KIIT Deemed to be University successfully organized the 5th International Conference on Emerging Smart Materials in Applied Chemistry (ESMAC-2024) and the 2nd KIIT-CRSI Seminar on Modern Trends in Chemical Sciences from December 20th to 22nd, 2024. Organized in collaboration with the local chapters of The National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) and the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI), the event served as a global forum for exploring cutting-edge advancements in Smart Materials and Chemical Sciences.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by Prof. Uday Maitra, President, CRSI; Prof. Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor, KIIT-DU; Prof. Ramanuj Narayan, Director, CSIR-IMMT; Prof. Jnyana Ranjan Mohanty, Registrar, KIIT-DU; Prof. Gopal Kundu, Director, R&D; and Conveners, Prof. Rojalin Sahu, Prof. Bikash Kumar Jena and Prof. Pavan Kumar.
The event featured an impressive line-up of distinguished speakers from renowned institutions around the globe. They included Prof. Uday Maitra, IISc Bangalore, President, CRSI; Prof. V. Chandrasekhar, Director, TIFR Hyderabad, Former Director, NISER; Prof. Bhanu Pratap Das, Director, CQure; Prof. Srinivasa Reddy, Director, CSIR-IICT Hyderabad; Prof. A. K. Ganguli, Director, IISER Berhampur, Former Director, INST Mohali; Prof. Karuna Kar Nanda, Director, Institute of Physics (IOP); Prof. Hiren Ghosh, Director, NISER Bhubaneswar; Prof. S. B. Ogale, Director, TCG-CREST; Prof. Kothandaraman Ramanujam, IIT Madras; Prof. Yogendra Kumar Mishra, University of Southern Denmark; Prof. Tharamani C. N., IIT Ropar; Prof. Anshuman Dixit, Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Bhubaneswar; Prof. Akhil K. Sahoo, University of Hyderabad (UoH); Prof. Pichaya In-na, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Prof. Alakesh Bisai, IISER Kolkata; Prof. R. Boomishankar, IISER Pune; Prof. Ajay Kumar Mishra, University of Western Cape, South Africa; Prof. Ajeet Kaushik, Florida Polytechnic University, USA; Prof. Małgorzata Kujawska, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland; Prof. Joydev Dinda, Utkal University; Prof. K. C. Barick, BARC; Prof. Prabhat Garg, DRDE-DRDO, Gwalior; Prof. Dillip Kumar Panda, Clemson University, USA; Prof. Dillip Kumar Chand, IIT Madras; Prof. Himansu Sekhar Biswal, NISER Bhubaneswar; Prof. Sujit Ghosh, IISER Pune; Prof. Srabanti Ghosh, CGCRI, Kolkata; Dr. Jayita Patwari, Wiley; and Dr.Prangya P. Sahoo, Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Many of these thought leaders have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award and J.C. Bose Fellowships. The NASI Award Ceremony was also held as part of the event to honour Prof. V. Chandrasekhar. NASI-ESMAC-CRSI award was conferred on Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT, KISS and KIMS.
The conference was further elevated by collaborations with international institutions, including: University of Southern Denmark; Florida Polytechnic University (USA); Sunway University (Malaysia); Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) and Pensacola State University (USA). The American Chemical Society (ACS), Wiley, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and ESP were the partners in this event.
A key milestone of the event was the inauguration of KIIT’s 3rd Centre of Innovation and Research (COIR)—the Centre for Next-Generation Materials and Technology (CNGMT). Led by Prof. Rojalin Sahu, this cutting-edge centre is dedicated to advancing materials science and engineering. This visionary initiative was conceptualized by Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of KIIT, KISS, and KIMS.
The conference also featured the release of two significant publications by Prof. Samanta: Electrochemical Applications of Metal-Organic Frameworks: Advances and Future Potential (Elsevier, ScienceDirect) and Metal Complexes: Environmental and Biomedical Applications (Bentham Science). The book launch was honored by the presence of eminent guests, including: Prof. Uday Maitra, President, CRSI; Prof. Ramanuj Narayan, Director, CSIR-IMMT; Prof. V. Chandrasekhar, Director, TIFR Hyderabad; Prof. Bhanupratap Dash, Director, CQure; and Prof. Gopal Kundu, Director, R&D.