ABOUT IIT KHARAGPUR

IIT Kharagpur started its journey in the old Hijli Detention Camp where some of our great freedom fighters toiled and sacrificed their lives for the independence of our country. The history of IIT Kharagpur is thus intimately linked with the history of the Hijli Detention Camp. This is possibly one of the very few Institutions all over the world which started life in a prison house. The Institute thrives to life of every citizen of the country and to be acknowledged as the best in the world. The institute makes every effort to focus towards national interest. The main motto of our institute is to be a center of excellence in education and research producing global leaders in science, technology and management and to be a place where knowledge is created in frontier areas of national and global importance.

PLACE AND CLIMATE

Air: The distance from Kolkata International airport to Kharagpur is about 150 km and takes about 2-3 hours by car. The international airport at Kolkata is well connected with Major cities in the world and almost all parts with in India. Please go through individual airlines website for flight schedule and other details. Transportations from Kolkata airport to IIT-KGP campus and return will be arranged on extra payment basis.

Rail:  Kharagpur is well connected by wide array of railway network and can be accessed from any part of India (please refer to www.indianrail.gov.in and www.irctc.co.in for train timings). Kharagpur junction is situated 4 km from the IIT-Kharagpur campus and can be reached by small vehicles.

Road: Kharagpur is also well connected by good road network (NH-5 and NH6 connects kharagpur with other part of country) with important metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata and also with other important cities in India.

The climate at Kharagpur during mid February is very pleasant. Temperature varies from 14-27 °C.

ABOUT DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Sir J.C. Ghosh, the first director of the institute started the chemistry department in 1952. Ever since the inception, the department has established the tradition of excellence in teaching and research in various corridors of chemistry. The multifaceted research activities and state-of-the-art facilities, the department offers one of the best academic environments in the country.

The prime focus on the research activities is on basic and traditional areas of chemistry, relevant to the societal needs. The major research encompass interdisciplinary areas such as organic, biophysical, bioinorganic, bioorganic, computational, material, nanomaterial, organometallic, polymer, solid-state, and theoretical chemistry. In 2011, the department was ranked by DST (Department of Science & Technology, India) as one of the top six chemistry departments in the country. The department presently has 32 faculty members and 200 PhD scholars.