I, Pooja Munjal, am working as a Ph.D. student at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, India, under the guidance of Prof. Kamal P. Singh. My research is in the broad area of experimental laser science to develop new technology for precision measurements to make frugal devices for applications in enhancing education, research, and societal impact. I invented a single-lens universal laser interferometer that enables achieving a real-time precision of a few pm on any surface including paper, plastic, cloth, human skin, etc., which are previously considered to be beyond the scope of interferometry. This invention has opened a new class of miniature frugal-optical devices that are easy to fabricate, super-precise, economical, and can outperform their commercial counterparts.

Awards and accolades:

• Awarded the Best Student Paper Award for the paper titled “A class of frugal devices from universal single-lens interferometer” at International Symposium of Optomechatronic Technologies 2019, (11-13 November 2019), Goa, 2019.

• Nominated among top 4 inventions to represent India in the Young Innovator Prize at 4th BRICS- Young Scientist Conclave, (6-8 November 2019), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2019.

• Awarded the First Prize in Student Paper Competition for the paper titled “Optically probing sub-nanometer photo-dynamics of solid surfaces” at 2019 URSI Asia Pacific Radio Science Conference, (9-15 March 2019), India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 2019.

• Awarded PhD. Fellowship from MHRD, Govt. of India from 2015-2020.

• Awarded MS fellowship from MHRD, Govt. of India from 2013-2015.