As nobody really reads long biography, I am keeping it fun.😁

Sourav’s research interests are like a sci-fi movie for chemists—automation, flow chemical systems, and machine learning team up to solve chemical problems that are more complex than organizing your group chat for a weekend plan. He earned his MSc (with distinction, of course) and PhD from Queen’s University Belfast, where he designed a radiofrequency-heated microreactor—essentially a microwave for fancy chemicals. This innovative work was so groundbreaking it earned the cover spot on the Chem. Eng. J.—the chemistry nerd equivalent of being on the cover of Vogue.

After his PhD, Sourav secured a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from the Max Planck Society in Germany (because why not aim high?) and continued his research at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam. There, he developed automated flow chemistry platforms that revolutionized glycosylation reactions and multistep organic synthesis, proving that old reactions can indeed learn new tricks. He also integrated machine learning and computational chemistry to predict stereoselective outcomes, turning glycosylation into a high-tech guessing game where the machine always wins.

When his postdoc days were over, Sourav moved to ETH Zurich as the Team Leader of Automation and AI in Chemistry and Catalysis—essentially the lab’s resident wizard. There, he implemented machine learning workflows for the Swiss Catalysis Hub East and secured funding from NCCR Catalysis.

In February 2023, Sourav decided it was time to strike out on his own and joined the University of Bath as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor), where he established the AI/ML-guided automated flow synthesis laboratory. Along the way, he picked up accolades like the Best Oral Presentation award at ChemEngDay UK 2023, proving he’s not just brilliant in the lab but also on stage. He’s worked on high-profile projects funded by the ERC and DARPA—projects that might make him feel like he’s living in a real-life Mission: Impossible. His research has been published in top-tier journals like JACS, Chem. Eng. J., Chem. Sci., and Nature—basically, the chemistry version of winning an Oscar, a Grammy, and an Emmy.