LAYERED MATERIALS & STRUCTURES Lab (LMSL)
Anasori Research Laboratory
Purdue University
Principal Investigator
Babak Anasori, Ph.D.
Reilly Rising Star Associate Professor
School of Materials Engineering
School of Mechanical Engineering
email: banasori[at]purdue.edu
About Dr. Anasori:
Dr. Babak Anasori received his PhD from Drexel University in 2014 in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the birthplace of MXenes. After completing his PhD, he served as a Postdoctoral Associate from 2014 to 2016, then became a Research Assistant Professor at the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University. In 2019, he began his independent career as an Assistant Professor at IUPUI. In 2023, he was hired by Purdue University through Purdue's Moveable Dream Hires as the Reilly Rising Star Associate Professor with tenure, holding joint appointments in the School of Materials Engineering and the School of Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. Anasori is one of the inventors of a family of MXenes, ordered double-transition metal MXenes, resulting from of his postdoctoral research, which was featured as one of the 2015's "biggest moments in chemistry" by the American Chemical Society. His lab is also the inventor of High Entropy MXenes (discovered in 2021), further expanding the possibilities and tunability of this family. Dr. Anasori's current research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of novel MXenes and their metal and ceramic composites. He is among the Global Highly Cited Researchers 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 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, including NSF/Science Visualization Challenge in 2011 and 2013, the Diamond Award in ACerS Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) in 2012, the 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, the 2021 WIN Rising Star Award in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and the 2024 Abraham M. Max Distinguished Professor Award from Purdue School of Engineering. [Honors and Awards]
Dr. Anasori has originated and organized multiple international student competitions, including NanoArtography and Science in Video (SciVid). He is currently the chair of the Materials Research Society (MRS) Early Career Professionals Subcommittee.
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: thakur40[at]purdue.edu
Brian C. Wyatt, Ph.D.
Education:
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN (2024)
B. S. in Mechanical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN (2019)
Research Experience:
National Science & Engineering Graduate Research Fellow (NDSEG) (2021-2024)
Research Interests:
2D Materials & Layered Materials (MXenes, MAX)
Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs)
High-entropy materials
Design and modification of materials for extreme environments
Metal matrix composites
email: wyatt2[at]purdue.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
Annabelle Harding
Studying: PhD in Materials Engineering
Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI
email: harding9[at]purdue.edu
Krutarth Kamath
Studying: PhD in Material Engineering
Education: Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, India
email: kamath16[at]purdue.edu
Muhammad Sharif Uddin
Studying: PhD in Material Engineering
Education: MS in Materials Science, Missouri State University
BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET)
email: uddin11[at]purdue.edu
Austin Vorhees
Studying: Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI
email: ajvorhee[at]purdue.edu
Krista Pulley
Studying: Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI
Bachelor of Science in Biology, Butler University
Bachelor of Arts in Multilanguage, Butler University
email: kkpulley[at]iu.edu
Jacob Patenaude
Studying: PhD in Mechanical Engineering
Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI
email: jpatena[at]purdue.edu
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
Enrique Gimenez, Ph.D.
Full Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain
Education: Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, Jaume I University, Castellon, Spain (2001)
email: enrique.gimenes[at]mcm.upv.es
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: balacha6[at]purdue.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
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Tonderai Kodzwa
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County
email: tkodzwa[at]gmail.com
Logan Pertuis
Studying: Bachelor of Science in both Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering
email: loganpertius1[at]gmail.com
John Waggle
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: johnwaggle[at]yahoo.com
Ornoba Chowdhury
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: orchow[at]iu.edu
Nicholas Alexander Hartich
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: nhartich[at]iu.edu
Rebecca Tesfaye Disko
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: rabate[at]iu.edu
Cameron Eckstein
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: cameecks[at]iu.edu
Christian Paul Hardy Scott
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
email: cps5[at]iu.edu
Kaylea Michelle Bullock
Studying: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry
email: kaymbull[at]iu.edu
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