Honouring SN Bose by Promoting Excellence in Scientific Research

IN FOCUS: SATYENDRA NATH BOSE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR BASIC SCIENCES

Established on the 13 June 1986, the Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) stepped into its 39th year in 2024. Professor Satyendra Nath Bose (1893-1974) was one of the foremost quantum physicists in the world. He is immortalised by his discovery of Bose Statistics in 1924. Subsequently, coinages like Bose-Einstein Condensation and Higgs boson highlight his contributions that remain relevant even to contemporary physics. Half of the fundamental particles of the universe—bosons—are named after him.

In order to pay tribute to the memory of this great son of the nation, the Government of India constituted a committee in 1982, headed by then Governor of West Bengal, and consisting of a few eminent scientists of the country, to study the feasibility of setting up a national centre named after Professor Bose. The efforts reached fruition in 1986 when the Department of Science & Technology (DST) created this new centre—the Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) with an autonomous status. The Memorandum of Association of the Centre was registered under the Society Registration Act and a cluster of senior scientists and dignitaries signed as founder members of the society. Prof CK Majumdar was appointed first director of the centre in 1987. One of the centre’s major objectives, other than promoting excellence in research and manpower training, has been to provide a forum for intellectual interaction among scientists in India and abroad.

THE CAMPUS

In July 1986, the Government of West Bengal allotted a 15-acre plot in Salt Lake City for the campus of the centre. Construction activities started in 1990, and the campus came into full operation in August 1995, when an international conference on Dynamics of Complex Systems was hosted. Now, as one enters the campus, a green and pleasant undu­lating landscape with the fully equipped Bhagirathi guest house provides a hearty welcome to the guest. To cater to the increased intake of doctoral and post­doctoral scholars along with a pool of visitors, new accommodation facilities such as Radhachura, Krishnachura, and Basundhara have come up in recent years. The centre is a residential research institution with facilities like hostels, guest house, library, computer centre, sophisticated research laboratories, etc.

All Images Courtesy: Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRE

Since its establishment in 1986, the SN­BNCBS undertakes cutting edge basic research in chosen areas of basic scienc­es including areas of application poten­tials, to train young persons in advanced areas to strengthen basic research, and expand R&D based human capacity.

Focus areas of Research

1. Research on Quantum Materials and Devices
2. Research on Quantum Information and Communication
3. Computational Study of Materials, Machine Learning
4. Translational Research
5. Research on Observational Astro­physics
6. Research on Quantum Field Theory, Statistical Physics and Non-Linear Dy­namics
7. Networked research programmes through the visitor and associateship programme

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

Human Resource Development is a key mandate of the centre. The institute has thrived for excellence in research and training high quality scientific manpow­er through sustainable academic pro­grammes. With a current core strength of 33 regular faculty members, and with the support of emeritus faculty, DST-Inspire Faculty etc., the centre under­takes manpower training of around 160 doctoral students, 20 integrated MSc-PhD students and 75 post-doctoral researchers. More than 20 specialised semester courses are offered each year, and additional training schools and workshops are organised for external students including summer projects for joint-academy funded scholars.

ACADEMIC COLLABORATIONS

Strong academic collaborations exist with universities/ institutes at national and international levels for the award of MSc/ PhD degrees, exchange of stu­dents, joint extramural projects with Uppsala University, Sweden, Max Plank Institute, Stuttgart, Germany, etc. An MoU with The World Academy of Sci­ences (TWAS) allows the visit of schol­ars from third world countries for PhD and post-doctoral research studies.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU)

• SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata, India and Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden- IFW (IFW Dresden e.V.), Dresden, Germany have signed a Memorandum of Understand­ing (MoU), intended for scientific coop­eration in the field of ‘Novel Magnetic and Topological Quantum Materials’.
• An MoU has been signed between SN Bose National Centre of Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata and Presidency University, Kolkata, to strengthen the collaborative efforts in academic ex­change, research training and supervi­sion of students.
• An MoU has been signed between SN Bose National Centre of Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata and IIT Bombay (IITB) to strengthen collaborative re­search and other academic cooperation.
• An MoU has been signed between the SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sci­ences (SNBNCBS) and the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sci­ences (ARIES) (Beluwakhan, Uttara­khand) to foster research collaboration and facilitate advancement of knowl­edge based on reciprocity.
• The SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences has signed an MoU with the Ashoka University, Sonipat, for collabo­ration in overlapping areas of interest in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
• An MoU has been signed between IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIM­CIP) and SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) on 3 June 2024 with the purpose of collaborat­ing towards implementation of joint activities for supporting innovators and entrepreneurs. This MoU is to facilitate transformations in innovations from re­search laboratories to sustainable busi­ness ventures.
• Integrated MSc-PhD degrees are awarded by the University of Calcutta through an existing MoU and students are registered for their PhD in Jadavpur and Calcutta University. The Centre also has an MoU with IISER, Kolkata, for joint PhD programme.

RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES

Computational facilities
On 26 September 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three new supercomputers named #Param Rudra, developed in India and funded by the National Super-computing Mission (NSM) under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. This includes a 838 TFLOPS system at the SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) in Kolkata.

The centre has created a Thematic Unit of Excellence on Nanoscience with nanofabrication and a Class-1000 clean room facility, and Massively Parallel Cray supercomputing facility.

The centre is also equipped with research facilities like femtosecond time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr microscope, micro-focused Brillouin light scattering setup, cavity ring-down spectrometer, THz and ultrafast spectroscopy and several nanofabrication facilities like FIB, E-Beam lithography, dry etching and mask-less lithography, etc.

The Technical Cell and Technical Research Centre (TRC) with a large number of state-of the art characterisation facilities caters to the research need of internal and external users, which are available for use through Indian Science, Technology and Engineering facilities Map (ISTEM) portal. The centre possesses well equipped library and state-of-the-art computer centre. SNBNCBS has started working to establish one astronomical observatory on Panchet hilltop, Purulia, West Bengal.

Visitors’ Programmes
The centre organised several international conferences and symposiums to mark major milestones such as the Bose Centenary celebrations (1994), Silver Jubilee of the Centre (2011) and Bose 125 celebration (2018).
The Centre has a strong Visitor and Associates programme for senior researchers as well as for young researchers, including those from colleges and universities. The centre operates as the national nodal centre of the Theoretical Physics Seminar Circuit (TPSC), which was set up by DST, to promote collaboration and sharing of research ideas and results between different research centres (~20) in India. The list of distinguished visitors includes Nobel laureates such as David J Gross, Roger Penrose, Wolfgang Ketterle, Anthony J Leggett, Kip Thorne, and renowned scientists like A Aspect, CH Bennett, Michael Berry, MGK Menon, JV Narlikar, CNR Rao, HE Stanley, ECG Sudarshan, and SRS Varadhan, along with many others.

BoseStat@100: Centenary of Bose Statistics
Earlier this year, from January 29 to February 2, the International Conference on Photonics, Quantum Information, and Quantum Communication (ICPQIQC-2024) was held at the centre.

The five-day conference, to commemorate one hundred years of Bose Einstein Statistics, ended on a high note of optimism at the Bishwa Banga Convention Centre in Kolkata. The week-long celebration of BoseStat@100 culminated with an outreach programme at the mini theatre of Science City, Kolkata. The conference had brought out theoretical aspects as well as possibilities of practical applications of ‘new quantum mechanics’. Speakers were invited from UK, USA, Germany, Australia, Japan, Spain, Hong Kong and different states of India, to make the five-day conference a buzzing hub for mutual inspiration and exchange of new ideas.

TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

The Technical Research Centre (TRC), funded by Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, at SNBNCBS was launched on 1 January 2016.

Major Target Areas of on-going TRC at SNBNCBS are:

• Health Care: Development of low-cost non-invasive medical diagnostics for ca­pacity building for maternal/child health care & ulcer detection.
• Environment: Development of low-cost sensors for sustainable management of water & air for life on land and life below water.
• Food Security: Development of low-cost sensors to provide food security to households.
• Low-Cost Instrumentation: Develop­ment of low-cost instrumentation for industries and to enhance employment opportunity.
• Input through Computation: High-end computation for the development of technologically important indigenous materials of national need.

Development of Non-contact Opti­cal Device for Clinical Diagnostics of Anaemia, Jaundice and Oxygen Deficiency (AJO Device) at Resource Limited Point of Care Setting.

It’s salient features are:

• Development of a non-contact non-invasive easy to use, low-cost optical device and associated software for measuring haemoglobin, bilirubin and oxygen saturation at point of care and immediate electronic transmission of test results.
• Efficient diagnosis of three parameters at one go without touching the subject (non-contact and non-invasive).
• Ability to diagnose in fragile and con­flict-affected settings.
• Ability of immediate delivery of test results through cloud, helping in online monitoring and e-health care.
• Compatibility with mobile phone platform for data transceiving for treat­ment plan.
• Transfer of technology to M/s EzeRx Health Tech Pvt Ltd.

Non-Invasive Screening for the Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia (AJO-Neo)

It’s salient features are:

• Measures bilirubin level in neonatal subject in a non-invasive and non-con­tact way.
• Non-invasive determination of blood parameters.
• Pain less and accurate.
• Instant results.
• No consumable and recurring cost.
• Transfer of technology to M/s Zyna MedTech Pvt Ltd.

Non-invasive detection of ulcer caus­ing Helicobacter pylori infection in hu­man stomach using exhaled breath analysis (Breathe-Analyzer)

Its salient features are:

• A simple diagnostic methodology for detection of Helicobacter pylori infec­tion as well as ulcer disease using human breath analysis.
• It is a non-invasive technique without endoscopy and biopsy tests.
• It can identify the presence of the in­fection in human stomach by following a simple protocol.
• The system can be used even after the eradication of the infection or standard therapies.
• The analyzer can be used for online and off-line breath analysis.
• The invention is a new product and better replacement of the existing meth­odologies.
• Transfer of technology to M/s HPA Instruments, Hyderabad.