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Hope Academic Profiled in Prestigious new eBook

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A Liverpool Hope University academic has been profiled in a prestigious new publication celebrating Indian women working in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.  

Professor Kusum Deep is a Visiting Professor in Hope’s School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering. 

She arrives from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, India, where she’s Coordinator of the Operations Research and Statistics Group in the Department of Mathematics. 

And now Professor Deep has been honoured with her own chapter in a new ebook - WiSTEM-2021: Nurture and Celebrate Indian Women in STEM - which has been produced by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). 

Professor Deep was praised for her scientific research, new product development, patents, and research publications while also helping to inspire students to enroll on STEM courses. 

Describing Professor Deep’s particular expertise, the ebook reveals: “Kusum is an internationally known expert in the area of Nature Inspired Optimization Techniques. 

“These techniques impressed her as they derive their inspiration from nature, including living organisms and physical phenomena. Her breakthrough paper in 2009 continues to be the most downloaded paper of the Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier. 

“It is based on a new real coded crossover operator, and a new real coded mutation operator which she proposed. Her research work has been used in design tools for forecasting of avalanches, predicting the hyper central location of earthquakes, extraction optimization of bioactive compounds from Indian herbs and many more.”

In the book’s profile, Professor Deep suggests children should try to be less reliant on modern gadgets for calculations. She also says that instead of encouraging youngsters to simply study intensively in order to succeed, they should be taught to ‘appreciate patterns and enjoy the beauty of mathematics’.

Giving her advice to those who follow in her wake, she adds: “Have a positive approach, there is no shortcut to success, do not sit back on your laurels, keep on working hard and leave the rest to God.”

In a foreword for the ebook, Anu Sriram, Convenor of the Executive Committee, Women in STEM, praised all of the successful individuals profiled, who hail from both industry and academia. 

She writes: “Each one of them has overcome challenges and emerged as a leader in her area. They questioned the status quo. They have carved a niche career path for them. They did not hesitate to ask for support when required. They had their own role models and mentors for guidance. 

“They have contributed immensely to the body of knowledge in their areas, to their overall profession, and to the greater society. They continue to do so.”

Prof Atulya Nagar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Hope, commended Professor Deep on this international recognition and praised her contribution to Hope students. 

Meanwhile the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee was particularly proud to have four of its academics named in Nurture and Celebrate Indian Women in STEM. 

Alongside Professor Deep, there are also sections dedicated to Professor Davinder Kaur Walia, senior faculty in the department of Physics and Centre for Nanotechnology, Professor Debrupa Lahiri, faculty in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and Center for Nanotechnology and Professor Pranita P Sarangi, faculty at the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering.

Professor Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director IIT Roorkee, said, "It is a proud moment for us as four of our faculty members have been recognized in the e-book on Indian Women Achievers in STEM disciplines. I would like to congratulate CII on this initiative. It will encourage women from all walks of life to believe that their aspirations can be fulfilled if they can persist with their efforts."


Published on 23/08/2021