Jayanthi Kumar

Bio

Dr. Jayanthi Kumar is an Associate R&D Staff in the Energy Storage and Conversion Manufacturing Group, where she contributes her expertise as a Materials Chemist. With extensive experience in the design, synthesis, and characterization of various layered materials for potential applications, Dr. Kumar specializes in layered double hydroxides, battery materials, perovskites, zeolites, electrochemistry, thermochemistry, lithium extraction, and battery material recycling. She has a particular focus on designing sorbents for lithium extraction, leveraging her hands-on experience in structural analysis techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Additionally, her expertise extends to analytical methods such as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS), as well as thermal analysis techniques including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Dr. Kumar also has experience in calorimetry, encompassing room temperature calorimetry and high-temperature melt solution calorimetry, as well as electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and battery testing protocols.

Dr. Kumar earned her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in Chemistry from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India, in 2009 and 2011, respectively. She completed her Ph.D. in Material Science at Bangalore University in 2017, where her research focused on inorganic and physical chemistry. Subsequently, Dr. Kumar served as a Research Associate in the Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Department at the Indian Institute of Science in 2018. In 2019, she joined Prof. Navrotsky’s group at the University of California before relocating to Arizona State University from 2020 to 2022. In 2022, Dr. Kumar commenced her tenure as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Nanomaterials Chemistry Group within the Chemical Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Awards

Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) recipient from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India (GOI), 2015-17.

Summer Research Fellowship recipient from University Grant Commission (UGC)-Networking center, School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, India for the year 2010.

Session Chair for 10th Annual Oak Ridge Postdoctoral Association Research Symposium (ORPA) 2022.

Organized conferences Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GOI), Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Science Camp, under Inspired Internship Scheme 2013-2016.

Secretary of Chemical Society 2010-2011, St. Joseph’s College.

Education

Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry, Central College, Bangalore University, Bangalore, India (2011-2017)

Master of Science (Analytical Chemistry), St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India (2009-2011)

Bachelors of Science (Chemistry), St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India (2006-2009) 

Publications