Yes, sure.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

That, of all Ireland. Thank you too. Thank you for the opportunity to confirm my profile. So my name is Manoj Mutalika Pillai. Currently I am here. Battery research scientist based in Prague, Czech Republic.

Okay, so you’re currently in Prague working as a battery research scientist. Could you share a bit more about your academic path—degrees, institutions, and how that led you to your current research focus?

And did my PhD from Cochin University of Science and Technology. Yeah, sure. I did my PhD from Cochin University of Science and Technology in India focusing on lithium ion batteries. After completing. Speaking my PhD, I moved to Finland to work as a post doctoral researcher. So during my postdoctoral period in Finland, I was awarded the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. To work on the development of. Silicon based anodes and sulfur based. So after completing the postdoctoral fellowship, I was offered an. Anode scientists role from a battery company based in Slovakia. So during my. And I have experience both in Academy and industry, so I have extensively worked on the development of silicon based anodes.

Dr., you’ve bridged both academic and industry roles.

So after my. The job at the industry I was offered a research scientist position. From Prague, in which Venkataramani. So I have. Yeah, like you, my teaching style is like connecting the fundamentals with. The real world application so so. For example, when I teach the. Students source right when I teach or train the students in better research.

I would try to. Connect the fundamental principle with the. Battery technologies, the students. Are you seeing in the? Yes.

So you like connecting fundamentals to real-world applications, especially in battery research. When you’re teaching students about, say, the physics behind lithium-ion batteries, what’s one analogy or example you use to make a key concept really click for them?

Alright, looking at your background, your PhD thesis focused on “Investigations on carbonaceous materials as electrodes for the next generation electrochemical energy storage device applications.” Can you describe a moment where you had to simplify this research for undergraduates or non-specialists—how did you approach making such a complex topic accessible?

Yeah, I can explain it in a layman tense, like for considering. The silicon material, which is resistance and anode material in lithium and batteries. But silicon? Some interesting problems like audience. Low electrical conductivity. But I use carbon as a buffer material to develop a silicon carbon composite. So you know silicon.

Carbon has higher electrical conductivity and it can buffer the only expansion, so making a composite we can.

Right, so you use carbon as a buffer in silicon-carbon composites to overcome silicon’s low conductivity. When you explain this to undergrads, do you rely more on visual models, real-world analogies, or hands-on demos to help them grasp why this combination matters?

So, you were saying carbon’s higher conductivity and its buffering effect are key to these composites. Can you give me a concrete example of a classroom activity or demonstration you’ve used to help students visualize or experiment with this concept themselves?

Yeah, I use this PowerPoint presentations and I will also. Developed SOMA models to understand how the composite work. Or how this composite helped to buffer the expansion in silicon based nanodes?

Let’s shift to your research productivity and impact. Given your expertise in silicon-based anodes and battery technologies, where do you see the most fundable research directions for the next few years? Are there specific grants or funding agencies you’d target to support this work?

Yeah, I think the future depends on the silicon carbon composite because. Right now the graphite issue sets the state of art and node material in lithium and batteries. But with graphite we cannot reach over the the. The energy and city has already reached its peak, so to. To be to reach higher energy capacity, we need to focus on silicon materials. But as I mentioned, silicon itself has some in. Entrenching properties, so blending silicon and. Carbon is going to be the next anode made.

Okay, so you see blending silicon with carbon as key for the next wave of anode research, especially since graphite’s energy density is maxed out.

And regarding the funding, like definitely this. Research activity will support decarbonization and electric mobility. Yeah, I actually I have in I. Writing and submitting proposals so far for funding, so it involves my successful Mary Query poster fellowship. And also my involvement in the. EU consortium project is. So any. Yeah, I will charge it funding opportunities. I throw an RFM etcetera where I can develop my research idea. And get funding. Hello.

So you mentioned your experience with Marie Curie funding and EU consortium projects, and targeting programs like Horizon and RFM for future support. When you write grant proposals for these, what do you emphasize most to convince reviewers your silicon-carbon composite research is both innovative and institutionally sustainable?

So when I prepare the funding proposals, I will clearly define the. Research Objectives. Then design the research methodology and then I will prepare the. Proposals align with the funding agencies. That's my way of preparing the funding proposals. Hello.

Alright, Dr., let’s talk about teaching. Suppose you’re running an advanced undergraduate lab on semiconductor device physics, but you’re not allowed to use slides or traditional lectures—how would you design a session to get students actively engaged with the core principles and make sure they’re not just passive listeners?

So as I mentioned, my teaching style involves. Connecting the fundamentals with. In the real world applications. So by doing so I can share ensure that the students are. Active listeners and they can. Understand the fundamentals. Cortana, you know my teaching I focus on. Scientific Writing. Independent thinking. And data interpretation. Hello.

Let’s talk about your role in the broader department, Professor. 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?

I think. I think. I focus on like clear. Communication and. Any emphasis on open discussions to ensure clarity on this? I think so I can. By open discussions, everyone can. And put forward their ideas and I can listen to disband. Perspectives which help us to. Assess the issues and solve it.

So you’d start with open discussions to get everyone’s perspective and surface inconsistencies—makes sense. But day-to-day, accreditation often requires careful documentation and evidence, not just conversations. How would you make sure that, after those discussions, the department actually produces the clear, standardized outcome data that accreditors want to see?

Sorry.

Sorry. I'm not a. Understanding the question properly.

Alright, Professor, let's consider a scenario that comes up sometimes in our field. Imagine a student approaches you with a formal complaint, claiming your grading was biased. At the same time, your department head is urging you to raise pass rates to meet institutional targets. How do you handle this situation—balancing fairness to the student, academic standards, and pressure from leadership?

Okay, noted.

Hello.

Okay, you said "hello"—just confirming, are you ready to continue with the scenario I mentioned about balancing fairness in grading with department pressure to improve pass rates? If you’d like me to repeat that scenario or clarify, let me know. Otherwise, I’d like to hear how you’d approach that situation.

Could you please clarify the?

Sure, Professor. Here’s the scenario again: Imagine a student files a formal complaint that your grading was biased, while at the same time, your department head is pressuring you to raise pass rates

Sorry, I'm not able to. Understand the question. Crew go to next question please.

Alright, focusing on industry connections—given your research in silicon anodes and battery technology, do you have any relationships with companies or industry partners that could help students gain real-world experience or internships?

Yeah, sure. Like as I mentioned, I have experience working in industry as well. So I. I know the intestinal partners. Or I can collaborate with industrial partners which helps. Students to. Get an idea how? The real things are working. Or to get an idea on the real world performance of the battery.

So you’ve worked with industry partners before and plan to leverage those relationships for student exposure to real-world battery performance. Can you name a specific company or initiative you’ve collaborated with in the past, and describe one way you involved students in that partnership?

Currently and corruptly with the company based in Slovakia. So like if we are testing the materials from the company at our laboratory and also we are having regular discussions with the company. To see how the material is performing. In their industry level applications. So in this page, the students can. Use the opportunity to understand it. How it works in industry and in Academy.

Currently and corruptly with the company based in Slovakia. So like if we are testing the materials from the company at our laboratory and also we are having regular discussions with the company. To see how the material is performing.

Okay, so now I want to touch on a few of the core skills we look for in this role. Starting with theoretical physics—can you give me an example of a time you applied advanced theoretical concepts to solve a practical challenge, either in your research or teaching?

Alright, so you're working with a Slovakian company, testing their materials in your lab and having regular discussions about their industrial performance. When students take part in these collaborations, what sort of roles or tasks do they actually get to do—are they just observing, or do they engage in designing experiments, analyzing industrial data, or even presenting results to the company?

So the students are involved in all the discussions. And we will design the experiments in collaboration with the company and the students will run the. Experiment and then they will communicate their results with the company. Hello. Are we ready for the next question?

Alright, so students are hands-on—from experiment design to running the tests and communicating results with the company. Let’s shift gears a bit. Thinking about your experience with machine learning, can you walk me through a specific project where you applied machine learning techniques to a physics research problem, and tell me how you decided which model or approach to use?

Unfortunately I don't have direct experience dealing with the machine learning and I am concerned this as one of. Areas of growth. In my career.

No problem, thanks for being honest about machine learning. Switching to quantum computation—have you designed or taught any coursework, workshops, or projects involving quantum algorithms or quantum devices? If so, what was your main focus when introducing students to this area?

I don't have any experience dealing with the condo computation as.

No worries, let's keep moving. When it comes to research publications, can you tell me about a recent paper or project you've published, and explain how you selected the journal or conference for submission?

So I recently submitted a paper. Which was the work done on the development of a. Carbon, silicon, carbon material. Applications. So I select the. Depending upon the work I have done and whether my work. Comes in just corpus of the specific Gen. That's how I select a journal for submission.

So you chose the journal based on how well your carbon-silicon-carbon work fit their scope. Alright, Professor, we're wrapping up. Is there anything you'd like to ask about the role or the team?

Yeah, actually I would like to know about the. Internal funding options available.

Sure, your question about internal funding options is a good one. For this role, faculty are typically eligible to apply for university seed grants and interdisciplinary research funds, and there may also be opportunities to collaborate on larger institutional proposals. These programs often have annual cycles and are designed to support both early-stage and ongoing research. Anything else you'd like to know?

So I understood this position is. As an assistant professor for research, so. I would like to know about the teaching Lord. In this role. Hello. Hello. Are there any further questions? Yeah, sure. So my next round, my next round of interview scheduled. On next Monday, which is April 27, but. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the interview in person as I am currently based in Prague. So I requested the hiring team at VIT to consider. The option of conducting an online interview. So again, I am using this opportunity to mention the possibility of conducting an. Online interview as I am not able to attend. The interview in person.

So I understood this position is. As an assistant professor for research, so. I would like to know about the teaching Lord. In this role. Hello. Hello.

You’re right, Professor—this is an Assistant Professor (Research) position. The teaching load typically includes leading some classroom and lab sessions, evaluating students, guiding projects, and supporting curriculum delivery, but it’s generally lighter than a full teaching faculty role. Most of your time is expected to go toward research, mentoring, and student development. Anything else on your mind about the role or team?