Two of the faculty members of SRM University-AP have been awarded research grants by the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
In a statement on Saturday, the university authorities said the duo, Ranjit Thapa, Professor of Physics, and Mahesh Kumar Ravva, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, have received the first year grants of ₹28 lakh and ₹19.92 lakh respectively to work on their projects.
Prof. Thapa’s project titled ‘Catalysts for CO2 Reduction to C2 Product: Descriptor to Database’, is about searching the best catalyst to convert CO2 into useful product and thus solve the problem of climate change due to large-scale production of CO2, through different sources.
Prof. Thapa believes that metal nano catalyst on support materials can solve the problem and increase the efficiency of CO2. The task is to find the suitable composition, shape and size of metal nanoparticle (MNP) on an appropriate surface for the catalytic reactions.
Mr. Ravva’s project aims at understanding the critical factors that influence the performance of organic solar cells. Using the supercomputer, his research group will model the electronic process that occurs during solar cell operation. The outcome of this project will guide experimentalists to develop organic solar cells with higher efficiency. Organic solar cells are flexible, lightweight and low-cost and have many exciting applications in wearable electronic devices, smart windows etc.
The university Vice-Chancellor V.S. Rao and Pro Vice-Chancellor D. Narayana Rao said the institution would provide the necessary support and facilities to carry out the research.
