SRMAP Events

UDL#19: Explore the World of Nanomaterials with Prof. Ajayan – A Pioneer of Nanotechnology
2025-01-07 11:00 - 13:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Mini Auditorium
The 19th edition of the University Distinguished Lecture is scheduled to be held on January 07, 2025. The distinguished lecture will be delivered by the esteemed academician and renowned researcher in the field of nanotechnology, Prof. Pulickel M. Ajayan, Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Engineering at Rice University, Texas, USA on the topic “Nano-Engineered Materials”.
Abstract
The last two decades in materials science have been dominated by spectacular discoveries in nanotechnology. This talk will focus on some of these developments, particularly in relation to the challenges in designing and controllably synthesizing functional nano-engineered materials. The lecture will elaborate on several classes of materials, for example, carbon-based and boron-nitrogen-carbon-based materials, two-dimensional materials such as transition metal di-chalcogenides and their hybrids, defect-engineered materials and single-atom catalysts, and interface-controlled nanocomposites. We will also consider the impact of bottom-up engineering on the design of material systems relevant to many areas of applications. Several aspects, including synthesis, chemical manipulation and hybridization, will be discussed to address the opportunities that are available in creating novel nanoengineered materials.
About the Speaker
Prof. Pulickel M Ajayan has worked in nanotechnology for nearly three decades. He has published more than 1300 journal papers, earning more than 225,000 citations and an h-index of 230 (by Google Scholar). His work covers diverse areas of nanomaterials including nanoparticles, nanotubes, diamond, 2D materials, nanocomposite, energy storage materials and 3D printing. He is the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson professor of Engineering at Rice University and the Founding Chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. He is a recipient of several awards, such as the Spiers Memorial Award, the MRS medal, the Alexander von Humboldt-Helmoltz Senior Award, and the Lifetime Nanotechnology Award from the Houston Technology Center. He received Docteur Honoris Causa from the Universite Catholique de of Louvain and distinguished alumni recognition from his Alma Mater, Banaras Hindu University, and the Materials Science department at Northwestern University.
Join the insightful session and hear from the expert!

Padma Shri Prof. Shanta Sinha to Deliver UDL#20
2025-02-21 14:00 - 16:30 | Mini Auditorium
The 20th University Distinguished Lecture, scheduled to be held on February 21, 2025, invites Padma Shri Prof. Shanta Sinha, Anti-Child Labour Activist, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, Former Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), and professor (Retd.) Dept. of Political Science, Hyderabad Central University, as its keynote speaker. Prof. Sinha’s contributions towards children’s education and child rights have left an indelible mark on Indian society.
The esteemed session will be on the topic “Making Education a Reality and Ending Child Labour: Experience of M.V. Foundation.”
Participate and hear from the honourable personality. Prof. Sinha’s relentless dedication and inspiring journey will ignite all to strive towards a just and inclusive humankind!
Abstract
The lecture gives an overview of the work of M.V. Foundations in the field of child rights in India. Believing in the principle that ‘no child must work and every child must attend full-time formal day school’ as a non-negotiable, the M V Foundation (a Charitable Trust) has worked towards withdrawing over 10 lakh children in the 5-14 years age group from child labour; stopping over 20,000 child marriages and ensuring they finish 10th grade. The Foundation pioneered the program for mainstreaming children to schools through residential bridge courses. 1500 villages where MVF has intervened have achieved retention of 99% of all children in schools up to 10th class. The lecture would highlight the journey of the foundations, its experiences and achievements.
The lecture will further discuss the foundation and subsequent Journey of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which Prof. Shantha Sinha headed as its first Chairperson and led for two consecutive terms from 2007-2013. The lecture will highlight the issues addressed by NCPCR, ranging from violation of children’s rights in relation to child labour and child trafficking, rights of children in areas of civil unrest, children’s right to education, the juvenile justice system, corporal punishment, child abuse and violence on children; child malnutrition.
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UDL#21: Prof. Pramod K. Varshney to Speak On Distributed Inference
2025-04-07 11:00 - 12:30 | APJ Abdul Kalam Auditorium
The 21st University Distinguished Lecture on the topic “Six Blind Men of Indostan: Theory and Applications of Distributed Inference” is scheduled to be held on April 07, 2025. The distinguished lecture will be delivered by Prof. Pramod K. Varshney, esteemed professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering & Science, Syracuse University.
Hear from the seasoned academician on the mesmerizing phenomenon of distributed inference.
Abstract
Distributed inference refers to the synergistic combination of information gathered by various knowledge sources and sensors to provide inference regarding a phenomenon of interest. This fascinating field has evolved over the past four decades and is being applied to a wide variety of fields, such as military command and control, robotics, image processing, air traffic control, medical diagnostics, pattern recognition, environmental monitoring, IoT and smart cities.
This talk will present an overview of the field, present some recent research results, illustrate its utility by means of some examples and conclude with some open problems. Towards the end of the technical talk, some information about Syracuse University’s MS programs in EE/CE/CS will be provided.
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University Distinguished Lecture #22
2025-10-10 14:00 - 15:30 | Theatre, SR Block
The 22nd University Distinguished Lecture will host renowned academician, Padma Bhushan Prof. P Balaram, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru on October 10, 2025.
Prof. Balram will deliver an insightful session on the “Evolutionary Inventions and Innovations That Drove the Rise of Chemistry, the Birth of Biology and Determine Human History”.
Abstract
“The word evolution is most closely associated with Darwin and Biology. Yet it is the word that changed physics in my lifetime.” These are the words used by the physicist Jacob Bronowski in his now classic narration of “The Ascent of Man”, in the 1970s on BBC television. Bronowski is at that point trying to explain the formation of the chemical elements in the stars, by nuclear fusion processes, and concludes “matter itself evolves”. Indeed, all the natural elements, present on Earth and accessible by mining, were the Earth’s inheritance when it was born. Geological and chemical evolution must necessarily precede evolution of life on Earth. For almost the first 1.5 billion years of its almost 4.6 billion years of existence, the Earth was devoid of life forms. This was the Hadean age, a period when a molten surface began to settle, a time of asteroid impacts, an unimaginably hostile period for any life form. Yet it was the time that geology and chemistry conspired to create the conditions for the birth of biology.
