Students

Ritam Chakraborty pursuing Ph.D.

Education:

Ritam did his schooling from Baranagar Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama High School, Kolkata, West Bengal. He obtained his B.Sc.(with Physics major) degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata in 2017. Subsequently, he got masters in Physics from the same university in 2019.

Ritam joined the Computational Nanoscience group supervised at JNCASR in September,2020.

 Research Area: 

The interfaces of dye molecules and metal surfaces have unique properties that can be exploited in constructing novel devices. Ritam is using density functional theory to study such systems, motivated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments performed in the group of Anthoula Papageorgiou and Johannes Barth at the Technical University, Munich, Germany.

Structural and magnetic study of transition metal coordinated chains of organic molecules on noble metal surfaces from First-principles: Ritam is interested in studying novel nanostructures synthesized exprimentally using semiconducting organic molecules and transition metal atoms as building blocks on metal surfaces employing first principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. His interest lies in unravelling the exotic physics embedded in the magnetic ordering of the bridging metal ions in the 1D chain or 2D monolayer. This work is being done in collaboration with the group of Prof. Dr. Johannes Barth at the Technical University, Munich, Germany.  
Study of Spin-Crossover System: He is interested in studying spin-crossover transitions of the 3d transition metal elements on-surface and also in the gas phase theoretically employing first-principles Density Functional Theory.

Study of aromaticity in organic nanostructures synthesized on surface: In this project, he is looking into the novel organic structures synthesized experimentally in the group of Prof. Dr. J. V. Barth at the Technical University Munich, Germany and am trying to unfold the novel chemistry and physics associated with it through quantum chemistry calculations.

Study of role of metal substrate on different surface chemistry shown by the self assembly of same organic molecule: He is trying to unveil the various molecule-substrate interaction present during the self assembled monolayer formation on noble metal surfaces and what role does it play on the various surface chemistry shown. This work is also being done in collaboration with the group of Prof. Dr. Johannes Barth in the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Ritam's extracurricular interests are music, watching football, cooking and exploring different kinds of foods ranging from 'Postor bora' to 'Tiramisu'.  

Email id: ritamchakraborty@jncasr.ac.in ; ritamchakraborty454@gmail.com

Sourav Mondal pursuing Ph.D.

Research Interest:

I have obtained my Ph.D.  from Theoretical Sciences Unit, JNCASR in December 2020. I have worked on low-dimensional systems that have technological applications.  My Ph.D. research focuses on DFT calculations of organic molecules on surfaces, as well as on defects found in two-dimensional materials. The general theme that I followed for my thesis was to tailor the properties of two-dimensional systems by adsorbing molecules and by defect engineering. As a part of this Ph.D. research, I was able to solve several puzzles that arose from experiments.

Thesis Title:

Tailoring the properties of two-dimensional systems by molecular adsorption and defect engineering: density functional theory studies

Google Scholar Link:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=zRoIZgUAAAAJ

Arpan Das pursuing Ph.D.

Education: Arpan did his schooling from Deulpur High School, Panchla, Howrah, West Bengal. Then he completed his B.Sc. degree in Physics from Uluberia College, Howrah (University of Calcutta) in 2016. He went on to do his masters in Physics from Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur (University of Calcutta) in 2018.

Arpan joined the Computational Nanoscience group at JNCASR for pursuing PhD in August 2018. 

Research interests:

Arpan is simultaneously working on several projects. In all of these, he uses density functional theory (DFT) to see how the lowering of dimensionality affects structural, electronic, magnetic and chemical properties of materials at the nanoscale. These projects are in close collaboration with experimental groups.

Arpan is looking at thin film growth and the formation of surface alloys when one metal is deposited on another. This work is done in collaboration with the group of Prof. Krishna Kumar Menon at the Saha Institute, Kolkata, who perform low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Angle-Resolved Photo Emission Spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments to study such systems.

Arpan is using DFT and Density Functional Perturbation Theory (DFPT) to study the photoluminescence and optical properties of doped perovskites. This project is in collaboration with the group of Prof. Ranjani Viswanatha, JNCASR, Bangalore. 

Arpan is also using DFT to study the magnetic and electronic properties of the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at certain oxide interfaces. This project is in collaboration with the group of Prof. Suvankar Chakraverty, INST, Mohali. 

In addition to loving physics, Arpan is particularly happy when he is eating good food. He believes that Bengali food is the best!

Email ID: arpan@jncasr.ac.in , arpandas9236@gmail.com

Garima Ahuja pursuing Ph.D.

Education: Garima obtained Bachelors degree in Physics (Honours) from Sri Venkateswara College (University of Delhi) with the highest rank and institute medal. She obtained Masters in Physics from the prestigious St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. She joined the group at JNCASR in August 2022 for pursuing a PhD.

Research interests: Garima's interest lies in exploring and studying materials for application to qubits. She is interested in studying the properties of semiconductor interfaces, and related materials for qubit design and control, using first principles calculations. She is keen to explore the diverse field of materials science through research. 

In addition to science, she has an inclination towards art and travel. 

Email: garima@jncasr.ac.in 

Tanuja Shridhar Joshi pursuing Ph.D.

Education: Tanuja received her primary education from Canara High School, Mangalore, Karnataka. She completed her BSc in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (PCM) from St. Aloysius College and went on to pursue her MSc in Physics from National Institute of Technology, Karnataka.

Tanuja joined the Computational Nanoscience group at JNCASR for pursuing PhD in August 2023.

Research interests:

Tanuja is interested in using machine learning (ML) techniques to expedite materials discovery and efficiently design novel materials. She is now starting to look for ways of leveraging ML techniques in the domain of Spin-Crossover systems.

Beyond her research pursuits, she has a deep appreciation for Indian classical music. She also likes to read, especially novels, in her free time.

Email ID: tsjoshi2k@hotmail.com, tanujasj@jncasr.ac.in

Rubee Swarnkar pursuing Ph.D.

Education: Rubee did her schooIing from Dhamdha, Chhattishgarh. She completed B.Sc. in PCM form Chandulal Chandrakar Arts And Science College (Durg University) and Masters in Physics from Guru Ghasidas Central University Bilaspur Chhattishgarh.

Rubee joined the Computational Nanoscience group at JNCASR for pursuing PhD in January 2024.

Research interests:

Rubee is currently working on finding aromatic stabilization energy of different organic molecules. Besides academics, she likes cooking, listening music and solving crossword puzzles.

Email ID: rubee@jncasr.ac.in

Sejal Uday Lotliker pursuing

Education: Sejal received the high school and higher secondary education from Goa. She completed B.Sc. in Physics from Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Autonomous, Margao-Goa. 

Sejal joined the Computational Nanoscience group at TSU, JNCASR for integrated PhD project in May 2024.

Research interests:

Sejal is currently working on stability of stacking of different organic molecules. 

Besides studies and research, she is extremely fascinated about running Marathons, Chess, Badminton, Music, Drama and Astronomy. She also likes to make different animations in free time. 

Email ID: sejal@jncasr.ac.in