Professor Amit Patra

Director | Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur

Currently my major research activities are in the area of DC power management circuits including the design and testing of integrated circuits, early detection of coronary artery disease and the development of battery management systems for various applications.
 
In the area of DC power management circuits, our work involves the design and development of integrated circuits for transforming the DC power from one voltage level to another. The main challenge in this work is to operate silicon-based design at higher voltages like 48 Volts. Another project being carried out by our team is in the area of energy harvesting for IoT applications. We are also developing tools and techniques for detecting faults in analog and mixed signal circuits. Major industry collaborators are Texas Instruments, Synopsys and NXP Semiconductors.
 
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is an indicator for possible future heart attack of a person. If CAD can be detected at an early stage in a non-invasive manner, then further examinations can be carried out and proper management can be done. The research work at IIT Kharagpur involves the use of a model-based technique which is driven by sensor data in various forms to detect CAD. Some part of this work is being funded by Tata Consultancy Services.
 
Battery management systems (BMS) are needed for effective utilization and ensuring long life of rechargeable batteries. Our work involves the development of BMS hardware and software for hybrid electric vehicles and other applications. This requires models and algorithms for the estimation of the State of Charge and State of Health of Li-ion batteries. Based on these quantities the Remaining Useful Life of a battery is computed. The work is being done in collaboration with Tata Motors and the Defense Research and Development Organization. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India is generously funding this activity.

MPEL | Professor Amit Patra