"The science of today is the technology of tomorrow"--Edward Teller
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Brief History and Current Status
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The Centre for Energy Science (CES) at IISER Pune was established by late 2015 through the initiative taken by Prof. Satish Ogale and strong support of the then Director Prof. K. N. Ganesh, the Dean R & D Prof. Sanjeev Galande and the Chairs of the Departments of Physics and Chemistry. A team of about 15-20 young and dynamic faculty members from the Physics and Chemistry Departments joined hands to perform cutting-edge research in this interdisciplinary field to develop applications with direct societal impact. The enthusiastic team of CES quickly formulated a strong proposal for DST Nanomission under its Thematic Unit program and the same was approved by DST to establish first rate energy research facilities at IISER Pune. This was a turning point in establishing the CES on a firm footing. The team benefitted greatly by the scientific advice and insights provided by Prof. C. N. R Rao. The current Director Prof. Jayant Udgaonkar continued to offer a strong support for the activities of the CES and participated actively and enthusiastically in the Energy Day programs in 2018 and 2019. These internal symposia, successfully organized by Dr. Nirmalya Ballav, were attended by over 120 faculty and students, reflecting the enthusiasm about this field amongst the young IISER community. The CES faculty has published about 190 research publications during the past 3-4 years in leading international high impact scientific journals. Several participating faculty members have also attracted external research grants, both national and international.
Aim of the CES
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The Centre for Energy Science (CES) is set up at IISER Pune to perform cutting edge research on Advanced Functional Materials and Device Architectures for Harnessing, Storing and Conserving the available clean and renewable energy resources in the interest of a better and sustainable future. The plan is to emphasize materials and technology innovation through a close and synergistic interaction between experimentalists and theorists belonging to different disciplines. The approach is to design new ideas, molecules, materials, and devices keeping an eye on the efficient, scalable and affordable implementation of the emergent technologies. CES will constantly strive to connect fundamental science with technology development and IP creation in the larger social cause of a clean and green future.
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