Professor Thomas is the Director of the International and Interuniversity Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and full professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at the School of Chemical Sciences of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, and Kerala, India. He is an outstanding leader with sustained international acclaims for his work in Polymer Science and Engineering, Polymer Nanocomposites, Elastomers, Polymer Blends, Interpenetrating Polymer Networks, Polymer Membranes, Green Composites and Nanocomposites, Nanomedicine and Green Nanotechnology

Statement of the Problem: The talk will concentrate  on various approaches being used to engineer materials at the nanoscale for various applications in future technologies. In particular, the case of clay, carbon  nanostructures (e.g. nanotubes, graphene), metal oxides, bionanomaterials (cellulose, starch and chitin) will be used to highlight the challenges and progress. Several polymer systems will be considered such as rubbers, thermoplastics, thermoetts and their blends for the fabrication of functional polymer nanocomposites. The interfacial activity of nanomaterials  in compatibilising binary polymer blends will also be discussed.   Various self assembled  architectures of hybrid nanostructures can be made using relatively simple processes. Some of these structures offer excellent opportunity to probe novel nanoscale behavior and can impart unusual macroscopic end properties. I will talk about various  applications of  these materials, taking into account their multifunctional properties. Some of the promising applications of clay, metal oxides, nano cellulose, chitin, carbon nanomaterials and their hybrids will be reviewed.  Finally the effect of dewetting up on solvent rinsing on nano scale thin films will also be discussed