Dr. Arko Das is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dharwad in Karnataka, India. He earned doctoral degree at IIT Kanpur, where his exceptional research was recognized with the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award.

With over nine years of research experience, Dr. Das’s expertise bridges synthetic organic chemistry and polymer chemistry. His foundational research focused heavily on enantioselective synthesis, with specialized work in asymmetric catalysis, organocatalysis, photoredox catalysis, and transition metal catalysis. Recently, he has expanded his scientific boundaries from organic chemistry to advanced materials, developing polymer-derived ceramics for aerospace applications through a US-Air Force MURI program.

Dr. Das has established a demonstrated track record of scholarly excellence, authoring over 13 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious, high-impact journals, including Nature Chemistry and Angewandte Chemie. 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Polymer Chemistry & Materials Science) at Arizona State University, Biodesign Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing; September 2024 – November 2025 | Advisor: Prof. Timothy E. Long.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Organic Chemistry & Medicinal Chemistry) at The University of Texas at San Antonio, Department of Chemistry, San Antonio, TX; July 2022 – August 2024; Advisor: Prof. Oleg V. Larionov.

Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India; January 2016 – December 2021; Advisor: Prof. Vinod K. Singh; Co-supervisor: Prof. Sandeep Verma. 

Research area: Asymmetric catalysis, organocatalysis, enantioselective synthesis, metal catalysis.

M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry (2015), Visva-Bharati University, India.

B.Sc. in Chemistry, Honours (2013), Visva-Bharati University, India.

1. Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, 55th Convocation, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. 

2. Best Poster Award, 25th Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI), IIT Kanpur, 2019. 

3. Qualified NET (National Eligibility Test) in Chemical Science, 2015 – National examination for lectureship eligibility in Indian universities. 

4. Qualified SET (State Eligibility Test) in Chemistry, 2016 – State examination for lectureship eligibility. 

5. Qualified GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) in Chemical Science, 2015.