Principal Investigator
Ranabir is the leader of the SAM Group. Ranabir did his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He completed his graduate studies (M.S. and Ph.D.) from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Subsequently, he joined the Physics of Complex Fluids group at the University of Twente in the Netherlands as a post-doctoral fellow (2016-2018). Prior to joining IITH in December 2020, Ranabir was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Complex Fluids at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-organization in Goettingen, Germany (2019-2020). He continues to be a guest scientist at MPI-DS.
Ranabir is an avid reader, and a self-proclaimed cinephile. He likes to believe that if he had not been in academia, he would have definitely tried his luck at being a writer-director. One day, he hopes to write a treatise on the similarities between designing, executing, and communicating a scientific research work and directing a cinema. He is also a fitness enthusiast and likes to run and bike.
PhD Scholars
Smita completed her undergraduate studies (B.Tech) in Mechanical Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli. She pursued her master’s (M.Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur with a specialisation in Thermofluids Engineering. She is presently working on her Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. She is interested about how the interactions with the deformable elastic walls of a soft microfluidic confinement influence the near-wall swimming and collective behaviour of microswimmers.
In addition to research, Smita enjoys swimming and playing volleyball and has represented IIT Hyderabad in an inter-IIT sports event. She also enjoys watching web shows and movies.
Subhasish did his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from CEM Kolaghat and M.Tech in Applied Mechanics from IIEST, Shibpur. Currently, he is doing his PhD at IIT Hyderabad in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His research area is the dynamics of self-propelled microswimmers in confined spaces, near curved, deformable interfaces and soft, porous, deformable walls.
Additionally, he is a good batsman in cricket. He loves to listen to music and play video games in his leisure time.
Premkumar Iyer is an Interdisciplinary (ID) doctoral student being co-advised with Dr. Anupam Gupta. He did his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering from RTM Nagpur University and holds a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering and Management from the National Institute of Technology Calicut. In S2M, his research focuses on the collective behaviour of active microswimmers immersed in viscoelastic medium.
Outside of the research work, Premkumar appreciates listening to pop music, sketching and casual reading to unwind. He is an automobile aficionado and enjoys leisurely drives. Being curious about culinary traditions, he enjoys experimenting with the spices and flavours in the kitchen.