Faculty Research

Dr. Kiran Kolwankar, Associate Professor and Vice Principal

Our nature is full of very complex phenomena, be it the weather which is difficult to predict, or simply the trees swaying in apparently erratic manner or a chain of amino acids folding into a structure (protein) with a specific function. The examples are numerous. Usually, a common theme in these diverse situations is nonlinear and nonequilibrium behaviour of the system involved. Dr. Kiran Kolwankar attempts to understand the origin of the irregularity stemming from the nonlinearity or the deviation from the equilibrium or both.

At present, one student has submitted her thesis in which a nonlinear dynamical modeling was initiated in order to understand the swaying motion of trees. Another student is working on coupled nonlinear systems and the stationary densities arising out of these.

Development of calculus for fractals is another concurrent theme. Fractals are the highly irregular structures occurring in nature for which usual calculus fails to apply. Dr. Kiran Kolwankar is in the process of formulating a local fractional calculus with the aim of applying it to fractal structures and processes.

Dr. Vaishali Raikwar

Research areas: Luminescent nanomaterials, Phosphors for optoelectronic devices, Carbon dots and their composites, Synthesis and characterization

The luminescence phenomenon is found in nature to serve various purposes ranging from self-defence to attracting prey. Artificial luminescence curated carefully by researchers worldwide has various aspects and the utilities are myriad. Dr. Vaishali Raikwar works on luminescent materials, their optical and structural properties, and possible applications as optoelectronic devices. Her second interest is carbon nanomaterial has proven to be a boon in the materials field. To take advantage of their properties, the composites are formed with optical materials, and the feasibility of improvement in properties is studied.

Dr. Mithilesh Sharma, Assistant Professor and Head

She is a recognized research guide with more than 15yrs experience in undergraduate teaching and 15 yrs experience in postgraduate teaching. My research interests include Indian & western Poetics and Medieval & Modern Literature. She has worked on genres of novel and drama, Impact of Globalisation in Hindi Language, Feminism, Modern Cultural theory to different texts. Her Ph.D. thesis was on the topic “Bhartendu Yugin Kavyapravruttiyon mein Duttdvijendra ke Sahitya ka Anushilan” which has been published. She has also published few books as a co-writer like “Bhasha ke vividh roop aur Sanchar Madhyam’ and edited a book named ‘Ramvilas Sharma ki Sahitya Sadhana.

She has also done minor research projects on the topic ‘Bhumandalikaran aur Hindi’ which was sponsored by UGC and another minor research project ‘Mannu Bhandari ki Kahaniyon mein Naari Vaicharik Asamanjas’ which was sponsored by university of Mumbai. She has also published many research papers on various topics in different Journals and Books.

At present, five students, Ms. Shobha Joshi, Ms. Sarita Yadav, Ms. Reeta Singh, Ms. Rajani Mishra and Mr. Ashok Gupta are registered under her for Research Guidance. Ms. Shobha Joshi’s thesis on “Bhagwan Das Morwal ke Katha Sahitya ka Samaj Shastriya Anushilan” has been submitted in the University. Ms. Sarita Yadav is working on “Narendra Mohan ke naatakon mein Samvedna aur Shilp”. Ms. Reeta Singh is working on “Rahi Maasoom Raza ke upanyason mein Varnit Samaaj”. Ms. Rajani Mishra is working on “Uday Prakash ki Kahaniyon mein Varnit Samaaj”. Mr. Ashok Gupta is working on “Ikkisvi Sadi mein Mumbai ke Hindi Lokvrutt ka bhasik Anushilan”

Sharmila Jajodia, Associate Professor

Her areas of interest include all aspects of human life-communication, human behavior, education, environment, social service and translation. She has worked on studying abnormal behaviour in Mahesh Dattani’s plays, existential trauma in Anita Desai’s novels, women’s search for self-identity and discovery in Namita Gokhale’s novels.

Dr. Sanket Tikare, Assistant Professor

There are several natural phenomena that are hybrid in time components. Hybrid meaning sometimes continuous and sometimes discrete. For example, the plant grows continuously during the months of spring and summer, and they die at the beginning of autumn while the seeds remain in the ground. Then new plants grow from their seeds in a new season, giving rise to a non-overlapping population. Another example, the insects evolve continuously while in season and die out in winter while their eggs are incubating or dormant, and then hatch in a new season, giving rise to a non-overlapping population. To study such phenomena, dynamic equations on time scales play a vital role. The field of dynamic equations on time scales is a recently developed area. Dynamic equations, as a tool, are much more flexible and realistic in the study of continuous phenomena, discrete phenomena, as well as continuous-discrete time hybrid phenomena. This field has tremendous potential for applications. In fact, It has been found applicable in almost all areas including, economics, biology, physics, engineering.

Researchers are trying to investigate various qualitative and quantitative behaviour of such equations. Among these, the three most important questions that arise are as follows:

1. Under what conditions does there exist a solution?
2. Under what conditions does there exist a unique solution?
3. Under what conditions are the solution stable?

There are various ways to answer these questions. The answer uses the method of approximations, dynamic inequalities, and fixed point theory, etc. Among available techniques, the method based on fixed points is more elegant and powerful. Currently, Dr. Sanket Tikare’s research centres around the qualitative and quantitative study of various dynamic equations on time scales via fixed point theory. In the near future, he is also interested in studying fractional differential equations in time scales setup.

Dr. Nandini Jagannarayan, Head

Dr. Nandini Jagannarayan’s research interests include household economics, consumption analytics, consumer behaviour, sustainable consumption, health economics, financial economics and sustainable development. She has research interests on expenditure patterns, income elasticity, essential and discretionary expenditure, socio-economic factors affecting household consumption and the role of empirical evidence from Indian households. She examines the impact of economic shocks and crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on household spending, household food security, time spent on leisure, financial protection and consumption choices made by urban and rural households. She is also interested in green economics and sustainable consumption, studying the impact of consumer behaviour, awareness, income and lifestyle on sustainable consumption and outcomes. She is working in health economics focusing on out-of-pocket medical expenditure, financial vulnerability, access to health services, sustainable health financing, and health expenditure in the rural and economically vulnerable population. Her research interests in gender economics focus on women’s involvement in household financial management and how gender and socio-economic factors affect expenditure choices in times of economic crisis. She also has research interests in financial markets, FinTech, macroeconomics, international finance, behavioural economics, and financial resilience, focusing on emerging economies, the effects of technology and policy on financial decision making. She is also an academic researcher interested in the areas of management learning, experiential learning, managerial skill development, and business practices. In general, her research is interdisciplinary and empirical, applying economic, financial, management, sustainable development and socio-economic tools to analyse and understand current issues that impact households, consumers, financial systems, healthcare and sustainable development.