Tyndall has this year introduced its inaugural Distinguished Visiting Fellows Programme, which supports our strategic goals by connecting our research community with globally recognised research leaders. The programme will help establish new collaborations and also strengthen and deepen our existing ones.
Professor Gayathri Pillai
As part of Tyndall’s Distinguished Visiting Fellows Programme, we welcomed Gayathri Pillai, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Nanoscience and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to Tyndall. Professor Pillai’s research primarily focuses on the fabrication, design, and characterisation of Micro and Nano Electromechancial Systems (M/NEMS). During her visit, Professor Pillai delivered a talk to the Tyndall community on Piezoelectric (micro-electroni-mechanical) MEMS.
Professor Pillai discusses her research, why she decided to take part in Tyndall’s Distinguished Visiting Fellows Programme, as well as her thoughts about her time visiting Tyndall:
Please provide a short synopsis about your area of research
I work on micro/nanoscale multi domain chip-scale signal processors enabled by piezoelectricity and microfabrication. We work primarily on the design, fabrication, characterization, and packaging of Micro and Nano Electromechanical Systems (M/NEMS) modules operating in the Hertz to Giga Hertz regime. My lab focuses on Radio Frequency communication, hybrid transduction MEMS, nonlinear device physics, acoustodynamics for quantum applications, acousto-optic integration, biomedical devices, and a large variety of sensors/actuators. We also actively work on deposition and characterization of piezo and ferroelectric thin films that can be used for M/NEMS applications.
What motivated you to participate in Tyndall’s Distinguished Fellows programme?
I have been closely working with the PiezoMEMS Group at Tyndall for over two years and the Tyndall Visiting Fellowship seemed to the best way to interface with Tyndall and foster long term collaborations across various groups at Tyndall. The fellowship offers the platform for cross discipline research and provides better accessibility to the experts and facilities at Tyndall.
What lasting impression of Tyndall will you take away from your time with us?
Tyndall is a very vibrant interdisciplinary research hub and hosts some of the finest technologies and facilities to perform cutting-edge research. Everyone is very enthusiastic about their work and is willing to collaborate to translate research to product. The engagement between industry and various labs are quite impressive.