Good day, Dr. Talem Rebeda Roy. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Yes, I'm ready to start.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

Uh, it's quite a long story, uh, coming from a very, uh, small state from India, starting from my BAC and master courses, I came into Chennai and I was mixed with different type of colleagues as well as dear professors from all over India. So I have experience with different.

Academic backgrounds as well and after my.

Uh, graduation I, I was more interested to do research, so I pursue uh.

For the PhD and during my PhD, I did some work on molecular junctions, followed by the postdoctoral work that I have performed in IIT Hyderabad, where I I was expertised in programming in-house kudaku to study the dynamics of a Polygon polymer, 2D polymer structures. And after that I again did my postdoctoral.

Work Research. In South Korea in GIST which is Guangzhou Institute of Science and Technology, where I have also developed a small code to analyze the working of a metal lens which was designed and then fabricated as well as tested laboratory and it was a huge success. So during my work I have experienced coding as well as learning new software techniques like. Interdisciplinary.

UH research, For example, during my PhD, most of my research were focused on nanoelectronics, uh, while during my postdoctoral UH tenure in IIT Hyderabad, I was more focused on studying the dynamics of polymer structures during in doing in-house coding and followed by the work I have done in South Korea where I did everything by my myself. Through.

Coding as well as design till the lab experiments as well. So I think I'm very suited to start my academic career now. That means guiding students in different fields, especially in this era of artificial intelligence intelligence. I think I am quite fit to be a mentor, a guide to the upcoming students as I've experienced research as well as. Coding tools as well as.

I experienced different working environment and I have dealt with various kinds of people, National internationals, even in our country, India, we have different type of people. So I have almost, I have worked with people from the north, from the southeast as well. So I think I'm quite fit for this position in VIT.

Thank you, Professor, for sharing your comprehensive journey in academia and research. I appreciate the diverse experience you bring to the table.

Alright, Professor, let’s confirm some foundational skills relevant to Computational Physics. How would you explain computational modeling techniques to undergraduate students just starting in physics, ensuring clarity and accessibility?

Uh, for undergrad students, for example, we should not start with a big picture. We have to start with a small picture. For example, I will start with a very simple example. For example, say we are adding the energy of two particles, so it is quite easy for students to do it manually. If I if. If in a realistic manner.

That a system may comprise of more than thousand million particles. To do that it is quite even though the process is easy.

But as the number of particles or number of kernel increases, what happened is we need to rely on certain computational techniques like simple programming or learnings, useful software as well. So I will first introduce to the student.

How we need a computer to calculate physical problems and all?

And after that I will by stage. By stage I'll be showing small examples like even calculating what we say like Hamiltonian of certain particles and which will be applied in research as well. So it will be a step by step process. I will not bombshell the students in a certain class. For them their mind are young. I will just make them. Like build up small piece to piece.

Hmm, alright, Professor. You emphasized breaking complex concepts into smaller, approachable steps, starting with simpler problems before gradually introducing computational techniques and larger systems. I appreciate the focus on guiding students with care. For a more advanced layer, how would you illustrate the computational modeling approach used specifically in understanding quantum materials or condensed matter systems?

Uh, for me it is quite uh.

What is it? It depends on persons to persons. So I will first have to explain the best theory to the students. Let them understand what is it. As I grew up, I have met so many colleagues as well as friends. What they did is they have studied certain theories in books but in realistic way they are not able to picture it, for example. I say I I will just narrate a small incident that happened with me.

IIT Madras where I was giving a lecture to deep uh, PhD student in a lab and I was uh, explaining to them like, uh, the uh, the energy of electron tunneling through a molecular junctions. For example, if the energy of the electrons go to higher or lower, it is accompanied with either phonon emission or absorption. So one of the. Then ask me a very I will not.

Not to not going to pinpoint that it is a wrong thing, but I think the entire education system has to focus on this particularly, for example, the question he asked was, ma'am, you have mentioned like the electrons go from higher energy level to lower energy level, but we know that in electronic systems, in nanoelectronics, the part of electron is ballistic straight. So what we want. We are observing that this particular student who is doing PhD has failed to understand the quantum mechanics in a realistic manner. So what happened is what he asked is a vector means the direction of an electron. What I was explaining is about the energies. So if we we can be walking in a straight line but the according to our energy we can be walking fast and slow. So such kind of. Metaphorical explanation is very required.

In quantum mechanics, well I think which is lagging behind. So I would like to emphasize in clarity and not only explaining but explanation but clarity as well.

Understood, Professor. Your account highlights the necessity of precise conceptual clarity, especially in teaching advanced topics like energy dynamics and electron behavior in quantum systems. You prioritize metaphorical and relatable explanations to bridge theoretical understanding with realistic application, which resonates well for advanced learning contexts. Now, narrowing in further—when guiding students to computationally simulate condensed matter systems, what strategies or tools would you recommend they use to model phenomena efficiently? Could you highlight specific software choices or programming practices applicable here?

Uh, initially I will encourage my student to understand the problem and use certain tools that is available free in the market. For example, so many tools are therefore, we have quantum wise to study the electronic system and we have numerical to understand the nature of. Photon So followed by that I I will highly encourage my students.

To make an in house court to study the particular system because such understanding is very important to do theoretical physics because most of the people are students. I have observed is that they have mostly focused on. Ready made or even the relying on the software which is available in. As in the form of electrons in studying electrons and photons but.

Some of the student failed to understand what they are really doing. So when certain professor asked what what they have calculated, most of them failed to do so. So I encourage to them to write their own in-house codes because the most important thing is they during them during the development of the in-house code, they will understand the in-depth theory what is happening inside the system and they will be more confident as well. And moreover I would.

Like to encourage uh, uh, students to be self reliant. That means not depending on any type of commercial software. Uh, so even I dreamt of uh, starting a company which will be helping not even the VIT, but the student all across India certain by developing certain academic tools. So that's it can be for to study the nature of the electrons.

Photons as well. So I highly encourage students to do more rigorous research which can only be done through self-made in-house bill of code.

Professor, your commitment to nurturing deep understanding is commendable. You emphasize stepping away from dependence on commercial tools, encouraging students to develop in-house codes to truly engage with the underlying physics and theory of computational problems. This rigorous approach undoubtedly fosters both self-reliance and mastery of advanced concepts. We'll continue evaluating core competencies. Moving forward, how would you structure laboratory sessions to guide students in bridging theoretical knowledge of computational physics with its experimental applications?

Uh, that would be quite interesting because I will, most of the time I'll be having one-on-one session with each of the students, which is very important. So I'll first start with, uh, theory classes and interesting and I'll be showing small, small, easy examples followed by one-on-one interaction where I will be, uh, teaching them or guiding them to do a more complex problem in lab sessions as well.

So that each of the students have self confident and has a good foundation in doing research in computational physics.

Your approach reflects a strong commitment to individualized attention, ensuring students build both confidence and a solid foundational grasp before tackling complex computational problems in laboratory sessions. This structured strategy certainly aligns with the dual goals of academic clarity and rigorous research training. Now, regarding student evaluation and exam duties—how would you ensure fairness in assessing both theoretical understanding and computational skills in computational physics?

Uh, I will be focused not only in the main exam, so I will be, uh, conducting a small, uh, uh, kind of a surprise test. It can be theory as well as practical to the student every month twice to uh.

Uh, to understand their uh, level of uh.

Knowledge in the field, uh, which I have taught in this way, I can also, uh, kind of, uh, reevaluate my way of teaching, uh, which will help me, uh, to improve a lot because for me, learning report process is never saturated. I am open to learning new things, new techniques to help and guide the students.

Besides regular curriculum.

Thank you, Professor. Your emphasis on continuous assessment through surprise tests, both theoretical and practical, certainly ensures a comprehensive understanding of student progress. Your commitment to improving your teaching approach based on these evaluations reflects openness to adaptation and dedication to academic excellence. Last in this pedagogical context, guiding student projects and research is pivotal. How do you plan to mentor students to produce high-quality research and develop independent scientific thinking?

Uh, I shall encourage my student to do a rigorous literature survey and give a small presentation in front of me. And if they are not able to understand the scientific paper properly, I will be helping them, guiding them how we have to do effective literature survey as well. And followed by that, I will be writing projects. To DSD and we have the.

Nano Mission. We have the DST Nano Mission program and we have the supercomputing projects where I will be acquiring funding and also guiding my master Bachelor students as well as hiring PhD students as well.

And I will also encourage to write a very high standard paper that is highly dependent on your dedication, which I will be.

Molding in which I will mold them and why I asked them to study high impact journal. Is that their way of presenting, their way of writing as well as the way they discuss the result, the rigorous research I want them to be.

Aware of such kind of research standards that is going on throughout the, uh, not just India, but in international platforms. So not just uh, I, I would like to train them not just to be sent to centric to India, but they can compete with all the students in the other universities, even the students in Stanford, even in the students.

Oxford and Harvard, I will make them confident enough they shouldn't be thinking that they what they learn is learn lesser than those students. So I prefer on giving them high quality research as well as classroom experience.

Your vision for nurturing students reflects exceptional dedication, Professor. Encouraging rigorous literature surveys, guiding them through high-impact scientific papers, and securing significant funding opportunities underline your commitment to empowering students to match global academic standards. Crafting this environment of confidence and excellence is indeed commendable. Let’s now shift to scrutinize another set of skills pivotal to computational physics research. Could you explain how your postdoctoral research experience in computational physics has contributed to advancements in understanding advanced materials?

Uh, I think, uh, both my postdoctoral experience have helped me to study, uh, technique, advanced technique, as well as application ways. For example, uh, I know, uh, my CUDA coding, which is very.

Useful in making cluster based GPI code and.

I am also fit to teach a computer science students uh and and besides my proficiency in coding which is updated, which can, which is, which can be applied to the current scenario. And I have also designed meta surface which is also advanced materials where the. The bulk systems, like bulk lenses can be converted.

Into a 10 films and which which will help us to make a compact device in the future. So I think I have mastered 3 things then for initially means the mastery of the techniques, that means the tools. Second is the mastery of self-assessment and self.

And self plan research. And the third thing is designing.

A meta surface.

That's insightful, Professor. Your postdoctoral work highlights mastery in advanced techniques like CUDA coding for computational physics applications, self-driven research planning, and the innovative design of metasurfaces for compact device integration. These contributions underscore a strong alignment with advancements in computational modeling and material sciences. Focusing next on quantum materials specifically, how do you approach computational techniques to model emergent phenomena within condensed matter systems, ensuring relevance in both theory and application?

Sorry to interrupt, we're down to the last 5 minutes.

I shall be using some small problems, problems for example a student can understand.

More regular properly, for example.

Suppose we have a.

A light so a beam of light. So engineering this light can lead us to different.

Application, for example, in the shaping beam shaping is a high demand in the industry right now so through rigorous understanding of the light and. Designing sub-level or sub wavelength. Units.

Help us design what we want in a specific device, for example for a beam steering, Lidar based beam steering.

We need to steer the beam as far as possible. For example, a full beam scan is very required and which is the current research going on in many countries. So such kind of maximal brim steering can only be observed through rigorous quantum computational.

To solve certain problems we need to dive more into theory, and I really love to do that.

Analysis design face by face, so I think.

Understood, Professor. Your focus on integrating rigorous quantum computational analysis with theoretical physics to address real-world applications like beam steering highlights your depth and versatility. This approach bridges advanced research in quantum systems with practical innovations, particularly relevant for industries like Lidar technology. Let’s verify your proficiency in computer programming and computational modeling techniques next. Could you detail your experience with specific programming tools, languages, or frameworks, and how they’ve been applied to solve computational physics challenges?

Uh, during my post doctoral experience, I have used G uh, I have uh pro made an in house CUDA quote. For example, in CUDA, what happened is what BA studied is a 2D array size. So initially the error size was 25 cross 25. But as we increases the computation time was very long like it was taking more than seven days, 8 days. So what happened is when.

I wrote the program the entire program in Kudaku. The time computation time was favorably reduced as well as the computation speed. For example, I could study system with bigger array size. For example, the each of the particles in the array should be interacting with the rest of the particles. So such kind of dynamics. Or individual calculation were done in individual kernels.

In the GPU system and the results were then collected and we analyzed them.

Thank you, Professor. Your development of in-house CUDA code to optimize computation for large-scale 2D array systems illustrates both technical proficiency and innovative problem-solving. Leveraging GPU-based systems for efficient interaction modeling is a strong demonstration of computational expertise. Moving ahead, how have you utilized your ability to teach theory and laboratory courses to balance advanced physics concepts with accessible learning for a diverse student cohort?

As I've already mentioned before, I have experienced different and I have met different type of students from different ethnic grounds and even some of them I have interacted with the very smart people even smarter than me and I've interacted people who were who were like they want to do research but they need some kind of assistance. So. I think I can blend.

Easily with different type of people and guiding them it wouldn't be a big problem for me because I have I can understand them.

And encouraging them is the is very important, I think.

Thank you, Professor. Your experience with students from diverse backgrounds and your emphasis on adaptability and encouragement reflect your capacity to inspire and guide effectively across varying levels of aptitude and interest. This demonstrates a thoughtful approach to teaching both theoretical and practical aspects of physics. Let’s verify further. How have you handled responsibilities like exam duties and grading to ensure transparency and fairness in evaluations?

Our scheduled time for the interview is now up. Before we conclude, do you have any questions related to the role or the company?

Uh, I really, uh, want to start my research career in, uh, VIT university, mainly because, uh, I have already spent more than 11 years of my academic career in Tamil Nadu and I'm. And I am very aware of the facility available there, which is very good for scientific advancement and providing me a very holistic.

For me to kick start my research career.

Uh uh, environment.

Your enthusiasm for pursuing your research at VIT University and your familiarity with the Tamil Nadu academic ecosystem showcase a strong alignment with your aspirations and the available opportunities in the region. It's evident that you're motivated to contribute meaningfully to the academic and scientific community there. Does this conclude the session for you, Professor, or would you like to discuss anything further?

Uh, no, I will. Uh, I think I am fine.

Yes, we can end this session. Thank you.

Would you like to confirm that we can end the session, Professor?