History:
Established in 1909 by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. With the establishment of the University Grants Commission in 1956, the institute came under its purview as a deemed university.

Activities:
The institute is divided into six different divisions: Department of Biological Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Division of Electrical Sciences, Division of Information Sciences, Division of Mechanical Sciences, and Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

Division of Biological Sciences: Encompasses three major departments, four smaller centers, and three facilities, and has more than fifty faculty members and about 300 research scholars and post doctoral fellows on its staff. The division deals with almost all aspects of modern biology: molecular biology, structural biology, immunology, enzymology, reproductive and developmental biology, ecological and environmental studies. The methods employed in these investigations include genetic engineering, immunological techniques, PCR, spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, electron-microscopy, bioinformatics, and computer modeling.

Currently, scientists in the division are in working in three broad areas: Infectious Diseases; Drug and Molecular Design; and Gene Targeting, Genetic Disorders, and Genetic Diversity. Through this research, scientists in the Division hope to address real life problems such as those involving tuberculosis, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and other disorders of various kinds.

Division of Chemical Sciences: Consists of four departments and the Center of Excellence supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as well as a Sophisticated Instruments Facility, which houses high-field NMR spectrometers and an electron microscope. The research activities of the division encompass all aspects of modern inorganic, organic, physical, theoretical, and solid-state chemistry as well as materials science. The division has more than 45 faculty members and more than 180 research scholars and postdoctoral fellows. Research has been carried out by the faculty of the Division on Surface Chemistry, Synthesis and Physical Properties of Novel Inorganic Solids, Nonmetal Chemistry, Coordination and Organometallic Chemistry, Organic Photochemistry, Natural Products, Macromolecular Chemistry and Experimental and Theoretical Electrochemistry. The division includes the best Surface Science Laboratory in India and has facilities to carry out photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and X-ray spectroscopy. In addition, a number of discoveries in applied areas have led to the transfer of technologies such as the manufacture of electronic-grade silicon and silicon-based materials, luminescent phosphors and ceramics for electronics and the design of drug molecules.

Current research activity is focused on several frontier and interdisciplinary areas such as laser spectroscopy, chemical dynamics, organometallics, functional polymers, supramolecular chemistry, smart materials, and magnetic resonance imaging.

Key Source: Indian Institute of Science, <http://www.iisc.ernet.in>.

	Updated September 2003