Tamil Script Code for Information Interchange (TSCII) is a coding scheme for representing the Tamil script. The lower 128 codepoints are plain ASCII, the upper 128 codepoints are TSCII-specific. After long years of being used on the Internet by private agreement only, it was successfully registered with the IANA in 2007.
A dye-sensitized solar cell is a low-cost solar cell belonging to the group of thin film solar cells. It is based on a semiconductor formed between a photo-sensitized anode and an electrolyte, a photoelectrochemical system. The modern version of a dye solar cell, also known as the Grätzel cell, was originally co-invented in 1988 by Brian O'Regan and Michael Grätzel at UC Berkeley and this work was later developed by the aforementioned scientists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) until the publication of the first high efficiency DSSC in 1991. Michael Grätzel has been awarded the 2010 Millennium Technology Prize for this invention.
Project Madurai is an open and voluntary initiative aimed at publishing free versions of ancient Tamil literature on the internet. Texts have been consistently published in both TSCII since its launch in 1998 and Unicode formats from 2004. The leadership of the project is attributed to Dr. K. Kalyanasundaram, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, serving as the Project Leader, and Dr. P. Kumar Mallikarjunan, located in Blacksburg, VA, USA, as the Deputy Project Leader.
Gerald J. Meyer is an active researcher and professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was previously the Bernard N. Baker Chair In Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests include inorganic photochemistry with emphasis on solar energy, using interfacial electron transfer processes and dye-sensitized solar cells.
Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, that was established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, which was awarded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. In 2021, the university was awarded an 'A++' grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in its 4th cycle.
Michael Grätzel is a professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where he directs the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their optoelectronic applications. He co-invented with Brian O'Regan the Grätzel cell in 1988.
GreatCell Solar Limited previously known as Dyesol, was a solar energy company developing perovskite solar cell 3rd generation thin-film solar cell technologies and materials. The company was previously focused on developing dye-sensitized solar cell technology but then focused on perovskite solar cells, and assisted manufacturing partners to produce perovskite photovoltaic modules. The company was based in Queanbeyan, Australia and opened its manufacturing and research facilities in October 2008. It expanded to several locations around the world, including the UK and Switzerland, and established joint ventures in South Korea and Singapore.
Tamil Heritage Foundation (THF) is a non-profit organization that collaborates with the British Library to collect, preserve and digitize documents of Tamil cultural heritage. Among activities around the world, the project activities are centered primarily in India, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea.
Brian C. O'Regan is an American chemist known for the co-invention of dye-sensitized solar cells. He was previously a Research Lecturer at Imperial College London where he conducted research on photovoltaic cells and other applications of nano-structured oxide electronic materials.
Dorairajan Balasubramanian, popularly known as Professor Balu, is an Indian biophysical chemist and ocular biochemist. He is a former President of Indian Academy of Sciences and a director of research at the Prof. Brien Holden Eye Research Centre of L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad. A recipient of the National Order of Merit (France), Balasubramanian was honored by the Government of India, in 2002, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri
Tapas Kumar Kundu is an Indian molecular biologist, academician and at present the Director of Central Drug Research Institute, a prestigious research institute of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research at Lucknow. He is the head of the Transcription and Disease Laboratory of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. He is known for his studies on the regulation of Gene expression and his contributions in cancer diagnostics and the development of new drug candidates for cancer and AIDS therapeutics. He is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, India and a J. C. Bose National Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2005, for his contributions to biological sciences. He is also a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology.
Sadhan Basu FNA, FASc, FRSC was an Indian physical chemist, academic and the Palit Professor of Chemistry at the University of Calcutta from 1964 to 1985. He was known for his elucidation of the Quantum Mechanical Model of Robert S. Mulliken and his article, Degree of Polymerization and Chain Transfer in Methyl Methacrylate, co-authored by Jyotirindra Nath Sen and Santi R. Palit was the first published Indian article on polymer chemistry. He was an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Chemical Society of France, Indian Chemical Society, Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1962, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Mushi Santappa was an Indian polymer chemist, leather technologist and a vice chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University and the University of Madras. He was one of the founder directors of Avanti Leathers Limited and was known for his researches on the synthesis of graft copolymers, the properties of macromolecules, and osmotic techniques. He was an elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, Royal Institute of Chemistry and New York Academy of Sciences and a founder fellow of the Academy of Sciences, Chennai. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1967, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Manapurathu Verghese George was an Indian photochemist and an Emeritus professor of the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST). He was known for establishing the Photochemistry Research Unit at NIIST and his studies on the mechanism of organic reactions. He is a recipient of the 1992 TWAS Award and an elected fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1973, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Paramasivam Natarajan (1940–2016) was an Indian photochemist, the INSA Senior Scientist at the National Centre for Ultrafast Process of the University of Madras and the director of Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He was known for his researches on photochemistry of co-ordination compounds and macromolecular dye coatings for stabilization of electrodes and was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1984, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Jarugu Narasimha Moorthy is an Indian organic photochemist and the director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram.He was a Dr. Jag Mohan Garg Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is known for his studies on photoreactivity and organization of organic molecules. and is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2008, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Kirthi Tennakone is a Sri Lankan scientist with an assortment of research interests in theoretical and experimental physics, chemistry and biological systems. He has authored over 350 publications covering a diverse variety of disciplines. He is the former Director of Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka and the first Professor of Physics at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. He pursued studies leading to a doctoral degree in Theoretical Physics at the University of Hawaiʻi under supervision of Sandip Pakvasa. Pakvasa and Tennakone were the first to suggest that neutrinos may be massive and to consider the astrophysical implications. In condensed matter physics, Tennakone pioneered the studies on semiconducting properties copper(I) thiocyanate, a rare example of a transparent p-type semiconductor, currently adopted in many devices and developed techniques of its deposition as thin films. He was the first to introduce the concept of the dye-sensitized solid state solar cell and demonstrate a working prototype of the same. Sri Lanka Government recognized his contribution to research and education and awarded National Honors on two occasions. He was one of the Union of Concerned Scientists who signed to the document presented to world leaders in 1992 about environmental degradation that threatens global life support systems on this planet.
Michael Roman Wasielewski is an American physical chemist. He is currently the Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry, director of the Center for Molecular Quantum Transduction (CMQT), and Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern University.
Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin is an Indian-Swiss chemist and materials scientist who conducts research on Perovskite solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, and light-emitting diodes. He is a professor at EPFL and the director of the Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Functional Materials at School of Basic Sciences.
Krishnan Rajeshwar is a chemist, researcher and academic. He is a Distinguished University Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Renewable Energy Science & Technology at The University of Texas at Arlington.
