Dr Ishu Sharma – Associate Professor

Dr Ishu is a focused researcher and has authored nearly seventy research publications in journals of international repute (more than 25 are SCI), book chapters and Conferences, having 700 plus Scopus citations.  She is a Referee in international peer-reviewed journals; Elsevier, American Institute of Physics, Taylor and Francis, Wiley, IOP (UK).  She received a Research achievement award in Oct 2019 and has been a member of the Journal Editorial board.

Her research area includes Experimental condensed matter physics, Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, quantum dots (especially II-VI, IV-VI semiconductors), Synthesis of Chalcogenide Glasses by melt quenching technique, thin film deposition coating techniques: thermal evaporation, ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and spin coating technique, Characterization techniques including XRD, FT-IR, DSC/DTA, AFM, UV-Vis-NIR and temperature dependent electrical measurements. Currently, she is working on solar energy harvesting using desert sand. 

Current Aims and Findings

The semiconductor industry is always defined to develop next-generation materials. In this perspective Chalcogenide glasses (ChG) and their dimensionality is the focus of her current research. Their exclusive properties and functionalities make them promising materials for photonics and many commercial applications. 

Study of ChG for optical properties like optical band gap and refractive index are the backbones while considering them for applications. They can be moulded into lenses or drawn into fibres and are potential lenses for infrared cameras, waveguides; use with lasers, optical switches, chemical and temperature sensing and phase change memories. 

Her study is focussed on the compositional dependence of the chalcogenide system viz. characterization of amorphous thin films, and study of tunable properties i.e. optical and photoconductive response. 

Metallic doped Ge–Te/Se amorphous films have a noble prospect in the applications of nonlinear optical devices and might be used for high-speed communication fibre.  Over silicon, these glasses show a faster response to non-linearity.  Chalcogenide-based systems lead to an increase in the nonlinear refractive index, almost 10^3 times that of fused silica.  Large nonlinearities would allow small, compact, low power devices for telecommunications. 

She has worked on the physical and optical parameters of metallic doped Ge-Se, Ge-Se-Te chalcogen system and published papers in Elsevier and Springer, and co-authored with students.  She is also working on solar energy harvesting using desert sand and has filed two patents, out of those one is published.  

She has also published one paper co-authored with a Student where they worked on the Enhancing the traditional solar still using nano-particle doped sand and the work was published in the American Institute of Physics. She has also completed one project on the Design and development of an integrated solar dryer and compost system using nanoparticle-embedded sand.

Dr Dinesh Chand – Associate Professor

Dr Dinesh is a solution chemistry researcher and has authored more than fifty research articles in journals of international repute and Conferences, having 500 plus Scopus citations. He is a reviewer for many international peer-reviewed journals. He received a Research achievement award in 2020 from the Indian scientific Organisation and has been a member of the Journal Editorial board.

His research interests include thermodynamic, physicochemical, and acoustical studies of molecular interactions in binary and ternary solvent systems and solute-solvent interactions in solutions containing aromatic hydrocarbons/monomers/ electrolytes/ amino acids/surfactants by using physical properties such as density, viscosity, sound speed, refractive index, conductance, etc., their excess functions and other derived parameters from these properties. He is particularly interested in Intermolecular interactions of Binary or Ternary Mixtures.

His study is focused on the physicochemical studies of binary mixtures containing alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and higher alkanols. An Insight into solute-solute and solute-solvent interactions of semicarbazide hydrochloride in aqueous-D-glucose/D-sucrose solutions at different temperatures shows good compatibility between multicomponent systems. He has worked on the theoretical properties of different binary/ternary systems and published many papers in SCI journals. He has filed two patents and published one paper co-authored with a Student who worked on Nanotechnology in Iron Deficiency Anemia.

His research has the potential to make significant contributions to the field of biophysical chemistry and Physicochemical studies of non-electrolyte multicomponent systems.

Dr Vinod Kumar Shukla – Associate Professor

Dr Vinod Kumar Shukla, has appeared in the prestigious Stanford's list, USA of top 2% of scientists for in 2022.  He has authored 100+ research publications in journals, book chapters and Conferences, and have 500+ plus Scopus citations.  He has edited books in the field of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Industry 4.0 and Healthcare, and People Analytics. 

He is the recipient of various awards such as the “Global Academic Excellence Award- 2021”, “Faculty Achievement Award” under the category of research publication in continuous two years 2021, 2022, “Best Paper Award” in the International Conference on Machine Intelligence and Data Science Application- 2020”. 

His research area includes cyber security, the Internet of Things, and Blockchain.  Currently, he is working on the books and exploring the transition of technologies and their possible impact from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0.

Current Aims and Findings

Information Technology / Computer science is a vital field that impacts various aspects of modern life. It has also led to the development of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity, which have the potential to shape the future.  Moreover, recent research shows an increasing demand for jobs in robotics, data analytics and cybersecurity, which are highly rewarding career paths.

His work and research explores the new dimensions for implementing these technologies. Nowadays, these technologies are enabling various businesses and enhancing modern living. Now a days various Internet of Things applications are available, and continuous sensor-based research is in progress.  

To explore this, he has worked on various projects where the students are also involved, and jointly, they have published various research papers in national and international conferences, where they have presented their findings in the area of Cyber security, the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Industry 4.0. Currently, he is working on his new upcoming books in Blockchain Applications, Smart Cities, and the Healthcare domain.

Dr. Siddharth KS – Associate Professor 

Dr. Siddharth holds a specialisation in experimental fluid mechanics with a focus on interfacial phenomena.  His research interests include development and application of imaging techniques in quantifying fluid flows, relevant to engineering applications. 

He has been successful in publishing more than twenty Scopus indexed publications in international journals and conference proceedings.  Almost all his works are focused in exploring the physics of fluid flows using non-intrusive imaging techniques.  The initial works have utilized high speed imaging for quantifying the dynamics of liquid sheets relevant to sprays exiting injectors utilized in internal combustion engines and rocket propulsion applications. 

He was successful in developing a non-intrusive technique for estimating velocity of moving liquid sheets and thereby its thickness.  Prior to joining AUD, he was also actively involved in projects relevant to rocket propulsion applications at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where he investigated on the near injector characteristics of sprays exiting a gas centered swirl co-axial (GCSC) injector at ambient and elevated back pressures.

Current research:

Lately, his works have focused on enhancing the capabilities of wind tunnel experimentation by incorporating imaging options in anomalous ways. In this regard, he has co-authored with two of his students in publishing in a reputed journal in experimental fluid mechanics. The authors came up with a cost-effective technique in determining the velocity distribution inside a boundary layer from wind tunnel experiments. The technique holds the advantage eliminating one of the disadvantages of a pitot tube by providing velocity information inside a boundary layer at different spatial locations.

Other student works he was successful in publishing were quantifying the dynamics of fluid flow in hydraulic jumps and cross correlation of schlieren images from wind tunnel experiments, both of which use the open-source particle imaging velocimetry using MATLAB called PIVLab. In this direction, the ongoing works include further enhanced experimentation options for sub sonic wind tunnels including an automated traversal mechanism for object mounts and provision for experiments on rotating spheres.

Dr. Vishal Naranje – Associate Professor

Dr. Vishal Naranje's research focuses on the design and development of a knowledge-based system, additive manufacturing, digital twins, sustainability, industrial engineering etc.  He has successfully completed six externally sponsored research projects and a few industrial consultancy assignments.  He has published 7 book chapters and 70+ publications in various International refereed journals and international conferences. 

He is a guest editor for Lubricants (https://rb.gy/mihjpt), Advances in Modeling and Optimization of Manufacturing Processes (https://rb.gy/azde8x) journals, and few International Conference Proceedings.  He is the reviewer of SCI Journals and International conferences.

His work includes the development of expert systems for various manufacturing applications with a major focus on sheet metal die design.  One of his major research areas is the simulation of discrete manufacturing systems, where he models and analyzes the behavior of manufacturing systems.  

Another key area of his research is in design and optimization of manufacturing processes, where he investigates the effectiveness of manufacturing processes that can produce high-quality products at low costs.  Dr. Vishal Naranje also has expertise in the design and development of various machines, his expertise involves in identifying the problem, researching possible solutions, designing the machine, creating prototypes, testing and refining the design, and eventually manufacturing the final product.