Dr. Mallepalli is currently a Professor at the School of Law, Mahindra University. She holds a Ph.D. from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. Her doctoral research was in the field of International Trade Law, India and the Dispute Settlement System under WTO. Her Post-Graduation is in Law with specialization in Corporate Laws and Post-Graduate diplomas in Alternate Dispute Resolution and Business Management with (Marketing and Advertising as major). She is also an Associate member of Company Secretaries of India (ACS) ICSI. Has published research articles in various journals. She started her career as a practicing lawyer.

She was associated with School of Law, Bennett University. At NALSAR, she has taught various subjects to the law students and management graduates and has conducted sessions for the IRS officers at National Academy of Direct Taxes. She worked as Manager-Litigation at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Bangalore. She taught business laws and other interdisciplinary subjects to the post graduate management students at Alliance University, Bangalore.

• Awarded Ph.D. (on the topic of “India and the WTO Dispute Settlement System: A Critical Analysis of Disputes Under GATS, TRIPS and Antidumping Agreements”) from NALSARUniversity of Law, Hyderabad

• ACS: Associate Company Secretary from Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

• Corporate & Commercial Law I: Contracts & Employment Law: an online non-credit course authorized by University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign
• Corporate & Commercial Law II: Business Forms, Financing & Governmental Regulation: an online non-credit course authorized by University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign

• Strategic Management: an online non-credit course authorized by Copenhagen Business School

• Strategy Formulation: an online non-credit course authorized by Copenhagen Business School

• PG Diploma in Alternate Dispute Resolution from NALSAR University of Law & International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution; (distinction)

• LL.M. in Corporate Lawsfrom PG College of Law, Osmania University Hyderabad.

• Post Graduate Diploma (PGDMBA – 2 Years) in Business Administration and Management (Marketing and Advertisingas major) ICBM, Hyderabad (Institute of Business Administration and Management, New Delhi); (Topper)

• LL.B. from AUUE College, affiliated to Osmania University, Hyderabad; (College Topper, OsmaniaUniversity distinction, 2^nd Rank)

• B.Sc. from S N Vanitha Mahavidyalaya, affiliated to Osmania University, Hyderabad

• A paper on “Shale Energy – Impact on Trade, Environment and Policies” published in International Journal of Aquatic Science
• A paper on “How settled is Dispute Settlement system at WTO”. (review with the publisher)
• A paper on “WTO Dispute Settlement and Retaliation” (review with the publisher)
• “Impact of TRIPS on Patent Act”, published in Telangana Law Journal
• “How Insurance Sales Are Different”, published in Insurance World magazine volume 15 and issue 11
• A write up published on ‘FDI in Civil Aviation Sector’ – in CASL newsletter, NALSAR University of Law
• “Strengthening Arbitration through Judiciary”, published in the American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
• “Employee Satisfaction while keeping up with the Employee Legislation’, published in the International Journal of Human Resource & Industrial Research
• “Legal and Regulatory Regime of CSR in India: Structure, Strength and Reforms” -published in the Spurthi-IMSR Journal of Management Thoughts;

Conferences and Seminars:

• Invited to be a Resource Person for a Technical Session in the National Conference on “Calibrating Corporate Governance in New Economy’ organized by HNLU Raipur in collaboration with Taxmann Publications.
• Invited to present a paper on the title ‘TRIPS: Public Health and Pandemic’ at the Seventh Annual International Mercantile Law Conference organized by the University of Free State, Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa(upcoming)
• Invited to present a paper on the ‘Impact of Digital Technologies on World Trade and Regulatory Framework” at Fourth IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference(upcoming).
• Attended FDP on ‘Right to Information: A Revolutionary Law’ organized by Centre for advanced studies in labour welfare, (CASLW) Rajiv GandhiNational University of Law, Punjab
• Attended FDP conducted by Gujarat Maritime Universityand Gujarat Labour Law Academy on ‘Maritime Laws and Seafarers’.
• Attended FDP on “Environmental Law and Policy” organized by “The Centre for Environmental Law, Policy and Research (CELPR), National Law University, Delhi
• Participated in the 6th International Conference on “Competition Law – Risk, Challenges and Way Forward held by ASSOCHAM Competition Law Council;
• Participated in the Congress ECUMENE 2021: Sustainable Finance for Climate Change, which was held in Moscowunder the auspices of the United Nations (online);
• Presented a paper on “TRIPS Agreement–Flexibilities and Complexities” at First IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference” (IPIRA) held at the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia.
• Presented a paper on “Shale and its Impact on Environment, Trade and Law” at 23rd International Forestry and Environment Symposium Towards Sustainable and Greener Future Organized by Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.
• Presentation on ‘Corporate Governance – Theory and Practice in India’ has been adjudged as the best project presentation by the ICSI, Hyderabad during 11^thMSOP Training
• Presentation on “Role of Judiciary in Arbitration: Interference or Involvement?” – in the National conference organized by National Law University, Raipur
• Presentation on the “Role of FDI in Indian Aviation sector”- in the international conference on “Regional Economic Cooperation in SAARC: Problems and Prospects for Investments”, organized by NALSAR University of Law
• Presented paper on “Legal and Regulatory Regime of CSR in India: Structure, Strength and Reforms” – in the National Symposium on “Excellence in Business Practices in 21st Century
• Attended the online conference: “St. Petersburg international legal forum 9 ½: rule of corona”.
• Delivered a talk on ‘Law as a Career, its Scope and Opportunities’ at Roots Junior College, Somajiguda Hyderabad.
• Editorial Review Committee member for “Rural Entrepreneurship Development in Liberalized Era” a book comprised of compilation of Articles contributed by the renowned authors promoted and published by “The Society for Advancement of Villagers Education and Rural Assistance” (SAVERA).
• Attended a lecture on “Legal Education in India – A Nostradamic Perspective” organized by HNLU Raipur.
• Attended global lawyers’ colloquium on the theme “diversity in the legal profession & judiciary: what’s the hope for the future?” organized by JGLS.
• As a session moderator has participated in a webinar on “COVID 19: Constitutional and Legal Conundrums” hosted by School of Law, Bennett University.
• Participated in the symposium organized by the center for transnational commercial law New Delhi, on “3 years of IBC: tracing its journey, challenges for building the road ahead” at NLU Delhi.
• Attended the global online conference on “combating covid-19: biotech to the rescue” organized by Bennett University.
• Attended a webinar by IPPO on “pandemics, patents and public interest” Attended global lawyers’ colloquium on “global lawyering and the corporate legal profession in a post-corona world” organized by Jindal Global Law School
• attended a webinar on “Protecting Civil Liberties during Emergencies: does covid-19 pose new threats to rights and freedoms?” organized by JGLS
• Attended global lawyers’ colloquium on the theme “diversity in the legal profession & judiciary: what’s the hope for the future?” organized by JGLS
• Attended a national webinar on ‘getting ready for NAAC’ organized by MIT world peace university.
• Participated in National seminar on “Green Biotechnology & its Impact on Indian Economy, at Bennett University
• Participated the National Conference on “Law, Development and Social Inclusion, at Bennett University
• Attended the National conference on the “Conundrum of Theory and Practice in Legal Education” at Bennett University
• Attended The – JGU Conference on “Developing World Class Universities in India: Role of Data Benchmarking” in New Delhi
• Participated Tax Conferences PwC in-house; and organized by CII, ASSOCHAM, FICCI, ICAI etc.,
• Participated in seminar on “America Invents Act 2011” organized by NLSIU, Bangalore
• Participated in the CSR-NGO South Regional Conference on the theme, “A key to inclusive business through CSR-NGO partnerships”, hosted by Alliance University, Bangalore
• Participated in the 13th Annual Global Information Technology Management Association World Conference (GITMA). GITMA is an international academic society focused on research in Information Systems and Technologies
• Attended National conference / workshop on “Liberalization and Privatization of Space activities in India: Emerging legal issues”, organized by NALSAR University of Law
• Attended Doctoral Consortium in marketing on the theme, “Research in Emerging Markets”, which was organized by Alliance University, Bangalore
• Participated in the HR Summit on the theme, “Changing Trends in Human Capital”— an event which was organized by The Centre for Industry Interaction, Alliance University, Bangalore

• July 2021 to Present , Professor at the School of Law, MU
• She has a varied work experience; in marketing had managed a team of workforce involving the field support, training, and development; had practiced law in Trial and Appellate Courts, Consumer Forum, Labour Tribunal, Tax Tribunal etc., been associated with senior lawyer;
• She was an Assistant Company Secretary in a reputable organization handling the Legal and Corporate compliances.
• As a Manager-Litigation in tax advisory services at PwC she has been instrumental in research and devising the litigation strategies for successful representation before the appropriate Tax Authorities.
• She has been an educator in various educational institutions like Bennett University, Nalsar University of Law, Alliance University, PG College of Law etc., and has taught various subjects. Her varied educational qualifications and experience has contributed to a unique way of interdisciplinary teaching. Adept in handling interdisciplinary subjects like cyberlaws, international trade laws and corporate laws. She was designated as the subject expert for few courses; and was Area Coordinator for Corporate Governance at NALSAR. She had been part of various committees and in administrative roles throughout her teaching tenure.

• Her research interests include International Trade Laws, IPRs, Cyber Laws, Marketing Laws, Laws for Engineers and Corporate Laws.

Before joining Mahindra University, he worked with Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida (a deemed to be University). Dr. Chandra received his Ph.D. from JUIT, Solan, HP in 2010. During his teaching career of more than 22 years, he has taught courses such as Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Structures, Soft Computing and Design and Analysis of Algorithms. He has served many universities as head examiner, thesis evaluator and expert of selection committee and question paper setter. He has been Involved in various outreach events that help promote learning and support the community. Dr. Satish has taken lead roles in curriculum development, NBA accreditation, NAAC and NIRF ranking process.

• Ph.D. (Computer Science & Engineering) : Jaypee University of I.T., Solan, HP, 2010

• M.Tech.: Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, 2002

• B.E.: Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi., 1997

• Aug 2025 – present, Professor, in the Department of CSE, Mahindra University
• Jan 2023 – Aug 2025, Associate Professor, in the Department of CSE, Mahindra University

• Professor (2021-2023), Jaypee Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida

• Assistant Professor, Associate Professor (2011-2015), Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida

• Assistant Professor (2010-2011), Jaypee University of I.T., Solan, HP

• Lecturer Professor (2003-2010), Jaypee University of I.T., Solan, HP

• Associate Lecturer (2000-2003), Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi,

• Systems Engineer (1997-1999), Hindustan Motors Ltd. , Kolkata

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Medical Image Analysis
Metaheuristic Computing,

Research Guidance – PhD (Completed): 05
M.Tech. (Completed): 15

With an undeterred motto for creating a Just Society, Sridhar Acharyulu has been an acclaimed academician and a seasoned professional, with opulent multi-disciplinary and Inter-disciplinary experience in law and media. Before joining Mahindra University, he served as a professor, in the School of law, at Bennett University, Greater Noida. Prior to that, he was the Central Information Commissioner (Rank equivalent to Election Commissioner/Supreme Court Judge) from 2013 to 2018; during which he delivered, several landmark judgements and orders, on transparency and privacy, under the Right to Information Act. He also served as Registrar of NALSAR University, Hyderabad. He has earned his Ph.D. in Law from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Prof. Acharyulu is a truth-seeking columnist on socio-political happenings and policies of the state. He has written and published 50 books on Law and Journalism in both Telugu and English, more than 100 research articles and thousands of news-paper articles. As a part of his professional distinction, he has been a columnist in Sakshi (Popular Telugu Daily) and Hans India (English Daily Hyderabad). He has also prepared a status report on Child Rights in Andhra Pradesh 2000-01. As a part of his rights awareness, he has Anchored “Bhoomi Kosam” (For land) in Telugu live phone-in program on a Telugu TV channel HMTV in 2012 spanning 61 weekly episodes on Sunday during prime time.

• LL.D.: Got LL.D. for my thesis on Judicial Legislation on Privacy versus Parliamentary Act on Right to Information (2018-2021)

• Ph.D.: Ph.D. on Media Law topic “Freedom of Speech Expression vis-à-vis Law of Defamation”.

• LL.M. Specialization in Law of Crimes and Torts

• MCJ: Master of Communications & Journalism: Awarded 4 gold medals in M.C.J. including one for Thesis on Freedom of Speech and Contempt of Court.

• LL.B. Awarded Gold Medal

Book Chapters

• Dr M Sridhar Acharyulu, “Global Legal Education and NEP 2020: Availability, Accessibility and Affordability” book “Globalization of Professional Legal Education, Constitutional Conceptus” Edited by Nuzhat Parveen Khan & Garima Tiwari, Bloomsbury, 2021, ISBN 978-93-54350-82-5

Law Books (Published in English)

• RTI: Duty to Disclose, Revised Edition of RTI Use and Abuse, Allahabad Law Agency, Faridabad, Haryana, 2019.
• Privacy as Secrecy, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2018.
• Is Bribery a Family Affair? Analysis of Privacy of Public Servants, 2017.
• Telangana, AP Reorganization Act, 2014, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2015.
• Telangana: The 29th State Empowered by Article 3, Mohan Law House, Delhi, 2014.
• Constitutional Governance and Judicial Process (Editor), Asia Law House, 2014.
• Nirbhaya Act (Is it Impossible to Stop Rape), Asia Law House, 2013.
• Media Law – Policy, Module I, PG Diploma Course, NalsarPro, Hyderabad, 2012.
• New Media – Internet, Module III, PG Diploma Course, NalsarPro, Hyderabad, 2011.
• Judging Right to Information, Centre for Good Governance, 2011.
• The Other Side of Nuclear Liability, All India Lawyers Union AP Committee, 2010.
• Environmental Empowerment, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2009.
• Unfair Rent and Uncontrollable Controls, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2009.
• Elections and Media: Kalaala Kaapalaa (Telugu book on the role of media in elections), AP Press Academy, Hyderabad, 2009.
• Law of Expression (Law for Media), Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2007.
• Co-editor, P.A. Choudary’s Vision and Mission: Indian Constitutional Governance, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2007.
• Ramaswamy Iyer’s Law of Torts (Co-author with Prof. A. Lakshminath), Butterworths, New Delhi, 2007.
• Right to Information, Wadhwa, Nagpur/New Delhi, 2006.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution, Negotiation and Mediation, Butterworths, New Delhi, 2006.
• Legal Language, Asia Law House, Hyderabad.
• FIR, Arrest & Bail, Asia Law House.
• Appointment of Judges: A Critical Analysis, Research Project for Lok Satta, Hyderabad.
• Constitutional Foundations of Media Law, Module II, PG Diploma Course, NalsarPro, Hyderabad, 2010.
• Advertisements and Law, Module IV for Media Law, NalsarPro, Hyderabad, 2010.

Telugu Publications

• Nilichi Gelichina Telangana, Asia Law House, 2015.
• Andhra Pradesh Vibhajana Chattam, Telugu book on AP Reorganization Act, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2015.
• Supreme Court Judgment on Salwa Judum, 2013.
• Ayodhya Teerpu, EMESCO, Hyderabad, 2011.
• Right to Information (Telugu Booklet), Telugu University and AP Official Language Commission, 2006.
• Equal Rights to Daughters, Telugu University and AP Official Language Commission, 2006.
• Samacharam Mana Janma Hakku (Right to Information: Our Birth Right), Asia Law House, Hyderabad.
• Dharmasana Chaitanyam (Judicial Activism in Telugu).
• Kaarmika Chattalu (Labour Laws in Telugu), revised edition, 2013.
• FIR, Arrest & Bail (Telugu), revised edition, 2012.
• Mahilalu Chattalu (Women & Law in Telugu), revised edition, 2012.
• Panchanama (Telugu).
• Patrikarachana – Paruvu Nastam – Court Dhikkaram (Writing for the Press, Defamation and Contempt of Court in Telugu), AP Press Academy, Hyderabad.
• Nyayavyavastha (Judicial System), Telugu Academy, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, 2004.
• Paryavarana Parijnanam (Environmental Law in Telugu), NALSAR Environment Capacity Building Programme, 2003.

NHRC Telugu Booklet

• Bonded Labour, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• Manual Scavenging, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• Human Rights Commission, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• International Treaties on Human Rights, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• Sexual Harassment, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• Human Rights and AIDS, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• Child Labour, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.
• Rights of Disabled, NALSAR–NHRC Booklet, 2005.

Designed Courses:

• PG Diploma in Human Rights, AP Open University
• PG Diploma in Media Laws: NALSAR, University
• PG Diploma in ADR, NALSAR University
• PG Diploma in Insurance Law, NALSAR University
• PG Diploma in Women & Law

Special Courses introduced:

• Farmers Suicides: Agricultural Law
• Cyber Criminology
• Criminal Liability of Corporations
• Election Law
• Media Law

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madabhushi_Sridhar

• July 2021 to Present, Advisor and Professor MU

• Professor, School of Law, Bennett University, 2018-2021

• Chief Information Commissioner 2013-2018

• Registrar NALSAR University 2011-12

• Chair Professor IPR (MHRD) NALSAR 2008-09
• Coordinator NALSAR Proximate Education Centre 2008-09

• Coordinator: Centre for Media Law & Public Policy

• Vice Principal,Pendekanti Law College, Hyderabad 1994-2000

• Media Law
• Constitutional Law
• Crimes & Torts Law

Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh is the Founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law University Delhi, established by the Delhi Government in 2008. Prof. Singh has been a Vice-Chancellor for over 22 years now.

He is the Past President of the Association of India Universities (AIU) and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI).

Born in September 1949, Prof. Singh obtained B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M., and Ph.D. Degrees from Kurukshetra University. Thereafter, he continued there as a Faculty member till 1978. He then moved to Maharshi Dayanand University at Rohtak as the founding Faculty and continued there till 1996 in various capacities as Professor, Head, Dean, and Proctor. He served as Professor of Law at NLSIU during 1996-97.

He was invited to be the Founder Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR, University of Law, established by the Andhra Pradesh Government in 1998. He has been there for ten years as the Vice-Chancellor of the well-known premier institution for legal education and research in the country, which was rated as one of the Best universities in the Country in the year 2008 in ‘India Today’.

Prof. Singh’s contribution in redesigning legal education in the country has been instrumental, especially since he has been associated with three best law schools in India, i.e. Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi.

His legal writings span the areas of Jurisprudence, Human Rights, Legal Education, Legal Aid, Personal Laws, and Justice Education, and he has more than 50 research publications to his credit.

He has edited two publications, one on “Human Rights Education, Law and Society” and the other on “Cyber Space and the Law – Issues and Challenges”. He has also co-authored two scholarly publications, one on ‘Fiscal Federalism – Constitutional Conspectus’ and the other on Constitutional Law. Under his guidance, several scholars have been awarded Ph.D. Degrees.

Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh has been assisting the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in preparing the India’s National Report on Human Rights for the First UPR (2008), Second UPR (2012), and Third UPR (2017). He was also a part of the High Level Indian Delegation which presented the First, Second and Third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva held in 2008, 2012 and 2017 respectively.

• Ph.D., Kurukshetra University
• LL.M., Kurukshetra University
• LL.B., Kurukshetra University
• B.Sc., Kurukshetra University

• Advisor, School of Law, Mahindra University, 2025
• Founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law University Delhi,
• Founder Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR, University of Law,
• Professor of Law at NLSIU, 1996-97.
• Founding Faculty, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
• Faculty member, Kurukshetra University,

Awards and Recognition:

Prof. Singh has been the recipient of many awards in recognition of his accomplishments, both as an administrator and teacher/researcher, and some of them are:

• ‘Ambassador For Peace’ award for promoting peace and harmony by Universal Peace Federation – 2019;
• “Lawyers’ of India’ Day Award – 2018″, for outstanding contribution to the development of Legal Education in India from Bar Association of India – 2018;
• Symbiosis-IALS Life Time Achievement Award for Excellence in Legal and Justice Education by International Association of Law Schools, USA & Symbiosis University, Pune – 2017;
• Life Time Achievement Award in recognition of the exemplary contribution towards Legal Education by Saveetha University – 2015;
• ‘Karmayogi Samman’ by Haryana Institute of Fine Arts – 2012;
• Professor N.R. Madhava Menon Best Law Teacher Award – 2011.
• Lex Witness recognized him in the “Hall of fame: Top 50”, as an individual who have helped shape the legal landscape of modern India.
• He was awarded “Alumnus of Distinction” by His Excellency, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India – 2007.
• British Council had portrayed him as one of the 12 talented, creative, and generous spirits who are making an effort personally and through their institution to ensure their engagement with the U.K., works to mutual benefit.

Dr. E.R. Jayaram is a seasoned academic leader, legal educator, and institutional builder with over two decades of experience across premier legal institutions in India. As Dean of the School of Law at Mahindra University, he brings a visionary approach to legal education, drawing on his leadership roles at Manipal University Jaipur, GD Goenka University, and other law schools where he has successfully driven curriculum innovation, improved institutional rankings, and fostered international collaborations.

Dr. Jayaram’s academic expertise lies in Intellectual Property Rights, with a Ph.D. focused on Genomic Data Protection and IPR Management through Open-Source Systems. His career has been marked by foundational roles in establishing law schools, setting up institutional centres for arbitration and mediation, and fostering academic ecosystems aligned with andragogical principles, Outcome-Based Education, and assurance of learning.

Before entering academia, he served as an Associate Lawyer at Fox Mandal & Associates, one of India’s most respected corporate law firms. This experience gave him deep exposure to corporate law, commercial litigation, and intellectual property practice, which continue to enrich his academic and pedagogical framework. His transition into higher education has been consistently driven by a vision for learner autonomy, experiential learning, and professional readiness.

As Dean at Manipal University Jaipur, he led the initiative to establish the Manipal International Centre for Conflict Resolution -India’s first institutional arbitration and mediation centre within a law school. This pioneering initiative was recognised with the Best ADR Innovation Award by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Arbitration & Mediation (APCAM). Dr. Jayaram also spearheaded the establishment of Justice Delivery Centres in academic institutions through the Gate to Justice (G2J) initiative, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM). These centres advance access to justice, community-based mediation, and the integration of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms into legal education and outreach.

He was also instrumental in establishing Mar Gregorios College of Law (MGCL), where he played a pivotal role in shaping the college’s rise to prominence within Kerala’s legal education landscape. MGCL was honoured with the Institutional Excellence Award by the Society of Indian Law Firms and the Menon Institute of Legal Advocacy and Training (MILAT) in 2017. Dr. Jayaram also led the first National Law Reforms Competition in collaboration with the Law Commission of India, and oversaw the establishment of the Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon Chair on Legal Education.

Dr. Jayaram’s research interests is in the area of IPR, biodiversity law, innovation policy, and technology law. He has authored several impactful publications and contributed to conference proceedings, while actively participating in national and international academic forums. His early research with the Virtual University for Agricultural Trade (VUAT) at Kerala Agricultural University focused on IPR, biodiversity, WTO law, and capacity building for local governance. He also contributed to a UNCTAD-supported study on trade and agriculture.

He currently serves as a Member of the Bar Council of India’s Inspection Committee, contributing to regulatory oversight and quality enhancement in legal education.

• Ph.D. (Intellectual Property Rights- Law) Mahatma Gandhi University

• LL.M (Intellectual Property Rights- Law) Mahatma Gandhi University

• BA LL.B Mangalore University

Publications

• He has authored several impactful publications in the areas of IPR, data protection, and legal education, and has contributed to conference proceedings while actively participating in national and international academic forums.

• Dean and Professor of Law, Mahindra University, May 25- Present
• Dean and Professor of Law, GD Goenka University, June 24- May 25
• Dean and Professor of Law, Manipal University, Jaipur, June 22- June 24
• Principal, Co-operative School of Law, June 20- June 22
• Mar Gregorios College of Law, June 17- June 20
• Associate Professor & HOD -SDM Law College, Sept 16 – June 17
• Associate Professor, Co-operative Law College, June 13- Aug 16
• Assistant Professor, Mar Gregorios College of Law, Trivandrum, July 12- June 13
• Visiting Faculty, National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Jan 12- July 12
• Visiting Faculty, School of Indian Legal Thought, Aug 08-July 12
• Project Associate, Kerala Agricultural University, Aug 06- Aug 08
• Associate Lawyer (Corporate & IPR), March 2000- Feb 2006

Dr. Jayaram holds a deep research interest in intellectual property law, legal education, and access to justice. His early work focused on genomic data protection, open-source innovation, and biodiversity law, with contributions to policy-oriented research through projects at Kerala Agricultural University and UNCTAD.

In recent years, his academic focus has expanded to the reform of legal education, particularly through learner-centric, outcome-based curriculum design grounded in andragogical approaches.

His current area of interest involves integrating the professional practice of mediation and arbitration into legal education to strengthen access to justice, with particular emphasis on community mediation and institutional dispute resolution.

Dr. Venkataraman has been associated with Mahindra university since its inception and its formative years at Mahindra Ecole centrale (MU) since 2014. Prior to joining MU, he has several years of post-doctoral research experience at the Laboratory for surface science and technology, Department of materials (D-MATL), Swiss federal institute of technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland. He obtained Ph.D. from the Department of inorganic and physical chemistry, Indian Institute of Science (I.I.Sc), Bangalore. His Ph.D. thesis has been recognized by Dr. A. Nagaraja Rao Medal and Dr. J. C. Ghosh Medal as the best Ph.D. thesis of the year in the division of chemical sciences and in the department of inorganic and physical chemistry. His current research interests are in the areas of surfaces and interfaces, surface modification, patterning and spectroscopy.

• Ph.D.: Dept. of Inorg. & Phys. Chem., Indian Institute of Science, (IISc) Bangalore, India, 2002.

• M.Sc.: Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, 1995. Specialization : Physical Chemistry.

• B.Sc.: Chemistry: Salem Sowdeswari College, Salem, University of Madras, 1993.

Journal Articles:

• Solasa, K. C., Venkataraman, N. V., Choudhury, P. R., Schueller, J. K., Bhattacharyya, A., Tribology Letters, 72, 45, 2024.
• Passiu, C., Rossi, A., Bernard, L., Paul, D., Hammond, J., Wolfgang E. S. Unger, Venkataraman, N. V., Spencer, N. D., Langmuir, 33, pp. 5657–5665, 2017.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Kumar, D., Rossi, A., Zurcher, S., Spencer, N. D., Langmuir, 30, 10107, 2014.
• Naik, V., Crobu, M., Venkataraman, N. V., Spencer, N. D., Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 4, 2745, 2013.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Pei, J., Rossi, A., Spencer, N. D., Langmuir, 29, 9935, 2013.
• Beurer, E., Venkataraman, N. V., Sommer, M., Spencer, N. D., Langmuir, 28, 3159, 2012.
• Amstad, E., Gehring, A. U., Fischer, H., Venkataraman, N. V., Hahner, G., Textor, M., Reimhult, E., Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 115, 683, 2011.
• Beurer, E., Venkataraman, N. V., Rossi, A., Bachmann, F., Engeli, R., Spencer, N. D., Langmuir, 26, 8392, 2010.
• Heeb, R., Lee, S., Venkataraman, N. V., Spencer, N. D., ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 1, 1105, 2009.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Zurcher, S., Rossi, A., Lee, S., Naujoks, N., Spencer, N. D., Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113, 5620, 2009.
• Liu, H.-B., Venkataraman, N. V., Bauret, T., Textor, M., Xiao, S.-J., Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 112, 12372, 2008.
• Liu, H.-B., Venkataraman, N. V., Spencer, N. D., Textor, M., Xiao, S.-J., ChemPhysChem, 9, 1961, 2008.
• Lee, S., Heeb, R., Venkataraman, N. V., Spencer, N. D., Tribology Letters, 28, 229, 2007.
• Spori, D. M., Venkataraman, N. V., Tosatti, S. G. P., Durmaz, F., Spencer, N. D., Zurcher, S., Langmuir, 23, 8053, 2007.
• Suresh, R., Venkataraman, N., Vasudevan, S., Ramanathan, K. V., Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 111, 495, 2007.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Zurcher, S., Spencer, N. D., Langmuir, 22, 4184, 2006.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 107, 10119, 2003.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan,S., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 107, 5371, 2003.
• Barman, S., Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Seshadri, R., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 107, 1875, 2003.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Mohanambe, L., Vasudevan, S., Journal of Materials Chemistry, 13, 170, 2003.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Bhagyalakshmi, S., Vasudevan, S., Seshadri, R., Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 4, 4533, 2002.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 106, 7766, 2002.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Barman, S., Vasudevan, S., Seshadri, R., Chemical Physics Letters, 358, 139, 2002.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences (Chemical Sciences), 113, 539, 2001.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 105, 7639, 2001.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 105, 1805, 2001.
• Venkataraman, N. V., Vasudevan, S., Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 104, 11179, 2000.

Book Chapters:

• Chapter titled “Patterning gradients” in the book “Micro-patterning in Cell Biology Part-A” – Methods in Cell Biology, Volume 119, 2014, Pages 91–121– N. V. Venkataraman, C. Cremmel, C. Zink, R. Huber, N. D. Spencer.

Conference Publications:

• Solasa K.C., Bhattacharyya A., Roy Choudhury P., Venkataraman N.V. Solid State Phenomena 2025; 370: 51–60.
• Solasa, K.C., Venkataraman, N.V., Choudhury, P.R., Bhattacharyya, A. Proceedings of ITS-IFToMM 2024, Mechanisms and Machine Science, vol 160. 124-133, Springer.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1078-0359

• Jan 2021 – Associate Professor, Department of chemistry, Ecole Centrale school of Engineering, Mahindra university, Hyderabad, India

• Mar 2014 – Dec 2020: Associate Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Mahindra Ecole Centrale (MU), Hyderabad, India

• Apr 2010 – Mar 2012 & Jan 2013 – Jan 2014: Senior Scientist (Oberassistent): Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, Department of Materials, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)-Zurich, Switzerland

• Jan 2003 – Mar 2010: Post-Doctoral Assistant: Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, Department of Materials, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)-Zurich, Switzerland

• Nov 2002 – Jan 2003: Academic Guest: Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, Department of Materials, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)-Zurich, Switzerland

• Aug. 1996–Jul. 1998 & Aug.1998–Jul. 2001: Junior/Senior Research Fellow: Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

• 1996: Project Scientist: Department of Metallurgy and Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India

• Physicochemical modification of surfaces
• Self-assembled monolayers
• Controlling surface roughness/topography
• Micro and nano-scale patterning
• Surface spectroscopy

Current research topics:

• Structure-property correlations in surface modification for tribological applications
• Understanding the role of surface roughness and surface chemistry in controlling heterogeneous crystallization

Dr. Chitra Gurnani is currently an Professor at Department of Chemistry, École Centrale School of Engineering, Mahindra University, Hyderabad. Her research primarily focusses on designing materials for energy and sustainability. Dr. Gurnani undertook her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2009. Following her Ph.D., she she was awarded the Royal Society Newton International Fellowship (2011-2013) where she explored new methods for the deposition of important functional binary semiconductor materials towards important targets in energy and electronics at University of Southampton, UK. She then joined as Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore where she worked on the synthesis of novel low coordinate/low valent main group compounds (primarily Group 13 and Group 15), and further elucidated their underlying electronic structure and patterns of reactivity. She joined Mahindra Ecole Centrale as an Assistant Professor in October 2015.

• Ph.D. Chemistry, MDS University, India (2009)

• M.Sc. Chemistry, MDS University, Ajmer, India (2005)

• B.Sc. (Chemistry Hons), MDS University, Ajmer, India (2003)

• Sayali Shrishail Harke, Yogesh Jadhav, Vikas B. Patil and Chitra Gurnani (2025). Facile Solution-Processed Deposition of Bi₂S₃ Nanostructures for a Highly Sensitive and Selective Room-Temperature NO₂ Sensor. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater., 7(3), 1291–1304.

• Prajakta N. Gaikwad, Trishala R. Desai, Souradyuti Ghosh and Chitra Gurnani (2024). Flexible Nanostructured NiS-Based Electrochemical Biosensor for Simultaneous Detection of DNA Nucleobases. ACS Omega, 10(3), 2561–2574. (Selected as Front cover page)
• Trishala R. Desai, R. Sai Prasad Goud, Tukaram D. Dongale and Chitra Gurnani (2024). Evaluation of Nanostructured NiS₂ Thin Films from a Single-Source Precursor for Flexible Memristive Devices. ACS omega, 8(51), 48873-48883. (Selected as Front cover page)
• Trishala R. Desai, Aashi Gupta, Chitra Gurnani. 2024. Nanostructured NiS2 based Flexible Smart Sensors for Human Respiration Monitoring. Royal Society Philos. Trans. A, (Manuscript Accepted, DOI 10.1098/rsta.2023.0323).

• Sayali Shrishail Harke, Tongjun Zhang, Ruomeng Huang and Chitra Gurnani * “Solution-based in-situ deposition of Sb2S3 from a single source precursor for resistive random-access memory devices”, Materials Advances, 2023, DOI: 10.1039/D3MA00205. (Selected as the inside front cover for an issue of Materials Advances).
• T. R. Desai, S. S. Kundale, T. D. Dongale, C. Gurnani*, Evaluation of Cellulose-MXene Composite Hydrogel Based Bio-Resistive Random-Access Memory Material as Mimics for Biological Synapse. ACS. Appl. Bio Mat., 2023, 1, 1–34. (Selected as Front cover page).

• C. Gurnani, S. L. Hawken, A. L. Hector, R. Huang, M. Jura, W. Levason, J. Perkins, G. Reid, G. Stenning, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 2628-2637.
• S. L. Benjamin, C. H. de Groot, C. Gurnani, S. L. Hawken, A. L. Hector, R. Huang, M. Jura, W. Levason, E. Reid, G. Reid, S. P. Richards, G. Stenning, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018, 29, 7734-7739.
• R. Huang, S. L. Benjamin, C. Gurnani, Yudong Wang, A. L. Hector, W. Levason, G. Reid, C. H. (Kees) De Groot,Nature-Sci. Rep. 6, 2016, 27593-27597.

• C. Gurnani, N. Đorđević, S. Muthaiah, D. Dimić, R. Ganguly, M. Petković, D. Vidović “Extending the chemistry of carbones: P–N bond cleavage via an SN2′-like mechanism” Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 10762-10764.
• Y. K. Loh, C. Gurnani, R. Ganguly, D. Vidović, “A Dicationic Iminophosphane.” Inorg. Chem., 2015, 54, 3087−3089.

• S. L Benjamin, Y. Chang, C. Gurnani, A. L. Hector, M. Huggon, W. Levason, G. Reid, “Niobium (V) and Tantalum (V) halide chacogenoether complexes towards single source CVD precursors for ME₂ thin Films.” Dalton Trans., 2014, 43, 16640. Selected for themed collection HOT articles Dalton Transactions 2014.
• S. L Benjamin, C. H. (Kees) de Groot , C. Gurnani , A. L. Hector , R. Huang , E. Koukharenko, W. Levason , G. Reid , “Controlling the nanostructures of bismuth telluride by selective chemical vapour deposition from a single source precursor.” J. Mat. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 4865-4869.

• R. Huang, P. N. Bartlett, S. L. Benjamin, C. Gurnani, A. L. Hector, A. Jolleys, G. P. Kissling, W. Levason, S. J. Pearce, G. Reid, C. H. (Kees) de Groot, “Selective Deposition of Phase Change Materials by Chemical Vapor Deposition and Electrodeposition.” European\Phase Change and Ovonics Symposium (E\PCOS), 2013, 11-14.
• K. George, C. H. (Kees) de Groot , C. Gurnani , A. L. Hector , R. Huang , M. Jura , W. Levason , G. Reid , “Telluroether and Selenoether Complexes as Single Source Reagents for Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Crystalline Ga₂Te₃ and Ga₂Se₃ Thin Films.” Chem. Mater., 2013, 25, 1829−1836.
• C. Gurnani, A. L. Hector, E. Jager, D. C. Pugh, W. Levason, G. Reid, “Tin(II) fluoride vs. tin(II) chloride – a comparison of their coordination chemistry with neutral ligands.” Dalton Trans., 2013, 42, 8364-8374.
• K. George, C. H. (Kees) de Groot , C. Gurnani , A. L. Hector , R. Huang , M. Jura , W. Levason , G. Reid , “Low pressure chemical vapour deposition of crystalline Ga ₂Te₃ and Ga₂Se₃ thin films from single source precursors using telluroether and selenoether complexes.” Physics Procedia., 2013, 142-148. (Special Issue EUROCVD19 Nineteenth European Conference on Chemical Vapor Deposition).
• C. Gurnani , C. H. (Kees) de Groot , S. L Benjamin, A. L. Hector , R. Huang , K. Ignatyev, W. Levason , F. Thomas, G. Reid , “Area Selective Low Pressure CVD Growth of Titanium Diselenide Thin Films into Micro patterned Substrates.” Chem. Mater., 2013, 25, 4719-4724.
• C. H. (Kees) de Groot , C. Gurnani , A. L. Hector , R. Huang , M. Jura , W. Levason , G. Reid , “Highly Selective Chemical Vapor Deposition of Tin Diselenide Thin Films onto Patterned Substrates via Single Source Diselenoether Precursors.” Chem. Mater., 2012, 24, 4442–4449.

• C. Gurnani, M. Jura, W. Levason, R. Ratnani, G. Reid, M. Webster, “Preparation and structures of tellurium (IV) halide complexes with thioether coordination.” Dalton Trans. , 2009, 4122-4128.
• C. Gurnani, M. Jura, W. Levason, R. Ratnani, G. Reid, M. Webster, “Synthesis, characterisation and structures of thio-, seleno- and telluro-ether complexes of indium (III) halides.” Dalton Trans., 2009, 1611-1619.

• C. Gurnani, W. Levason, R. Ratnani, G. Reid, M. Webster, “Synthesis, characterisation and structures of thio-, seleno- and telluro-ether complexes of gallium (III).” Dalton Trans., 2008, 6274-6282.
• J. Drake, C. Gurnani, S. Maheshwari, R. Ratnani, “Crystal structure of Bis[O,O’-di(p-tolyl)thiophosphoryl]disulphide,[(p-MeC₆H₄O)₂PS₂] _2.” Anal. Sci., 2008, 24(9), x197-x198.
• J. Drake, C. Gurnani, M. Hursthouse, M. Light, M. Nirwan, R. Ratnani, “Synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of dimethyl/di(n-butyl)tin(IV)bisO,O’-ditolyldithiophosphate) complexes. Crystal Structures of Me₂Sn[S₂P(OC₆H₄Me-o)₂]₂ and n-Bu₂Sn[S₂P(OC₆H₄Me-o)₂]₂.” Appl. Organometal. Chem., 2007, 21, 539 – 544.
• A. Bingham, J. Drake, C. Gurnani, M. Hursthouse, M. Light, M. Nirwan, R. Ratnani, “Triethyl ammonium salt of O,O’-bis(p -tolyl) dithiophosphate, [Et₃NH]⁺[4-MeC₆H₄O]₂PS₂]₂. ^”J. Chem. Cryst., 2006, 36(10), 627-630.

BOOK CHAPTERS:

• C. Gurnani, W. Levason and Reid G. (2013) Macrocyclic Thio-, Seleno-, and Telluroether Ligands. In: Reedijk, J. (Ed.) Elsevier Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. 11-Sep-2013 doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-409547-2.00979-3.
• C. Gurnani , W. Levason and G. Reid. (2013) Acyclic Thio-, Seleno-, and Telluroether Ligands. In: Reedijk, J. (Ed.) Elsevier Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. 11-Sep-2013 doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-409547-2.00887-8.

Patents

• Suprabha S. Dixit, Sayali Shrishail Harke, and Chitra Gurnani, “Metal sulfides-based device for on-site detection of heavy metal ions in water and method therefor”, India Patent application IN202441030989, April 2024.
• Sayali Shrishail Harke and Chitra Gurnani, “Method of preparation of M2S3 (M=Sb, Bi) films at low temperature”, India Patent application IN202341027475, April 2023.
• C. Gurnani , Sai Madhavan and Sai Tati Teja, “Portable Modular Interlocking and Low-Cost Redox Flow Cell Stack Unit” India Patent application, 202041048937, Dec 2021.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

• Selective Chemical Vapor Deposition of Nanoscale Arrays of Sb₂Te_3, C. Gurnani, W. Levason, G. Reid, 28^thAnnual General Meeting of Material Research Society of India (MRSI-2017) IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India, (2017).
• Chemical Vapor Deposition of Nanoscale Arrays of Main group chalcogenides, C. Gurnani, W. Levason, G. Reid, UK-India Symposium on Functional Materials, University of Edinburgh, UK, (2016).
• Comparison of reactivity of carbodiphosphorane with different phosphines, C. Gurnani, D. Vidovic, 8th International Chemistry Conference, Singapore, (2014).

• Chemical vapour deposition of main group chalcogenides: From precursor synthesis to phase change memory materials C. Gurnani, R. Huang , C. H. (Kees) de Groot , A. L. Hector , W. Levason , G. Reid , Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Dalton Division Conference, Warwick, UK, (2012).
• Seelctive Chemical vapour deposition of main group chalcogenides, C. Gurnani , R. Huang , C. H. (Kees) de Groot , A. L. Hector , W. Levason , G. Reid , RSC- Challenges in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (ISACS8), Toronto, ( 2012).

Workshops

• Participated in Workshop on “ Advanced Material Characterisation techniques” organised by IIT-Hyderabad Aug 2019.

Invited Talks:

• “Molecular Precursors for Selective Growth of Metal Chalcogenides for Sustainable Energy Harvesting Applications”, Chitra Gurnani, Commonwealth Science Congress 2021 (2021)
• “New Reagents for selective growth of thermoelectric metal chalcogenides for energy harvesting” Chitra Gurnani, National Webinar conducted by Government Victoria College Palakkad, Kerala (2021).
• Selective Chemical Vapor deposition of Chalcogenides for Thermoelectric Applications Chitra Gurnani, Resource Person for Faculty Development Program jointly organized by Commissionerate College Education Rajasthan and Department of Chemistry, SPC Government College Ajmer (2021)
• Selective Chemical Vapour Deposition of Main Group Chalcogenides” Chitra Gurnani Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, UK, Feb 2016, UK

• Chalcogenide Alloys: From Single Source Precursors to Phase Change and Thermoelectric Application, Chitra Gurnani STFC, Harwell Innovation Campus, Oxford (2015).
• Invited talk at the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK)-India Deccan Local Section to deliver a lecture addressing UG and PG students Women in Science at St Ann’s College for Women, Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad on (2015).

• Professor, Department of Chemistry, Mahindra University, Hyderabad, 2025
• Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Mahindra University, Hyderabad, 2018 – 2025

• Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Mahindra University, Hyderabad, 2018- 2015

• Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 2013-2015

• Royal Society Newton International Fellow, University of Southampton, UK, 2011-2013

• Assistant Professor, Central University of Rajasthan, 2010

• Lecturer,Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Ajmer

My research area focusses on finding solutions to technologically and scientifically stimulating societal concerns, with a special emphasis on materials for energy and sustainability.

• Design and engineering of next-generation flow-battery technologies
• Chemical Vapour Deposition of Chalcogenide alloys for Energy Harvesting applications
• Novel Routes to Clean Energy Technologies: Hydrogen generation by Photocatalytic Water Splitting
• Two dimensional materials for high performance electrode materials for Lithium ion battery
• Bioinspired Catalysis: New Nitrogenase mimics as materials for dinitrogen reduction

Research Grants:

• “Novel Routes to Clean energy Technologies, PI: Chitra Gurnani, Co-PI A. Gomathi Amount-6 Lakh, Funding Agency: Internal Research Call Mahindra University, Aug 2021.
• Newton Alumni Funding (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021)PI: Chitra Gurnani, Amount awarded: ₤6000/year. Funding Agency: Royal Society, UK.
• Newton International Fellowship (2011-2013); PI: Chitra Gurnani; Amount awarded ₤104,000

Research Positions: Visiting Academic, Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton, UK

PhD Students Under Supervision

• Sayali Shrishail Harke
• Trishala Rajendra Desai

UG students (project completed)

• Bharath Reddy (2021):Synthesis and Characterization of metal dithiophosphate complexes
• Sai Madhavan, Sai Tati Teja (2020)– Redox Flow Battery
• Shiva Bhisne, Sri Chandana (2017)— Interlocking Plastic Brick
• Shaik Shahul (2016)-Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials

Professional Memberships

• American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
• Material Research Society, (MRS),USA,
• Material Research Society of India (MRSI)

Awards

• Newton International Fellowship (2011-2013) – awarded by The Royal Society, UK.
• Commonwealth Split-Site Doctoral Scholarship (2007–2008) – awarded by the Foreign Commonwealth Office and Association of commonwealth universities, UK
• Young Scientist Award (2006) – Prof A.K. Dey Memorial Award at 43rdAnnual Convention of Chemists of Indian Chemical Society, Aurangabad, India.
• Young Scientist Award (2006)– M.L Bhasin Memorial Award at 42nd Annual Convention of Chemists of Indian Chemical Society, Kolkata, India
• Best Student Award (2005) – M.Sc. Chemistry, MDS University Ajmer, India

Others

PhD students (under supervision)

• Sayali Shrishail Harke (Aug 2020)
• Trishala Rajendra Desai (Jan 2021)
• Suprabha Dixit (Aug 2022)
• Prajakta Gaikwad (Aug 2022)

UG students : Group News:

PhD student Sayali Shrishail Harke has been awarded for poster presentation at International Conference on Emerging Materials for Sustainable Development (EMSD-2022) organized by IEEE at CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh from 9th Oct -11th Oct 2022. Sayali received second prize in the category of Materials for Clean Energy. She presented her work on “Elucidation of performance of a portable, modular vanadium redox flow cell unit”.

Dr. Jayasri Dontabhaktuni is an Professor in Department of Physics at Mahindra University. She is involved in teaching Classical and Quantum mechanics, Electromagnetic theory, Quantum Computing (elective), Nano thermodynamics for undergraduates and numerical methods for post-graduate students.

Dr. Dontabhaktuni pursued her Ph.D. in Physics from University of Hyderabad, India. She went to pursue her post-doctoral studies with prestigious Marie-Curie fellowship at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia during 2009-2011. She got selected for DST FASTTRACK young scientist award in

Her current research interests primarily include Quantum Algorithms, Soft photonics, dielectric metasurfaces, quantum technologies specifically using light-matter interactions with nanostructures and Inverse design of materials. She has been working on primarily design and application of novel devices using numerical simulations. In Quantum computing her main interests include hybrid quantum machine learning for robotics and health care applications, generative methods for inverse design of materials, optimization methods, etc.

She has conducted various training programs on Quantum Computing, acted as resource person in FDP’s and workshops. She has conducted training on Quantum Computing to corporate engineers and other industry professionals apart from academia.
She published in more than 20 international peer-reviewed journals with some prestigious journals like PNAS, Scientific Reports, Softmatter, etc and filed patents.

• Ph.D. (Physics), University of Hyderabad, India, 2009.

• M. Tech. (Computational Techniques in Physics), University of Hyderabad, India, 2004.

• M. Sc. (Physics), Acharya Nagarjuna University, India, 2002.

• B. Sc. (Physics), Nagarjuna University, 2000.

Publication in peer-reviewed Journals

• Anu. K. M and J. Dontabhaktuni, ‘Tailoring Quasi-BIC States in Liquid Crystal-Integrated WS2 Nanostructured Metasurfaces for Tunable High Q-Factor Optoelectronic Devices, ACS Appl. Nano Mater. , 8, 16, 8066–8075, 2025.
• Warrier, S.R., Reddy, D.S.H., Bada, S. et al. On-board classification of underwater images using hybrid classical-quantum CNN-based method. Quantum Mach. Intell.6, 70, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42484-024-00206-8
• Maruthiyodan Veetil, Rasna, Xu, Xuewu, Dontabhaktuni, Jayasri, Liang, Xinan, Kuznetsov, Arseniy I. and Paniagua-Dominguez, Ramon. “Nanoantenna induced liquid crystal alignment for high performance tunable metasurface”, Nanophotonics, vol. 13, no. 12, pp. 2127-2139, 2024.

• Jayesh Sadasivan et al,Journal of Optics.25 125401, 2023.
• Sakhare, P.A., Atmakuri, M. and Dontabhaktuni, J. Tailoring the resonant modes in liquid crystal based all-dielectric metasurfaces. Sci. Rep. 13, 6780 (2023) IF: 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33693-z

• Sakhare, P. A., & Dontabhaktuni, J. (2022). Ultra Fast Switching of DFLC Based Dynamic Metasurfaces. Frontiers in Physics, 207 IF: 3.7.

• S. Amanaganti, M. Ravnik and J. Dontabhaktuni, ’Collective photonic response of high refractive index metasurfaces’, Sci. Rep, 10, 15599 (2020) IF:5

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Ravnik and Slobodan Zumer, ’Quasi-Crystalline colloidal tilings in thin nematic films’, Crystals – Special Issue ”Structure and Properties of Quasicrystalline Materials”, 8(7), 275 (2018) IF:2.5.
• SaiPraneeth Madduri, Miha Ravnik and Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, ‘Self-organized 3D Quasicrystalline structures in thin nematic films’, Softmatter (2018) (under review).

• M V Rasna, K. P. Zuhail, U V Ramudu, R Chandrasekhar, J Dontabhaktuni, S Dhara, ‘Orientation, interaction and laser assisted self-assembly of organic single-crystal micro-sheets in a nematic liquid crystal’, Softmatter, 11, 7674-7679 (2015). http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/sm/c5sm01991e#!divAbstract

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Ravnik and Slobodan Zumer, ‘ Designing colloidal quasi-crystals in nematic liquid crystals’, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 111, 2464 (2014). (https://www.pnas.org/content/111/7/2464.short)
• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Regina Jose, K. P. N. Murthy and V. S. S. Sastry,’ Effect of phase shift between geometrical and chemical patterning in nematic liquid crystal cells: A Monte Carlo Study’, J. Comp. Mater. Sci., 92, 238-243, (2014).

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Ravnik and Slobodan Zumer, ‘ Shape tuning the colloidal assemblies in nematic liquid crystals’, Softmatter, 8 1657-1663 (2012).

• D. Jayasri, T. Sairam, K. P. N. Murthy and V. S. S. Sastry, ‘Liquid crystal films on curved surfaces: A multi-canonical Monte Carlo study’, Physica A, 390 4549-4554 (2011).
• Regina Jose, D. Jayasri, Surajit Dhara, K. P. N. Murthy and V. S. S. Sastry, ‘Effect of external field on the nematic to isotropic transition: An entropic sampling study’, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 545 168 (2011).

• D. Jayasri, V. S. S. Sastry and K. P. N. Murthy, ‘Phase transitions in liquid crystal elastomers – A Monte Carlo study employing non-Boltzmann sampling’, Physica A, 388, 385-391 (2009).

• D. Jayasri, V. S. S. Sastry and K. P. N. Murthy, ‘Effect of cross-link density on the nematic-isotropic phase transition in liquid crystal elastomers’, J. Comp. Mater. Sci. 44, 185-189 (2008).

• D. Jayasri, V. S. S. Sastry and K. P. N. Murthy, ‘Wang-Landau Monte Carlo simulation of isotropic-nematic in liquid crystals’, Phys. Rev. E. 72, 036702 (2005).

Publications in peer-reviewed conference proceedings

• Sri Harshavardhan Reddy Devarapalli, Harshdeep Jadhav, Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, “Image compression using quantum wavelet transforms,” Proc. SPIE 13391, Quantum Computing, Communication, and Simulation V, 1339117 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3056452

• J. Sadasivan, S. Chowdhury, Rituraj, J. Dontabhaktuni, S. Krishnamurthy and S. Krishnan, “All Dielectric LWIR Metasurface Reflectors for Space Technologies,” 2024 IEEE Space, Aerospace and Defence Conference (SPACE), Bangalore, India, 2024, pp. 326-329, doi: 10.1109/SPACE63117.2024.10668251.

• Bada, S., Warrier, S. R., & Dontabhaktuni, J. (2023). Detection of brain cancer using quantum-classical CNN-based method. Proc.SPIE, 12446, 1244616. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.265013.

• Sadasivan, J., Krishnan, S. R., & Dontabhaktuni, J. (2021). Resonance characteristics of sub-wavelength high-refractive index dielectric metasurfaces as a function of lattice constant. Proc.SPIE, 11795, 117952N. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.259958.

• S. Amanaganti and J. Dontabhaktuni, ‘High RI dielectric rings in liquid crystals as tunable metasurfaces’, Metamaterials XII 11025, 110250J (2019).

• S. Amanaganti, D. R. Chowdhury, M. Ravnik and J. Dontabhaktuni, ’Electromagnetic response of dielectric nanostructures in liquid crystals’, Proc. SPIE 9004, Emerging Liquid Crystal Technologies XIII, 105551F, SanFrancisco, USA (2018).

• Miha Ravnik, Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Cancula and Slobodan Zumer, ‘Nematic tilings as photonic materials’, Proc. SPIE 9004, Emerging Liquid Crystal Technologies IX, 90040C (2014).

• D. Jayasri, T. Sairam, V. S. S. Sastry and K. P. N. Murthy, ‘Surface anchoring in thin nematic films: A non-Boltzmann Monte Carlo simulation’, Proceedings of the 52nd DAE Solid State Physics Symposium, Mysore, 191-192 (2007).

Books

• ‘Monte Carlo studies of liquid crystalline systems’, LAP Lambert Academic publishers, Germany, 2011.

Awards

• Selected for Dr. D. S. Kothari post-doctoral fellowship by UGC, India (2013)

• Selected for Marie-Curie ITN ‘HIERARCHY’ project as experienced researcher (Aug 2009-2011).
• Awarded DST Fast track young scientist award (2011).

Panel Discussions

• Panelist in ‘Funneling the quantum research eco-system’, Tech Mahindra, 14th April 2023 (online).
• Panelist in ‘Pathways to pursuing Quantum for all’, QETCI, 23rd January 2023 (online).

Invited Talks

• ‘Hybrid Quantum Machine Learning methods-use cases in image classification’, Analog Devices on the occasion of Innovation Day, ADBI, Bangalore, 23rd June 2023.
• ‘Quantum Machine learning methods – uses cases in image processing’, 19th May 2023.
• ‘Soft Photonics – Liquid crystal based metasurfaces’, HydSoft, IIT Hyderabad, 13th May 2023. ‘Hybrid Quantum machine learning methods- Use cases in image classification’, SSSIHL, Jan 2023.
• Quantum Machine learning methods – uses cases in image processing’, IIIT Bangalore, 19th May 2023; Silicon Valley quantum computing group meetup, USA, 10^th June (online).

• ‘Design of reconfigurable all-dielectric metasurfaces’, IIIT Hyderabad, June 2022.
• ‘Quantum computing algorithms for image classification’, Collaboration discussion, Tech Mahindra, Pune, May 2022.

• ‘Collective response of dielectric metasurfaces’, SSSIHL, Puttaparthi, 2021.

• ‘Quantum Computing’, Tech Talk Series, Mahindra Research Valley (MRV), 8th June 2020 (online).

• ‘High refractive index dielectric structures in liquid crystals as tunable metasurfaces’, LMIN 2019, IGCAR, Kalpakkam, 15th-17th July 2019.
• ‘High refractive index dielectric rings in liquid crystals’, Wednesday Colloquium, Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, 29th May 2019.

• ’Simulations in Softmatter’,International confer- ence on computer simulations in natural sciences, Presidency College, Madras, 4th-6th April 2018.

• ‘Colloidal interactions in nematics’ at Soft matter young investigator’s meet, Pondicherry December 2015.
• ‘Tuning the colloidal interactions in nematic liquid crystals’ at National conference on current trends in soft matter held at CUTN, Tiruvarur on 19-20th March 2015 (Acted as a session chair).

• ‘Two-dimensional tilings of nematic colloids’ at CMBS-13, held in Jan 11-14th, 2013 at BHU, Varanasi, India.

• ‘Computer simulations of liquid crystals – An overview’ at colloquium on Oct 2010, at CMSD, University of Hyderabad, Hydrerabad.

Selected Conference Presentations

• S. Bada, S. R. Warrier and J. Dontabhaktuni, ’Detection of brian cancer using Quantum-classical CNN based method’, QIP, Ghent, Belgium, Feb 2023; SPIE Quantum West USA 2023.
• S. Warrier, S. Bada, R. Achanta, S. Uppapalli and J. Dontabhaktuni, ‘Motion-blur detection in underwater images using classical-quantum CNN based methods’, QIP, Ghent, Belgium 2023.

• S. Amanaganti and J. Dontabhaktuni, ‘High refractive index dielectric rings in liquid crystals as tunable metasurfaces’, SPIE Opto+OptoElectronics 2019, 1-4th April 2019, Prague, Czech Republic.

• S. Madduri, A. Bregar, M. Ravnik and J. Dontabhaktuni, ’Self-organized 3D quasicrystals in nematic liquid crystals’, International Liquid Crystal Conference 2018, Kyoto, Japan.
• S. Amanaganti, M. Ravnik, D. R. Chowdhury and J. Dontabhaktuni, ‘Electromagnetic response of dielectric nanostructures in liquid crystals’, SPIE Photonics West OPTO (Emerging liquid crystal technologies XIII), San Fransisco, California, US (Jan 2018).

• SaiPraneeth Madduri, Miha Ravnik and Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, ‘Self-organized 3D Quasicrystalline structures in thin nematic films’, COMPFLU-2017, IIT Madras, India (2017).
• S. Amanaganti, D. R. Chowdhury, M. Ravnik and J. Dontabhaktuni, ’Electromagnetic response of dielectric structures in liquid crystals’, COMPFLU-2017, IIT Madras, India (2017).

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, ‘Liquid Crystals in restricted geometries-A Monte Carlo study’, LACAM 2016, Mahindra Ecole Centrale, India.

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, ‘Two-dimensional tilings of nematic colloidal platelets’, ILCC -2014, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Ravnik and Slobodan Zumer, ‘Shape tuning the colloidal assemblies in nematic liquid crystals’, poster presentation by a co-author in ILCC, 2012 held in August, at Mainz, Germany.

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Ravnik and Slobodan Zumer, ‘Tuning the self-assembly of polygonal colloidal platelets in nematic liquid crystals: A numerical simulation study’, ECLC, Maribor, Slovenia, 2011.

• Jayasri Dontabhaktuni, Miha Ravnik and Slobodan Zumer, ‘ Simulation of faceted colloidal particles in nematic liquid crystals’, 23rd ILCC, Krakow, Poland, (2010).

Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=83vVRZYAAAAJ&hl=en

• 2025 – current, Professor, Department of Physics, ECSOE, MU
• 2018 – 2025, Associate Professor, Ecole Centrale School of Engineering, Mahindra University
• 2014 – 2018, Assistant Professor, Ecole Centrale School of Engineering, Mahindra University
• 2013 – 2014, D. S. Kothari Post-Doctoral Researcher CMSD, University of Hyderabad
• 2009 – 2011, Marie Curie Experienced Researcher FMF, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Current Research Interests:

• Design of liquid crystal based metamaterials for applications in quantum technologies and sensing;
• Design of hybrid 2D materials + dielectric materials for quantum technologies;
• Hybrid quantum algorithms for inverse design of metamaterials with specific functionalities;
• Quantum Algorithms in computer vision, data security and data compression; (technology development)
• Simulations of self-organization of colloidal particles in liquid crystals, defects and topology;

Funding:

SERB – CRG for dielectric metamaterials (2018-2021),
Industry funding for Quantum algorithm applications (2025-2027).

Ram Prasad Sekar is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of biotechnology and materials science engineering, with a focus on advanced drug delivery systems. He completed his Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (India) under the supervision of Prof. A. Jayakrishnan and Prof. T.S. Sampath Kumar. His doctoral thesis mainly focused on the combinational delivery of anticancer drugs, developing bone void substitutes, and multidrug encapsulated ceramic/polymer grafted nanoparticles for bone cancer therapy.

He served as a research associate at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in India, where he investigated polymer drug conjugates for brain-targeted drug delivery. Mainly his research at RGCB focused on investigating the blood-brain barrier permeability and pharmacokinetic properties of polymer drug conjugates. Then Ram moved to Colorado, USA, for his postdoctoral research at Colorado School of Mines (Mines), Colorado, USA. His postdoctoral research at Mines focuses on polymeric nanocarriers for effective nucleic acid delivery and CRISPR Cas9 RNP delivery (focus on gene editing for genetic diseases).

He also had a brief career in the pharmaceutical sector, successfully transferring lab-scale drug formulations to pilot-scale production.

Currently, he has joined as an assistant professor in the Center for Life Science department at Mahindra University. His research group is going to focus on gene therapy, drug delivery, and bi

• Ph.D. – Biotechnology and Metallurgical & Materials Engineering (2014 – 2020) Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• M.Pharmacy – Pharmaceutics (2011 – 2013) Madras Medical College, The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• B.Pharmacy – Pharmaceutical Sciences (2006 – 2010) Madras Medical College, The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Publications

• Adam P. Humpal, Alexander Dhupar, Ram Prasad Sekar, Nancy S. Muyanja, Anuj Chauhan, Ramya Kumar, “Polymer Microstructure Directs the Solvent-Selective Swelling Response of Polymer Brushes” Macromolecules 2025, 58, 17, 9110–912, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5c01659.
• Ram Prasad Sekar, Jessica L. Lawson, Caleb McGrath, Grant Wheeler, Gautier Moreau, Chelsea G. Johansen, Nikki L. Farnsworth, and Ramya Kumar, “Tuning DLVO interactions alters polymer-mediated pDNA delivery in a cell type-dependent manner” Langmuir 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c00089.
• Jessica L. Lawson, Ram Prasad Sekar, Aryelle R. E Wright, Grant Wheeler, Jillian Yanes, Jordan Estridge, Chelsea Johansen Nikki Farnsworth, Praveen Kumar, Jian Wei Tay, Ramya Kumar, “The spatial distribution of lipophilic cations in gradient copolymers regulates pDNA binding interactions, polyplex aggregation, and transgene expression. Biomacromolecules 2024 25 (10), 6855-6870,  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.4c01101.
• Aswathy Prasad, Ram Prasad Sekar, Smitha Devi Sudhamani, Jayakrishnan Athipettah, Lightson Ngashangva “Novel Functional Carbon Dots as Nanocarriers for Efficient-Loading and Sustained Release of Doxorubicin for Cancer Therapeutics”, Biomedical Materials, 2024, 19 065018, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-605X/ad7f3a.
• Ram Prasad Sekar, Jessica L. Lawson, Aryelle R.E. Wright, Caleb McGrath, Cesar Schadeck, Praveen Kumar, Jian Tay, Joseph Dragovan, Ramya Kumar “Poly (L-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming trade-offs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability” RSC Applied Polymers, 2024, 2, 701-718, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4LP00085D.
• Ram Prasad Sekar, Sruthi Sudheendran Leena, Ani Deepthi, Resmi.A. N, Ramapurath S.Jayasree, K. S. Sandhya, A. Jayakrishnan, “Doxorubicin-Polysorbate 80 Conjugates: Targeting Effective and Sustained Delivery to the Brain” RSC Pharmaceutics, 2024, 1, 412 – 429. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4PM00053F
• S. Ram Prasad, T. S Sampath Kumar, A. Jayakrishnan, “Nanocarrier based drug delivery systems for bone cancer therapy: a review” Biomedical Materials 2021, 16, 044107. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-605X/abf7d5.
• S. Ram Prasad, A. Jayakrishnan, T. S Sampath Kumar, “Hydroxyapatite-Dextran Methacrylate Core/Shell Hybrid Nanocarriers for Combinatorial Drug Therapy” Journal of Materials Research, 2020, 35, 18, 2451-2465, https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2020.193.
• S. Ram Prasad, A. Jayakrishnan, T. S Sampath Kumar, “Combinational delivery of anticancer drugs for osteosarcoma treatment using electro sprayed core shell nanocarriers” Journal of Material Science: Materials in Medicine, 2020, 31, 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-020-06379-5.
• S. Ram Prasad, A. Jayakrishnan, T. S Sampath Kumar, “Hydroxyapatite-poly(vinyl alcohol) core-shell nanoparticles for dual delivery of methotrexate and gemcitabine for bone cancer treatment” Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 2019.51:629-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst.2019.03.041.
• S. Ram Prasad, T. S Sampath Kumar, A. Jayakrishnan, “Ceramic core with polymer corona hybrid nanocarrier for the treatment of osteosarcoma with co-delivery of protein and anti-cancer drug” Nanotechnology, 2017, 29:015101. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/aa9a21.
• Selvapriya Kumaraswamy, Sutharsan R. Thangasundaralingam, Ram Prasad Sekar, A. Jayakrishnan, “A floating-type dosage form of repaglinide in polycarbonate microspheres” Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 2017,41: 99-105.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst.2017.07.005.

• Assistant Professor, Centre for Life Sciences (2026- Present)
• Post-Doctoral Fellow (2023 – 2025) Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA
• Research Associate (2020 – 2022) Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology (RGCB), Trivandrum, Kerala, India
• Formulation R & D Technical Head (May 2020 – Sep 2020) Primas Bioscience Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

• Our research group focuses on drug delivery, gene delivery, and biomaterials.
• Finding a better path towards delivering therapeutic cargos…
• My overarching goal (long-term) is to discover an appropriate micro-or nanocarrier for the successful delivery of therapeutic payloads (small molecules, pDNA, mRNA, and CRISPR Cas9-RNP) for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Distinct types of non-viral carriers such as polymers, lipids, metals, carbon nanotubes, dendrimers, polymer-conjugates, and hydrogels were employed for the delivery of small molecules, nucleic acids, RNPs. Each carrier has its unique advantages as well as its limitations; an appropriate carrier must be selected considering the disease site, target area, dose, and applications. Meticulous material (carrier) selection plays a pivotal role in successful drug and gene delivery. I would like to implement three major steps towards my research goals.
• The first step is identification/selection and engineering the microstructure of delivery carriers based on the target site (transportation across BBB), disease (spinal muscular atrophy), and biological phenomenon (to overcome endocytosis, immune response and serum interactions).
• Second, pre-screening the microstructure and nanocarrier properties employing computational/in silico or artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) approaches to understand the pharmacokinetics and pharmacological parameters.
• Third, optimizing the nanocarrier design rules and testing the engineered microstructures in suitable in vitro studies will be conducted using relevant cell lines. Therapeutic efficacy of the optimized combinational nano/micro formulations will be evaluated by in vivo animal studies.
• Scopus Author ID:  57208089196
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