Functional Nanocomposites and Their Applications

Dhanya K. R., PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the International and Inter University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India. She has published articles in international and national journals and has authored and co-authored book chapters as well as one book related to medicine. She has also presented her work at international conferences. She has coordinated several science-oriented programs such as World Environmental Day, National Technology Day, Ozone Day, etc., at her university, as well as several national conferences. Her research interests include hydrogels, water purification studies, nanocomposites, biopolymers, etc. Sanal P. S., PhD, is a patent analyst and consultant. He received his PhD in Polymer Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India. During his PhD he worked on block copolymers for biomedical applications. Thereafter, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. He researched coaxial electrospinning of conducting polymers during his postdoctoral work. He was also a postdoctoral researcher at the International and Inter University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi, India, where he continued his research on the electrospinning of polymers. His main areas of research are polymer technology, electrospinning, and polymeric biomaterials. Sabu Thomas, PhD, DSc, FRSC, is the Vice Chancellor, senior most professor and outstanding scientist, and leading academic of Mahatma Gandhi University, India, where he has been serving for the last 34 years. He has held many positions, which include Pro Vice Chancellor; Regional Director of the School of Technology and Applied Sciences; Dean of Technology and Applied Sciences and Syndicate Member; Erudite Professor in the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Translational Sciences at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine; Adjunct Professor and AcSIR Director at the School of Chemical Sciences; and Director at the International and Inter University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Currently he also holds the position of the Honorary Director of the School of Energy Materials of Mahatma Gandhi University. Dr. Thomas’s groundbreaking inventions in polymer nanocomposites, polymer blends, and green bionanotechnological and nano-biomedical sciences have made transformative differences in the development of new materials in the automotive, space, housing, and biomedical fields. In collaboration with India’s premier tire company, Apollo Tyres, Professor Thomas’s group invented new high performance barrier rubber nanocomposite membranes for inner tubes and inner liners for tires. A prolific author and researcher, Dr. Thomas has won many awards for his work and is acknowledged as one of the most productive researchers in India. Nandakumar Kalarikkal, PhD, is the Senior Professor, School of Pure and Applied Physics, Mahatma Gandhi University, International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, India. His current research interests include synthesis, characterization, and applications of various nanostructured materials, laser plasma, and phase transitions. He has published more than 260 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, holds six patents and has edited over 30 books. Dr. Kalarikkal obtained his master’s degree in Physics with a specialization in Industrial Physics and his PhD in Semiconductor Physics from Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Trivandrum, and later joined Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. He has received several research grants and supervised more than 22 PhD candidates. He has carried out several international and national project works and has received many international fellowships and honors.