Academics
Department of Applied Sciences

Dr. Meena Laad
Ph.D.(Physics), M.B.A ( HR & Mktg.),
Professor & Head, Department of Applied Sciences
Overview
Department of Applied Sciences thrives to accomplish its goal to develop world class engineers by providing a strong foundation in basic Sciences and Humanity courses. With an orientation of interdisciplinary teaching of fundamental courses in Science & Engineering such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Communication skills, the department has also enriched its curriculum by introducing courses such as Critical thinking, Creative thinking, Tinker lab which are essential to develop an all-round personality with innovative and creative mind.
Institute and Departmental Brochures.

The department has a team of highly experienced, professionally competent and research intensive faculty, dedicated staff and research scholars. The teaching faculty of the department have received Research grants/Fellowships from reputed National organisations such as national and international funding agencies such as DST, UGC-DAE, DRDO, MHRD, Govt. of India etc. The main research domains of the department are Composite Materials, Condensed Matter Physics, Wastewater treatment, Mathematical modelling of fluid flow, non-linear waves, Numerical techniques, Nanotechnology, Thin film Physics, Biofluid Mechanics, Electroosmosis, Nanofluids, Heat and Mass Transfer, Singular Perturbation Boundary Value Problems, Spline Methods.
The Applied Science department fosters the academically conducive environment by inviting distinguished scientists, academicians and industrialists to deliver talks and interact with the students. The department has well equipped labs and makes effective use of IT and digital technology as part of its teaching learning pedagogy.
Highlights of the department:
- Three-week long Induction Programme
- Soft Skills Development
- Application oriented Teaching
- Strong Mentoring System
- Research Intensive Department with fully functional Research labs
- Inclusion of Courses like Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking to develop higher order Thinking Skills
- Tinker lab
- Invited talks/ Workshops by International faculty and Industry Experts
INDUCTION PROGRAMME
Three Week-long Induction programme involving Academic, Social, Cultural activities and also addressing Physical and Emotional well-being of the students.



Session on Creative Thinking by the Director, SIT, Dr Ketan Kotecha

Session on International Initiatives by the Head, Dept. of Applied Sciences Dr Meena Laad

Session on Placements by Dr Nilisha Itankar, Head, Training & Placements

EMPHASIS ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH PROJECTS, FIELD TRIPS, TINKER LAB
Project Based Learning


Students at Tinker Lab


Visit to Ambedkar Museum and Agha Khan Palace


Visit to Science Park


EFFECTIVE MENTOR MENTEE SYSTEM
Mentoring is one of the most important and essential cell of the department. Mentoring enables student to adjust, grow, learn, transform, and accomplish goals in the new environment of their college life.


WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Workshops are conducted on Agile Thinking, Ancient Knowledge System (Vedic Maths, Yoga, Video Screening on Technology in Ancient India), Python Programming, Self-Grooming, Soft Skills developments etc by Industry experts.
Workshop on ‘Agile Thinking’ by Mr. Nikhilesh Kulkarni, Director, Capgemini


Interactive Session on Vedic Maths


Workshop on Object Oriented Goal Setting Mr. Amit Chilka, Sr. Director, Intelliswi


APPLICATION ORIENTED TEACHING
A workshop on Real life Application in Maths was organized for the First Year B.Tech students. The resource Speaker was Dr Daljeet Kaur, Professor in Maths, Sinhgarh Institute of Technology.

Mathelete Club was inaugurated on March 14, 2023 to promote the interest of the students in real life applications of Maths and identifying problems and applying the concepts of Maths and basic Sciences to find their solutions.


Mathelete- Math Club at SIT for learning and resolving real time situations through the process of enquiry and logic
STUDENT ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CREATIVITY, INTEREST AND ETHICS


SIT celebrating the true essence of a ‘Women’ with special focus on Gender Sensitization on the occasion of International Women’s Day




Celebrating 'The World Science Day' by exhibiting the posters on, scientists and their contributions, made by First Year students
Soft Skills Development Workshops (Soft Skills, Cloud Computing)
Varied activities, sessions and exercises are conducted year round at SIT for developing soft skills of students. We have a well-set up language lab which develops LSWR skills in students as well as focuses on vocabulary development and grammar. Dr Neha Divekar and Dr Niva Devi Sharma also conducts corporate training for varied companies to enhance soft skills of the employees. Dr Neha also conducts regular TED talk sessions for the faculty, staff and students at SIT. In addition, MUN sessions are also organized and conducted by students of SIT.


Soft Skills Workshops


Communication Skills and Team Building Session


Session on Critical Thinking


Group Discussion Session MUN Conference


TED Student Session




TEDx Countdown Event at Lavale, Pune
FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING LABORATORIES




RESEARCH AT A GLANCE IN THE DEPARTMENT
MAJOR RESEARCH AREAS
- Synthesis & characterization of nanocomposites
- Mathematical modelling of fluid flow
- Bio Mechanics
- Numerical Analysis
- Nano lubricants
- Green synthesis of nano materials
- Magnetic materials
- Waster water treatment
- Thermoelectric materials
- Materials for fuel cell applications
- Sensors and Actuators
- PATENTS PUBLISHED & GRANTED BY THE FACULTY
RESEARCH AT A GLANCE IN THE DEPARTMENT
YEAR | FACULTY | TITLE | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Meena Laad, Babaji Ghule | A TiO2 ceramic reinforced polycomposite and method of preparing thereof | Published |
2023 | Anjana Desai, Vaishnavi Dabir, Kanchan Khare, Neeru Bhagat, Brajesh Pandey | A modified coir geotextile matrix and method of preparation thereof | Published |
2022 | Anand Kumar Pandey, Vishal Kumbhar, Chandrakant Sonawane, Meena Laad | A Multifuel Injection Control Device | Published |
2022-23 | Vandana Patyal Dipika Jaspal Kanchan Khare |
Enhanced Dephosphorization By Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetland Model Using Composite Matrix | Published |
2020-21 | Mrs. Smita Sadanand Jadhav Dr. Dipika Kaur Jaspal Dr. Amit Kumar Tiwari |
A method and composition for purification of textile wastewater | Published |
2020-21 | Mrs. Smita Sadanand Jadhav Dr. Dipika Kaur Jaspal Dr. Amit Kumar Tiwari |
A method and composition for purification of textile waste-water by acid doped polyaniline (PANI) | Published |
2019-20 | Shreyas Anant Bapat Dipika Kaur Jaspal Amit Kumar Tiwari |
A system and method for treatment of textile wastewater | Published |
2019-20 | Shreyas Anant Bapat Dipika Kaur Jaspal Amit Kumar Tiwari |
A system and method for treatment of textile wastewater | Published |
2018-19 | Dipika Jaspal Shraddha Khamparia |
A method and system for treating simulated dye matrix by using a natural adsorbent | Published |
GOVERNMENT FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Name of the Scheme/Project/Endowments/Chairs | Name of the Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator (if applicable) | Name of the Funding Agency | Date/Year of Award | Funds provided (INR in lakhs) | Duration of the project in months |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DVP scheme by AICTE for collaboration with CMET, Pune | Dr. Meena Laad | AICTE | 2022 | 0.8 | 24 |
Synthesis and Characterization of superhydrophobic cell | Dr. Meena Laad | UGC | 2022 | 0.45 | 6 |
Grant received under AICTE-Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among Students (SPICES) | Dr. Neha Divekar/Dr. Meena Laad | AICTE | 23-5-2022 | 1 | 12 |
Design, development and analysis of hollow micro-lattice compact heat exchanger (Heat pipe) for space/aircraft applications | Dr. Meena Laad | ASEM-DUO Fellowship Programme | 11-11-2019 | 4.72(6000 Euros) | 2 |
Metal Matrix nano-composites synthesized using nanosilica extracted from natural ceramic Rice husk ash for industrial applications | Dr. Meena Laad | UGC-DAE | 31-03-2018 | 8.6 | 36 |
In situ investigation of interface structure and spin orientation at the interface of magnetic and non-magnetic layers | Dr. Brajesh Pandey / Dr. Neeru Bhagat | UGC-DAE | 26-03-2016 | 6.39 | 36 |
Developing Three-Dimensional Architecturally engineered nano-electrocatalyst for fuel cell applications | Dr. Rupali Nagar | DST-SERB | 29-11-2016 | 39.11 | 36 |
'Effect of preparation conditions on nanoparticle formation and oxygen stoichiometry of metal oxides' | Dr. Neeru Bhagat / Dr. Brajesh Pandey | UGC-DAE | 10-06-2015 | 6 | 36 |
Development of new nanostructured thermoelectric materials for waste heat recovery applications | Dr. Shekhar Bhame | DST-SERB | 08-01-2014 | 14.5 | 36 |
SIU FUNDED MAJOR PROJECTS
Sr. No | Name of Project | Name of the Principal Investigator | Department | Year of Award | Funds provided (In Lakhs) | Duration of the project |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Synthesis and Characterization of Metal Oxide based Photocatalyst for Dye Removal | Dr. Shekhar Bhame and Dr. Dipika Jaspal | Applied Science | 2020 | 10 | 2 |
2 | Fabrication of superhydrophobic flexible coatings by spray coating multi walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in polymer matrix for flexible electronic applications | Dr. Meena Laad | Applied Science | 2022 | 10 | 2 |
3 | Synthesis of magnetic-nonmagnetic layers and investigation of their spin properties for possible memory devices | Dr. Brajesh Pandey and Dr. Neeru Bhagat | Applied Science | 2022 | 10 | 2 |
SIU FUNDED MINOR PROJECTS
1 | Biosorption of Toxic Hexavalent Chromium from Industrial Effluents using Low Cost Biomaterial | Dr. Nilisha Itankar | Applied Science | 1.5 | Completed | |
2 | Synthesis of Nanomaterials of Gas Sensing Applications | Dr. Rupali Nagar | Applied Science | 1.5 | Completed |
Research Infrastructure
High End Research Laboratories Supported By Research Grants From DST-SERB, UGC-DAE Consortium Of Scientific Research, DRDO.



FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS
High End Research Laboratories Supported By Research Grants From DST-SERB, UGC-DAE Consortium Of Scientific Research, DRDO.


Research collaborations with Centre for Advanced Materials, Qatar University



Two Ph.D scholars, Babaji Ghule and Swapnil Narkhede from SIT are invited to work at the Centre of Advance Materials, Qatar University under joint supervision of Dr Meena Laad ( SIT) and Dr Kishor Sadasiuni ( Qatar University) for two months. Their entire trip is sponsored by Qatar University.

Corporate Training Undertaken By Dr Neha Divekar, Dr Niva Devi & Dr Swagata Ghosh

Training at L&T Defence

Training for Army

Training at Flex. Ltd.

Training in Language Lab
Dr NILISHA ITANKAR : PATENT GRANTED

Department Faculty On Editorial Board Of High Impact International Journals



Dr Neeru Bhagat was invited as resource person (expert in physics) for Science Village at India International Science Festival 2023, MANIT, Bhopal (21st to 23rd January). She was also nominated as National Academic Head to organize and conduct the National Level Camp of Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan of Vigyan Bharati, at IISER, Trivendrum held on 20th and 21st May 2023.

Dr Brajesh Pandey was invited as resource person (expert in physics) for Science Village at India International Science Festival 2023, MANIT, Bhopal (21st to 23rd January). He was also nominated as Controller of Exam 2022-23 to organize and conduct the all exams including the National Level Camp of Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan of Vigyan Bharati, at IISER, Trivendrum held on 20th and 21st May 2023.
More Than 200 Scopus/Webof Science Publications By The Department Faculty
Recipient Of AICTE- DVP And AICTE SPICES Grantsa
AICTE-Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among Students (SPICES) 2022 – 2023


The Applied Science Department organized varied vibrant events meant to nurture creativity, talent etc. in students under the prestigious grant SPICES received from AICTE for 2022-23 by Dr. Neha Divekar as PI and Dr. Meena Laad as Co-PI for the project.
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) SPICES Scheme provides financial support to institutions for developing students club for well-rounded development of students by promoting their interests, creativity and ethics. This club should serve as a model for other clubs in the institution and also those in other institutions.
The objective of this scheme is to energize and position students club/ Chapters/ Societies as facilitating entity for pursuit of individual interests, creative work, showcasing talent, networking and teamwork opportunities, social experience; organization and management skills, exposure to professional ethics etc.
Every technical institution encourages student activities by way of student clubs which help in their overall grooming. The idea behind this scheme is to have at least one club evolved as model club with assistance from AICTE and institution. The chosen club must utilize the combined grant to take up activities and also raise funds for them.
AICTE SPICES EVENTS
Event Name | Date |
---|---|
Competitive Sports | 21 January 2023 |
Photography Walk | 28 January 2023 |
Road Safety Awareness | 6 February 2023 |
Photo Exhibition | 7 February 2023 |
Donation Drive | 25 February 2023 |
Community Education through Demonstration | 27 February 2023 |
MUN | 18 March 2023 |
Workshop on “High Performance Object oriented Goal Setting” | 4 April 2023 |
Book Club Event | 6 April 2023 |
Creative Story Telling Competition | 13 April 2023 |
Art-Dance Workshop | 17 April 2023 |
C Program | 27 April 2023 |
On 27 April, the Applied Science Department organized AICTE SPICES Valedictory Ceremony followed by Cultural Program. Dr. Ketan Kotecha, Dean Faculty of engineering, Director SIT, Head SCAAI was the Chief Guest for the event and Mr. Vinay Pathak, Vice President, Product line, SCV, Tata Motors the Guest of Honour. The winners of all the events conducted under SPICES were felicitated. The prize distribution ceremony was followed by some mesmerizing song and dance performances by the students. The event commenced with full gusto and enthusiasm!!




International Initiatives
Invited Talks by International faculty

Dr Elini Mongina, Professor, UCD, Ireland visited SIT and interacted with research scholars and faculty.

Dr Bhanu Sood, Chief Engineer, Risk & Reliability, NASA Goddard Centre, USA

Guest Lecture by eminent scientist Prof. Subir Sarkar , Professor, from Oxford University, UK

Dr. John DiTusa, Dean Purdue School of Sciences, IUPUI

Dr Namkaung, Hyundai Corporation, S. Korea

Dr Henry Schaffer, Georgia Tech University, USA

Dr. Girish Kale, Director, Post Graduate Studies. School of Chemical & Process Engineering, University of Leeds, UK visited Symbiosis Institute of Technology on April 6, 2023. He also delivered a talk on Synthesis of metal oxides through green route and interacted with the research scholars of SIT. His talk was very well appreciated by the audience.

Dr. Sidhharth Patwardhan , Head Of The Green Nanomaterials Research Group, the University of Sheffield, UK, visited Symbiosis Institute of Technology on April 6, 2023 and delivered a talk on Green Synthesis of Composites.
International Co-supervisors For Ph. D Scholars Of Applied Science Department
Ph.D Supervisor | International Co-Supervisor | Ph.D Scholar |
---|---|---|
Dr Meena Laad, SIT | Dr Girish, University of Leeds, UK | Mr Babaji Ghule |
Dr Meena Laad | Dr.C Pode, Queng Hee University, Seoul, S. Korea | Ms Krutika Natu |
Dr Meena Laad | Dr Artemis Stamboulis, University of Birmingham, UK | Ms Akhila Shalu |
Dr Shekhar Bhame | Dr Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran | Mr Abhishek Bhapkar |
Dr Dipika Jaspal | Dr Nadia Zari, MAScIR, Rabat Design Center, Morocco University | Mr Prashant Mahajan |
Dr Ramkishun Lodhi | Dr Hossein Jafari, University of South Africa | Ms Sonali Walunj |
Students Participating In Winter School, Summer School And Semester Abroad Programes At Ingolstadt University (Germany), Iupui (Usa) And Teleco Ecole De Management, Paris Under Global Immersion Programme



Eligibility
Programme / Course Structure
- From batch 2016-20 onwards, please refer to the respective department course structure
Soft Skills Development Workshop
TEDxSIULavale
TEDxSIULavale COUNTDOWN event was organized on 27 November 2021, which was an international event for faculty, staff, students and public, which was a grand success. Eminent speakers were invited to discuss about green initiative drive and climate crisis.
The focus of the discussion was on "Climate Change and its impacts" which covered up five subject areas ranging from Energy, Transport, Materials, Food, and Nature. It is our small effort towards making our planet a better place to live in and motivating as well as inspiring people via thought-provoking talks.









First Year Book Club
The Applied Science Department has taken a novel initiative for the first year students at SIT by starting a book club named "Epeolatry". The Book club conducted their first book review session on the book “A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink. The club encourages and motivates students to read varied books and critically appreciate them, in this monthly book review activity headed by HOD Applied Science Dr Meena Laad and executed by Dr Neha Divekar. In addition, this activity develops critical thinking, group discussion skills, reading and speaking skills. Book review sessions are conducted on a monthly basis. Books such as “Doughnut Economics" by Kate Raworth, “Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert T. kiyosaki, “Three Thousand Stitches" by Mrs. Sudha Murthy, "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly etc. were discussed.The club was active online during pandemic times too.

ISR Activities
Institute Social Responsibility activities are organized to nurture proactive professionals with Values, Knowledge and Skills, which would make them more humane and globally responsible citizens. The Social Initiatives are expected to reinforce the Empathy, Openness, Professionalism, Self Esteem and Ethical behaviour among the students.



Drama Club- M.O.S.A.I.C

Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme aims to enhance interaction & promote mutual understanding between people of different states/ UTs. The states carry out activities to promote a sustained and structured cultural connect in the areas of language learning, culture, traditions & music, tourism & cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices, etc. in colleges and schools.
The idea of a sustained and structured cultural connect between people of different regions was mooted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during the Rashtriya Ekta Divas held on 31st October, 2015, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Student’s Achievements


Induction program
Awards & Accolades of the Department
- Dr Meena Laad received AICTE grant under Distinguished Visiting Professor scheme.


- Dr Neha Divekar and Dr Meena Laad received AICTE sanction under SPICES (Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among the students).
- Dr Dipika Jaspal has published 4 International and 1 National Patents, in the domain of wastewater treatment.
- Dr Meena Laad received Duo India Professor Fellowship from MHRD, Govt. of India to carry a month long research at University of Leeds, UK.
- Department has 4 International Ph. D. co supervisors from University of Leeds (UK), Queng Hee University (South Korea), Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science (Morocco), Shahid Charman University (Iran).
- Dr Meena Laad was invited as keynote speaker to the International conferences held at RUDN University (Russia), Gazi University (Turkey, Romania Technical University (Ukraine) and as moderator at Pahang University (Malaysia)
- Dr Neha Divekar, Convenor and Lead Organizer for TEDx organized TEDxSIULavale COUNTDOWN event on 27 November 2021, which was an international event for faculty, staff, students and public, which was a grand success.

- Dr Niva Devi was appointed as Speaking Examiner for KET/PET by Cambridge University, UK.
- Dr Shekhar Bhame, Dr Dipika Jaspal, Dr Ramesh Katta, Dr Neeru Bhagat and Dr Meena Laad are on Editorial Board of high impact International journals.
- Dr Brajesh Pandey received award at National level for the popularization of Science.

- Dr Nilisha Itankar received grant from the Patent Office, Govt. of India for her patent on Topic "Method of removal and recovery of hexavalent chromium from effluents by passive-active biological process". The same is published in other countries namely US, Japan, China.
- Dr Rupali Nagar received research grant by Symbiosis International University in March 2020 on “Graphene Nanosheets from plastic waste for water purification”.
- Dr Neeru Bhagat lead a Team of 300+ students to successfully help people in need of medical help pan India with the help of SIT Fights Covid.

- Dr Neha Divekar conducted Corporate trainings at L&T Defence department on Communication Skills, Transactional Analysis, Team building etc. Dr Neha also conducted a training session at Flex, Ltd., Pune on “Empowering Women Leaders” and a session on “Communication skills and Grooming” at Tata Motors.



- Dr Niva Devi Sharma conducted a Corporate Training on “Communication Skills” for 512 Army Base Workshop (Khadki Ammunitions) on Tuesday, June 07, 2022. The main focus of the workshop was to help them to make short presentations, writing emails, formal and informal letters and reports.

Industry Colloquy & International Educational Experience through Invited Talks/Workshops/Teaching by International faculty
A forum for interaction between the industry experts and first year students was created to prepare the students with required skills and be mentored by industry experts. The first session was held on Dec. 18, 2020 with distinguished speaker Mr. Jayant Natu, Senior Executive, Trigo India interacted with first year students.
The talk on Space materials was organized by distinguished Professor Dr Kenneth Stanton, Dept. of Material Science, University College, Dublin, Ireland for the First Year students.
Guest Lecture by eminent scientist Prof. Subir Sarkar from Oxford University, UK


A lecture on Cosmology: The Dark matter by eminent scientist Dr Subir Sarkar from Oxford University, UK was organised on May 16, 2022 under Great Talks series organized by the British Council. Prof. Subir Sarkar is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and TIFR, Mumbai. In 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Homi Bhabha Award for his distinguished work in Astrophysics.
Invited Talk by Dr Amit Chattopadhyay, Aston University, UK
A lecture on Data Analytics was organised at SIT on May 16, 2022 by Dr Amit Chattopadhyay from Aston University, UK. Dr Amit visited SIT as part of Exploratory grant received from British Council by the director Dr Ketan Kotecha. Dr Amit also delivered a talk on AI applications in Science and interacted with the faculty of Applied Science Department on May 18, 2022. Dr Amit is the first Indian Marie Curie fellowship winner in Physics and is a former Alexander von Humboldt fellow.


A lecture on Cosmology: The Dark matter by eminent scientist Dr Subir Sarkar from Oxford University, UK was organised on May 16, 2022 under Great Talks series organized by the British Council. Prof. Subir Sarkar is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and TIFR, Mumbai. In 2017 he was awarded the prestigious Homi Bhabha Award for his distinguished work in Astrophysics.
Dr Bhanu Sood, Dr W Kleinert, KSF, Germany Dr Pawan Lingaras, St Mary NASA, USA Univ., Canada



Dr Razee Nalim, IUPUI, USA North Dakota Univ., USA

Dr Kalidas Shetty,

Dr Namkaung, Hyundai Corporation, S. Korea

Dr Soham Sohoni, Milwakee, School of Engg. NASA, USA

Dr Kai Sang Lark, NTU, Singapore

Dr R. Thampi, UCD, Ireland

Dr Henry Schaffer, Georgia Tech Uni., USA

Industry Colloquy
Mr Manuj Desai, CTO, Sterlingtech, Bangalore

Mr Jayant Natu, (HR), Lennox,
India

Mrs Hema Mani, Sr Manager, Trigo, India Director

Mr V. Kulkarni, Satpute Director, Parijaat,Architect, Persistent

Dr A. Venkatraman, Harvard

Mr Bhushan, Sr Medical School, USA

Dr Monserrat, Seminar on Higher Education in USA

M & M Profuture, Spain

Germany by DAAD

