SPONSORED RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL CONSULTANCY CELL (SRIC)

The synthesis of teaching and research is fundamental to IIT Kharagpur. IIT Kharagpur is highly rated for the quality and breadth of its research enterprise, for the innovation of its faculty, for the excellence of its Ph.D programs, and for the amount of funding received in support of its research initiatives. We are particularly noted for our openness to multidisciplinary research, and several new initiatives expand a long IIT Kharagpur tradition of cross-disciplinary research and collaboration. The impact of our research ripples through India and around the world. IIT Kharagpur’s research programs reach across the campus and beyond, linking together 19 departments, 16 academic centers and a large number of advanced R&D laboratories, stimulating the integration of inquiry, new knowledge, and education.

During the year 2010-2011 the Institute received from the Government, private and international funding agencies/enterprises 183 research projects for a total value of  Rs. 110 crores and 115 consultancy projects worth Rs. 11.70  crores aggregating a total of 298 projects for Rs.121.7 crores.

IIT Kharagpur is entrusted with the development of ASICs for the read out system for CBM experiment at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), Darmstadt, Germany, the new international accelerator facility and one of the largest research projects world-wide. IIT Kharagpur has a distinguished track record in the development of specialized softwares such as power management software, telemedicine software, communication empowerment software for physically challenged, software for medical measurements, tools for security and biometric authentication and ocean dynamics based software for storm surge measurements. An advanced research facility in reliability engineering with active participation of top government agencies including BARC has recently been created. Other examples of research in frontier areas include MEMS based components for RF application, development of functional groups for immobilization of functional proteins on MEMS based microsensor surfaces etc. Our pioneering works on advanced chip design and CAD for VLSI and MEMS continue to attract researchers and funding from the best institutes and well-known companies of the world. In the past year we have started setting up of a major research infrastructure for MOCVD and initiated development of MBE cluster tool based epitaxial nano-semiconductor infrastructute and process integration facility.

In the areas of Life Sciences, ongoing interdisciplinary research in non-invasive measurements, advanced image processing, implants, protein structure analysis and drug design, merit special mention. The Institute has sustained activities in artificial heart development program, male contraceptive (RISUG), green technology, insect resistant cotton, enzymatic processes, Aloe Vera processing, and bio depolymerisation of low grade lignite .

The major research initiatives in nanotechnology and nano-materials include work on polymer nano-composites, nano-wires and semiconductors. The area of micro-fluidics and bio-nano-mems has developed new techniques for DNA hybridization, micro-scale cooling for electronic components and digital microfluidics  are examples of research at the cutting-edge.

In the area of environment, the Institute has taken up a major initiative under the Ganga River Basin Management Plan funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to address issues related to environmental water quality, water resources management, ecology and bio-diversity as well as socio-economic policy, law and governance. In Earth Sciences, a major activity is undertaken for seismic hazard assessment, microzonation and evaluation of vulnerability, risk & socio-economic impacts for the city of Kolkata. IIT Kharagpur has won one of the eleven IBM International Centennial Grants awarded this year for supporting its smarter planet strategies to community service.

IIT Kharagpur has continued its long standing research commitment to the Energy Sector through sustained activities in biomass production, biofuels, fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries and energy materials, production of renewable hydrogen combined with CO₂ capture etc. Our newly developed P. K. Sinha Centre for Bioenergy is taking an integrated and collaborative approach to solve energy, climate change and economic challenges, collaborating with internationally renowned Bioenergy Centers such as University of California at Berkeley (UCB) and Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), Purdue University and University of California at Davis.

Industry – academia partnership at IIT Khargpur is thriving with industries forming partnerships in joint research projects, acquiring technologies developed in the institute and seeking consultancy supports. Some of the major research initiatives in recent years include Centre for Railway Research. Steel Technology Center, major R&D Centers in Energy Sector in collaboration with DVC, Tea Engineering Research Center, Vodafone-Essar-IIT Kharagpur Centre of Excellence in Telecommunications, National Program in Marine Hydrodynamics, Centre of Excellence in Information Assurance, National facilities for EPMA, General Motors Collaborative Research Laboratory in Electronics Controls and Software (ECS) and a Regional Center for Rural Technology Action Group (RUTAG) are some of the recent such successful initiatives.