Unsaturated Polyester Resins

Professor Thomas is currently Pro-Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University and the Founder Director and Professor of the International and Interuniversity Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He is also a full professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at the School of Chemical Sciences of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Prof. Thomas is an outstanding leader with sustained international acclaims for his work in Nanoscience, Polymer Science and Engineering, Polymer Nanocomposites, Elastomers, Polymer Blends, Interpenetrating Polymer Networks, Polymer Membranes, Green Composites and Nanocomposites, Nanomedicine and Green Nanotechnology. Dr. Thomas’s ground-breaking inventions in polymer nanocomposites, polymer blends, green bionanotechnological and nano-biomedical sciences, have made transformative differences in the development of new materials for automotive, space, housing and biomedical fields. In collaboration with India’s premier tyre company, Apollo Tyres, Professor Thomas’s group invented new high performance barrier rubber nanocomposite membranes for inner tubes and inner liners for tyres. Professor Thomas has received a number of national and international awards which include: Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London FRSC, Distinguished Professorship from Josef Stefan Institute, Slovenia, MRSI medal, Nano Tech Medal, CRSI medal, Distinguished Faculty Award, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Scientific Excellence – 2016, Mahatma Gandhi University- Award for Outstanding Contribution –Nov. 2016, Lifetime Achievement Award of the Malaysian Polymer Group, Indian Nano Biologists award 2017and Sukumar Maithy Award for the best polymer researcher in the country. He is in the list of most productive researchers in India and holds a position of No.5. Recently, because of the outstanding contributions to the field of Nanoscience and Polymer Science and Engineering, Prof. Thomas has been conferred Honoris Causa (DSc) Doctorate by the University of South Brittany, Lorient, France and University of Lorraine, Nancy, France. Very recently, Prof. Thomas has been awarded Senior Fulbright Fellowship to visit 20 Universities in the US and most productive faculty award in the domain Materials Sciences. Professor Thomas has published over 800 peer reviewed research papers, reviews and book chapters. He has co-edited 80 books published by different publishers. He is the inventor of 6 patents and has delivered over 300 Plenary/Inaugural and Invited lectures in national/international meetings over 30 countries. He has established a state of the art laboratory at Mahatma Gandhi University in the area of Polymer Science and Engineering and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology through external funding from DST, CSIR, TWAS, UGC, DBT, DRDO, AICTE, ISRO, DIT, TWAS, KSCSTE, BRNS, UGC-DAE, Du Pont, USA, General Cables, USA, Surface Treat Czech Republic, MRF Tyres and Apollo Tyres.

Dr. Mahesh Hosur is Interim Head and Professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department, Tuskegee University, USA. He served as Honb. Director of NSF-EPSCoR (National Science Foundation – Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), working on projects such as Enhancing Alabama’s Research Capability in Nano/Bio Science and Sensors (2011-2015), the Alabama Center for Nanostructured Materials (2005-2010), and the Center of Excellence in Nanobiomaterials, derived from Biorenewable and Waste Resources (2011-2016). Prof. Hosur’s research group covers specialized areas of polymers, including processing, process sensing, low-cost manufacturing using RTM, VARIM processes, static and dynamic characterization, fatigue and fracture, structural analysis, evaluation, and the processing and characterization of biopolymer and polymer nanocomposites.

Dr. Cintil Jose Chirayil is Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Newman College, Kerala, India. Dr. Chirayil received her Ph.D. in Polymer Science from Mahatma Gandhi University, India, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha. Dr. Chirayil is actively involved in cutting-edge research in polymeric materials, including enzymatic and chemical modification and characterization, surface groups, cellulose membranes, polysaccharides, and unsaturated polyester.