Bayreuth researcher becomes visiting professor in Bangalore

UBTaktuell: Congratulations! What an exciting additional task awaiting you. When does it start?

Prof. Dr. Mukundran Thelakkat: All the formalities still have to be discussed and fixed with JNCASR and Prof. Kulkarni. During the coronavirus period, we do not wish to lose valuable time in quarantine. The trip will be scheduled after the quarantine rule is lifted.

What will you be working on?

Generally in the field of renewable energy - conversion and storage including future topics ranging from green hydrogen and CO2 reduction to solar fuels.

What are you most looking forward to from a scientific/academic perspective?

I gave block lectures in Bangalore during my sabbatical in 2012. Some of the participants of this event have meanwhile already become academics in the field of energy research. I still vividly remember the curious faces of the students and researchers from that time teaching. I am very much looking forward to the lectures and imparting of information and knowledge in Bangalore. Of course, I plan to bring together everyone interested in the field of energy research and get them excited about energy research topics. I aim to sensitise Indian youth to the climate crisis and show them how to tackle the issue of renewable energy. In the growing climate crisis, this is enormously important.

What are you personally looking forward to the most?

After all the restrictions of the last two years, I am very much looking forward to international encounters, exchange, and reunions with Mr. Kulkarni and other colleagues in Bangalore and, of course, also to my original home country of India. I have always wished to give back some of my knowledge and experience to India. The VAJRA Fellowship makes this possible and I am personally very much looking forward to it.

Can you already say how the work here will differ from that in Bangalore?

Here, we are already doing high-speed research on future issues of energy conversion and storage such as solar cells, green hydrogen and CO2 reduction. In India, these issues are also being addressed. But any bundling of forces between research groups or industrial cooperations is scarce. On the other hand, in a German research group there is a flat hierarchy between the group leader and members. In India, it is more hierarchical. To advance science, you need to break down unnecessary hierarchies everywhere and encourage a willingness to question established opinions and structures... I will present exciting questions and topics at JNCASR and place importance on hierarchy-free discourse to allow critical perception and new ideas to emerge. To make young people in India more aware and enthusiastic about scientific research.

Where are the links to your work at the University of Bayreuth?

At the University of Bayreuth we have focus areas, such as Advanced Materials, Polymer & Colloid Science, and Energy Research & Energy Technology, - in which we conduct bundled research. In addition, we have central institutions such as the Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology BATT, the Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecule Research BIMF and the Bavarian Polymer Institute BPI with Keylab concepts. I myself have coordinated the Keylab Device Engineering under BPI, and also the Bavarian joint project Solar Technologies Go hybrid (SOLTECH) since 2012, which focuses very much on energy research. In JNCASR and in neighbouring institutes such as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and The Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) - all in Bangalore - there are isolated research groups that will be interested in these energy topics. I will bring these research groups together so that they can intensify their work with each other and with BayBATT, BPI, etc. Student exchanges, internships, etc. would also be beneficial for both sides.