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Associate editor Q&A: PCCP’S Dr Ajayaghosh
Director of the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Dr Ayyappanpillai Ajayaghosh, shares his thoughts and experiences of being an associate editor for PCCP (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics).
We appreciate your editorial association with our journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP). Could you share the experiences and challenges in your journey so far?
Though I am not a hard-core physical chemist, the Royal Society of Chemistry wanted my association with PCCP to increase its visibility in India, leveraging my expertise with interdisciplinary chemistry. My journey with PCCP as an associate editor so far has been very exciting. I could add a more interdisciplinary flavour to the physical chemistry contributions by choosing more appropriate articles. Finding the most suitable referees and taking final decision on manuscripts are challenging and difficult especially when a large number of quality submissions are received.
What, in your opinion has been the most exciting part of being an associate editor?
Associating with a journal from the Royal Society of Chemistry is a prestige to any chemist – so it is for me. The most exciting and interesting aspect of being an associate editor is the opportunity to read articles fresh before publishing. I enjoyed reading some of the best physical chemistry-related work on soft materials. It is also exciting to see that many of the young researchers are impressed by the quality of PCCP and therefore submissions to PCCP from India are going up.
Chemical science publishing in India has grown significantly over the last decade. However, as a country, our contribution in top journals has significant room for improvement. What in your opinion are the key challenges impeding growth of quality chemical science research in India and how can we increase our contribution in top journals?
I believe that as a developing nation, India’s contributions of quality chemical research papers in top journals should have been much more. I am glad to see that we are steadily improving; however the pace needs to be further increased. One of the main reasons for fewer quality research papers from India is that the research in our university system is much below international standards. Top quality research is happening only in some of the top institutions such as IITs, some of the CSIR institutes and of late in IISERs. Even research papers from these institutions are finding difficulty in entering into top chemistry journals. The only way to improve the situation is to create world class universities in India and attract more Indian talent, which is currently spread across the globe.
Could you kindly share a short story on your most inspiring/satisfying research?
I believe my main contribution in science is the development of a new class of soft materials called π-gels, made of self-assembled π-conjugated molecules. Most of these materials are fluorescent, which is a sensitive property, and hence these materials have potential applications in sensing, imaging and security.
Our contributions in this area are well recognised nationally and internationally. It is very satisfying to note that the scientific community across the globe recognises us through the label we created by the above contributions.
As a leading researcher and associate editor, what advice would you give to young researchers to carry out inspiring research and contribute to chemical science research growth in India?
When people like me and my seniors started careers on frontier topics in chemistry, there were fewer top quality facilities and institutions, compared to today. Still most of us survived and contributed. Today the situation is significantly improved and in my opinion youngsters are lucky to have funds and facilities. Therefore the country is expecting more from them. We lack innovation in everything and therefore it is high time to come up with innovative ideas. Youngsters should give more importance to high quality science with translational potential. I wish an explosion from India on meaningful science and technology that cater the need of the country.
About Dr Ajayaghosh
- CSIR Outstanding Scientist and Director at National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, India.
- Professor and former Dean of Chemical Sciences, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR).
- Fellow of three major science academies of India and the World Academy of Sciences. Research interests include: supramolecular chemistry, chemosensors, low band-gap polymers, fluorescent gels, organic nanostructures and photoresponsive systems.
- He has developed a new class of functional soft materials namely pi-gels having potential applications in energy harvesting, sensing and security materials.
- Awards include: The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Chemical Sciences (2007); the Infosys Science Prize (2012); the Silver Medal of the Chemical Research Society of India (2013); the TWAS Prize for Chemistry (2013); the J. C. Bose National Fellowship (2015) and is the first chemist to receive the Infosys Science Prize.
- Board membership: PCCP; Chemistry; Chem. Photo Chem.; Accounts of Chemical Research.
- He has more than 10,000 citations with an h-index of 52.
Celebrating our third Librarian Appreciation Day
Last month, Jaipur in Rajasthan played host to the Royal Society of Chemistry’s third Librarian Appreciation Day 2017 – our flagship event for the librarian community.
More than 100 librarians from over 85 leading research institutes, universities and institutions from across India attended on 28 July 2017 to listen to presentations from several leading librarians, and participate in an engaging workshop, group activity and panel discussion.
Read the full story on our news page.
Dates announced for India 2017 roadshows
This year’s Royal Society of Chemistry India roadshows will be held at four leading Indian research institutes in November 2017.
Run across the course of a week between 13 and 17 November, the roadshows will be one-day symposia made up of lectures and workshops. The lectures will be delivered by renowned international scientists: Royal Society of Chemistry honorary board members based at premier Indian research institutes. They will be followed by workshops on scholarly publishing, and how to communicate your research effectively.
Through the Royal Society of Chemistry roadshows, we aim to bring scientists together in a stimulating and friendly environment that fosters collaboration and offers a platform for the delegates to interact and engage with experts from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Roadshows are free to attend and would appeal to academics, students and industrial scientists.
Highlights from June’s 2016 impact factor release
As a society publisher, we are committed to sharing, curating and interpreting high quality chemical information so that as many people as possible can use it. Thanks to those of you who chose our journals as the home for your work last year, we can continue to do this. Here are some highlights from the 2016 Journal Impact Factor* release.
Our standards were reinforced by the 2016 Journal Citation Reports ®, with 54% of our journals seeing an increase in impact factor (IF), and 80% having an IF greater than 3.
Our flagship journal Chemical Society Reviews (Chem Soc Rev) recorded its highest ever IF, at 38.618 (an increase of 13.3%). The journal is ranked second in the JCR Chemistry, Multidisciplinary category.
General chemistry journal Chemical Science has gained notable recognition since it became gold open access in 2015, with an impact factor of 8.668. All articles published from 2015 onwards are freely available to read, and the publication charges are waived till the end of 2018, allowing the authors to publish for free. There are no submission charges for this journal.
The impact factor of Energy & Environmental Science has gone up by 16.1% to 29.518, which means that it leads the field in 3 JCR categories: Energy & Fuels, Engineering, Chemical and Environmental Sciences.
With an IF of 9.125, Green Chemistry also tops the recently introduced Green & Sustainable Science & Technology JCR category.
More authors from India are choosing to publish their best work with us, and we would like to thank everyone who has helped us set such high benchmarks for chemical science research. Whether you are an editor, a reviewer, an author or a reader who goes on to cite the work, your experience and expertise have helped us publish the best research and secure the brightest future for the chemical sciences.
*2017 Journal Citation Reports based on 2016 Web of Science data. © Clarivate Analytics, 2017
New additions to our publishing boards
New appointments have been made to three of our journal boards recently, all of whose names will be familiar to our India publishing community.
Professor Sandeep Verma joins the board of Chem Comm as an associate editor.
Professor Akhila Sahoo joins the board of NJC (New Journal of Chemistry) as an associate editor.
Book launches
The Royal Society of Chemistry publishes professional reference books, textbooks and popular science books across all fields of the chemical sciences. We welcome new book ideas – for further information about submitting a book proposal please contact us or visit the books page of our website.
Organoselenium Compounds in Biology and Medicine
Editors: Vimal Kumar Jain and K Indira Priyadarsini
Due for publication 22 September 2017
This book marks 200 years of selenium research. We spoke to the editors about the history of selenium research and why it’s so vitally important. Read the full story here.
Nanogels for Biomedical Applications
Editors: Arti Vashist, Ajeet K Kaushik, Sharif Ahmad, Madhavan Nair
Due for publication 14 November 2017
Biobased Smart Polyurethane Nanocomposites: From Synthesis to Applications
Author: Niranjan Karak
Available now
Emerging Investigator support for Indian researchers
Our Emerging Investigators series shines a spotlight on authors who are in the early stages of their careers. As well as a themed collection dedicated to New Frontiers in Indian Research, authors based in India have also contributed to a number of other Emerging Investigators journal issues in 2017.
New Frontiers in Indian Research
All in the early stages of their independent careers, authors in this series have contributed to topics including organic synthesis, physical organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, chemical biology, materials and many more.
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Featured authors:
- Dr Sayan Bhattacharyya, IISER Kolkata
- Dr Sebastian C Peter, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Featured authors:
- Dr Kanishka Biswas, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
- Dr Bharat Jalan, Bachelor’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
ChemComm themed issues
Featured authors:
- Dr Mahesh Hariharan, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram
Featured research:
- Palladium catalyzed selective distal C–H olefination of biaryl systems, Soham Maity, Ehtasimul Hoque, Uttam Dhawa and Debabrata Maiti, Chem. Commun., 2016, 52, 14003-14006
- Regioselective SN2 reactions for rapid syntheses of azido-inositols by one-pot sequence-specific nucleophilysis, Arthi Ravi, Syed Zahid Hassan, Ajithkumar N. Vanikrishna and Kana M. Sureshan, Chem. Commun., 2017, 53, 3971-3973
ChemCareers 2017 to be held in Mumbai and Chennai
The Royal Society of Chemistry’s flagship careers event – ChemCareers – will be held in Mumbai and Chennai on 16 September and 23 September 2017, respectively.
ChemCareers provide students an opportunity to learn about prospective employers, receive expert advice from professionals and gather information on career options.
The event also offers leading chemical companies the chance to engage with wider chemical sciences talent – from graduate students to research scholars. The first ChemCareers event on 16 September 2016, will be hosted by V.G Vaze College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai. This event is free to attend for all Royal Society of Chemistry members; non-Royal Society of Chemistry members need to register by paying a nominal fee.
Guru Nanak College, Chennai will host the second event on September 23, 2017. This event is free to attend for all participants, so early registration is encouraged.
Success for Nagpur fundamental chemistry workshop
In partnership with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and Hislop College, our West India Local Section recently ran a workshop designed to promote scientific research.
On 29 July 2017, speakers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) addressed an audience of 200 postgraduate and research students from nearly 12 educational and research institutes. The workshop topic was 'Fundamental chemistry and its use in advanced research'.
Chemistry department director Lata Deshmukh said, "Students are the future of society, and advancements in science and research will affect them tomorrow. The workshop will help students broaden their perspective on chemistry."
Stressing the need to encourage students to take up research, principal Dipti Christian said, "I am delighted with the turnout today, research students from Neeri and other leading educational institutes like Shivaji Science College, Visveshwarya National Institute of Technology are present here to listen to the speakers."
IGNOU Nagpur regional director P Sivaswaroop said, "The workshop aims to help students explore the beautiful world of chemistry and comprehend the various developments in the subject. Speakers will guide the students and an interactive session will also be held."
Speaking on 'Cancer: Chemistry to the rescue', Dimpy Kalia, faculty, SPPU, said, "Advancement in science, particularly chemistry, has created wonders in the field of medicine. Various diseases can be cured with the help of chemistry. Natural compounds like resveratrol and n-acetyl cysteine can be used to prevent formation of estrogen–DNA adducts. It arrests transformation of damaged cells into cancerous cells."
Ruchi Anand, faculty, IIT Bombay, spoke on 'Macromolecular crystallography and photography at the atomic level'. "The topic rotates around the basics of nuclear study. Application of chemistry in photography is not new. Crystallography and chemical usage means identifying molecular structures and chemistry related to it," she said.
Speaking on 'Solving structures of organic molecules using 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy', Suvarn Kulkarni, faculty, IIT Bombay, said, "This is the latest method to gather information about the exact structure of complex organic molecules. The conventional NMR spectrum is a plot of frequency Vs. Intensity whereas the 2D spectrum has two frequency axes. A 2D spectrum is usually represented as a contour map and the cross-peaks provide valuable information about through bond (COSY) and through space (NOESY) interactions between the nuclei (1H or 13C)."
In this two-hour session, Suvarn Kulkarni elaborated on various techniques of 2D such as COSY, NOESY, HSQC, HMBC, INADEQUATE. Everyone was provided with print outs of problems to be solved with a kit containing ruler, pencil and eraser. Students had a great time solving diverse 2D NMR spectra in a very interactive setting, initially with the help from instructor and later on their own. The workshop was indeed a very successful event.
The workshop was initiated and co-ordinated by Professor Deepa Khushlani from the Royal Society of Chemistry West India Local Section, and Professor Suvarn Kulkarni looked after the on-site management on the day of the event.
A national workshop on tuberculosis drug discovery
On 21–22 July 2017, more than 50 undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and faculty members of Raghavendra Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (RIPER) took part in a workshop on ‘Novel Strategies in Multi & Extended Drug Resistant Tuberculosis Targeted Drug Discovery & Development’.
Day one saw organising secretary Dr M V Jyothi welcoming the guests and participants. The workshop was then inaugurated by Dr Abhiram Prabhu (Membership Officer, Royal Society of Chemistry) and Dr Y Padmanabha Reddy (Principal of RIPER).
This was followed by a lecture on QSAR prediction and concepts of CADD by Dr S Janardhan, Scientist at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology-Hyderabad. Professor V Peesapati then explained how to calculate molecular descriptors and prediction of QSAR.
Later in the day, participating students were provided a hands-on practice of CADD with molecular modelling and docking, using different software and tools.
On the second day of the workshop, students participated in a poster presentation and quiz competitions. This was followed by technical lectures on various strategies in drug resistant tuberculosis targeted drug discovery methods and new developments.
To end the two-day workshop, the organising committee ran a valedictory ceremony and presented prizes and certificates to competition winners and workshop participants. The principal of RIPER and workshop organising secretary honoured Dr Abhiram Prabhu and conveyed thanks to Royal Society of Chemistry Organic Division for their financial sponsorship of the workshop.
Akshara Schools enjoy the chemistry of colour
Our Deccan Local Section recently conducted a drawing and painting competition for school children on the theme of ‘Chemistry of Colours – Save the Earth from Pollution’.
Taking place at Akshara Schools, Eluru, Andhra Pradesh State on 28 June, the competition included a workshop, quiz and chemistry demonstration, beginning with quiz programme run by Professor V Peesapati. Eight teams of two students (aged 11–14 years) took part, and three teams were selected for the first, second and third prizes. The drawing and painting competition was met with enthusiasm by more than 65 students ages between 6–10 years.
In the latter half of the workshop, Prof V Peesapati shared information about the Royal Society of Chemistry and its activities with staff and students. She also demonstrated exciting chemistry experiments, inviting students to conduct supervised experiments. All participants from both events received a small gift and certificates from RSC-IDLS.
The programme received an overwhelming response – students and teachers spoke of their appreciation for the Royal Society of Chemistry and termed the programme ‘excellent’.
Inspirational Chemistry Programme extends into north-east India
July saw over 100 science teachers in Meghalaya brave heavy rainfall to attend a two-day professional development programme, organised as part of the Yusuf Hamied Inspirational Chemistry Programme (YHICP).
The Royal Society of Chemistry joined hands with North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong, Meghalaya and some of the best schools in the region to organise the programme, held at four schools between 18 and 27 July.
The host schools were Anderson higher secondary school, Nongstoin, Sankardev College Bishnupur, Shillong, Multipurpose Higher Secondary School, Mawngap, and Salem Secondary School, Kynton-U-Mon, Nongkrem.
Most of the teachers were excited to attend, saying that the training programme has introduced them to a newer and innovative way of imparting knowledge in science.
Christina Mawlong, a science teacher at Cherished Buds' Secondary School, Lummawbah, said “the training has helped us to develop methodologies to make the concepts of science more student-centric and student-friendly.”
Another teacher, Palinrangnhun Dohling Phanrang from Divine Saviour higher secondary school, felt that “by adopting these techniques the process of teaching-learning would be fun-filled and more enjoyable for the students, thereby inspiring and motivating them to take up the subject for higher studies.”
Most of the teachers were of the opinion that similar training programmes should be conducted on a regular basis to get the teachers abreast of new and exciting teaching methodologies. Dr R Nongkhlaw, Assistant Professor, NEHU, was the local coordinator for the teacher training programme in Shillong. He expressed deep satisfaction at the success of the programme, and promised to organise many more such programmes in the region.
Sign up for our India Newsletter hereUpcoming events of interest
| September 2017 | |
| 4–8 September | Newton Workshop – Translating Clean Energy Research to Rural India, IISER, Pune |
| 6-7 September | Inspirational Chemistry Teacher Training Programme, Patna, Darbhanga and Muzzafarpur, Bihar |
| 11–13 September | Newton Workshop – Closed Loop Green Technologies for Rural Communities, IIT, Delhi |
| 16 September |
Royal Society of Chemistry – ChemCareers 2017, Mumbai |
| 20–22 September | 8th East Asia Symposium on Functional Dyes and Advanced Materials (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| 23 September | Royal Society of Chemistry – ChemCareers 2017, Chennai |
| October 2017 | |
| 2–6 October | RSC-NOST Symposium on Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, Leeds, UK |
| 5–6 October | Industrial Green Chemistry World Convention & Ecosystem, Mumbai |
| November 2017 | |
| 13 November |
Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Roadshow-1, IISER, Mohali |
| 15 November | Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Roadshow-2, Delhi University, New Delhi |
| 16 November |
Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Roadshow-3, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai |
| 17 November | Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Roadshow-4, IIT Bombay, Mumbai |
| 27 November - 2 December |
Clean and Renewable Energy Technologies via Chemical Route, I2CAM - University of California and JNCASR, Bangalore |
| December 2017 | |
| 5–7 December | Salters Chemistry Camp, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB) |
| 7–10 December | RARE 2017, Agra, India |
| 9–2 December | International Conference on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins, IISER Mohali |
| 12–15 December | Modern Trends in Inorganic Chemistry (MTIC), National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune |
| 19–21 December | Salters Chemistry Camp, Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata |
|
2018 events |
|
| 10–12 January | Conference on Advances in Catalysis for Energy and Environment (CACEE), Mumbai |
| 11–13 January |
Faraday Discussion – Photo induced processes in Nucleic Acid and Proteins, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
To learn more about other similar activities of the Royal Society of Chemistry in India, please visit the events web page.
Sign up for our India Newsletter here
Research grants and funding opportunities
We provide a number of different research grants and funding opportunities for students, researchers and publishing authors. The following are currently available.
Conference bursaries
For student members of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Royal Society of Chemistry members in the early stages of their career (typically within five years of completing a first or postgraduate degree).
Small grants for scientific activities
To support researchers’ scientific activities, including (but not limited to) participation at conferences, scientifically enhancing your own meetings, research visits or policy development initiatives.
Travel grants for PhD students and post-doctoral researchers
Grants are available to cover domestic, continental and intercontinental travel to support participation by PhD students and post-doctoral researchers in scientific conference.
We also offer grants to support travel to events, outreach and research, as well as personal support and guidance. Visit our funding pages for more details.
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