Nikhil Koratkar

Nikhil Koratkar’s research has focused on the discovery and investigation of novel materials with superior properties. These include zero-dimensional (fullerene), one-dimensional (carbon nanotubes), two-dimensional (graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, phosphorene, tellurene, MXenes) as well as bulk (chalcogenide perovskites, covalent organic frameworks and high entropy alloy) material systems. Nikhil is studying the fundamental mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, optoelectronic and electrochemical properties of these materials and developing a variety of composites, coating and energy storage device applications using these materials. To date, Nikhil Koratkar has co-authored over 250 archival journal publications. These include 2 in Nature, 1 in Science, 1 in Nature Reviews Materials, 3 in Nature Materials, 5 in Nature Communications and 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To date, Nikhil’s papers have received > 38,000 citations (Google Scholar) and his H-index is 93. Over his career, Nikhil has secured 42 research grants (with 37 as Principal Investigator), totaling ~$11 Million. Twenty-four of these grants are from the USA National Science Foundation (NSF). These funds were used to primarily support Ph.D. students and to date a total of 31 Ph.D. students have graduated with Nikhil Koratkar as their thesis advisor. His former students are employed by some of the world’s most successful companies including Apple, Google, Tesla, GE, Boeing, Samsung, Exxon Mobil, Intel and IBM. His Ph.D. students have also won many high-profile awards including the MIT-Lemelson student prize, the Amelia Earhart fellowship and several MRS graduate student awards. Three of his former Ph.D. students are professors in academia. Nikhil contributes actively to the materials science community. Since 2010, he has served as an Editor of the Elsevier journal Carbon. In 2009, Nikhil won the Electrochemical Society’s SES Young Investigator Award for research excellence and in 2015, Nikhil was honored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) with their Gustus Larson Memorial Award for research excellence. In 2016, Nikhil was elected ASME Fellow. In 2018 and in 2021, Nikhil was named by Clarivate Analytics in their Highly Cited Researchers List (Top 1% by citations). In 2019, Nikhil was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay and in 2021, he was awarded the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s William H. Wiley 1866 Distinguished Faculty Award. In 2021, Nikhil was elected a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and in 2023, he was elected a Fellow of American Physical Society (APS). In 2024, Nikhil Koratkar was awarded the Outstanding Professor of Engineering Award by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Numerous media reports citing Nikhil Koratkar’s work have appeared in major outlets such as: NY Times, USA today, MSNBC, Nature News, Scientific American, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Indian Express, the Economic Times and US News & World Report. Nikhil has been interviewed by BBC Radio and Northeast Public Radio and by CBS and ABC TV News in Albany, NY. The United States National Science Foundation has also issued three separate Press Releases publicizing his NSF-funded research discoveries. Nikhil Koratkar’s work in battery materials is finding important practical applications. He has five Patents and several pending patent applications. He is a Co-Founder and serves on the Advisory Board of a battery start-up company (Alsym Energy), which has developed and is commercializing a new class of aqueous batteries for grid energy storage. Alsym Energy based in Woburn, MA has completed two major funding rounds (totaling ~$110 Million), employs over 70 full-time employees, and has begun manufacturing battery prototypes for customer evaluation. Alsym’s aqueous battery chemistry avoids lithium and cobalt, and takes advantage of readily available materials that are inherently non-flammable and non-toxic, reducing costs and increasing safety and sustainability.