-15 Awards
under area of Social and Industrial Innovations were awarded. An Award grant of Rs.10 lakh per University team along with Rs.1 lakh as the University overheads provided as support under the Program.
y Open Innovation Challenge Competition- 16 Awards under the area of social and Industrial Innovations were awarded. An Award grant of Rs.25.00 lakh per Innovator team is provided as support under the Program. The Awarded 16 teams were also sponsored for a U.S ecosystem learning visits to MIT and Harvard Universities in Sep-Oct 2018.
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The Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) sponsored by the AnitaB.org India and the Department of Science and
Technology (DST), Government of India is a partnership program to develop the ecosystem of entrepreneurship for women in technology in India, through sustained and collaborative efforts.
WEQ is a comprehensive platform that provides networking, mentoring and learning opportunities to women entrepreneurs in technology. The Top 10 winners of WEQ receive an all-expenses-paid experiential learning visit to Silicon Valley, US for five working days. The objective of the visit is to provide the WEQ Top 10 winners exposure to the thriving entrepreneurial culture in the Silicon Valley and give access to:
y Quality Networks: Visits and meetings with key stakeholders in the Silicon Valley
ecosystem such as leading technology companies, startups, investors, officials, incubators, accelerators, universities and so on.
y Expert Guidance: Sessions and workshops on important business functions, technology trends and growth strategies from industry veterans, mentors, entrepreneurs and experienced professionals.
y Great Inspiration: A credible and high-visibility platform to showcase their business, during close interactions and hearing directly from role models in the Silicon Valley.
This year’s top ten WEQ winners were announced on stage at the 2018 Grace Hopper Celebration India (GHCI 18) Asia’s largest gathering of women technologists during November 2018 at Bengaluru.
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WEQ 2018 Top 10 Winners
S.No Founder Designation Startup City
1 Anushka Shetty Founder Plop chat Bengaluru
2 Kalyani Khona Founder & CEO Inclov Delhi
3 Neha Satak Founder & CEO Astrome Bengaluru
4 Pallavi Gupta Founder Espresso Labs Delhi
5 Radhika Patil Founder & CEO Cradlewise Bengaluru
6 Shampa Choudhury Founder & CEO Citility Bengaluru
7 Shruthi Reddy Founder & CEO Anthyesti Kolkata
8 Surabhi Das Founder & Chief Legal Officer Ziroh Labs Bengaluru
9 Suruchi Rao Founder Ossus Biorenewables Bengaluru
10 Tarusha Mittal Founder & COO Ethx.co Delhi
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Make Tomorrow for Innovation Generation is a public private partnership initiated by National
Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and Intel with Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) as the implementation partner. It is also supported by NITI Aayog - Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). Designed to work with schools, teachers and maker spaces to skill youth on creating indigenous technology based solutions for local communities, this program was initiated to nurture and develop an innovation ecosystem in the country.
Program OutreachUnder the aegis of the program, a series of 5 Rapid Prototyping Camps (RPCs) were held for students and teachers in 5 different locations – Dharamshala, Dehradun, Bhubaneshwar, Shillong and Jamshedpur, between September – November 2018 reaching out to youth from 17 Indian states.
Each RPC was a 3 day residential event and had sessions on Design Thinking, Ideation, IPR, Copyright, etc.; Tech creation hands on activities/DIYs through specially designed challenges and brief introduction about Atal Tinkering Labs. The sessions were designed in sync with the global learning path, and participants were guided by mentors experienced in conducting such workshops, together with local volunteers.
Post Rapid Prototyping CampsPost the camps, students were encouraged to share their ideas/ projects in an online format. They were asked to identify problems in and around them and share their proposed solutions for the same. A total of 415 ideas were received in response.
The ideas were judged online by a panel of judges and 50 ideas were shortlisted and invited for the National Showcase in Delhi during 1–4 December 2018. During the showcase -cum-competition event, these projects were evaluated by a panel of experts and top 10 projects were selected and felicitated during the Awards ceremony.
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Top 10 Project Awards
S.No. Project Title Participants Name of School
1 Smart Electroplater Shiv TyagiPPJ Saraswati Vihar Nainital, Uttarakhand
2 Smoke PurifierRohit Sharma & Abhinav Dogra
Trinity Public School, Banjar Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
3 Cardio-bandManjur Ahmed & Md Amaan
Kendriya Vidyalaya AFS Borjhar Guwahati, Assam
4 LPG Leakage Detector Vishal RanjanDAV Public School Koyla Nagar Dhanbad, Jharkhand
5Smart Solar Tracker Light With Motion Detector
Mehar Thakur & Bhanu Prakash Singh
Sanowar Valley Public School Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
6 Ennioa Soumyadeep SahuDAV Public School, unit – VIII Bhubaneswar, Odisha
7 IOT Based Smart StretcherSatyam Singh & Sushant Yadav
Hiralal Ramniwas Inter College Khalilabad Sant Kabir Nagar Uttar Pradesh
8 Agriculture Data Collecting BotAnshuman Nigam & Bharat Jain
Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
9Fashionable & Helpful - Women's Jewellery As Self-defence
Happy Singh & Kashish Aswal
Purkal Youth Development Society Dehradun, Uttarakhand
10 Floor Cleaning RobotMadhubrata Mohapatra & Sehnaaz Begum
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dhenkanal, Orissa
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Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship Program
Recognizing that Water is of fundamental importance for human development, the environment and the economy, and
therefore needs to feature prominently in the development agenda of both India and the United States; the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), the Daugherty Water for Food Institute (DWFI)
and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) have partnered to nurture cooperation between students and scientists from both countries. The Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship Program - a dynamic and transformative program has thus been developed to foster long term Indo-American science and technology partnerships.
WARI Interns 2018
Name and Institute UNL faculty mentor(s) Project Title
Himani UppalAcademy of Scientific and Innovative research (AcSIR) - CSIR NPL, Ghaziabad
Xu Li
Utilization of wastewater for adsorptive media based recovery of nutrients for agricultural production
Kausik GhoshVidyasagar University, Midnapore
Francisco Munoz-Arriola
Integration of remote sensing and hydrologic model to quantify the individual impact of climate and anthropogenic pulses on streamflow and sediment nutrient load of the Himalayan river Teesta
Moitrayee MukhopadhyaySRM Research Institute, Kanchipuram
Xu Li and Daniel SnowRemediation of diethylhexyl phthlate using granulated activated carbon
Rudra Mohan PradhanIndian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
Daniel Snow and Karrie Weber
Uranium biogeochemistry and its impact on water quality
Saran AadharIndian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar
Brian Wardlow and Tsegaye Tadesse
Fresh water and drought monitoring over South Asia
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WARI Interns 2018
Name and Institute UNL faculty mentor(s) Project Title
Syed Ibrahim Gnani Peer MohamedNational Institute of Technology, Surathkal
Siamak Nejati and Ashraf Aly Hassan
Synthesis and characterization of antibiofouling zwitterionic thin film nanocomposite membranes for desalination
Tanuhree ParsaiIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Xu Li and Yusong LiFate of nanoparticles and corresponding ion in different environmental media
WARI Fellows 2018
Name and Institute UNL faculty mentor(s) Project Title
Dhanya C. T. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Ayse Kilic and Tsegaye Tadesse
Enhancing the drought predictability through remote sensing of evapotranspiration and soil moisture
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Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE) Fellowship Program
Recognizing that climate change, clean and efficient energy and environmental protection are among the biggest
challenges facing India and the United States; the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India through its Solar Energy Research Initiative, and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) are
committed to tackling these issues by building capacity in these frontier areas. To nurture future innovators and thought leaders in Solar Energy, the Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE) Fellowship Program - a dynamic and transformative program has been developed to foster contacts between students and scientists from India and the United States.
BASE Interns: Batch of 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Anupam Srivastav Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra
York R. SmithThe University of Utah
Experimental and theoretical studies on Bismuth Vanadate and related materials for photoelectrochemical splitting of water and Hydrogen generation
Ashish Saxena Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
Hitesh BindraKansas State University
Computational analysis of thermal stratification in horizontal solar thermal receivers with liquid metal coolants
Brajendra Singh Sengar Indian Institute of Technology, Indore
Clemens HeskeUniversity of Nevada Las Vegas
Surface structure and band alignment study of wide band gap buffer layers with CZTSSe thin film for photovoltaic application
Deepak Badgurjar Central University of Rajasthan,Ajmer
Thomas J. MeyerThe University of North Carolina
Cost effective panchromatic nanoparticle chromophore catalyst assemblies for light driven water oxidation
Jayashree Swaminathan CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karai Kudi
Pulickel M. AjayanRice University
Designing electrodes for photo and elctrochemical water splitting reactions
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BASE Interns: Batch of 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
K. Ramesh Kumar Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
Byron H. FarnumAuburn University
Designing efficient quantum dot solar cells by studying electron transfer and transport phenomena
Mohammad Adil Afroz Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Qiquan QiaoSouth Dakota State University
Understanding the crystal growth and stability in perovskite solar cells
Naresh Duvva CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad
Kirk S. SchanzeThe University of Texas at San Antonio
Design synthesis and optical properties of organometallic conjugated polymers for solar cells applications
Naveen Kumar Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar
Tara P. DhakalState University of New York
ZnSnO as an alternate buffer layer and defect passivation at absorber buffer interface for efficient carrier transport in CZTS solar cells
Shailendra Singh Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Murali BagguNational Renewable Energy Laboratory
Grid Integration of solar photovoltaics and operational issues in smart grids
Surender Subburaj A.C. College of Technology, Campus, Anna University, Chennai
Yongfeng LuUniversity of Nebraska Lincoln
Fabrication of InGaN GaN MQWs based Solar cells and electrical characterization for space applications
Vignesh M. Pondicherry University,Puducherry
John Zhanhu GuoThe University of Tennessee Knoxville
Development of high performance dye sensitized solar cells using in situ grown metal selenide onto graphene as nanohybrid counter electrodes
BASE Fellows: Batch of 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Adarsh Kumaran Nair Valsala DeviIndian Institute of Science Education And Research, Bhopal
Mathew C. BeardNational Renewable Energy Laboratory
Hybridperovskite nanocrystals for high efficiency photovoltaics fundamental studies and device fabrication
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BASE Fellows: Batch of 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Ajay SoniIndian Institute of Technology, Mandi
Ramanth GanpatiRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Flexible solar-thermoelectric devices of nanoplatelet chalcogenides for solar and thermal energy harvesting
Basudev Pradhan Central University of Jharkhand,Ranchi
Jayan ThomasUniversity of Central Florida
High efficiency monolithic perovskite silicon tandem solar cell
Bharatiraja C. SRM University, Kanchipuram
Brad LehmanNortheastern University
Design and development of digitally control high efficient compact novel solar power conversion system.
Kusum KumariNational Institute of Technology, Warangal
Sean E. ShaheenUniversity of Colorado
Development of perovskite solar cells via interface engineering using transition metal dichalogenide based ultra thin layers
Muniappan SankarIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
Francis DsouzaUniversity of North Texas
Synthesis and studies on porphyrin novel donor acceptor systems for artificial photosynthesis and photovoltaic applications
Saravana Ilango G.National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli
Subashish BattacharyaNorth Carolina State University
Development of sic based modular multilevel converter for improving power quality in grid connected solar PV systems
Satya Pal NehraDeenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology, Murthal, Sonepat
Thuc Quyen NguyenUniversity of California
Fabrication and characterization of lead free perovskite photovoltaic devices towards low cost ecofriendly higher efficiency and stable photovoltaic technology
Shyamal Chatterjee Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneshwar
Gary Glass and Francis D'souzaUniversity of North Texas
Three dimensional heterojunction nanostrcutures for photovoltaic applications
Varun National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur
Yogi GoswamiUniversity of South Florida
Performance assessment of supercritical carbon dioxide thermodynamic cycle for concentrating solar power
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Bioenergy-Awards for Cutting Edge Research (B-ACER)
The Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum
have developed a dynamic visitation program between Indian institutions and premier U.S. Universities in the priority areas of Biofuel and Bioenergy - the Bioenergy-Awards for
Cutting Edge Research (B-ACER). The dynamic exchange of information and knowledge between premier institutions in India and the U.S.through a devised exchange program will create sustainable, long-term networks in the mutual interest of both countries.
B-ACER Interns 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Danish EqbalInternational Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi
Paul J. CullenUniversity of Buffalo
Identification and functional characterization of genes involved in hyphal septation and development
Himanshu Karashanbhai PatelCSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar
Arthur J. RagauskasUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville
Exploration of economically attractive pathways for biooil deoxygenation
Jyoti KaintholaIndian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Ramesh GoelUniversity of Utah
Designing a consortium using anaerobic bacteria for efficient hydrolysis leading to enhanced biogas production from Rice straw
Nilesh Kumar SharmaSardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy, Kapurthala
Mark A. EitemanUniversity of Georgia
Identification and functional characterization of endogenous xylitol transporter gene of Kluyveromyces marxianus for the framework of enhanced bioethanol production
Paramvir SinghNational Institute of Technology, Hamirpur
Ashwani K. GuptaUniversity of Maryland
Waste and biomass to syngas and liquid fuel conversion as well as viability of producing enhanced value added products from the above feedstock
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B-ACER Interns 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Ram Ji DixitIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Vijay RamaniWashington University in St. Louis
Bio crude refining to produce biofuel
Shubhasish GoswamiIndian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Kolkata
Danielle Tullman ErcekNorthwestern University
Designing a genetic circuit to understand cellulase synergy
B-ACER Fellows 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host Institution
Project Title
Manoj Kumar Sharma Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Peggy. G. LemauxUniversity of California
Optimization of efficient genetic engineering procedure for bioenergy feedstocks
Ragothaman Madhava Rao YennamalliJaypee University of Information Technology, Solan
Brian FoxUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Systems level analysis of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases and their involvement in degradation of recalcitrant polysaccharides
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Building Energy Efficiency Higher & Advanced Network Fellowships (BHAVAN)
The Building Energy Efficiency Higher & Advanced Network (BHAVAN) Fellowships supported by the Department
of Science and Technology, Govt. of India and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology
Forum (IUSSTF) are envisaged to create a sustainable and vibrant linkage between the two nations, in the field of Building Energy Efficiency.
BHAVAN Interns 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host Institution
Project Title
Ankit Bhalla The Energy & Resources Insitute, New Delhi
Rahman AzariIllinois Institute of Technology
Defining measured and validated sky luminance distribution model for India to accurately assess the availability of daylight in building interiors
Ashok Mohan Jadhav Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur
Siddharth SuryanarayananColorado State University
Development of distributed real-time computational framework for energy management in integrated buildings and microgrid system equipped with distributed energy resources
Gurubalan AnnaduraiIndian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Patrick J GeogheganOak Ridge National Laboratory
Investigation of membrane based liquid desiccant air conditioning system for building applications
Madhavi JainJawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Dev NiyogiPurdue University
Urbanization and its manifestations on localized weather for building energy and thermal comfort modeling
Milan JainIndraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi
Osman AhmedPacific Northwest National Laboratory
Timely identify slow time varying faults in air conditioners and roof top units
Nilesh PurohitBirla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Brian A. FrickeOak Ridge National Laboratory
Energetic, environmental and economic assessment of a solar assisted Carbon Dioxide building environment and refrigeration system for warm weather
Visitation Programs
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BHAVAN Interns 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host Institution
Project Title
Praveen Kumar Govindasamy A.C. College of Technology, Campus, Anna University
Patrick E. PhelanArizona State University
Green Energy and Total Cooling Provision for Building Towards Sustainability
Priyam TewariMalaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Vivian LoftnessCarnegie Mellon University
Development of a building bio-climatic design chart for evaporative cooling using adaptive thermal comfort approach.
Ravita LambaIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Yogi GoswamiUniversity of South Florida
Thermodynamic modeling and performance analysis of Building Integrated Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric (BIPV-TE) hybrid system
Sneha JainInternational Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad
Christian KohlerLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Integrated shading and lighting control system based on real-time sky luminance maps forenergy efficiency and glare protection
Utkarsh MathurCEPT University,Ahmedabad
Harvey BryanArizona State University
Overall Thermal Transfer Value of a building envelope (OTTV)
BHAVAN Fellows 2018
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Chaitali BasuSchool of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
M.G. Matt Syal Michigan State University
Building performance evaluation for energy efficiency retrofitting decision-making in residential buildings
Gayathri Aaditya Ghatty Nitte School of Architecture,Govindapura
Reshma SinghLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Designing a low energy and economic footprint BIPV housing
Visitation Programs
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Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in STEMM (WISTEMM)
Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum
(IUSSTF) jointly announced “Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in STEMM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) with an aim to provide Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists opportunities to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in U.S.A. to enhance their research capacities and capabilities in global perspective.
Proposed area of work may include Agricultural Sciences, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Cognitive Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences, Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Medical Sciences and Physical Sciences.
In the First Call advertised during January 2018, IUSSTF received an overwhelming response of 1102 applications under the two program modules. Top ten candidates were selected under the Women Overseas Student Internship and Women Overseas Fellowship program modules respectively.
Women Overseas Student Interns 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor &
Host InstitutionProject Title
Divya ArumugamNMSSVN College, Madurai
Amit JoshiMedical College of Wisconsin
Quantum dots for magnetic resonance and near infrared second window image guided cancer therapy
Gaurangi GuptaIndian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Siva Prasad Gogineni University of Alabama
Low profile cavity backed antennas for glacial ice sounding radar systems
Jyoti TomarIndian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
Siva VanapalliTexas Tech University
Lab on a chip system for antimicrobial susceptibility tests on pathogens against antibiotics using droplet microfluidics
Kalpana SriramadasuSri Padmavati Women's University, Tirupati
Xianchun LiUniversity of Arizona
Host plant adaptation in the generalist Helicoverpa Zea
Visitation Programs
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Women Overseas Student Interns 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor &
Host InstitutionProject Title
Meenakshi Verma(Unemployed)
Mandeep Singh BakshiUniversity of Wisconsin
Naphthalimide metal complex receptor for toxin detection in foodstuff and water
Preeti SarkarTezpur University Tezpur
Giuseppe Valacchi North Carolina State University
To investigate the bioavailability and inhibitory effects of bioactive peptides (generated from silk industry waste) against endothelial dysfunctional factors involved in causing pro-inflammatory phenotype in human endothelial cells during vascular inflammation
Rubia Zahid Gaur(Unemployed)
Sarina J. ErgasUniversity of South Florida
Enhanced methane production in high solids anaerobic digestion of aquatic weeds using paper and pulp
Sunita MishraIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Kaliat T RameshJohns Hopkins University
Micromechanics study on dynamic failure of rocks by using digital image correlation and x-ray contrast imaging
Tejal AgarwalIndian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Suckjoon JunUniversity of California
Coarse grained polymer models to study the dynamics and organization of Bacterial chromosomes
Tripti MidhaIndian Institute of Technology, Ropar
Anatoly B KolomeiskyRice University
Investigation of mechanisms of biological cellular transport phenomena utilizing analytical and computational tools
Women Overseas Fellows 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor & Host
InstitutionProject Title
Amritpal Kaur Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
Madhav P. YadavEastern Regional Research Centre
Characterization and utilization of hemicellulose and cellulosic arabinoxylan fiber rich fractions
Visitation Programs
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Women Overseas Fellows 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor & Host
InstitutionProject Title
Indu Jayaluxmi Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Pierre Emmanuel KirstetterUniversity of Oklahoma
Evaluation of satellite precipitation products from the global precipitation measurement mission
Jayati Sarkar Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Prabir PatraUniversity of Bridgeport
Dewetting assisted self-assembly origami formation and folding of Graphene particles
Kuntal MisraAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Uttarakhand
Stefano ValentiUniversity of California
Unraveling the physics and progenitors of cosmic explosions
Preeti Anand BhobeIndian Institute of Technology, Indore
Ibrahim KaramanTexas A & M University
Magneto functional heusler alloys with large scale tunability of operation temperatures
Qaiser JahanIndian Institute of Technology, Mandi
Marcin BownikUniversity of Oregon
Characterization of scaling function and construction of wavelets on compact and locally compact abe
Richa Babbar Thapar University,Patiala
Indrajeet ChaubeyPurdue University
A study on economic fertilizer dose agricultural productivity and environmental protection
Sriparna SahaIndian Institute of Technology, Patna
Vineet BafnaUniversity of California
Exploring deep learning for solving different population genetics task
Taruna Anand ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar
Vincent A FischettiThe Rockefeller University
To produce novel phage lysins against pathogenic bacteria
Taruna Madan ICMR National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai
Raina Nakova FichorovaHarvard University
Host factors silencing vaginal inflammation promote resistance to HIV
Visitation Programs
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Indo-U.S. Genome Engineering/Editing Technology Initiative (GETin)
Indo-U.S. Genome Engineering/Editing Technology Initiative (GETin) program is a joint initiative of the Department of
Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India and Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) in order to acknowledge the importance of strategies and techniques in genome modification, as modern-day essential tools for research and development between
Indian institutes and premier U.S. Universities, in significant areas of genome engineering/editing technology. Against the Second Call advertised during August 2018, IUSSTF received 99 applications. Top five candidates have been selected in the Student Internship and Overseas Fellowship program modules respectively and top 3 candidates have been selected in the Visiting Fellowship program module.
Student Interns: 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host
InstitutionProject Title
Arpita PrustyUniversity of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Cornelis MurreUniversity of California
Functional characterization of novel B cell super enhancers
Debarya SahaCSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
Charles Keller Children's Cancer Therapy Development InstituteWest Beaverton
Analysis of the regulatory mechanisms governing quiescence
Meeti PunethaIndian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly
Jonathan A. Green University of Missouri
Exploration of the functional roles of early growth response genes in VEGF signalling in porcine luteal cells
Sonali JatharNational Centre for Cell Science, Pune
Je-hyun YoonMedical University of South Carolina
Decoding the molecular function of quiescence specific lnc RNA by genome editing approach
Syed Qaaifah GillaniUniversity of Kashmir, Srinagar
Thomas RobertsDana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University
Studying the role of PCTAIRE kinase in mitotic regulation and tumorigenesis by CRISPR Cas genome editing
Visitation Programs
Report on Programmatic Activities | 2018 - 2019 117
Overseas Fellows: 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor and Host Institution
Project Title
Dinesh NagegowdaCSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Bengaluru
Jian-kang ZhuPurdue University
Role of ROP genes in geranyl geranylation dependent regulation of anticancer alkaloids biosynthesis inCatharanthus roseus
Kesavan KarthikeyanGuru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur
Val Cowley SheffieldUniversity of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Cationic nano-micelles as a non-viral vector in CRISPR Cas based genome editing for myocilin associated glaucoma therapy
Rhitu Rai ICAR-NRC on Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi
Adam Joseph BogdanoveCornell University
Knock in targeting to develop a reporter based screening system in rice for monitoring Xanthomonas oryzae populations
Sanal Madhusudana GirijaInstitute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi
Arun SrivastavaUniversity of Florida
Design and optimization of CRISPR Cas for in vivo delivery using adeno associated virus for gene therapy
Suja GeorgeM.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
Abhaya M DandekarUniversity of California
Assessing the efficiency of CRISPR mediated genome editing tools in higher plants for crop improvement under abiotic stress
Visiting Fellows: 2018-19
Name and InstituteIndian Mentor and
Host InstitutionProject Title
Charles R. LongTexas A&M University Caldwell
Naresh SelokarICAR-Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, Hisar
Production of respiratory disease resistant buffalo through gene editing and assisted reproduction
Vibha SrivastavaUniversity of Arkansas Fayetteville
M.V. RajamDelhi University South Campus
Gene editing and genome engineering in rice for fast track variety development
Visitation Programs
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American Society for Microbiology (ASM)-IUSSTF Professorships in
Microbiology
Under an arrangement between IUSSTF and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the Indo-U.S.
Professorship Awards in Microbiology were instituted in 2003 with the aim to foster scientific cooperation, education, training and capacity building at individual and institutional levels through exchange visitation.
The program supports: y Teaching Professorships:
Microbiologists in India and the United States
to visit institutions (for 1-2 weeks) in the two countries to teach an interactive short course on a topic in any of the microbiological disciplines.
y Research Professorships: Microbiologists in India to participate in an interactive short course on a topic in any of the microbiological disciplines, or conduct a research project in partnership with colleague in a research facility in the U.S. (for a minimum of 6 weeks)
ASM-IUSSTF Awards - 2018
S.No. Name and Institute Category Proposal Title Mentor and Host Institute
1Jason Blackard University of Cincinnati
Visiting Research Professorship
Introduction to Molecular Phylogenetics and Virus Evolution
Pachamuthu BalakrishnanYRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education
2Mrinal Samanta Central Insttitute of Freshwater Aquaculture
Visiting Research Professorship
Deciphering the critical role of TLR and NLR-signaling in the reactivation and replication of quiescent ranavirus FV3 in Xenopus laevis
Jacques Robert University of Rochester Medical Center
3Neha JainAhmedabad University
Visiting Teaching Professorship
Immune modulation in response to curli (bacterial amyloid) induced aggregation of human proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases
Cagla Tukel Temple University
4Sangeeta Khare U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Visiting Teaching Professorship
Nanotechnology applications in healthcare: toxicological risk assessment using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo host-microbiome interaction models
Santosh Kumar MisraIndian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
5Vijay Juneja Eastern Regional Research Center
Visiting Teaching Professorship
Predictive Microbiology for Food Safety
Shalini Sehgal Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences University of Delhi
Visitation Programs
Report on Programmatic Activities | 2018 - 2019 119
IUSSTF-American Physical Society (APS) Fellowships
IUSSTF and the American Physical Society (APS) have partnered to support a bilateral exchange program that includes the Indo-
U.S. Professorship Awards in Physics which are awarded to scientists from India and USA every year to conduct short courses or provide physics lecture series and, the Indo-U.S. Physics Student Visitation Program for student exchange every year. The program was launched in 2008.
‘Professorships and Lectureships’ consist of 1-2 week courses or a lecture series delivered at an Indian or U.S. institution. Recipients are selected by a joint APS-IUSSTF review committee, with a call for proposals once each year. Awards are typically used for travel, materials and expenses associated with course delivery. The objective
of the Visiting Professorship is to enable physicists to build strong collaborative linkages in physics education and research between the scientific communities of U.S. and India.
The 'Physics Student Visitation Program' aims to support graduate student travel to India by U.S. citizens, and for students of Indian citizenship to travel to the United States. These studentship programs will help to build early career relationships between the next generation of physicists from the U.S. and India. The students can apply for this visitation program to attend a shortcourse, or summer training; to visit with a professor in his/her field of study; to work temporarily in a lab; or for any other opportunity that the student/professor feels is worthy of support.
APS-IUSSTF Professorship Awards - 2018
S.No. Name and Institute Mentor and Host Institute
1Amit Ghosal Indian Institute of Science Education and Research,Kolkata
Nandini TrivediThe Ohio State University
2Ribhu Kaul University of Kentucky
Sumiran PujariIndian Institute of Technology, Bombay
3Sourov Roy Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata
Jure ZupanUniversity of Cincinnati
4Wladimir LyraCalifornia State University,Northridge
Sujan Kumar SenguptaIndian Institute of Astrophysics,Bengaluru
Visitation Programs
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APS-IUSSTF Physics Ph.D. Student & Postdoc Visitation Awards - 2018
S.No. Name and Institute Mentor and Host Institute
1Anjali PSIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
Rana X AdhikariCalifornia Institute of Technology
2Deepyanti TanejaUniversity of Texas at Austin
Arnab BhattacharyaTata Institute of Fundamental Research,Mumbai
3Manuel WeberGeorgetown University
H. R. KrishnamurthyIndian Institute of Science,Bengaluru
4William GilpinStanford University
Shashi ThutupalliNational Centre for Biological Sciences,Bengaluru
Visitation Programs
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Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE)
The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum supported Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE)
Program provides unique opportunities for science, technology, engineering and medical students from the United States to undertake internships in national laboratories, federal research centers, academic research institutes, and private R&D laboratories in India.
Objectives of the internships are to provide American students exposure to the Indian S&T landscape, gain practical skills and
develop collaborative networks. Internships are envisaged as a source of mutual, cultural and professional enrichment for both the interns and their host institutions. The result will be the development of joint efforts that builds long-term collaboration and mutually beneficial professional relationships. Indian and American citizens currently enrolled at a recognized institution of higher education pursuing Doctoral/Masters’ programs in science, engineering, technology and medical disciplines are eligible to apply. The internships provide monthly stipend, accommodation and airfare.
RISE Interns : 2018-19
Name Parent Institution Mentor and Indian Host Institution
Chandrachur BhattacharyaThe Pennsylvania State University, State College
Achintya MukhopadhyayJadavpur University,Kolkata
Claire Hope FoxCornell University, Ithaca
Joe KizhakudanCentral Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Chennai
Jaynise Marie Perez ValentinUniversity of Notre Dame, Notre Dame
Debasis SenguptaIndian Institute of Science,Bengaluru
Kristina Yurievna FialkoUniversity of Chicago, Chicago
Pratap SinghWildlife Institute of India,Dehradun
Visitation Programs
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Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW)
The Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) program is a partnership between the Science and
Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide NSF Graduate Research Fellows with opportunities to enhance their professional development through research collaborations at top-caliber science and engineering research sites in India.
The objectives of the program are to promote research and capacity building in frontline areas of science and technology; to pave way for the next generation scientists and technologists from the United States to interact with their Indian peers, thus helping to build long-term R&D linkages and collaborations; and, to bring talented American students to research laboratories and academic institutions in India to build a deeper appreciation of the culture of innovation and long-standing tradition of scientific enquiry in India.
The following 2 students were selected for fellowships in India under the GROW Program in 2018-19:
Name and Institution Indian Host Institution Project Title
Allison Mitchell Young Michigan State University
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCBS), Bengaluru
Foraging activity and mortality of tropical honey bees
Jamie MacLennanUniversity of Michigan Ann, Arbor
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Production of Ultracold sample of Sr atoms for a plasmon-polariton coupling system
Visitation Programs
Report on Programmatic Activities | 2018 - 2019 123
Khorana Program for Scholars
The Khorana Program for Scholars is a tripartite arrangement between the Department of Biotechnology, Govt.
of India, WINStep Forward and the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum in order to nurture young scholars and enable them to carry out research at a premier University in the United States. The program is named in honor of Dr. Har Gobind Khorana who won
the Nobel Prize for his work at the interface of chemistry and biology in 1968 while a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty. The Khorana Program is a summer internship program for Indian students (currently enrolled in B.Tech, M.Tech. and M.Sc. programs in Biotechnology and allied areas) to undertake a research internship in the U.S. for a period of 10-12 weeks.
Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Abhinanda KarUniversity of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Yamuna KrishnanUniversity of Chicago
Developing a c.elegans strain to simplify the genetic screening of cup-5 mutants
Abhishek PuthenveetilAmity University, Noida
Harjeet SinghUniversity of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Reprogramming of CAR+ T cell memory in culture milieu
Abhishek Sanjay DeshmukhSinhgad College of Engineering Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune
Eric McLamore Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida
Developement of label-free Mercury biosensor using sandwich assay concept
Adarsha D. P.University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru
Georg JanderCornell University
Regulation of defense gene against insect herbivory in maize
Aditya IyerIndian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Lauren O’ConnellStanford University
Dietary Tuning of Ranitomeya imitator tadpoles
Visitation Programs
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Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Aimen Akbar AB.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai
Aseem Z. AnsariUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Establishment of Reporter Lines into the Human FXN gene using CRISPR/Cas 9 Genome Editing method
Akshita GuptaNetaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi
Lei ZhengJohns Hopkins University
Development of Immuno-oncology Relational Database
Ananthi ShanmuganandamAnna University (BIT Campus), Tiruchirapalli
Dr. Prashant MaliUniversity of California
In vivo gene therapy in a mouse model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Asheesh MaheshwariVIT University, Vellore
Nitish ThakorJohns Hopkins University
Mixed Reality Training enviorment for upper limb amputees
Chesta JainJawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Yatrik Shah University of Michigan
Hepcidin - ferroportin signaling in maintaining systemic iron homeostasos
Debasmita MukherjeeIndian Institute of Technology, Ropar
Chandan K. SenOhio State University
Sepsis derived EVs enriched in epigenetic regulators modifies recipient cell
Debayan ChaudhuryIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
Romas Kazlauskas University of Minnesota
Swapping active site residues in ancestral and modern enzymes to explore emergence of catalytic promiscuity
Dibin BabyIndian Institute of Science Education and Research,Tirupati
Yiping Qi University of Maryland
Assembling and construction of CRISPR/Cas9 T-DNA vectors for improving CRISPR Cas9 toolbox in plants
Divya ChoudharyIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Francis J. Doyle IIIHarvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Activity Recognition for free-living subjects using wrist-worn accelerometer
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Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Dolly JainDr. B.R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi
Daniel Klionsky University of Michigan
The role of Atg41 in macroautophagy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Fauzia Bi Fairoz ShaikhParvatibai Chowgule College of Arts & Science, Goa
Bill Sugden University of Wisconsin-Madison
Comparing the infection efficiency of lentiviral vectors to deliver a CRISPR/Cas9 construct to EBV+ tumor cells
Ganta Sai KumarKonaseema Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation, Amalapuram
Rama Maganti University of Wisconsin-Madison
Acute and chronic effects of traumatic brain injury on sleep wake cycle in a mouse model
Gurudatt PatraAmrita School of Biotechnology Kollam
Jeff Perry University of California Riverside
Structure Based Drug Discovery Against POLQ
Harshil Rakesh ShahInstitute of PharmacyNirma University, Ahmedabad
Alexander Tropsha University of North Carolina
Cheminformatic Study and QSAR Modelling of Various Human Kinases for Treatment of Cancer
HeenaPunjab Agricultural University Ludhiana
Jason L Rasgon Pennsylvania State University
Functional genomics in insects with advanced molecular techniques
Heer Vipul JoisherBirla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Graham WalkerMassachusetts Institute of Technology
DNA based Strategy for elucidating the mechanism of action of Antimicrobial peptides
Henika Sanjay PatelIndian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram
Lars SteinmetzStanford University
Developing tools for CRISPR genome editing in yeast
Jalaja MadhusudhananIndian institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati
Fenglian XuSaint Louis University
Neurodevelopment and synaptic plasticity
Visitation Programs
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Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Jaya Sowkyadha SathiyamaniUniversity of Delhi, New Delhi
Partha Mitra Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Mouse Brain Architecture
Jhalak Bansal, National Institute of Technology, Warangal
William L. Klein Northwestern University
Alzheimer's disease
Manish AyushmanIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Trina Schroer Johns Hopkins University
Characterisation of Dynactin shRNA and Dynactin p25 mutants: Nemo and p25 K74A
Manuj BandralPanjab University, Chandigarh
Rajini Rao Johns Hopkins University
Secretory pathway calcium ATPase-2 (SPCA-2) regulates metastasis by altering the mesenchymal markers in triple negative breast cancer cell lines
Mitali Madhusmita PadhiKIIT University, Bhubaneswar
Aseem Z Ansari University of Wisconsin-Madison
Targetting Epigenetic modifications, i.e. Histone methylations to treat Friedrich's Ataxia
Nikhil VermaNational Institute of Technology, Raipur
Pattie Maes Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Real time Machine Learning model for Human Computer Interaction
Nikhita DamarajuIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
Julia Salzman Stanford University
Using bioinformatic and statistical approaches to look at circRNAs in simple organisms
Nikunj MehtaIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
David Sabatini Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Protein Complexes interaction study on KICSTOR and Gator1 in mTORC Pathway
Nila Madassary PazhayamUniversity of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Matt Kaeberlein University of Washington
Dissecting the genetic pathways by which Complex I dysfunction influences mitochondrial stress signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans
Visitation Programs
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Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Nirvik SinhaIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Yuan Yang Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Nonlinear Distortion of Motor Commands in Multi-synaptic Descending Pathways: A Computer Simulation
Parul ChughAmity University,Noida
Xinyu Zhao University of Wisconsin-Madison
Validating the efficiency of ribotag in pv expressing cells and testing the specificity of ribotag in Fxr1-Cko/Pv cre/ribotag mice
Pratyush MainiIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Zico Kolter Carnegie Mellon University
Adversarial Machine Learning
Priti Satish ShenoySavitribai Phule Pune University,Pune
Vatsan RamanUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Insertion of the genes trxA and cmk in the T7 bacteriophage genome for host range modification and expansion
Priya SrivastavaGautam Buddha University, Greater Noida
Juan D. Alfonzo Ohio State University
Studies on tRNA Splicing endonuclease of Trypanosoma Brucei (TbSEN) and measuring binding affinity to different substrates in vitro including intron-containing tRNA
Rachita K. KumarSASTRA University,Thanjavur
Roger D. Kornberg Stanford University
Reconstitution of the preinitiation complex in thermophilic yeast
Sarim KhanIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
Mark F. Bear Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mechanisms of visual recognition memory
Saurabh RastogiGuru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University,New Delhi
Oleksandr Shcheglovitov University of Utah
Genetic mechanisms of pediatric epilesy and microcephaly
Saurav Saswat RoutIndian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata
Karin E. PetersonNational Institutes of Health
Understanding the role of MAVS in brain capillary endothelial cells during LaCV induced blood brain barrier leakage
Visitation Programs
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Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Sayak MitraVIT University,Vellore
Natarajan MuthusamyOhio State University
Screening of Targeted Therapeutic Molecules in Haem Malignancies
Shalini ChakrabortyNational Institute of Technology Durgapur, West Bengal
Robert LandickUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Transcription-Translation Coupling
Shiksha Hitendra SharmaThe Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,Vadodara
Yamuna KrishnanUniversity of Chicago
Bacterial metabolic labelling to map host-pathogen interactions
Shivranjani BaruahSt. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata
M. Andrew Walker University of California
Grape pests and diseases- An understanding of disease susceptibility and culture maintenance
Shreyansh UmaleIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
Jeff GoreMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Alternative stable states in multi-species microbial communities
Shruthi MageshSRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kanchipuram
Jo Handelsman University of Wisconsin-Madison
Genetic analysis of microbial community assembly and invasion and finding antibiotic resistance mutations in metagenomic sequence data
Siddharth UppalBirla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Ashutosh Chilkoti Duke University
Drug delivery using Elastin like polypeptides
Sidhant Kalia Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,Vadodara
Gopal IyerUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Study of expression of Tumor suppressor gene products and cell cycle regulators on treatment with epigenetic drug JQ1
Sucheta GhoshIndian Institute of Technology, Mandi
Guang William WongJohns Hopkins University
Candidate receptor screen to identify potential cell surface receptor(s) for the CTRP family of metabolic hormones
Visitation Programs
Report on Programmatic Activities | 2018 - 2019 129
Khorana Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteAdvisor and
Host UniversityProject Title
Suraj H MTamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
Richard VierstraWashington University in St. Louis
Plants response to stress by analysing Sumo and autophagy
Swati BodhAmity University, Rajasthan
Brenda RubensteinBrown University
Thermodynamic Predictors of Epistasis in HIV Envelope Proteins
Swati Mohapatra National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
Debananda PatiBaylor College of Medicine
Study of the effect of Sepin-1 and Statins on Neuroblastoma and Ewing Sarcoma Models
Vishnu Nethra Reddy University of Mysore
William L. KleinNorthwestern University
Study on Oligomer Expression and Synapse Levels in Embryonic Chick Retinal Ganglion Cell Layer
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IUSSTF - Viterbi Program
An important aspect of engineering education in the 21st century is to provide the experience of international research
to young scholars and a practical way to achieve this would be to foster their participation in international research programs. Such initiatives would offer them an array of experiences both academic and social that would help them gain a global perspective and prove invaluable in their professional careers through a cross-cultural exposure. To address this need for human resource development and capacity building in the field of computer sciences and electrical engineering, IUSSTF and the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of
Southern California partnered to support the IUSSTF-Viterbi Program between Indian engineering institutions and the Viterbi School of Engineering.
The IUSSTF - Viterbi Program is a dynamic student internship program that creates long-term, sustainable and vibrant linkages between the two nations. The program provides an opportunity for Indian students pursuing a Bachelors or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Computational Sciences at a recognized institution of higher education and learning in India to undertake a research internship at the Viterbi School of Engineering for a period of 8 weeks.
IUSSTF-Viterbi Interns : 2018-19
Name and Institute Mentor at USC Project Title
Abhishek Agarwal Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Hossein HashemiSilicon waveguide characterization
Anirudh Srinivasan College of Engineering, Pune
Yan LiuDeep Learning and Random Forests for Survival Analysis
Arundhati Banerjee Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Yan LiuA Comparative Study of Generative Models for Tracking Evolving Distributions
Hardik Mahipal SuranaPES University, Bengaluru
Leana GolubchikOptimization of Distributed Machine Learning
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IUSSTF-Viterbi Interns : 2018-19
Name and Institute Mentor at USC Project Title
Harikumar KrishnamurthyIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
Salman Avestimehr
Applying coding techniques in distributed setting to gain computational orcommunication gains
Harshil Kalpeshkumar ShahIndian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar
Peter BeerelSecurity Analysis of DNN against Adversarial Examples
Hrishikesh P KaleCollege of Engineering,Pune
Prem NatarajanImage Copy move forgery detection
Karthik Vijay A. M.Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Michelle Lynn PovinelliIncreasing Laser Sail Stability Using Nonlinear Resonances
Kunal DhawanIndian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Shrikanth Narayanan
An i-vector based Non-Negative Matrix Factorization approach towards noise robust Automatic Speech Recognition
Prajwal SinghaniaIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Meisam RazaviyaynAdaptive Binarization and Quantization of Neural Networks
Prakhar Kumar SinghIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
Rehan KapadiaA Non-Volatile Floating Gate Transistor Based Neuromorphic Crossbar Array Architecture
Pranav Dhananjay KulkarniIndian Institute of Technology-Bombay
C. Jay KuoImage Synthesis Using Multi Spectral Grid (MSG) Transform and Super-Resolution
Pratyush GargIndian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Justin Haldar
Reconstructing MR Images from k-Space data with Scan-Specifically Trained Convolutional Neural Networks
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IUSSTF-Viterbi Interns : 2018-19
Name and Institute Mentor at USC Project Title
Ritam DuttIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Emilio FerraraDetailed analysis of Facebook Ads purchased by Russia during the 2016 Presidential elections
Saksham SuriIndian Institute of Information Technology, Delhi
C. Jay Kuo High resolution image synthesis
Shri Shruthi ShridharAnna University, Chennai
Prem Natarajan Neural Abstract Generation
Soumya MahapatraIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Mike Shuo-Wei ChenA Non-Uniform Subsampling (NUS) Scheme for Relaxing the Anti-Aliasing Bandpass Filter
Vinay ChennaIndian Institute of Technology, Madras
Hossein Hashemi High frequency filters
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S.N. Bose Scholars Program
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Govt. of India, the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum
(IUSSTF) and the Winstep Forward have partnered to develop a dynamic student exchange program between Indian institutions and premier U.S. Universities. The program is named the S.N. Bose Scholars Program after the late Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose, a visionary Indian physicist best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 by the Government
of India. He made important contributions to the field of quantum physics in the 1920s that changed how particle physics has been studied ever since. The class of particles that obey Bose-Einstein statistics, Bosons, was named after him.
The S.N. Bose Scholars Program provides an opportunity to Indian and U.S. students (enrolled in Bachelors and Masters programs in Atmospheric and Earth Sciences; Chemical Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Mathematical and Computational Sciences; and, Physical Sciences.) to undertake a research internship each summer for a period of 10-12 weeks in each other’s countries.
S.N. Bose Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor andHost University
Research Area
Abhinau Kumar VenkataramananIndian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Katia SycaraCarnegie Mellon University
Electrical and Electronics
Abhiroop MishraIndian Institute of Technology Gandhi Nagar
Paul V. BraunUniversity of Illinois
Materials and Mettallurgy
Aditya GoenkaIndian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Arun MajumdarStanford University
Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Alekhya Reddy KommuruIndian Institute of Technology Chennai
Hari BalakrishnanMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Computer Science
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S.N. Bose Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor andHost University
Research Area
Anish Kiran KulkarniIndian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
Zohar KomargodskiStony Brook University
Physics
Anjana R KammathIndian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Mohali
Yamuna KrishnanUniversity of Chicago
Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Anupriya Edappalil SatheesanIndian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Thiruvananthapuram
Aseem AnsariUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Damera AbhishekIndian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Satish UkkusuriPurdue University
Civil and Earth Sciences
Ganesh ParidaNational Institute of Science Education and Research(NISER), Bhubaneswar
Raju VenugopalanBrookhaven National Laboratory
Physics
Gaurav KumarIndian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur
Muhammad Ashraful AlamPurdue University
Electrical and Electronics
Gayathri Venu Madhuri ChanduAmrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore
Vincent NgThe University of Texas at Dallas
Computer Science
Guru Lakshmi SubramanianNational Institute of Technology, Puducherry
V. Parameswaran NairThe City College of New York
Electrical and Electronics
Ipshita PandaIndian Institute of Technology, Tirupati
Satish Bukkapatnam Texas A&M University
Electrical and Electronics
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S.N. Bose Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor andHost University
Research Area
Mainak SarkarIndian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Dominik SchillingerUniversity of Minnesota
Civil and Earth Sciences
Md Ishaque KhanIndian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Bhopal
Daniel J ChungUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Physics
Meghana Aparna SistlaIndian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Thomas W. RepsUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Computer Science
Mitradip DasNational Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar
Qiang CuiBoston University
Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Narayani BhatiaIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Subhasish MitraStanford University
Electrical and Electronics
Nayantara MudurIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Salman HabibUniversity of Chicago
Physics
Paras GuptaIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Arun MajumdarStanford University
Mechanical
Pradyumna Venkatesh ChariIndian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Truong NguyenUniversity of California
Electrical and Electronics
Pranay Praveen NagraniNational Institute of Technology, Srinivasanagar Surathkal
Ivan ChristovPurdue University
Mechanical
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S.N. Bose Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor andHost University
Research Area
Prasanna Venkatesan RavindranIndian Institute of Technology, Palakkad
Nitish V. ThakorJohns Hopkins University
Electrical and Electronics
Ravi PrakashNational Institute of Technology, Warangal
Debajyoti BanerjeeTexas A&M University
Mechanical
Ritesh Kumar PandaIndian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Kolkata
Josef WerneUniversity of Pittsburgh
Civil and Earth Sciences
Saakaar BhatnagarIndian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Karthik DuraisamyUniversity of Michigan
Mechanical
Sanjana Viraj ParazIndian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Sashi KunnathUniversity of California
Civil and Earth Sciences
Sanskriti MishraNational Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
Aseem AnsariUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Electrical and Electronics
Shashwat SinhaIndian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Vinayak P Dravid Northwestern University
Materials and Mettallurgy
Shravya SrivastavaUniversity of Delhi
Nigel HughesUniversity of California at Riverside
Civil and Earth Sciences
Shriya GehlotIndian Institute Of Science Education And Research, Bhopal
Jonathan M. RosenbergUniversity of Maryland
Mathematics
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S.N. Bose Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor andHost University
Research Area
Shubham BhuyanNational Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Orissa
Rama ChellappaUniversity of Maryland
Electrical and Electronics
Shubham JenaIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Derek PaleyUniversity of MaryLand
Mechanical
Shubham NegiIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Kaushik RoyPurdue University
Electrical and Electronics
Sidharth KumarIndian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Dinesh BharadiaUniversity of California
Electrical and Electronics
Sishir Suresh MohammedBirla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan
Ravi PrasherLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Mechanical
Somenath MandalIndian Statistical Institute,Bengaluru
Sudipto Banerjee University of California
Mathematics
Srijoni MajhiIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Thomas RecordUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Surjyendu BhattacharjeeIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
Paul D. AsimowCalifornia Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Civil and Earth Sciences
Suyash Pati TripathiIndian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Deep JariwalaUniversity of Pennsylvania
Electrical and Electronics
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S.N. Bose Scholars : 2018-19
Name and InstituteU.S. Mentor andHost University
Research Area
Swapnil ShankarUM-DAE Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai
Thomas W. JonesUniversity of Minnesota
Physics
Vishwak SrinivasanIndian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
Zico KolterCarnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Computer Science
In 2018-19, the following six U.S. students travelled to India under the U.S. component of the S. N. Bose Scholars Program:
Name and Institution Indian Mentor and Host University
Bhagyashri Onkarnath PandeyUniversity of Texas at Dallas
Naren RamananIndian Institute of Science,Bengaluru
Chanel S. VidalIowa State University,Ames, Iowa
Soumyajit MukherjeeIndian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Elsa Marie BarronThe University of Notre Dame
Vaishnavi AnanthanarayananIndian Institute of Science,Bengaluru
Michael Joseph D'amatoUniversity of Wisconsin – Madison
Ashwini GodboleInstitute of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), Bengaluru
Noah John BorchardtUniversity of Wisconsin – Madison
Kunchok DorjeeTibetan Delek HospitalDharamsala
Vimal Swarup KonduriUniversity of Wisconsin – Madison
Shalinder Sabherwal and Parul DattaShroff Eye Hospital,New Delhi
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Intel® Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2018
TEAM India 2018 - 25 young and bright innovators went on a special science & technology journey from 14 – 18 May
2018 to the United States of America. During the week, TEAM India participated and competed at the Intel® International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Pittsburgh, USA, the world’s largest pre-collegiate high school science research competition; and became part of a week-long exposure trip to science, research and technology based activities at museums, science center in Pittsburgh in addition to meeting officials from Indian Embassy and visiting Columbia University at New York.
TEAM India is made up of students who are winners at the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS) a research based science fair initiative for school students held in India annually. IRIS is a public – private partnership heralded by the Department of Science &
Technology (DST), Intel and Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) for empowering the next generation of innovators.
At a ceremony held at New Delhi, TEAM India was flagged off by Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Mr. Chander Mohan, Head - NCSTC, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Dr. Rajiv K. Tayal, Executive Director, Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum and Mr. Kishore Balaji, Director, Intel South Asia. Before the students left for the U.S., they got an opportunity to meet the Hon’ble Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment & Forests Dr. Harsh Vardhan at the Technology Day event held on 11th May 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan alongwith Secretary, DST; Secretary, DBT; Secretary, TDB and DG-CSIR.
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At ISEF, the students competed with more than 1800 participating science and research projects from over 81 countries. Team India won
5 Grand Awards, 9 special Awards, 1 Honourable mention in addition to having 4 planets named after them.
Team India - Intel ISEF 2018 Grand Awards
S. No. Category Project AwardName of
Student(s)School
1 Plant Sciences
The Plant Doctor - An Artificial Intelligence Based Collaborative Platform for Plant Disease Identification and Tracking for Farmers
4th Place Grand Award - $500
Kaushik Kunal Singh
Inventure Academy, Bengaluru
2System Software
Machine Learning Approach to Cancer Identification
4th Place Grand Award - $500
Shinjini GhoshSouth Point High School, Kolkata
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Team India - Intel ISEF 2018 Grand Awards
S. No. Category Project AwardName of
Student(s)School
3Translational Medical Science
An Inexpensive Solution for Visual Acuity Testing in Preverbal Children using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks
3rd Place Grand Award - $1000
Ishita ManglaDelhi Public School, R K Puram, New Delhi
4Earth & Environment
Cost effective, Real-time monitoring of pollution in water bodies using a portable floating device
2nd Place Grand Award - $1500 (Planet)
Pranav Shikarpur & Sidharth Vishwanath
Bengaluru International Academy, Bengaluru, Karnataka
5Translational Medicine
An Economical Early detecting and dosage monitoring tool for PEM
2nd Place Grand Award - $1500 (Planet)
Swasthik Padma & Mohd. Suhail
Vivekananda Pre-University College & St Aloysius Pre-University College, Mangalore
Team India -Intel ISEF 2018 Special Awards
6Systems Software
Connecting doctors for good using a Peer to Peer Lung Cancer Detection Program
Association of Computing Machinery -$3000
Parth Raghav K.R.Mangalam World School, New Delhi
7Systems Software
Connecting doctors for good using a Peer to Peer Lung Cancer Detection Program
King Abdulaziz Foundation -$1000
Parth RaghavK.R.Mangalam World School, New Delhi
8 Plant Sciences
The Plant Doctor - An Artificial Intelligence Based Collaborative Platform for Plant Disease Identification and Tracking for Farmers
China Association of Science $1200
Kaushik Kunal Singh
Inventure Academy, Bengaluru
9 Plant Sciences
The Plant Doctor - An Artificial Intelligence Based Collaborative Platform for Plant Disease Identification and Tracking for Farmers
Samvid Education Foundation
Kaushik Kunal Singh
Inventure Academy, Bengaluru
10 Plant Sciences
The Plant Doctor - An Artificial Intelligence Based Collaborative Platform for Plant Disease Identification and Tracking for Farmers
USAID - $5000
Kaushik Kunal Singh
Inventure Academy, Bengaluru
11 MathematicsSolving a Mathematical Mystery: Schinzel's Conjecture
Mu Alpha Theta - $1500
Sacheth Sathyanarayan
National Public School, Chennai
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Team India -Intel ISEF 2018 Special Awards
S. No. Category Project AwardName of
Student(s)School
12Bio Medical Engineering
Non-invasive self detection of asymptomatic acute myocardial infarction using BioElectrics: A translational investigation of transcutaneous blood analysis
Samvid Education Foundation - $500
Akash ManojThe Ashok Leyland School, Hosur
13Translational Medical Science
An Inexpensive Solution for Visual Acuity Testing in Preverbal Children using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks
Scholarship from University of Amazon
Ishita ManglaDelhi Public School, R K Puram, New Delhi
14Earth & Environment
Cost effective, Real-time monitoring of pollution in water bodies using a portable floating device
USAID - $5000
Pranav Shikarpur & Sidharth Vishwanath
Bengaluru International Academy, Bengaluru
15Translational Medicine
An Economical Early detecting and dosage monitoring tool for PEM
Samvid Certificate of honourable mention
Mohd. Suhail & Swasthik Padma
Vivekananda Pre-University College & St Aloysius Pre-University College, Mangalore
Intel Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum Scientific and Cultural Award to India
Indo - U.S. Science and Technology Forum in partnership with Intel announced a Grand Award “Intel Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum Scientific and Cultural
Visit to India Award” at the Intel Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2018, which entails a Scientific and Cultural exchange visit to India for a week, for three ISEF Best of Subject
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Category student winners from USA. These U.S. Student winners also showcase their projects at the Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science (IRIS) National Fair 2018. Three U.S. Awardees of the 2018 Intel Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum Scientific and Cultural Visit to India Award are:
y Anna Spektor, Nicolet High School, Wisconsin and Ayman Isahaku, Nicolet High School, Wisconsin
- Metformin as a Novel Neurogenic Method of Methylmercury Neurotoxicity Symptom Mitigation in Danio rerio as a Model for Human Fetuses
y Ronak Roy, Canyon Crest Academy, California
- Smartphone - Controlled Portable Phoropter Powered by Variable Focal Length Liquid Lens
Experiential Visits post ISEF 2018
The Team was taken to New York for a two day exploratory visit post ISEF during which they visited Columbia University.
The cohort also got an opportunity to meet with the Consul General Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty at the Consulate General of India in New York.
As a part of cultural visit, the team visited Niagara Falls, Ground Zero and the One World Observatory among other places. This visit was jointly organised by the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) in partnership with DST and Intel.
Honouring and recognising achievements and work of young Indian students, following four students of Team-India 2018 who participated in ISEF 2018, were conferred Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 22nd January 2019:
y Mohammed Suhail Chinya Salimpasha, Karnataka
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y Naisargik Lenka, Bhubaneshwar
y Nishant Dhankhar, Delhi
y Aswath Suryanarayana, Chennai
IRIS 2018Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM (IRIS) is a public-private partnership program between Department of Science & Technology (DST), Intel and Indo-U.S. S&T Forum (IUSSTF) that promotes and nurtures young Indian innovators and recognizes outstanding projects in the field of STEM thereby providing a platform to be at global stage through Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in USA every year.
At the three-day national fair held in New Delhi, a total of 78 projects selected through a two level evaluation process from 1500 online applications received from across India, were showcased by 106 students vying for the IRIS Grand Awards. An expert jury comprising of 25 judges, including members of the IRIS Scientific Review Committee, and external Judges from the Scientific Community selected the top 20 projects.
These 20 winner Projects with a total of 25 students will represent India at the Intel ISEF in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in May 2019.
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IRIS 2018 Winners:
S. No Subject Category Title Names School
1 Animal Sciences
The efficacy of the suction - bait trap in controlling bactrocera cucurbitae (melon fruit fly) in the agricultural fields of cheriyathekanam of ernakulam district
Richard Joseph & Manya M Kumar
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kochi
2Behavioural and Social Sciences
A card and board game to reduce gender-based implicit biases using perspective-taking and counter stereotyping
Prerna MagonPolice DAV Public School, Jalandhar
3 Biochemistry
A simple, non invasive, point of care, low cost, polynomial-derived colorimetric device, using reactive oxygen species-induced lipid peroxidative changes in saliva, to assess the risk of oral pre-cancerous lesions and oral squamous cell carcinoma in chronic smokers
Nikhiya Shamsher
Greenwood High International School, Bengaluru
4Cellular and Molecular Biology
A novel peptide drug as therapeutic for sickle cell anemia
Rutik ThoratDav Public School, Mumbai
5 ChemistryNovel and innovative chemical strategy for mosquito repellent and antibacterial textiles
Sanjeev Hotha & M Suneetha Prabhu
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ganeshkhind, Pune
6 Computer ScienceFlood risk prediction using extreme learning machine and particle swarm optimization algorithm
Sagnik Anupam
Delhi Public School, R K Puram, New Delhi
7 Computer Science
Machine learning based approach to identify devices, measure and reduce power consumption and carbon footprint
Sayli BandeJSS Public School, Bengaluru
8 Computer SciencePeriphery sweep algorithm: conquering a* algorithm at graph traversal solutions
Richik Vivek SenDelhi Public School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi
9 Computer ScienceA high-performance unhackable, nature inspired database cloud application; mendeldb
Mohammed Suhail C S
The Learning Centre, Mangalore
10 Computer Science
Positively identifying species using convolutional neural networks and hypernetworks to aid wildlife conservation efforts
Aditya Radhakrishnan
Suguna PIP School, Coimbatore
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S. No Subject Category Title Names School
11 Computer Science FishiotherapyYashish Mohnot & Aayush Shah
Pace IIT and Medical, Mumbai
12 Computer ScienceA Novel Method For Improving Image Reconstruction Using Hidden Markov Models
Raghav PuriDelhi Public School, Dwarka, Delhi
13Environmental Management
Swar - solid waste-management android-application resource
Rishu Kumar & Aditya Kaushal
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, West Champaran, Bettiah
14Energy and Transportation
Integrating the piezoelectric and triboelectric effects to harvest mechanical energy
Aryaman Trivedi & Stuti Lohani
Amity International School, Noida
15Mathematical Sciences
Predicting the power of 2 in mersenne prime formula
Rajat LohanDelhi Public School, Hapur
16Medicine and Health Sciences
Gattii – wearable portable mobility assessment device
Sidharth JainJamnabai Narsee International School, Mumbai
17Medicine and Health Sciences
Kanna: a novel method for screening amblyopia using just a photograph
Viswesh Krishna & Vrishab Krishna
National Public School, Indiranagar, Bengaluru
18Physics and Astronomy
Biodegradable insulator and packing material from areca catachu sheath
Anusha N
St Philomena Aided High School, Darbe, Puttur
19 Plant Sciences
Nano-silica controlling bihar hairy caterpillar (spilosoma obliqua), a polyphagous pest accelerated mitogen-activated protein kinase (mapk) / src domain initiating positive feedback loop associated with apoptosis activity regulated by mir-1
Aranyo RayAuxilium Convent School, Kolkata
20 Plant SciencesA computational model of the stimulus response of Mimosa Pudica
Anantharaman IyerNational Public School Bengaluru
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Core Staff
R Varadarajan Controller
Nishritha Bopana Principal Science [email protected]
Chaitali BhattacharyaPrincipal Science [email protected]
Nikhil Jain Associate Accounts Officer
Monika Madan Senior Personal [email protected]
Manoj Prasad Assistant Admin [email protected]
Rajiv Kumar Tayal Executive Director
Program Staff
Babulal Chaudhary Program Officer
Pushpa Iyer Program Officer
Priya Thomas Program Officer
Aasita ApoorvaAssociate Program [email protected]
Subhashree Basu Associate Program Officer
Akanksha Kaushik Associate Program [email protected]
Sravan Kumar Paleti Assistant Program Officer
Anita Vishwakarma Senior Accounts Associate I
Rakesh Kumar Singh Senior Accounts Associate I
Rakesh Bhandari Admin Associate
Key Contacts
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Contact Details:Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum
Fulbright House, 12 Hailey RoadNew Delhi-110001, India
www.iusstf.org
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