Chennai: Six faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have been selected for Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) J C Bose Grant, a national research honour for senior scientists and engineers. The awardees are Prof Sujatha Srinivasan, Prof Thalappil Pradeep, Prof Deepa Venkitesh, Prof Jitendra S Sangwai, Prof Ramakrishnan Swaminathan and Prof Sundargopal Ghosh, representing diverse fields of engineering and science.The grant recognises outstanding research performance and provides Rs25 lakh annually for five years to support frontier research, including human resource, equipment, consumables, travel and other research expenses. Congratulating the awardees, IIT Madras director Prof V Kamakoti said, “This demonstrates the high quality of research and development in critical and emerging technologies happening at IIT Madras.”Among the recipients, Prof Sujatha Srinivasan is known for developing affordable prosthetics and assistive devices, including the NeoFly-NeoBolt system and Kadam prosthetic knee.Prof Thalappil Pradeep is internationally recognised for his work on affordable water purification technologies, nanomaterials and clean water research, benefiting millions across India.Prof Deepa Venkitesh leads research in high-capacity optical communications and heads the country’s first multicore optical fibre field testbed.Prof Jitendra S Sangwai’s research focuses on carbon capture, gas hydrates and upstream oil and gas engineering, while Prof Ramakrishnan Swaminathan has made significant contributions to biomedical instrumentation and medical device design.Prof Sundargopal Ghosh is recognised for his pioneering work in transition metal boron chemistry, particularly in catalysis and small-molecule activation. The ANRF J C Bose Grant is awarded to scientists and engineers aged 45-65 years based on research excellence, including publications, patents, technology transfer and other scientific achievements.
