Advanced NMR Techniques in Solution and Solid-State

Prof. N. Suryaprakash is currently a CSIR Emeritus Scientist at the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science. Previously he held various positions at IISc including Tatachem Chair Professor, before superannuation as a Professor and Chairman of NMR Research Centre. His academic career has proven to be nothing but exceptional in all aspects and his research achievements have received worldwide recognition, appearing in more than 155 publications in peer-reviewed journals of National and International repute, which include several invited book chapters. His research work is focused on diverse wings of NMR spectroscopy, with a major focus on the manipulation of spin dynamics to design novel experimental techniques to combat inherent challenges encountered in NMR spectroscopy, viz., weak sensitivity, poor resolution, and spectral crowding. He has also designed methods for the rapid acquisition of data, discerning degenerate transitions, and facile extraction of spectral parameters. His designed single and multiple quantum methodologies significantly transformed the chiral analysis of molecules in weakly aligned liquid crystalline media using 1H NMR, a field that remained unchallenged for decades. His research work led to the discovery of three novel water-compatible weak chiral aligning media that surpassed many inherent limitations of enantiomeric differentiation. His group has introduced a number of novel chiral auxiliaries, for enantiodiscrimination of molecules with diverse functionalities, accurate determination of enantiomeric contents, and also for the assignment of their absolute configurations, an area of very high significance in pharmaceutical industries. His innovative NMR approaches for the investigation of hydrogen bonds involving organic fluorine pave the way for the artificial architectural design of macromolecules. His seminal contributions have catapulted the research activities in NMR spectroscopy, structural chemistry, chiral chemistry, and in the area of weak molecular interactions.