
LAYERED MATERIALS & STRUCTURES Lab (LMSL)
Anasori Research Laboratory
Purdue University

Principal Investigator

Babak Anasori, Ph.D.
Reilly Rising Star Associate Professor
Materials and Mechanical Engineering
email: banasori[at]purdue.edu
About Dr. Anasori:
Dr. Babak Anasori received his PhD at Drexel University in 2014 in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, the birthplace of MXenes. After completing his PhD, he was a Postdoctoral Associate from 2014 to 2016, then became a Research Assistant Professor at the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute and Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University from 2016 to 2019. Babak is one of the inventors of a family of MXenes, ordered double-transition metal MXenes, as a result of his postdoctoral research, which was featured as one of the 2015's "biggest moments in chemistry" by the American Chemical Society.
Dr. Anasori's current research focuses on the synthesis and characterizations of novel MXenes and their metal and ceramic composites. He is one of the top five trending authors in the field of Materials Science and Nanotechnology in the world (Microsoft Academic) and among the Global Highly Cited Researchers 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 recognized by the Web of Science. In 2023, ScholarGPS identified Dr. Anasori as the number #1 scholar in Mechanical Engineering in the past five years in the USA. Dr. Anasori has received several national and international awards and recognition for his research and artistic way of presenting science, including NSF/Science Visualization Challenge in 2011 and 2013, Diamond ranking in ACerS Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) in 2012, Materials Research Society (MRS) Postdoctoral Award in 2016, Emerging Leaders of 2020 by the Journal of Physics, Condensed Matter, Drexel Forty-under-Forty in 2021, and the 2021 WIN Rising Star Award in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. [Honors and Awards]
Dr. Anasori has originated and organized multiple international student competitions, including NanoArtography and Science in Video (SciVid) in the MRS Fall Meetings. He is currently the chair of the Early Careers Subcommittee of the Materials Research Society (MRS).
Postdoctoral Researchers

Anupma Thakur, Ph.D.
Education:
Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering, CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh, India (2021)
M.Tech. in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Panjab University, Chandigarh (2016)
Research Experience:
Early Career Research Fellow: Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, India (2021)
DST-INSPIRE Research Fellow: CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh (2017-2021)
Research Interests:
2D Materials (MXenes, MBenes, TMDs)
Energy Harvesting and Conversion Devices
Green Hydrogen Production (Photo/electrocatalytic pathways)
Carbon Dioxide Reduction Reaction (Electrocatalytic pathways)
Environment Pollutants Monitoring Devices (Chemical sensors) and Degradation
email: anupthak[at]iu.edu
Graduate Students

Kartik Nemani
Studying: PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Education: M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Toledo
email: snemani[at]purdue.edu
Website: knemani.com

Visiting Postdoctoral Researchers/Research Scientist

Barbara Pacakova, Ph.D.
Education:
Ph.D. in Physics of Nanomaterials, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
M.Sc. in Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
B.Sc. in General Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Research Experience:
Postdoc researcher/Researcher Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Researcher Czech Academy of Science, Institute of Physics and Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague
email: barbara.pacakova[at]ntnu.no

Mostafa Dadashi Firouzjaei
Assistant Research Professional, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama
Education: PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama
M.S. in Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama
M.S. in Material Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology
Bachelor of Science in Material Science & Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology
email: mdfirouzjaei[at]crimson.ua.edu
Website: Mostafa-firouzjaei.com

Rupa Kasturi Palanisamy, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Ireland
Education: PhD in Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
MPhil in Physics, Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
M.Sc. in Physics, Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
B.Sc. in Physics, Department of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India
email: electrochemistpostdoc[at]gmail.com

Ken Aldren Usman, Ph.D.
Associate Research Fellow, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Australia
Education: PhD in Engineering (Materials), Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Australia
B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of the Philippines – Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
email: k.usman[at]deakin.edu.au
Visiting Graduate Students

Nithin Chandran B S
Science Education & Research Board (SERB) - Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellow (OVDF)
Studying: PhD in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), India
Education: M. Tech in Materials Science and Technology, National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), India
email: nitbala[at]iu.edu

Julio Fredin Ortiz
Studying: PhD in Nanotechnology from Tec de Monterrey
Education: BSc in Chemistry from Tec de Monterrey
email: jfredin[at]iu.edu
Undergraduate Students

Jacob Patenaude
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: jpatena[at]iu.edu

John Waggle
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: johnwaggle[at]yahoo.com

Veronica Mary Martin
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: veromart[at]iu.edu

Isaac Fritz
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: ifritz[at]iu.edu