Professor
Group Specialization
Specialization
Dr. Deepti Gupta is Professor in the Department of Textile Technology at IIT Delhi since 2012. She completed her PhD from the same department in 1995 and joined the Department as an Assistant Professor in 1997. She has more than thirty five years of teaching and research experience and has published more than 100 papers in national and international journals of repute. She works in the areas of Surface Functionalization of textiles, Eco-friendly Finishing of textiles, Processing of natural fibres, Textile-Microbe interactions, Functional Clothing, Anthropometry and Garment Sizing. Dr Gupta is currently engaged in development of Assistive products for healthcare applications. She is also mentoring a startup company involved in development of AI enabled smart clothing. Dr Gupta engages actively with other departments in IIT Delhi, is a founding member of the Department of Design and member of the Professorial Committee of School of Information Technology at IIT Delhi.
Dr. Gupta has the rare honour of featuring on the list of 2% most cited scientists worldwide in the field of Materials, published by Stanford University in 2020 and 2021. Her team was awarded the “Biotech Product Development and Commercialisation Award 2020” by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India for development and commercialization of their product Mamma Pod. In recognition of her achievements, Dr. Gupta was conferred the prestigious “Outstanding Alumna Award” by her alma mater in 2018.
In addition to teaching and research activities, Professor Gupta is actively involved in administrative activities. She is currently Associate Dean of Student Affairs at IIT Delhi. Prof Gupta is engaged with corporate governance matters too and sits as an Independent Director on the Board of 3 multinational companies. She has travelled widely and lectured extensively in institutes within India and abroad.
Eco friendly Finishing of Textiles, Processing of Natural fibres, Garment Sizing, Textile- microbe interactions, Assistive garments, Product development.
Textile processing is considered to be one of the most polluting sectors of industrial production. My research work in the last 3 decades has focused on development of textile processing technologies using natural products that happen to be waste by- products of another industry. These are sustainable technologies in that they make use of products obtained from natural sources and only mild chemical processes are involved in their production and application to textiles. The collection and processing of these raw materials creates livelihoods for rural populations while at the same time protecting the environment.
The variety of chemicals used to dye, print and finish textile fabrics wash out into the waterways causing major ecological issues. I started my research career by conducting theoretical studies on dyeing of textiles with natural dyes. The process of producing the ecofriendly natural dyes at commercial scale was optimized and transferred to an industry in UP. Workshops were conducted in the carpet belts of Kashmir, Sikkim, Bhadohi and Jaipur to train carpet weavers in the use of natural dyes in traditional carpets.
In the second phase of my research with natural dyes, we explored the multifunctional properties of natural dyes and for the first time reported the antimicrobial and anti UV properties of natural dyes. Some of my most highly cited papers are related to this work. Subsequently I went on to study other natural products such as chitosan- a waste by product of the sea food processing industry- as an antimicrobial finishing agent for textiles. We also developed multifunctional finishes having anti oxidant and UV protective properties using sericin- a waste by product of the silk processing units.
Currently our group is studying and characterizing non-conventional sources of cellulose fibre, obtained from agro waste or forest products. The possibility of using these fibres as a substitute for the highly polluting and expensive cotton fibre for various industrial applications is being explored. Studies have been conducted with Pearl millet straw, and work on Himalayan Nettle fibre has been recently initiated.
In addition to the above, our group also works on development of functional fabrics for special applications such as army uniforms, at leisure, pressure garments and sportswear. Design of protective garments such as motorcycle riders clothing is another project. The group also works on collecting of anthropometric data and developing garment sizing systems.
Conferences/ Workshops organised as PI
Membership of professional organisations
Consultant Incharge: Deepti Gupta
Co. Consultants:
Sponsoring Agency: Shri Durga Polycot Industries
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2007
Consultant Incharge: Deepti Gupta
Co. Consultants:
Sponsoring Agency:
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2007
Consultant Incharge: M.L. Gulrajani
Co. Consultants: Deepti Gupta
Sponsoring Agency: Coir Board, Alleppey
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2009
Consultant Incharge: V. K. Kothari
Co. Consultants: Deepti Gupta
Sponsoring Agency: Uttaranchal Bamboo and Fibre Development Board
Start Year: 2005
End Year: 2005
Consultant Incharge: M.L. Gulrajani
Co. Consultants: Deepti Gupta
Sponsoring Agency: UNDP
Start Year: 2003
End Year: 2004
Consultant Incharge: M.L. Gulrajani
Co. Consultants: Deepti Gupta
Sponsoring Agency: NHDC Limited
Start Year: 1998
End Year: 1999
Startup Company Founded
Assistive Devices developed
List of Publications
Indian
Corporate Governance Experience
2020-2025: Independent Director, Board of Voith Paper Fabrics Ltd., Faridabad
2019-2022: Independent Director, Board of Global Logic India Pvt. Ltd., NOIDA
2019-2022: Independent Director, Board of Global Logic Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Hyderabad