Materials Science Archives

Pradeep Kodimana Ramakrishnan

Dr. Pradeep Kodimana Ramakrishnan is a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Gerd Bacher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany since 2021. He obtained his integrated B.Sc., B.Ed., and M.Sc. in physics from the Regional Institute of Education, University of Mysore in 2014. He then received his Ph.D. in 2021, under the supervision of Prof. Ranjani Viswanatha, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru. Dr. Ramakrishnan’s doctoral work focuses on the design of quantum dots for optoelectronic applications.

Dr. Ramakrishnan received a fellowship under the Walter-Benjamin Program from the German Research Foundation. His research grant focuses on magneto-optical spectroscopy of single perovskite nanocrystals. He has published several research articles in reputed international journals. He is the winner of Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards (GYTI 2020) in the field of nanoscience and engineering. He qualified the GATE examination 2015, with an all-India rank of 74, and secured first rank in the country in the national entrance examination conducted by NCERT in 2008. His other scientific recognitions include the “Best ePoster Content and Discussion” award at the 2020 online conference Light Emission in Organic and Hybrid materials (LightEm) organized by nanoGe, and another best poster award at an In-House symposium 2018, JNCASR. He is also a winner of the Sony World Photography Awards, 2023.

Inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals are in high favor among recent energy materials. However, the necessary inclusion of lead, a toxic element, raises a critical concern for future commercial development. Dr. Ramakrishnan is addressing this issue during his Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship. He is designing and synthesizing doped lead-free double perovskites and studying their spin dynamics using ultrafast magneto-optical spectroscopy. This project provides a promising avenue for lead free perovskite nanocrystals for use in high performance photophysical applications.

Rubia Hassan

Dr. Rubia Hassan is Project Scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. She pursued her bachelor’s in metallurgical engineering from National Institute of Technology, Srinagar and her master’s and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). During her Ph.D., in 2018, she received Prime Minister Research Fellowship, to continue her work under the joint supervision of Prof. Kantesh Balani and Prof. Shobit Omar at IIT Kanpur. Her doctoral research was based on the study of Zirconium di-boride based ultra-high temperature ceramic composites for thermal protection system in hypersonic re-entry vehicles. Dr. Hassan has published several research articles in reputed international journals and has co-edited one book.

The ongoing search for new materials for desired future capabilities related to hypersonic re-entry flight, rocket propulsion, and lightweight armor has led to considerable attention to ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) for their potential use in extreme environments based on their superior properties. In this context, during her Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellowship, Dr. Hassan is focusing on the development of boride and carbide based high entropy ultra-high temperature ceramics.

Apoorva Singh

Apoorva Singh is a Ph.D. candidate at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. His doctoral thesis focuses on understanding the charge transport and degradation mechanisms in perovskite based solar cells and devices incorporating device fabrication and advanced electrical, optical and materials characterizations. Apoorva has published academic papers and presented his work at various national and international conferences. He has collaborated with prominent international research groups and research facilities including ones at the University of Oxford and Soleil French-National Synchrotron Facility.

Apoorva holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MJP Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, and a master’s degree in engineering by research from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru. After completing his master’s from JNCASR and prior to joining the Ph.D. program at IISc, Apoorva served as a senior project associate at the National Centre for Flexible Electronics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, Apoorva is studying perovskite solar cells, investigating the evolution in defects and recombination mechanisms at different stages of degradation through spectroscopic procedures. The insights gained from his research will contribute to achieving optimal device performance and stability in the field. Apoorva actively organizes and takes on leadership roles in various academic and cultural activities. He is a music enthusiast, with skill in live mixing, and he also enjoys reading, playing chess, and exploring new places.

Shivani Sharma

Dr. Shivani Sharma received her BSc (Honors) from Gargi College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, in 2013. After that, she joined the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER-Pune), for an Integrated MS-PhD program. After completing her MS in 2015, she joined the research group of Prof. Sujit K Ghosh to pursue her doctoral studies. Her work was focused on the design and synthesis of neutral nitrogen donor linker-based metal-organic frameworks with a focus on sequestration and sensing of toxic pollutants. She has published several research articles in reputable international journals. She qualified for the IIT-JAM examination and was awarded the CSIR-SRF research Fellow ship. Her other recognitions include the Best Poster Award at a conference hosted by RSC Porous Materials Group, UK .

She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Dr. Alexander C Forse at the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, UK. Her work is focused on the design of novel sorbents for carbon capture.

For her Fulbright-Nehru postdoctoral stint, Dr. Shivani will be working in the research group of Prof. Jeffrey R Long at the University of California, Berkeley, CA. Her project aims to develop new porous materials for the capture of highly toxic ions and the extraction of trace/precious metal ions from various waste/seawater by electrochemical methods. She is passionate about achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including freshwater security and sustainable development.

Surjit Sahoo

Dr. Surjit Sahoo is currently working as a National Post doctoral Fellow at the School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He completed his PhD in Mechatronics Engineering from Jeju National University, South Korea. He joined as a PhD scholar in the Nanomaterials System lab in 2016 under the “Brain Korea Fellowship” scheme. His thesis work was focused on the electrochemical energy storage devices (supercapacitors), energy harvesting systems (nanogenerator), and the fabrication of self-powered devices for both energy conversion and storage using nanomaterials (transition metal oxides (TMOs), transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs), and 2D materials. The thesis topic was “Development of Nanostructured Electrode Materials for Self-Charging Supercapacitor Power Cell”.

He received his m aster’s degree in Electronics Science from Jadavpur University, Jadavpur, West Bengal, and b achelor’s degree in Electronics Science from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha . He worked as a junior research Fellow at IIT Bhubaneswar . He has published over 35 research articles as first author and co-author in leading international journals and attended about 40 conferences (both international and domestic) to demonstrate his research experiences. He has a total journal citation count of about 1500, with h-index and i10-index of 24 and 34, respectively.

Dr. Sahoo’s Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research focuses on the “development of flexible-stretchable micro-supercapacitors towards driving of portable and wearable electronics”. The outcome of this work is expected to provide insights into the fabrication of various types of micro-supercapacitors with high performance metrics.

Shantanu Kumar Behera

Dr. Shantanu Behera is currently an Associate Professor of Ceramic Engg. At NIT Rourkela. He holds a bachelor’s degree from NIT Rourkela and a Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, USA. He worked on analysing the atomic structural features of dopant segregated grain boundaries in alumina using transmission electron microscopy at Lehigh and synchrotron x-rays at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY, USA). Following his doctorate, he worked at the University of Colorado Boulder (USA) on various aspects of Polymer Derived Ceramics before relocating to India. Dr. Behera’s research interests over the last decade at NIT Rourkela includes development of nanostructures and hybrids from preceramic polymers with potential applications in batteries, supercapacitors, and in high temperature resistant bulk materials and coatings.

Dr. Behera was an invitee in the Indo-German Frontiers of Engineering Symposium following which he was a Visiting Scientist at the Forschungszentrum Julich, Germany. He reviews scientific literature for more than 30 journals and is an outstanding reviewer for a few. He speaks regularly in his mother tongue (odia) in All India Radio on popular and informative scientific topics.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Research Fellowship, Dr. Behera aims to fabricate novel Si-C hybrids using preceramic polymers for application as efficient anodes for Li ion batteries. With his expertise in preceramic polymer processing, microstructural characterization, and the resources at CU Boulder, he plans to develop a series of Si-C nanostructures, test their electrochemical properties to gain insights on the processing, microstructure, and performance relationship in these materials.

Shibayan Roy

Dr. Shibayan Roy is an Assistant Professor in the Materials Science Center of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur, West Bengal since 2015.

Previously, Dr. Roy was a postdoctoral research associate at Materials Science and Technology Division in Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA from November 2013 to October 2015. He is the recipient of the R&D 100 award (2017) from R&D Magazine, USA as a part of the research group from ORNL.

Dr. Roy also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering (IWW), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany from February 2012 to September 2013. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in November 2011. He also received the K.P. Abraham Gold Medal for Best Doctoral Thesis from IISc and the Student Innovative Thesis Award (Doctoral level) from the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) in 2012, in recognition of his doctoral thesis.

Through the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award (Research and Teaching) project, Dr. Roy aims for an in-depth characterization of coherency and orientation relationship as well as atomistic structure and remnant dislocations at α/β interfaces for different α-colony orientations after secondary TMP and additive manufacturing (AM) of two-phase Titanium alloys. His work also establishes an interrelation between these attributes of α/β interface and spheroidization response of different α-colony orientations in the course of secondary TMP and AM.

Anita M George

Dr. Anita M George is a marine biologist and sponge taxonomist at a prestigious institution in India. She is a visiting scientist at the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. Her 14 years of research is concentrated on the systematics of sponges along with their associated biota and how sponges act as ecological indicators to climate change factors. As a principal investigator in the DBT-Research Associate program, Dr. George conducted the first sponge taxonomy workshop at CSIR-NIO, Goa, in 2019 with grants from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune and Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission, Maharashtra.

Dr. George obtained her Ph.D. from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil Nadu, where she worked on the taxonomy and biodiversity of south Indian sponges. Her post doctorate from James Cook University, Townsville, focused on the morphological changes of sponges from protected and non-protected reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia using remote-sensed data and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping. Dr. George received a research and travel grant from the Australian Institute of Marine Science to research the Queensland Museum collections of calcareous sponges of GBR and Palau.

Dr. George’s Fulbright-Nehru project will explore the latitudinal gradients in sponge morphology and microbiome composition using metagenomics and environmental eDNA extracts. The research outcome will give insights into the impact of seawater temperatures on sponge metabolism and biodiversity. Dr. George will share her GIS and taxonomic knowledge with her host, where the students can work in their interdisciplinary fields of research.

Praveen Kumar

Dr. Praveen Kumar is working as an Assistant Professor at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences (IACS), Kolkata. He did his Ph.D. from the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, followed by postdoctoral research at ISOM, UPM Madrid, Spain, as a Marie Curie Fellow. He is an Editorial Board Member of Materials Letters (Elsevier) and Nanotechnology (IOP) Journals. He has served as a Chair, Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), Indian Chapter, funded by the European Commission from May 2017 to July 2021. He is also a member of The National Academy of Sciences (NASI), India and Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS).

Dr. Kumar’s research contribution covers a broad spectrum of materials science, including III-V semiconductors, 2D-Materials, MXenes, carbon nanostructures, etc., for various energy harvesting (PEC water splitting, CO2 reduction, broadband photodetectors) and storage (supercapacitors) applications. He has authored 89 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, filed 03 patents, more than 75 in conference proceedings, 09 books/chapters, and delivered around 52 invited talks around the globe. He is a recipient of several recognized awards and fellowships, including MRSI Medal 2021, MCAA Societal Impact Award (2019), DAE Young Achiever Award (2019), Micro Internal Travel Grants (MITG), European Commission (2018), BRICS Young Scientist Award (2017), INSPIRE Faculty Award (2014), and the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012).

Dr. Kumar’s Fulbright-Nehru project aims to develop facile synthesis processes for MXenes heterostructures and establish their optical, electronic, electrical, and magnetic properties by experimental and theoretical means for energy harvesting (water splitting and CO2 reduction) applications. He will also be teaching Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology courses at Drexel University.

Ria Sen Gupta

Ms. Ria Sen Gupta is a Ph.D. candidate and a Prime Minister’s Research Fellow at the Department of Materials Engineering, IISc Bangalore. She is advised by Prof. Suryasarathi Bose. Her research interests span all aspects of structure-property relationships in polymer nanocomposites. A general theme underlying her current research projects is the engineering of bioinspired membranes for water remediation from interpenetrating polymeric networks (IPNs). She is also broadly interested in water remediation, polymer nanocomposites, and EMI shielding materials. Her research has appeared in several reputed international journals. She has also delivered talks and presentations at various national and international conferences, workshops, and forums.

Before joining IISc, Ms. Sen Gupta completed her M.Tech. and post-B.Sc three-year B.Tech. in polymer science and technology at the University of Calcutta, and her B.Sc. (Hons.) in chemistry at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. In her free time, she loves singing, cooking, reading books, painting, and watching movies.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow, Ms. Sen Gupta is exploring antifouling MXene composite membranes with photocatalytic self-cleaning abilities for synergistically enhanced water treatment. In particular, she is leveraging “photocatalysis” and “membrane separation” technologies to design and fabricate broad-spectrum multifunctional membranes with improved antifouling attributes and superior membrane performance. She is synthesizing composite membranes endowed with self-cleaning and antifouling features using photocatalytic two-dimensional (2D) etched metal carbides (MXene) heterostructures. She aims to ensure that the membranes can liquidate the inhomogeneity and impaired compatibility between photocatalytic nanoparticles and the 2D heterostructures membrane-based separation layer for cost-effective membrane performance and improved shelf-life.