Sneha Sreekumar

Details

Skills

Skills
Laboratory Experience
•Device fabrication, Thin film deposition and processing, FT-IR, UV-Vis Absorption Spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) and Lifetime Spectroscopy, PL Quantum yield measurements, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and C (conductive)AFM, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Hall Measurement System, Four Probe/ Two Probe Conductivity Measurement, Optical Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Luminance and Electro-luminance Measurements, Raman Spectroscopy, Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV), Amperometry, Chromatographic Separation of Organic Molecules, Characterization using 1H, 13C & 2D NMR, Transport properties and nanomechanics of Semiconductor Materials, Development of metamaterials and metasurfaces.
•Experience in working using Glove Box, Schlenk Line and Clean Room, Device Characterization including dark I-V, Light I-V, EQE, techniques of nanophotonics
•Trained in GLP and Laboratory Safety; Basic Care and Experiments with Laboratory Rats (Sprague Dawley)
Computer Skills
•Working experience with COMSOL, Python, Fortran and C++, GraphPad Prism, Gwyddion, ImageJ, GVPDM, Gaussian, Adobe Illustrator, Symbeyond Bumblebee and Microsoft Office.
Languages
Experience with solar cells
During my internship at NCL, Pune, India I had synthesized and characterized solution processable PbS, ZnS and CdS quantum dots and utilized them for fabricating QD solar cells. The crystalline quantum dots were synthesized by solid state method as well as ion exchange method. They were characterized properly. Solar cells were fabricated by spin coating / thermal evaporation processes. A device architecture of ITO/ZnO//PbS-MAPbI3/Pbs-EDT/Au was used.
I had spent the winter vacation of 2017 and 2018 as well as the summer of 2019 at the Department of Applied Chemistry, CUSAT, Cochin, India. During this period, an effort was made to synthesize thiophene derivatives using the C-H activation strategy aided by heterogeneous Pd catalysts. The work was extended to the synthesis of donor-acceptor type poly(3-hexylthiophene-co-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole) by Pd catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction as well as Pd catalyzed direct arylation polymerization (by C-H activation strategy) reaction. The small molecules and polymers were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The molecular weights of the polymers were determined by GPC. Thermal stability of the polymers was studied by TG/DTA. The polymers were used for fabricating bulk heterojunction solar cells using PCBM as the acceptor. The electron collecting layers, (ITO, ZnO) were coated using CSP. The carrier mobility, carrier concentration and resistivity were determined by Hall Measurement System (Ecopia HMS 3000, South Korea). The devices were fabricated by Chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP), spin coating and thermal evaporation. The device configuration was ITO/ZnO/Copolymer:PCBM/Ag.
Other Experiences
During my short stay in Prof. Kibum Lee’s Lab, at Rutgers as part of Lab rotation, I have successfully synthesized and characterized 2D- Borophene as well as monolayer graphene. During my internship at Prof. Eswaramoorthy’s Lab at JNCASR, Bangalore, India, I had the opportunity to work on Co-Ag bimetallic nano-catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to useful products like ethylene and propylene. I had synthesized the catalysts, characterized them and used them in the electrochemical reduction of CO2. I could gather experience in using electrochemical workstation and online GC for the studies.
Besides these, I have got sufficient experience in working with experimental small animals. During the summer of 2016, I had worked at InSTEM, NCBS, Bangalore, India on the development of nucleophilic polyoxime topical gel for the prevention of pesticide-induced neuronal dysfunction and mortality. There I had worked on the synthesis and formulation of a polyoxime topical gel to prevent organophosphate poisoning. Also, I have studied the acute and chronic toxicity of organophosphates and the reduction of neuronal dysfunction and mortality in the presence of the polyoxime gel in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats through biochemical assays.

About

I am Miss Sneha Sreekumar, a 5th year Ph D student at CCB, RUTGERS, New Jersey. I am working with Dr. Deirdre M. O’Carroll, Professor, CCB and MSE, RUTGERS. I am planning to defend my Ph. D Thesis in December 2024. I like to pursue research on nanostructured organic/ inorganic photoactive/ electroactive materials and devices. I possess a profound background in Chemistry and Materials Science and I bear a fervent dedication to advancing the use of nanostructured materials in optics technology (including that of OLEDs, Solar Cells, Photodiodes and OTFTs). excited about the prospect of contributing to the esteemed research team at DOE National Labs.
During my doctoral research at Rutgers University, I primarily investigated thin-film interfaces to improve charge injection and to manipulate light propagation in nanostructures and devices. This has equipped me with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles as well as practical applications of synthesis of nanomaterials and their characterization as well as their use in optical devices. My research includes, improving charge injection at metal-polymer and metal-dielectric interfaces, patterning and studying plasmonic nanostructures for improving light extraction and manipulating light emission, fabrication of conventional, inverted, and transparent OLEDs and incorporating plasmonic nanostructures into them for better performance, developing electrode materials for ITO-free OLEDs and synthesizing different nanostructures for single particle SPASERs.
I have collaborated with another graduate student in developing carbon-dots from polypropylene plastic waste for display applications. My experience in material and surface characterization span over a wide range of techniques like CV, DPV, LSV, UPS, XPS, SEM, TEM, EDS, FTIR, Raman, NMR, AFM, PL, PLQY, PL lifetime, measurement of EQE etc. I have gained hands on experience in thermal evaporation under high vacuum for coating metal electrodes. I have also studied various techniques for making thin films including chemical spray pyrolysis, sputtering, spin coating and photolithography for patterned thin films. I have used Hall Measurement System for determining the carrier density, carrier mobility and resistivity of semiconducting materials. I have also used AFM (Asylum Research Cypher ES AFM) in the Tapping, FFM and C-AFM modes for determining the electron transport properties and nanomechanical properties and generating topographic images of semiconducting materials. Using Jeol TEM (JEM-ACE200F attached with EM-05500TGP TEM Tomograph System) along with AFM, I have conducted studies on in-situ interface deformation, interfacial defects and the impact of interfacial roughness.
My expertise and experiences can be shortlisted as follows:
1. Expertise in the synthesis of small organic molecules, polymers, self-assembled monolayers, crystalline nanomaterials like Co-Ag bimetallic nanoparticles, quantum dots (PbS, ZnS, CdS, C-dots), heterogeneous Pd catalysts, 2-D materials like Borophene, single layer Graphene, MoS2, Core -shell Plasmonic Ag nanoparticles capped with oleic acid and Poly(9,9-dioctylflourene).
2. Hands on experience in using various experimental setups like Schlenk Line, Glove Box, Online GC, Clean Room, high vacuum electrode coating assembly, techniques for fabricating thin films like chemical spray pyrolysis, sputtering, spin coating and photolithography and the various characterization techniques.
3. Experience in the fabrication of OLED and photovoltaic devices containing multiple layers under high vacuum and in Clean Room. Experience in the electrochemical, optical, spectroscopic, transport and nanomechanical properties of organic semiconductors using AFM in the Tapping, C-AFM and FFM modes, TEM for studies on interface deformation and defect detection, fluorescence imaging, Time-correlated single photon count (TCSPC) fluorescence spectroscopy, surface and interface characterization of the devices.
4. Experience in the development of single particle SPASERs.
5. Working knowledge with Gaussian, COMSOL, Ansys Lumerical, FDTD, Simbeyond Bumblebee, Fortran, C++, Python
Thus, I have diverse experience in manipulating crystalline nanoparticles, 2D materials, plasmonic materials, manipulating light and allied techniques of quantum optics. Moreover, my passion for research extends beyond the present laboratory, as evidenced by my knowledge dissemination and mentorship. I have actively engaged in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students and leading the special interest group for diversity in academia in the Materials Research Society (MRS).
In addition to my academic qualifications, I bring a strong sense of teamwork, adaptability and leadership to the table. I thrive in dynamic research environments and am adept at collaborating with colleagues from diverse backgrounds to achieve common research goals. My ability to convey complicated research ideas, both verbally and written further strengthen my candidacy for the Postdoctoral Fellowship. To sum up, I have diverse research experience stemming from working in multidisciplinary teams of engineers and synthetic chemists, and entrepreneurial experience in commercializing and prototyping technologies.
In summer 2022, our research team conducted the NSF I-CORPs program where we conducted 100 interviews with OLED experts in lighting and display industry to understand the market needs and different opportunities for commercializing our plasmonic technology. Talking to top-experts in the field made me realize the real - world problems related with commercialization of OLEDs. This helped me to focus our research to improve the efficiency and stability of blue OLEDs. I also got to learn more about what kind of numbers the industry partners want to see and what it would take them to incorporate our technology into their existing manufacturing line. I was able to see how the research conducted in universities can be translated to the user front. After the I-CORPs, we also received an NSF grant which mainly focused on developing prototypes of devices based on our technology. This experience has inspired me to become more interested in the commercial side of research, where innovative technological findings can be brought to market for real-world user applications.
My goal
I am particularly drawn to the interdisciplinary nature of research at DOE National Labs which aligns perfectly well with my research interests. I am looking forward to collaborating with distinguished researchers at DOE National Labs and contributing my expertise in materials science, optoelectronics and photonics. Either it may be stimuli responsive / colour changing materials, electroactive or photoactive organic/ inorganic materials based solar cells or flexible OTFTs or OLEDs, the expertise I have gained in the synthesis of organic/ inorganic materials, their characterization, techniques of thin film deposition, fabrication of multilayer devices, their characterization and evaluation of their performance, I am confident that I could perform excellently well in the research on advanced characterization of nanostructured materials at DOE National Labs.
Sneha Sreekumar