During 29.09-10.10.2018 the UT Institute of Chemistry has been hosting visiting scholar, Prof. Narendra Nath Ghosh from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus (India). He conducted an intensive course Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology and their Applications in Analytical Chemistry.

This lecture series started with introduction to nanomaterials and nanotechnology, the origin of nanotechnology and nanomaterials, and how and why the properties of nanomaterials are different from bulk materials. It then developed to cover design of a variety of nanostructured materials, their preparation techniques and different analytical instrumental methods for structural characterization of nanomaterials. Finally, a significant amount of time was devoted to the use of nanomaterials in different analytical techniques, especially in sensor applications and applications of these sensors in real life (detection and estimation of different types of analytes such as glucose, H2O2, metal ions, etc and how these nanosensors can be used for health monitoring, food quality monitoring, and environmental monitoring).

Altogether 15 students (out of them 7 AMS students) participated in the course and their feedback was very positive.

Prof. Ghosh is the Associate Dean, International Program and Collaboration at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. His research interests embrace development of new and novel chemical methodologies for preparation of nanomaterials, mesoporous materials and nanocomposites, as well as applications of nanomaterials in catalysis, sensors, separations, microwave absorption, supercapacitor etc.

(Photo by Ivo Leito: Prof. Ghosh, in the middle, with students)