JNCASR hits Nature Index Top 50 for materials science

The list includes 18 institutes from China, 12 from the United States and two from the United Kingdom

The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, has been placed in the top 50 institutions worldwide for advances in materials science by the prestigious Nature Index.

The list which includes 18 institutes from China, 12 from the United States and two from the United Kingdom places the JNCASR in the 23rd position globally among universities and institutions as part of its ‘50 Rising Institutions’ list.

The centre is also the only Indian institute on the list and shares the privilege with others such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University which is in the first place, the University of Texas Austin (fourth), the University of Berkley (12th) and the University of Cambridge (27th).

JNCASR president Professor Giridhar U Kulkarni, who is also a materials scientist, described the mood at the centre as being jubilant.

“It is a proud moment for us because decades of effort have gone into building up our research capabilities,” he said, adding the small centre has conducted advanced theoretical and practical research into solid state chemistry, nanotechnology, thermoelectric power and superconductivity, among others.

“Previously, the research focus was on nanotubes and quantum dots. However, we are now focusing on 2D materials such as a graphene, atomised thin crystalline layers. Our work and publication of the in-house research in advanced journals is the source of our recognition by the
Index,” Professor Kulkarni said.

This is not the first time that the centre, which has a faculty of only 50 (out of whom 30 are professors), has been recognised by Nature Index which tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since 2016. A primary metric of recognition is the number of scientific articles and papers published in leading journals.

In 2019, the JNCASR was ranked seventh among the top ten Young Graduate Universities by Nature Index 2019. It also ranked 17th among the top 50 Young Universities in Chemistry.