Rural Technology Development and Delivery (Design Science and Innovation)

Sreenivas Chigullapalli is working as a Project Manager at Development and Relations Foundation, IIT Bombay. Prior to joining IIT Bombay, he worked as the Project Officer at the Rural Technology Action group (RuTAG) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. He held teaching, research, and consulting positions at IIT Bombay, AP International Institute of Information Technology (AP IIIT) Nuzvid―Rajiv Gandhi University for Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bengaluru and Byrraju Foundation. His research interests include bioenergy, climate policy, and sustainable development. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Climate Studies (Bioenergy and Climate Change Mitigation) at IIT Bombay. He received his Master’s degree in Technology and Development from the Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA), IIT Bombay, and Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) Hyderabad.

Dr. S. U. Susha Lekshmi is currently working as Program Manager at I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics (IHFC), Technology Innovation Hub at IIT Delhi. Earlier, she worked as a SERB National Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in collaboration with Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG IIT Delhi). She also worked in RuTAG IIT Delhi prior to her post-doctoral fellowship. Her areas of research interests are multi-disciplinary, ranging from rural technology and development, electrical and magnetic characterization of geomaterials, evaluation of non-invasive soil sensors, soil and water conservation, and system dynamics modeling of soil management. Her academic profile includes a Ph.D. in the area of Environmental Geotechnology from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay; a Master’s in Technology & Development from Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA),IIT Bombay; and Bachelor’s in Agricultural Engineering from Kerala Agricultural University. She has published her research outcomes in various peer-reviewed international journals, national and international conferences, and contributed a book chapter as well. She also worked as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, with the financial support of the European Commission via the Marie Curie IRSES project.

Abhijit P. Deshpande is Professor-in-charge of Rural Technology Action Group Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras since January 2017. In these years, RuTAG has continued efforts towards projects impacting livelihoods such as on Electronic Jacquard for Pattamadai mat weaving, and initiated projects in agri-technology such as paddy thresher. He is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He teaches courses on Polymers, Rheology, and undergraduate Chemical Engineering subjects. His research interests include polymer rheology, gels, and gelation.