Short BIO:
Dr. Balanand Santhosh obtained his Ph.D. (cum laude) in Materials, Mechatronics, and Systems Engineering from the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Trento, Italy. He currently holds the position of Research Assistant Professor, supported by the Nobelium grant, at the Department of Energy Conversion and Storage. His research expertise primarily lies in the field of glass and ceramic processing technology, with a focus on 'Polymer Derived Ceramic (PDC)' processing. Previously, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Trento.

The precursor-derived approach is an innovative technique for developing advanced ceramics and ceramic-based composites with customized compositions, structures, and properties that are otherwise unattainable through conventional processing methods. Dr. Santhosh has communicated the majority of his research findings, including work conducted during his post-doctoral period at the University of Trento, to reputable journals. Additionally, he has presented his thesis work and research conducted during his post-doctoral phase at various international conferences and technical sessions. He has maintained close collaborations with different research groups in and around Europe, including TU Darmstadt in Germany, Petroceramics S.p.A in Bergamo in Italy, and the Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey, during his tenure at UniTN.

Before joining the University of Trento in 2017, Dr. Santhosh had an extensive research career in India spanning from 2013 to 2016. During this time, he conducted materials-based research activities at institutions such as Amrita University (on a project funded by DRDO-India) in Coimbatore and at CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram. Throughout this phase of his research career, he received training in various fields, including Ceramic materials processing, Polymer processing, Plasma-based deposition techniques, Nano-composite fabrication, Electrochemical studies, Green processing of ceramics, Photo-catalysis, Corrosion studies, Adhesive joining technology, and he possesses practical experience in many material characterization techniques, which include: TG-DTA, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, AFM, XRD, XPS, BET, Raman, electrochemical analysis, Tribology, as well as mechanical and thermal characterization of ceramics, polymers, and advanced composites. Over his 9-year research career, he has accumulated 19 publications to his credit and has presented his research findings at more than 8 international conferences. Dr. Santhosh possesses a professional level of proficiency in English and is proficient in four other languages.

Bibliographic data from Scopus (at date 29.09.2023):
- publications: 18
- citations: 212
- h-index: 9
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6060-3813