Education:

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•   B.Sc. University of Madras, Chennai, 1990

•   M.Sc. Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 1993

•   Ph.D. IIT, Bombay (supervisor Prof. H. B. Singh), Aug. 1994 - July 1998

Work Experience:

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• Dec. 2012 - to-date: Professor, Department of Inorganic & Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

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• Dec. 2006 - Dec. 2012: Associate Professor, Department of Inorganic & Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

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• Nov. 2002 - Dec. 2006: Assistant Professor, Department of Inorganic & Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

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• Sep. 2001 - Oct. 2002: Skaggs Postdoctoral Fellow (with Prof. K. C. Nicolaou), Department of Chemistry and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps  Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA

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• Apr. 2001 - Jun. 2001: Visiting AvH Fellow (with Prof. Helmut Sies), Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany

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• Feb. 2000-Jun.2001: Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Fellow (with Prof. W.-W. du Mont), Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Technical University, Braunschweig, Germany

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• Aug. 1998 - Jan. 2000: Research Associate, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay​

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Awards, Fellowships and Honors:

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• 2023 - National Representative - IUPAC, Chemistry and Human Health Division (2024-25)

• 2022 - Ignite Life Science Foundation Award

• 2022 - A. V. Rama Rao Foundation Prize Lecture in Chemistry by JNCASR for the year 2021

• 2021 - Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Bombay for the year 2021 

• 2021 - SASTRA-CNR Rao Award in Chemistry & Materials Science for the year 2021

• 2020 - Selected for the 2020 Edition of the Asian Scientist 100 (AS100) 

• 2020 - Prof. W. U. Malik Memorial Award, IIT Roorkee

• 2020 - Dr. Ghanshyam Srivastava Memorial Award, Indian Chemical Society

• 2020 - J. C. Bose National Fellowship - Second Term 2021-25, SERB/DST, Government of India

• 2020 - Re-elected as Vice-President of the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) 2020-23

• 2019 - Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences for 2019, Infosys Science Foundation

• 2018 - Featured in an Author Profile in the journal Angewandte Chemie

• 2018 - Prof. R. C. Mehrotra Commemoration Lecture Gold Medal, Indian Science Congress 

• 2018 - CRSI Silver Medal, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI)

• 2018 - Prof. K. N. Ganesh Endowment Lecture Award, IISER Pune

• 2017 - Elected as President of the Asian Chemical Editorial Society (ACES)

• 2017 - National Prize for Research on Interfaces of Chemistry and Biology

• 2017 - Rajib Goyal Prize in Chemical Science by Kurukshetra University for 2014-15

• 2017 - Bhagyatara Award by Panjab University for the year 2016

• 2017 - Elected as Vice-President of the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) 2017-20

• 2016 - Fellow, Indian National Science Academy (FNA)

• 2016 - JSPS Invitation Fellowship for Research in Japan

• 2016 - Elected as Vice-President of the Asian Chemical Editorial Society (ACES)

• 2016 - ISCB Award for Excellence - 2016, Indian Society of Chemists and Biologists 

• 2015 - J. C. Bose National Fellowship 2016-20, SERB/DST, Government of India

• 2014 - Dr. R.A. Mashelkar Endowment Lecture, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune

• 2014 - Prof. S.K. Pradhan Endowment Lecture Award, ICT, Mumbai

• 2013 - "Asian Rising Star" Commemorative plaque, 15th Asian Chemical Congress, Singapore

• 2013 - Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry, London (FRSC)

• 2012 - Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2012, CSIR, Government of India

• 2012 - Fellow, The National Academy of Sciences, India (FNASc)

• 2012 - IIT Bombay Best Review Paper Award 2011

• 2012 - AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award 2011 - A Global Award by AstraZeneca

• 2012 - Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc)

• 2011 - IIT Bombay Best Research Paper Award 2010

• 2011 - CRSI Bronze Medal, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI)

• 2010 - RSC-West India Young Scientist Award by RSC, London

• 2010 - CDRI Award for Excellence in Drug Research, CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow

• 2009 - UKIERI Standard Research Award, DST, MHRD and British Council

• 2008 - TWAS Young Affiliate, The World Academy of Sciences

• 2008 - Swarnajayanti Fellowship for 2006-7, DST, Government of India

• 2006 - Ramanna Fellowship, DST, Government of India

• 2005 - AvH Foundation Equipment Award, AvH-Stiftung, Bonn, Germany

• 2005 - IUPAC Young Chemists Award, 40th IUPAC Congress, Beijing, China

• 2001 - Skaggs Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA

• 2000 - Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, AvH-Stiftung, Bonn, Germany

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Membership of Journal Editorial Boards

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• Editorial Board Member, Chemistry – A European Journal, ChemPubSoc Europe (2020-)

• Guest Editor, Special Web Collection, 20th Anniversary of the CRSI: Celebrating Indian Chemistry in ChemComm, RSC London, 2019

• Guest Editor, CRSI 20th Anniversary Special Issue, Chemistry - An Asian Journal, 2019 

• Editorial Board Member, Biological Chemistry, De Gruyter, Germany (2017-22)

• Editorial Board Member, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, RSC London (2016-21)

• Editorial Advisory Board, ACS Omega, American Chemical Society (2016-)

• Editorial Board Member, Current Science, Indian Academy of Sciences (2016)

• Editorial Board Member, Indian Journal of Chemistry, Sect. A (2015-17)

• Editorial Board Member, Bioorganic Chemistry, Elsevier (2014-19)

• Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group (2014-20)

• Editorial Board Member, Archives of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Elsevier (2012-15)

• Editorial Advisory Board, ChemPlusChem, ChemPubSoc Europe (2012-15)

• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Chemical Sciences, IAS (2012-16)

• Guest Editor on the topic Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery, IISc Journal, 2011

• Editorial Advisory Board Member, The Open Catalysis Journal (2009-12)

• Editorial Advisory Board Member, The Open Enzyme Inhibition Journal (2008-12)

• Associate Editor, Bioinorganic Chemistry and Applications (2006-13)

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Other Professional Activities

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• Member, Project Advisory Committee (PAC), International Division, DST, New Delhi (2024-27) 

• Convener & Secretary, Sectional Committee - Chemistry, INSA, New Delhi (2023)

• Chairperson, Program Advisory Committee (PAC), SERB-POWER Research Grants in Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, SERB, Government of India (2022-24)

• Member, Expert Committee, INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship Scheme, DST, New Delhi (2022-25)

• Chairperson, Program Advisory Committee (PAC), Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India (2021-24)

• Member, Selection Committee, INSA-JRD  TATA Fellowship Programme (2021-23)

• Member, Sectional Committee - Chemistry, INSA, New Delhi (2021-24)

• Member, SERB-Science and Technology Award for Research (SERB-STAR) Committee (2020)

• Member, High Energy Materials (HEM) Panel, DRDO, Ministry of Defense (2020-)

• Member, FIST Expert Committee - Chemical Sciences, DST, Government of India (2020-22)

• Member, Research Council, CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai (2020-23)

• Elected Vice-President, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) for 2020-2023

• Member, Program Advisory Committee (PAC), Organic Chemistry, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India (2020-21)

• External Board Member, School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad (2019-22)

• Member, Review Committee for MHRD-FAST Centers of Excellence Scheme (2019-21)

• Member, NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Awards Committee, NASI, Allahabad (2019-)

• Advisory Committee for Chemistry Discipline, IIT Gandhinagar (2019-) 

• Vice President, Executive Council, Society for Materials Chemistry (2019-22)

• Member, Inorganic & Physical Chemistry Research Committee, CSIR, New Delhi (2019-23)

• Member, Swanajayanti Fellowship Committee, DST, New Delhi (2018-20)

• Member, International Advisory Board (IAB), International Conference on the Chemistry of Selenium and Tellurium (ICCST) Series (2017-25)

• Member, Asian Chemical Biology Initiative (ACBI), supported by the JSPS Core-to-Core Program, Japan (2017-)

• Member, National Steering Committee (Health Sector), TIFAC, Govt. of India (2017-20) 

• Elected Vice-President, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) (2017-20)

• Convener, Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (2016-19)

• Member, Executive Council, Society for Materials Chemistry (2016-19)

• Member, Program Advisory Committee (PAC), Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India (2015-18)

• Member, Core Committee, Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (2015-16)

• Member, Executive Council, Indian Peptide Society (2015-17)

• Member, International Advisory Board (IAB), Eurasia Conference in Chemical Sciences (EuAsC2S) Series (2014-2018)

• Secretary General, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) (2011-20)

• Indian representative for the Asian Chemical Editorial Society (ACES) (2011-21)

• Member, National Organizing Committee, Modern Trends in Inorganic Chemistry (2011-)

• Member, Program Advisory Committee (PAC), Inorganic Chemistry, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India (2012-2015)

• Member, Board of Studies in Biochemistry, Mysore University (2013-20)

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Membership of Professional Societies

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• Member, American Chemical Society (ACS)

• Member, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), London

• Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

• Affiliate Member, International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)

• Lifetime Member, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI)

• Lifetime Member, Indian Peptide Society (IPS)

• Lifetime Member, Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Association, Bangalore

• Lifetime Member, Society for Materials Chemistry (SMC)

• Lifetime Member, Indian Society of Chemists and Biologists (ISCB)

 

Conferences/Science Camps/Workshops Organized

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• Convener, 20th International Conference on Modern Trends in Inorganic Chemistry (MTIC-XX), IISc Bangalore, Dec. 14-17, 2023.

• Member, International Advisory Board (IAB), HalChem International Conferences (2011-2023)

• Member, International Advisory Board (IAB), 15th International Conference on the Chemistry of Selenium and Tellurium (ICCST-15), Santa Catarina, Brazil, Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2022

• Convener, Annual National Science (Vijyoshi) Camp for young students, 2016-2018

• Member of the Organizing Committee, Tenth Asian Science Camp (ASC-2016), IISc Bangalore, August 21-27, 2016

• Convener, 6th International Conference on Metals and Genetics (ICMG-2016) , IISc Bangalore, February 17-20, 2016

• Coordinator, National Science (Vijyoshi) Camp for students, December 18-20, 2015

• Convener, Workshop on Recent Advances in Chemical Sciences, organized jointly by IAS, INSA, NASI, and Karunya University, Coimbatore, February 18-19, 2015

• Convener, Lecture Workshop on Modern Trends in Chemistry, organized jointly by IAS, INSA, NASI, and Christ University, Bangalore, February 13-14, 2015

• Convener, Refresher Course on "Chemical Science and Sustainable Development", organized jointly by IAS, INSA, NASI and Central University of Rajasthan, January 12-25, 2015

• Convener, Indo-German Conference on Bioinspired Chemistry (IGCBIC-2014),  IISc Bangalore, September 10-12, 2014

• Convener, Indo-US Symposium on Molecular Materials, sponsored by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), IISc Bangalore, July 15-17, 2013

• Convener, 6th International Conference on Halogen Chemistry (HALCHEM-VI), IISc Bangalore, December 8-11, 2012

• Convener, Lecture Workshop on Modern Trends in Chemical Sciences, organized jointly by IAS, INSA, NASI and St. Joseph's College, Irinjalakuda, March 6-7, 2012

• Organizing Secretary, 13th Symposium on Modern Trends in Inorganic Chemistry (MTIC-XIII), December 7-10, 2009

• Organizing Secretary, First Asian Spectroscopy Conference, IISc Bangalore, January 29 - February 3, 2007

• Organizing Secretary, DST-Workshop on Bioinorganic Chemistry, sponsored by Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, at IISc Bangalore, October 20-21, 2005

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Institute-level Responsibilities

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• Convener, Deans of Divisions (2023-24)

• Convener, Institution of Eminence (IoE) Scheme, MoE, Government of India (2021-)

• Member, Intellectual Property Management Committee (2020-)

• Dean, Division of Chemical Sciences (2020-)

• Member, Departmental COVID-19 Committee (2020-)

• Member, Selection Committee for Raman Post-doctoral Fellowship (2018-20)

• Member, Selection Committee for Prime Minister's Research Fellowship, 2018.

• Member, Senate Committee on Research Conferment (SCRC), for 2016-20

• Convener, Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (2016-19)

• Member, Central Evaluation Committee (CEC) for the period 2016-19

• Member, Core Committee, Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (2015-16)

• Member, Committee on External Registration Program (ERP) for 2015-18

• Member, Senate Curriculum Committee (SCC) for the period 2013-18

• Member, Senate Library Committee (SLC) for the period 2013-16

• Convener, Department Curriculum Committee (DCC) for the period 2012-15

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