Dr. Kundan K. Singh, Ph.D.
Office: Room 231 (second floor), Academic Block- II (Science), IIT Dharwad (Permanent campus), Chikkamalligawad, Dharwad, Karnataka, India - 580007
I am an Assistant Professor of chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology, Dharward (IIT Dh), India. My current research activities include synthesis and characterization of new inorganic complexes, organometallic complexes, and nanoclusters of earth abundant transition metals (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu). Further, these compounds are being use for energy relevant small molecule activation, new organic transformations, and mechanistic understanding. Before coming to IIT Dh, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow/research associate at various research institutes (Johns Hopkins University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Carnegie Mellon University in the USA) which allowed me to widen my research horizons and professional skills. In early research career at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India, I worked on high valent iron-oxo metal complexes and received Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Prof. Sayam Sen Gupta. I obtained B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where research interest was triggered while working as a master project student under Prof. D. S. Pandey. I hail from Chikani village, East Champaran (Motihari), Bihar, India and went to school Saraswati Shishu/Vidya Mandir, Raxaul (7 km away from Chikani) until my secondary education.
Education
Ph.D. (Chemical Sciences, 2011 - 2017) from CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India.
Advisor: Prof. Sayam Sen Gupta
Thesis Title: Investigations on the Oxygen Atom Transfer Reaction Mediated Through a Bio-Inspired FeV(O) Complex.
B.Sc. and M.Sc. (Chemistry, 2006 - 2011) from Banaras Hindu University, India.
M.Sc. project advisor: Prof. D. S. Pandey
Professional Experience
02/2024 – Present: Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department, IIT Dharwad, Karnataka, India
08/2023 – 10/2023: Scientist Staff, Central Research Core, MEDCRC Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
11/2021 – 07/2023: Postdoctoral Research Associate and Research Associate, Carnegie Mellon University, PA, USA
Advisor: Prof. Isaac Garcia Bosch, Chemistry Department
Research: (1) Functional synthetic model of Cu-dependent monooxygenases. (2) Cu/Ni catalyzed C-H bond hydroxylation using H2O2 or O2 as oxidant.
05/2021 – 11/2021: Post-Doctoral Fellow at Southern Methodist University, TX, USA
Advisor: Prof. Anindita Das, Chemistry Department
Research: Mixed ligand stabilization of Au nanocluster and their application in catalysis
05/2020 – 05/2021: Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Advisor: Prof. Thomas B. Rauchfuss, Chemistry Department
Research: Fe-based organometallic complexes relevant to [FeFe] hydrogenase biosynthesis
03/2018 – 04/2020: Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, MD, USA
Advisor: Prof. V. Sara Thoi, Chemistry Department
Research: Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction using Mn-tricarbonyl complexes
Research/Academic Service
Reviewed more than 38 scientific papers of Chemical Communications, Journal of Royal Society.
Volunteered judging poster for “2022 Sigma Xi Competition at Meeting of the Minds.”
Teaching Experience
Co-instructor for the course “Metal in Biology” (Fall, 2022), Carnegie Mellon University, USA.