Research Highlights
| Department of Physics | In the field of Neutrino Physics, the faculty members in the Department of Physics, AMU, have made extensive study of the neutrino interactions from the nucleons and nuclei in the region of intermediate and high energies and are internationally visible for their research and academic collaborations. A faculty of the Department is an invited member of the Neutrino Panel of International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), Neutrino Scattering Theory Experimental Collaboration (NuSTEC), Snowmass neutrino collaboration, and an academic collaborator with the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Takaaki Kajita. This group is a member of MINERvA and DUNE collaborations at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, USA. A few faculty members are involved in the ALICE experiment at CERN, Europe. In the last 5 years, several students have earned post-doctoral positions at Rochester University, William & Mary, etc. MoUs have been signed with Universitat of Valencia, Spain, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, and the India Based Neutrino Observatory. The research in the Department of Physics is being pursued in many of the major contemporary areas of experimental and theoretical physics, like Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Astrophysics, Photonics, and Non-Linear Dynamics. | |
| Department of Chemistry | The Department of Chemistry is looking at synthetic chemistry; its analysis and application viz. novel organic molecules of pharmaceutical importance, metallo-drugs against cancers, Analytical method development and validation using graphene oxide & IIP for metal ion determination, Green chemistry and Catalysis, Visible light redox photoreaction, Photoinduced homogeneous and heterogeneous electron transfer reaction, crystal engineering and supramolecular chemistry and charge transfer complexes, solid state and micelles chemistry. It also undertakes interdisciplinary research viz. Biophysical chemistry, Bio-molecules in ionic liquids, Bio-molecular simulation related to neuro-degenerative diseases and signal transduction pathways as well as biocompatible quantum dots (QDs) as an alternative to toxic quantum dots. The department is also focusing on Nanomaterials for environmental application. | |
| Department of Geography | The Department of Geography at Aligarh Muslim University is oldest among subcontinent universities for the discipline of geography. The department, since its inception in the university in 1924, has been focussed on applying geographical understanding to address societal challenges. In the 1960s when the country was facing an acute food shortage, one of the faculty at the department who is also a Padam Shri led a team of researchers to conduct land use studies and paved the way for judicious and appropriate use of land, which ultimately reflected in the Green Revolution success in India. Recently, when the geographic space/ land resource has become scarce, the department is constantly engaged in land capability studies with the aim of finding a solution to the problem. It further explored urban/rural dichotomy in context with land resources. Currently, the department is also exploring the emerging challenge of land transformation/degradation, its capability and related environmental issues. The department has also incorporated an interdisciplinary approach with examining livelihood, migration and environmental issues and also adopted new methods like, remote sensing and GIS. |
|
| Department of Zoology | The mapping of disease pathways is a vigorous affair which includes conglomeration of numerous biomarkers, transcription factors and molecules that orchestrate the signaling and form a nexus of cascades. Therefore, the Department of Zoology, carries out comprehensive and in-depth research analyzing distinct factors of abatement and instigation of hepatic fibrosis which are evidently most significant in nature. The reason for their significance being the definite exploration of path that leads to efficacy of drug development against hepatic fibrosis. The studies delineate probable ameliorative pathways and emphasize antifibrotic property and their use as potential therapeutics against hepatic fibrosis. The generated disease model also provides a framework to the researchers for further experiments on the identification of suitable drugs against the pathology. One of the faculty members of the department is engaged in elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms essential for the self-renewal of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) and cancer recurrence. He is also identifying novel molecules which could be used to chemosensitize the chemoresistant CSCs and ameliorate the drug-induced toxicity. | |
| Department of Botany | The Department of Botany one of the oldest departments in the university. The main thrust areas of teaching and research are Plant Pathology, Plant Physiology, Cytogenetics & Plant Breeding, Environmental Botany, Plant Biotechnology, Systematic Botany and Allelopathy. | |
| Agricultural Sciences | The faculty of Agricultural Sciences is engaged in the use of Soil Microbes as a bio resource for promoting agricultural productivity through the use of Plant Growth Promoters in the form of bio fertilizers or through their use as biocontrol agents. It also carries out microbes based bioremediation of environmental pollutants and cytogenotoxicity of wastewater soil and agrochemicals for their safe management and use. The faculty is also very active in the exploration of natural products as an alternative medication for human health. The members of the faculty work towards the protection of crops against pests, insects, nematodes and microbial pathogens along with increasing the nutritive value of crops through microbe based nutrient mobilization. Lastly, they are involved in the development of methods for the post-harvest management and processing of food and agricultural products. | |
| Department of Biotechnology | Protein Misfolding is a major cause of neurodegenerative diseases in humans like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc., for which no cure is established till date. Only some medications to alleviate the symptoms are available and so the department of biotechnology made great efforts to develop a drug for its cure. Some faculty members of the department discovered the anti-amyloidogenic potential of naphthalene derivatives and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) that may aid in the design of more effective therapeutic strategies for these diseases. These members alsorecently demonstrated the anti-amyloidogenic nature of some anti-tuberculosis drugs against amyloid beta aggregation in-vitro and study is in progress on the in-vivo system and results obtained are highly promising. This work may have possible implications in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases in humans. The Department of Biotechnology was also instrumental in discovering a novel NDM-4 superbug, as a first report from India. A novel ST3344 as new Sequence types in two NDM-1 producing K. pneumoniae isolates was also discovered from neonates admitted in NICU of one of the North Indian Hospitals. One of the faculty members from biotechnology, established a novel approach to control topical microbial infections through nanoparticles induced Photodynamic therapy in his lab. Moreover, the department has established a Photodynamic therapy to treat Diabetic foot ulcer caused by highly drug resistant bacteria. A novel technique of CRISPRi-dCAS9 system has also been established to inhibit the biofilm mediated infections. | |
| Department of Wildlife Sciences | The Department of Wildlife Sciences was established in 1986 and the late Dr. Salim Ali, the doyen of Indian ornithology, played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Department. The Department has a unique distinction of being the first and the only post graduate Department in the Indian University System to formally start education and scientific research in the field of wildlife conservation and management. At present the Department is running two MSc courses: MSc in Wildlife Sciences and MSc in Biodiversity and Environment management. Department of Wildlife sciences is also running various field projects in different parts of India such as the Himalayas, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir etc., with funding support from DST, SERB, CSIR, MoEF, US Fish and Wildlife services, Oriental Bird club, WWF- India and many other governmental and non-governmental organisations. | |
| Department of Electrical Engineering | The Department of Electrical Engineering was established in 1937 which is now a UGC DRS department. The contributions of the department since the last seven years are: 39 patents (10 granted), 3 text books and 522 research papers mostly peer reviewed international journals or conference proceedings which include 18 in IEEE Transactions-USA(the topmost journal in the world for electrical sciences). At present 4 consultancies (Rs 4.83 Lakh) and 3research projects (Rs 1.2 crore) are going on. The thrust areas of research at the department are Power Electronics & Drives, Renewable Energy Systems, Power Systems, High Voltage Engineering, Electrical Vehicles, and Instrumentation & Control Systems. For the first time in the world, the department has carried out unique researches in the field of Simultaneous AC-DC power transmission systems, Flexible Asynchronous AC Link (FASAL) power transmission Systems, Discontinuous phase controlled converters and Rotating magnetic field based (RMF) measurement systems. | |
| Department of Electronics Engineering | The Department of Electronics Engineering has maintained its quality teaching and research since its inception. Presently, it is actively pursuing cutting edge research in the areas of VLSI, Analog Electronics, ML/DL algorithms for Signal Processing including biomedical signal processing, image and video processing, and fast measurement of seismic vibrations. The well qualified faculty and staff of the department also provides services of repair and maintenance of Electronic equipment across the university. | |
| Department of Mechanical Engineering | The faculty members of the Fluid Mechanics group at Department of Mechanical Engineering., AMU, are actively engaged in carrying out research in fundamental and application aspects of the fluid and energy transport processes. They specialize in computer simulations of the heat and fluid flow processes in flows around bluff and streamlined bodies; their two-way interaction with fluid and resulting vibrations. They have contributed significantly to the computing strategies by developing novel algorithms both for low and high-speed flows. Significant contributions have also been made towards understanding physics of various complex phenomena like flow instabilities, bifurcations and transition in different types of flows. | |
| Department of Petroleum Studies | At Polymer and Composite Materials Laboratory, Department of Petroleum Studies, the faculty members are striving to develop and innovate frugal solutions to complex problems related to materials and processes. In the past one decade they have developed many cost effective solutions such as Continues Microwave Reactor, Inkjet Printer for printed flexible electronics, Electro-Actuating Composite Materials for Artificial Finger and limbs, Self healing material for Biopsy, Breast Phantom for the training of radiologists, and Patients’ Specific 3D printed models (Heart, bone Joints etc) from CT-Scan data for the planning of surgical procedures. | |
| Department of Architecture | The Department of Architecture is deeply engaged in research activities and have come out with three books in the assessment period by the faculty members. A faculty member of the department identified that AMU had a very high cultural significance whereby out of thirty-five types of arches used in buildings worldwide, AMU had twenty types of arches found in its buildings. The Heritage Cell of the department is also doing the restoration of centuries old heritage structures of the campus and is designing buildings like the Centenary gate, Gate of Sir Syed House etc., in the campus in coherence with the character of the university. The Centre of Excellence for Islamic Architecture of the department in collaboration with the Heritage Cell, is carrying out hands-on research activities to endorse the traditional materials and construction techniques in conservation of the heritage sites. | |
| Department of Linguistics | The Department of Linguistics works towards applying Quantitative Sociolinguistic paradigm to explore language variation and change in contact languages in North and North-East India, and to understand sociolinguistics of identity politics and minoritization of language in multilingual contexts. One of the faculty members of the department has carried out the documentation of Birhor and Chinali for the preservation and protection of endangered languages as mandated by the Ministry of Education. The faculty has also examined the impact of migration and resettlement on the language use and linguistic and cultural practices of the tribals (Bhil and Pawda) in the Nandurbar district in north-western Khandesh region of Maharashtra due to development related activities. One of the significant projects of a faculty member of the department is investigating the linguistic activation and bi-directional reading using Eyetracker and Electroencephalogram to explore the nature of cognitive resources and neural underpinning of reading Urdu (text and numeral) where reader has to read right to left in case of text and left to right for numerals | |
| Department of Sociology |
The Department of Sociology is actively engaged in examining issues of caste, education, class and establishing intersectionality between various axes of social stratification. One of the faculty of the department, has rigorously explored social determinants of health, maternal health, employment and education focussing on equity and inclusive development. His research is helpful in developing parameters for human, social and sustainable development of marginalized groups including tribes, scheduled castes, minorities, women and migrant workers.
|
|
|
Department of Mass Communication
|
|
The faculty members in the Department of Mass Communication are academically active. A faculty member has performed voluminous research on the vernacular press especially Urdu periodicals in the nineteenth and twentieth century India. Three trail blazing periodicals edited by Sir Syed were made the object of close study. His research based on archival material and critical appraisal constitute three books Urdu Journalism and literature: Critical Perspectives ( Cambridge University Press,2014),Forging Bond with Modernism: An Assessment of Sir Syed Periodicals and Sirsyed Ahmad Khan : Nation, Reason and Religion (Routledge,2020). Contribute regularly to leading mainstream newspapers The Hindu,The Hindustan Times,The Frontline,The Outlook,The Indian Express and The Wire.
|
|
Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies
|
|
The faculty members at the Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies are working on issues of Gender, History of Sexuality, Human Rights, Law, Women’s health and Education, Gender and Environment and issues of Language and Culture. A faculty member has been the Max Planck India Mobility Grant holder and is a visiting fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin (Germany) since 2016. As part of her research project at the Max Planck Institute, she is working on exploring the notion of Friendship, Homosocial Spaces and Community Identity among the indo-Muslim Aristocracy in Northern India, 17th-19th centuries. For this project, she has looked at a wide genre of historical sources (like tazkira, tarikh, malfuzat etc.) which have been generally overlooked by scholars.
|
