The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology (MeitY) Government of India, has successfully achieved the goals set for the Centre for Excellence in Research and Development of Nanoelectronic and Theranostic Devices established in 2014.
Appreciating the phenomenal success of the Centre for Excellence, Professor TG Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati said, “It is with great pride to note that the faculty members working at IIT Guwahati's Centre for Nanotechnology in collaboration with MeitY have worked tirelessly towards the success of establishing this pioneering Centre for Excellence. This visionary support by the MeitY has been instrumental in expanding the base of nanoelectronics inventions and innovations in the country well in line with the twin missions of GoI – ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat' and ‘Make in India.”
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At the time of its inception, IIT Guwahati and MeitY collectively planned and envisioned this Centre for Excellence with major long-term objectives. The CoE has surpassed the objectives and established a brand-new Centre for Nanotechnology building of 10,000 sq m area equipped with ISO five and six clean rooms and 23 state-of-art laboratories having cutting-edge fabrication, characterization, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and AFM-Raman-TERS and testing – IV-CV analyzer, probe stations, network analyzer facilities, for the first time in North-East India.
It has also developed an array of healthcare devices with immense commercial potential. Moreover, it has developed SAW, FET, microfluidic, MEMS, and NWFET devices integrated with indigenous nano biosensors, at the level of from TRL two to five, in which some of them are translated into a product by startups, ready to hit the market. In particular, frugal and low-cost point-of-care healthcare devices have been developed among others. Handholding of multiple startups in the area related to materials and nanoelectronics and the utility of the established facility towards a number of future activities has also been developed by the CoE.
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Speaking about the CoE at IIT Guwahati, Professor Ramgopal Rao, Pillay Chair Professor Department of Electrical Engineering and Former Director of IIT Delhi said, “A successful establishment of the Centre for Excellence is an epoch-making event in the North-Eastern region because the youth of the region can now utilize these world-class facilities available at their doorstep to pursue their lofty scientific and technological dreams. Importantly, the Nano Centre has already started delivering an array of technologies that will cater to the needs of society. As the Chairman of the committee that has overseen the growth of the Center, it is indeed a very happy moment for me to be a part of this journey with the IIT Guwahati fraternity. The leadership that the faculty members have shown and the commitment the scholars, students and the IIT Guwahati administration have displayed in establishing the Centre is phenomenal and sets a new benchmark for all such activities to follow in the country.”
IIT Guwahati is continuously supporting the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives. In a recent effort to provide a boost to the healthcare facilities in the country, the institute has signed an agreement to establish a Centre for Advanced Research on Diagnostics in Cancer for providing large-scale OncoDiagnostic services in conjunction with Assam Cancer Care Hospitals across the state to prepare a comprehensive cancer atlas for North East region.