Chonnam National University International Student Dr. Seenivasan Appointed as Full-time Professor at IIT

Dr. Shinibasan

An international student who honed his academic skills at Chonnam National University has been appointed as a full-time professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the world’s most prestigious science and engineering university.

According to Chonnam National University on May 25, Dr. Seenivasan Selvaraj, an international student from India who completed an integrated master’s and doctoral program at the Department of Chemical Engineering’s Advanced Materials and Chemical Process Laboratory, has been appointed as a full-time professor at the globally renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Dr. Seenivasan is scheduled to officially assume his position as a full-time professor at the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at IIT Goa, India, on July 1.

He entered Chonnam National University in 2016 and, under the guidance of Professors Kim Dohyung and Moon Hee at the Department of Chemical Engineering’s Advanced Materials and Chemical Process Laboratory, has been conducting research on next-generation materials and devices that store or convert energy using solar power and electricity. Specifically, he has focused on (photo)electrochemical-based energy conversion and storage technologies.

After completing the integrated master’s and doctoral program, he obtained his Ph.D. in August 2020. He then completed a one-year training program at a local research institute before returning to the Chonnam National University laboratory, where he has continued his research activities to this day.

During this time, Dr. Seenivasan has published a total of 20 papers in internationally recognized SCI journals, with 12 of them as the first author, achieving outstanding research results. In particular, over the past two years, he has garnered international attention by publishing in top 1% journals in his field, such as Applied Catalysis B: Environmental (IF 20.3) and Energy & Environmental Science (IF 32.4), as well as in Nano-Micro Letters (IF 31.6), which is ranked in the top 2%.

The IIT, where Dr. Seenivasan will be joining, is regarded as the cradle of science and technology talent in India and is evaluated as a top-tier science and engineering university on par with MIT and ETH Zurich worldwide. In the 2024 QS World University Rankings, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi ranked 149th and 197th, respectively, while the newly established IIT Goa has also been rapidly gaining international competitiveness based on its research-focused education system despite its short history.

Departments related to ‘Advanced Materials and Chemical Processes’ at IIT have established themselves as next-generation core fields attracting global attention, and these departments are actively leading research in advanced technology development, including energy materials, catalysts, semiconductors, and environmental materials. The Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at IIT Goa is also growing as a strategic hub for materials science in Asia, based on multinational collaborative research and excellent publication records.

This case of an international student from Chonnam National University being appointed as a full-time professor at the world-renowned IIT is regarded as an achievement that externally demonstrates the quality of education and research at Chonnam National University’s graduate school.

Kim Dohyung, professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Chonnam National University, stated, “Dr. Seenivasan is a talented scholar with both academic integrity and creative research capabilities. His appointment as a professor is a representative example of the achievements of the graduate education system at the College of Engineering of Chonnam National University.” He added, “This will not only instill great pride and academic motivation in both domestic and international students currently pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees at Chonnam National University’s graduate school, but is also expected to have a positive ripple effect on future academic exchanges and joint research between Korea and India.”