A Culture of Solving Societal Challenges

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru has been able to constantly produce the crème de la crème of scientists in India, which includes famous biochemist Govindarajan Padmanaban, Rajagopala Chidambaram, the Indian Physicist well-known for his integral role in India's nuclear weapons program, and A. S. Kiran Kumar, the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This hasn’t changed since its inception in 1909. The lion’s share of credit goes to its strong research backbone. Even today, the institute is at the forefront of furthering scientific research in the country.

A month ago, researchers at the Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP), IISc, along with a few collaborators developed a new super capacitor that can be charged by shedding light on it. The use-cases of these super capacitors include streetlights and self-powered electronic devices such as sensors. The new super capacitors can potentially replace solar cells used in streetlights. With their high power density, they can discharge faster than batteries. They can also be used to power chips in electronic devices like cell phones. The research team has miniaturized these supercapacitors to the micron scale so that they can be integrated along with these microelectronic chips in these use-cases. Another group of IISc researchers had recently developed a novel remediation process for removing heavy metal contaminants such as arsenic from groundwater. It’s impressive the way the institute focuses its efforts on solving societal challenges. This yearly special issue of CEO Insights sheds light on some of the reputed alumni of IISc. Do let us know your thoughts.