Gyan Kumar Sah

• Designed and built a custom multi-wavelength photodetector measurement setup (3D-printed holders, LabView automation, and Python script for LED Power calibration).
• Characterised CdSe:GQD composites (2:1 and 3:1) under 375 nm, 530 nm, and 970 nm at two power densities (0.66 and 1 mW/cm²).
• Extracted device figures of merit: Responsivity, Detectivity, EQE, and LDR.
• Measured time response and modulation bandwidth.

Optimzed sputtering power such as base pressure and power to deposit 30 nm Cobalt on glass substrate with a masked Hall geometry. Performed anomalous Hall effect measurements with a Zurich MFLI lock-in amplifier but due to low magnetic field and noise we couldn't get anamolous hall effect behaviour. Hence, the project is discontinued.

• Designed different parts using Fusion 360 and manufactured them using CNC and 3D printer across materials like steel, graphite, acrylic, and PTFE/Teflon.
• Fabricated MEAs using an ultrasonic spray nozzle and hot pressing.
• Solely responsible for building an Arduino-based Hydrogen Leakage Detection System using an MQ-8 sensor with custom 3D-printed housing.
• Assigned to design a 30 × 30 cm electrolyzer for a large industry order.
• Delivered and set up the BOP of a Fuel Cell at IIT Delhi, and trained their staff on how to operate it.

Gained hands-on experience with engineering challenges, mechanical components (valves, gaskets, connectors), and industrial electrical systems. This experience directly fed into setting up the Cryogenic System for Low-Temperature Measurements.

CNC-machined an aluminium connector to maintain 10⁻³ mbar pressure. Wrote LabVIEW programs interfacing a Keithley SMU and Temperature Controller to fully automate measurements at cryogenic temperatures. I learned about PID controller here.

Built a fully autonomous smart agent using Google Apps Script and the Mistral AI API to solve the problem of missing important university seminars and personal events buried in emails. The backend script scans my inbox, uses an LLM to extract actionable event details (times, links, attendees), and logs them into a relational database. To easily triage these events, I built a zero-code mobile frontend using Google AppSheet, complete with swipe-to-approve gestures that automatically synchronize with my Google Calendar.

Today's internet encryption (like RSA) depends on the fact that no classical computer can efficiently factorize large numbers. But Shor's Algorithm running on a quantum computer can. This means all our current encrypted communications — banking, messaging, defense — are vulnerable once a sufficiently powerful quantum machine arrives. Our team set out to build a communication protocol that is secure even against quantum attacks.

We built the Quantum Double Shield Protocol: a two-layer security system combining the BB84 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol with a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) for adaptive authentication. BB84 uses the laws of quantum mechanics — any eavesdropper physically disturbs the quantum state and can be detected. We simulated the entire protocol using Qiskit, demonstrating secure key exchange and anomaly detection.

Won 3rd place at the Amaravati Quantum Valley Hackathon. This project was directly inspired by my study of Shor's Algorithm and the urgency of transitioning to quantum-resistant cryptography.

A peer-to-peer mentoring and academic collaboration platform for students. Self-initiated project to make connecting with peers, finding hackathon partner, or learning partner, or like minded students within SRMAP more accessible.

A free Nepali compound interest calculator using Bikram Sambat (BS) dates. Designed to help with village loans and personal lending in Nepal. Currently ranking as the #1 search result on Google for "village calculator nepal"!

In this project we built an automatic temperature-controlled fan system from first principles to improve heat management efficiency. Using a BC107 transistor, a thermistor, and a custom 3D-printed housing, the system automatically activates a DC fan when temperatures exceed a specific threshold. Designed to be functional, not just a demo, it often comes in handy for my labmates 😅.

Every message you send online — a WhatsApp text, a bank transaction, an email — is protected by encryption. Most of this encryption relies on one simple fact: it's extremely hard for a classical computer to factorize a large number into its prime factors. For example, multiplying 3 × 5 = 15 is trivial, but given just 15, figuring out it came from 3 and 5 is much harder when the numbers are hundreds of digits long. RSA, the backbone of modern internet security, is built entirely on this difficulty.

In this project, I studied how Shor's Algorithm completely breaks this assumption. A quantum computer doesn't try every factor one by one like a classical computer. Instead, it uses quantum superposition to evaluate all possible exponents simultaneously — like checking a million doors at once instead of one at a time. It then uses the Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT) to extract a hidden "period" (called order r), and from that period, the factors of N follow mathematically. For example, to factor N = 15 with a = 7: computing powers of 7 mod 15 reveals a period of r = 4, and from there, gcd(7² − 1, 15) = 3 and gcd(7² + 1, 15) = 5. Done.

I also studied Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) — the active race to build encryption systems that even a quantum computer can't crack. These include lattice-based, code-based, hash-based, and other approaches that don't depend on prime factorization or discrete logarithms. I explored hash-based cryptography in depth: hash functions like SHA-256 generate a unique "fingerprint" of any input, and even a tiny change in the input produces a completely different output. Since quantum computers can't efficiently reverse this process, hash functions are naturally quantum-resistant. NIST is currently standardizing the best of these algorithms for global adoption.

Chinese researchers recently demonstrated factoring a 22-bit RSA integer using a quantum machine — a proof of concept that underscores the urgency of this transition. This project convinced me that quantum computing isn't just a physics curiosity; it is a civilizational infrastructure challenge.