The second edition of the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Photodynamics and Photochemistry (ETPP – 2026)
The Department of Chemical Sciences (DCS), IISER Mohali, hosted the second edition of the International Conference “Emerging Trends in Photodynamics and Photochemistry” (ETPP-2026) from March 12–14, 2026, at the IISER Mohali campus. This edition spotlighted “Organic and Supramolecular Photochemistry.” The conference brought together around 50 leading researchers in photodynamics, photochemistry, and allied fields, along with nearly 100 senior Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows from India and abroad. ETPP-2026 served as a focused platform for discussing emerging methods and applications of light as both a tool and reagent, spanning spectroscopy and photochemistry. The event opened with a welcome address and inaugural speeches by Prof. Ramasastry Sripada, Head, DCS, and Prof. Anil Tripathi, Director, IISER Mohali. The scientific sessions began with a keynote lecture by Prof. V. Ramamurthy, University of Miami. Distinguished keynote speakers over the three days included Prof. Hirendra Nath Ghosh, Director, NISER Bhubaneswar; Prof. J. N. Moorthy, Director, IISER Thiruvananthapuram; Prof. Ashok K. Ganguli, Director, IISER Berhampur; Prof. N. Sathyamurthy, Founding Director, IISER Mohali; Prof. Holger Bettinger, University of Tübingen, Germany; Prof. Anindya Datta, Director, INST Mohali; and Prof. Keisuke Tominaga, Kobe University, Japan. The program featured fifteen invited talks by internationally and nationally recognized scientists and ten short talks by early-career faculty from India and abroad, including a couple of alumni of the department. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows actively participated in the scientific sessions, with sixty-seven presenting their posters. Ten outstanding posters were recognized with “Best Poster Awards” sponsored by ACS and RSC. The conference concluded with a valedictory session, during which awards were presented and a vote of thanks was delivered. Overall, the second edition of ETPP was a resounding success with excellent exchange of scientific ideas. The event was organized by faculty members Dr. Sugumar Venkataramani, Dr. Sanchita Sengupta, Dr. Ujjal Gautam, Dr. Jino George, and Dr. Arijit Kumar De, with wholehearted support from all DCS faculty. The seamless execution was made possible by the cooperation of the institute administration and the dedicated voluntary service of numerous research scholars from the department, whose contributions are deeply appreciated. Also, the organizing team thank the generous funds from the institute and several sponsors that include Merck, Sinsil, Agilent, Bruker, Laser Science Services Pvt Ltd, DP Traders, Ahuja Agencies, Indo Am, TCI Chemicals, RSC, and ACS for making the event a grand success.
