Eminent scientist and Professor T. Pradeep of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras on Monday suggested regional collaboration between scientific institutions to expand research on soft materials.
He was inaugurating the three-day International Conference on Chemistry and Applications of Soft Materials at CSIR – National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) here.
Regional collaborations between institutions such as NIIST, Rajiv Gandhi Biotechnology Center and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) could expand research on soft materials, as it is an area of interdisciplinary importance.
He said that Kerala already has an ecosystem to support start-ups and hence soft material opportunities in areas like medicine, space and diagnostics should be pursued through this route.
NIIST director A. Ajay Ghosh presided over the opening ceremony. Chandrabhas Narayan, Director, RGCB, Sanjay Behera, Director, SCTIMST, Narayanan Unni, convener of the conference and S Savitri, Chief Scientist, MIIST also spoke. The conference will conclude on Wednesday.