Group Members

Dr. Garai earned his BSc in Chemistry from Midnapore College in 2014 and MSc in Chemistry from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, India in 2016. He received his Ph.D. in 2022 under the supervision of Dr. Parameswar K. Iyer at IIT Guwahati in India. His research focused on investigating multifunctional molecules for efficient and durable polymer and perovskite solar cells (PSCs). After that, he did his postdoctoral work at IIT Roorkee, India, where his research was based on fabricating semi-transparent PSCs for building integration. He is joining the MPEM research group as a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His research interest focuses on developing high-performance and durable PSCs through structural phase and interface engineering.

Yeoun-Woo Jang joined the Materials Physics for Energy Management (MPEM; Mohite Research Group at Rice University) group within the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at Rice University as a Postdoc Associate in October 2023. Previously, he worked under the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Multi-Scale Energy System lab in South Korea. Dr. Jang earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (Nano-scale process) from Seoul National University in Korea.

Dr. Himanshu Bajpai completed his Master’s in Chemistry from Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University, India. He then pursued his Ph.D. at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India. His doctoral research focused on photocatalytic processes, specifically the water splitting and glycerol oxidation to generate hydrogen and value-added products. After earning his Ph.D., Dr. Bajpai undertook research as a Senior Projects Associate at CSIR-NCL, where he continued to explore the possibilities of photocatalysis towards industrial relevance. . Currently, Dr. Bajpai is working with Dr, Aditya Mohita on developing the PEC setup for PEM and AEM electrolyzers, His current research continues to build on his expertise in photo-electrochemical processes and aims to advance the development of sustainable and green energy.

Dr. Nilanjana Nandi earned her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Midnapore College in 2014, followed by an M.Sc. in Chemistry from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, India, in 2016. She completed her Ph.D. in 2022 under the guidance of Prof. Kalyanasis Sahu at IIT Guwahati, India. Her doctoral research focused on synthesizing heteroatom-doped carbon quantum dots with an in-depth investigation into their spectroscopic properties and potential applications. After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Nandi pursued postdoctoral research at NISER, Bhubaneswar, India, exploring the ultrafast dynamics of perovskite nanocrystals with near-unity quantum yield. She is now set to join the MPEM group, and her research focuses on wide-bandgap perovskites for tandem applications.

Ayush Agrawal got his B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay, India in 2019. His research interests are development of integrated perovskite based photoelectrochemical cells for catalytic reactions and energy production. He is primarily working on creating acid resistant barriers for efficient perovskite cells for Solar to Hydrogen conversion.

Faiz Mandani is a 2nd Year graduate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. He is currently a member of Dr. Aditya Mohite’s research group and focuses on creating carbon-based polymer barriers for perovskite solar cells. 

Isaac Metcalf graduated from MIT in 2020 with degrees in physics and materials science. His past research includes the design of non-imaging optics for concentrated solar power applications and the electrochemical synthesis of calcium hydroxide. He is interested in improving the stability of perovskite photovoltaics through surface and interface engineering.

Chris earned his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a specialization in Sustainability and Energy Engineering from Rice University. His previous work in the MPEM lab focused on the design of 3D-printed reactors for photo-electrocatalytic water splitting. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering program co-advised by Dr. Aditya Mohite and Dr. Michael Wong. His research interests focus on exploring the applications of photo-driven hydrogenation reactions and the development of photocatalytic reactors.

Jessica Persaud earned her B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in 2021. Her previous research focused on the rheological characterization of 3D perovskite precursor solutions. She is currently a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Ph.D. student at Rice interested in improving the efficiency and stability of 2D perovskites for their applications in solar cells.

Andrew Lin completed a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.M. in Music Performance at The University of Kentucky in 2023. In his undergrad, he focused on vacuum membrane distillation and applications towards spacesuit cooling. Andrew is a pathways rotational student at NASA’s Johnson Space Center with interest in the design of life support systems and in-situ resource utilization technologies. His current research focuses on decarbonization techniques utilizing plasma conversion of CO2.

Enina Egiebor earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Spring 2023. Her previous research focused on exploring structure-activity relationships for drug development in medicinal chemistry. In Fall 2023, Enina joined Rice as Ph.D student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department. Her research interests include the advancement of electrocatalysts for more efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion technologies.

Jianlin “Francis” Zhou earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2022, with a research focus on the polymeric adhesive mechanism. In September 2022, he joined the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at Rice University as a Master of Science student. As a member of the MPEM research group, his main research interest revolves around exploring and optimizing the perovskite fabrication process for solar applications.

I am a first Year PhD student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. I am originally from Massachusetts and completed my bachelors in Chemical Engineering at Purdue University in 2024.

Guillermo Aleman Dominguez earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon in Mexico. During his undergraduate studies, he specialized in renewable energy, focusing on the synthesis, development, and numerical modeling of photovoltaic devices. He also gained research experience in process simulation and the application of neural networks for process optimization. Currently, he is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. As a member of the MPEM group, his research explores the computational simulation and experimental decomposition of CO₂ through plasma chemical reactions.

Oksana Kim earned her M.Sc. in Chemistry from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia in 2023. Her previous research focused on CO2 hydrogenation into value-added chemicals under supercritical conditions. She is a Ph.D. student in Chemistry program co-advised by Dr. Aditya Mohite and Dr. Matthew Jones. Her current research interests focus on catalyst design for plasma conversion of CO2.