Hello. Arjun. Yeah, sure.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

My name is. I have a PS: degree. In physics where I. I have walked into. See carbon dioxide. Production. On heterostructural halide perovskite materials. Con uh, recently. I am doing my post doctoral fellow. Fellowship. At IIT Madras in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

So you worked on carbon dioxide production using heterostructural halide perovskites during your PhD, and now you're doing a postdoc in chemical engineering at IIT Madras. Did your research on perovskite materials involve experimental work in the lab, computational modeling, or a mix of both?

Uh, no. My work involves only experimental work in the lab. I do not do theoretical modeling. I'm repeating again. My work involves. Research work on halide perovskite, which involves only experimental work in the lab. I do not. What do theoretical modeling?

Okay, so your work is entirely experimental—no computational modeling. Looking at your publications, your paper in ACS Applied Energy Materials on the Cs2AgBiBr6-gC3N4 heterojunction photocatalyst stands out. How did the discoveries from that research influence the way you teach photocatalysis or solid-state physics concepts to undergraduates?

Primarily, this work involves two different materials. One is Halide Karoskite. Which is yesterday GVIPRZ which is semiconductor. And graphitic carbon nitrite. Which is a 2 dimensional semiconductor. So. It, uh, describes the. Crystal structure. And also the properties. Semiconductor. Which I can explain to the B.Tech student. Again, uh. The optical. Properties of the semiconductor also can be involved in this study.

So you used that research as a way to introduce both crystal structure and optical properties of semiconductors to B.Tech students. Can you give me a concrete example of how you break down a complex concept from your research, like band gap engineering, for undergraduates who might be seeing it for the first time?

For the bandgap engineering. In semiconductors, as we know, there are two bands. One is conduction band and the Valance band and the space. Doing it because it's bandgap. So in terms. Terms of. A simple example if I want to explain it. To students who are beginners in crystal structure and band gap. Concept I will tell them. That, uh. There are. UH students are standing on a steps. And. All the students are standing. In the lower steps. Now someone comes and pushes them. And those students? Will climb up three steps above. So that is a concept of band gap. Square Fenway. Shine light. On the electrons, on the material. The electrons in the valence band. Get excited. To the conduction band. And. When it emits the current. The electrons from the conduction band comes to valence band and gives us an. Spectra so. That the three steps. They that they covered from the grounds to the. Upper steps. That is, that can be. Analogous to the band gap in a semiconductor.

Right, so you use the steps analogy to help students visualize the band gap and electron excitation. Have you ever encountered a moment where a student misunderstood this analogy, or where you had to adapt your explanation on the fly—how did you handle that?

That is perfectly OK Not every student can understand the analogy in one example. So I'll give them multiple examples to. They understand the concept. And again I will be repeating the. Concepts again. Again. Yes, so that they can remember. The concept. In their minds.

Right, so you rely on repetition and multiple analogies to make sure everyone gets the concept, even if it doesn’t land the first time. Before we move on, I want to touch briefly on how your postdoctoral work at IIT Madras has influenced your approach to teaching. Has working in a chemical engineering department shaped the way you present interdisciplinary topics to physics students?

Yes. Dog. Although I work in a in chemical engineering department, but the lab in which I work it is an interdisciplinary. Interdisciplinary subjects is the research is going on on interdisciplinary subjects in that lab. So it is a combination of physics and. Chemistry. Also the interfacial physics. How the charge transfer is happening? So, uh. I'm sure that will be relatable to physics students.

Given your deep experimental work with halide perovskites, where do you see the most promising and fundable research directions over the next three years? Which specific grants or external funding sources would you target to build a sustainable research group?

First of all I would like. To apply for any grant from the. ANRF that is Anusandhan mashed on Research Foundation. Additionally, I would also like to take up some industry projects, which will be. Uh, helping me to. Build a lab in terms of funding. And also if there are. Any other? Government funding from the Departments of Science and Technology. Or from any other. Sources. I would like to. Apply for those also Beto Skydeck is a very. Tunable material it is. It has. Uh, more efficient properties then. The conventional oxide. Oxide semiconductors. So for an industry partner? Given uh. What are there? Require based upon their requirements. We will tell them what kind of products. We can develop. For them. And in that way I will teach my. Uh-huh. Project.

First of all I would like. To apply for any grant from the. ANRF that is Anusandhan mashed on Research Foundation. Additionally, I would also like to take up some industry projects, which will be. Uh, helping me to. Build a lab in terms of funding.

So you’d apply for ANRF grants and seek industry projects to build your lab’s funding base. With industry partnerships in mind, can you walk me through a specific example of how you’d pitch your perovskite research to a potential industry collaborator to secure funding?

You mentioned perovskites being more efficient and tunable than conventional oxide semiconductors, and tailoring your pitch to the specific industry partner’s needs. Can you give me an example of a product or application you’d propose, and how you’d address concerns about stability or scalability in a corporate setting?

Search terms of scalability. Uh, if we see the vacancy audit perovskites that CSD the CS2? PT UH CL6. Or CS2 PTBR 6. Those materials are quite stable in a wide range of. PH starting from 4:00 to. 12 so. We we can use them as an efficient photo electrode material. For water, oxygen. Application. And since this is. Or moisture staple air stable and. PH Staple. The large scale production can also be attempted. In these materials, but right now I have not worked in the. Uh, large scale applications of this.

You pointed out that vacancy-ordered perovskites like Cs2PtCl6 are stable across a wide pH range, which makes them strong candidates for photoelectrodes in water oxidation. Since you haven’t worked on large-scale applications directly, how would you go about forming a collaboration with an engineering department or external fabrication facility to address the scale-up challenge?

OK, so every resort starts with. A lower Tierra lived. Level so once the concept is established in in our lab level. Then we can go up to. Large scale applications. And I will. Explore different options how we can. Make or fabricate large scale electrodes. And then? We will present our ideas in terms of a proposal to our collaborators. If they can be helpful in that. That project. And then, uh. We will discuss. After mutual discussions, we will proceed.

Alright, so you’d start by building the concept at the lab scale and then bring in collaborators when you’re ready to scale up. Now, given VIT’s emphasis on interdisciplinary innovation, can you elaborate on how your recent research in semiconductor device physics aligns with that mission, and how you’d position your work as a long-term asset for the university?

So my primary research in my post doctoral study is. Design and fabricate photoelectron. Photo Anodes. For the uh fortuynos and to understand the reaction mechanism. On the side. Surface So in the future I would like to work on. Uh, material development sector, uh, for various types. Electrodes like odocations. And which will be cost effective? And easily accessible. Uh, with long term. Long term stability. Uh, that may help. In. Various electrolyzers. For photo cartoons. Material Selection. And I think that would be. Helpful for vits. Goal to uh. Innovation. Interdisciplinary. Should I repeat my? Answer again. I'm repeating my answer again. My research in postdoctoral. Hello, fellow fellowship. It's mostly focused on designing. Of photoelectrodes. Mostly food or animals in vit. I would like to work on developing novel materials which will be cost effective and easily accessible. Uh, for a purpose. For the purpose of uh. Photo electrodes like photo cathodes and photoanodes. Which can be. Used in. Electrolyzer setup in the future? And I think my research work. Will Will. With align with vits. Idea of. Idea of interdisciplinary. Research and.

You talked about collaborating across disciplines for electrode research. Shifting gears a bit—when you’re teaching a large class, say 200 students, and you can’t rely on slides, how would you design a session to keep everyone actively engaged, especially with material like semiconductor physics?

Active participation. Uh, both from teacher and students perspective. If the teacher will only talk and the student will only listen, then I think that will be effective. So. I would rather uh. Engage the student in interactive session. Where I will start with. Simple questions whether they have. Idea about the topic previously. Or not and then. I would like to know what. What to? They know about the topics and I'll ask simple questions. Then I will come to the. Subject matter. And after that? In past simple questions whether they have understood the concept or not. This will involve the students. A more interactive manner with the teacher. And this this will keep up. Their interests. Throughout the entire session.

Right, so you put a lot of emphasis on keeping the session interactive and adjusting based on student feedback. Now, shifting to the institutional side—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 believe. Introspection.

I believe. Introspection. If if the. The results are not satisfactory. I would like to know. Where the students are facing problems. Uh. And uh, he's. Are they not understanding? My way of teaching. Or are they not understanding the concept? Now I will get to the bottom of the problem and then try to. Rectify it.

You mentioned introspection as important—can you walk me through the concrete steps you’d take to turn that introspection into consistent, actionable data across all courses? For example, would you standardize rubrics, run workshops, or something else?

You focused on introspection and figuring out where students are struggling, which is important. But in the context of accreditation, it’s often the department’s responsibility to ensure there’s a standardized process for collecting and evaluating outcome data across all courses. Can you walk me through the concrete steps you’d take to turn that introspection into consistent, actionable data across the department? For example, would you start by revising rubrics, running faculty workshops, or something else?

I don't understand the question. Is it about the students or any extension work that department wants me to do?

That’s fair—my question was about department-level responsibilities, not just your own teaching. Let’s shift: what role do you see yourself playing in department governance, like curriculum committees or program reviews?

Yes, I will. Definitely I'll definitely. P would like to be a part of the curriculum committee. And in terms of departments I can take. Umm, I. In my first year itself, if get selected, I would like to organize. Um, workshops. And some seminars. In the topic in the research topic where I would like to invite. Few dignitaries. And speakers. And that will. Enhance the research environment of the department as well as it will form a solid network. Of fellow researchers in the community.

Dr., imagine this scenario: a student formally complains that your grading is biased, while at the same time your department head is urging you to improve pass rates. How would you navigate that situation?

If student. Complaints that. Rating is biased. Then I would like to know. Uh, I will. I will show the copy and the marking systems and. I'll explain. Why did he get? Get uh. Uh, the the the the given mark. And. In that way I will try to solve the conflict.

So you’d show your marking scheme and walk the student through how you graded their work. What would you do if your department head insisted you change some marks or adjust your grading policy to boost the pass rate?

I always. In fairness of the process. If. A student is dissolving. And he has written the correct answers. He or she. Should get. But. For the wrong answers. I cannot give.

I always. In fairness of the process. If. A student is dissolving. And he has written the correct answers. He or she. Should get. But. For the wrong answers. I cannot give. As a teacher. It's my. Duty to impart ethics. And. Good work culture in the students. Just to increase the rate. I don't. Want to uh. Go for incorrect or unfair. Processes.

Alright, shifting to how you connect your research to industry now. Given your background in semiconductor device physics, do you have any existing connections with industry or ideas for how you’d help students access internships or real-world projects through your network?

You emphasized preparing students for real-world applications. Switching gears, can you walk me through a recent project or class where you used concepts from theoretical physics to solve a non-standard research problem?

Look, recently I have not faced any situation like. Sorry I cannot answer the question.

No problem. Let's talk about semiconductor device physics. Say you’re asked to consult on a project designing a new type of photodetector for a biomedical application—what key device parameters would you focus on, and how would you balance sensitivity versus noise?

Again, I'm sorry. I have not walked in photo detector or biomedical devices. So. We cannot answer that question.

No worries. Let's move over to machine learning—imagine you're guiding undergraduates through their first project using real-world data, but the data is messy and incomplete. How would you help them approach cleaning and validating that data before building any models?

I'm in an. Experimentalist I. I don't have any idea about. Machine learning.

Alright, thanks for being upfront. Let’s shift to quantum computation. If you were asked to introduce quantum computing concepts to advanced undergraduates with no prior exposure, how would you structure that first class to make the fundamentals accessible?

Again, I'm sorry to. Support you, but again, quantum computing is also not my expertise.

Thanks for letting me know, Dr. Switching gears—when it comes to teaching and academic skills, have you ever had to handle a disruptive student or a situation where a lesson really didn’t land with the class? How did you respond in the moment?

I maintain my calmness in this. In that situation, instead of getting agitated. I try to be calm and composed. And try to guide the situation. To towards. A solution.

Staying calm in a tough classroom moment is important. Can you share a specific example where your approach actually changed the outcome—maybe the student re-engaged, or the class dynamic shifted?

Note no such incidents hum.

Okay, so you've never had to handle that kind of classroom disruption yet. Shifting to research—do you have any peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, or collaborations that you're particularly proud of? If so, which one best demonstrates your research strengths?

Note no such incidents hum. No such incidents. Happy 4th.

Note no such incidents hum. No such incidents. Happy 4th. I'm repeating again. No, no such incidents. Has happened. Before.

Alright, you haven't run into a disruptive classroom situation yet. What about your research—do you have any peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, or collaborations you’d like to highlight?

Alright, so it sounds like you haven’t encountered any major classroom disruptions so far. Let’s talk about your research publications—can you walk me through one paper you’re most proud of, focusing on the problem you tackled and what made your approach distinct?

In my last published paper. ECS, Applied Energy Materials. Uh, where I have. Walt in photocatalytic CO2. Reduction. Uh, I have prepared. Pair a hybrid semiconductor material using CS2, AGP IBR 6 and graphic carbon nitride. And. It showed. Three times. Carbon monoxide conversion. Then the pristine. Behavior and also the mean in conversion. Selectivity. Uh, from from 48% to 70%.

So you developed a hybrid semiconductor and were able to boost CO2 conversion and selectivity in your photocatalytic system—that’s impressive. What was the biggest experimental hurdle you hit during that project, and how did you work around it?

So I prepared the material through a manual hand grinding method. Where I will be? I I added the precursors of the perils guide and carbon nitrate and grind it together. But the final. Material was not phase pure. So to understand. Problem and to get a Facebook material. I had to. I had to. Heated to 60°C to get a phage. Pure material. So that was the biggest hurdle and I overcame. Uh, uh, bye bye. Uh, by heating the material at 260°, which led me to a phase poor material condition. I'm repeating my answer again. The material. That I was forming. By adding CS2A GB IB R6. And GTN. Was not, not. Font to be. Phage pure and that was. Best huddle in that paper. Then I. Heated the material at 2:00. 60°C. To breakdown the. Remaining cursors. And it turned out to be phase. And in this way. I solved. The problem?

Okay, Dr., we're nearly wrapped up. Is there anything you'd like to ask about the Assistant Professor role or the team before we finish? You can ask up to two questions.

Yes. I had. Applied for assistant professor research position.

Yes. I had. Applied for assistant professor research position. I would like. To know the roles and responsibility. Position.

Yes, Dr., your application was for the Assistant Professor (Research) position in Physics. The role focuses on teaching, mentoring, guiding student projects, research activities, and contributing to publications, along with some academic admin work. Was there something specific about the position you wanted to know?

Thanks for asking. The Assistant Professor (Research) role involves teaching physics courses, running lab sessions, mentoring students, guiding research projects, contributing to publications, and helping with departmental responsibilities—so it’s a mix of classroom teaching, hands-on research, and some academic administration. Is there anything else you’d like to know about the position or the team?

Tell me about the team members.