Akshat Jiwan Sharma

Power transmission plays a defining role in the energy security of a region but because the industry is more operationally intensive it rarely makes headlines, often working silently in the background to ensure critical services are kept running at all times.  Fluctuations in demand directly affects the rotation of generators leading to more or less watts on the line as required. Power systems engineering controls that.  Behind the scenes there is a complex system of tools from transformers and switchgears to HVDC converters and actual power lines to make this transmission happen.  These tools require highly standardized conductors and insulators to operate and their manufacturing is specialised.   At events in New Delhi I was fortunate enough to connect with engineers who specialise at component level engineering whether its automated systems that close the power line on towers ,the so called isolators, to manufacturing of electrical grade insulators whe...

Recently I had a chance to engage with representatives from IIT Kanpur and University of Waterloo during events organised by Society for Information Display and IHFC, IIT Delhi.  In the decade and half that has passed since I graduated, an unmistakable change can be noticed in the way educational institutions view post graduation employment opportunities for their students. While campus placements remain a key focus point entrepreneurship is now increasingly being viewed as a viable , though risky,career opportunity.  This shift is, of course, a welcome change as it rightly views entrepreneurship as a path to wealth and job creation that has the potential to transform the prevailing economic realities and create new opportunities where none existed before.  The inclusion of many of these entrepreneurial programs is also because of pioneering VC and incubator firms like Ycombinator[1] and the immense success of silicon valley startups who have proven beyond an...

Last month,July 22, I attended Dr André Anders' conference on the physics of vacuum arcs[1] organised by the American institute of physics. VA are fascinating because of the complex phenomenon that leads to the ignition of plasma in vacuum.  Starting as an initial field emission the current through metallic imperfections increases with voltage leading to rapid resistive heating which causes evaporation of tiny sections of metal in the vicinity. The high energy electrons ionise these vapors leading to formation of plasma between electrodes and establishment of a vacuum arc.  The number density for these evaporated sections is extremely high causing a massive pressure spike in regions close to the negative electrode and it's this pressure spike that drives the ions towards the positive electrode overpowering the electric force between them.  This high pressure phenomenon itself is quite fascinating as the temp in these tiny vapor spots can reach 20000K. This leads to rapid ...

Last September at the Display Conference I had the good fortune to learn about polariser films used in LCD TVs from Mr Vasu Kulkarni. These films provide the critical function of blocking or allowing light from a pixel leading to the formation of images on the display screen.  His talk gave me the opportunity to understand the complexities involved in the manufacturing of an LCD display unit. From functional polymers doped with iodine to thin film transistors on the backplate that control the liquid crystals polarizing the light moving through the output film — every single pixel on the screen goes through this complex filtration mechanism 60-120 times a second.  Mr Vasu’s talk went beyond technical details. He underscored a critical distinction that separated incumbent technology from upstarts : performance. New polariser films and lcd formulations are being explored. Graphene oxide is a critical platform that can meet the strenuous demands of both liquid crystal...

Over the last couple of months I've invested a healthy amount of time in engaging with US representatives working at the intersection of academia,industry and policy. Earlier in May the US Dept of commerce organised a “Select USA campaign” that was meant to position the USA as the leading destination for investment and I had an opportunity to connect with several Foreign service officers in Delhi promoting USA to Indian entrepreneurs. Before that, last year in December, I met online with researchers at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to understand how they are using AI to accelerate fusion research.  My engagement continued with several non profit organisations like American society of Metals , Society for automotive engineers and American institute of physics —plasma division and it enabled me to get the big picture view of the US research landscape. Which is why I was really excited to attend the inaugural genesis mission summit held last week to see what ann...

It was a great honor for me to observe the United Nations General Assembly informal interactive dialogue on Accelerating the global energy transition. President Annalena Baerbock led the discussion emphasizing that while the transition to renewable energy is happening at an unprecedented speed it is important to ensure that this transition is fair [1].  Her statement was backed by numbers.  Renewable energy deployment has been rapid but it has also been concentrated in few prosperous countries. Nearly 80 % of new RE capacity was built in China,EU & the USA while Africa accounted for a meager 1.6%.  Amid the optimism surrounding RE we often tend to forget that what truly enables RE at scale is massive industrial capacity. This is clear if we trace the supply chain of solar panels,wind turbines ,magnets and EV. Meanwhile people who need energy the most have no access to either renewable or fossil based power. Nearly 565 Million people in subsaharan Africa la...

Happy to participate in a CSIS online event for a discussion on the implications of the NATO summit organised earlier this month in Ankara,Turkiye. Former PM of Netherlands,Mr.  Mark Rutte has been leading NATO as the Secretary General for an year now and at Ankara he presented his vision for “NATO 3.0”[1-2]  In his speech he highlighted NATO moving away from ‘planning’ to ‘implementation’ and his idea of NATO 3.0 was appealing because of his focus on ‘military-industrialisation’ rather than straightforward and frankly overly simplistic arms procurement deals. Clearly Secretary General Rutte has given a lot of thought to the problem of making the defense industry more sustainable and his vision seems to align with my own ideas which I applied to the space industry [3-4].  Both space and defense are funded by tax collection and neither of these industries have demonstrated the ability to sustain themselves economically if that funding dried up. Space in particular is extre...