Biography
Dr. Vikrant Kumar Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur and the founding Principal Investigator of the Precision Instrumentation and Control Laboratory. He publishes under the name K. S. Vikrant.
His research lies at the intersection of precision instrumentation, control systems, micro-electromechanical systems, scanning probe microscopy, and micro-robotics. He develops complete scientific instruments by integrating physical actuation mechanisms, precision sensing, electronics, machine vision, real-time control, and experimental validation.
Before joining IIT Kharagpur, he was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Laboratory for Dynamics and Control of Nanosystems at the University of Texas at Dallas. He received his PhD and MS by Research in Instrumentation and Applied Physics from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, in 2022.
Research vision
Dr. Singh’s group studies how the physical mechanism, actuator, sensor, electronics, estimation, and controller can be designed together to create instruments that are smaller, faster, more precise, and easier to adapt to new scientific applications.
The long-term objective is not only to use advanced instruments, but to invent new ones for semiconductor metrology, nanoscale imaging, precision assembly, mechanobiology, and engineering education.
Research trajectory
IIT Kharagpur
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering; founded PIC Lab.
University of Texas at Dallas
Postdoctoral Research Scientist working on hybrid levitation, planar electromagnetic actuators, MEMS force metrology, active AFM probes, and mechanobiology instrumentation.
Indian Institute of Science
Graduate researcher developing diamagnetically levitated nanopositioners and automated AFM tip-replacement systems.
Research interests
Selected recognition
- UT Dallas Provost’s Office Postdoctoral Appreciation Award, 2025
- Nature Communications Editors’ Highlight, 2022
- Best PhD Thesis Award, Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, IISc, 2022
- Best Paper Award, iNaCoMM 2021
Education
| Degree | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|
| PhD, Instrumentation and Applied Physics | Indian Institute of Science | 2022 |
| MS by Engineering, Instrumentation and Applied Physics | Indian Institute of Science | 2022 |
| BE, Electronics and Instrumentation | Institute of Technology and Management, Gwalior | 2014 |
Mentoring philosophy
Complete-system thinking
Researchers are encouraged to understand how the physical mechanism, actuator, sensor, electronics, software, and controller influence one another.
Models connected to experiments
Analytical and numerical models should be tested against carefully designed experiments, with discrepancies treated as opportunities to improve understanding.
Reproducible practice
Laboratory members will maintain organized code, calibration records, design files, experimental logs, and documented data-processing workflows.
Clear and responsible communication
Writing, figures, presentations, attribution, and careful handling of unpublished ideas are treated as integral parts of research training.
Current group
Founding team in formation
PIC Lab currently has no additional formal members. The laboratory is actively recruiting its first PhD students and welcomes expressions of interest from prospective postdoctoral researchers.