Ms. Sumana Podder is a PhD candidate at the Materials Chemistry and Interfacial Engineering division of CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology. She completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry from the University of Calcutta and earned her master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, where she was awarded the gold medal for academic excellence. Currently, she is a Senior Research Fellow working in the areas of materials chemistry, catalysis, and advancing functional materials for energy and environmental applications.
Sumana’s research has been published in high-impact journals such as Small (Wiley). She has authored and co-authored several articles/reviews in reputed international journals. She has also presented her work at various international conferences, contributing to advancements in functional materials and catalytic systems.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellow, Sumana will focus on the design and development of smart metal-organic framework (MOF) materials that exhibit dynamic, stimuli-responsive behavior while retaining their crystalline integrity. Her work aims to understand reversible structural transformations in flexible MOFs through rational design and advanced in-situ characterization techniques, with applications in hydrocarbon separation, carbon dioxide capture and next-generation functional materials. In her leisure time, Sumana enjoys engaging with art, music, and thriller cinema/series, exploring research across diverse fields, and cooking.