Dr. Nimai Mishra, will be initiating the webinar as the first speaker. In the 30-minute duration of his talk beginning at 11 a.m., Dr. Mishra will be giving a speech on “Chemistry of Semiconductor Nanoparticles: Laboratory to Display Industries (TV and LEDs).” Semiconductor nanocrystals are tiny light-emitting particles on the nanometer scale, having optical and electronic properties that differ from larger particles due to quantum mechanics. Nanoparticles can be made in the Chemistry laboratory with the help of some simple chemical reactions. These semiconductor nanocrystals are valued for displays because they emit pure light, which can be used in electrical appliances (TV and LEDs) with visibly more accurate colours. In the talk, Dr. Mishra will discuss how simple Chemistry in the laboratory can contribute to making modern electrical appliances.

Presently (from November 2017), Dr. Mishra is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh. Before joining SRM-AP, he worked as a postdoctoral research scientist in the Department of Nanochemistry at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Genova, Italy. Prior to that, Dr. Mishra completed three years (April 2013 –June 2016) as a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), USA. Dr. Mishra received his Ph.D. degree in March 2013 from the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, and completed his M.Sc. in Chemistry from IIT-Madras.

Dr. Pardha Saradhi will begin his half an hour talk from 11.30 am. His speech will encompass “Chemistry of Ceramics and its Applications to Aerospace Industry.” Ceramics is one of the most ancient industries which has its roots going back thousands of years. Ceramics is a very general phrase; it includes a wide variety of materials that covers from decorative pottery to the aviation industry. Ceramics possess unique features and are identified by their properties such as high hardness, brittleness, chemical stability, and low thermal conductivity. After World War II, ceramics and glass have contributed to the growth of many technologically advanced fields, including electronics, optoelectronics, medical, energy, automotive, aerospace, and space exploration. The scheduled talk of Dr. Pardha Saradhi will focus on various ceramic materials and the chemistry behind making lightweight and high strength ceramics for the Aviation industry.

Dr. Maram Pardha Saradhi received a Ph.D. in Solid State Chemistry from the Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. After postdoctoral work at the University of California, Dr. Pardha Saradhi moved to a catalyst industry where he headed diesel oxidation in the catalyst division. Later, he joined as the faculty in Chemistry at SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh. His research interests include Environment protection and Energy Conversion relating microscopic features of structure and bonding to macroscopic thermodynamic behaviour in complex functional materials. The main technical areas that his laboratory is working on is materials for Li-ion and beyond Li-ion batteries, mixed metal oxide catalysts for two-way and three-way emission control systems, and high-temperature ceramic materials for aerospace applications.