We were honored to host Prof. Pramod P. Pillai from IISER Pune at the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Dharwad, on 9th October 2025, as part of the ANRF-Sponsored National Symposium on “Smart Interfaces: Colloids in Medicine, Energy, and Materials.

We were honored to host Prof. Pramod P. Pillai from IISER Pune at the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Dharwad, on 9th October 2025, as part of the ANRF-Sponsored National Symposium on “Smart Interfaces: Colloids in Medicine, Energy, and Materials.

Prof. Pillai delivered a captivating talk on “Solar Energy Utilization with ‘Hot Charges’ and ‘Hot Surfaces, highlighting groundbreaking advances in plasmonic nanoparticles and quantum dots (QDs) for solar-to-chemical fuel conversion. 

He shared his group’s innovative strategies that leverage ligand chemistry to enhance charge separation, achieve tunable photocatalytic activity, and even harness plasmonic heat for sustainable chemical transformations and energy generation. His insights offered a fascinating perspective on how nanomaterials can drive sustainable energy and smart material innovations. 

We sincerely thank Prof. Pillai for sharing his pioneering research and inspiring our students and researchers toward impactful, sustainable science.