Yes, please.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics. So I have done my PhD in SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata in India. And my PhD was in the stream of. Of kindness, matter, physics, and material science. So I have after that I have done my post doc. Two postdoctoral studies. At the Maxline Center for Sustainable Materials in Germany. And Basque Center for Applied Mathematics. In Spain.

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics.

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics. So I have done my PhD in SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata in India. And my PhD was in the stream of. Of kindness, matter, physics, and material science. So I have after that I have done my post doc. Two postdoctoral studies. At the Maxline Center for Sustainable Materials in Germany. And Basque Center for Applied Mathematics. In Spain. So during. This postdoctoral. Studies. I have studied various defect structures in diverse material systems.

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics. So I have done my PhD in SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata in India.

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics. So I have done my PhD in SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata in India. And my PhD was in the stream of. Of kindness, matter, physics, and material science. So I have after that I have done my post doc. Two postdoctoral studies. At the Maxline Center for Sustainable Materials in Germany. And Basque Center for Applied Mathematics. In Spain. So during. This postdoctoral. Studies. I have studied various defect structures in diverse material systems. And studying them help. Come with to implement a lot of. Different types of. UH-2 areas different different material systems in diverse backgrounds and understand hydrogen metal interactions in. Structural metallic alloys. So I have studied zirconium alloys, aluminium alloys and I have. I am presently working with Steve.

Okay, so computational material science with theoretical physics — that's a pretty focused area. If you're comfortable, can you share a bit about how your academic path led you to specialize there?

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics. So I have done my PhD in SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata in India. And my PhD was in the stream of. Of kindness, matter, physics, and material science. So I have after that I have done my post doc. Two postdoctoral studies. At the Maxline Center for Sustainable Materials in Germany. And Basque Center for Applied Mathematics. In Spain. So during. This postdoctoral. Studies. I have studied various defect structures in diverse material systems. And studying them help. Come with to implement a lot of. Different types of. UH-2 areas different different material systems in diverse backgrounds and understand hydrogen metal interactions in. Structural metallic alloys. So I have studied zirconium alloys, aluminium alloys and I have. I am presently working with Steve. So my main. Research focus is. Based on. How to improve the overall strength of these kind of alloy systems? Where hydrogen play a major role. Inducing the mechanic in this. Reducing their overall strength. And making them more suscept. To mechanical failures.

Hello. My name is Polami Chakraborty. I am a computational material scientist with a background in theoretical physics. So I have done my PhD in SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata in India. And my PhD was in the stream of. Of kindness, matter, physics, and material science. So I have after that I have done my post doc. Two postdoctoral studies. At the Maxline Center for Sustainable Materials in Germany. And Basque Center for Applied Mathematics. In Spain. So during. This postdoctoral. Studies. I have studied various defect structures in diverse material systems. And studying them help. Come with to implement a lot of. Different types of. UH-2 areas different different material systems in diverse backgrounds and understand hydrogen metal interactions in. Structural metallic alloys. So I have studied zirconium alloys, aluminium alloys and I have. I am presently working with Steve. So my main. Research focus is. Based on. How to improve the overall strength of these kind of alloy systems? Where hydrogen play a major role. Inducing the mechanic in this. Reducing their overall strength. And making them more suscept. To mechanical failures. Through hydrogen embrittlement mechanism. Hello.

Right, so you did your PhD at SNBS National Center for Basic Sciences in Kolkata. Did you focus on computational approaches throughout your research, or did you start with more traditional theoretical work and shift later?

Alright, so after your PhD in condensed matter physics and material science in Kolkata, you went on to postdoc work both at the Max-Planck Center for Sustainable Materials in Germany and the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics in Spain. Anything else from your academic journey you'd like to add, or does that cover the main trajectory?

Now that we've got your background, Professor Chakraborty, I'm curious—when you're teaching introductory physics, what's one foundational concept you find especially important to get across to students?

Okay, so you've been digging into defect structures across zirconium and aluminum alloys, and you're currently working with steel. When you teach undergraduate physics, how do you make concepts like defect structures accessible to students who might not have much materials background?

So you're investigating how hydrogen affects mechanical strength in alloys like zirconium, aluminum, and now steel—especially its role in making materials more prone to failure. When you teach students about material defects and their impact on mechanical properties, what's one practical example or analogy you use to help them grasp why defects matter?

You've been examining how hydrogen embrittlement reduces the strength of various alloys and makes them more susceptible to mechanical failures. When you're introducing this idea to students for the first time, how do you structure that lesson so they really grasp why defects and impurities like hydrogen have such a big impact on materials?

So first I will. Start with metal systems because it's it's much easier to understand. So I have been working in metallic systems. Metallic alloys. So I will tell them that. The metal. Suppose you. Size yourself holding a metallic system. And metals are. We know that metal. A high. Resistance. They can. And with highest. Stress trend. So if you look at the basic stress strain curve of a metal. Metallic alloy. You will see that the plastic deformation and the ultimate tensile stress. This is at a much higher. The moment there is. Used into the metallic alloy. And that can be seen from experiment. Studies I can show they must. Typical stress graph. Where I will tell them that the metallic alloy if they are charged with hydrogen. Forcefully charged. Them with hydrogen under electrostatic potential will. Atoms, Hydrogen atoms incorporate inside the metal. And later on it will lead to intergranular. Fracture when they are. Uh, when they are susceptible to tensile. Stress strains and that. Show that the plastic deformation has reduced and the ultimate tensile. This is happening. At a much. Lower strain.

So first I will. Start with metal systems because it's it's much easier to understand. So I have been working in metallic systems. Metallic alloys. So I will tell them that. The metal. Suppose you. Size yourself holding a metallic system. And metals are. We know that metal. A high. Resistance. They can. And with highest. Stress trend. So if you look at the basic stress strain curve of a metal. Metallic alloy. You will see that the plastic deformation and the ultimate tensile stress. This is at a much higher. The moment there is. Used into the metallic alloy. And that can be seen from experiment. Studies I can show they must. Typical stress graph. Where I will tell them that the metallic alloy if they are charged with hydrogen. Forcefully charged. Them with hydrogen under electrostatic potential will. Atoms, Hydrogen atoms incorporate inside the metal. And later on it will lead to intergranular. Fracture when they are. Uh, when they are susceptible to tensile. Stress strains and that. Show that the plastic deformation has reduced and the ultimate tensile. This is happening. At a much. Lower strain. In simple language. The metal, the metal leak alloy will. Fail at a much. Low strain value. Stand in a pure metallic alloy which doesn't have any hydrogen. The typical stress. Graph you can identify. Which material system has had? In it, which material system doesn't have a hydrogen? And you? You can directly see the result of hydrogen embrace. And how dangerous. For metallic systems. Hello.

Alright, you use experimental stress-strain data and real-world examples to help students see the effect of hydrogen on metals. How do you handle it if a student just doesn't see why these atomic-scale impurities can have such dramatic macroscopic effects?

You walk students through stress-strain curves and experimental results to illustrate how hydrogen weakens alloys, and you make it clear that a hydrogen-charged metal fails at much lower strain than a pure one. If a student still can't connect atomic-scale changes to those visible mechanical effects, how do you bridge that gap for them?

Good question, SO. What I will say is that I will typically. Give them a. Ajar Ajar full of a lot of red balls and and and green balls. So the red balls will show that they are the metal atoms. Under. So that they are. Uh, items. In the. So once you. More green to the jar. What happens is that. It it it. The gaps inside.

Good question, SO. What I will say is that I will typically. Give them a. Ajar Ajar full of a lot of red balls and and and green balls. So the red balls will show that they are the metal atoms. Under. So that they are. Uh, items. In the. So once you. More green to the jar. What happens is that. It it it. The gaps inside. Which means that you. Strength or the binding energy? And. Begin the atomic structure. And that is what happens when hydrogen. Gets absorbed inside a metallic system. It is so. Small it. In various mechanisms. It diffuses into the bulb.

Good question, SO. What I will say is that I will typically. Give them a. Ajar Ajar full of a lot of red balls and and and green balls. So the red balls will show that they are the metal atoms. Under. So that they are. Uh, items. In the. So once you. More green to the jar. What happens is that. It it it. The gaps inside. Which means that you. Strength or the binding energy? And. Begin the atomic structure. And that is what happens when hydrogen. Gets absorbed inside a metallic system. It is so. Small it. In various mechanisms. It diffuses into the bulb. In various defects in various microstructures and it goes there, it weakens the metallic bonding. And uses the. Cohesive strength and. With longer time.

Alright, so you were using the jar analogy with red and green balls to show how hydrogen atoms mix in with metal atoms and disrupt the structure. You were saying the gaps inside—can you finish that thought?

You use that red and green ball jar to help students visualize how hydrogen atoms sneak into the gaps and weaken the atomic structure. When you do this in the classroom, do you usually use physical props, simulations, or just analogies and drawings?

Alright,

This is 2 mechanic.

You were explaining the mechanics of hydrogen diffusion and how it weakens the alloy over time. Let's shift a bit—when you're teaching outside your main research area, what's one physics topic you really enjoy introducing to students?

I will. I will. I I can introduce I will enjoy introducing the Chris.

Okay, sounds like you were about to mention crystallography or crystal structures. What about that topic makes it enjoyable for you to teach—how do you get students excited about it?

I will. I will. I I can introduce I will enjoy introducing the Chris. How various types of? CBC HCP structures are formed. And depending on. Various. Packing how? Different types of defects. So depending on this. The atomic packing density. How the material strength of the material varies. Whether a structure is? Face centered cubic system.

I will. I will. I I can introduce I will enjoy introducing the Chris. How various types of? CBC HCP structures are formed. And depending on. Various. Packing how? Different types of defects. So depending on this. The atomic packing density. How the material strength of the material varies. Whether a structure is? Face centered cubic system. Saginaw cubic pack. It depends on the package packing system. It's it's very. It's very interesting because. The way each of the atoms. Are stacked against each other. Is exactly responsible. The strength of the material for various material properties. Structure, property relationships. From. The same thing we can see. A lot of impact.

I will. I will. I I can introduce I will enjoy introducing the Chris. How various types of? CBC HCP structures are formed. And depending on. Various. Packing how? Different types of defects. So depending on this. The atomic packing density. How the material strength of the material varies. Whether a structure is? Face centered cubic system. Saginaw cubic pack. It depends on the package packing system. It's it's very. It's very interesting because. The way each of the atoms. Are stacked against each other. Is exactly responsible. The strength of the material for various material properties. Structure, property relationships. From. The same thing we can see. A lot of impact. From Atomic Packing and atomic. To understand atomic packing density and atomic packing structures.

Okay, so you're focusing on atomic packing and how the structure—like face-centered cubic or hexagonal close-packed—affects material strength. When students struggle to see the real-world impact of these structures, how do you help them make the connection between crystal lattice and something tangible, like the properties of a metal they might encounter?

Alright, so you focus on atomic packing and the way crystal structures impact material strength—like showing how face-centered cubic versus hexagonal close-packed changes properties. When you teach this, do you use real-world examples, like metals students might encounter daily, to make those structures more tangible?

Dr., I noticed your publication in Nature on hydrogen trapping and embrittlement in high-strength aluminum alloys. How has that research shaped the way you approach teaching about material failure mechanisms to undergraduate students?

Yes. So in that. In that nature paper my most important. Tuition was the fact. To understand. The basic level. How alloying elements? Actually play a role.

Yes. So in that. In that nature paper my most important. Tuition was the fact. To understand. The basic level. How alloying elements? Actually play a role. In interaction. With hydrogen atoms. And how that can prevent by understanding the mechanism. How that can prevent? Future clear mechanisms. Go to our undergraduate student, I would say. That when? We cannot work. Start with pure metals. Because pure metals will have. The strength for pure. Is. Not. Conditions in applications we need to add. Yeah, puff metal. Elements or nonmetallic elements to. Or decrease the strength of a material. So the. Main in. Interesting part is that to understand interact. Green balls. Put it into a glass jar or when you put it in a in a in a box.

You emphasized alloying elements as a key insight from your Nature paper. Can you give me a concrete example of how you explain the role of alloying elements in hydrogen embrittlement to students who may not have much background in materials science?

Yes. So in that. In that nature paper my most important. Tuition was the fact. To understand. The basic level. How alloying elements? Actually play a role. In interaction. With hydrogen atoms. And how that can prevent by understanding the mechanism. How that can prevent? Future clear mechanisms. Go to our undergraduate student, I would say. That when? We cannot work. Start with pure metals. Because pure metals will have. The strength for pure. Is. Not. Conditions in applications we need to add. Yeah, puff metal. Elements or nonmetallic elements to. Or decrease the strength of a material. So the. Main in. Interesting part is that to understand interact.

Yes. So in that. In that nature paper my most important. Tuition was the fact. To understand. The basic level. How alloying elements? Actually play a role. In interaction. With hydrogen atoms. And how that can prevent by understanding the mechanism. How that can prevent? Future clear mechanisms. Go to our undergraduate student, I would say. That when? We cannot work. Start with pure metals. Because pure metals will have. The strength for pure. Is. Not. Conditions in applications we need to add. Yeah, puff metal. Elements or nonmetallic elements to. Or decrease the strength of a material. So the. Main in. Interesting part is that to understand interact. Green balls. Put it into a glass jar or when you put it in a in a in a box. How these atoms? The shapes, the sizes play a role in their atomic arrangements. And that. To. Physics point of view. That they. They can. They can. Location. Based on atomic arrangements, you can tell a lot of you can you can understand a lot.

You're emphasizing that alloying elements are crucial because they interact with hydrogen in ways that can actually prevent certain failure mechanisms—that's a subtle point, and not always obvious to undergrads. When you explain this, do you use real-world examples or demonstrations to help them see why alloying is so foundational?

Alright, you use analogies like the glass jar with colored balls to help students visualize how alloying elements interact with hydrogen and affect material properties. How do you handle it when a student challenges the analogy—maybe saying it's too simplistic or doesn't capture quantum effects?

Given your work on hydrogen-metal interactions and computational materials, where do you see the most fundable research directions over the next three years? What specific grants or funding sources would you target to support your group?

So firstly, I would say that in 2023 India launched. Is its national green hydrogen mission. Towards clean. Uh, uh, initi. Also means green steel metallurgy. And sustainable metallurgy. So I am presently working in steel alloys. Along with other alloys and I am also presently working in hydrogen metal. Hydrogen metal interactions. So The thing is that in. In steel while reproducing steel. Green steel means that you are using hydrogen as a reducing agent. Cleaner reducing agent. But that. Also mean that during the service time, hydrogen will get a. To interact with the material. With the metallic alloy. And get inside. Inside the various. Dislocations and grain boundaries and it it can. Get trapped inside the material and cause mechanical failure. So therefore my my research hydrogen metal interactions in. For green steel initiative is very important to understand this hydrogen metric. Directions. I will be definitely uh. Now applying to PSA and RF grants.

So firstly, I would say that in 2023 India launched. Is its national green hydrogen mission. Towards clean. Uh, uh, initi. Also means green steel metallurgy. And sustainable metallurgy. So I am presently working in steel alloys. Along with other alloys and I am also presently working in hydrogen metal. Hydrogen metal interactions. So The thing is that in. In steel while reproducing steel. Green steel means that you are using hydrogen as a reducing agent. Cleaner reducing agent. But that. Also mean that during the service time, hydrogen will get a. To interact with the material. With the metallic alloy. And get inside. Inside the various. Dislocations and grain boundaries and it it can. Get trapped inside the material and cause mechanical failure. So therefore my my research hydrogen metal interactions in. For green steel initiative is very important to understand this hydrogen metric. Directions. I will be definitely uh. Now applying to PSA and RF grants. Starting an RF grants. Grants and I will also be eligible for applying. Max Planck, India. With the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials because if you have done your. Well. Full stop with any Max Planck center. It gives you. Needed to apply for a Max Planck India partner. Which means I. Right from the which which means I. Vibration within the Max planning center I have worked with in Germany. For my postdoctoral studies. And with the. Center, I am affiliated. See whether it gets. Approved or not? Other than that there are several Indo German grants. Likewise. For women. And there are wise. Grants for women I will definitely. Focus on those. As well. And other than that, all the. Google grants. One major point of. Funding approach. The highlight of my research, All my research are a collaboration with experimental. And I have a. Network of experimental collaborators. Who are working with atom probe tomography experiments which are. The experiments which actually, uh. So that how hydrogen metal interactions lead to various embrittlement mechanisms. So I can validate my theory as well and. A major attractive point for.

You’re targeting PSA and NRF grants to support your work on hydrogen interactions for green steel initiatives—there’s a clear link between national missions and your own research. Thinking realistically, if your group secures those funds, what’s your strategy for ensuring your publications actually achieve high impact and contribute to VIT’s global reputation?

If my primary grant didn't get renewed. I I I obviously have collaborations like I am presently the visiting. Sir, in the Bach Center for Applied Mathematics and I. Collaboration with Baas Center of Applied Mathematics and the Max Planck Center for. And I have access to both the HPC. Cluster systems there.

If my primary grant didn't get renewed. I I I obviously have collaborations like I am presently the visiting. Sir, in the Bach Center for Applied Mathematics and I. Collaboration with Baas Center of Applied Mathematics and the Max Planck Center for. And I have access to both the HPC. Cluster systems there. Working with them through various other collaborative. Collaborative risk. Programs where I can always access their. High-power computer. And. Knew my research. Other than. I can focus on 70. Call problems. One by twins which I can incorporate.

If my primary grant didn't get renewed. I I I obviously have collaborations like I am presently the visiting. Sir, in the Bach Center for Applied Mathematics and I. Collaboration with Baas Center of Applied Mathematics and the Max Planck Center for. And I have access to both the HPC. Cluster systems there. Working with them through various other collaborative. Collaborative risk. Programs where I can always access their. High-power computer. And. Knew my research. Other than. I can focus on 70. Call problems. One by twins which I can incorporate. And the results from there can always. Be two point. For my. Upcoming. That I I. I keep on having. Collaboration with experimental groups. And I have. A couple of. Lined up and a couple of papers lined up with them. So I. I can I keep on giving the theoretical validation. For. For their experimental results. So these things can always keep on going.

If my primary grant didn't get renewed. I I I obviously have collaborations like I am presently the visiting. Sir, in the Bach Center for Applied Mathematics and I. Collaboration with Baas Center of Applied Mathematics and the Max Planck Center for. And I have access to both the HPC. Cluster systems there. Working with them through various other collaborative. Collaborative risk. Programs where I can always access their. High-power computer. And. Knew my research. Other than. I can focus on 70. Call problems. One by twins which I can incorporate. And the results from there can always. Be two point. For my. Upcoming. That I I. I keep on having. Collaboration with experimental groups. And I have. A couple of. Lined up and a couple of papers lined up with them. So I. I can I keep on giving the theoretical validation. For. For their experimental results. So these things can always keep on going. And this will not. Need a lot of computational resources other than the local computational resources which I I will get if I get this position. And and and also I have a parallel. The research. Idea that is working in Max phases and magazines. Which where I had previous. Work experience during my. And I wish to continue that as well. In order to continue my. Research programs.

You mentioned leveraging your collaborations with the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics and the Max Planck Center for access to HPC clusters if your primary grant lapses. Is there a contingency plan for supporting your students and maintaining project momentum during a funding gap, especially if travel or equipment costs come up unexpectedly?

You highlighted your access to HPC clusters through ongoing collaborations and the possibility of shifting to collaborative research problems if funding runs out. But if you had to scale back your group or pivot your research focus due to financial constraints, what would be your first step to keep your core work going?

You’ve shown real thought about research sustainability and group management. Let’s pivot to teaching for a moment—suppose you’re teaching a core physics course with 200 students, but you’re not allowed to use slides or traditional lectures. How would you run a session that keeps everyone engaged and actually learning?

You’ve got a strong network of collaborators and you’ve lined up several papers with them, so you’re able to keep research momentum even if local funding is tight. Now, imagine you’re teaching a large physics class at VIT—let’s say 200 students—and you can’t use slides or the blackboard for a session. What active learning approach would you use to keep students engaged and help them wrestle with the material, rather than just listen passively?

I think the best. To approach this is, uh, Bill. Small laboratory experiments in the class and demonstrating them. That is, is the best way? Added that uh, starting with the starting in the interview I said that. I will simply if I talk about crystal structure in a very large. Last I will bring, I will bring a. Box Air. Box and I will put several balls in the. Do it and I will start explaining the arrangements and atomic pack.

I think the best. To approach this is, uh, Bill. Small laboratory experiments in the class and demonstrating them. That is, is the best way? Added that uh, starting with the starting in the interview I said that. I will simply if I talk about crystal structure in a very large. Last I will bring, I will bring a. Box Air. Box and I will put several balls in the. Do it and I will start explaining the arrangements and atomic pack. I'm going to subject matter. Maybe I will write a few equations on the board, but demonstrating it with hands on. With innovative. Interesting for the students, definitely. Without any funding or without. Also another way. Of keeping students in. Be to give them very small. Small working projects. If it is undergraduate student then I will give them small small working process. Feeding projects and. To evaluate them so that I can connect with them one-on-one. In in in it.

I think the best. To approach this is, uh, Bill. Small laboratory experiments in the class and demonstrating them. That is, is the best way? Added that uh, starting with the starting in the interview I said that. I will simply if I talk about crystal structure in a very large. Last I will bring, I will bring a. Box Air. Box and I will put several balls in the. Do it and I will start explaining the arrangements and atomic pack. I'm going to subject matter. Maybe I will write a few equations on the board, but demonstrating it with hands on. With innovative. Interesting for the students, definitely. Without any funding or without. Also another way. Of keeping students in. Be to give them very small. Small working projects. If it is undergraduate student then I will give them small small working process. Feeding projects and. To evaluate them so that I can connect with them one-on-one. In in in it. That what is their feedback, what is their perspective and how how if they have to demonstrate. In a very. In scientific experiment, how will that be? And they can come up with their own. Own ideas?

I think the best. To approach this is, uh, Bill. Small laboratory experiments in the class and demonstrating them. That is, is the best way? Added that uh, starting with the starting in the interview I said that. I will simply if I talk about crystal structure in a very large. Last I will bring, I will bring a. Box Air. Box and I will put several balls in the. Do it and I will start explaining the arrangements and atomic pack. I'm going to subject matter. Maybe I will write a few equations on the board, but demonstrating it with hands on. With innovative. Interesting for the students, definitely. Without any funding or without. Also another way. Of keeping students in. Be to give them very small. Small working projects. If it is undergraduate student then I will give them small small working process. Feeding projects and. To evaluate them so that I can connect with them one-on-one. In in in it. That what is their feedback, what is their perspective and how how if they have to demonstrate. In a very. In scientific experiment, how will that be? And they can come up with their own. Own ideas? So I will definitely be open to us. The more engaging student teacher. Engagement in class. Even though it is a larger class, we can always. Who hand hands on sessions or? Tutorials by organizing tutorials. And giving them. Ekhumte Khuma. Problems and they can come up with the take home problems and we can. In the class.

Right, so you’d actually bring a box and use physical models to demonstrate atomic packing in the classroom. How do you know if students are genuinely understanding the concept during that kind of hands-on activity, especially in such a large group?

So you’d bring in physical models and hands-on projects to keep students engaged. Let’s say a third of the class isn’t participating or seems confused—how do you assess whether your active learning approach is actually working, and what would you tweak if it isn’t?

Alright, so you’d use hands-on models and small projects for engagement. Let’s say a third of the class isn’t participating or seems confused—how do you assess whether your active learning approach is working, and what would you do to get those students more involved?

Okay, shifting gears a bit. Accreditation cycles can be pretty demanding—say you joined our department and noticed that outcome assessment data was inconsistent across physics courses. How would you go about fixing that so we meet accreditation standards?

By outcome assessment data. Students are performing.

By outcome assessment data. Students are performing. Am I understanding it correctly?

Yeah, that's right—the outcome assessment data usually means how well students are performing, like grades or achievement on learning objectives. If you saw the scores or competency reports weren’t consistent across courses, what would you do to make sure the department met accreditation standards for reliable assessment?

Mm-hmm.

So if the. Outcome assessment data is incoming. Results what I. Who is that? I will. I will try to. Give them. Now I will try to walk through our more problem oriented. Uh, worksheets. I will give them each week. Like in various. The IIT systems in India across India. They organize. Where after? Introduce a certain chapter. If it is a bit hard. Subject what you. Who is that you organize quizzes? All of a sudden without without any prior preparation. You are told. Answer very basic questions in the class. And when I can, when I will evaluate?

So if the. Outcome assessment data is incoming. Results what I. Who is that? I will. I will try to. Give them. Now I will try to walk through our more problem oriented. Uh, worksheets. I will give them each week. Like in various. The IIT systems in India across India. They organize. Where after? Introduce a certain chapter. If it is a bit hard. Subject what you. Who is that you organize quizzes? All of a sudden without without any prior preparation. You are told. Answer very basic questions in the class. And when I can, when I will evaluate? Through the. It's immediately I I will understand without. Which are the differences? Who are lacking? Who are lacking in understanding? Understanding. I will give them one-on-one tutorial classes after after the after the college hours. And we will try to solve. And. Give me today's fever. And this is how I I. I will try to enhance their performance.

So if the. Outcome assessment data is incoming. Results what I. Who is that? I will. I will try to. Give them. Now I will try to walk through our more problem oriented. Uh, worksheets. I will give them each week. Like in various. The IIT systems in India across India. They organize. Where after? Introduce a certain chapter. If it is a bit hard. Subject what you. Who is that you organize quizzes? All of a sudden without without any prior preparation. You are told. Answer very basic questions in the class. And when I can, when I will evaluate? Through the. It's immediately I I will understand without. Which are the differences? Who are lacking? Who are lacking in understanding? Understanding. I will give them one-on-one tutorial classes after after the after the college hours. And we will try to solve. And. Give me today's fever. And this is how I I. I will try to enhance their performance. And their understanding. I also. Just by my. Some of that. Who will not be able to understand? The topics immediately. This is a very standard method which is used in a lot. Ethiopian institutions as. Hello. Hello.

You’d use weekly problem-oriented worksheets and surprise quizzes to get a real sense of student understanding, similar to IITs. In practice though, fixing inconsistent outcome data is also about getting faculty to align their course objectives and assessments. How would you actually coordinate that across the department—what steps would you take to get everyone on board?

Yeah, you’d use immediate quizzes and tutorials to spot the gaps and give targeted support, and that’s important for improving student outcomes. But for accreditation, it’s not just about student improvement—it’s about documenting processes, standardizing assessment methods, and coordinating across faculty to meet external standards. What experience do you have with preparing or aligning documentation and processes for accreditation reviews or audits?

Alright, so you’d use immediate quizzes and one-on-one tutorials to spot and address gaps in student understanding, similar to some of the top institutions. But for accreditation, it’s not just about student improvement—how would you actually document and standardize these interventions so the department can show clear evidence of improvement for external reviewers?

I will make the. I will make the courses. Not only uh. I wouldn't put 100% weightage on exams. I will try to take Viva. And I will put 3020% weightage on Viva. I will. Rate also 10 point. On on the student attendance and how they respond in the classes. And I will try to break the grading. System in various ways. So that. Uh, the grades not only. Depend on perform. The problems. So how you how you are marked or how you are, how you are doing in the quizzes? In the consecutive quizzes, how you are doing in the hands on tutorials? Take them and I will be. Them properly so that the way. Fused and there is only. Percent weighted on the exam questions and there is 50%.

I will make the. I will make the courses. Not only uh. I wouldn't put 100% weightage on exams. I will try to take Viva. And I will put 3020% weightage on Viva. I will. Rate also 10 point. On on the student attendance and how they respond in the classes. And I will try to break the grading. System in various ways. So that. Uh, the grades not only. Depend on perform. The problems. So how you how you are marked or how you are, how you are doing in the quizzes? In the consecutive quizzes, how you are doing in the hands on tutorials? Take them and I will be. Them properly so that the way. Fused and there is only. Percent weighted on the exam questions and there is 50%. On their overall. Attendance on their overall. Responses on the. How they are improved in the? Girls how they are responding to questions and how they are grasping the ideas.

I will make the. I will make the courses. Not only uh. I wouldn't put 100% weightage on exams. I will try to take Viva.

I will make the. I will make the courses. Not only uh. I wouldn't put 100% weightage on exams. I will try to take Viva. And I will put 3020% weightage on Viva. I will. Rate also 10 point.

I will make the. I will make the courses. Not only uh. I wouldn't put 100% weightage on exams. I will try to take Viva. And I will put 3020% weightage on Viva. I will. Rate also 10 point. On on the student attendance and how they respond in the classes. And I will try to break the grading. System in various ways. So that. Uh, the grades not only. Depend on perform. The problems. So how you how you are marked or how you are, how you are doing in the quizzes? In the consecutive quizzes, how you are doing in the hands on tutorials?

Okay, turning to industry alignment—given your experience working with hydrogen interactions in advanced alloys, do you have established connections with any companies or research labs that could help VIT students access internships or hands-on projects?

You’d add vivas and shift some of the grading weight from exams to oral assessments, which makes sense for catching deeper understanding. Now, thinking about your industry connections—do you have any established relationships with companies or research labs that could lead to internships or placement opportunities for students at VIT?

Okay, so you’d diversify assessment with vivas and participation scores to make sure grades reflect more than just exam performance. You mentioned collaborating with experimental groups—can you give a concrete example of how you’d bring those industry or research lab connections into the classroom or lab environment at VIT so students see direct real-world application?

You’d diversify how students are assessed—vivas, attendance, quizzes, hands-on tutorials—so the grading reflects more than just exams. Now, thinking about your industry connections, can you give a concrete example of how you’d leverage your collaboration with Max Planck or your experimental partners to create internship or placement opportunities for VIT students?

Right, let’s switch gears—let’s dig in on some specific skills. First up: theoretical physics. Imagine you’re designing a new undergraduate module on condensed matter. How would you introduce concepts like quasiparticles and emergent phenomena so students can actually grasp the physical intuition behind them?

I think I will need some preparation time to be. Able to understand. To. Come up with a module which will introduce. Emergent phenomena and quasi-particles because which this is a. This is I I do not think this is something very. Common in undergrad.

I think I will need some preparation time to be. Able to understand. To. Come up with a module which will introduce. Emergent phenomena and quasi-particles because which this is a. This is I I do not think this is something very. Common in undergrad. Physics condemns matter. Physics topic. And this will need some amount of preparation from my side to introduce it on an undergraduate level.

Alright, fair enough—you’re right, quasiparticles and emergent phenomena aren’t always covered at the undergrad level. Let’s pivot to semiconductor device physics. Suppose a student asks you why the subthreshold slope in a MOSFET is limited—how would you explain that in a way that actually clicks for them?

Alright, you’re right—those topics can be advanced for undergrads and it’s fair to say you’d need prep time. Switching to semiconductor device physics: if a student asks why the subthreshold slope in a MOSFET can't be made arbitrarily steep, how would you help them build intuition for that limitation?

This is also, I think, electronic. This comes under a typical. Semiconductor devices expert. So my. I my expertise rise in Kanish matter physics and theoretical physics which in the undergraduate level and the. Graduate level. But this is typically part. Pose level questions where? One who is adept in electronics. In electronic. Electra. Electronic materials and semiconductor devices be able to answer better. Because I have not worked with Mosfets, uh since my undergraduate. Time and I will need some time as well. Introduce this topic.

This is also, I think, electronic. This comes under a typical. Semiconductor devices expert. So my. I my expertise rise in Kanish matter physics and theoretical physics which in the undergraduate level and the. Graduate level. But this is typically part. Pose level questions where? One who is adept in electronics. In electronic. Electra. Electronic materials and semiconductor devices be able to answer better. Because I have not worked with Mosfets, uh since my undergraduate. Time and I will need some time as well. Introduce this topic. On the other two, uh. Describe a topic. In. Or semiconductor physics like band theory. Much easily, because this is very much. Pertaining to the condensed matter physics in the undergraduate level. In the undergraduate level you introduce topic. Does wave functions defects? How quantum mechanics, wave functions and probability? Is connected. And how a particle? Is found in in each of the space-time. In space and time. And how various atomic atomic density? Is is. In, in, in the. In the material arrangements and how that. That. Controls the overall material properties. So I think these are the much more based. Seek level concepts in condensed matter physics. The topics you are saying in semiconductor devices.

This is also, I think, electronic. This comes under a typical. Semiconductor devices expert. So my. I my expertise rise in Kanish matter physics and theoretical physics which in the undergraduate level and the. Graduate level. But this is typically part. Pose level questions where? One who is adept in electronics. In electronic. Electra. Electronic materials and semiconductor devices be able to answer better. Because I have not worked with Mosfets, uh since my undergraduate. Time and I will need some time as well. Introduce this topic. On the other two, uh. Describe a topic. In. Or semiconductor physics like band theory. Much easily, because this is very much. Pertaining to the condensed matter physics in the undergraduate level. In the undergraduate level you introduce topic. Does wave functions defects? How quantum mechanics, wave functions and probability? Is connected. And how a particle? Is found in in each of the space-time. In space and time. And how various atomic atomic density? Is is. In, in, in the. In the material arrangements and how that. That. Controls the overall material properties. So I think these are the much more based. Seek level concepts in condensed matter physics. The topics you are saying in semiconductor devices. Participating to Mosfets will be, I think, much advanced level topics. And this. Floated in, supposedly in postgraduate studies.

This is also, I think, electronic. This comes under a typical. Semiconductor devices expert. So my. I my expertise rise in Kanish matter physics and theoretical physics which in the undergraduate level and the. Graduate level. But this is typically part. Pose level questions where? One who is adept in electronics. In electronic. Electra. Electronic materials and semiconductor devices be able to answer better. Because I have not worked with Mosfets, uh since my undergraduate. Time and I will need some time as well. Introduce this topic. On the other two, uh. Describe a topic. In. Or semiconductor physics like band theory. Much easily, because this is very much. Pertaining to the condensed matter physics in the undergraduate level. In the undergraduate level you introduce topic. Does wave functions defects? How quantum mechanics, wave functions and probability? Is connected. And how a particle? Is found in in each of the space-time. In space and time. And how various atomic atomic density? Is is. In, in, in the. In the material arrangements and how that. That. Controls the overall material properties. So I think these are the much more based. Seek level concepts in condensed matter physics. The topics you are saying in semiconductor devices. Participating to Mosfets will be, I think, much advanced level topics. And this. Floated in, supposedly in postgraduate studies. By advanced experts.

This is also, I think, electronic. This comes under a typical. Semiconductor devices expert. So my. I my expertise rise in Kanish matter physics and theoretical physics which in the undergraduate level and the. Graduate level. But this is typically part. Pose level questions where? One who is adept in electronics. In electronic. Electra. Electronic materials and semiconductor devices be able to answer better. Because I have not worked with Mosfets, uh since my undergraduate. Time and I will need some time as well. Introduce this topic. On the other two, uh. Describe a topic. In. Or semiconductor physics like band theory. Much easily, because this is very much. Pertaining to the condensed matter physics in the undergraduate level. In the undergraduate level you introduce topic. Does wave functions defects? How quantum mechanics, wave functions and probability? Is connected. And how a particle? Is found in in each of the space-time. In space and time. And how various atomic atomic density? Is is. In, in, in the. In the material arrangements and how that. That. Controls the overall material properties. So I think these are the much more based. Seek level concepts in condensed matter physics. The topics you are saying in semiconductor devices. Participating to Mosfets will be, I think, much advanced level topics. And this. Floated in, supposedly in postgraduate studies. By advanced experts. So this will definitely need some preparation.

No worries, you’re not focusing on MOSFETs or device physics lately, so that’s fair. Let’s touch on machine learning—when you’re designing a physics experiment and want to use ML for pattern recognition, what’s your process for selecting features and ensuring the model’s outputs are physically meaningful?

Alright, so semiconductor devices aren't your main area, but you can connect band theory and quantum mechanics to material properties. Let's shift to machine learning—when you're designing a physics experiment and want to use ML for pattern recognition, what steps would you take to make sure your model doesn't just memorize the training data but actually generalizes well to new cases?

Okay, so semiconductor devices aren't your main area, but you can connect band theory and quantum mechanics to material properties. Let's shift to machine learning—when you're designing a physics experiment and want to use ML for pattern recognition, how do you decide what features or data representations to use?

Alright, you’re more comfortable with condensed matter and theoretical physics, and you’d focus on foundational concepts for undergrads. Let’s shift to machine learning—when you’re designing a physics experiment and want to use ML for pattern recognition, what’s your process for choosing features and evaluating the model’s reliability?

Alright, you’re much more comfortable with foundational concepts from condensed matter and theoretical physics—let’s move to machine learning. When you’re designing a physics experiment and want to use ML for pattern recognition in noisy data, what’s your process for ensuring the model doesn’t just overfit to random fluctuations?

I think from a. The thing is that I'm not a machine learning expert. But from a very basic fundamental. I will say that the symmetry operations play a way. Import. Oppositely. You ask. That how do I fit my DfT density functional theory data set? To our machine learning interatomic potential.

I think from a. The thing is that I'm not a machine learning expert. But from a very basic fundamental. I will say that the symmetry operations play a way. Import. Oppositely. You ask. That how do I fit my DfT density functional theory data set? To our machine learning interatomic potential. So how do I do that? I the basic idea being is that. Asymmetry functions and I will be. Earning the weight. Of each of. Entry functions like. There is in the Gaussian approximate potential that in the gap. There are SOAP descriptors, so there are other. Does in other symmetry functions whichever we are using and I will try to reproduce the energetics. Like significant energy and embrittlement energy and try to match those.

I think from a. The thing is that I'm not a machine learning expert. But from a very basic fundamental. I will say that the symmetry operations play a way. Import. Oppositely. You ask. That how do I fit my DfT density functional theory data set? To our machine learning interatomic potential. So how do I do that? I the basic idea being is that. Asymmetry functions and I will be. Earning the weight. Of each of. Entry functions like. There is in the Gaussian approximate potential that in the gap. There are SOAP descriptors, so there are other. Does in other symmetry functions whichever we are using and I will try to reproduce the energetics. Like significant energy and embrittlement energy and try to match those. And calculate the. And that's how I will see. Whether the machine learning interatomic potential. Is actually producing real-time data, or it is? Actually. Able to recognize. The the system I am.

Okay, you’ve been clear that machine learning isn’t your main area, and that you’d need to lean on the fundamentals if applying it to physics data. Let’s try something else—quantum computation. If you were asked to explain the physical meaning of quantum entanglement to a group of physics majors who keep asking for a “real-world” analogy, what would you say?

Alright, so you’re using symmetry functions and SOAP descriptors to capture the physics in your machine learning models, and you’re matching theoretical energetics to experimental data. Let’s talk quantum computation—if you were asked to explain quantum entanglement to a group of skeptical engineers, what analogy or demonstration would you use to make the concept stick?

Okay, so you’d try to match theoretical energetics to real data with symmetry functions, even though machine learning isn’t your main area. Let’s switch to quantum computation for a moment—if you were tasked with explaining quantum entanglement to undergraduate students without using equations, how would you make the concept clear and memorable for them?

Quantum entanglement is not an undergraduate topic. Firstly.

Quantum entanglement is not an undergraduate topic. Firstly. Secondly, still. Have one one very beautiful example, one very beautiful question.

Alright, you’re clear that quantum entanglement isn’t typically taught at the undergraduate level. Let’s shift to industry projects or consultancy—can you describe one situation where your theoretical expertise directly helped an industrial collaborator solve a real materials problem?

Quantum entanglement is not an undergraduate topic. Firstly. Secondly, still. Have one one very beautiful example, one very beautiful question. Which which stayed with me. During my undergraduate studies. In a typical interview. So. The thing is that quantum angle entire. It states. How much 2 particles are entangled if? Take one particle. In Bombay and one particle in. Kolkata. And if you try to measure the correlation between each of the particles. Quantum entanglement. Give you an equation. Which will tell you basically. Whether the guy in Kolkata? Onto the in Bombay. And if they respond, how will they respond? So this is there is a typical equation in quantum. And it induced. This typical correlation. In in different space. In different space when when 2 partic. Absolutely. Situated Situated in very large. Since from each other. So how? They will react. So I think. This is a very interesting interesting problem to start with. That how will you describe the correlation between two particles? One in what? In Vellore or the other one in. So yes. That's how I will start the topic.

Quantum entanglement is not an undergraduate topic. Firstly. Secondly, still. Have one one very beautiful example, one very beautiful question. Which which stayed with me. During my undergraduate studies. In a typical interview. So. The thing is that quantum angle entire. It states. How much 2 particles are entangled if? Take one particle. In Bombay and one particle in. Kolkata. And if you try to measure the correlation between each of the particles. Quantum entanglement. Give you an equation. Which will tell you basically. Whether the guy in Kolkata? Onto the in Bombay. And if they respond, how will they respond?

You’re right, entanglement is pretty advanced for undergrads, but you mentioned you do have a memorable example. Go ahead and walk me through how you’d use that example to help students visualize the concept—just the story or analogy, not the math.

So you’d use that classic scenario of two particles in different cities to illustrate entanglement—measuring one instantly affects the other, even at a distance. Let’s shift to industry projects or consultancy. Can you describe one situation where your theoretical physics expertise made a tangible impact on an industrial or applied project?

So you’d use that thought experiment with two particles in distant cities to make entanglement tangible—that’s a classic way to spark curiosity. Last

Absent. Hello.

I hear you—sounds like you might be stepping away or distracted for a moment. Since we’re at the end of our conversation, Dr., is there anything you’d like to ask about the role or the team before we wrap up?

Yes. If I am. Uh, selected for this? What are the? What is? I mean I. Teaching. Teaching and what kind of student strength I will have. This is something I would really like to know.

Yes. If I am. Uh, selected for this? What are the? What is?

You asked what happens if you're selected. The role involves classroom teaching, running lab sessions, evaluating students, supervising projects, supporting research, and helping with both publications and departmental tasks. There’s a strong emphasis on both teaching and contributing to the academic community. Anything else you’d like to know?

You'd be teaching both classroom and lab sessions, mentoring students, supervising projects, supporting research, and helping with publications. The exact class size can vary, but typically you'll have groups large enough to allow for meaningful interaction and hands-on activities, while still being manageable for individual support. Anything else you'd like to know, Dr.?

No, thank you.