Applications invited for PhD positions in the Department of Chemistry under Visvesvaraya Scheme supported by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY), Government of India.
Ten Ph.D positions are available in our department under the VisvesvarayaPh.D scheme, conceived by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY), Government of India. Applications are invited from eligible and highly motivated candidates willing to pursue PhD in the following research areas

Organic Electronic Materials, Thin Films and Engineered Surfaces, NanoscalePlasmonics, Femtosecond Pulse Shaping, SurfaceWettability, Biodegradable Solar Cell, Materials for Nonlinear Optics and Molecular Electronics.

Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY), Government of India has approved 10 Ph.D positions in our department under the VisvesvarayaPh.D scheme. Department of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur would like to get motivated and committed Ph.D candidates under this attractive scheme. Interested candidates are requested to apply soon as this scheme is only available to students who join the Ph.D program in 2015. Applications will be reviewed on a regular basis and decision about each application will be made within a month of its submission. The institute reserves the right to fix suitable criteria for short listing of eligible candidates satisfying qualification and experience. Only shortlisted candidates may be called for an interview.

The scheme is available for Ph.D candidates in the following research topicswhich come under the broad research categories of Electronic Design and Manufacturing (ESDM)and Information Technology Enabled Services(ITES).

Research areas

• Organic electronic materials: Molecular materials are one of the possible building blocks for future electronic devices. Molecules with rectifying and switching functions will be studied on surfaces.
• Thin films and engineered surfaces: Thin films based on photo-chromic molecules will be prepared on metals and semiconductors. The optical responses, conductance etc of these thin films will be studied using suitable techniques.
• Nanoscale plasmonics for all-optical switching and signal processing: developing a predictive understanding of structure-optical property relationships in plasmonic nanomaterials and their assemblies using advanced single-molecule level spectroscopic techniques
• Femtosecond pulse shaping to modulate molecular characteristics: Develop optical approaches to Quantum Information and Computing.  
• Investigation of wettability of solid surface as a function of its roughness
• Biodegradable solar cell materials based on imidazolin-5-ones: These molecules are the chromophore present in the green fluorescent proteins.  Apart from being biodegradable the molecules can be tuned by electron push-pull groups to absorb a variety of wavelengths for light harvesting.
• Synthesis of organic and organometallic molecules for nonlinear optics and molecular electronics

Please visit the following link for general information regarding this scheme.
Visvesvaraya Ph.D scheme

Salary and Benefits

Some of the highlights of this scheme are the following:

• Ph.D fellowship: The position will be offered initially for a period of one year and can be extended upto five years, pending satisfactory progress as determined through periodic evaluations.
• Scholarship: Currently, Visvesvaraya Ph.D. Fellowship Scheme offers a monthly fellowship of Rs. 22,500 for first two years and Rs. 25,000 for the next two years which is likely to be revised upward in the near future. Till any such revision takes place, students admitted through this scheme will be paid a monthly fellowship of Rs. 25,000 for first two years and Rs. 28,000 after two years at par with other agencies like MHRD, DST etc.
• A contingency grant of 30,000/- per year.
• Grants for up to two international conference/workshops. This is over and above the travel grants that the department of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur already gives to all its Ph.D students via other sources in the department and the institute which cover international trips to all top-tier conferences.

How to Apply

Interested students are requested to email the filled-up application form (Link for application form), to Dr. T. G. Gopakumar ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) with a subject “Visvesvaraya Application of [Your Name]”. Scanned copies of two letters of references (Link for Reference form) also need to be directly emailed to  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  by the referees. The reference letters should have a subject “Reference letter for [Your Name]”.  Please note that the candidate must bring the original reference letter in sealed envelope if he/she is called for an interview.

Original transcripts would have to be produced during the admission for verification.

Eligibility

• Applicants should have an MSc or equivalent degree with at least 55% marks
• Students finishing all requirements of their qualifying degree by July, 2015 are also eligible to apply.