TATA IN ST ITUT E OF FU ND A ME NTA L RE SEA RC H ,
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RESEARCH INTEREST AREAS OF FACULTY
Sriram Ramaswamy (Centre Director)
Nonequilibrium, soft-matter and biological physics
Active Matter - the collective behaviour of self-driven particles, from the cytoskeleton to flocks; chemical and mechanical analogues of selfpropulsion.
Glassy Matter - confinement and length scales; mode-coupling theory under geometrical constraints; coarsening of glassy correlations;
shear and the glass transition.
Complex Fluids - oscillations and chaos in sheared orientable fluids; fluctuations in sedimenting suspensions; driven granular matter.
Issues in nonequilibrium statistical physics - fluctuation relations in driven non-thermal systems; thermalization of isolated quantum
systems
Ecosystems - vegetation patterns and phase transitions.
Phone: (040) 24195003
Email-ID: sriram@tifrh.res.in
K. V. R. Chary
Development of new NMR methodologies to understand the structure-function paradigm of biomolecules (with focus on enhancement of S/N
ratio and resolution). Development of fast data acquisition methods for triple-resonance experiments with 13C/15N labeled proteins.
NMR characterization of the 3D structures of biologically important proteins and studying their dynamics and interaction with other
ligands/biomolecules to understand the structure-function relationships.
Proteins involved in the pathogenesis of dysentery: Ca2+-binding proteins from Entamoeba histolytica.
Structure based functional elucidation of βγ- crystallins: Characterization of ruggedness of protein energy landscape by monitoring residues
accessing near native states. Discovery of novel thermo-sensing and signaling by crystallins.
Structural basis of function associated with proteins and protein-protein complexes: NMR studies to comprehend the ability of uvi31+ (an UV
inducible protein from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) to hydrolyze β-lactam antibiotics and study the interaction of uvi31+ with sulbactum.
Structure, dynamics and interaction studies of a neuronal calcium sensor (NCS-1) protein expressed in the nervous system and
neuroendocrine cells.
Structural and dynamic basis for understanding the way a protein sequence translates into a folded conformation (folding, unfolding,
misfolding and macromolecular aggregation) by titrating the protein with metal ion.
Study of an intrinsically disordered protein.
Characterization of disorder-order transition of a Ca2+-binding protein from the genome of Hahella chejuensis.
NMR relaxation parameters to probe milliseconds to picoseconds motions along the backbone and side-chains of proteins, which is crucial to
understand the folding pathway of a given protein and in explaining their functions and activities.
Metabolic studies in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells during light (mixotrophic) and dark (heterotrophic) phases of growth as well as
following the UV/nutritionally stressed stationary phase cultures.
Development of computer-aided complete-turn-key packages for both NMR assignments and 3D structural analysis.
Phone: (040) 24195010
Email-ID: chary@tifr.res.in
Kaustubh R. Mote
Solid-State NMR based Structural Biology of Membrane Proteins
Work in our lab focuses on two fronts: 1) Development of NMR techniques for improved characterization of bio-molecules and 2) using these
techniques to characterize active and passive transport across cell membrane. The long term goal of the lab is to leverage improved
techniques in solid state NMR to determine an atomistic picture of metabolite transport across biological membranes. This is expected to
yield
insights
into
metabolic
processes
in
healthy
and
diseased
cells.
Current work on the methodologies front involves the development of techniques to obtain high-resolution proton-detected spectra at
moderate (10-30 kHz) and fast (> 60 kHz) magic angle spinning speeds. These are augmented by techniques based on multiple sequential
acquisition and multiple-receivers to speed up data acquisition. This directly feeds into the application front, where the current focus is the
transport of small metabolites across the inner mitochondrial membrane. In collaboration with other labs, we are also looking at the
membrane interaction of amyloidogenic peptides in a bid to understand the molecular basis of their toxicity.
Phone: +91 40 2419 5012
Email-ID: kaustuberm@tifrh.res.in
Vipin Agarwal
Development and Application of Solid State NMR Methods for Biomolecules and Materials
In the last decade NMR spectroscopy has come of age and continues to conquer new frontiers in biology, chemistry and material science by
addressing structure and characterization issues in more challenging systems. This has shifted the focus of research in the field of solidstate NMR from primarily being method development to an application-based spectroscopic technique. However, methods and applications
in spectroscopy go hand in hand as the growth of one, fuels the progress in the other. The focus of our research is to develop new
experimental methods for solid-state NMR spectroscopy, decipher protein structures and dynamics in the solid-state at atomic resolution.
Phone: +91-40-24195012
Email-ID: vipina@tifrh.res.in
Rajat Varma
Wellcome-DBT India Alliance - Intermediate Fellow
The immune system marvelously protects us from pathogenic challenges and tumors. My research work is focused on understanding the
molecular basis of the variability of immune responses observed within a population. In particular, I am interested in discovering how the
MHC locus dictates the class of immune response. Using a multi disciplinary approach we will study how allelic variants of MHC molecules
influence biochemical network in developing T cells. We are passionate about developing biophysical and optical microscopy based tools to
observe signaling events in single living cells.
Email-ID: rajatvarma@tifrh.res.in
N.D. Hari Dass (Visiting Professor)
Current research interests are in high energy physics (working on strings in Quantum Chromodynamics), astrophysics(working on
magnetars), and foundations of quantum mechanics (working on weak measurements). Prof. Hari Dass has also worked extensively on
Quantum Field Theories and non-GR approaches to gravitation. He is passionate about teaching in general and in raising awareness in
science among school and college students. In 2004 he built India’s fastest supercomputer KABRU which was among the top 500
supercomputers of the world. He has authored the book The Principles of Thermodynamics (CRC Press).
Phone: (040) 24195060
Email-ID: dass@tifrh.res.in
Kanchan Garai
Regulation of amyloid aggregation in human diseases and bacterial biofilms
Amyloids: Many proteins and peptides spontaneously self-assemble to form fibrillar structures known as amyloids. Unlike the monomeric
proteins the amyloids are highly stable being extremely resistant to thermal or chemical denaturation. I am particularly interested in two
distinct kinds of amyloids i) those disrupt cellular functions such as fibrils of amyloid-β which causes Alzheimer’s disease and ii) those
engender functions such as curli fibers which contribute to the formation of bacterial biofilms.
Phone: (040) 24195005
Email-ID: kanchan@tifrh.res.in
Rama Govindarajan
For Newtonian fluids in relatively simple geometries, laminar flow is well-studied both experimentally and theoretically. We know a lot about
the statistical characteristics of homogeneous isotropic turbulence, but not so much about the turbulence in shear flows that occurs all
around us. What we understand the least is what makes a certain laminar flow become turbulent, and also what is the route for completing
the transition. Instability and transition to turbulence is a focus area of this group.
This group is also interested in looking into the physics of interfacial flows like the formation of hydraulic jumps and droplet evolution, where
surface tension plays a major role.
Phone: (040) 24195009
Email-ID: rama@tifrh.res.in
Anukul Jana
Specialisation: Low-Valent Low-Coordinate Organometallic Chemistry
The current trend in low-valent main Group chemistry is to design compounds, capable of showing a reactivity such as small molecule
activation and catalysis which was previously reserved for transition metal complexes. Initially, our group would like to deal in the preparative
molecular chemistry of the main Group elements focused on the development and understanding of organometallic reagents and catalysis,
and their application to the synthesis of various targets of potential significance.
Phone: (040) 24195015
Email-ID: ajana@tifrh.res.in
Smarajit Karmakar
Glass Transition - Dynamics and thermodynamics of supercooled liquids; Dynamic heterogeneity, growing length scale and its connection
to glass transition; Interplay of saddles and minima in the dynamics of supercooled liquid; Origin of Fragility; Developing coarse grain models
of glassy materials;
Mechanical Properties of Disordered Solids - Stability of disordered materials; Shear transformation Zones and plasticity in disordered
solids; Metallic glasses; Effect of magnetic field on glassy systems; Brittle to Ductile transition; Connection between plasticity and glass
transition;
Granular Materials - Jamming and effect of soft modes in the stability of jammed structure. Plasticity in frictional granular materials;
Spin Glass - Relation between spin glasses and structural glasses; Developing a model system which will work as a missing link between
Spin Glasses and structure glasses to better understand the mysteries of glass transition;
Classical Density functional theory and its applications to disordered systems.
Phone: (040) 24195007
Email-ID: smarajit@tifrh.res.in
M. Krishnamurthy
My research efforts are to create and understand matter at extreme temperature and density using very high-powered ultrashort lasers.
Matter heated to billions of kelvin not only gives us a glimpse of 'stellar systems' but also provides non-intuitive scenarios like 'making
bacteria into a bright source of hard x-rays' or devising a compact MeV accelerator for neutral atoms.
Phone: (022) 2278 2685
Email-ID: mkrism@tifr.res.in
P. K. Madhu
Nuclear magnetic resonance in solid state combining theory, numerical simulations, and experiments. Some of the research
themes are:
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Methods development for manipulation of spins to enhancing resolution and sensitivity of spectra
Radiofrequency pulse sequence design to selectively target spin interactions for geometry elucidation
Application of methods to characterise materials such as zeolites, phase transition in cases of confined materials, and measurement of Hbonds
Understanding oligomerisation/fibrilisation details in amyloid peptides, metal-ion binding properties, and peptide-membrane interaction
studies
Phone: (022) 2278 2874, (040) 24195013
Email-ID: madhu@tifr.res.in
Aprotim Mazumder
Connections between variability in DNA damage response and global genome organization in regulation of tissue-specific
differentiation and cancer development.
DNA damage is ubiquitous in nature, and cellular response to it as diverse. A vast body of literature has established an intimate link between
DNA damage responses (DDR) and the emergence of cancer, neurodegeneration and premature aging. Perturbations of specific DNA repair
pathways are often associated with cancers in specific tissues. The very broad aims of my research are to elucidate the tissue-specific
emergence of cancer with mutations in specific DNA repair pathways, and investigate the roles of DDR in tissue-specific differentiation.
Towards these ends we are currently investigating the links between global genome organization and tissue-specific DDR, both in the
context of cancer and cellular differentiation.
Phone: (040) 24195017
Email-ID: aprotim@tifrh.res.in
Narayanan Menon
Experimental non-equilibrium and soft-matter physics: I use table-top experiments as a venue in which to understand the principles of
nonequilibrium statistical physics. The physical systems we work on include granular materials, and flexible sheets and fibres. I am also
interested in learning how intricate patterns spontaneously emerge in these systems. In the past, I have worked on supercooled liquids and
glasses.
Phone: (040) 24195012
Email-ID: menon@tifrh.res.in
Jagannath Mondal
Our Research involves utilizing the novel techniques of computer simulation and statistical mechanics to provide key insights into diverse
topics of chemical and biochemical interest. We use a multi-scale approach in developing the models of diverse resolution ( atomistic to
coarse-grained) to address questions of biological and chemical processes. The methods of choice involve Molecular Dynamics simulation,
Monte Carlo simulation and Brownian Dynamics simulations. We routinely employ various enhanced sampling methods and novel freeenergy methods to access the relevant length scale and time scale associated with the biological and chemical problems of interest.
Phone: 040-24195021
Email-ID: jmondal@tifrh.res.in
T. N. Narayanan
My research interests centre within the philosophy of “science @ the interface”. Engineering the interfaces of nanomaterials for making them
smart and functional, and developing new functional solids are highly intriguing. Combinational multi-stacking of nanomaterials can lead to
new and unprecedented phenomena; those in turn help to the development of novel sensors and devices. Moreover, interfacing novel
nanostructures with conventional materials/structures can deliver energy efficient hybrids where they will be useful in the fields of energy and
environment.
Specific interests include:
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Design and development of novel nanostructures made from 1D and 2D nanomaterials.
Design, and the structure – property correlations of artificial and bio-inspired structures built from nano building blocks.
Controlled assembly of nanomaterials for designing large area circuitries and sensors.
Nanofluids and microfluidic devices.
Magneto-dielectric devices.
Bio-material interfaces.
Phone: 04024195018
Email-ID: tnn@tifrh.res.in
Prasad Perlekar
Life at high Reynolds number
Active matter, Population genetics
Multiphase flows
Droplet breakup, polymers; Spinodal decomposition
Fundamentals of 2d and 3d turbulence
Phone: (040) 24195006
Email-ID: perlekar@tifrh.res.in
Karthik V. Raman
The group focuses in the area of experimental condensed matter physics pertaining to the understanding of spin-dependent interactions at
atomic and molecular scales. Research interest covers thin film growth, nano fabrication, low temperature magneto-electronic
measurements, in-situ surface and interface characterization of magnetic multi-layers.
Phone: (040) 24195020
Email-ID: kvraman@tifrh.res.in
Surajit Sengupta (Dean)
Equilibrium and non-equilibrium materials physics
Elastic and plastic response of solids - We use molecular dynamics simulations to discover common features of the elastic and flow
behavior of crystalline and amorphous solids and networked structures.
Phase transitions and micro-structure of solids - Microstructures in a solid result from complex dynamical processes occurring after a
quench from one solid phase to another.
Driven Solids - Driven flux lattices, patterning of colloidal particles, patterning and segregation in driven materials.
Confined Solids - Colloidal solids in confinement, phase transitions of colloids in a laser template.
Geological Minerals - Non-equilibrium processes in olivines and related minerals which make up the earth's mantle.
Phone: (040) 24195008
Email-ID: surajit@tifrh.res.in
Subodh R. Shenoy (Visiting Professor)
Subodh Shenoy's research interests are broadly in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics and Statistical Physics. More specifically, he has
worked on thermal fluctuations in superconductors; spin glasses; nonequilibrium phase transitions, the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and
Josephson Junction arrays; topological excitations in the 3D XY model, and first-passage times and hysteresis.His current interests include
coherence in Bose-Einstein condensates, and re-equilibration behavior in martensitic structural transitions, that involve entropy barriers and
effective temperatures.
Phone: (040) 24195014
Email-ID: subodhrshenoy@tifrh.res.in
Shubha Tewari
Outreach and Education; Soft matter Physics
I use numerical simulations to understand how soft materials such as foams and grains go from mobile to jammed states. I also have a broad
interest in engaging with the public to create greater awareness about science and current areas of scientific interest, and with students of all
ages to convey the excitement of doing science..
Phone: (040) 24195004
Email-ID: stewari@tifrh.res.in
Pramodh Vallurupalli
Protein & RNA dynamics using NMR spectroscopy
Biological macromolecules like proteins and nucleic acids do not adopt a single rigid structure but populate a range of conformations with
different populations and lifetimes ranging from picoseconds (ps) to several seconds. NMR spectroscopy is sensitive to dynamics occurring
on the picosecond to second time scale and can be used to study the dynamics at almost every atomic site in the molecule. We will study the
dynamics of these protein and nucleic acid molecules using solution NMR spectroscopy complemented with molecular dynamics simulations.
Projects will involve studying the large-scale conformational changes in proteins and RNA like folding that occurs on the millisecond (ms) to
second (s) timescale and also studying fast local motion that occurs on the pico-nanosecond timescales. (Details of the projects will be
available soon.)
Phone: (040) 24195016
Email-ID: pramodh@tifrh.res.in