GLOBAL COLLABORATION
VT INDIA
In an increasingly connected world, Virginia Tech (VT) is committed to being a global center of learning and discovery where faculty and students from around the world can engage in collaborative learning and cultural exchange. Led by its Office of Outreach and International Affairs and Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, Virginia Tech has established a not-for-profit entity, Virginia Tech India Research and Education Forum, also known as VT India in Chennai. Its vision calls for it to be a world-class center of integrated research, education, and outreach that will enhance the scholarly pursuits of Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students, and uniquely contribute to the growing educational needs of the Indian society. As Executive Director of ICTAS (2006-2016) and in his current position as ICTAS’ Global Ambassador, Dr, Mahajan has played a prominent role in establishing VT India and continues to direct its research in a few critical areas. For more details, see http://vtindia.in. In his official capacity as Faculty Mentor to VT’ Association of India Development (AID) and as a private citizen, he has also been engaged in helping the underserved communities in India
PEOPLE
Dr. Suman Jhajharia is currently a Research Scientist at VT India. She received her PhD in Chemical Sciences from CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, India. Dr. Suman's area of expertise is in Material Chemistry, Nanomaterials, Electrocatalyst, Energy conversion & Storage, and Graphene. Her research area is to design functional nanomaterials for energy and environmental applications. "Materials-by-design approach" is her prime model of research. She investigates various synthesis possibilities with respect to their structure-property correlations of multi-functional nanomaterials mainly based on graphene and composites for applications such as clean energy production and storage. Making efficiently sustainable and inexpensive organic-inorganic nanohybrid materials based on societal and technological demands is the main objective. Currently, She is working with the mentorship of Dr. Mahajan to design the efficient and non-precious electrocatalyst for metal-air batteries and facile and economic production of graphene and its derivatives.
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Dr. Shashank Gupta
Research Scientist
Dr. Dinesh Kumar
Research Scientist