Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Department of Physics of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU) will organise an international conference on “Innovation in Materials Science for a Sustainable Future (ICMS–2026)” from today, Feb 3, to Feb 5 at the university auditorium. The conference is being organised in honour of Mahendra Sirsath, senior professor of the department and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, on the occasion of his impending superannuation.
The conference will be held under the guidance of Vice-Chancellor Vijay Fulari. This information was shared at a press conference held on Saturday at the Management Council Hall. Pro Vice-Chancellor Valmik Sarwade, Registrar Prashant Amrutkar, Dean MD Sirsath, Head of the Department Praveena Pawar, Director BN Dole, Prabhakar Undare and Sanjay Shinde were present.
The three-day international conference will be inaugurated today at 10am by Prof DK Aswal, Member, National Disaster Management Authority. Vice-Chancellor Fulari will preside over the inaugural function. Vice-Chancellor Suresh Gosavi (Pune), Prof. R. Eichi Murakami (Japan) and Prof Meng Lin Tsai (Taiwan) will attend as chief guests.
Sirsath will be felicitated on this occasion for his academic and administrative contributions. The inaugural programme will be held at the university auditorium.
During the conference, five plenary sessions and four parallel technical sessions will be conducted over three days. The valedictory function will be held on Thursday, Feb 5, at 4pm in the presence of Pro Vice-Chancellor Ashom Mahajan (Nanded), Foran Singh (New Delhi) and Prof NL Singh (New Delhi).
More than 50 materials science experts from India and abroad will participate in ICMS–2026. International delegates include Prof Meng Lin Tsai (Taiwan), Prof Ashok Mulchandani (USA), Prof Tibor Hianik (Slovakia), Prof Dong Ha Kim, Dr Denison Savariraj (South Korea), Prof Michael Piasecki (Poland), Prof M I Sayyed (Jordan), Prof A K Prasanna (Taiwan University), Prof R Eichi Murakami (Japan), Prof Ajayan Vinu (Australia), Prof Mohamed Chehimi (France), Prof Yating Ni (China), Prof Ilias Stergios (Greece), Prof Zhang Ren Huang (Taiwan), Prof M S Badawi (Egypt) and Dr Gajanan Bodarwe (South Korea). Eminent Indian experts, including Vice-Chancellor Dr Suresh Gosavi (Pune) and Dr D K Aswal (BARC), will also deliver lectures during various sessions.
The conference will cover 25 sub-themes and provide a platform for in-depth deliberations on emerging trends and sustainable innovations in materials science. Researchers from India and abroad have been invited to submit their research papers.
The organising committee includes Conference Chair Praveena Pawar, Technical Committee Chair MD Sirsath, Coordinator BN Dole and Secretary Prabhakar Undare, along with other committee members.
Mahendra Sirsath will retire in May after more than 35 years of service. He has served as Head of the Departments of Physics and Electronics, Director of DDUKK, Academic Director of the Staff College and Registrar of the university. He has published more than 320 research papers, secured Rs11.87 crore in research funding from national agencies, initiated the Electronics Department and successfully guided 31 PhD scholars. As a tribute to his academic career, the department is organising this international conference along with an extended academic deliberation programme.
