THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: IISER Thiruvananthapuram hosted the second edition of the all IISER-University at Buffalo (UB) joint workshop on the convergence of Multifunctional Materials, Photonics, Bioscience and Artificial Intelligence (MPBA-2026) from March 16-17 at its campus here.
In first edition of this workshop held at IISER Berhampur in 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University at Buffalo and all IISERs was inked to foster deep academic and research collaborations.
Building on the collaborative efforts initiated in 2025, the second edition of the workshop brought together leading scientists from seven IISERs (Thiruvananthapuram, Berhampur, Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune and Tirupati) and the University at Buffalo under a single platform to deliberate on cutting-edge research, identify areas of mutual interest and chart concrete plans for multi-institutional collaborations.
The workshop, organised under the leadership of Prof J N Moorthy, director, IISER Thiruvananthapuram, was presided over by the directors of all participating IISERs, lending the event exceptional institutional weight and commitment. Prof Paras N Prasad, a globally eminent scientist in photonics and biophotonics at the UB attended the workshop and steered its deliberations to forge research collaborations for tackling global scientific challenges.
The event also marked the participation of Prof Kemper E Lewis, Dean of School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, UB, and Prof Venu Govindaraju, senior vice president for Research, Innovation and Economic Development, UB, reinforcing the university’s commitment to the Indo-US joint graduate programmes, opportunities for student and faculty exchanges and technology translation.
The scientific programme of the workshop spanned four sessions across two days, each followed by discussions to crystallise collaborative opportunities with a plan of action for joint research projects.