GUWAHATI : Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the South Dakota Mines to advance research into two-dimensional (2D) materials, and biofilms. The collaboration enables both institutions to share resources and leverage research funding opportunities while joining multidisciplinary teams at both institutions to maximize complex problem-solving.
The research into 2D materials and biofilms has vast potential for future applications across many fields. This includes the medical field with research into new classes of anti-cancer, antibacterial, and other pharmaceuticals. This research can also help advance new types of energy production and storage; has benefits for agriculture, including better new ways to protect and nourish crops for maximum yields; and has applications in corrosion protection that will increase the longevity of structures like steel bridges, ships, and buildings. The research collaboration can also yield new startup businesses in any of these fields that add economic development opportunities tied to each university.
Professor Tapas Kumar Mandal, Department of Chemical Engineering and Centre for Nanotechnology IIT Guwahati mentioned, “IIT Guwahati has world-class state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in the Central Instrumentation Facility and the Center for Nanotechnology, available to researchers and graduate students with expert faculty oversight and training. This collaboration between IITG and Mines will benefit all of us. The multidisciplinary research can utilize various strengths and expertise to move us to the next level and to benefit society.”
The agreement also creates an international pipeline of graduate students who will continue advancing science into the next generation. The MOA creates an exchange program where student researchers in each university can learn from faculty at both institutions and can access testing and research equipment at both facilities.
Associate Professor Krishna Pada Bhabak, Department of Chemistry and the Center for the Environment IIT Guwahati says, “I am part of a very young group of researchers at IITG and this MOU with Mines will definitely open new avenues of collaboration. I am looking forward to the future of what we can accomplish together.”
Venkata Gadhamshetty, an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at South Dakota Mines said, “This new agreement between SD Mines and IITG makes the research more accessible to a wider range of students and the outcomes available to a wider audience. I can already envision a significant number of collaboration opportunities, with all of the exciting work at IITG,”
Manoj Tripathi, Ph.D., a research fellow at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom says, “This agreement between Mines and IITG facilitates the young researchers and the top scientists to easily collaborate and apply for grants together.” While Dr. Tripathi is not a direct part of the new MOA, he gives praise to the collaborative effort. He studies surface phenomena and complex interactions that take place on surfaces at the nano and micro scales and is working alongside the research teams at both universities.
The collaboration makes both universities more competitive with major intuitions when applying for limited pools of research funding. The research collaboration tied to the new MOA is already underway at Mines and IIT Guwahati. The work is building on past research advancing the use and understanding of 2D materials.
