Yes.

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia

Yeah, I did my B.Tech in electronics and communication engineering. From Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering and Technology, which is located in Pondicherry and affiliated to Pondicherry University.

Alright, so you started with your B.Tech in electronics and communication at Rajiv Gandhi College in Pondicherry. What drew you to electronics and communication as your specialty initially?

And after which I joined my M tech. Nanocentric. Initially I was based on. Uh image processing based uh, projects I was. Very much interested in working on. Specifically on MATLAB. Politics and I. Gain this specialization in Matlab. By doing such. After which I joined my Mtech in nanosensing technology. Add add onions to Twistapalli. And followed by a PhD in Green Energy Technology from Pondicherry University. Where I was working on nanomaterials for. Energy harvesting and storage devices.

So, you've worked with image processing and nanomaterials,

And later I joined as an. National co-doctoral fellow at IIT Madras. Yeah, I would stick to the basics of. The image processing is done.

Okay, so you start with the basics when teaching image processing. Can you give me a specific example of how you'd introduce a foundational concept—like filtering or thresholding—to a group of students who've never seen it before?

And and I will show them a demo of how the image processing can really work in real time. First I would like to introduce how the image can be processed like reprocessing. How to make the all the images same?

Alright, so you start by showing them a demo and talk about preprocessing to standardize images. How do you handle students who struggle with the math behind concepts like convolution or thresholding—do you have a favorite way to simplify it for them?

Uh, followed by. How to? Uh, extract the R. Formats of. Yeah, I would introduce them to coding so that they don't find mathematics. That much? So coding would. Regulation and coding would really help them. Overcome this problem.

Right, so you use coding as a bridge for students who find the math intimidating—makes sense, especially with something like image extraction. When you introduce coding exercises, do you prefer students work individually or in groups for these foundational tasks?

I generally prefer students working as groups. For this foundation task.

I generally prefer students working as groups. For this foundation task. They can interact with each other, and they can overcome each of their drawbacks better when they.

I generally prefer students working as groups. For this foundation task. They can interact with each other, and they can overcome each of their drawbacks better when they. Work in a group.

I generally prefer students working as groups. For this foundation task. They can interact with each other, and they can overcome each of their drawbacks better when they. Work in a group. That is my belief.

Dr., looking at your publication in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy on MoS₂/TiO₂ nanotubes for hydrogen evolution—how do you draw on that research when teaching students about real-world applications of nanomaterials, especially for those who might not have a strong background in electrochemistry?

So you encourage group work to help students tackle foundational coding exercises together—that sense of peer learning can really boost confidence, especially when math is tough. Dr., looking at your publication in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy on MoS₂/TiO₂ nanotubes for hydrogen evolution—how do you draw on that research when teaching students about real-world applications of material science or energy technologies?

So you have students work in groups to tackle coding foundations, which definitely helps with peer support and learning. Dr., looking at your publication in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy on MoS₂/TiO₂ nanotubes for hydrogen evolution—how do you draw on that research when teaching students about real-world applications of nanomaterials in energy technology?

So you find group work helps students support each other and learn the basics more effectively—especially with coding and image processing. Dr., looking at your publication in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy on MoS₂/TiO₂ nanotubes for hydrogen evolution—how do you draw on that research when teaching students about real-world applications of nanomaterials in class?

The I would. Rather focus on how. Application task. Used in real world.

The I would. Rather focus on how. Application task. Used in real world. So that. They can. What they are really working on?

Uh uh, I would introduce like how? Hydrogen evolution reactions are important in. Renewable energy Techn Yeah, recently we were working on nanomaterials for. Solar PV cooling.

Okay, so you focus on real-world application tasks when connecting your research to teaching. Let me pivot for a moment—your CV mentions guiding student projects as part of your responsibilities. What's your approach when mentoring students who are struggling to define their own research question, especially if they're new to the field?

Okay, so you make sure students understand how the research actually connects to real-world tasks. Now, your CV also mentions guiding student projects—can you share a specific example where you helped a student bridge theory and practical skills during a project?

Right, so you were working on nanomaterials for solar PV cooling as a student project. Given that, how did you help your students move from just understanding the theory to actually designing experiments or prototypes for the PV cooling application?

And and. They were working on different. Cooling system. And I. Gave them a. Yeah, first we went to study on how the. Different materials have different thermal connectivity and how efficient they are in the thermal connectivity.

Alright, so you guided them to study the thermal conductivity of different materials first. When it came time to actually test their ideas—did you have them build physical prototypes, or was most of their work simulation-based?

And later we went on to discuss about how the. Uh, liquid. To the pump pressure. Yeah, they were able to build a prototype. Initially they simulate. What's the temperature affects the working of a solar panel followed by. Real well setup of how this nanomaterial cooling setup can be done. By using a copper pipe. They were able to demonstrate the PV cooling effectively. By running the nano fluid inside the copper pipe.

Given your experience with nanomaterials and energy applications, where do you see the most fundable research directions over the next three years? What kinds of grants or external funding would you target to sustain a research group in this area?

Yeah, I I generally focus on ANRF based project and DD.

Yeah, I I generally focus on ANRF based project and DD. Facebook now. Now converted to ANR based projects.

And I generally focus on. ANRFARG Yeah, I would. For them take up online position so that. I can analyze and access their. Understanding.

Okay, you've got a clear funding focus and you're thinking ahead about growth. Now, let's shift to teaching—suppose you had to teach a core undergraduate course in Image Processing at VIT University, but slides and traditional lectures were off-limits. How would you run a session that keeps 200 students actively engaged and aligns with VIT's mission of excellence in technology education?

Alright, so you started with simulation and then moved to building a copper pipe prototype for the nano fluid cooling—having students see both sides, digital and physical, is a strong approach. Since your teaching emphasizes hands-on work, how do you assess whether students are actually understanding the underlying concepts, not just following instructions?

Alright, let's talk about departmental responsibilities for a moment. 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?

Outcome assessment data. If it is wrong, we'll take corrective measures on the outcome of the data.

So you’d take corrective measures if the outcome assessment data was wrong. What does that actually look like day-to-day—are you reviewing faculty reports, talking to course coordinators, or setting up a new tracking system?

And we? He'll try to rectify the. Uh, errors by. 1st I'll try. Talk with the faculty coordinators and then I. Was probably a new tracking. Based on the given inputs.

So you'd start by talking with faculty coordinators and, if needed, set up a new tracking system based on their input. Now, day-to-day,

Faculty. Coordinators.

Let’s pivot to a scenario involving academic integrity. Imagine a student files a formal complaint alleging your grading is biased, but at the same time your department head is pressuring you to improve pass rates. How would you handle that situation?

So we're great, everyone based on a. Same criteria. And if we were to improve the. The pass rates, we'll do it over entirely. Uniformly over across all the pupils who are studying in the. Session. We're not doing it to a specific person. In particular.

Okay, you’d make sure grading criteria are applied uniformly and any changes to pass rates affect all students, not just individuals. But what if the department head disagrees and pushes for targeted grade adjustments to certain students—how would you defend your approach and maintain academic integrity?

I would politely decline.

Alright, let’s shift gears. Given your background working with nanomaterials and solar PV cooling, do you have any industry connections or collaborations that could help students land internships or placement opportunities in related fields?

On not doing that. Specifically for. And. Distributing it uniformly over the. Right now I'm working on getting into partnership with Incident Solar. Uh, industries, but uh. There aren't many industries keen on working with solar PV cooling technology. Is right now.

Alright, so you're working on a partnership with Incident Solar but you mentioned there aren't many industries keen on solar PV cooling right now. Have you had any previous collaborations with companies—maybe in different areas like nanomaterials or embedded systems—that resulted in real student internships or projects?

I do this only in R&D based one. So I'm open to. Collaborating with. Yes, we have already. They collaborated with many. Companies resulting in indent. Many students have been. Specifically not through this approach, but. Various approaches, various other.

I do this only in R&D based one. So I'm open to. Collaborating with. Yes, we have already. They collaborated with many. Companies resulting in indent. Many students have been. Specifically not through this approach, but. Various approaches, various other. Just in both are basically. Companies as well as.

Okay, so you're mostly collaborating on R&D projects, and you've had industry partnerships leading to student involvement, but not always through a formal internship pipeline. Can you name one company you've worked with where students got hands-on experience, and describe what kind of projects or exposure they received?

Okay, so you’re open to collaborating with companies and you’ve had students involved through various approaches, not always direct internships. Can you name a specific company or R&D partner where student involvement led to tangible employability outcomes—like a job offer, a placement, or a published project?

Right now students are working on multicore wear based. Projects. Uh. And. Silicon Lab.

Right now students are working on multicore wear based. Projects. Uh. And. Silicon Lab. Also they are working on. Tippin Lab.

Schools are getting trained in these. Laboratories. Which directly? To. Risk in those companies.

Alright, you mentioned students are working on multicore wear-based projects and collaborating with Silicon Lab. What kind of roles or skills did those students develop through that partnership—did it lead to job offers, published research, or exposure to industry practices?

You mentioned students are working on multicore wear-based projects with Silicon Lab and Tippin Lab. Did any of those collaborations lead to a job offer or direct placement for a student, or was it more focused on research experience?

Okay, noted.

They were given. In ready projects actually. And working with that they gave them Exp. And they were given intention. Opportunities and from those intention opportunities they were able to get. Even pre replacement.

So now I need to check a few must-have skills for this role. Let's start with image processing—imagine you need to teach students how to detect edges in an image, but you only have two hours for the lab. What practical approach would you use, and how would you make sure students actually grasp the core concepts in that short session?

We can directly teach them or we can give them an assignment like. There are tutorial sessions available in Matlab where you can directly learn how to. To it processing in a given image.

So. So I would ask them to complete that as an assignment.

Okay,

Alright, so you’d have them complete the MATLAB tutorial as an assignment to reinforce edge detection. What would you do if half your students still couldn’t explain how edge detection actually works after finishing the assignment?

Windows for the given time.

Okay, so you’d assign them the tutorial and let the time constraints dictate. But let’s switch to embedded and communication—say you’re teaching a lab course on microcontroller interfacing, but you only have access to basic Arduino boards. How would you help students understand serial communication protocols in a hands-on way?

So I don't have much emperor. Place in. Probably I have to look into it. To answer this question.

Alright, sounds like you’re not too familiar or comfortable with hands-on embedded communication labs using Arduino boards. No problem, let’s move on. When you’re teaching theory and lab courses, what's your strategy for keeping students engaged throughout a full semester—especially when the material gets pretty technical or abstract?

Giving them property. The question is. And passing. Throughout the session and keeping it more engaging.

Like. Acquisition. For after every lab session could be more. Uh, keeping them more engaging?

You said you keep students engaged by passing questions throughout the session and making it more interactive. What do you do if the class gets stuck on a tough concept—do you change your teaching method,

So you try to keep students engaged by doing acquisition or review after each lab session. How do you make sure the students who aren’t participating as much are still grasping the material?

Yeah, I would like to review every students, how they are. Able to grasp the idea. And those who are not. Grasby ideas the same way as the others.

I assume to go. Look into the certain videos or material. That I will be online.

Right, so you aim to review each student individually to see who’s actually grasping the material.

Okay, so you supplement for students who aren’t grasping the material by pointing them to certain videos or online resources. What’s your process for evaluating students during exams or practicals—do you use written tests, oral questioning, or something else?

During practicing sessions, I would ask them to. Answer a few old questions and. To apply the. Concepts in real-time applications so that they I can understand how much they are able to real.

Alright, so you ask students to answer old questions and apply concepts to real-world scenarios during practicals.

Because exams are concerned, I would go for written examination. I would. Ask them to. To a faculty who has more expertise in that particular area. They engage in active collaboration with Effective. So that the. Students, uh, can form an interdisciplinary sort of.

Okay, so for research projects outside your own field, you’d refer students to another faculty and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. How do you make sure your own communication stays clear and structured, especially when you’re teaching complex or highly technical material?

Yeah, when I'm teaching very complex and highly technical material, I would give them. Real time examples.

That can be. Imagine. Sort of. To make it more. Easier to. Yeah. What would be the role that will be expected of me in terms of in terms of technical expertise? Or in terms of teaching expertise Is there any particular subject? Expertise that is required for this particular role.

Alright, Dr.,

That can be. Imagine. Sort of. To make it more. Easier to. Yeah. What would be the role that will be expected of me in terms of in terms of technical expertise?

You’re asking about the technical expectations for this role. The Assistant Professor (Research) position will expect you to demonstrate deep expertise in your research area, contribute to scholarly publications, and guide student projects—plus the ability to teach both theory and lab courses effectively. Is there anything else you’d like to know about the role or the team?

What would be the salary?

You want to know if there’s a specific subject expertise required for this role.

You're asking about salary for the Assistant Professor (Research) role. Let me check the specifics for you. Salary for the Assistant Professor (Research) role at VIT can vary based on experience, qualifications, and departmental budget. Typically, it's competitive and aligned with academic standards in India, but exact figures would be shared during the offer process. Anything else you'd like to ask before we wrap up?

Oh no, that's fine.