Good day, Dr. Sachin Tomar. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

OK, so my name is Sachin Tomar and regarding my.

Uh, hardware then I completed a mean chemical engineering from which Plani planning campus. Then, uh, I have earned my PhD degree in the department of chemical engineering, uh, uh, at IT Delhi. Then I have after PhD, I have, uh, uh, joined leads on edge India limited and I have working here in Green Zone for past three years.

Where I'm working as a.

Yeah, Senior scientist and look looking, looking for and and working on the design and development of the ultra neutralizer called Green Agile Production.

OK, this is regarding my academic and the uh.

Thank

Professional experience after PSG Before doing PSD, I have worked with a lecturer for two semesters in the department of Chemical Engineering at NIT Srinagar and then I have also worked as a junior research fellow in the department of Chemical Engineering.

At which planning? Planning campus?

So, uh, in, in VIDI want to join as an assistant professor, uh, because the vision and the mission of the center, uh, aligned very much aligned with my, uh, research goal. Uh, I, I have a research interest in heterogeneous catalysis and green hydrogen production. So umm, and uh, during my PSD have I have worked on design.

A Synthesis, characterization, and performance evaluation of heterogeneous catalysis.

And working for past three years on the design and development and RMD on alternate Plyzer for gain hydrogen production. So my, uh, my work is very much aligned with the, uh, mission and vision of the Research Center, uh, for the, towards the, uh, sustainable and the, uh, greener future.

And in my professional experience, also in my industrial experience.

Thank you.

Thank you, Professor. Let's discuss a few aspects of your teaching experience and research expertise further. Could you elaborate on your approach to teaching theoretical and laboratory courses in chemical engineering to ensure students grasp complex concepts effectively?

Yes, definitely. So teaching approach will be a very simple, so we can simplify the simplify the theoretical aspects which we have in the chemical engineering and deliver deliver the lecture in a very simplified way and very connected to the industrial challenges what we have and we can relate with the industrial problem also so that the students have a. Academia as well as the.

What are the challenges in the industry they can relate with? So in this way in a simplified manner and the and in the simplified manner and the industry related approach can give.

Can apply their knowledge in which field and what are the real time issues and the problems in the industry so that they can relate with the their studies and academia with the country.

A good balance between the academia and the industry, industrial challenges so that the student know how what what they are reading and where they we can, they can.

So we can I can use some case studies and we can use the. The steps to defend method to engage the to engage the students in the class and we can we can have example based approach. For the students so that they can relate their academia and.

That sounds like a thoughtful approach. How do you ensure that students actively engage and participate during laboratory sessions,

Definitely we can make it more interesting by giving them a real time examples and the providing them the case studies. So this approach can be useful to engage students in the classroom.

Interesting. How do you balance theoretical rigor with practical experimentation when teaching laboratory-based courses?

So our laboratory based courses, so we can have a well defined SOP and we can give them the. So we can provide the well defined SOP as well as we can we can relate the laboratory based courses to the.

To to go through the laboratory based courses so that they can have a big picture in their mind when when they they will be going to finish their courses, library previous courses.

Got it. Let's shift to your student evaluation experience. How do you assess students' performance effectively and ensure fairness in your evaluations?

OK, so. I'll definitely follow the institute guideline for the evaluation also. So approach will be very simple.

The IT will be the the question which we have asked in the continuous assessment test. So I can have a model answer for that. So I I can after after the finishing of the exam or the continuous.

Test I can discuss with the students the model answer so that they can have a.

And future they can have a better approach for for that particular question or for the particular problem, I would say and.

So this may be the, uh, uh, my approach to for the assessment, assessment of the examination for the step, stepwise marking for particular step. So I'll assign some marks. I'll discuss the model answer with the student so that they, they have a better idea, uh, how they can write, uh, in further examinations. So this will be my approach.

And I I'll I'll have a step stepwise marking for for the answers.

Understood. Let’s talk about guiding student projects and research. How do you mentor students to ensure their projects align with current industry trends and research advancements?

OK, so, uh, I, I'll guide the students, uh, uh, based on the, based on the project's demand and we'll do the task, We will do the multiple tasks based on the project timelines. And I'll definitely guide them how to approach the problems and how to solve the problems and how they can, how they can solve the particular problem by researching. Go in some research paper or maybe study some cases study and they can approach the industry. If they find some issue or they can approach the various research papers.

To to solve the problem or to have the literature survey on the on the particular research. So in this way.

We can. We can. We can solve the, we can do the multiple. I can guide the multiple students and we can solve the multiple.

Problem in a definite in a defined time limit.

Your approach to mentoring and guiding students appears comprehensive. Could you elaborate on how you encourage students to independently think, innovate, and contribute to research during your mentorship?

Yes, it is very important to encourage the students. So I will involve personally with the students. If they find some issues in while doing research, I'll I'll help them and I'll also provide them some good research papers or some good case studies.

Or I can also help them in finding the solution of their problems and also I'll encourage them by by. By showing or by giving examples of some I mean in personalities. So in this way I can motivate and encourage the students and all I will also involve with my students.

Two, to increase them in research and as well as in the academia.

Thank you for elaborating. Can you share your thought process on designing your own research publications, particularly in terms of originality, methodology, and contribution to the field?

OK, so the search research approach will be, uh, very simple. I'll, I will do the literature survey. Uh, we'll, we'll write proposals for the funding, for the external funding and, and after getting the funding, we'll, we'll set up the laboratory, uh, and we'll do the authentic research and.

Yeah, after then we'll write the research paper and we'll publish in a in a peer reviewed International Journal. So this will be the approach.

I see. Thank you for outlining your approach. You've mentioned "authentic research"—how do you ensure the research's originality and its alignment with contemporary advancements in your field?

Definitely, we can relate with the, uh, definitely with the literature, what, uh, till now, what enhancement, uh, is there in the literature and, uh, how much we can contribute further. So, uh, in compound, we need to compare our research with the definitely the published work and further will enhance our, uh, research, uh, for there and uh, which, which will be resulting in the good research papers and the, uh, patent and the technology.

Translation.

Understood. Let’s touch upon your industry experience. How has your time as a Senior Scientist influenced your approach to teaching and research in academia, particularly with regard to bridging gaps between industry and academia?

So, uh, based on my professional experience, uh, so I have uh, gained experience and uh, design and development of our clinicalizer for hydrogen production where I'm leading A-Team, I'm collaborating with my team and with the other members also and.

Further, uh, I have good networking with the industrial partners, so, uh, using my knowledge of heterogeneous catalysis, green hydrogen as well as, uh, collaborations, uh, I also.

Come across the commercial aspects of various projects. So I'll I'll use my this knowledge of to bridging the gap between the Academy and the industry.

Thank you for that. Can you share how your industry collaborations have helped shape your perspective on emerging trends in chemical engineering and materials science research?

Definitely, Uh, so industrial collaboration helps a lot because, uh, with the industry collaboration, uh, uh, we need, we, we find that what are the real challenges in the industries. Further, we also get funding from the industry to.

Uh, good industrial, uh, relationships it, it is also good for the students as well as, as the, as well as the researchers to have a broader aspects of the industrial challenges and the actual real-time problems, uh, uh, solving approach.

To do the projects also to go to have a.

Thank you, Professor. Finally, you've mentioned your expertise in catalysis and hydrogen production. How do you envision expanding this research to areas that align with global sustainability goals?

Yes. So my desired interest involved around heterogeneous catalysis and green hydrogen production. So it is very much aligned with the global sustainability goal because.

Green energy is a clean fuel which we can produce through splitting of water, so there are no carbon emissions.

If we develop green hydrogen, we have multiple application coming up such as the steel industry and we can use it enough fuel cell to decarbonize the industrial sector.

And by developing heterogeneous catalysis, we can enhance the efficiency of the system and also.

Thank you for sharing your perspective, Professor. Your alignment with global sustainability goals and focus on green hydrogen production are commendable. Let's proceed to verifying your skills.

Professor, let's begin with your perspective on teaching methods. Could you share which course or topic within chemical engineering or materials science you find most fulfilling to teach and why?

OK. So chemical reaction engineering would be the one and heat transfer?

And would be the one which I would like to teach for our students.

Thank you, Professor. Chemical reaction engineering and heat transfer are indeed cornerstone areas in chemical engineering. Could you elaborate on why these topics, in particular, are rewarding for both you and the students? What makes them stand out as critical subjects in the curriculum?

Definitely. So these subjects gives deep insights into the chemical reaction and the heat transfer, which are very important aspects if you talk about the heterogeneous catalysis as well as the way we can use it in multiple applications, but particularly for the heterogeneous catalysis and these are very, very essential.

He transferred in in the system and also it provides deep insights into the at the molecular level. What what are what is the? What are the rate of reaction? What is the what is the activation energy required to make the to come for the reactant to come to the at that transition state how reaction proceeds and further. Talk about the.

Where we can have a knowledge of chemical reactions and.

Heterogeneous catalysts, There are multiple steps involved. So through the chemical reaction engineering, we can have a deep insights into various aspects of chemical reaction engineering. As well as the through the heat transfer, we can have a different aspect such as the conduction, convection, radiation involved in the process. So we have a, we can have a.

And we can solve the industrial issues.

I appreciate the depth of that response, Professor. Your emphasis on molecular-level understanding and the practical applications in heterogeneous catalysis demonstrates the importance of these topics in bridging fundamental science with industrial problem-solving. Considering these foundational subjects, could you share how you typically approach teaching such complex concepts to a diverse student audience? How do you balance the theoretical depth with the practical relevance to maximize student engagement and understanding?

Definitely. So, uh, we can, uh, we can definitely give uh, case studies to the student industry related case study. We can, uh, we can also have uh, invited lectures, uh, from various scientists and, uh, innovators and the industrial experts and, and also, uh, we can have a. Practical experience through the industrial Wizards we we can have a deep insight knowledge of these subjects so a student can have.

Can can approach to solve the real time issues?

By the by these approach. By this approach.

Thank you, Professor. Integrating case studies, expert lectures, and practical experience is a comprehensive approach to fostering both theoretical understanding and application. It seems you're deeply committed to preparing students to address real-world challenges effectively. We'll move forward from here.

Sorry to interrupt, we're down to the last 5 minutes.

Professor Tomar, I see you've worked on the decomposition of sulfur trioxide over mixed metal oxide catalysts for hydrogen production as part of your Ph.D. research. Could you elaborate on how the experimental setup was designed and manufactured for this project? How did you ensure its precision and reliability?

So, uh, I have designed, uh, uh, the system for, for this experimental setup and, uh, through, uh, reproducibility of the results, uh, we can ensure the correctness of the data and the system also, uh, we, we can have, uh, for the, for the same, for the same. For the same composition or for the same experiment experiment, we can have a.

3 rounds, right? So we can have a uh, if there is some error in the system, we can find out the range of the error if I mean uh so we can have uh her error range, we can have a error range if any and. Also. Reproduce reproducibility of the results are very important to to have error free experimental setup.

Understood, Professor. It's good that you emphasize reproducibility as a key factor for ensuring experimental reliability. How did you select and synthesize the mixed metal oxide catalysts used in this project? What characterization methods did you employ to confirm their properties?

So I have done a Mediterranean characterization such as XRD, XPS, FTIR and MSIM. To characterize the materials which we have used. I have used copper ferrite.

So our aim was to have a have a catalyst which which are which which is based on. Non precious metals so we have selected copper ferrite.

And we have done various state of that characterizations as I have already.

Yeah, good experimental results out of it. And I have analysis the all the characterizations which I have done and then we have also evaluated the performance of the catalyst. So based on that we, we we found and we compared our result with the literature.

And we we found a.

So that we can have a comparative study also. So this this was the approach.

And, uh, or.

For the characterization and for the for the selection of the material.

Thank you, Professor. You've outlined a thorough approach in selecting non-precious metal catalysts and conducting various characterizations. Could you explain how your research findings, particularly the performance evaluations and comparative studies, could be integrated into an advanced course curriculum or used to inspire case studies for students in chemical engineering?

Definitely. So I was doing uh project fund, uh funded by ONGC energy Center. So where we were developing the hydrogen also we were, we have done pilot plant study which which we can integrate as a case study for our students.

And for scale up from lab to industrial scale, we can have a case study for this definitely.

Excellent, Professor. Using your pilot plant study as a case study for industrial scale-up would indeed offer students valuable insights into bridging experimental research and real-world applications.

Professor, let us discuss your ability to contribute to research productivity and fiscal sustainability at VIT University. Could you outline your three-year research roadmap, particularly how your projects in Chemical Engineering would align with VIT University's emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and industry partnerships?

So the approach will be very simple. We'll write the proposal for external funding and then we'll set up the elaboratory for heterogeneous catalysis and Greenhalgh production.

And will be publishing paper in a good research peer reviewed International Journal.

And definitely we'll, we'll, we'll have a patent and the technology translation from lab to industrial scale.

Hey, Cortana.

Professor, let’s stay focused on this interview. Moving along—how would you mentor junior students to ensure a consistent pipeline of high-quality research publications within your proposed roadmap?

OK, so. Will Will. I'll guide a student. I'll provide them. A good research environment so that they can do a good research we'll be having.

Discussions on maybe daily basis or on a weekly basis will be will be preparing the reports for the project and side by side we'll compare our studies with the.

Uh, literature work, uh, so that, uh, if Theron is a scope for the improvement, we can do it through, enhance our, uh, my research work and then further. I will be having a collaborations with the with other department to to work on the collaborative projects so that we can integrate. Chemical research as well as the other other areas of research and we can have a good research paper, comprehensive good research paper so that it can go for a high impact journal. Publications are.

We can have a a good patent out of our research work.

Understood, Professor. You intend to foster a rigorous research environment for students through consistent discussions, report preparations, literature reviews, and interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at impactful outcomes like publications and patents. Now, how do you plan to utilize international collaborations to boost citation metrics and elevate the global impact of your work?

Definitely, so will will approach global university to collaborate with us?

Towards the greener.

Greener feature definitely because this energy transition from. Grey to green. Is one of the major targets of all all the countries globally. So we'll, we'll be having discussion with multi various, uh, global in universities to collaborate with us and we'll write proposals, uh, and we'll send proposals to them to collaborate with us. We can have invited lectures of the scientists and the researchers from all over the globe. And, uh, definitely we can, uh, we can, you know, participate in the national as well as the international conferences so that we can have a, uh, we can.

More better collaborations with with the other researchers, also globally.

Thank you, Professor. Your approach highlights strategic outreach to global universities, proposal development, invited lectures, and active participation in conferences to foster impactful international collaborations. I have sufficient information from this segment. Let us proceed.

Professor, could you describe how you would implement an active learning model, such as a flipped classroom, for a large-enrollment course in Chemical Engineering, specifically without relying on slides?

Definitely we can. I can have a discussion with the students.

In in the form of. Maybe we can have a group discussions on various topics.

Of chemical engineering and other research related topics and also we can have.