Dr. Mukesh Kumar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Punjab, India. In 2010, he earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi for his research on numerous aspects of transparent conducting oxide nanostructures. He then moved to South Dakota State University, SD, USA in Feb 2010 for his post-doctoral research where he worked to develop novel scanning probe microscopy facilities for nanoscale charge transport in organic solar cell materials. Since Dec 2011, Dr. Kumar was working with Colorado School of Mines and National Center for Photovoltaics, National Renewal Energy Laboratory, Colorado, USA for the development of reliable and flexible thin films for next generation flexible solar cells and cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. Before joining at IIT Ropar, Dr. Kumar was working for Hysitron Inc., USA. Dr. Kumar has received many prestigious awards like Young Scientist Research Awards from Department of Atomic Energy; Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy Fellowship from Indo-US Science and Technology Forum; Young Achiever Award from Bhabha Atomic Research centre; Faculty Research and Innovation Award from IIT Ropar (Early career) and Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship from US-India Education Foundation. Dr. Kumar is also a member of Indian National Young Academy of Science and The National Academy of Sciences, India.
Functional and Renewable Energy Materials, Thin Film, TMDC, Heterostructures, Solar cells, Photodetectors and Sensors
Dec 2019 – Till date Associate
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India
May 2023 – July 2023 JSPS
Fellow, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
March 2022 – July 2022 Fulbright
Fellow (USIEF), Syracuse University, USA
May 2018 – July 2018 Visiting
Faculty, Rice University, USA
June 2017 – July 2017 Visiting
Faculty, Binghamton University, USA
May 2015 – July 2015 BASE
Fellow (IUSSTF) at South Dakota State University, USA
Dec 2013 – Dec 2019 Assistant
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, India
July 2013 – Nov 2013 Application
Scientist, Hysitron Inc. USA
Dec
2011 – July 2013 Research
Associate, Colorado School of Mines and National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
CO, USA
Feb 2010 – July 2013 Research
Associate, South Dakota State University, USA
July
2005 – Feb 2020 Research
scholar, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Awards and recognition:
2022 World top 2% scientist, Stanford
University, USA
2022 Top cited author in India (top 5
%), Royal Society of Chemistry
2021 Top Cited Paper Award-2021 by
Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing, UK
2019 Faculty Research and Innovation
Award, IIT Ropar, India
2018 Young Achiever Award, Board of
Research in Nuclear Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Gov. of India
2018 Research
highlighted in global news,
https://phys.org/news/2018-08-scientists-uv-detector-based-nanocrystals.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/lu-sca080618.php
2015 Young Scientist Research Award,
Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Gov.
of India
2012 News on Nanorocket, Nature News
India,
http://www.nature.com/nindia/2012/120113/full/nindia.2012.2.html
2011 Young Scientist Travel award,
Material Research Society, USA
2008 Young Scientist Travel Award, Department of Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India
Fellow/Memberships
of Academies:
2023 JSPS Fellow, Japan Society for
the promotion of the Science (JSPS), Japan
2022 Fellow, Institute of Physics, UK
2019 Member of The National Academy
of Sciences India (NASI) (www.nasi.org.in)
2018 Member of Indian National Young
Academy of Sciences (INYAS), India (INYAS, www.insaindia.res.in)
The supply of secure, clean, sustainable energy along with a clean environment is the most important scientific and technical challenge facing the 21st century. Functional and Renewable Energy Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics is working hard in the direction of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics to study the fundamental science of numerous materials for photovoltaic, broadband photodetectors and hazardous gas sensor. The group is focused to develop earth-abundant and cost-effective Cu-Zn-Sn-S solar cells by optimizing the secondary phases and interface engineering. Recently, the group has achieved a champion solar cell with a photoconversion efficiency of 6.1%. As an alternative and clean source of energy, hydrogen is an efficient source of energy and produces zero pollution when burned with oxygen or air. Nonetheless, hydrogen is explosive in nature when mixed with air even in a small concentration (4%). Hence, the fast detection of hydrogen gas well below the critical concentration is very crucial for the safety purpose of next-generation clean energy production and regulation. We are working to develop a fast and reliable hydrogen sensor. These sensors have potential applications for next-generation clean fuel hydrogen vehicles. The group is also focused to develop other hazardous gas sensors for environmental monitoring. Broadband photodetector has lots of applications. As sun emits a broad range of radiation including UV light which is at the same time important and dangerous for life on Earth, depending on its exact wavelength. We are working to develop 2D materials and its heterojunction based IR photodetector and gallium oxide-based UVC photodetectors for civil and military applications.
PhD Students at present:
PhD students graduated:
We are open for motivated PhD students to work in the functional and renewable energy materials for broadband photodetector, solar cells and sensors.
