Hello.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018.

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology.

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology. In India. After that I. Move to South Korea. For postdoctoral researcher. Uh, there I worked in. Professor Kiyang Lees. Research lab there I. Did a few experiments on. Photo Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation.

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology. In India. After that I. Move to South Korea. For postdoctoral researcher. Uh, there I worked in. Professor Kiyang Lees. Research lab there I. Did a few experiments on. Photo Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. After that I moved to another lab. In Zenbook National University.

Alright, so you did your Masters from 2010 to 2012 and your PhD from 2013 to 2018 at Yogiya University—go on.

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology. In India. After that I. Move to South Korea. For postdoctoral researcher. Uh, there I worked in. Professor Kiyang Lees. Research lab there I. Did a few experiments on. Photo Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. After that I moved to another lab. In Zenbook National University. There I did uh. Many experiments that is development of nano composite based photocatalyst for. Water splitting to. Generate hydrogen as well As for. Environmental remediation application, that is. Degradation of organic dyes. So from. 2019 to 2022 I worked in South Korea yearly for. Four years, I'll. And after that I moved to Europe. In KU Leven University. Belgium.

Alright, so after your PhD you joined the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology as a Research Associate—were you focused on theoretical chemistry there, or did your research take a different direction?

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology. In India. After that I. Move to South Korea. For postdoctoral researcher. Uh, there I worked in. Professor Kiyang Lees. Research lab there I. Did a few experiments on. Photo Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. After that I moved to another lab. In Zenbook National University. There I did uh. Many experiments that is development of nano composite based photocatalyst for. Water splitting to. Generate hydrogen as well As for. Environmental remediation application, that is. Degradation of organic dyes. So from. 2019 to 2022 I worked in South Korea yearly for. Four years, I'll. And after that I moved to Europe. In KU Leven University. Belgium. MMM, there I. Worked in. Industrial project, that is uh. Firefly project It includes 15 laps and. 10 institutes to. Industries so. There my role is. Recovery of. Platinum Group Metals. From the industrial waste streams by using. Photo departure method. So they're their main. Aim is to develop a efficient catalyst to use. In the photo deposition methods to recover. The platinum group metals from the. Industrial waste streams.

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology. In India. After that I. Move to South Korea. For postdoctoral researcher. Uh, there I worked in. Professor Kiyang Lees. Research lab there I. Did a few experiments on. Photo Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. After that I moved to another lab. In Zenbook National University. There I did uh. Many experiments that is development of nano composite based photocatalyst for. Water splitting to. Generate hydrogen as well As for. Environmental remediation application, that is. Degradation of organic dyes. So from. 2019 to 2022 I worked in South Korea yearly for. Four years, I'll. And after that I moved to Europe. In KU Leven University. Belgium. MMM, there I. Worked in. Industrial project, that is uh. Firefly project It includes 15 laps and. 10 institutes to. Industries so. There my role is. Recovery of. Platinum Group Metals. From the industrial waste streams by using. Photo departure method. So they're their main. Aim is to develop a efficient catalyst to use. In the photo deposition methods to recover. The platinum group metals from the. Industrial waste streams. So after uh. My tenure. In KE. New Libyan era slab. My in CNRS my lab is Celsius that is Laboratory of Catalysis and spectrochemistry.

Okay, so after your research associate role in India, you moved to South Korea for postdoctoral work and focused on photoelectrochemical water splitting—just to clarify, what motivated you to shift toward hydrogen generation research at that stage of your career?

OK. Thank you. So my academic journey. I did my Masters and PhD in Yogiya University from. 2010 to 12 Masters and 2013 to 2018. PhD After that I joined as a Research Associate in. Institute of Nanoscience and Technology. In India. After that I. Move to South Korea. For postdoctoral researcher. Uh, there I worked in. Professor Kiyang Lees. Research lab there I. Did a few experiments on. Photo Electrochemical water splitting for hydrogen generation. After that I moved to another lab. In Zenbook National University. There I did uh. Many experiments that is development of nano composite based photocatalyst for. Water splitting to. Generate hydrogen as well As for. Environmental remediation application, that is. Degradation of organic dyes. So from. 2019 to 2022 I worked in South Korea yearly for. Four years, I'll. And after that I moved to Europe. In KU Leven University. Belgium. MMM, there I. Worked in. Industrial project, that is uh. Firefly project It includes 15 laps and. 10 institutes to. Industries so. There my role is. Recovery of. Platinum Group Metals. From the industrial waste streams by using. Photo departure method. So they're their main. Aim is to develop a efficient catalyst to use. In the photo deposition methods to recover. The platinum group metals from the. Industrial waste streams. So after uh. My tenure. In KE. New Libyan era slab. My in CNRS my lab is Celsius that is Laboratory of Catalysis and spectrochemistry. There I worked on. On development of efficient photocatalyst for. Hydrogenation, CO2 reduction, and H2O2 synthesis. So. Here I worked from 2024 to 2025. So the. This is uh. My. Professional experience and. My road map of my professional career. Thank you.

You've had experience in different labs and research environments, Professor. Shifting to your role as an educator—what's one foundational chemistry concept you genuinely enjoy teaching, and why do you think it's so important for students to grasp early on?

So you worked on nanocomposite-based photocatalysts for both hydrogen generation and environmental remediation, and then moved to KU Leuven in Belgium. When you were teaching or mentoring students during this journey, what’s one specific laboratory experiment or hands-on demonstration you found most effective for helping students really understand core chemistry principles?

Professor, I noticed your 2023 paper in Materials Today Nano on boron-doped g-C3N4/SnO2 heterojunctions with plasmonic silver quantum dots. When you approach teaching undergraduates about heterojunctions or bandgap engineering, how do you make those advanced concepts accessible and engaging for students who are just starting out?

Given your background in hydrogen generation, photocatalysis, and industrial metal recovery, where do you see the most fundable research directions emerging over the next three years, and which grant agencies or funding sources would you target to support those projects?

Alright,

Thank you, Sir, for. Show me. I have next question, Sir.

You mentioned working across so many international labs and projects, including the industrial Firefly project and the CNRS catalysis lab. Suppose you’re teaching a large undergraduate chemistry class, and you’re not allowed to use PowerPoint slides or standard lectures. How would you structure a session to keep 200 students engaged and make sure they’re actively grappling with the material?

Yes, yeah, nowadays. Classroom teaching is very. Very challenging as well as. It's a very good.

Right, you were saying teaching is both challenging and rewarding these days. I’m interested in the specifics—if you couldn’t fall back on slides or lecturing, what exactly would you do in that large class to get those 200 students involved and actually working with the material?

Yes, yeah, nowadays. Classroom teaching is very. Very challenging as well as. It's a very good. Aim for every academician or any racist or professor. So I actually, you know, I will. I actually. Yeah, take. Digital classrooms like by. PowerPoint presentations to to make students more. More interesting, more accurate, the more concentrations so I will give. Some live examples to make them concentration to the deep into the subject. And also I will. I will. I will use the machine learning tools on artificial intelligence. Intelligence Tools. To make effective teaching. Under 2 may to grasp almost. Almost majority of the students to to get my subject. Into their minds. So. So the this is I think digital platform and artificial intelligence and mission learning tools will. Highly useful. To get uh. Get good teaching experience. For the students, for me. As well as.

So you’d lean heavily on digital tools

Thank you, Sir.

Right, you said you'd use digital platforms and AI tools to engage students and help them grasp the subject—let's say all those technologies failed one day and you're left with just a chalkboard. How would you make sure the students are still participating and not just passively listening?

Yeah, Yeah. Good question.

Yeah, Yeah. Good question. Some experience in my. A doctoral carried in yoga majesty. I teach many students in the classroom by using check piece so there I teach many inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, some. Some masters students dissertation products that experience highly useful for me how to. How to grab?

Yeah, Yeah. Good question. Some experience in my. A doctoral carried in yoga majesty. I teach many students in the classroom by using check piece so there I teach many inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, some.

Okay, so if you were forced to go back to basics—just a chalkboard and your own presence—how would you make sure students are actually thinking about the material, not just watching you write?

So you’ve actually taught with just a chalk and board during your doctoral work, covering topics like inorganic and physical chemistry—was there a particular technique you used that really seemed to get students participating, even without technology?

Okay, so you've actually taught with just chalk and a board, especially during your doctoral work with master's students. Was there a particular approach or small-group exercise you found effective for making

So I make this experience. I will give live live. Activated carbon under some charcoal. Both are carbon. Materials. So I will use some. Any known? Like methylene blue? So so for example under MGA of. Char Charcoal. 100MG of activated carbon I will take and I will use. Take like a. 5 PPM of methylene blue and after I will show live exams like. So after irate into some slight energy, within 5 minutes the activated charcoal material. Act completely degrade the. That methylene blue. Under the. The charcoal material. Take a lot of time, so this is the live examples how they people can students can.

So I make this experience. I will give live live. Activated carbon under some charcoal. Both are carbon. Materials. So I will use some. Any known? Like methylene blue? So so for example under MGA of. Char Charcoal. 100MG of activated carbon I will take and I will use. Take like a. 5 PPM of methylene blue and after I will show live exams like. So after irate into some slight energy, within 5 minutes the activated charcoal material. Act completely degrade the. That methylene blue. Under the. The charcoal material. Take a lot of time, so this is the live examples how they people can students can. Get interest on this type of nanomaterials on the subject. Chemistry subject Chemistry experiments like.

Showing students a live experiment with activated carbon and methylene blue—where they can actually observe the degradation in real time—definitely makes the chemistry come alive. That hands-on style tends to stick with students. Let’s shift a bit. Accreditation cycles can be pretty demanding. If you joined our department and found that outcome assessment data was inconsistent across courses, how would you approach fixing that?

Yeah, I will. I will see what what type of questions they are asking accordingly. So I can give the. Theoretical explanation as well as if I have the. Materials. To get live examples. So if it is all the material available, I will give live examples. I also draw the. Uh, some some pictorial representation because. Students catch more knowledge with. A pictorial representative. Representation rather than oral. Uh, speech so that. Will give those examples on the. A blackboard to grasp their knowledge. To under their interest on the subject.

Right, you’ve used live experiments and drawings to help students visualize the chemistry, and you adjust based on the kinds of questions they ask. Shifting gears a bit—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?

That was inconsistent across the. Yeah. Yeah, I will. Uh, I will.

That was inconsistent across the. Yeah. Yeah, I will. Uh, I will. Go through the textbooks. Handbooks to refer to what is the? Uh, things I can. Yet according to. Requirement of the students. So the so that I can, uh. I can get. 1st I can learn, then I will I will explain to the students. And also if there is anything. Suitable for the subject I will go. I will take out. The students to the. Some industries, some other places to show the. Chemistry of that related subjects.

That was inconsistent across the. Yeah. Yeah, I will. Uh, I will. Go through the textbooks. Handbooks to refer to what is the? Uh, things I can. Yet according to. Requirement of the students. So the so that I can, uh. I can get. 1st I can learn, then I will I will explain to the students. And also if there is anything. Suitable for the subject I will go. I will take out. The students to the. Some industries, some other places to show the. Chemistry of that related subjects. So that it will be more interesting for the students. Like. Like tour to the educational tour to the. Labs, Industry, Engineering. A lapse, some other industries, energy industries like that.

You mentioned during your research career you worked with large teams and handled industrial collaborations. Imagine a colleague approaches you to co-author a paper, but you notice some of their experimental data looks questionable or possibly manipulated. How would you handle that situation?

Given your background working on the Firefly industrial project in Belgium and your experience with applied nanomaterials, do you have industry connections that could help translate into internship or placement opportunities for chemistry students here?

While working in large groups there are different. Type of people like master students are there. A PhD students are there and Bachelors students are there. So based on their level of. Irritations. We will allocate, for example, for PhD students, a set of. Uh, practical, Uh. Uh, project, small project, A setup project will be allotted. Like a. For example, since years of TIO to nanotubes by using hydrothermal method. That is a. So. The best on how he performed. I mean how he will select the precursors? How will? Perform that hydrothermal reactions based on that we will perform. Skills how it is. Fit for that? Uh, course like that. And for example, for master students, we will give some type of dissertation projects and we will explain under their how. How? How fast they are learning new things? Like that? So. This is the this the. This is the. The way we can, uh. Give them evaluate the students.

While working in large groups there are different. Type of people like master students are there. A PhD students are there and Bachelors students are there. So based on their level of. Irritations. We will allocate, for example, for PhD students, a set of. Uh, practical, Uh. Uh, project, small project, A setup project will be allotted. Like a. For example, since years of TIO to nanotubes by using hydrothermal method. That is a. So. The best on how he performed. I mean how he will select the precursors? How will? Perform that hydrothermal reactions based on that we will perform. Skills how it is. Fit for that?

While working in large groups there are different. Type of people like master students are there. A PhD students are there and Bachelors students are there. So based on their level of. Irritations. We will allocate, for example, for PhD students, a set of. Uh, practical, Uh. Uh, project, small project, A setup project will be allotted. Like a. For example, since years of TIO to nanotubes by using hydrothermal method. That is a. So. The best on how he performed. I mean how he will select the precursors? How will? Perform that hydrothermal reactions based on that we will perform. Skills how it is. Fit for that? Uh, course like that. And for example, for master students, we will give some type of dissertation projects and we will explain under their how. How? How fast they are learning new things? Like that? So. This is the this the. This is the. The way we can, uh. Give them evaluate the students. In a big group.

Alright, so you assess students differently based on their level—like assigning master’s students a practical synthesis project and evaluating how they select precursors and run the reaction. For undergraduates, what’s your process for making sure your feedback on exams or lab reports actually helps them improve in the next assignment?

Alright, so for PhD students you evaluate how they handle an actual synthesis project, and for master's students you look at their dissertation progress and how quickly they pick things up. For undergraduates—when you have a big group and some are really struggling—how do you communicate complex ideas so everyone can follow, without losing the more advanced students?

Okay, so you differentiate the evaluation by level—like for PhD students, you’re looking at how they actually design and execute a synthesis project, and for master’s students, you focus on their dissertation progress and their ability to learn new things quickly. For undergraduates, when you’re evaluating a big class on a core topic, how do you handle students who consistently underperform on exams or practicals?

So far this time. Thank you, Sir All right, deep.

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

Yes, Sir. Uh, I would like to. Download the facilities. Infrastructure available, uh. In the department or lab to focus on my thesis career as well as. Academic career.

So you’re interested in the facilities and infrastructure that would support your research and academic career. VIT has well-established laboratories for chemistry and materials science, including modern equipment for synthesis, characterization, and testing. There’s also access to computational resources and collaborative spaces for interdisciplinary work. Anything else you’d like to ask about the department or team, Dr.?

Yes, Sir.