IIT Gandhinagar PhD scholar wins Euraxess science slam India 2022

NEW DELHI: A PhD scholar, Satadru Chakrabarty from the chemical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) wins the Euraxess Science Slam India 2022. The final round of the competition in Chennai was between five researchers from across the country.

As the winner of this year’s India Science Slam, Chakrabarty won a roundtrip ticket to Europe and the unique chance to network with research peers in one of Europe’s top research institutes. The participants at the competition were asked to submit video entries explaining their research in an easy-to-understand manner, based on which the organisers select five finalists, who are required to present their research work in a theatrical manner during the finals.

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The five finalists, from IIT Gandhinagar, TIFR Mumbai, NCBS Bangalore, CDFD Hyderabad, and JNCASR Bangalore, performed in front of a live audience and a jury. The judges evaluated them on the basis of their ability to capture the audiences’ attention with a precise, accessible, and original introduction to their research topic.

Chakrabarty, in the first round, made a video presentation explaining his research of hydrogen production in the form of a mini skit to make it more entertaining for the audience in spite of using a few scientific terms. At IITGN he is currently working with a chemical engineering, associate professor, Kabeer Jasuja and has discovered a new family of nanosheets that are derived from transition metal diborides.

Satadru’s primary research work involves synthesising nanosheets from Titanium Diboride and utilising these nanosheets for relevant applications. He has found that these nanosheets can interact with light, and this unique interaction can be used for certain applications. The scholar collaborated with another associate professor from the chemistry department, Saumykanti Khatua at IIT Gandhinagar to combine such nanosheets with gold nanotriangles and use them as catalysts for splitting water to produce hydrogen. This technique can be proven to be helpful in realising a hydrogen-based economy.

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Sharing his thoughts on this achievement, Satadru Chakrabarty said, “I believe science communication is a major component of being a successful researcher and a scientist. I am glad that I am able to explain my research to people in a way that they find interesting. This win has cemented my belief in the power of science communication. I would urge my fellow researchers to consider this as one of their noble duties. I would like to thank IITGN for enabling me as a budding researcher and would also like to thank Euraxess India for this amazing opportunity to showcase my research. I want to thank the ‘Leadership Development Initiative’ team of IITGN for their constant support towards my preparation for this competition. Lastly, I believe that this win would not have been possible if not for the constant encouragement from my adviser and mentor, Professor Kabeer Jasuja. It is through him that I have developed a knack for science communication. I am excited to network and collaborate with research peers in Europe by next year. I would like to be involved with research in sustainable or renewable energy.”