The Speakers

Dr. Ahsan earned his Ph.D. from Chonbuk National University, South Korea, and completed postdoctoral work at Toyama University, Japan, under the Venture Business Laboratory (VBL) program. He joined King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 2010 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016. In 2019, he joined Khalifa University as an Associate Professor of Chemistry. His research focuses on developing new materials, clean energy generation and storage, catalysis, sensors, and biomedical applications. He also serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Materials Research Bulletin, and Scientific Reports. 

Prof. A. T. Biju is an Associate Professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore since June 2017. He completed his Ph.D. under the guidance of Dr. Vijay Nair at the CSIR-NIIST (Formerly RRL), Trivandrum, India. His research interests include development of transition-metal-free carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions using aryne chemistry and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis, and their application in organic synthesis. 

Prof. Ashwani Tiwari is currently serving as a Professor of Theoretical Chemistry and Dean of International Relations and Outreach at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata. Professor Tiwari's research focuses on the dynamics of laser-molecule and molecule-metal surface interactions. His contributions to theoretical chemistry have earned him accolades, including the Bronze Medal of the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) and a fellowship in the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Dr. Punji is a Senior Principal Scientist at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune and a Professor at the Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi. Dr. Punji received Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, under the supervision of Prof. M. S. Balakrishna. Upon graduation, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow with Prof. Alan S. Goldman at the Rutgers University, USA and then as Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral fellow with Prof Lutz Ackermann at the University of Göttingen, Germany. His research interest includes, development of novel and sustainable 3d transition metal catalysts for CH functionalizations, asymmetric hydrogenation and (de)hydrogenative transformations. His focus is mostly on mechanistic-based homogeneous catalysis and organometallic chemistry. Dr. Punji has published more than 80 research papers, and he has 10 patents and 8 book chapters to his credit.

Caleb Martin grew up in Canada completing his BS at Mount Allison University and PhD at Western University. After studies at UC Riverside and UCSD, he began his independent career at Baylor University in Waco, TX in 2013. His research group’s interests are focused on the synthesis of highly reactive boron compounds for stoichiometric and catalytic transformations. 

Goutam Kumar Lahiri is a distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He earned his Ph.D. from IACS-Kolkata, Jadavpur University, in 1990. After completing his postdoctoral fellowship at West Virginia University, USA, he joined IIT Bombay in 1993, where he progressed from Assistant Professor to full Professor. He has held visiting professorships at Bristol University, UK, and Stuttgart University, Germany. His accolades include the J C Bose Fellowship, CRSI Silver Medal, and multiple awards for excellence in teaching and research. He is also a Fellow of Indian National Science Academy (FNA), Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc) and National Academy of Sciences (FNASc). His research focuses on the intricate interactions within redox-sensitive metal-ligand frameworks and their catalytic applications. 

Dr. Kaliaperumal Selvaraj is a Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, and a leading expert in hydrogen technology. He spearheads the DELTAGH mission, developing India's first Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyser under the CSIR H2T mission, part of the National Hydrogen Energy Mission. With over 25 years of R&D experience, he has mentored numerous researchers and students, published over 60 international papers, and filed over 10 patents. His research focuses on sustainable energy technologies, hydrogen economy, AEM electrolysers, and energy storage. Dr. Selvaraj is active in various policy-making committees and professional societies, contributing significantly to the field. 

Hailing from India, Prof. Raghavachari earned his Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1981 under Nobel Laureate Professor John Pople. A Distinguished Researcher at Bell Laboratories in 1987, he became a Chemistry Professor at Indiana University in 2002, earning Distinguished Professor status in 2014. Renowned for pioneering the CCSD(T) technique, the "Gold Standard of Quantum Chemistry," his research spans electron correlation theories, computational thermochemistry, catalysis, quantum structure-based drug design, and fragmentation-based methods. With 430+ publications and 75,000+ citations, his recent work delves into machine learning in quantum chemistry and computer-aided design of fluorescent materials and receptors.

Prof. Nitin Patil, currently a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, is dedicated to advancing gold catalysis within transition metal catalysis. His research focuses on understanding the unique reactivities of gold complexes to develop innovative synthetic methodologies.

He has held various significant positions, including Associate Professor at IISER Bhopal (2017-2023), Senior Scientist at CSIR-NCL Pune (2013-2017), and CSIR-IICT Hyderabad (2011-2013). His international experience includes research fellowships at The Scripps Research Institute (2008) and ICES Singapore (2006-2007), as well as post-doctoral fellowships in Japan and Germany. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pune in 2002, following a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from North Maharashtra University.

Dr. Tarafdar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical Sciences at IISER Kolkata. He completed his PhD (Chemistry) from University of Hyderabad in 2010. His research interests include Antivirals and anti-bacterials, Biomaterials and Organic synthesis in water.

Dr. Rahul Borse earned his M.S. from S.P. College, Pune University. He worked as a Ph.D. researcher at the National Institute of Technology Warangal (NITW) under an international collaboration with the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China. He is currently completing his postdoctoral studies at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Fuzhou, China. His research focuses on design and synthesis of COF/MOF/POC photo/electrocatalysts for energy conversion and storage applications.

Dr. Rajesh Kunjanpillai is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Dean, Research at St. Albert's College (Autonomous), Kochi, Kerala. He is an adjunct faculty at Institute for Integrated Programmes and Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS), Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala. Dr. Kunjanpillai received his doctoral degree (D.Sc.) from the University of Zürich, Switzerland in 2013 for the work titled “Homogeneous Hydrogenations and Related Reductive Reactions Catalyzed by Rhenium Complexes,” under the guidance of Prof. Heinz Berke. His research interest includes organometallics and homogeneous catalysis, activation of small molecules, developing atom economic and greener strategies for organic synthesis etc.

Prof. Ravi P. Singh, born in Ghariha, Ghazipur, UP, earned his Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University under Nobel Laureate Prof. E. J. Corey (2005-2007) and at Brandeis University with Prof. Li Deng (2007-2011). He served as a Senior Scientist at the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune (2011-2013), and as an Assistant Professor at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi (2011-2013). He then joined IIT Delhi, progressing from Assistant Professor (2013-2016) to Associate Professor (2016-2021), and currently serves as a Professor since 2021. His research interests include asymmetric catalysis, C-H and C-F activation, and total synthesis of small molecules.

Dr. Ravishankar G. Kadam obtained his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Radha V. Jayaram from Institute of chemical Technology,(Formerly UDCT), Mumbai in 2018. Then he worked as post-doctoral associate with Prof. Manoj B. Gawande and Prof. Radek Zbořil at                  RCPTM, Palacký University, Czech Republic. Currently he is serving as a senior researcher at CATRIN-RCPTM, Palacký University, Czech Republic. His research interests include heterogeneous catalysis, porous materials, silica supported transition metal/metal oxide catalysts, development of advanced carbon based supported single metal atom catalysts, and their catalytic applications in sustainable organic transformations, C-H,C-N bond activation reactions, biomass conversion using green oxidants, electrochemical CO2 reduction, fuel cell.

Sandip Murarka pursued his PhD from WWU Münster under the supervision of Prof. Armido Studer. After completion of his Ph.D. (2013), he worked as a Max-Planck postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Herbert Waldmann at Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund (2013-2016). Following a year long stay (2016-2017) as a Team Leader in a reputed pharmaceutical company, Syngene International Limited, he decided to move back to academia. In May 2017, he joined Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India as an Assistant Professor and got promoted to the post of Associate Professor in June 2022. His current research activities include study of novel activation modes and development of chemo-selective and sustainable transformations towards the synthesis of biologically relevant and interesting molecular architectures.

His research Interests include, Radical Chemistry, Photoinduced Synthetic Transformations, Transition Metal Catalyzed Cross-Couplings, Metal-free Synthetic Transformations, Medicinal Chemistry.

Prof. Sayam Sengupta earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in 2002, following an M.Sc. from IIT Kanpur (1996) and a B.Sc. from R.K. Mission Vidyamandira (Calcutta University, 1994). Currently a Professor at IISER Kolkata, he has held various positions including Associate Professor at IISER Kolkata (2016-2021) and Senior Scientist at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (2010-2016). His research focuses on bio-inspired oxidation for sustainable chemical synthesis, inorganic reaction mechanisms, and materials based on proteins and polypeptides for biomedical applications. He has also been an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at Technical University, Munich, and a Skaggs Post-doctoral Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute. 

Dr. Subrata Chakraborty obtained his Master's degree from IIT Kanpur in 2008. He pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Zürich, Switzerland and received the doctorate degree in 2013. Afterwards he joined the group of Prof. David Milstein at Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel as a SFWIS Postdoctoral Fellow in 2014 and explored the research area of organometallics and sustainable catalysis. Then he moved to University of Muenster, Germany in the group of Prof. Gerhard Erker as an AvH Fellow in 2018. During his stay in Muenster he gained some experiences on main group frustrated Lewis pair chemistry (FLP). After a brief stint at Muenster, he joined the Department of Chemistry, IIT Jodhpur as an Assistant Professor in June 2019. Currently his group is investigating organometallic chemistry of earth- abundant transition metals and main group metals for various sustainable catalytic transformations.

Dr. Susanta grew up in a small village in Howrah, West Bengal. He completed his M.Sc. in 2015 and Ph.D. in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Anil J Elias at IIT Delhi. He then joined Prof. Sachin Handa's research group at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA, as a postdoctoral research associate. In June 2022, he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science. His research focuses on green and sustainable catalysis, particularly micellar and bio-micellar catalysis, and the development of chiral micelles and catalysts for organic transformations. 

Prof. Tapas Kumar Maji obtained his Ph.D. from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata in 2002 and carried out postdoctoral research at Kyoto University, Japan, with Prof. Susumu Kitagawa (2003-2005). His research interests include Porous Materials (MOFs and Organic Porous Polymers), Nanoscale MOFs & Composites and Functional Processable ‘soft’ Organic/hybrid  Gel Materials.

Prof. Vinod Singh is currently Rahul and Namita Gautam Chair Professor at IIT Kanpur. He holds the Director’s Chair Professor at IISER Bhopal. a PhD in 1986 from M.S. University Baroda (Malti-Chem Research Centre, Nandesari). He did his postdoctoral work at the University of Calgary and the University of British Columbia in Canada (1985-1987) and at Harvard University, USA with Professor E. J. Corey, a Nobel Laureate. After a brief stint as a Senior Scientist at Neurogen Corporation, CT, USA, he joined IIT Kanpur in 1990 as an Assistant Professor and rose to the rank of Professor. His research interests include synthetic organic chemistry, especially asymmetric synthesis.

After 35 years in the pharma industry, mainly in large (BMS, Fresenius Kabi; Farmitalia Carlo Erba/Pharmacia; Sigma tau) and medium-sized (Antibioticos; Indena) companies, I joined, as Full Professor of Organic Chemistry, the Project  for Green Innovations Lab  of  University of Bologna. The main areas of interest are drug discovery and development, green chemistry, catalysis, “TIDES, and complex drugs synthesis. Co-author >150 papers and >115 patents; one Book “From Bench to Market” by Oxford University Press. He was awarded in 2023 with a grant of the Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable. Web site: https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/walter.cabri/