On Research, Integrity and Discovery: A Conversation with Prof. Tiju Thomas

Rethinking Research in India

It is no surprise that the way research is done has evolved over the last couple of centuries, constantly adapting to the changes within society. What once used to be a solitary activity due to the limitations of scientific communication between scientists is now more global in the sense that scientific communication can be practically instantaneous. With the rise of the internet, which is now a central tool for the modern scientific community, the extent and frequency of scientific collaboration have increased significantly, lessening the notion of individual accomplishments. One example of this is the shift from research conducted by individual scientists to large interdisciplinary teams with collaboration across institutions and countries.

Today, scientific research receives substantial support from governments, alongside continued support from the private sector, particularly in countries such as Canada, the United States, and several European countries.  Against this international backdrop, examining the ecosystem in India reveals a different story. Although India’s investment in R&D increased from 0.64% of GDP in 2020–21 to 0.84% in 2023–24, it remains relatively low compared to that of other research-intensive countries, such as the United States, China, Japan, and Germany, which spend around 3.45% of their GDP on R&D.

This difference in funding has consequences beyond the numbers themselves. Limited funding can mean inadequate laboratory infrastructure, difficulty accessing advanced equipment and resources, and ultimately, fewer opportunities for researchers to pursue long-term or experimental work. For students, this can make research seem uncertain compared to more established career paths in fields such as engineering, medicine, technology, or corporate jobs.

Although India has a large pool of talented students and professionals, many do not consider research to be a viable career option. According to AISHE 2021-22, approximately 2.13 lakh students were enrolled in PhD programmes, roughly 0.5% of total higher education enrollment. However, funding is only one part of the problem. There are also concerns surrounding the research environment itself. Researchers may face bureaucratic processes, limited institutional support, pressure to publish, and a lack of strong connections between academic research and industry. These factors can make it difficult for researchers to turn ideas into meaningful, long-term projects.

But how much of this actually reflects the experience of researchers working in India? Are these challenges as significant as they appear from the outside, and are there other problems that are often overlooked? These questions formed the starting point of our conversation with Prof. Tiju Thomas. Beyond the question of whether India provides enough support for research, there are broader issues worth considering. What makes someone a good researcher? How should researchers maintain academic integrity in an age of AI-generated content and rapidly spreading misinformation? And what does research actually contribute to society?

Meet Prof. Tiju Thomas

Prof. Tiju Thomas is a professor in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He holds an M.S. and a PhD from Cornell University and has received several honours for his contributions to research, including the IIT Madras Early Career - Institute Research and Development Award, the Young Scientist Award from the Academy of Sciences. He is an elected member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, London, and his work spans a range of topics in materials science, from energy storage and sustainable materials to advanced electronics. His interdisciplinary approach makes him particularly well placed to discuss not only the science itself but also the changing nature of research and the skills needed to pursue it.

Building a Better Research Ecosystem

One of the most striking aspects of our conversation was his insistence that students should look beyond immediate rewards when choosing a career. Salary and financial stability are important considerations, but they should not be the only ones. As Prof. Thomas explained, students should ask themselves: “What problems would I like to solve?” “In which areas would I like to develop deep expertise?” and “What kind of impact would I like to have on my immediate community and on the wider world?” This is especially relevant in India, where research is sometimes treated as an alternative to conventional employment rather than a career in its own right.

He acknowledged that India's research ecosystem still faces challenges, including funding continuity, delays in procuring equipment, administrative hurdles and the loss of talented researchers. Countries with more established research systems often have stronger infrastructure and administrative support, allowing researchers to spend more time investigating problems and less time navigating bureaucracy. India has made progress, but there is still considerable room for improvement.

Nevertheless, his outlook was optimistic. He argued that building a strong research ecosystem is not solely the responsibility of governments or universities. It also requires a change in how society understands research and how young people engage with it. As he put it, “Building a stronger research ecosystem is therefore a collective responsibility, and I am optimistic about what can be achieved.” For a country hoping to strengthen its technological capabilities, research cannot be an afterthought. However, improving the research ecosystem involves more than providing laboratories, funding and equipment. It also requires people who are willing to work through difficult problems without expecting immediate results.

This brings us to another common misconception that research is reserved for students with exceptional intelligence and outstanding academic records. Prof. Thomas acknowledged that research requires a certain level of intelligence, but emphasised that other qualities become increasingly important beyond that threshold. “The best researchers are not necessarily those with the highest IQs,” he explained. More often, they are those who demonstrate persistence, determination and an ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty. In other words, being good at examinations and being good at research are not necessarily the same thing.

Progress may be slow, experiments may fail, and promising ideas may lead nowhere. Persistence and curiosity therefore matter just as much as technical ability. As Prof. Thomas observed, “The reality is that nature does not reveal her secrets in one-minute clips.” This observation becomes particularly relevant in an age dominated by short-form content, instant answers and AI-powered tools. Today's students have unprecedented access to information, but access alone does not guarantee understanding. Prof. Thomas sees the ability to find and process information as a strength of the current generation. However, the challenge is to preserve the attention and patience required to engage deeply with difficult problems. Research demands more than collecting facts. It requires questioning assumptions, comparing explanations and remaining open to evidence that contradicts one's expectations.

AI Can Help. It Cannot Think for You.

Artificial intelligence offers considerable opportunities in this process. It can help researchers analyse large datasets, identify patterns, support interdisciplinary work and explore possibilities in fields such as drug discovery and materials design. Yet its usefulness does not remove the need for human judgement. AI-generated information can be inaccurate, and scientific findings can be misrepresented when complex ideas are reduced to sensational headlines.

Prof. Thomas described the pursuit of reliable knowledge as an iterative process. A result must be examined, compared with existing research and investigated whenever unexpected differences arise. The objective is not simply to produce a convincing explanation but to determine whether that explanation is supported by evidence. This principle extends beyond the laboratory to science journalism and public communication, where the pressure to attract attention can sometimes take precedence over accuracy. Communicating science responsibly requires both researchers and journalists to resist the temptation to make findings sound more dramatic than they are. The same commitment to responsibility applies to research ethics.

Plagiarism is an obvious violation, but academic integrity also involves giving appropriate credit, recognising contributions fairly and ensuring that intellectual ownership is handled responsibly. In a competitive academic environment, where publication counts and research output are often used to measure success, there can be pressure to prioritise visible achievements over the quality of the work itself. Prof. Thomas stressed that research ethics should be a formal part of academic training, with faculty members expected to model ethical behaviour and guide students through difficult decisions. As he noted, “In the long run, a reputation for integrity is far more valuable than short-term achievements.”

The Joy of Discovery

Following this, we discuss Prof. Thomas's own field, materials science. It is often misunderstood as the study of metals, ceramics and other physical substances. In reality, it draws on physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, biology, medicine, electrical engineering and computer science. Its applications range from developing more efficient batteries and solar technologies to improving medical implants, reducing plastic waste and creating better materials for electronic devices. Renewable energy technologies require materials capable of capturing and converting energy efficiently. Even the growing computational demands of artificial intelligence raise questions about the energy consumption and sustainability of the hardware that powers it. In each case, progress depends not only on designing a better device but also on understanding and improving the materials that make it possible.

This interdisciplinary nature also creates opportunities for students from outside traditional materials science backgrounds. Prof. Thomas highlighted the growing role of programming, simulation, machine learning and data analysis in materials research. Computer scientists who develop an understanding of materials science can contribute to computational modelling, materials discovery and the design of new technologies. The boundaries between disciplines are becoming less rigid, allowing researchers to combine different skills to solve problems that would be difficult to address from a single perspective.

Some of the professor's own discoveries illustrate the unexpected results that can emerge from this work. He described research involving copper and zinc oxide that helped researchers access a larger portion of the solar spectrum, as well as work on ceramic nanoparticles that could self-assemble into remarkably uniform sizes. Comparing these nanoparticles with footballs and grains of sand, he explained how unusual it was to identify conditions under which particles could naturally organise themselves into such consistent distributions. Reflecting on the discovery, he called it “a very cute result. It was a nice result!”

That statement, in particular, gave me a glimpse of the passion that drives researchers in their work. And while nature may not reveal her secrets in one-minute clips, the process of uncovering them can offer something far more lasting than an instant answer: the opportunity to understand the world a little better, and perhaps to change it for the better.

Interested in reading the entire interview?

References

1. https://www.dst.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/07/ab7aa62b590dcc3a18f6dabde045b5a0.pdf
2. https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kagaku/1551.html
3. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48307/R48307.4.pdf
4. https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s392049debbe566ca5782a3045cf300a3c/uploads/2024/02/20240214825688998.pdf
5. https://mme.iitm.ac.in/innerfaculty.php?fname=Tiju Thomas