Faculty Positions at NISER Invitation to be part of a new initiative in science education
The National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) has been setup at Bhubaneswar by the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India to be a unique institution of its kind pursuing undergraduate and post-graduate education in science combined with frontline research. The Government of India has made a very generous financial outlay to NISER for the purpose of setting up state-of-the-art research facilities in all branches of basic science and to promote interdisciplinary areas of research.
NISER is being setup in a sprawling 300 acre campus about 3 km from Khurda Road Railway Station on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar overlooking Barunei Hills. It will be a fully residential campus with modern living amenities including children’s school and health centre. Presently NISER operates from the campus of Institute of Physics, a premier research institution funded by the Department of Atomic Energy. The Institute of Physics has vibrant research programmes in theoretical and experimental nuclear physics, condensed matter physics and high energy physics. The infrastructure includes well established library, computer centre, 3MV Pelletron accelerator, a high resolution TEM and several other state-of-the-art instruments for experimental condensed matter research (for details see www.iopb.res.in).
NISER’s own academic block of about 5000 m2 area is under construction in the Institute of Physics campus which will also provide research laboratories for the faculty. Until NISER operates from the Institute of Physics campus, it may provide limited residential accommodation within the town. It is expected to move to the main campus by the academic session of 2011-12.
NISER invites applications from extremely motivated Indian scientists with a high-profile research agenda and a flair for teaching (especially at the undergraduate level) for the following faculty positions bearing scale of pay given against each:
Assistant Professor
12,000-375-16,500
Reader (F)
14,300-400-18,300
Associate Professor
16,400-450-20,000
Professor
18,400-500-22,400
Qualifications: Ph.D. in any area of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics
Experience: One/two years postdoctoral research and/or teaching experience is desirable for Assistant Professor Grade. For higher grades it should be appropriate to the positions applied for.
The age of superannuation is 65 years. The scale of pay is under revision. In addition to the basic salary, NISER faculty is entitled to allowances as admissible to Central Government Employees stationed at Bhubaneswar and to the DAE’s update allowance, which is currently Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000 per year depending on the scale of pay. They will also receive other fringe benefits (like Relocation Grant, Reimbursement of telephone charges, financial support to attend national/international Conferences/Seminars/Workshops, etc.) which will be comparable to the best in the country.
NISER has sufficient funds to provide seed money to the new faculty to start their research programme. In addition the Department of Atomic Energy provides generous grants from its Prospective Research Fund to bright young scientists.
Interested candidates may apply enclosing:
Curriculum Vitae
List of Publications (with reprints of important papers as pdf files)
Names and addresses (with e-mail and fax number) of at least three referees
A statement of purpose and research programme
The qualification and experience prescribed are the minimum and mere possession of the same does not entitle a candidate to be considered for any position. However, the experience criteria may be relaxed for exceptionally meritorious candidates.
Applications should be sent by e-mail to careers@niser.iopb.res.in marking "Faculty in (branch)" in the subject field (branch being one of the disciplines mentioned above). This is an open advertisement and there is no time limit for sending the application, but the applications received will be taken up for consideration at regular intervals. Candidates are advised to request the Referees to send their letters of recommendations (preferably signed versions as pdf file) directly to NISER at the above e-mail address. Those having regular job in any organization should also send a "No Objection Certificate" from the current employer in electronic form.
All correspondence should be addressed to the above e-mail address only (or any other e-mail address that is notified on the NISER website in future). No postal correspondence is required at any stage. Enquiry regarding the outcome of the application is generally discouraged.
The State Government has identified five places for setting up the proposed IIT. The places are Banki, Jatni, Khurda, Naraj and Nandankanan. While the Centre has decided to set up the IIT in an area of 500 acre of land, the State Government has decided to give 1,000 acre of land for the purpose.
The work for land identification has begun. However, the Centre has asked the State Government to adhere to some rules and regulations while selecting the sites for the purposed IIT. As per the condition, the site must be close to the railway station and airport. The institution should be well connected so that the students would not face any trouble while commuting to attend classes.
However, for the time being the proposed IIT earmarked for the State will operate under the Kharagpur IIT. 120 seats would be reserved for the students.
The state government is wise to look for 1000 acres instead of the 500 acres that the center stipulates. This will allow IIT Bhubaneswar to have sufficient room for future growth.
IDCO Divisional head R.K. Nayak said construction of the six-km internal road stretches are scheduled for completion in a couple of months, while works on the administrative block and student centre are moving on schedule. He added that work on the academic block would begin next. It is learnt, in the first phase nearly Rs 9.5 crore would be spent on construction of three buildings.
… Sources said the complete campus would cost between Rs 50 to 60 crore and if everything went as planned, including regular flow of funds, the campus would be ready in four years.
Following is an excerpt from a report in the Pioneer.
In another significant decision, the State Government has decided to set up a Government engineering college in Berhampur. The college will be set up in memory of the Maharaja of Parlakhemundi Krushna Chandra Gajapati. The college will be known as Parla Maharaja Engineering College.
A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Bijoy Kumar Patnaik, Finance Secretary RN Senapati and Secretary Industries Chinmoy Basu were present at the meeting.
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh said that the Chhattisgarh government would provide land for the Institute while NPTC would bear the entire cost of the project for setting up world-class IIIT in the state. "The state chief minister, Raman Singh, will select the site for the project," Ramesh said.
The experts who had set up IIITs in Hyderabad and Bangalore would be consulted for the Chhattisgarh project, the minister said. The proposal would be given final shape and the site would be finalised on June 30. Ramesh is scheduled to visit Chhattisgarh on the month-end and meet the chief minister to give final shape to the project.
One should compare this with today’s news at http://tathya.in/story.asp?sno=1888 which says NALCO will contribute 1.4 crores towards a police barrack. Few weeks back various news reports mentioned that NALCO has spent (https://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/1333) 100 crores in CSR so far over its 20 years of existence. If its CMD had any shame and any pride on Orissa he would not have touted this number as something great. But it makes sense; if Orissa is a beggar then 100 crore is a big amount to give to a beggar in 20 years.
It is unfortunate that companies like NALCO, Arcelor-Mittal, Tats Steel, etc. treat Orissa this way. But its not all their fault. Our government also acts that way.
Our government is happy with one ITI or ITC and that seems to be the trend in terms of what they ask.
When will Orissa government learn from its neighbors Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh?
Just to recap:
(i) NTPC will make a 100 crore world class IIIT in Chhatisgrah.
(iv) Orissa gets a 1.4 crore police barrack for 1.4 crores from NALCO
(v) Orissa will get a few crore ITI from Arcelor Mittal
(vi) Orissa gets a 12 crore Math institute building from Tata Steel
(vi) A few good signs: MCL’s plan for a medical college in Talcher and Vedanta’s university plan: but who knows if they will happen and when.
I wonder if NTPC can make a 100 crore world class IIIT in Jharkhand Chhatisgarh why can not it have a similar investment in Orissa where its plants might have significantly contributed in making Talcher a hot oven.
Why can not our CM, our industry secretary, our Chief Secretary, say in no uncertain terms that Orissa is no beggar. These industries (NALCO,SAIL, NTPC, CIL, Arcelor-Mittal, POSCO, Tata Steel, etc.) that take and use (or plan to take and use) our minerals at throw away prices must stop thinking Orissa as a beggar to throw a few crore ITI/ITC, a 1.5 crore barrack, a 50 paisa safety pin for Orissa, etc. and start making IIITs, medical colleges, engineering colleges, establishing multiple ITI/ITCs, etc.
Why can not central minister of state Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu go and talk to his colleague, the power minister Mr. Ramesh who announced the IIIT for Chhatisgarh to do a similar one in Orissa?
Why can not he talk to the other ministers to put pressure on NALCO and SAIL?
How come NTPC can make a IIIT in Chhatisgarh but not one in Orissa?
How come SAIL Bokaro can promise an engineering college and a medical college in Jharkhand and SAIL Raurkela can not do a similar one in Orissa?
ps — Just as an example of how the mineral processing companies have benefited one needs to note that in the last five years the iron ore price has increased more than the price of crude oil. But has Orissa received any benefit from that?
As per as per http://www.econstats.com/fut/xeiad_em1.htm the Crude oil prices over the last five years are: Jan 2004 -$33.16/barrel; Jan 2005- $48.25; Jan 2006- $67.86; Jan 2007- $58.17; Jan 2008- $91.67 and April 2008: $115.67.
Many JEE qualified students may be wondering about the new IITs. In a series of articles we will talk about the IIT in Bhubaneswar and the advantages of the Bhubaneswar area.
Bhubaneswar has excellent connectivity by train, road and air. It has multiple daily direct trains to/from Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, a daily train to/from Mumbai, and trains to/from all corners of India (Guwahati, Kerala, Goa, Gujarat, Jaipur, Punjab, Haradwar, Kanpur, Lucknow, Benras, Patna, Raipur, Bhopal, etc.) It has direct train connections to all the old IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, and Guwahati).
Following is a map of Bhubaneswar’s railway connectivity.
The students admitted to IIT Bhubaneswar will be taking their first year classes at IIT Kharagpur, the oldest IIT. Most likely they will stay in the MMM Hall at IIT Kharagpur. They will be staying with the IIT Kharagpur students.
In contrast, the IIT Gujarat students are reported to start their classes at the Vishwakarma Government Engineering College campus at Chandkheda in Gandhinagar district where IIT Bombay has the extension center. They will be more prone to bring with them the culture, tradition and history of that govt. college. IIT Hyderabad students will have to start from scratch, as it is reported that their classes will be held in Isnapur near SangaReddy in Medak district, near Hyderabad.About the arrangements in IIT Rajasthan, Times of India has this to say: "Apartments of IIT-K’s guest house would be converted into hostels for students of IIT-Rajasthan. Classes and labs would be held in shifts. If IIT-K classes are held in the morning shift, IIT-R students would have to attend classes in the evening and similar arrangement would be made for labs".
"The state government thanks Minister of State for Power and Commerce Jairam Ramesh for announcing at a function held Friday at Sipat in Bilaspur district to set up an IIIT in Chhattisgarh," a government press statement said.
"The state government will soon provide the location for the new IIIT as the announcement was made by the central minister as per the initiatives taken by Chief Minister Raman Singh April 20 when they had a meeting in Raipur," the statement read.
Officials said that the state government may offer a massive plot for the IIIT in Naya Raipur where the government is presently developing a new satellite town that will replace Raipur as the new state capital of Chhattisgarh, probably by 2011.
Naya Raipur, about 20 km east of here and located between national highways 6 and 43, will be spread out over 8,000 hectares.
Regardless of the NASSCOM recommendation the Orissa government and Minister of state Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu must push for a IIIT in Berhampur, the third largest metropolitan area of Orissa. (The other two, Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, have other national institutions.)
The proposed IITs and their mentor institutions are IIT Gujarat/Gandhinagar (IIT Bombay), Punjab (IIT Delhi), Patna (IIT Guwahati), Rajasthan (IIT Kanpur), Bhubaneswar (IIT Kharagpur), and Hyderabad (IIT Madras). While all will offer electrical and mechanical engineering, IIT Gandhinagar will offer chemical engineering, IIT Bhubaneswar will offer civil engineering, and the rest will offer computer science and engineering.
“The curriculum, syllabus, fee structure and other rules for the new IITs will broadly remain the same as in the respective mentor IITs,” the IIT-B official said.
The first-year classes for IIT Punjab, Rajasthan, and Bhubaneswar will be conducted at the campuses of the mentor IITs. The students will be shifted to the respective locations in the second year. Classes for the other new IITs will be conducted in the cities where the IITs are being located.
“Consequent to the government of India issuing notification for the setting up of eight new IITs in the 11th Plan, admissions to three more new IITs in Punjab, Gujarat and Orissa, other than at Hyderabad, Patna and Rajasthan, for the academic session 2008-09 are likely to be made through JEE-2008,” said an official release.
… Counselling for admission begins on June 17 for the declared All-India rank holders. Courses allocated to the successful candidates will be declared on June 30.
“An extended merit list has also been drawn to facilitate admission to other government institutions. Students on the list might be counselled by the Indian Institute of Space-Science Technology, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research and Rajeev Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology. The Indian Institute of Maritime Studies also offers admission based on JEE-2008 results,” said the release.
The following is copied from http://www.jee.iitb.ac.in/2007/openclose.htm. There is no guarantee but it should give you some idea about what branches you may be able to get. Please note that this year at least 3 (Hyderabad, Patna and Rajasthan) and perhaps even 6 (+ Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab) new IITs may come to play. The opening and closing ranks of 2006 is available in the IIT JEE Counseling brochure of 2007 at http://www.jee.iitb.ac.in/2007/CBJEE_2007.pdf.
National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER)
(Academic Session 2008-09)
The list of candidates short-listed on the basis of performance in NEST-2008 held on April 20, 2008 and called for interview is available HERE.
The interview will be held during 23 – 27 June, 2008 at :
Institute of Physics
Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar – 751005
(0674) – 2301825 / 2301823 / 2301058
Candidates should report at the above address at 8.00 a.m. on the day of the interview. The interview will be held throughout the day. The interview of a candidate may be held anytime between 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on that day. Outstation candidates should make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation. SC/ST and PD (Persons with Disability) candidates will be entitled to travel allowance (second class train fare/bus fare from place of residence to Bhubaneswar and back, by the shortest route) as per the institute norms.
Candidates are required to bring with them at the time of interview the following documents in original :
Class X and Class XII mark sheets.
Proof of date of birth.
Caste/tribe certificate issued by a competent authority (in case of SC/ST students).
OBC certificate and undertaking (in case of OBC candidates in the non-creamy layer)
In case of non-availability of class XII mark sheet in original, the candidate will have to give an undertaking to that effect. In case of candidates in the PD category, a Medical Officer appointed by the Institute for the purpose will certify whether a candidate qualifies to be under that category. Format of OBC certificate and undertaking can be seen HERE.
In case of any problem, please send e-mail to admission@niser.iopb.res.in
The Union ministry of human resources development, it is learnt, has given the nod to another three IITs to begin functioning from 2008-09. These are the IITs which are to be located in Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab.
So instead of the initial three IITs that were slated to begin functioning from the forthcoming academic session, the government has now decided to launch another three. A decision to this effect is reported to have been taken earlier this week and conveyed to the existing IITs that will act as their mentor institutes.
The three IITs that were initially expected to begin functioning from 2008-09 are the ones in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
… Punjab will have IIT-Delhi as its mentor institute while the one in Gujarat will have IIT Powai as its mentor. The one in Orissa will be mentored by IIT Kharagpur. As for the admissions to these three institutes, sources said no decision has been taken as yet on the numbers that will be admitted to each. However, they will be admitted on the basis of the joint entrance examination (JEE) that has already been held and whose results are yet to be announced, said ministry sources. In the case of the IITs in Bihar, Rajasthan and AP, each will be admitting 126 students for the 2008-09 session. No decision has been taken yet on the numbers that will be admitted to the IITs in Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat.
