Promod KUMAR

A LOOK AT PROMOD'S BACKGROUND

Dr. Promod Kumar obtained his M.Tech. degree in Nanoscience and Technology (NST) in 2010 from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India. He further pursued and completed his Ph.D. in Plasmonics at the National Institute of Technology in Hazratbal, Srinagar, India, in 2015. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Kumar has garnered several accolades, including the Best Oral Presentation Award at various national and international conferences. In recognition of his excellence, he received a Certificate of Merit at the National Seminar on Recent Advances in Luminescent Materials (RALM-2015), hosted by the Department of Chemistry at Annamalai University, India, on January 23-24, 2015. Dr. Kumar is also the recipient of the Distinguished Researcher in Plasmonics award, conferred by The International Research Leadership Award, sponsored by the International Research Councils (RULA AWARD). Formyl affiliated with the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Dr. Kumar has been honored with the First Best Oral Presentation Award for his work titled “ZnO:Rb Nanostructures for Photocatalytic Applications” at the International e-Conference on “Ethical and Quality Aspects in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research” (ICEQANNR-2020), organized by the Department of Physics at Vasantrao Naik Art’s, Commerce and Science College in collaboration with Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University on June 20, 2020. Additionally, he secured the First Best Oral Presentation Award for his research on “Plasmonic Nanostructures Embedded in a Dielectric Host for SERS and Optical Limiting Devices” during the “International e-Conference on Innovative Functionalities of Advanced Materials (ICIFAM-2022),” held on June 16-17, 2022, organized by Dambi Dollo University, Ethiopia. Dr. Kumar has published over 50 research articles, including contributions to book chapters and esteemed international journals, and he has presented more than 70 papers at both national and international conferences. I am currently authoring a textbook on embedded plasmonic nanostructures for multifunctional applications, which is set to be published by Springer Nature in the spring of 2025. He possesses over 7.5 years of post-doctoral research experience at the University of the Free State. Most recently, I completed my role as Chargé de recherche (Category A) on January 12, 2025, at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Hubert Curien Laboratory, Jean Monnet University in Saint-Étienne, France.

PROMOD'S MOTIVATION FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

The VEZPA project focuses on the fabrication of versatile, reusable ZnO-based substrates for biomedical applications. Substrates are made of ZnO nanorods, grown on the surface of a glass or silicon wafer and decorated by metal nanoparticles (Ag, Au, Cu). This material will thus combine the semi-conducting properties of ZnO and the plasmonic properties of the metal nanoparticles, which should lead to a versatile and multifunctional substrate that will further be used for the detection of biomedical species. The growth of the ZnO nanorods will be achieved by chemical bath deposition, leading to 3D structuration of the surface of the substrate. Metal nanoparticles will agglomerate on the ZnO nanorods, which will be immersed in metallic molten salts. The SERS sensitivity of the substrates will be compared to that of commercially available SERS substrates together with their reusable character.