Newsletter of IUSSTF Volume 12 (1) | May 2020 · massive, heterogeneous data, to the development of new technologies and systems for monitoring, diagnosis, health and safety, public

Indo-US Science and Technology Forum

Innovative Off-grid Access to Clean EnergyIndo-U.S. PACEsetter Fund

Volume 12 (1) | May 2020

Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum

Newsletter of IUSSTF

Editor-in-ChiefDr. Nandini Kannan

Executive Director, IUSSTF

EditorNishritha Bopana

Principal Science Officer, IUSSTF

Associate Editor Pushpa Iyer

Program Officer, IUSSTF

Editorial Consultant Manoj Dabas

Layout Design / DTP Pramod Jha

Design, Production and CirculationCreative Edge Media and Services Pvt. Ltd. Aravali House, 431/D-22, Chhatarpur Hills

New Delhi-110074, India

CONTENTSCOVER STORY

Indo-U.S. PACEsetter Fund

05

Excerpts from the Joint Statement

United States-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership

20th Meeting of the U.S.-India

Science and Technology Endowment Board

12

19

High Rate Biomethanation of Organic Waste for Generation of Power for Off-Grid ApplicationsStepping on the Gas

06Innovation at Small Scale

Waste to Energy

08

28Events Diary

Student SpeakGiving Wings to Talent

22

OpinionsOpinions expressed in Connect do not necessarily reflect the opinion of IUSSTF or other organizations associated

with publication of Connect.

Comments and SuggestionsPlease email the Connect Team at

[email protected]

Published and Printed byIndo-U.S. S&T Forum, Fulbright House, 12 Hailey Road

New Delhi - 110 001

14Pan-Astronomical Deep Learning

Watching the Stars

20GETin Conclave

Cover Photo : Renewable energies concept collage with solar panel, wind mills etc. Source : Shutterstock

1720th IUSSTF Governing Board Meeting

21UI-ASSIST Workshop

S ocial Distancing, Contact Tracing, Community Testing, Plasma Therapy, Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain

Reaction: As nations around the world battle the COVID-19 pandemic, these words and phrases have become part of our collective vocabulary. Countries are facing a public health challenge not seen since the influenza pandemic of 1918 that claimed 50 million lives worldwide. While the economic and societal challenges are indeed daunting and the future seems fraught with uncertainty, Science, Engineering, and Technology will play a critical role in finding solutions to this global challenge. IUSSTF’s two new initiatives will help harness the combined talents and expertise of the Indian and U.S. S&T communities to develop innovative solutions to some of the pressing problems related to COVID-19.

From the development of new vaccines, devices and diagnostic tools, to leveraging the power of AI and machine learning to gain insights from massive, heterogeneous data, to the development of new technologies and systems for monitoring, diagnosis, health and safety, public outreach, information and communication, the scientific community has been working tirelessly these past months to confront this pandemic. Global challenges call for global collaborations and partnerships, a shared vision bringing together the best and brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to work together to find solutions,

not only to address the current pandemic, but also for the challenges that lie ahead. Collaborations and networks create synergy and facilitate leveraging and sharing of expertise across scientific communities and disciplinary boundaries to enable breakthroughs and the development of innovative and transformative solutions to address complex challenges.

To support the global efforts of the medical and scientific community, IUSSTF has announced two calls for proposals to catalyse partnerships between Indian and U.S. researchers and entrepreneurs: (1) COVID-19 Indo-U.S. Virtual Networks: enables teams of Indian and U.S. scientists and engineers currently engaged in COVID-related research to carry out joint research activities through a virtual mechanism, leveraging existing infrastructure; (2) COVID-19 Ignition Grants: supports, through the United States–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF), promising joint U.S.-India S&T based entrepreneurial initiatives providing innovative, out-of-the-box solutions to COVID-19 challenges.

The COVID-19 calls represent just one of several IUSSTF initiatives aimed at catalysing and sustaining Indo-U.S. partnerships and collaborations. While much of the scientific community is focused on COVID-19, there are other global challenges that IUSSTF continues to support. Over the past 20 years, IUSSTF has

From the Editor-in-Chief

Connect - May 2020 | 3

played a pivotal role in catalysing and nurturing research and entrepreneurial collaborations addressing challenging problems in areas including Energy, Water and Air Quality, Public Health and Medicine. The PACEsetter Fund, a joint initiative between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and the U.S. Embassy, is one such activity launched as part of the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE). PACEsetter Fund provides early-stage grant funding to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy products, systems, and business models.

This issue of CONNECT shines the spotlight on two organizations supported under the PACEsetter Fund. Ahuja Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd. is leveraging High-Rate Biomethanation technology for treatment of mixed organic waste. Grassroots Energy and SEWA Bharat are developing solutions for converting cattle waste to energy, providing farmers with additional revenue streams and creating a circular economy. Providing innovative solutions to local problems and empowering the communities - key ingredients for sustainability and societal impact!

The strategic partnership and strong ties between the world’s two largest democracies were highlighted in the joint statement issued by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump during the U.S. President’s visit to India in February. The statement underscored the importance of the Strategic Energy Partnership and the longstanding collaborations in Science,

Technology and Innovation. At the recently concluded IUSSTF Governing Board Meeting, the Co-Chairs expressed confidence that IUSSTF could play a key role in strengthening these partnerships leveraging its unique position within the U.S.-India S&T ecosystem. Board members and IUSSTF Staff engaged in a strategic planning and visioning exercise to discuss potential strategies and mechanisms for collaboration in areas of strategic importance. The COVID-19 initiatives are just one of many activities we plan to launch in the coming months.

Every issue of CONNECT celebrates the accomplishments of our scientists and entrepreneurs: from innovative solutions addressing community challenges to the use of deep learning for analysis of gravitational wave data to supporting the next generation of scientists and engineers, IUSSTF is delighted to be a part of this amazing journey of discovery. We look forward to highlighting a COVID-19 success story in a future issue of CONNECT!

I would like to leave you with a quote from Louis Pasteur, scientist extraordinaire, renowned for his pioneering work in vaccines: “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence.”

Until we meet again, please stay safe and practice social distancing!

Dr. Nandini KannanExecutive Director, IUSSTF

Editorial

4 | Connect - May 2020

Ministry of New and Renewable EnergyGovernment of India

The PACEsetter Fund has been established by the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the United States of America and administered by the binational Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF). The objective of the PACEsetter Fund is to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy access solutions by providing early-stage grant funding that would allow businesses to develop and test innovative products, business models and systems. The Fund's focus is to improve the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses that sell small scale (under 1 megawatt) clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid connected power or with limited/intermittent access (less than 8 hours per day).

The PACEsetter Fund would:

l award grants for direct support of innovative technology, business models and programs implemented in India by rural energy service companies; rural distribution companies/ franchisees; operations/maintenance companies; technology implementers/system integrators; enterprises; etc.

l consider awarding grants for product development, studies, research, capacity building and technical assistance, as long as this support will provide clearly significant support to companies and NGOs that set small-scale (under 1MW) clean energy systems to individuals and communities with none or limited access to grid-connected power; and,

l function in conformity with the objectives of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE) initiative.

Indo-US PACEsetter Fund

Submission Deadline for Expression of Interest: 12th October 2016


SECOND CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

For submission guidelines and more details, please visitwww.pacesetterfund.org or www.iusstf.org

Ministry of New and Renewable EnergyGovernment of India

The PACEsetter Fund has been established by the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the United States of America and administered by the binational Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF). The objective of the PACEsetter Fund is to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy access solutions by providing early-stage grant funding that would allow businesses to develop and test innovative products, business models and systems. The Fund's focus is to improve the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses that sell small scale (under 1 megawatt) clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid connected power or with limited/intermittent access (less than 8 hours per day).

The PACEsetter Fund would:

l award grants for direct support of innovative technology, business models and programs implemented in India by rural energy service companies; rural distribution companies/ franchisees; operations/maintenance companies; technology implementers/system integrators; enterprises; etc.

l consider awarding grants for product development, studies, research, capacity building and technical assistance, as long as this support will provide clearly significant support to companies and NGOs that set small-scale (under 1MW) clean energy systems to individuals and communities with none or limited access to grid-connected power; and,

l function in conformity with the objectives of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE) initiative.

Indo-US PACEsetter Fund

Submission Deadline for Expression of Interest: 12th October 2016


SECOND CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

For submission guidelines and more details, please visitwww.pacesetterfund.org or www.iusstf.org

Indo-U.S. PACEsetter FundEnergy access is crucial for improving the quality of life for India’s citizens and their economic conditions, and 24/7 energy availability remains a priority for the Indian government. Off-grid, clean energy technologies, combined with innovative financing models, market-based solutions, and policy alignment, have tremendous potential to become a transformative agent of economic opportunity and rural development.

In 2013, the Governments of India and the United States of America launched Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE) as a new track under the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) alongside the existing research (PACE-R) and deployment (PACE-D) tracks. PEACE aimed to harness commercial enterprise to bring clean energy to individuals and communities unserved and underserved by the electricity grid.

In June 2015, the PACEsetter Fund was established to support the PEACE initiative by providing early-stage grant funding to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy products, systems, and business models. The PACEsetter Fund is a INR 50 crore (USD 7.9 million) fund jointly capitalized by the Governments of the Republic of India and the United States of America.

The Fund’s goal is to support initiatives to improve the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses that sell small scale (under 1 megawatt) clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid connected power or with limited/intermittent access. The bi-national Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) is the Administrator of this Fund.

More information about the PACEsetter Fund is available at https://www.iusstf.org/program/indo-us-pacesetter-fund


Minimizing landfills of organic waste is one of the important steps towards making our cities more sustainable and environmentally safer for future

generations. In this context it is important to recognize that about 20-30% of total organic waste can be treated scientifically at the source of waste generation itself, without having to transport it to landfill sites. Vegetable market yards, large hotels and restaurant chains, temples and gurudwaras, mid-day meal centers, institutions with large campuses, slaughter houses and meat processing industries are some very straightforward examples of places that can, given appropriate technological solutions, treat their food and vegetable waste in-situ.

In response to IUSSTF’s first PACEsetter Fund Call for Proposals, Ahuja Engineering Services Pvt Ltd (AES), a Hyderabad based company proposed to run a pilot project to showcase a state-of-the-art, solid waste management technology for converting organic Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into biogas using innovative and advanced scientific and engineering approaches, and, to also prove its techno-commercial viability. AES specializes in distributive waste management and have developed a high-rate biomethanation technology.

Prior to its association with PACEsetter Fund, AES had already worked on a a slew of biogas based projects at The Akshaya Patra Foundation kitchens across India, where it

had deployed the High rate Biomethanation technology for treating left-over kitchen waste and converting it into biogas to be pipes back into the kitchens to replace far more expensive LPG. The prominent innovation take-aways from these installations were - (a) high organic matter break-down efficiency, (b) yield of biogas with high methane content (65%) , (c) semi-automatic, odorless and noise free operations, (d) aesthetically pleasing setting and (e) plant powered by IoT based remote monitoring. The successful operation of these biogas installations at various scales (from 500-1000 kgs/day) was a strong endorsement of AES’s technical knowhow and experience in this field.

High Rate Biomethanation of Organic Waste for Generation of Power for Off-Grid Applications

STEPPING ON THE GAS

A. Gangagni RaoCSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical

Technology, Hyderabad

Shruti AhujaAhuja Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd.,

Hyderabad

Cover Story


The specific purpose of the project supported by the PACEsetter Fund was to successfully demonstrate the efficacy of High rate biomethanation technology at an operational scale of 5 MT/ Day waste handling capacity for generating biogas based electric power for off-grid applications. Successful installation, scale-up and replication of this model was seen as a tangible possibility. In addition, the project promised to deliver significant intangible environmental benefits such as reduction of GHG emissions due to replacement of a fossil fuel based system with one based on renewable energy.

With support from PACEsetter Fund, AES was able to successfully set up the biogas plant based on new technology in year. 2017. After the installation of the plant, AES went through rigorous experiences of handling and treating different types of wastes of varying quality and heterogeneity. From vegetable market yard waste to unsegregated household waste, there were a series of wastes and their corresponding biogas production values that were studied at the plant’s full scale capacity. During the plant’s field trials, Hyderabad Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Limited (HiMSW) suggested that the dumpsite was generating around 250 KL of an organic leachate at their waste to compost process lines. Following physical and chemical analysis, AES started taking trials with this organic leachate to generate additional biogas, minimizing the use of water and making the leachate’s disposal safer. Biogas production studies were successfully conducted on organic leachate as well.

AES operated and maintained the plant till March 2018 when it handed it over to HiMSW, a subsidiary of Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited, the concessionaire for

integrated waste management in the city of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana.

The project is currently generating around 300 KWh (electrical units) per day from biogas and is being utilized by HiMSW’s internal electrical load to replace electricity grid supply.

This high-rate biomethanation installation opens up opportunities for setting up plants at the scale of 10- 20 MT per day waste handling capacity. Possibilities of future developmental work includes exploration of different applications of biogas energy – up-gradation of biogas to 90% methane (equivalent to Natural Gas) and utilizing biogas in place of compressed natural gas, vehicular fuels and for other heat dependent applications.

Furthermore, based on the results of this PACEsetter Fund supported project, a successful business model of distributive waste management has already been proposed and is being implemented by the Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Telangana in B R Ambedkar Vegetable Market in Bowenpally in Hyderabad (one of Telangana’s biggest vegetable market yards) with support of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Under the project, a bioenergy plant of 10 MT per day waste handling capacity has also been recently commissioned. It generates about 900 KWh of off-grid electricity every day which is sufficient to run the entire market yard’s operations, and make it grid-free.

Success stories such as these are going to be catalysts of positive change and pave the way for making indigenous technologies more reliable and relevant to local scenarios.l

PACEsetter Fund


Innovation at Small Scale

Waste to Energy

Circular EconomyMaking Most of the Local Resources Jamalpur, a town in Bihar has seen an increase in availability of electric power connections from the grid last two years. However, limited access to and high cost of 3 phase electric connections continues to be challenge for micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas This in turn limits the possibilities of income levels and living standards in remote rural areas.

As things go, in locations like Jamalpur, most of the households tend cattle to meet own needs of dairy products and meat as well as to generate cash income

by selling in the market. This makes cattle waste a part of daily life. While a part of the cattle waste is gainfully used as cooking fuel (as dung cakes) the remaining largely gets piled up to decompose in the open exposing communities to environmental and health risks.

Grassroots Energy Inc. is dedicated to developing viable clean energy solutions that convert cattle waste into electrical energy using appropriate technologies. The electricity generated as a result is piped back to stakeholder communities via a mini grid for use in daily household and agricultural chores. The feedstock residue of the operations is processed into organic fertilizer.

Grassroots Energy collaborated with SEWA Bharat to meaningfully engage with the intended beneficiary communities to communicate the benefits, value proposition and sustained impact of the initiative across three locations. SEWA Bharat, with its deep community connections, helped to enhance the involvement of community with the project in order to maximize the impact of project in terms of availability locally produced sustainable and cheap

Meeting the rising energy needs of a country as vast as India in a sustainable manner is a huge challenge. Use of locally available biomass in producing electrical energy has a huge potential in not only making energy more abundant, but also cheap and sustainable. Grassroots Energy, in partnership with SEWA Bharat, is pursuing the goal of production of clean electricity from cattle waste using appropriate technologies.

Mateen AbdulGrassroots Energy Inc.,

Bengaluru, INDIA

DIGESTOR

Cover Story


electric power. For this purpose, SEWA Bharat developed a detailed training calendar and rigorously planned knowledge dissemination and confidence building measures to ensure the proactive and robust participation of the local community.

Biogas TechnologyAlternative sources of energy for operating agricultural machinery are diesel generators and solar power. While diesel generators are expensive and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, solar option expensive battery storage for meeting evening loads. In this context, a biomass based energy solution has several advantages. Unlike solar energy, biogas can operate during evenings without the need for expensive battery storage. Grassroots Energy Inc. stores biogas using a rugged material with life

of 15 years. A one cubic meter of biogas storage generates one unit of electricity, and costs 1/10th of the battery storage.

To collect the biomass feedstock, cattle waste from homes and small dairy farms is collected in rakes that are picked up from specified locations at regular intervals using electric vehicles. A record is maintained for the cattle waste made available by various individuals/dairy farms for use as feedstock on biogas plant. In lieu of the feedstock so provided, the dairy farmers are provided with services of veterinary doctors and service

and suitable quantities of cattle feed. This two way relationship with dairy farmers ensures a steady supply of cattle waste for use as feedstock for sustained operations.

Grassroots Energy has introduced several design innovations to optimize plant size for operating and logistical efficiency. This includes use of Plug Flow digesters made from advanced fabric materials that are a hybrid between high-tech textiles and sophisticated polymers. These digesters are modular, lightweight, rugged, UV resistant, durable and pre-fabricated and can be easily installed by digging a pit and placing the digesters below the ground with just the top of the digestor visible above the ground. Moreover, an additional geo-membrane is added beneath the digesters that provides not only a cushioning effect but also reduces thermal

loss. Since the digesters have limited space for biogas storage, an external balloon made up of fabric similar to the one used in the digestor is provided to store biogas for future usage.

Multiple Energy SourcesElectricity And Thermal Energy Using Micro CHPGrassroots Energy has modified existing biogas engines to incorporate a micro-CHP solution with both electric and heat generation. Typically, thermal efficiency an engine is about 22-25%, the rest of the

WASTE HEAT FROM GENERATOR

DEHYDRATOR

PACEsetter Fund


heat energy is lost as waste heat. With this new approach, waste heat is used as flue gas and forced engine cooling. Using customised heat exchangers, the system efficiency is increased to about 70%. Both the streams of heat are used for different purposes. The engine uses a standard radiator with a fan connected to engine shaft to keep the engine cool. The hot air from the radiator comes at a temperature between 45-600C and is clean enough to come in contact with edible food items. In addition, the waste heat, when passed through a heat exchanger, can be used in feeding the digesters. This is especially helpful in winter and monsoon seasons when the ambient temperature can drop to as low as 90C.

Energy Uses in the CommunityThe availability of locally generated electrical energy helps the communities to take up income generating activities with the assurance of reliable and reasonably priced electricity. These

activities includes flour mills, shredding/sieving machines, dehydrators etc. to name a few. The entrepreneurs get access to three-phase power to operate these machines. About 100+ customers have benefitted from the project. In addition, the electricity is also supplied to an RO Water treatment plant for providing clean drinking water to the community.

Organic FertilizersAs a by-product, the feedstock residue of biogas plant is processed into solid and liquid fertilizers in a three-stage process. The fertilizers help farmers retain

desirable the soil parameters and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.

In order to spread awareness about its usage and benefits, various promotional and engaging initiatives are being planned. This circular economy model can serve as a reference model for future biogas-based mini-grids to serve the needs of multiple forms of energy as well as add value to agricultural produce in rural agrarian communities. l

Cover Story


Report

Excerpts from the Joint StatementUnited States-India Comprehensive

Global Strategic Partnership24-25 February 2020, New Delhi

Comprehensive Global Strategic PartnershipAs the leaders of sovereign and vibrant democracies

recognizing the importance of freedom, equal treatment of all citizens, human rights, and a commitment to the rule of law, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi vowed to strengthen a United States-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill, and robust engagement of their citizens.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi welcomed

growing links between the United States and India in trade and investment in hydrocarbons. Through their Strategic

Energy Partnership, the United States and India are seeking to enhance energy security, expand energy and innovation linkages across respective energy sectors, bolster strategic alignment, and facilitate increased engagement between industry and other stakeholders. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi noted the potential for the United States to meet India’s goal to diversify its import base for

Image source : https://www.pmindia.gov.in


coking/metallurgical coal and natural gas, welcoming recent commercial arrangements intended to accelerate access to LNG in the Indian market. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi encouraged the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Westinghouse Electric Company to finalize the techno-commercial offer for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India at the earliest date.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi expressed satisfaction with their longstanding and practical collaboration in science, technology, and innovation. They welcomed an endeavor by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for development and launch in 2022 of a joint mission with the world’s first dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, and applauded discussions that advance cooperation in Earth observation, Mars and planetary exploration, heliophysics, human spaceflight, and commercial space cooperation.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi expressed their desire to increase higher education collaboration and educational exchange opportunities, including through the

“Young Innovators” internships, and welcomed the recent growth in the number of Indian students in the United States.

In support of global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks such as novel COVID-19, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi committed to continuing their successful efforts in the areas of prevention, early detection, and rapid outbreak response. They hailed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to promote access to high quality, safe, effective, and affordable medications for U.S. and Indian consumers. They welcomed the conclusion of an MOU, which will help both countries address mental health challenges through innovative approaches.

Strategic Convergence in the Indo-PacificThe United States appreciates India’s role as a net provider of security, as well as developmental and humanitarian assistance in the Indian Ocean Region. India and the United States remain committed to sustainable, transparent, quality infrastructure development in the region. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi welcomed the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announcement of a $600 million financing facility for renewable energy projects in India and the DFC’s decision to establish a permanent presence in India this year.

Partnership for Global LeadershipPresident Trump and Prime Minister Modi noted the importance of advancing education, economic empowerment, and entrepreneurship for women and girls through finance, training, and mentorship initiatives, as well as measures to promote their full and free participation in the economy, in line with the United States Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) initiative and the Government of India’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ program.

The United States and India are committed to an open, reliable, and secure Internet that facilitates trade and communication. The United States and India recognize the need for an innovative digital ecosystem that is secure and reliable and that facilitates the flow of information and data. The leaders intend to foster cooperation among their industry and academia for open, secure, and resilient supply of strategic materials and critical infrastructure, and to independently evaluate the risk associated with deployment of emerging technologies.

Text Courtesy: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/joint-statement-vision-principles-united-states-india-comprehensive-global-strategic-partnership/

Excerpts from the Joint Statement


Feature

Pan-Astronomical Deep Learning

Watching the Stars

Ajit KembhaviInter-University Centre for

Astronomyand Astrophysics, Pune

Ashish MahabalCalifornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena

Pragadh, the Indo-U.S. Center for Pan-Astronomical Deep Learning, is a collaboration between astronomers located in India at the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA); (Prof. Ajit Kembhavi) in Pune, St. Thomas College, Kozencherry and in the U.S. at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech); (Dr. Ashish Mahabal) Institute for Applied Computational Science, Harvard University and Penn State.


PARTNERING INSTITUTIONSIndiaInter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune Department of Physics, St. Thomas College, Kozhencheri

USACenter for Data Driven Discovery, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard, CambridgeThe Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Indo-U.S. Virtual Networked Center

The aim of the Indo-U.S. Center is to apply Deep Learning and related techniques to problems in astronomy and gravitational wave data

analysis. Astronomical observations result in images of astronomical objects, spectra, as well as time series data obtained at various wavelengths like optical, radio and X-rays. Another recently opened window is that of Gravitational Waves (GW). Gravitational wave data is in the form of very weak strain amplitudes from gravitational wave detectors (e.g. LIGO and VIRGO). Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time and are completely different from electromagnetic waves which are the basis of much of prevalent astronomy. The GW

signals are superposed on much higher amplitude background signals due to seismic and other sources of noise.

Deep Learning is used in finding and classifying features in images and spectra at various electromagnetic wavelengths, study of the loss of coherence in gravitational wave detection processes and so forth. Deep Learning networks are trained using the full images, spectral or time series data as opposed to Machine Learning Networks, which are in general trained using a limited number of derived features extracted from the data. The former therefore can be applied to very large images and 1-dimensional data and prove to be more powerful in feature recognition and classification by operating in extremely large feature spaces.

One of the main datasets that we have started applying the techniques to is from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). It is a new robotic time-domain sky survey from the Palomar observatory (Caltech), which is capable of visiting

Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time and are completely different

from electromagnetic waves which are

the basis of much of prevalent astronomy.


the entire visible sky north of -30 degrees declination every few nights. ZTF observes the sky in the g, r, and i bands. The 576 megapixel camera has a field of view of 47 sq. degrees, roughly equivalent to 200 full moons. Installed on the Samuel Oschin 48-inch (1.2-m) Schmidt Telescope, the $5\sigma$ detections go down to 20.7 mag in the r band with a 30-second exposure during new moon.

The science exposures (Sci) are co-added (combined) to make reference images (Ref) for the observable sky, and subsequently these are subtracted from new Sci images to provide difference images (Diff). One of the primary objectives of ZTF is to look for interesting transients - objects that change in brightness in relatively short time. These are obtained from the Diff images. One of the projects we are conducting under Pragadh is to classify such transients discovered by ZTF into different kinds of astronomical objects. We also combine data from other surveys like the Catalina Realtime Transient Survey (CRTS) and the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). There are many possibilities within this. About 60 features based on the three images (sci, ref, diff) can be input to a Random Forest (RF) or to a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). The images themselves can also be fed to a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN).

Another ongoing project is to classify ZTF light curves (time series) using RNNs, especially one of their variants viz. Gated Recurrence Units (GRUs). Training these networks on astronomy data is particularly challenging due to the large and irregular gaps in data owing to phases of the moon, rotation and revolution of the Earth. The standard versions of most libraries work with regular, if not almost continuous, data, and repurposing them for the irregular, gaapy, heteroscedastic astronomy time-series presents avenues for innovation that is data-driven, and yet requires domain knowledge.

A third project is to predict periodicity and/or other physical properties using latent spaces. One approach is to use Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to simultaneously train a generator and a discriminator

to both generate samples that look like real data, and a process that discriminates between real and generated data. This way both networks learn, and we get a large number of samples for training.

The dmdt method can also be used to convert BLRMS trends to images, and then classified using a

labelled data to look for indicators of lock-loss events. This will be an extension of the work recently completed on using RF, CNN, and the t-distributed Stochastic Neighbourhood Embedding (t-SNE) for supervised and unsupervised exploration of causal connections between seismic movements, their effect as demonstrated on auxiliary LIGO channels and loss of resonance. In the long run this should help with the detection of fainter GW sources as well as improving the on-sky duty cycle of the detectors.

A significant fraction of radial velocity information in a stellar spectrum is lost due to Earth's atmospheric Telluric absorption depending on the instrument's operational wavelength (e.g. for near-infrared precision radial velocity instruments like HPF, this is about 65%). Current physical Telluric correction models haven't been able to correct the Telluric signatures in the spectrum to the required quality to extract radial velocity information from these wavelength regions. Inspired by some limited success of linear PCA methods, we explored pure data driven approach to Telluric correction of the spectrum via a non-linear dimensionality reduction algorithm using diffusion maps, but without much success. We are currently approaching this dimensionality reduction problem using an auto-encoder network.

As deep learning techniques have gained popularity their use in astronomy is increasing as well. By combining astronomy and CS expertise we are starting to push the envelope beyond the low-hanging fruit and open avenues that have so far not been looked at. The approach of converting data to knowledge should help propel the field towards a better holistic understanding of classes of astronomical objects in large sky surveys, as well as better detection of Gravitational Wave sources. l

One of the primary objectives of ZTF is to look for interesting

transients - objects that change in brightness in relatively short time.

Feature


20th IUSSTF Governing Board (GB) MeetingThe Twentieth Governing Board (GB) Meeting of the

Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) was held on 28th February 2020 in Washington D.C. Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department

of Science & Technology, Govt. of India was the Indian Co-Chair and the U.S. Co-Chair was Dr. Jonathan Margolis, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State. ED, IUSSTF provided an overview of the activities and accomplishments over the past year. The meeting included a strategy and visioning session to identify priority areas for collaboration and the mechanisms to move such collaborations forward. l


20th Meeting of the U.S.-India

Science and Technology Endowment Board

The 20th Meeting of the U.S.-India Science and Technology Endowment

Board (USISTEB) was held on 27th February in Washington D.C. under the Co-Chairmanship of Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Varshney, Adviser & Head, International Bilateral Cooperation, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India (Indian Co-Chair) and Mr. J. Robert Garverick, Minister Counselor, Economic, Environment, Science & Technology Affairs, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi (U.S. Co-Chair). ED, IUSSTF presented an overview of the Endowment Board’s activities over the past year. The Board also deliberated upon strategic and new models of collaboration going forward.l


Acknowledging importance of strategies & techniques in genome modification, as modern-day essential tools for research & development, the

Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India along with the Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) supports a fellowship program between Indian institutes and premier U.S. Universities, in significant areas of Genome Engineering/Editing Technology (GETin).

Under the Indo-U.S. Genome Engineering/Editing Technology Initiative (GETin) program, a Conclave was jointly organised by IUSSTF and DBT on 9th January 2020 at National Institute of Plant Genome research (NIPGR), New Delhi. The day-long event had fruitful interactive sessions where awardees from the first and second batches shared their overall experience gained in terms of research highlights, tangible outcomes, experiences and

challenges - professional & personal, future plans and best practices learnt and skills leveraged after their return to India. Experts in the field of Genome Engineering provided an overview of the cutting-edge research that is happening in the lead Institutes and laboratories across India. The conclave saw the participation of over 40 participants that included GETin Awardees, leading members of the Selection Committee, and Officials of DBT, IUSSTF & NIPGR.l

GETin Conclave

Genome Editing: Knowledge-sharing platform

Read more about the program on our website https://www.iusstf.org/program/genome-engineeringediting-technology-initiative-program

In Other News


The UI-ASSIST (U.S.-India collAborative for smart diStribution System wIth STorage) project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, through the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) under the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC) initiative. It addresses essential issues related to the adoption and deployment of smart grid concepts, integrating distributed energy resources including storage in the distribution network and at microgrid level, for its efficient and reliable operation.

The consortium is led in the U.S. by Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, and in India, by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

A joint UI-ASSIST meeting-cum-workshop was held on 18th and 19th of December, 2019 in New Delhi. The workshop was attended by the consortium partners from India and US. In addition, the advisory board members from India, and representatives from DST, IUSSTF and DOE were also present at the workshop. l

A Joint Initiative to advance Smart Grid Technologies

UI-ASSIST


GivingWINGS TO TALENT

To address the need for human resource development and capacity building in science and technology, IUSSTF is committed to nurture contacts between scientists and students from India and the United States. It has been unambiguously demonstrated that providing students and young scientists

with an exposure to cutting-edge scientific research experiences at a formative stage not only broadens their intellectual horizons but also leads to increased engagements in scientific and technological research careers. In this section of Connect, we share with you the experiences of some of our bright, young Interns and Fellows in their own words!

Student Speak


IUSSTF is a great platform that helps in building scientific relationships among people and to exchange their ideas and expertise. As the recipient of ASM-Indo-US Visiting Research

Professor of Microbiology Fellowship-2019, it was a great experience for me to work in collaboration with Professor Jacques

Mrinal Samanta ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar

Robert at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of the University of Rochester Medical Centre (URMC), New York. URMC has a state-of-the-art infrastructure for conducting cutting- edge research in various branches of medical science, including evolutionary biology, microbiology and immunology. It was indeed a great opportunity and pleasure forever to work on the project “Deciphering the critical role of TLR and NLR-signaling in the reactivation and replication of quiescent rana virus-FV3 in Xenopus laevis”.

The people, the atmosphere, the surroundings of URMC and Rochester were fantastic. I express my sincere gratitude to IUSSTF for selecting me for this prestigious award. l

ASM-IUSSTF Indo-U.S. Professorship in Microbiology

ASM-IUSSTF Indo-US Professorship in MicrobiologyWebpage: https://www.iusstf.org/program/asm-iusstf-indo-us-professorship-in-microbiologyE-mail: [email protected]

Student SpeakStudent Speak


I was awarded the 2019 Indo-U.S. Professorship award by the American Society for Microbiology and the Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF). The award gave me an opportunity

to deliver a two-week training course at IIT Kanpur, India on “Nanotechnology Applications in Healthcare: Toxicological Risk Assessment using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models”. The

training course formed a platform for future international collaborative initiatives to help integrate research areas by bringing together related, yet disparate, research efforts to support healthcare innovations.

Healthcare is one of the most influenced areas where nanotechnology is being used as a tool for improved and targeted drug delivery and better bioimaging. However, lack of proper toxicological assessments on developed nanomaterials cause failure to products in final stages of the study and/or during clinical trials. It leads to huge loss on economical and research fronts. Undertaking this effort was aimed at supporting FDA’s mission to promote and protect public health; and the National Center for Toxicological Research’s strategic goal of “promoting global interactions in regulatory science research by increasing global activities dedicated to building and strengthening the product safety net around the world.”

During this period, I was also invited to deliver an inaugural lecture at the preconference workshop in the International Conference on “Biomaterial-based Therapeutic Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (BioTerm2019)”. l

ASM-IUSSTF Indo-U.S. Professorship in Microbiology

Sangeeta KhareNational Center for Toxicological Research U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson

ASM-IUSSTF Indo-US Professorship in MicrobiologyWebpage: https://www.iusstf.org/program/asm-iusstf-indo-us-professorship-in-microbiologyE-mail: [email protected]

Student Speak


The IUSSTF-Viterbi program was a very memorable experience for me. We were assisted through all formalities and procedures right from our selection up until our

departure from India by Mrs. Monika Madan, Mrs. Tracy Charles and their colleagues. This made life a whole lot easier for us, given the fact that we were all quite engrossed in our studies back at our home institutes during the run up to the program. Ms. Tracy and the staff at University of Southern California had activities planned in advance for us in Los Angeles which made the trip a whole lot more fun.

I interned at the Analog-Mixed Signal IC group headed by Prof. Mike S.W. Chen to work on pretty exciting stuff in mm-wave technologies. The five-day work week allowed us to explore the town during on weekends. After all, it’s Los Angeles! We visited places like the Museum of Natural History, The California Science Center, The Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, Santa Monica and also trekked to the Hollywood Sign.

I’m very grateful to the IUSSTF for this opportunity. The kind of people I met were really smart and outgoing and I will cherish these memories forever.l

IUSSTF-Viterbi Program

Vignesh NagarajanBirla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani

IUSSTF-Viterbi ProgramWebpage: https://www.iusstf.org/program/iusstf-viterbi-program

E-mail: [email protected]



The WARI fellowship was a wonderful opportunity that helped me to explore ample opportunities in the research of water management using nanomaterials. It helped me

to investigate the possible pathways of water contamination in terms of organic wastes, pesticides/fertilizers, heavy metals and further the potential role of nanomaterials was explored for management of the emerging contaminants. Besides a healthy work environment, this prospect also strengthened our international recognition.

It was an excellent experience to associate with and work under the mentorship of Dr. Ashraf Aly Hassan and Yusong Li at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. I got an excellent exposure to different high-end facilities available at UNL for fabrication, characterization and utilization of nanomaterials for diverse applications including cleanroom facilities for prototype fabrication for water management. The scientific networking through visits to University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania,

Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship ProgramWebpage: https://www.iusstf.org/program/water-advanced-research--innovation-fellowshipE-mail: [email protected]

Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship Program

Sandeep KumarGuru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar

Florida International University added new dimensions to the applied research. I delivered a colloquium lecture entitled “Functionalized nanomaterials for environmental & healthcare applications” at Michigan Technological University, Houghton and was part of the scientific meetings with different faculty members having similar research interests to conceive new ideas for addressing scientific problems through joint collaborative proposals in future.

The fellowship also helped me to attend the XVII International Small-Angle Scattering Conference (SAS2018) held at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City, MI, to interact with professionals of X-ray techniques to study and understand the material properties. I feel honoured and privileged to have been a part of this wonderful program. Summing up, this enriching program helped me in strengthening my research, professional development and bestowed me with friends for long-term R&D linkages and fruitful collaborations in near future. l

Student Speak


I have always been fascinated by the complexities of the human brain. While at medical school I became interested in studying psychiatric diseases which are a manifestation of pathology in this

amazing blob of flesh! I was keen to dig deeper into an area called computational psychiatry for which the Khorana Program was a perfect opportunity. Dr. Al Powers, who works on the computational

underpinnings of perceptual abnormalities at the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, agreed to host me over the fall semester.

The Powers’ lab was a fun place, always charged up and full of energy and a great place to work! Elif, another medical student from Turkey and I worked on correlating EEG parameters to clinical variables of perceptual abnormalities in prodromal schizophrenia. The idea was that the signal in the incoming stream of sensory evidence could be too noisy or too sharp to be of any use to higher hierarchies in the perceptual system. Then, the brain, to make sense of the world, might have to rely on its priors, thereby leading to hallucinations. We ended up writing a report on our preliminary findings as a call for availing more retrospective data from collaborating institutions. Despite being a research elective, I was fortunate enough to interact with patients and ended up writing a case report too.

I had wonderful 10-weeks in New Haven spent with amazing people in an amazing lab and lead to great learning. I travelled along the East Coast and the fall scenery and landscape was just beautiful! I am thankful to Pushpa Iyer, Dr. Rajeev (Dean Academic, AIIMS) and the folks at

IUSSTF who facilitated my participation in the program.

I wish there is more participation of medical students and professionals in the Khorana Program in the years to come. I am delighted that the program gave me an opportunity to work under a great mentor like Al and to make friends lasting a lifetime! l

Vasishta PolisettyAll India Institute of Medical SciencesNew Delhi

Khorana Program for ScholarsWebpage: https://www.iusstf.org/program/khorana-program-for-scholars

E-mail: [email protected]

Khorana Program for Scholars



Rapidly changing climate and increasing human pressures are affecting the hydrological cycle as well as the functioning of water dependent

environments and ecosystems and their service provision. Despite being one of the most common features associated with semi-arid climatic zones, high-frequency (decadal) hydroclimate variability and risk of mega-droughts in semi-arid regions still remain one of the most challenging aspects of climate sciences, and unsurprisingly, one of the least implemented aspects of climate sciences in the realm of climate adaptation. A joint symposium on “The study of decadal-scale droughts and mega-droughts in semi-arid tracts of India and North America: An approach combining paleoclimate/paleoenvironmental investigations, climate modelling, and community engagement” was organized by Anoop Ambili (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali), Supriyo Chakraborty (Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune) in collaboration with Atreyee Bhattacharya (University of Colorado, Boulder) from January 2-4, 2020. The symposium attempted to bring a diverse body of scientists and environmental planners to foster deeper inter-institutional engagements in identifying regions in Indian and North America that are at risk of decadal droughts and mega-droughts and to deliberate on issues concerning the risk and impact of these in vulnerable regions as global climate continues to warm. As an outcome of the symposium, scientists agreed that new investigations are required to increase spatial coverage of paleoclimate data from the Indian summer monsoon realm for better understanding of the climate system and its sensitivities against local, regional and remote controlling factors. The major recommendation of the symposium was to assist/participate in crafting outlines for collaborative, multi-investigator proposals that, together, will help characterize major climatological patterns (and causes) in arid areas of both countries, and assess their impact on the environment, biological communities, and human societies.

02-04 January 2020 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali, INDIA

Events Diary

JANUARY 2020

The study of decadal scale droughts and mega-droughts in semi-arid tracts of India and North America


Events Diary

An estimated 663 million people lack ready access to improved sources of drinking water, while the number of people without reliable access to

good quality water to be safe for human consumption is at least 1.8 billion and possibly significantly more (WHO, 2015). Groundwater dependence is extremely high in India and the United States. Recent forecasts suggest that the combined effects of population growth, climate and land-use changes will, in the near future, lead to even greater reliance on groundwater for public water supply. In view of this, an Indo-U.S. workshop titled ‘Integrated hydrochemical modeling for sustainable development and management of water supply aquifers’ was organized by D. Karunanidhi (Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore) and Aavudai Anandhi (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee). The main objective was to bring together researchers and practitioners from Indian and U.S. Universities/ Organizations to provide a platform to exchange knowledge and experiences in integrated hydrochemical modeling in addition to sustainable development and management of water supply aquifers. The workshop intended to coordinate the resources and capability to enhance expertise/awareness of groundwater modeling to research community, catalyze formation of networks among institutions and organizations in India and the U.S. to develop network projects to promote sustainable management of water supply aquifers to meet the needs of present and future generations.

JANUARY 2020

Integrated hydrochemical

modeling for sustainable

development and management

of water supply aquifers

02-04 January 2020Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and

Technology, Coimbatore, INDIA

India is known for its vast human diversity, consisting of more than four and a half thousand anthropologically well-defined populations. Each

population differs in terms of language, culture, physical features and, most importantly, genetic architecture. The size of these populations ranges from a few hundred to several millions. The practice of endogamy has led to high IBD (Identity-by descent) in one-third of the Indian populations, due to strong founder events; resulting high frequency of population-specific recessive disease. Interestingly, such conditions are not seen in most of populations outside the Indian subcontinent. In the United States, there is striking health disparities among the African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other

16 - 18 January 2020CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Hyderabad, INDIA

JANUARY 2020

Human diversity and health disparities


Events Diary

Pacific Islanders. Keeping this mind NIH developed a “National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities” in United States. Drawing upon the experience of researchers in United States, this Indo-U.S. workshop on “Human diversity and health disparities” organized by K. Thangaraj (Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad) and Keshav Singh, (University of Alabama, Birmingham) laid the foundation for research on understanding, addressing and developing interventions related to health disparities in India. The 3-day Workshop brought together about 200 researchers from India and the U.S. to address the important issue of genetic diversity and its role in health disparities in different ethnic populations, including South Asia, U.S. and other parts of the world. The scientific talks and deliberations included topics on Diversity & Health Disparities, Lung & Heart Diseases, Rare & Neurological Disorders, Diabetes: Genetic & Epigenetic Perspectives, Breast Cancer, Technologies & Methods, Genetics & Immunological aspects of Cancer, Pharmacogenomics & Personalized Medicine, and Prostate Cancer.

A key challenge facing the agricultural sector to secure food availability is routine intensive age-old agricultural practices. The overuse of chemical

and synthetic fertilizers has led to poor soil health and more eutrophication and run-off issues. Recent reports also suggest that majority of our staple crops have reached saturation as far the overall yield is concerned. Of late, the concept of using soil microbiome as agents to reduce pathogen infection and improve crop yield has been considered as a new frontier. The area

FEBRUARY 2020

Transnational research needs

and applications of plant microbiomes

25-27 February, 2020University of Delaware

Newark, USA


The Indo-U.S. conference on bioengineering and regenerative medicine (ICBR-2020) organized by Pradeep Srivastava (Indian Institute of

Technology BHU Varanasi) and Chenzhong Li (Florida, Florida International University, Miami) aimed towards improving the bioengineering research ecosystem collaborations by facilitating academic deliberations and research interactions between Indian Institutions and top U.S. Institutions. The goal of this conference was to bring together, a multi-disciplinary group of scientists and engineers from India and the U.S. to present and exchange break-through ideas relating to the field of Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine to accomplish a healthy and sustainable economy. Role of IoT and Machine Learning with reference to Bioengineering was also deliberated upon.

25-27 February 2020Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, INDIA

FEBRUARY 2020

Bioengineering and regenerative medicine-2020 (ICBR-2020)

Events Diary

involving plant-associated microbiome is at its infancy and the inflection to consider plant microbiome studies that dictate the mechanistic details of the microbiome association in plants is at its forefront. Since both Indian and U.S. economies are heavily dependent on agricultural crops and products, there is an immediate need to improve the crop yield. The aims of this Indo-U.S. Workshop on Transnational research needs and applications of plant microbiomes organized by Annapurna Kannepalli (Indian Agricultural Research

Institute, New Delhi) and Harsh Bais (University of Delaware, Newark) were to prioritize the research needs and standards for methodologies for plant microbiome studies; identify new hypotheses to be tested for structural and functional microbiomes of agricultural crops; propose novel translational applications and plant microbiome engineering for agricultural sustainability; and foster international collaborations between Indian agricultural technologists and U.S. plant biologists and ecologists.


Indo-US Science and Technology Forum: Catalysing Indo-US Science & Technology Cooperation over a decade.

For program details visit:

http://www.indousstf.org

Indo-US Science & Technology ForumThe Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America, is an autonomous, not for profit society in India, co-funded and co-governed by both the governments. IUSSTF promotes and catalyzes Indo-US collaborations in science, technology, engineering, biomedical research and innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry.

Foster excellence by capitalizing on the scientific and technological synergyDisseminate information and create awareness through scientific exchangesBuild linkages through networking between academia and industryExplore new frontiers by nurturing contact between young and mid-career scientists Pave way to sustainable interactions and establish long term relationshipsEncourage public-private partnership to inculcate elements of innovation and entrepreneurship

Academia-Industry Connect ProgramsAdvance Schools & Training ProgramsBilateral Workshops & SymposiaFlagship EventsKnowledge R&D Networked Joint Centers

Programs on Innovation and EntrepreneurshipPublic-Private Networked R&D Joint CentresResearch Fellowships for FacultySpecial Initiatives for Strategic PartnershipsStudent Internships & Visiting Professorships

Exciting and innovative collaborative programs cutting across disciplines and institutions

What we do

Who we are

We support

We invite

How to contact us?

Indo-US S&T Forum

IUSSTF

Proposals which are peer reviewed both in India and USA for awards Bilateral Indo-US Workshop/Symposia & Indo-US Training/Advanced SchoolsSubmission Deadlines Award Announcements15 February 30 June15 August 31 December

Indo-US Public-Private Networked Centres & Indo-US Knowledge R&D Networked CentresSubmission Deadline Award Announcement15 August 31 December

Submission Deadlines Award Announcements1 March 31 July31 August 31 January

Submission Deadline Award Announcement31 August 31 January

IUSSTF: Catalysing Indo-US Science, Technology and Innovation Collaborations for 18 Years!Indo-US Science and Technology Forum:

Catalysing Indo-US Science & Technology Cooperation over a decade.

For program details visit:

http://www.indousstf.org

Indo-US Science & Technology ForumThe Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America, is an autonomous, not for profit society in India, co-funded and co-governed by both the governments. IUSSTF promotes and catalyzes Indo-US collaborations in science, technology, engineering, biomedical research and innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry.

Foster excellence by capitalizing on the scientific and technological synergyDisseminate information and create awareness through scientific exchangesBuild linkages through networking between academia and industryExplore new frontiers by nurturing contact between young and mid-career scientists Pave way to sustainable interactions and establish long term relationshipsEncourage public-private partnership to inculcate elements of innovation and entrepreneurship

Academia-Industry Connect ProgramsAdvance Schools & Training ProgramsBilateral Workshops & SymposiaFlagship EventsKnowledge R&D Networked Joint Centers

Programs on Innovation and EntrepreneurshipPublic-Private Networked R&D Joint CentresResearch Fellowships for FacultySpecial Initiatives for Strategic PartnershipsStudent Internships & Visiting Professorships

Exciting and innovative collaborative programs cutting across disciplines and institutions

What we do

Who we are

We support

We invite

How to contact us?

Indo-US S&T Forum

IUSSTF

Proposals which are peer reviewed both in India and USA for awards Bilateral Indo-US Workshop/Symposia & Indo-US Training/Advanced SchoolsSubmission Deadlines Award Announcements15 February 30 June15 August 31 December

Indo-US Public-Private Networked Centres & Indo-US Knowledge R&D Networked CentresSubmission Deadline Award Announcement15 August 31 December

www.iusstf.orgFor program details visit:

Indo-US Science and Technology ForumFulbright House 12 Hailey Road, New Delhi - 110 001

Newsletter of IUSSTF Volume 12 (1) | May 2020 · massive, heterogeneous data, to the development of new technologies and systems for monitoring, diagnosis, health and safety, public

Documents