A scientist who works on applied materials modeling of nanoscale materials has joined Applied Sciences Laboratory (ASL), located at Washington State University Spokane, to work on problems related to alternative energy sources and nanoscience which are vital for addressing the challenges of energy security in this century.
Santanu Chaudhuri spent the last three years as a research associate at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. As a part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, his research focused on using hydrogen as fuel for automotives, fuel cells and nanoscale catalysis. Prior to his position at BNL, he was a research assistant in materials chemistry at Stony Brook University and worked with environmental catalysts, ionic conductors and fuel cell materials.
As a research scientist at ASL, he will lead the applied materials research on hydrogen storage, post-silicon photovoltaics for solar energy conversion and fuel cells. The goal is to determine probable methods of improving a material’s performance through the study of atomistic computational models of nanoscale materials combined with an understanding of atomic scale chemical processes.
To achieve this objective and support the applied materials research expertise of Chaudhuri, a significant investment in the computing infrastructure has been made. He will use his experience in handling problems that require supercomputing environment to build an active applied research program on the Spokane campus that will involve large, in-house computing facilities and national supercomputing centers.
ASL is the applied research component of WSU’s internationally recognized Institute for Shock Physics (ISP).
Yogendra M. (Yogi) Gupta, director of ISP, said, “We are delighted to have a scientist with Dr. Chaudhuri’s capabilities at ASL. He brings important expertise in computational modeling and a number of experimental techniques to the problem-solving capabilities we offer our research clients in government and industry.”
Chaudhuri holds a doctorate in computational and materials chemistry from Stony Brook University, part of State University of New York, where he received outstanding graduate student award in chemistry. He is also skilled in solid state synthesis of various types of conductors, semiconductors, catalysts, and superconducting solids; solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; materials characterization using x-ray diffraction; and other experimental techniques, in addition to his expertise in various programming and analysis computer languages.
At ASL, he will continue to work with federal agencies and businesses using a combined experimental and computational approach for solving problems.
The Applied Sciences Laboratory
ASL, the applied research component of ISP, is a multidisciplinary, contract research organization that undertakes a broad range of applied research projects for government agencies and corporations, including the development of commercial applications. Started in 2004 with support from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), ASL emphasizes multidisciplinary scientific and technical activities that are different from, but build on, the ongoing scientific activities in ISP.
Based in Spokane, ASL has experimental facilities co-located at WSU campuses in Spokane and Pullman. It combines the creativity of academic research with the agility and customer focus of private industry.
Further information about ASL may be found at www.asl.wsu.edu .
The Institute for Shock Physics
Nearly 50 years of research innovations and activities in understanding the dynamic response of materials at WSU provide the foundation for the research activities in ASL. A multidisciplinary research organization within the College of Sciences, ISP undertakes a broad range of fundamental scientific activities related to understanding condensed matter response under dynamic and static high pressures. Atomic-to-continuum level understanding is the pervading theme of research activities that emphasize integration of innovative experiments with theoretical and computational advances.
Multidisciplinary efforts that combine expertise in physics, materials science, chemistry and mechanical engineering are underway to address several exciting and challenging scientific problems.
Further information about the institute is available at www.shock.wsu.edu.