CURRICULUM VITAE Family Name: BANERJEE First Name: VARSHA Nationality: INDIAN Date of Birth: AUG. 6, 1963 Marital Status: Married Number of Children: 1 Present address: Department of Physics Indian Institute of Technology Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016 INDIA E-mail: varsha@physics.iitd.ernet.in Telephone no: (+91)-11-2659-1335 Telefax no: (+91)-11-2686-2037 Academic Qualification B.Sc. Physics, Mathematics, Statistics Nagpur University Marks: 73% 1983 M.Sc. Physics Nagpur University Marks: 74% 1985 Ph.D. Thesis Title: Analytic and Numerical Studies of Neural Network Models for Content Addressable Memory Thesis Supervisor: Professor Chandan Dasgupta Department of Physics Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 1991 Details of Employment 1. C.S.I.R Research Associate-ship at the School of Physical Sciences, JNU, New Delhi from January 1, 1992 to October 17, 1996. 2. D.S.T. Scientist (under the Scheme for Young Scientist) at the School of Physical Sciences, JNU, New Delhi from October 18, 1996 to August 10, 1997. 3. Visiting Lecturer at Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi from August 11, 1997 to December 28, 1999. 4. Lecturer at Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi from December 29, 1999 to April 11, 2002. 5. Assistant Professor at Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi from April 11, 2002. 1
Courses Taught at IIT Delhi: Undergraduate Level 1. Statistical and Thermal Physics 2. Computational Physics 3. Modern Physics 4. Physics Laboratory Postgraduate/Graduate Level 1. Mathematical Physics 2. Quantum Mechanics I 3. Statistical Mechanics 4. Computational and Numerical Methods in Research 5. Physics Laboratory Project guidance : Applications of Statistical Mechanics to problems in Finance. Gunjan Godbole and Manoj Chauhan, B.Tech. (Engg. Phys.), 2006 Diffraction Studies of Fractal Growth Patterns. Kanupriya Sinha, B.Tech. (Engg. Phys.), 2006 Growth of capped particles - experiments and simulations. Sushan Bhattacharya, M.Sc. (Physics), 2006 Growth of Pallidium nanoparticles - an experimental and numerical study. Vinay Agarwal, M.Sc. (Physics), 2005. Publication : Vinay Agarwal, I. Aruna, Varsha Banerjee and B. R. Mehta. Phys. Rev. B, 74, 035412 (2006) Model for P b 1 x F e x S nanoparticles. Rakesh Joshi, 2004. Publication : Varsha Banerjee, Rakesh K. Joshi, H. K. Sehgal. Phys. Rev. E, 70, 036122 (2004) Study of a Model Quantum Magnet. Kulbir Singh, M.Sc. (Physics), 2004 Ananlytical and Numerical Study of a Model Magnet. Sumit Mujumdar, M.Sc. (Physics), 2003 Collaborations Within the Department - 1. H. K. Sehgal - Mechanisms of nanoparticle growth. 2. Bodh Raj Mehta - Mechanisms of nanoparticle growth. 3. P. Senthilkumaran - Characterization of surface roughness using specular diffraction. Outside Collaborations - 1. Sushanta Dattagupta, S. N. Bose Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata. Quantum Magnets, Quantum Glasses. 2. Sanjay Puri, School of Physical Sciences, JNU, New Delhi. Hysteresis in Spin Systems, Surface Growth Phenomena. 3. Subir K. Das, Maryland. Hysteresis in Spin Systems. 4. Parongama Sen. Kolkata University, Kolkata. Hysteresis in Quantum Spin Systems. 5. Debashish Chowdhury, IIT Kanpur. Models for Immune Networks. 2
Research Interests: Most of my current research can be broadly classified under the following topics - 1. Statistical Mechanics of Model Spin Systems : This part of the work has been aimed at understanding some recently observed experimental results in the field of quantum magnets, spin glasses, quantum spin glasses and proton and deuteron glasses. The aim has been to construct simple models to investigate phase changes as well as relaxation characteristics in these complex systems. Typical properties that I have studied using analytic and numerical techniques are phase diagrams, magnetic susceptibility, dielectric permittivity, NMR lineshapes, aging, hysteresis and self organized criticality. 2. Models for particle and surface growth : The basic premise of this study is to identify elementary growth mechanisms in nanostructures. The approach that is being used comprises of identifying as many microscopic mechanisms as are viable, and then identify which of these are actually present in a specific experimental scenario. These conclusions are drawn with the aid of numerical simulations and theoretical analysis of proposed models and comparisons with actual experiments. Manipulation of particle size distributions is possible with these inputs. This approach is also being extended to surface growth/thin film growth. The analysis of surface roughness, an important technological issue, is the other aspect that we are addressing. 3. Others : Of late I am also interseted in the use of graph cut techniques to predict ground state properties of complex systems such as random magnets and glasses. Application of statistical mechanics to problems in finance is another topic which I find interesting. Publications: Published Papers in International Journals 1. Growth of Palladium nanoparticles - an experimental and numerical study. Vinay Agarwal, I. Aruna, Varsha Banerjee and Bodh Raj Mehta. Phys. Rev. B, 74, 035412 (2006). 2. Hysteresis and Magnetization jumps in the T = 0 dynamics of Spin Glasses. Varsha Banerjee, Subir K. Das, Sanjay Puri. Phys. Rev. E, 71, 026105 (2005). 3. Influence of adsorption and diffusion rates on the growth of P b 1 x F e x S nanoparticle films. Varsha Banerjee, Rakesh K. Joshi, H. K. Sehgal. Phys. Rev. E, 70, 036122 (2004) 4. Phase Transition and Relaxation Characteristics of Quantum Magnets and Quantum Glasses. Phase Transitions, 77, 525 (2004). 5. Dielectric Relaxation in a Deuteron Glass. Phys. Rev. B, 68, 54202 (2003). 6. Model Quantum Magnet II. Calculation of NMR Lineshapes. Phys. Rev. B, 66, 64418 (2002). 7. A Model Quantum Magnet. The Effect of Hyperfine Interaction on Phase Diagram and Dynamic Susceptibility. Phys. Rev. B, 64, 24427 (2001). 8. Hysteresis effects in Spin Systems with Quenched Disorder. Varsha Banerjee and Sanjay Puri. Phys. Rev. E, 63, 26106 (2001). 3
9. Dynamic Susceptibility of a model Quantum Glass. Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 10, 8351-8364 (1998). 10. Dielectric Relaxation in a Proton Glass. Phase Transitions 62, 233-43 (1997). 11. The Effects of Disorder on the Relaxation Dynamics of a Quantum Spin Glass. Physica A. 224, 226-231 (1996). 12. Hysteresis in a Quantum Spin System. Varsha Banerjee, Sushanta Dattagupta and Parongama Sen. Phys. Rev. E. 52, 1436-47 (1995). 13. Time Dependent Properties of Neural Networks with Continuous Spin Variables. Varsha Banerjee and Sanjay Puri. International Journal of Modern Physics B. 9, 1159-1169 (1995). 14. Dynamics of a Quantum Spin Glass in the Mean Field Approximation. Phys. Rev. B. 50, 9942-9947 (1994). 15. Modeling Immune Network through Cellular Automata: A Unified Mechanism of Immunological Memory. Debashish Choudhury, Varsha Banerjee and Deitrich Stauffer. International Journal of Modern Physics C. No. of pages: 10. (October, 1994). 16. A Neural Network for Storing Individual Patterns in Limit Cycles. Varsha Deshpande and Chandan Dasgupta. Journal of Physics A. 24, 5105-5119 (1991). 17. Hierarchical Neural Networks for Storage of Correlated Memories. Varsha Deshpande and Chandan Dasgupta. Journal of Statistical Physics. 64, 755-779 (1991). Published Papers in Indian Journals 1. Dielectric Relaxation in Ferroelectric Glasses. Varsha Banerjee. Invited article in Asian Journal of Physics, 14, 265 (2005); special issue on the occasion of the 60 th birthday of Professor Jong -Jean Kim, KIAST, Korea. 2. A Note on Tunable Transconductance in a Branched Molecular Wire. Varsha Deshpande and N. Kumar. Current Science, 59, 216, 1990. Published Papers in International Conferences and Symposia 1. Models for nanoparticle growth. Varsha Banerjee Dynamic Days 2006, Crete, Greece, August 2006. Abstract only. 2. Adsorption and Diffusion models for nanoparticle growth. Varsha Banerjee. Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Complex Systems - Satellite meeting of STATPHYS 22, Korean Institute of Advanced Studies, Seoul, Korea, June 2004. Abstract only. 3. Quantum Glasses. Non-Linearities in Complex Systems, edited by S. Puri and S. Dattagupta (Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi, 1997). 4
Published Papers in National Conferences and Symposia 1. Static and Dynamic Properties of a Model Quantum Magnet. CMDAYS03 (Annual Conference in Condensed Matter Physics), Kolkata, August 2003. Abstract only. 2. Neural Network Models for Associative Memory. Chandan Dasgupta and Varsha Deshpande. In Proceedings of the DAE Symposium in Solid State Physics, Vol. 33, Bombay (1991). Sponsored Research Projects : Particle and surface growth phenomena - analysis and characterization. Name of PI : Varsha Banerjee Name of Co-PI : P. Senthilkumaran Date of Award : November 2006 Funding Agency : C.S.I.R. Budget : Rs. 15 Lakhs Dipolar magnets and glasses : Study of static and dynamic properties in the classical and quantum regime Name of PI : Varsha Banerjee Date of Award :April 2001 Funding Agency : C.S.I.R. Budget : Rs. 6.5 Lakhs Date of Completion : March 2004 Publications out of the project : 5 (marked by in publication list) Study of classical and quantum spin systems in presence of disorder Name of PI : Varsha Banerjee Date of Award : October 1996 Funding Agency : Department of Science and Technology Budget : Rs. 2.3 Lakhs Date of Completion : October 1999 Publications out of the project : 4 (marked by * in publication list) Academic Visits KAIST, Deajon, South Korea, July 2004 ICTP, Trieste, Italy, Summer 2004 S. N. Bose Centre, Kolkata, Summer 2003, 2001, 2000, 1999 SINP, Kolkata, Summer 2001, 1993 5
Seminars/Presentations Models for Nanoparticle Growth Dynamic Days 2006, Crete, Greece, August 2006 Models for Surface Growth School of Physical sciences, J.N.U. New Delhi, November 2004 Monte Carlo Methods for Surface Growth University of Delhi, November 2004 Phase Transition and relaxation Characteristics of Quantum magnets and Glasses. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Deajon, Korea, July 2004 Adsorption and Diffusion models for nanoparticle growth Korean Institute of Advanced Studies, Seoul, Korea, June 2004 Static and Dynamic Properties of Quantum Magnets. International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, June 2004 Static and Dynamic Properties of a Model Quantum Magnet. CMDAYS03 (Annual Conference in Condensed Matter Physics), Kolkata, August 2003 Static and Dynamic properties of Quantum Spin Systems. School of Physical Sciences, J.N.U. New Delhi, March 2002 Model Quantum Spin Systems - Phase Transition Characteristics and Relaxation Properties. S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, June 2001 Quantum Phase Transitions. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, June 2001 Quantum Spin Glasses. J. C. Bose Institute, Kolkata 2000 Hysteresis in Spin Systems with Quenched Disorder. S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, June 2000 Static and Dynamic Characteristics of a Quantum Glass. Indo-Israel Symposium on Current Issues of Condensed Matter, New Delhi, India, January 1999 The Dynamic susceptibility of a Model Quantum Glass. Spring Colleges in Computational Physics, ICTP, Trieste, Italy, June 1997 The Effects of Disorder on the Relaxation Dynamics of a Quantum Spin Glass. Dynamics of Complex Systems Satellite meeting of Statphys, Calcutta, India, July 1995 Neural Network Models for Associative Memory. Discussions Meeting in Neurosciences, TIFR, Mumbai, India, August 1993 Neural Network Models for Associative Memory. Tutorial School of Neural Networks, IISc Bangalore, India, March 1990 6
Participation in Workshops, Conferences, etc. 1. Dynamic Days 2006, Crete, Greece, August 2006 2. Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Complex Systems, Korean Institute of Advanced Studies, Seoul, Korea, June 2004 3. Spring College on Physics at the Nanoscale, ICTP, Trieste, May 2004 4. Workshop on Quantum Systems out of Equilibrium, ICTP, Trieste, June 2004 5. CMDAYS03 (Annual Conference in Condensed Matter Physics), Kolkata, August 2003 6. Physics of Biological Systems, J. N. U., New Delhi, March, 2003 7. Workshop on Slow Dynamics and Freezing in Condensed Matter Systems J. N. U., New Delhi, March 9-10, 2000. 8. Computational Techniques for Strongly Correlated Systems, ICTP, Trieste, Italy, June 1999 9. Indo-Israel Symposium on Current Issues of Condensed Matter, New Delhi, India, January 1999 10. Spring Colleges in Computational Physics, ICTP, Trieste, Italy, June 1997 11. Workshop on Dynamics of Non-Equilibrium Systems, ICTP, Trieste, Italy, August 1996 12. Dynamics of Complex Systems Satellite meeting of Statphys, Calcutta, India, July 1995 13. Discussions Meeting in Neurosciences, TIFR, Mumbai, India, August 1993 14. Tutorial School of Neural Networks, IISc Bangalore, India, March 1990 Awards/Recognition Nominated for the Theoretical Physics Seminar Circuit for the years 2004-06. Regular Associate, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy for the period 2003-08. References 1. Sushanta Dattagupta Director, IISER, Kolkata IIT Kharagpur Extn. Centre, HC Block Sector III, Salt Lake City Kolkata 700 098 e-mail: sushantad@gmail.com 2. Chandan Dasgupta Professor Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 e-mail: cdgupta@physics.iisc.ernet.in 3. Sanjay Puri Professor School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067 e-mail: puri@mail.jnu.ac.in 7