Assistant Professor Prashant Kumar - Honouree of the MIT Technology Review TR35 Asia-Pacific 2024 Award

We are thrilled to share that Assistant Professor Prashant Kumar has been recognised as a winner of the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (TR35) Asia-Pacific 2024 award. This prestigious honour celebrates the top 35 innovators under age 35 making a significant impact in their fields within the Asia Pacific region.

 

Assistant Professor Prashant Kumar has been recognised for his research on expanding the scope of chiral materials. He used electron microscopy to guide the development of rapid synthesis methods for the industrial production of chiral metamaterials. His work designing chiral structures at the nanoscale has pushed the boundaries of chiral material design and its transformative applications across various fields, such as spintronics, quantum computing, enantioselective catalysis, and biomolecular sensing.

Under his leadership, his team has successfully expanded the range of chiral materials by imparting chirality to traditionally non-chiral materials like semiconductors, metals, and dielectrics. This nanoscale control has altered electronic structures, enhanced electron spin dynamics, and enabled the design of optically active materials with unique properties. These advancements are pivotal for applications in holography, optical storage, encryption, and machine vision.

Notably, Assistant Professor Kumar has integrated his expertise in atomic structure determination, colloidal chemistry, and computational modelling to pioneer innovative biomolecular sensing platforms. One of his notable achievements includes developing rapid synthesis methods to enable large-scale production of enantiomeric helical structures, marking a significant step towards the industrial production of chiral metamaterials. Additionally, he demonstrated the efficacy of precisely engineered chiral nanoparticles in deactivating the SARS-CoV-2 virus, presenting a solution that addresses the logistical challenges associated with refrigeration drugs. 

The award ceremony was held on 9 September 2024, at the Meet TR35 Summit 2024 in Shanghai, China.

Media Release: https://www.mittrchina.com/news/detail/13756 

Please join me in congratulating Assistant Professor Prashant Kumar on this remarkable achievement. His dedication and innovative contributions exemplify the spirit of academic excellence and impactful research we strive for here at MSE.