Autumn 2026-2027 Ph.D Admissions

Ph.D Admissions Autumn 2026-2027

Dear Candidate, Thank you for your interest in our department. We look forward to welcoming a fresh batch of highly motivated and competent Ph. D. students. Let us take you through the modus operandi of our Ph. D. admission.

A shortlist of applicants will be prepared based on their CSIR/UGC fellowship, GATE score, M. Tech. degree etc. Only those candidates will be considered for interview, who fulfil educational qualifications advertised in the list mentioned above.
Shortlisted candidates will be provided with a Google form in which they need to choose one of the interview committees (out of Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry).
Candidates are requested to make these choices after due consideration.
Offline Interviews will be conducted for shortlisted candidates. The interview dates are 6^th, 7^th and 8^th May 2026.
Duration of each interview will be 15-20 minutes. Candidates will be asked questions to test their knowledge of subject and ascertain their suitability for a Ph. D. position.
Selected candidates will be informed by Academic office of our institute.
Please note that assignment of supervisor will be done only after the students join the programme. While efforts will be made to assign first choice of supervisors to the maximum possible extent, it is often not possible, in case the number of applicants for certain groups is more than the number of projects available.

All the best to the candidates.

Ph. D. Admission Committee, Department of Chemistry | IIT Bombay
[Admission related queries may please be sent to admission@chem.iitb.ac.in]

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INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Serial No.	Faculty	Research Topics	Educational Requirement

1.	Dasari Venkatakrishnarao dasarikrishna@iitb.ac.in	- 2D Organic molecular films for transistors and 2D electron gas devices - Liquid metal oxide-assisted molecular tunnel junctions	- M.Sc. Chemistry, Physics, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. M.Tech. Chemical engineering, Materials science

2.	Gopalan Rajaraman rajaraman@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Modelling Photochemical reactions catalyzed by transition metal complexes - Using AI/ML approach to model 2D materials for quantum technology	- M.Sc. Chemistry with Allied Mathematics

3.	Arnab Dutta arnabdutta@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Electrosynthetic ammonia production - Developing electrocatalytic CO2 reduction catalysts	- M.Sc. Chemistry

4.	Debabrata Maiti dmaiti@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Artifical metalloenzyme catalysed asymmetric catalysis - Light mediated CH functionalisation under biocatalysis	- M.Sc. Chemistry, Biochemistry - M.Sc. Chemistry

5.	Deepti Kalsi deeptikalsi@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Sustainable Catalysis - Small molecule activation using single atom catalysis	- M.Sc., M.Tech.

6.	M. Ravikanth ravikanth@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Functionalized meso-tetraaryl porphycene macrocycles and their applications - New open-chain oligopyrrolic ligands for coordination chemistry - Synthesis and coordination chemistry of core-modified norroles	- M.Sc. Chemistry

7.	Prasenjit Ghosh pghosh@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Synthesis of the Transition Metal Complexes of Super Bulky Heteroatom Stabilized Singlet Carbene Ligands for Homogeneous Catalysis Applications - Small Molecule Metalloenzyme Mimics for Unraveling Biocatalysis Pathways in Nature	- M.Sc. Organic Chemistry/ Inorganic Chemistry.

8.	Maheswaran Shanmugham eswar@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Synthesis to Device: Molecular Multiferroic Systems for High-Performance Memory and Tunnel Junction Devices - Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production through Engineered Ni-Aluminosilicate Catalysis - Metal-Catalyzed Bifunctional Template Strategy for Distal Asymmetric C–H Activation of Bioactive and Pharmaceutical Compounds	- M. Sc., Chemistry or Physics or BE /MTech in Electrical Engineering - M.Sc Chemistry (Candidates with specialization in inorganic synthesis, along with expertise in PXRD, ICP-AES, and heterogeneous catalysis, will be preferred) - M.Sc., Chemistry (Candidates with specialization in organic synthesis, along with proficiency in NMR, GC–MS, and column chromatography, will be preferred)

9.	Sanjog Nagarkar sanjog.na@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Development of Framework Material Catalysts for Sustainable Organic Transformations Applications - Development of Framework Materials (MOFs, COFs, etc.) for the Selective Extraction of Critical Minerals - Sustainable conversion of CO2 using Framework Materials	- M.Sc. Chemistry

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Serial No.	Faculty	Research Topics	Educational Requirement

1.	Raghavan B. Sunoj sunoj@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Machine Learning for Chemical Reactions - Computational Chemistry and Machine Learning Approach in Catalytic Reactions.	- M.Sc. (Chemistry) or B.Tech./BE (Computer Science).

2.	Krishna P. Kaliappan kpk@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Total Synthesis of Eudesmane Sesquiterpenes - Total Synthesis of Taxol - Total Syntheis of Waihoensene and other related terpenes	- M.Sc. Chemistry

3.	Rodney Fernandes rfernand@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Total synthesis of guaianolide natural products - Allylative strategies to acetogenin natural products - Total synthesis of THF natural products	- M.Sc. Chemistry

4.	Anil Kumar anilkumar@iitb.ac.in	- Mechnochemical Synthesis - Flow Chemistry	- M.Sc. Chemistry/ Chemical/ Materials

5.	Suvarn Kulkarni suvarn@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Devising novel routes for total synthesis of complex bacterial glycans for diagnostics and therapeutics - Total synthesis of repeating units of ESKAPE pathogens for vaccine development - Development of protein inhibitors to combat antibiotics resistance (Suvarn-Ruchi)	- M.Sc. Organic Chemistry/ Chemistry

6.	Venkateswarlu Yarlagadda venky@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Development of antibiotics targeting cell wall and protein biosynthesis	- M.Sc. Chemistry

7.	Chidambar Kulkarni chidambark@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Exploring strategies for redox-driven supramolecular assembly	- M.Sc. (General Chemistry/Organic Chemistry) with Mathematics till B.Sc.

8.	Chandra M.R. Volla chandra.volla@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Developing Electrochemical Allene Functionalization Strategies - Harnessing Radical Reactivity in Photocatalysis	- M.Sc. Chemistry/ M.Phil

9.	Nandita Madhavan nanditam@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Polymer supports for liquid phase peptide synthesis - Peptide based ion/water transporters	- M.Sc. Chemistry - M.Sc. Chemistry/Biotech

10.	Santosh Gharpure sjgharpure@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Stereoselective synthesis of heterocycles using cyclopropenes - Hydrogen Atom Transfer radical reactions in organic synthesis	- M.Sc. Chemistry

11.	Satyadeep Waiba swaiba@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Strategies for the Catalytic Carboxylation of Unactivated C-H Bonds - Catalytic Enantioselective Functionalization of Alcohols - Design of Porous Organic Polymers for Sustainable Catalysis and Molecular Transformations	- M.Sc. Chemistry

12.	Pradeepkumar P.I. pradeep@chem.iitb.ac.in	- In Vitro Selection of Functional Aptamers - Project title : Design Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Fluorescence Light-up Probes for Mitochondrial G-Quadruplex Nucleic Acids	- M.Sc. Chemistry/M.Sc. Forensic Science/M.Sc. Biochemistry or allied subjects. The candidate should have studied Chemistry or Biology at the Bachelor's Level - M.Sc. Chemistry (first class) with valid GATE score/CSIR-UGC JRF . Prior experince in multi step synthesis, purification, and characterization of organic compounds is necessary

PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

Serial No.	Faculty	Research Topics	Educational Requirement

1.	Amber Jain amberj@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Quantum effects in energy transport (TA position) - Nuclear quantum effects in calculating rate constants (TA position)	- BS, M.Sc. or equivalent in chemistry, physics, or mathematics

2.	Arindam Chowdhury arindam@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Single-Particle Spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime Imaging to probe defects and environmental effects on the perosvskite nanocrystals - Exploring transient protein conformations/dynamics and allostery using single molecule FRET microscopy (and NMR spectroscopy) - Single-Molecule Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Lifetime Imaging to probe heterogeneity in soft nanomaterials (polymers, aggregates, gels, amyloids)	- Bachelors in Chemistry or Physics or Materials Science or Engineering Sciences. Masters in Chemistry, Physics, Energy/materials/engineering sciences. Should have Mathematics in +2 and/or bachelors level. - MSc in Chemistry/Physics/Biosciences (Biochemistry/Biophysics/Biotecnology or Bio-engineering), BSc in Chemistry or Biochemistry or Biosciences or Bioengineering. Should have Mathematics in +2 and/or bachelors level. - Bachelors in Chemistry or Physics, or engineering sciences. Masters in Chemistry, Physics, Biosciences or Engineering sciences. Mathematics required at undergraduate level.

3.	Ishita Sengupta ishita@chem.iitb.ac.in	- NMR spectroscopy of functional luciferase dynamics - Direct visualization of fold-switching in the protein RfaH using 19F NMR spectroscopy - Exploring transient protein conformations using single molecule FRET and NMR spectroscopy (Ishita-Arindam)	- M.Sc. Chemistry M.Sc. chemistry - M.Sc. in Chemistry with Maths in B.Sc. as one of the subjects OR M.Sc./M.Tech in Biotechnology/ Biophysics/ Biochemistry (with Maths and Chemistry in +2/BSc level)

4.	C. Subramaniam csubbu@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Nanomaterials for energy and environmental applications - Nanomaterials for selective recycling of polymers and plastics	- M.Sc. Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, M.Tech. Materials Science, Chemical Engineering. Interest and motivation to learn new concepts in Engineering - M.Sc. Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, M.Tech. Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science and Engineering. Interest and motivation to learn new concepts in Engineering

5.	Rajarshi Chakrabarti rajarshi@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Investigating liquid-liquid phase separation in biomolecules using computer simulations and statistical mechanics - Theoretical and Computational studies on the transport of soft active agents in porous media - Study of Motility driven phase separation of deformable particles using statistical mechanics and computer simulations	- M. Sc. in Chemistry/Physics, 4 Year BS, B.Tech in Chemical or Bio-engineering (strong background in Mathematics is needed) - M. Sc. in Chemistry/Physics, 4 Year BS, B.Tech in Chemical or Bio-engineering (strong background in Mathematics is needed) - M.Sc. in Chemistry/Physics or BTech in engineering with good background in Mathematics

6.	Achintya Kumar Dutta achintya@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Development of accurate quantum chemistry methods - Electron attachment induced damage to genetic materials	- M.Sc. Chemistry or Physics - M.Sc. Chemistry or Biology

7.	Rahul Maitra rmaitra@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Scalable Quantum Algorithms and Hybrid Computing Models for Chemical Space Exploration - Quantum-Enhanced Drug Discovery: Developing Next-Generation Algorithms for Molecular Innovation - Hybrid AI/ML-Quantum Computing Frameworks for Efficient Electronic Structure Calculations in Quantum Chemistry	- M.Sc. in Physics/Chemistry, M. Tech. in Quantum Technology/Computer Science

8.	Sandip Kar sandipkar@iitb.ac.in	- Unravelling the mechanism governing the Hypoxia-induced proliferative and migratory patterns in Mammalian cells - Elucidating the substrate mechanics-driven replicative senescence and cell cycle control of human mesenchymal stem cells	- Students with an MSc in Chemistry (Physical chemistry as a major interest), Biochemistry, Biophysics, and B. Tech in Biotechnology with an inclination to theoretical and computational modelling (prior experience is not necessary). Having an interest in performing experiments will be necessary.

9.	Shobhna Kapoor shobhnakapoor@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Design and Characterization of Polymeric Nanoparticle Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering - Exploring the mechanims of pathogenic lipids and membrane dynamics in infection and antibiotic resistance	- M.Sc./M.Tech in Chemistry, Bioengineering, Physics, Material Science, Nanotechnology, or Related Fields - M.Sc./M.Tech/M.Pharm in Chemistry, Physics, Biology or Microbiology and Related Fields.

10.	Kamendra P. Sharma k.sharma@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Tissue engineering using polymer based soft nanomaterials	- M.Sc. polymer chemistry, M.Sc. Physical Chemistry, M.Sc. General/Analytical/Applied Chemistry, M.Tech bio/nano-technology, M.Tech polymer science.

11.	Ruchi Anand ruchi@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Cryo Electron microscopy and Biophysical Studies on Antibiotic Resistant Determinants from pathogenic bacteria - Development of Biosensors for antibiotic resistance monitory	- M.Sc. in Chemistry/ Biochemistry/ Biotechnology/ Life Science / B.Tech Biotechnology - M.Sc. In Chemistry, Bioscience, Biochemistry, Life Science/Biotechnology as well B.Tech. Bioengineering

12.	Srinivasan Ramakrishnan srini@chem.iitb.ac.in	- Interfacial Electrochemistry of Advanced Solid-State Batteries - Interfacial Fields in Electrocatalysis - Engineered Interfaces in Advanced Batteries	- M.Sc. Chemistry (with mathematics in B.Sc.), M.Sc. Physics, B.Tech/M.Tech in Chemical/Materials/Electrical/Energy Engineering - M.Sc. Chemistry (with mathematics in B.Sc.), M.Sc. Physics, B.Tech/M.Tech in Chemical/Materials/Electrical/Energy Engineering - M.Sc. Chemistry/Physics; B.Tech/M.Tech in Chemical/Materials/Metallurgy/Electrical Engineering.