SKM Research Group
Meet The Team
Principal Investigator
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Prof. Sukhendu Mandal, FRSC
Sukhendu Mandal completed his Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India. After completing his Ph.D., he held the postdoctoral fellow position at the Pennsylvania State University in the United States. Currently, he is a professor of chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER-TVM). His research interests cover new developments in the synthesis of 2D sheet materials, metal–organic frameworks, and metal nanoclusters for photophysical and energy-related applications.
Post-doctoral Fellows
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Post-doctoral researcher (since March 2023)
Dr. Noohul Alam
Noohul joined as an Post-doctoral researcher in March, 2023. He completed his doctoral program in metal-organic hybrid materials from Indian Institute of Technology, Patna. His research focuses mainly on the synthesis of noble metal nanoclusters, structure-property correlation, and its applications. He enjoys reading books, traveling, and Urdu poetry.
National Post-doctoral researcher (since April 2024)
Dr. Alok Kumar
Alok joined as a National Post-Doctoral Fellow in April 2024. He completed BS-MS from IISER Kolkata and Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. His research focuses on synthesizing composite materials of atomically precise metal nanoclusters and metal-organic frameworks for environmental applications (e.g., CO2 reduction, HER). He enjoys reading scientific literature and exploring new places.
Graduate Students
Subhajit Pal
Subhajit joined the group as a graduate student in the School of Chemistry at IISER TVM in August, 2024. He completed BSc in Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Rahara, Kolkata. He obtained Master's degree from JNCASR, Bangalore. His research focuses on synthesis of copper nanoclusters and Cluster Assembled Materials. In his spare time, he loves listening to music and cooking.
Pinaki Khan
Pinaki joined the group as a Junior Research Fellow funded by UGC in August, 2024. He completed BSc in Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara. Afterwards, he pursued his Master's degree from Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, Kolkata. His research primarily focuses on synthesis of Copper molecular clusters and their applications. Beyond the lab, Pinaki finds solace in the world of literature and poetry.
Elizabeth Saji
Elizabeth joined as a Ph.D. student in the School of Chemistry at IISER Thiruvananthapuram, starting her journey in August, 2024. She completed her BSc in Chemistry from Sacred Heart College, Kochi and her MSc from Central University of Kerala. In her doctoral research, she is focused on doing ligand exchange on silver nanoclusters and studying the mechanism of transformation. Beyond her academic pursuits, Elizabeth enjoys reading books and listening to music.
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Nandana V
Nandana V started her journey as a Ph.D. student in the School of Chemistry at IISER TVM in January, 2024. Nandana completed her BSc in Chemistry from Devamatha College, Kottayam and her MSc from St. Berchmans College, Kottayam. In her doctoral research, Nandana is focused on designing ligands to synthesize cluster assemblies aimed at modulating photoluminescence studies. Beyond her academic pursuits, Nandana enjoys reading books and watching movies.
Rakendu Vinod M
Rakendu Vinod M joined as a UGC fellow in the School of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram in January, 2024. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Nirmalagiri College, Kannur University. Rakendu's doctoral research centers on synthesizing and characterizing alkynyl protected copper and silver nanoclusters. Her interests span experimental characterization and theoretical modeling of materials. Beyond academia, Rakendu enjoys reading and listening to music.
Glory James (PMRF)
Glory joined as a Ph.D. student in 2023. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. Afterward, she pursued her Master's degree at IISER TVM in 2021. Her research primarily focuses on developing nanocomposites by incorporating metal nanoclusters into MOFs (Metal-Organic Frameworks). When she's not in front of the fume hood or computer, she enjoys listening to music, reading novels, and travelling .
Aparna R K
Aparna R.K. is interested in defect engineering and post-synthetic modifications of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). She is currently working on the incorporation of various metal nanoparticles in MOFs to give composites that find application in catalysis. She completed her B.Sc. at the University of Calicut and joined IISER-TVM as an integrated Ph.D. student. She enjoys reading literature and watching movies in her free time.
Saniya Gratious
Saniya's PhD focuses on the understanding of structure-property evolution patterns in atomically precise noble metal nanoclusters by studying the intra-series nanocluster transformations with no co-reagents. This transformation is proven to be entirely unique from the conventional methods of transformation. She also has past working experience in synthesis and applications of nanoclusters as a major student during her BS-MS program at IISER Thiruvananthapuram. In her spare time, she likes listening to music, watching movies.
Priyanka C
Priyanka C is a Doctoral candidate, she joined the group as a Junior Research Fellow funded by CSIR in the year 2021. She holds a Master degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Bangalore University. With her research experience from IITM and JNCASR she is all set to work on Metal Nanoclusters, her interest in specific is “Cluster Assembled Materials”. A fitness freak, at times off her work she loves to play and dance.
Nida Nahan E K
Nida joined IISER TVM as an integrated PhD student in 2019. She is currently doing ligand exchange on gold nanoclusters and evaluating the mechanism of transformation. Afterwards, she is planning to work on the synthesis of bimetallic nanoclusters. Listening to music and reading literature makes her happy.
Undergraduate Major Students
BS MS student (since August 2022)
Dayona A Varghese
Dayo joined IISER TVM in 2020 as a BS-MS student. Her research focuses on synthesis of silver cluster-assembled materials. Outside of the lab, she enjoys watching movies and trying new recipes. She is always ready to share a laugh and good vibes.
BS MS student (since August 2023)
Deopal Birua
Deo joined IISER TVM in 2020 as a BSMS student. His current research focuses on incorporation of metal nanoclusters into MOF and finding their application in electrocatalysis. Either you will get him in the lab or playing somewhere; he is passionate about the new adventures and loves to explore new things. He is more famous as Sunny in the campus.
BS MS Student (since May 2021)
Haritha S
Haritha joined IISER TVM as a BS-MS student in 2020. Her current research work focuses on incorporation of metal nanoclusters into metal organic frameworks and their applications. In her leisure time, she loves listening to music and watching movies.
Msc Student (since January 2024)
Arunima M
Arunima is a Masters student who joined the Chemistry department of IISER TVM in 2023. She has completed her B.Sc from Christ College Irinjalakuda, Thrissur. She is currently involved in the synthesis of 2D coordination polymer and silver cluster assembled materials. She enjoys singing and reading literature in her spare moments.
BS MS Student (since May 2021)
Swathi Sreeram
Swathi is a BSMS student in the group who joined IISER TVM in 2020. Her area of interest lies in synthesis and characterization of nanoclusters. She is an active member of cultural council in IISER. Dancing is her go-to activity for unwinding outside of the lab.
Integrated PhD Student (since Oct 2023)
Mittinti Rahul
Mittinti Rahul joined the Integrated PhD program in 2022 after earning his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Loyola College, Chennai. His current work centers on the reticular synthesis and characterization of thiolate-protected silver nanocluster assembled materials, with an emphasis on real-world applications. He also plans to investigate the tunability of the optical properties of silver assemblies. In addition to his interest in science, he is dedicated to learning languages and he has recently embarked on the journey of learning Mandarin. He also enjoys traveling, reading books, and analyzing geopolitical issues.
