OVD Fellows, Purdue Faculty, Staff and Students, and SERB Scientist Praveenkumar Somasundaram (far left), Sept 9, 2019 Mini Research Symposium

In early January 2019, 25 PhD students from 18 different institutions throughout India began to arrive on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana under a new collaborative program, Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellows (OVDF). The program was made possible through a collaboration agreement between Purdue and India’s Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).

The Indian fellows were invited to work in the laboratories of Purdue faculty members in 19 different departments campus-wide on research projects they jointly proposed through a competitive application process. Like the fellows themselves, the projects represent great diversity, ranging from design of sustainable urban drainage systems under changing climatic scenarios, to finding new therapies to treat breast cancer. A main goal of the OVDF program is to foster collaborative research relationships to find solutions for global challenges in areas covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Stipend and travel expenses are fully funded by SERB and Purdue covers laboratory expenses and bench fees.

On Sept.  9, the 25 fellows presented their work in a mini research symposium, to celebrate the visit of Department of Science and Technology (DST) Scientist Dr. Praveenkumar Somasundaram, who oversees the program at SERB. Each fellow presented a two-minute overview of his/her work to faculty and fellow students.

OVD Fellow Sourav Gosh from IIT Hyderabad demonstrates a technique to microwave plastic bottles into material for lithium-sulfur batteries

Eight months into the new program, 97% of OVDF participants indicated that they had already published or were expecting to publish a paper or journal article based on their research through the OVDF program and 94% were certain that the research collaboration between Purdue and their Indian institution would continue beyond the one-year program.

According to Sunando DasGupta, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Head, Advanced Technology Development Centre at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, “The OVDF program was the ideal opportunity for me, as an Indian researcher, and for my PhD student, to be engaged in cutting-edge research at Purdue. While the program provides Indian students with an invaluable experience of immersing themselves in the research culture of another country, the short faculty exchange component is particularly important as it helps build and deepen sustainable institutional connections that will continue far beyond the tenure of the student’s visit at Purdue. As a result of the program, my faculty counterpart at Purdue and I are working on a joint proposal for funding and I also expect my student to submit two to three papers for publication in top-class international journals by the end of the year.”

His student, Sri Ganesh Subramanian who is a fellow in the program, agreed and had the following observation, “Through the OVDF program, I have been able to experience the work culture of a U.S. research group, particularly that of Dr. Justin Weibel at Purdue University. Dr. Weibel’s group has strong industrial connections and it has been enlightening to work with industry partners to address specific research problems. Interactions with industry-experts has enabled me to use my knowledge and skills towards developing solutions with a huge potential for immediate application.”

OVD Fellow Jeya Shree, Anna University, Guindy campus, presents on her cancer research at Purdue

Purdue’s Dev Niyogi, a professor in the department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and former Indiana state climatologist noted,

“I have interacted with several students and groups from India over the last two decades, and the OVDF program is exactly the kind of interaction that is needed for the Indian PhDs to get experience working in a collaborative environment and also have growth in their soft-skills, both of which are essential for professional success. 

The impact that such interactions and experiences will have on the academic and research partnerships for India and the global community is mind-boggling.  Amidst these students, there is likely the next Ramanujan or the creator of the next idea economy who is just waiting for such an opportunity to propel. “

Application procedures for round two of the Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship program are currently under preparation, and will be launched later in 2019 for fellow arrival at Purdue in Fall 2020. Procedures will be posted on the SERB and Purdue-India websites when available.