Seminars

Abstract : Malaria infects 300-500 million people per year and causes several million deaths mainly in children under 5 years of age. Infection by /Plasmodium falciparum/ is the major cause of malaria deaths. Recent vaccine candidates attempt to block transmission of this parasite from host to host and invasion of cell types such as RBCs. Our research focuses on developing a recombinant vaccine which can induce the production of antibodies against the surface proteins of the parasite.

Abstract: Recent years have seen tremendous advances in the use of algae as sources of fine chemicals and in particular as a source of lipids for biofuel. All systems that are utilized for mass culture of algal biomass are subject to some fundamental constraints either from the intrinsic properties of cells or due to extrinsic factors especially light and CO_2 availability.

The modern-type composite RO and NF membranes were introduced several  decades ago. Despite the wide use in today's desalination and water treatment they still pose many challenging scientific and technological problems. In this talk I describe selected topics studied by my  research group over the past several years. They focus on fundamental understanding of the polyamide formation and functioning as a selective medium biofouling and bacterial deposition and membrane modification as a generic way to improve the membrane selectivity and resistance to biofouling.Brief Bio: Prof.

Abstract : Colorectal carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and there is an unmet medical need in order to treat patients with surgically incurable disease. The underlying biology of CRC is complex and heterogeneous making it one of the most interesting malignancies for exploring treatment options at this time. Hence in this study the efficacy of various CDK inhibitors with differing CDK inhibitory spectrum on colon cancer cell lines with different genetic status was determined.

Abstract: Multiphase reactors (bubble/slurry bubble columns packed beds fluidized and circulating beds) and multiphase flow systems (blenders/mixers separators conveyers heat exchanges flow in pipes) have found extensive applications in many industrial processes related to energy environmental and a variety of product manufacturing processes. These systems in general and multiphase reactors in particular are complex as they can take various configurations and types based on the way the phases are contacted and interact.

Abstract: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown great potential for applications such as gas storage and adsorptive separation because of their extraordinary degree of diversity in both organic and inorganic parts high surface area and high porosity. Computational tools have been proven to be very effective to study a large set of such materials to identify promising structures for a certain application or to study a certain structure in detail. However in these applications flexibility in these nanoporous materials plays a critical role to tune material performance.

Abstract: Cost and durability are two key issues for the commercialization of the electrochemical energy conversions systems (EECS) such as fuel cells electrolyzers and batteries. The first part of the presentation will focus the need for the EECS to the transportation market decarbonization of the electricity grid strategies to decarbonize the electricity market the components of two power to gas EECS (fuel cell and electrolyser) and its basic characterization methods.

Abstract : Swollen polymer gels are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from bioimplants to food materials to drug delivery to tissue engineering. In many of these applications gels are subjected to large-strain deformation however very little is known how swollen gels with different structure behave at large-strain. In this presentation I will present our recent results on the non-linear mechanical response at large-strain elastic instability and failure behavior of two different gels: a physically crosslinked gel (triblock gel) and an ionically crosslinked gel (alginate).

Abstract: In the first part of the talk I will discuss the hydrodynamic aspects of microfluidic size based separation of colloidal suspensions vis-a-vis "deterministic lateral displacement" a method that uses an array of cylindrical micro-posts for separation. I will discuss a theoretical model derived using the concept of a critical impact parameter. The critical impact parameter will be shown to be a macroscopic experimentally measurable length scale that captures the effect of microscopic short-ranged repulsive interactions such as surface roughness.

Abstract: Clathrate hydrate science has evolved over the centuries from a mere academic curiosity to being a nuisance to oil and gas industry (flow assurance) and now is being seen as a future energy resource (natural gas hydrates deposits). The clathrate hydrate process has also been demonstrated over the years as promising for innovative applications like natural gas storage carbon capture seawater desalination cold storage etc. Some challenges remain specific to each of these focus areas that needs to be overcome inorder to commercialize these applications.