Page 93 - CTB-1 10 May

PIONEERING A NEW FUTURE 93
IMPORTANT SCHEMES Post-doctoral Programme: RRI have
a vibrant post-doctoral programme that provides 3-year research experience to outstanding PhDs.
PhD Programme: RRI has a comprehensive PhD programme that gives enthusiastic and motivated students the opportunity to join the highly competitive global research community.
Scientific Visiting Student discussions
Programme (VSP):
VSP is aimed at offering research experience
to highly motivated students who are presently pursuing their undergraduate or masters studies or who are in a gap year that is within
a year of completion of these degrees.
Research Assistants Programme: This programme provides an opportunity to graduates (BSc/BE/BTech) and postgraduates (MSc/ MTech) to participate and assist RRI research staff in one of their professional research works.
Quadrature-lock-in Detection: RRI members have developed real-time imaging technology using ‘quadrature-lock-in detection’ for use in fog conditions, through smoke or muddy waters or even opaque human tissues, which can potentially simplify navigation or rescue operations or deep- sea diving and medical imaging.
Research on Coherence Times Single Photons and Entangled Pairs: RRI labs have over
the last few years generated single photons, entangled pairs, experimentally researching their coherence times. This has laid the foundation for development of technology for secure quantum communications using entangled photons.
High Contrast Amplitude Switch: In a novel application of atom-light interaction, which
involves light fields and atomic energy states interacting with each other in a cyclic and closed fashion in an atomic Delta scheme, RRI staff have experimentally demonstrated a very high contrast amplitude switch in one optical field controlled by a change in the phase of the microwave field. The contrast is the highest reported for such systems so far and is a promising candidate for a single optical photon operated switch.
Pico-Newton Scale Force-apparatus: A
novel Pico-Newton scale force-apparatus
was invented at RRI, purpose-built to study stability and physical properties of axons of nerve cells, to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative mechanisms and develop strategies to prevent axonal loss. This apparatus was used to demonstrate a reversible strain- softening response in axons, attributed to the unfolding of the protein structures (in this case actin-spectrin lattice) that acts as a ‘shock- absorber’ allowing axons to withstand large scale stretching without snapping.
Quantum State Determination: RRI theoreticians have investigated the issue of quantum state determination by ‘tossing’
a quantum coin and found that quantum entanglement leads to an improved strategy in state determination compared to one where a string of qubits were measured individually. They demonstrated this on the simulation facility of IBM quantum computers.
Motivated by the desire to understand the relationship between gravitation and quantum mechanics, RRI theorists analyzed the double slit experiment. The analysis shows that indeed gravitational fields can destroy interference patterns seen in double slit experiments.
RESEARCH FACILITIES
The Electronics Engineering Group and the Mechanical Engineering services provide in-house expertise ranging from conceptual designs to fabricating instruments, devices and electronic components for the various research activities undertaken by the members of the Institute. •