PIEZOELECTRICS ANCIENT YET MODERN (16/02/23)
Division of Mechanical Sciences
Institute Colloquium
Speaker and Affliation:
Prof. Rajeev Ranian
Department of Materials Engineering
IISc, Bengaluru.
When?
16th February, 2023 (Thursday), 04:00 PM (India Standard Time)
Venue
FACULTY HALL MAIN BUILDING, IISC.
About the Speaker
Professor Rajeev Ranjan did MSc in Physics from BHU (1992), M Tech in Materials Science from IIT Kanpur in 1994, and PhD in Materials Science from IT BHU in 2000. He was a faculty at IT, BHU, during 2002-2007. Since November 2007, he has been on the faculty of the Department of Materials Engineering IISc. Professor Ranjan’s research focuses on developing fundamental structure property correlation insights in piezoelectric and multiferroic alloy systems. He has published over 160 papers. He is a recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt fellowship 2006-2007, the Distinguished investigator award of DST (2018), Metallurgist of the Year award of the Ministry of Steels (2018). He is a fellow of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials (APAM), a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).He is the member secretary of the Ferroelectric Standing Committee of IEEE on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (UFFC).
Abstract
Rocks and stones have fascinated humanity since time immemorial. Ancient philosophers attributed living qualities to natural stones which could move small particles at a distance. Over centuries, these stones became known as pyroelectrics, ferroelectrics, and piezoelectrics. The ability to detect submarines during the first world war made piezoelectric materials very important. Thanks to the exciting discoveries that happen from time to time, the field has rejuvenated itself several times in the last 140 years, and still ongoing. Advanced piezoelectrics can now be found in devices spanning sectors like space, automobiles, health, Défense, and consumer products. Our group at IISc has been engaged in research on piezoelectric materials for the last fifteen years. It has made notable contributions in terms of the design of new materials exhibiting extraordinary electromechanical properties (such as electric field driven strain > 1 %) and by providing new insights into complex structure property correlation issues in important piezoelectric systems. This scientific journey is marked by eureka moments, which were outcomes of unintentional “mistakes” made by the student, new planned experiments gone “wrong,” etc. The consequent intellectual engagements opened the door to new insights and discoveries.