Prof. Suman CHAKRABORTY
Present Designation:
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology KharagpurAreas of Interest:
Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, Medical Devices, Healthcare Technology
Specialisation:
Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, Medical Devices, Healthcare Technology
Major Professional Contributions:
Professor Suman Chakraborty is known for his extremely fundamental contributions in microfluidics, nanofluidics and consequent disruptive technological interventions in medical devices for the developing world.
Professor Chakraborty, both theoretically and experimentally, resolved one of the long-standing paradoxes in nanofluidics by unveiling the exact mechanism by which liquid water can non-intuitively slip on a rough surface in an extreme narrow confinement, instead of an intuitive stick. Contrary to common intuitions, on the other hand, he produced the first direct evidence that liquid water can even stick on slippery hydrophobic surfaces, exploiting a non-intuitive interplay between ion-water interactions and the molecular arrangements. He further extended this paradigm to discover massive nonlinear amplification of pumping in nanochannels as mediated by the interplay of fluid flow and electrical field, a phenomenon that was hitherto unknown. His phase field model, describing the underlying phenomenon, has been one amongst the very first and unique model of this kind in the nanofluidic arena. He has also been the innovator of a new kind of Lattice Boltzmann model, known as enthalpy based Lattice Boltzmann model, to capture unique aspects of phase transition under such multi-scale multi-physics environment.
Professor Chakraborty has been a pioneer in maneuvering droplets in small passages with the aid of external fields. Contradicting traditional understanding, he has also been the first to show that by exploiting some very special inherent non-linearities, a droplet can laterally migrate without any external symmetry-breaking influence, under the application of an electrical or thermal field. His recent sequel of about 10 articles in the famous Journal of Fluid Mechanics have truly redefined the understanding of how a droplet transport may be non-intuitively modulated by subtle non-linear interplays despite operating in a linear flow regime, defying obvious scientific intuitions. He has also been the first to demonstrate controlled microbubble generation on a rotationally actuated microfluidic device; a problem that could not be cracked by several other researchers for long. Usually, cool water moves away from hot areas by virtue of the well-known Marangoni effect, but a non-intuitive reversal of this phenomenon may take place, if small enough droplets are used, as reported by him. In a remarkable recent discovery, he has explained that the effect is down to an increase in van der Waals forces, which attract molecules in the droplet towards molecules in the surface on which it is resting.
Professor Chakraborty has been a leader in extending such extremely fundamental understandings on transport of tiny soft entities to unique application-oriented perspectives on biologically active matters relevant to the medical community at large. He has been the first to bring out unique interactions between enzyme-catalysis powered micromotors and complex bio-fluids, towards achieving highly efficient locomotion of active matter in physiologically relevant pathways. His findings on bacterial motion in mirofluidic confinement have given new cues of puzzling therapeutic resistance of bacteria in critical infectious diseases.
Professor Chakraborty has been a visionary in medical microfluidics. He has also been the first researcher to develop a fundamental theory on electrically modulated movement of blood through a microchannel, and to translate the same towards the development of an original medical diagnostic device, harnessing unique rheology of blood. Suman’s experiments on blood-dripping dynamics have, indeed, paved a new paradigm of chemical-free blood diagnostics. He has also been the first to develop a microfluidic chip that mimics the micro-environment of a cancer cell and assesses its impact on cancer spreading. In advanced stages of cancer, tumour cells successfully proliferate through tiny capillaries in human bodies. Suman’s tumour-on-a-chip device has demonstrated a novel mechanism by which it occurs, by utilizing his own innovated unique microscopy technique on a chip. Invention of this technique has led to the possibility of getting a clue on the life threatening potential of cancer cells as cancer spreads across a body, and is expected to throw light on a newly developed revolutionary cancer treatment protocol. By using the same technique, his group has recently discovered oscillatory shear stress induced calcium flickers in bone cancer cells, a phenomenon that remained hitherto unknown.
Professor Chakraborty has been the inventor of Paper and Pencil Microfluidics- a new branch of microfluidics that has evolved globally over the past five years or so, under his scientific leadership. The underlying device is essentially a simple piece of paper cartridge with inkjet-printed guides for fluidic transport, having simple pencil-sketched electrodes for simultaneous electrical control. This has made a breakthrough in manufacturing low-cost medical diagnostic devices for the developing world. He has already patented several devices of this kind that can do rapid multiple pathological tests from a single drop of blood in a low cost platform. His team has also patented a novel paper-based device for assessing anti-biotic resistance in a patient that often turns out to be a life-threatening challenge. He has also explored the paper-and-pencil device for clean energy generation, by demonstrating hydro-electric energy conversion, unbelievably, on a simple paper strip and developing a paper-and-pencil based bio-fuel cell. He has also been the first to demonstrate an unprecedented capacity of graphene oxide for salt water purification on a piece of paper.
Professor Chakraborty an equally emphatic contribution on deep science based research and its application to public health. In the developing countries, a medically unfit person has to travel long to reach a diagnostic-center. While it is loss of time/ energy, he/she may also not been able to afford the test. To resolve this, he has exploited his own novel theory of electrically-driven capillary-transport of blood in microchannels in developing a unique ultra-low-cost paper-and-pencil based hand-held device, fabricated by a simple office-printer. In this device, a single drop of blood is enough to come up with multiple tests. The device can be also used at home-comfort. As this platform does not require deployment of trained personnel, it can be easily used to cater to the needs of resource-limited settings. Most importantly, performance of his device has recently been benchmarked with standard diagnostic protocols. He has also been one among the early researchers to design and develop a painless microneedle for blood extraction and drug delivery, by mimicking mosquito’s blood sampling mechanism. His special contributions on low cost medical devices for understanding of diseases, diagnostics, and therapeutics are expected to revolutionize the face of rural healthcare in the developing world.
Beyond his scholastic activities for scientific pursuit, Professor Chakraborty has spearheaded start-up activities and fostered technology transfer towards commercializing his own patented technologies. He has also demonstrated unique leadership capabilities for facilitating technology transfer in the domain of medical devices, by recently establishing a Common Research and Technology Development Hub on Affordable Healthcare that has its own sustainable business model integrated. This initiative has brought in the concept of “Open Source Instrumentation”, a novel approach towards facilitating large-scale translation of laboratory innovations for the development of indigenous and low cost medical devices. This unique approach from Professor Chakraborty has already fostered a significant number of his own technologies to be validated clinically for subsequent commercialization as well as societal benefits through deployment in some Government based/ private clinics at extreme remote locations. For example, his very recent technology transfer concerns a paper-and-pencil device that uses a unique one-step protocol for blood plasma separation and pathological detection in an integrated low-cost platform. This is likely to revolutionize medical diagnostics in the developing world, by introducing disruptive low-cost yet highly accurate technologies in a market that is otherwise heavily dependent on imported technology at prohibitive expenses.
Professor Chakraborty has been bestowed with highly prestigious awards in the field. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Santi Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize and the J. C. Bose National Fellowship (recently awarded by the DST); the highest levels of Scientific awards from the Government of India. At a very young age, he has become Fellows of all the relevant National Academies of Science and Engineering in India. However, where he stands apart is the kind of International recognition that he has received by this time. He is perhaps one among the rare young scientists to become Fellows of the following three major Scientific Societies in his field simultaneously, namely, American Physical Society (APS), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is also an Associate Editor (Area Editor in Microfluidics) of the prestigious IEEE Transactions on CAD, as a testimony of his interdisciplinary appeal in the International arena.
Consultancy Areas:
Microfluidics, Computational fluid dynamics, Micro heat pipe, Droplet based microfluidics, Medical diagnostic devices.
Sector Associated With:
Academia
Sectors Interested to Offer Service:
Educational / Academic institutions, Industry (Private), Industry (PSUs), R&D Organizations, Government (including funding agencies), Entrepreneurs, Consultancy Firms, Private Agencies
Professional Experience
Dean, Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (2019-),Head, School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India (2015-2018), Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India (2008-date) Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India (2007-2008) Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India (2002- 2007) Lecturer, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India (1999-2002).
Keywords
Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, lab-on-a-chip, Lab-on-CD device, Paper-and-pencil device, Interfacial phenomena, Computational fluid dynamics.
Education
B.E., M.E., Ph.D
Awards and Recognitions
(a) Recipient of the National Academy of Sciences India –Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award for Application Oriented Research, 2021
(b) Recipient of the Indian National Academy of Engineering “Outstanding Teacher Award”, 2021
(c) Recipient of “Rajib Goyal Prizes” in the area of Physical Sciences, 2021
(d) Recipient of G. D. Birla Award for Scientific Research (K. K. Birla Foundation), 2020 (an annual award given to a single eminent Indian scientist below the age of 50 for their original and outstanding contributions to any branch of science or technology).
(e) Recipient of Virendra Nath Malti Mital Award, IIT Roorkee (given to an eminent Engineer for Innovative and Creative Work with patent in the field of Engineering in India in any discipline to an Indian National for the work done in India), 2021
(f) Elected as Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), 2018
(g) Selected as J. C. Bose National Fellow, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, 2018
(h) Elected as Fellow, American Physical Society, 2017
(i) Selected as Institute Chair Professor, with effect from July 1, 2017
(j) Felicitated with Distinguished Alumnus Award, Jadavpur University, 2017
(k) Elected as Fellow, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi, 2016
(l) Elected as Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS), Bangalore, 2016
(m) Elected as Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), 2015
(n) Selected as Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Chair Professor, 2014
(o) Awarded Santi Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize by CSIR, Govt. of India, 2013
(p) Recipient of “K. N. Seetharamu Medal and Prize”, awarded by the Indian Society of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2011
(q) Elected as Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Sciences (NASI), Allahabad, 2009
(r) Recipient of the Scopus Young Scientist Award in Engineering (Elsevier), 2008
(s) Elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering (INAE), 2008
(t) Recipient of Indo-US Fellowship for partial support towards Visiting Professorship in the Stanford University, USA
(u) Recipient of the Platinum Jubilee Young Scientist Award (NASI), 2007
(v) Recipient of Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, 2005
(w) Recipient of the Anil Kumar Bose Memorial Award (2007) given by the National Science Academy (INSA) for a breakthrough paper published in Physical Review Letters, vol. 95, pp. 024504 (1-4), 2005
(x) Recipient of the INAE Young Engineer Award, 2004
(y) Recipient of the INSA Medal for Young Scientist, 2003
(z) Recipient of the prestigious “Best International CFD Thesis Award”, based on a world-wide competition (awards sponsored by StarCD and CD-Adapco group), 2002
(aa) Recipient of the best Thesis Award from Mechanical Engg. Department and Division of Mechanical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 2002
(bb) Faculty topper at the IISc., Bangalore (Gold Medalist and recipient of Senate Commendation for outstanding performance in Masters of Engineering)
(cc) Ranked 1st (All India) in the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineers) Examination,1997
(dd) Ranked 17th in the State in the Higher Secondary Examination, 1992
INAE Section Affiliated
III: Mechanical Engineering
Year of Election to Fellowship
2009
Year of Birth
1973
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