The National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST, formerly ''Regional Research Laboratory,

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...

'') is a constituent laboratory of CSIR,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, engaged in research and development activities in the field of agroprocessing and technology, microbial processes and technology, chemical sciences and technology, material sciences and technology and process engineering and environmental technology. Around approximately 80 scientists and 300 research fellows are working in various scientific disciplines in this institute. The programmes have a blend of basic research, technology development and commercialization; have specific thrusts on frontier areas of research, National Mission Projects, regional resource-based activities and R & D - Industry - Academia linkages. The laboratory has excellent collaborative programmes with major National & International agencies too. the present director of the institute is Dr. A. Ajayaghosh. It was established in 1975 as a CSIR Complex, then named as the Regional Research Laboratory in 1978 and later renamed as NIIST in 2007.

Research divisions

The major research divisions in NIIST are:
1. Agroprocessing and technology division (APTD) 2. Microbial processes and technology division (MPTD) 3. Chemical sciences and technology division (CSTD) *

Inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemist ...

Materials *

Organic Chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...

* Photosciences and

Photonics Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Though ...

4. Materials science and technology division (MSTD) 5. Environmental technology division Materials Science and Technology division has divided into Functional Materials and Minerals and Metallic Materials sections. Functional Materials has activities related to nano-ceramics, energy materials, polymeric materials, electronic materials and magnetic materials. * Nano-ceramics * Energy Materials * Polymeric Materials * Electronic Materials * Magnetic Materials Minerals and Metallic Materials has activities related to metals and minerals. * Light Metals, Alloys and Composites *

Minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...

Agroprocessing division

This is the division in charge of undertaking research in developing innovative technologies for processing of oil seeds, spices and natural products. The core competence of the division is in process and product development and on the transformation of such processes into fully engineered technology packages for commercial exploitation. The division has set up a number of commercial plants in many states and extended technical expertise in making policy decisions in relevant areas by governmental and non governmental agencies. Technology Business Incubation Centre (TBIC) in the area of spices and natural products contribute towards development of innovative technologies. Major research includes quality improvement of palm oil, spice oil/ oleoresins, swing technology for processing of fresh and dry spices, Refrigeration Adsorption Dehumidified Drying (RADD) of heat sensitive materials, Ginger oil extraction, and nutraceutical studies.

References

External links

Official website of NIIST Official website of CSIR A Search Engine from NIIST

SSIR
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science And Technology Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Research institutes in Thiruvananthapuram Multidisciplinary research institutes Scientific organisations based in India Science and technology studies associations 1975 establishments in Kerala Research institutes established in 1975