Dr. Rajesh Kumar has worked for more than 10 years in Europe and the USA (including NASA, JPL, and MIT, Cambridge) in the area of Biophotonics. He has led several cross-disciplinary R&D projects that sums over 500 lakhs (INR). At IIT Ropar, he leads a cutting-edge research group in the area of Biomedical-Photonics, specializing in optical spectroscopy techniques such as Raman, NIR, and Fluorescence, along with advanced microscopy imaging techniques. His research focuses on integrating light-based methods with AI and machine learning to address complex challenges in the biomedical and agricultural fields. Currently, he is a member of the National Scientific Panel Committee of FSSAI, Government of India and, associate fellow of HEA, UK. He also serves as an external peer reviewer in various committees, research grants, journal articles, and academic thesis at the national and international levels. He also served as a ‘Grand Jury Panel’ member for the Intel-ISEF award (Los Angeles) and the California State Science Fair awards.
Academic/Scientific Positions
Current position: Assistant Professor and HoD, Biomedical Engg. IIT Ropar, Punjab.
2015-2019 : Project Leader and Research Scientist
• NASA – Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, USA
• MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
2012-2015 : Research Fellow, Biophysics and Medical Technology, NTNU, Norway
2009-2012 : Marie-Curie Research Fellow (European-Union/FP7), United-Kingdom (UK)
Education
• Ph.D. in PHYSICS (Biophysics and Medical Technology), Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
• M.Sc. (5 years) in PHOTONICS, International School of Photonics, Cochin University of Science and Technology. Thesis: South-Korea.
Other
• Management and Business Skills (certified course), University of Oxford, UK.
• Pedagogical Education (certified course), University of St. Andrews, UK.
• Cybersecurity and Sensitive Unclassified Information Training, NASA, USA.
Research Grants, Awards and Fellowships (selected list)
2021-2023: PI – MIT/MISTI Global Seed Fund Award, USA
2020-2025: PI – Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT), Gov. of India
2020-2023: PI- Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Gov. of India
2020-2022: PI – ISIRD Grant, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, India
2015-2019: PI of Project (No:46084300) – Health Authority of Central Norway
2017-2017: PI of Project (No:90191400) – Health Authority of Central Norway
2014: SPIE Award by International Society for Optics and Photonics, USA.
2012-2013: PI of Project-Internationalization of Medical Technology, Norway.
2012-2013: PI of Project-Medical Imaging (MedIm) Grant, NTNU, Norway.
2012-2015: Research Fellowship, NTNU, Norway.
2012 onwards: Associate Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, UK.
2009-2012: Marie-Curie Research Fellowship (European-Union / FP7), UK.
2008-2009: Visiting Research Fellowship, SKKU, South-Korea.
2005-2009: KVPY – National Fellowship, DST, Gov. of India.
2008: National Level Award by Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Delhi.
2006: National Level Award by Indian Physics Association (IPA), Mumbai.
Contact
Dr. Rajesh Kumar
Assistant Professor and HoD
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
Room 122 (SS Bhatnagar Block)
IIT Ropar main campus
Rupnagar, Punjab-140001, INDIA.
E-mail: rajeshkumar@iitrpr.ac.in
Phone: 01881-232508
