Sure we can.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

Hello everyone, this is Doctor Monunathetta. I have. I started my academic journey as a Btech student in the interconnect.

You started as a BTech student in interconnect—sounds like there's more to that story. Go on.

It was still I have done Btech in engineering physics. With major electronics from. Yes, I did. We take an engineering physics firm. Delhi Technological University where I have worked in. Metamaterials and different title. For to make a structure. And published 2 sci journals in my Btech only. Then after I have did. Masters and MCFAR. IIT Delhi in solid-state materials.

You mentioned publishing two SCI journal articles during your BTech, which is quite impressive.

And after that? I have. Proceed to the. Yount University. Yes. Thank you. That's a really interesting question. I have a like published in the paper. My contribution was the theoretical study. It was. Collaboration with the. What's due for Scotland?

Dr., you've mentioned both theoretical research and collaboration in your background.

And and where they have fabricated the. Metamaterial. Samples B Shaped metamaterial sample and we. And personally, I like to teach the. Electromagnetic field theory and because in. Either you go to the any field, is it the optics or is it the electronic system and where it is run on the electronic system and. In that electronic. The electric field which is the. A major role play in any kind of. Advanced device. Specifically the Maxwell's equation. And so I proceed or I must say that keeping the electromagnetic field theory and proceed to the quantum is why one of my favorite. Area to teach.

Alright, you gravitate toward electromagnetic field theory, especially Maxwell's equations, because they're foundational to both optics and modern electronics—makes sense for someone with your research background. When you're teaching this to students for the first time, what's a misconception or sticking point you often see, and how do you help them move past it?

When we start, always. The electric signals as OK, something that is occurring.

Alright, you pointed out students often see electric signals as just something occurring, but didn't finish your thought. Go ahead—what's the misconception there, and how do you help them get past it?

And the magnet OK, there is a. But the first physical thing which they have appeared in their experience. Yeah, the misconception is there. I simply asked the question. To them. Do you know the maximum? And. No. Why it is the Maxwell's equation even though not a single equation has been given by the Maxwell?

Okay, so you challenge students on why Maxwell's equations are named after Maxwell, even though he didn't directly write any of them—that's a good way to spark curiosity. When you do this, how do students typically respond, and what strategy do you use to get them to engage more deeply with the concept?

And then after. To the reality, of course, there every question. Given by different person. Yes, when I asked them and they come up with a very question mark facing the surprise phase. OK, Yeah, exactly. We no one has been given by the Maxwell then. Why we call it then I come up OK, go with the. Question what he said. He said that OK, the change in the. Magnetic field or the change in the electric field? The electric field or the magnetic field? Vice versa. But there is a. Where no flow of current. But the magnetic field is showing So they also didn't get conf So they also didn't get conf. When it is there or the.

And then after. To the reality, of course, there every question. Given by different person. Yes, when I asked them and they come up with a very question mark facing the surprise phase. OK, Yeah, exactly. We no one has been given by the Maxwell then. Why we call it then I come up OK, go with the. Question what he said. He said that OK, the change in the. Magnetic field or the change in the electric field? The electric field or the magnetic field? Vice versa.

Dr.,

Alright. Now let's focus on your research group and funding strategy. Given your work in areas like metamaterials and photonic effects, where do you see the most fundable research directions emerging over the next three years? Which specific grants or funding agencies would you target to support those projects?

OK, I will answer 1 by 1.

You said you'd answer one by one, so let's take it step by step. For your research directions—are there particular agencies or funding bodies you feel are aligned with your focus on metamaterials or photonic spin effects? How would you pitch the value of your work to them?

And the very first is the Government of India is looking for. Very excited. The Government of India has focusing on the two major area. One is the National Quantum mission. To the quantum technology. And another is the semiconductor mission. There was the semiconductor facility, and coincidentally I can merge both and here when I'm seeing the photonic spin hall effect. Where we can at the quantum. We are actually manipulating the. Uh, light photonic spin. And if you see to manipulate it, we can actually make the. Data structure or any or. Different type of photonic crystal and that photonic crystal can be used can be made by the using surface fabrication facility. So whenever I have to pitch my research project to the Funding Agency. I can show that. By. Fabrication Technology. We can generate a very modern type of. As quantum sensors, which is based on the light and as you know, whenever we want to work on the light at the quantum level, we don't know the high magnetic field. Unless we can work. Room temperature. We don't need to go to the cryogenic. System. By you these two advantages, we can actually enhance the. Of the quantum phenomena by using the photonic structure. The biggest example. The topological part. We have already created. That by using the topological photonics phenomena we can actually make the quantum gate and by once we have the quantum gate, we can integrate it with the existing system. For the quantum computing system.

You tied together quantum sensors and photonic spin manipulation, showing how your work could impact both the National Quantum Mission and semiconductor initiatives. If you needed to build a research group around these topics at a university, what types of collaborators or disciplines would you look for to make your projects viable and competitive for funding?

In terms of collaborations, very, very first thing that I'm expert of the. Vertical is. I need a one who can proceed with the experimental. Standing of the optical table, the one who can do the optics. On the table.

You talked earlier about teaching electromagnetic field theory and sparking curiosity with questions around Maxwell's equations. Suppose you have to teach this topic to a group of 120 undergraduates, and you can't use traditional slides or blackboard lectures. How would you structure that session to keep them actively engaged and ensure they're really wrestling with the material?

Optical table particularly. I'm second. I need a person. Who can fabricate the samples? Because the sample fabrication is the entirely different area where I let my. OK, in that case when I have to interact. A lot of audience and. I have to go with. Company address without any. Send the code, I will go with the taking exam. Which they are using in their real life. For example, if I say, have you ever experienced the sparking of? Charges when you are touching any metal plate in the at the. This is the. If where is it get started have. In that whenever. Break any. Any type of. Magnet. You never find that. Separation of northern Poland.

Is intact to each other. So this is kind of a maximum second law. I will I will going to ask them with the time it is. Good condition.

Okay, let's shift gears. Accreditation cycles can be demanding—if you joined our department and found that outcome assessment data was inconsistent across courses, how would you approach fixing that?

You’re saying you’d connect the concepts to real-life experiences, like sparking charges or breaking magnets, to help students relate to Maxwell’s laws. For the accreditation side—what steps would you actually take to ensure outcome assessment data is reliable and standardized across all the courses you teach?

Unfortunately I didn't exactly understand your question that. What you want to ask?

Unfortunately I didn't exactly understand your question that. What you want to ask? Please elaborate what exactly?

No problem. I’ll restate it: if you join the department and see that assessment data—like exam results or lab scores—isn’t collected the same way by different faculty, what concrete steps would you take to make sure that data becomes consistent and reliable across all your courses?

No worries, Dr.

You are looking for. Exactly, I understood what does. Thank you for repeating yourself. Whenever you need a bunch of classes and. Always have the different. Approach to the problem.

So if you. Someone is very good to read the. Book and somebody's very. Good to understand. Modern at all?

Alright, you’re saying every class and faculty member might have their own approach—so to get everyone on the same page, what would you actually do?

You’re pointing out that students learn in different ways—some prefer books, others need hands-on models. So when it comes to standardizing assessment, how would you design rubrics or evaluation methods that account for those differences but still meet accreditation requirements?

Very first step is going to to understand why the faculties OK some students, how they are going. To the standard caps about the very. And the I understand according to my experience.

So your first step is understanding both faculty and student approaches—can you walk me through how you'd actually get everyone to agree on a standard assessment method, given those differences?

Give the student a. To express yourself. Once the student express themselves. And. No, I understand this kind of difference. You can't make it generalize you. You just need to go in class and just. OK. How you understanding? What feedback you can. Uh, because whenever you make it as a very standard group.

To skip from there. But if you come friendly and up. You won't hurt people in my class I found. Peoples are getting.

Alright, let’s talk ethics. Imagine a student files a formal complaint, claiming your grading is biased. At the same time, your department head is pressuring you to raise pass rates. How would you handle that situation?

You mentioned being friendly with students to avoid hurt feelings, but sometimes complaints still happen. If the department head keeps insisting you raise pass rates, even after you explain your grading approach, what would you do next?

In in that case the. Approach I can offer myself that I can take the extra classes and I can. Come up with a different ideas, but I can't go the. Book where I'm doing the. Unethical thinking. If this is the going to the case. Again and again. I think I. My disagreement. On that even though. I can suggest if you want to take out different examination of that student, that's up to you and you. Just me as per under your guide. I can take a different examination. But that's going to be a fair chance. Each and everyone. I can't be advised for. Particular one is strength. In any. I'm sorry.

In in that case the. Approach I can offer myself that I can take the extra classes and I can. Come up with a different ideas, but I can't go the. Book where I'm doing the. Unethical thinking. If this is the going to the case. Again and again. I think I. My disagreement. On that even though. I can suggest if you want to take out different examination of that student, that's up to you and you. Just me as per under your guide. I can take a different examination. But that's going to be a fair chance. Each and everyone.

Given your expertise in optics and experimental setups, do you have any industry connections or collaborations that could help students access internships or placements related to their coursework?

You said you’d offer extra classes or suggest re-examination, but wouldn’t compromise on fairness or ethics—even if the department head kept pushing. That’s clear. Now, given your expertise in optics and experimental setups, do you have any industry connections or collaborations that could help students access internships or placements related to their coursework?

It isn't the. Yeah, this minor correction. My expertise in the theoretical, very little in experimental optics related. Terms of collaboration, yes, I have a very good collaboration in Johnson University South. Korea and. With Professor Keonse Kim, he's one of the. Group member of Nobel laureate WJ.

Okay, so your collaboration is with Professor Keonse Kim at Johnson University in South Korea, who’s worked with a Nobel laureate.

And I have a good collaboration with the professor. Nagita Kumar Kaushik, Kyungi University. This for the different type of research execution we can approach him he was. He's my pH D supervisor as well. My current collaborator SO and we are guiding the students jointly in a different manner if the student is looking forward for the higher study as well As for the short term internship and the research. Type of research, Type of winter internship or. We can do that in that case, and I would. So, director of the Student Affairs and Academics during. Stay in the South. So I know that how to approach the any edge. See I can send my.

Electron as well as. Where from where? I have been a post doctorate from your.

You’ve got ongoing collaborations with Professor Kaushik at Kyungi University for joint student guidance and short-term internships, plus experience as director of Student Affairs during your stay in South Korea. So if you were at VIT,

You mentioned your postdoctoral work—was that at a university with industry partnerships, or did you get exposure to any real-world applications of your research during that time?

As I said that I'm I'm working in the theoretical study. In the real world. We are about to publish. Which is directly. Address a very big problem of the quantum computing, that is the quantum error correction. And so this is going to be the. After, of course, after. Three or four months we are going to be introduced to the world. It is really groundbreaking work from our side. And if you ask me about the. Scenario. Industrial collaboration. In the quantum set in the quantum sensing of the. By using photonic Aspen Hall effect, this is very. Effective and very concrete. Is still as. I'm working in the. 30 So I can't I can't have the experiment. Results for that, but in terms of the quantum computing in the quantum error direction I have. Good results out of it and I believe that. My research work is going to be address. Society problem.

As I said that I'm I'm working in the theoretical study. In the real world. We are about to publish. Which is directly. Address a very big problem of the quantum computing, that is the quantum error correction. And so this is going to be the. After, of course, after. Three or four months we are going to be introduced to the world. It is really groundbreaking work from our side. And if you ask me about the. Scenario. Industrial collaboration. In the quantum set in the quantum sensing of the. By using photonic Aspen Hall effect, this is very. Effective and very concrete. Is still as. I'm working in the. 30 So I can't I can't have the experiment. Results for that, but in terms of the quantum computing in the quantum error direction I have. Good results out of it and I believe that. My research work is going to be address. Society problem. I know very large manner.

As I mentioned in my earlier. Of that by using. From this phenomenon we have developed the. Photonics, quantum gate and that quantum.

You’re working on quantum error correction and photonic Hall effect sensing, and you believe your research can address big societal problems, even if you haven’t done experimental work yet. Given VIT’s focus on industry collaboration, how would you bridge the gap between academic research and practical industrial application for your students—especially when your work is mostly theoretical?

Alright,

You’ve shown you can guide student research projects through those collaborations. Now, let me pivot—when you teach theory and lab courses, how do you make sure students understand complex concepts, like image processing, in both lecture and practical sessions?

This great. OK, concern you have raised for me.

Alright, so you see the importance of connecting theory and practice. When you teach image processing, what's your approach for structuring lab sessions so students really grasp the algorithms—do you use real-world datasets, simulations, or something else?

Right now, if you see. By e-mail.

Alright, sounds like you’re using email to coordinate lab sessions or share materials. But during hands-on classes, how do you make sure students actually understand the practical side—do you have them implement algorithms themselves, or do you focus more on demonstrations and walkthroughs?

The like when I'm teaching the electromagnetic field theory, I have a transmission matrix math. Transmission matrix method. Code and I show that how the they have the specs.

You mentioned showing students how specs change using transmission matrix methods in electromagnetic field theory. For lab sessions on embedded and communication systems, how do you help students get hands-on experience—do you let them experiment with actual hardware, or do you rely more on simulations?

Have the Leo or multiple layers. The dielectric layers dielectric material which. Of course we. To show that OK, this is the. One dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer the PAV. And why you experience? Only. Reflected and other light get translated to your eyes. Can see and. Protect your eyes. The only target the blue light. Why? How the Lambda work is going to be? Very impact. Impactful what? Between the physical thickness and the optical thickness. How it how it is impacting your? Real world problem particularly and they. In their daily life but still they are not aware of. How to build it? For example if you want to? Build any. Like prototype is. Need the multiple simulation when you are particularly working in the very. Commission Commissioner, can you hear? This is very difficult at the. So far is very high. You can't every time just fabricate and test. 1st if you have.

You were explaining how simulation is crucial before fabrication, especially with dielectric layers and optical thickness. Now, shifting gears—when it comes to evaluating students for exams or practical assessments, how do you ensure fairness and consistency, especially in courses with both theory and lab components?

And out of that simulation at least you have idea of. That in that. In the fairness, of course. Then today also. Check the. Answer sheet. Every student has different approach to write. See that how depth but. Being a faculty, we know. From the conceptual point of view, if it is the baseline. How deep they are doing into the. And that deepness, according to the question, give me the. Like idea that how much I have. About the Marks and accordingly I. Just their students and if you, you may find. Students might be the very good. In the. But in in terms of experimental, they don't move. Uncle performing. In that making a group. The lab. And group is. Of their friend or instant of their. Particular roll number. Just make a group. By identifying by user. OK, this is very good in the. Instrument handling. This is very good with the. File making he's very or he and she very good in the explaining the things if you meet. Three and four type of two you will find. All that belong the things and they come up with a very good out.

Okay, you group students by strengths—instrument handling, file making, explaining—and use simulation to get a baseline for fairness in grading. When you’re teaching, how do you make sure your communication is clear and structured, so students at different levels can follow along?

So. This is my way to make the group in my lab as well as to. First of all, you. Give yourself as a random. Situation. You can't just. Show the PPT and. Speech No when I come I always ask the student OK, is there any question from. Class and till where we have already.

You make it a point to start by checking in with students, not just lecturing with slides—that's good for engagement. Now, since you're also expected to handle exam-related responsibilities, how do you structure and design exam questions to really test whether students have internalized the material, rather than just memorized it?

Understood and I take a 5 minutes recap. And in that 5. Recap. Randomly OK if. Student capital for. When we are making the. Of course we have to segregate for the. If I say out of 10. OK, the. One or two questions which is definition. Is directly definition what you understand their formula and. Some kind of family. Application.

I was, no question. Which have the physical. That, yeah.

You break up your exams with both definitions and applications, and you use a quick recap to gauge student recall. Switching gears, when you teach both theory and lab courses,

You mentioned having questions with a physical aspect in your exams. When you design those, how do you make sure students can connect the theory they've learned to real-world scenarios, instead of just solving abstract problems?

The how?

You’re thinking about the “how” of connecting theory to real-world problems. Let’s shift to student evaluation. When you’re grading lab reports or practical assignments,

I introduced 1 concept. The writing of the tongue. Writing of the term paper is. In that in that case. Whenever they come to the submission. I have one or two minutes talk. How you did it? What you learn. Can you find that? New problem out of it. And in that. Hey well can you start the project off? And once they are in. To this.

Alright, you take time to discuss term papers and even prompt students to find new problems—that’s a good sign you’re encouraging deeper thinking. Now, when you teach lab courses, how do you structure the sessions so students with less

Hello, I'm not able to hear you.

Thanks for letting me know. Can you hear me now, or would you like me to repeat the last question?

Yes, Yeah. Please repeat the last question. I didn't hear you.

Sure, I’ll repeat the last question. When you teach lab courses, how do you structure the sessions so students with less experience or confidence can still participate and actually learn, not just watch others?

A Leo. Very big concern. With the students because the world don't know it. Not easily. Appeared themselves. OK, I don't know. So identifying that. Only possible with a very small uh. One or two activity. Once there come up then. What I. After one minute plus I give OK. Just every student has to give. 5 minute or 10 minutes present. Most of the student only time of uh. 5410 going to become. Up here, that's come OK, these are energetic and they understood the things. The one who didn't. Appear in that case. I make a kind of a small time and ask why you are not on. And don't. Go with the negative points. Appear in hind. The on the stage and be ready. Something at least for the 2 minutes and the three minutes for. The 2 / 3 minutes. Engage to read that topic in the last. 10 to 15 or more than that. And after that, we'll make a cake. Inside you and that will. Take you the position where you really understand what is the. Engineering means for the. And that curiosity is very important while you are.

A Leo. Very big concern. With the students because the world don't know it. Not easily. Appeared themselves. OK, I don't know. So identifying that. Only possible with a very small uh. One or two activity. Once there come up then. What I. After one minute plus I give OK. Just every student has to give. 5 minute or 10 minutes present. Most of the student only time of uh. 5410 going to become. Up here, that's come OK, these are energetic and they understood the things. The one who didn't. Appear in that case. I make a kind of a small time and ask why you are not on. And don't. Go with the negative points. Appear in hind. The on the stage and be ready. Something at least for the 2 minutes and the three minutes for. The 2 / 3 minutes. Engage to read that topic in the last. 10 to 15 or more than that. And after that, we'll make a cake. Inside you and that will. Take you the position where you really understand what is the. Engineering means for the. And that curiosity is very important while you are. Any course, anything. So. I will try to. Make as much as interactive. And give the task. Of something related to where. Themselves. Not even in writing or something express. Stuff like the present. Or the different type of activity I give, like as I said, the paper. Where they have to think out of. And to come up with their own.

A Leo. Very big concern. With the students because the world don't know it. Not easily. Appeared themselves. OK, I don't know. So identifying that. Only possible with a very small uh. One or two activity. Once there come up then. What I. After one minute plus I give OK. Just every student has to give. 5 minute or 10 minutes present.

You spot students who aren't comfortable, then use short activities and presentations to build their confidence. Now, for image processing—say you need to teach a lab on digital image enhancement. What’s a practical exercise you’d give students to help them understand how different filters affect images, and how would you explain the results?

Okay, so you use short activities and presentations to build student confidence, and make sure everyone gets at least a couple of minutes to engage with the material. Shifting gears to the research side—can you tell me about your PhD specialization and how your research experience informs the way you guide student projects or choose topics for them?

Okay, so you use activities like short presentations and term papers to help students build confidence and encourage them to express ideas beyond just writing. Let's pivot to image processing—when you're teaching digital image enhancement in the lab, how do you handle students who struggle to grasp the more technical parts, like filtering or frequency domain methods?

In Unfortunately I'm not expert of this topic. I don't know how to apply. This topic, I'm really sorry for that. Am I audible?

No worries, you’re clear and yes, you’re audible. Since image processing isn’t your area, let’s talk about embedded and communication skills. Say you’re teaching students to work with microcontrollers for a lab project—how do you help them troubleshoot communication issues between devices when they’re just starting out?

In in the type of any troubleshooting. Yeah, yeah. When you are in the lab, it is start with the connection. The connection is good. Is the. How the? Manuals are. Are you following that or not? And once we are following. Still it is not working. Then we have to go with the check of the functioning. The component which we're using is it. Currently working or not? And by step by step we are. Troubleshoot the. Problems.

Alright, so you start troubleshooting by checking connections, then manuals, and finally the components themselves step by step. Switching to teaching skills—when you’re explaining a complex concept in class, how do you make sure your delivery is clear and structured so students don’t get lost?

Yeah, this is the very first thing when. We come up with a. Teaching it. You asked the student when. You are taking the class. Are you getting it or not? Taking a piece of five to 10 minutes. Oh sorry test, I cannot mean it. And five to 10. Attend it's it's. What? What's the student? Are they really? Popping up or not? When they're not able to understand.

Yeah, this is the very first thing when. We come up with a. Teaching it. You asked the student when. You are taking the class. Are you getting it or not? Taking a piece of five to 10 minutes. Oh sorry test, I cannot mean it. And five to 10. Attend it's it's. What? What's the student? Are they really? Popping up or not? When they're not able to understand. The concept. With their very limited. A general example and once they understood the example. Just replace the concept. OK, this is really going to work in that manner. And I reformed after. Always a student get understand. This is the topic OK. That we were talking about that. So in communication point of view.

Yeah, this is the very first thing when. We come up with a. Teaching it. You asked the student when. You are taking the class. Are you getting it or not? Taking a piece of five to 10 minutes. Oh sorry test, I cannot mean it. And five to 10. Attend it's it's. What? What's the student? Are they really? Popping up or not? When they're not able to understand. The concept. With their very limited. A general example and once they understood the example. Just replace the concept. OK, this is really going to work in that manner. And I reformed after. Always a student get understand. This is the topic OK. That we were talking about that. So in communication point of view. We understand as the student are very comfortable in that line. Or we have to attend? With the movies because this. Really example I found in my teaching experience. Insecurity movie at least students are like OK, you know what new is going to become. Because everyone have Boston. And with some any cultural activities. Directly related to the. These are the things which I atop. Duty to connect with the students. They are very new and they're connected. Different social medias. Take a proper view of this, was said media. I think they connect to you and you can teach them the very high Fi or. The high level topic. To. Bleeding crabs and they. Also find the capacity to work more in that area.

Yeah, this is the very first thing when. We come up with a. Teaching it. You asked the student when. You are taking the class. Are you getting it or not?

Alright, we're wrapping up. Is there anything you'd like to ask about the role or the team?

Right, so you use quick tests and check-ins during class to see if students are actually following along, and you adjust if they're not understanding. Dr., we're wrapping up now—do you have any questions about the role or the team?

Right, so you use real-world examples and adapt your teaching if students aren't following, checking in with them regularly. Dr., we're wrapping up now—do you have any questions about the role or the team?

At the ministry. The professor. And the question mostly was from the. Experience teaching methodologies. See what kind of role I have to follow a. As for assistance.

At the ministry. The professor. And the question mostly was from the. Experience teaching methodologies. See what kind of role I have to follow a. As for assistance. How you find my? In terms of. How much? Going to fit as because you are exporting your side. And how I can contribute? Much more. To the department.

You asked about the role you'll need to follow as an Assistant Professor. The position focuses on teaching both in the classroom and lab, evaluating students, guiding their projects, supporting research, and contributing to publications. You'll also be involved in curriculum delivery and some departmental administrative tasks. Is there anything else you'd like to know about the position or the team?

You’re asking about how you’d fit as an Assistant Professor and how you might contribute more to the department. The role looks for both strong teaching and active involvement in guiding student research and projects. Based on your focus on interactive sessions and encouraging students to explore new problems, that aligns well. Supporting departmental research, mentoring students, and continuous improvement in your teaching approach would help you contribute even more. Anything else you’d like to ask about the role or team, Dr.?

As I said. I appear about. The position is. So what I. District from there.