Pulickel Ajayan

Ajayan hails from Kodungallur, a coastal town in the Indian state of Kerala. He was born on 15 July 1962 to K. Madhavapanicker, a telephone technician, and Pulickel Radha, a Hindi school teacher at the local high school. He studied in a government school in Kodungallur where the medium of instruction was Malayalam until 6th standard, after which he moved to Loyola School, Thiruvananthapuram, a high school he has credited for making a strong impact on him.{{Cite news |title=P.M. Ajayan: Science Hero from Loyola – The ARChive. |url=https://ashok.loyolites.com/2007/03/12/pm-ajayan-a-science-hero-from-loyola/ |access-date=2025-03-03}} After graduating from Loyola in 1977, he completed two years of his pre-degree at Christ college, Irinjalakuda, close to his hometown. In 1985, Ajayan graduated at the top of his class with a BTech degree in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT (BHU) Varanasi.{{Cite web |title=List of IIT (BHU) Varanasi People. Wikipedia; 2025 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IIT_(BHU)_Varanasi_people}}  In 1989, he earned a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.{{Cite web |title=Curriculum Vitae: Laurence Daniel MARKS |url=https://appliedphysics.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/marks-laurence-cv.pdf}} After his PhD, he spent three years as a post-doc at NEC Corporation, Japan, two years as a researcher at the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Orsay, France, and one year at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Stuttgart, Germany.

Ajayan has been a pioneer in the field of nanotechnology.{{Cite web |title=An interview with Prof. P.M. Ajayan |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q17Mha68PWw |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=YouTube| date=18 April 2017 }} His PhD work (1989) involved transmission electron microscopy characterization of gold nanoparticles, their phase instabilities and substrate interactions. Afterwards, he was involved in the early development of carbon nanotubes during his post-doctoral work. From 1990 onwards, at the NEC Fundamental Research Laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan, he worked with Sumio Iijima{{Cite news |last=Ajayan, P.; Iijima, S |title=Smallest Carbon Nanotube |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317152049/http:/www.owlnet.rice.edu/~Robert.Vajtai/Ajayan/smallest.pdf}}{{Cite journal |last1=Ajayan |first1=P. M. |last2=lijima |first2=Sumio |date=1993 |title=Capillarity-induced filling of carbon nanotubes |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/361333a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=361 |issue=6410 |pages=333–334 |doi=10.1038/361333a0 |bibcode=1993Natur.361..333A |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }} and Thomas Ebbesen{{Cite journal |last1=Ebbesen |first1=T. W. |last2=Ajayan |first2=P. M. |date=1992-07-16 |title=Large-scale synthesis of carbon nanotubes |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/358220a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=358 |issue=6383 |pages=220–222 |doi=10.1038/358220a0 |bibcode=1992Natur.358..220E |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }} and published some of the early works in carbon nanotubes. His works reporting the first observation of the smallest nanotubes with a single layer, large-scale method for synthesizing nanotubes, and filling of nanotube hollows with capillary forces were all early breakthroughs that led to the development of the nanotube field. Later, over the next decade, he published extensively in the nanotube area and was a key figure in the field. In the past three decades, in addition to carbon nanotubes, he has worked on various materials systems, including graphene and two-dimensional (2D) materials, diamond, nanocomposites, catalysts and energy storage materials.{{Cite web |title=Nanocomposite Science and Technology {{!}} Wiley |url=https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Nanocomposite+Science+and+Technology-p-9783527303595 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Wiley.com |language=en}} He has published more than 1300 journal papers, which have earned more than 230,000 citations on Google Scholar and an h-index of 233 as of March 2025.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan PM |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S5oLGEgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=scholar.google.com}} He has to his credit two Guinness World Records for creating the smallest brush{{Cite web |title=Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: US nanotechnologists make it to the Guinness Book of World Records |url=http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=14632 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.nanotech-now.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Extremely Small Brushes Could Improve Chip Production |url=https://www.npr.org/2005/06/13/4700495/extremely-small-brushes-could-improve-chip-production |access-date=2025-03-13 |work=NPR |language=en}} and the darkest material.{{Cite news |title=University Makes New Black from Tiny Carbon Tubes |url=https://www.npr.org/2008/01/16/18159641/university-makes-new-black-from-tiny-carbon-tubes |access-date=2025-03-13 |work=NPR |language=en}} His team created the darkest known material, a carpet of carbon nanotubes, that reflects only 0.045% of light. Over the years, his team has been responsible for several innovative materials discoveries in the energy storage area that include a flexible paper battery,{{Cite journal |last1=Pushparaj |first1=Victor L. |last2=Shaijumon |first2=Manikoth M. |last3=Kumar |first3=Ashavani |last4=Murugesan |first4=Saravanababu |last5=Ci |first5=Lijie |last6=Vajtai |first6=Robert |last7=Linhardt |first7=Robert J. |last8=Nalamasu |first8=Omkaram |last9=Ajayan |first9=Pulickel M. |date=2007-08-21 |title=Flexible energy storage devices based on nanocomposite paper |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=104 |issue=34 |pages=13574–13577 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0706508104 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1959422 |pmid=17699622|bibcode=2007PNAS..10413574P }}{{Cite journal |last=Chun |first=Ai Lin |date=2007-08-31 |title=Bendy batteries |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nnano.2007.305 |journal=Nature Nanotechnology |language=en |doi=10.1038/nnano.2007.305 |issn=1748-3387}} paintable battery concept,{{Cite web |last=Lamb |first=Evelyn |title=Cover Charge: New Spray-On Battery Could Convert Any Object into an Electricity Storage Device |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cover-charge-new-spray-on-battery/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Neelam |last2=Galande |first2=Charudatta |last3=Miranda |first3=Andrea |last4=Mathkar |first4=Akshay |last5=Gao |first5=Wei |last6=Reddy |first6=Arava Leela Mohana |last7=Vlad |first7=Alexandru |last8=Ajayan |first8=Pulickel M. |date=2012-06-28 |title=Paintable Battery |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=481 |doi=10.1038/srep00481 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=3385420 |pmid=22745900|bibcode=2012NatSR...2..481S }} organic battery electrodes,{{Cite journal |last1=Reddy |first1=Arava Leela Mohana |last2=Nagarajan |first2=Subbiah |last3=Chumyim |first3=Porramate |last4=Gowda |first4=Sanketh R. |last5=Pradhan |first5=Padmanava |last6=Jadhav |first6=Swapnil R. |last7=Dubey |first7=Madan |last8=John |first8=George |last9=Ajayan |first9=Pulickel M. |date=2012-12-11 |title=Lithium storage mechanisms in purpurin based organic lithium ion battery electrodes |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |page=960 |doi=10.1038/srep00960 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=3518813 |pmid=23233879|bibcode=2012NatSR...2..960R }} high-temperature batteries and supercapacitors,{{Cite journal |last1=Rodrigues |first1=Marco-Tulio F. |last2=Kalaga |first2=Kaushik |last3=Gullapalli |first3=Hemtej |last4=Babu |first4=Ganguli |last5=Reddy |first5=Arava Leela Mohana |last6=Ajayan |first6=Pulickel M. |date=June 2016 |title=Hexagonal Boron Nitride-Based Electrolyte Composite for Li-Ion Battery Operation from Room Temperature to 150 °C |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.201600218 |journal=Advanced Energy Materials |language=en |volume=6 |issue=12 |doi=10.1002/aenm.201600218 |bibcode=2016AdEnM...600218R |issn=1614-6832|url-access=subscription }} and environmentally friendly Li-ion battery recycling using deep eutectic solvents.{{Cite journal |last1=Tran |first1=Mai K. |last2=Rodrigues |first2=Marco-Tulio F. |last3=Kato |first3=Keiko |last4=Babu |first4=Ganguli |last5=Ajayan |first5=Pulickel M. |date=2019-04-01 |title=Deep eutectic solvents for cathode recycling of Li-ion batteries |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-019-0368-4 |journal=Nature Energy |language=en |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=339–345 |doi=10.1038/s41560-019-0368-4 |bibcode=2019NatEn...4..339T |issn=2058-7546|url-access=subscription }} His work has also involved designing new materials for contaminant removal from water,{{Cite news |date=2011-06-24 |title='Super sand' to help clean up dirty drinking water |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-13895077 |access-date=2025-03-13 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite journal |last1=Gao |first1=Wei |last2=Majumder |first2=Mainak |last3=Alemany |first3=Lawrence B. |last4=Narayanan |first4=Tharangattu N. |last5=Ibarra |first5=Miguel A. |last6=Pradhan |first6=Bhabendra K. |last7=Ajayan |first7=Pulickel M. |date=2011-06-22 |title=Engineered Graphite Oxide Materials for Application in Water Purification |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/am200300u |journal=ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=1821–1826 |doi=10.1021/am200300u |pmid=21568266 |issn=1944-8244|url-access=subscription }} nanotube sponges for selective absorption of oil from oil-water mixture, and catalysts for CO₂ reduction.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan Research Group_Env and sustainability |url=https://ajayan.rice.edu/Sustainability%20and%20Environment.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=ajayan.rice.edu}} His group has published several pioneering works in the vapour phase growth methods for the synthesis of atomically thin 2D materials such as boron nitride,{{Cite journal |last1=Biswas |first1=Abhijit |last2=Alvarez |first2=Gustavo A. |last3=Tripathi |first3=Manoj |last4=Lee |first4=Jonghoon |last5=Pieshkov |first5=Tymofii S. |last6=Li |first6=Chenxi |last7=Gao |first7=Bin |last8=Puthirath |first8=Anand B. |last9=Zhang |first9=Xiang |last10=Gray |first10=Tia |last11=Elkins |first11=Jacob |last12=Vajtai |first12=Robert |last13=Dai |first13=Pengcheng |last14=Birdwell |first14=A. Glen |last15=Neupane |first15=Mahesh R. |date=2024 |title=Cubic and hexagonal boron nitride phases and phase boundaries |url=https://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI=D4TC00039K |journal=Journal of Materials Chemistry C |language=en |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=3053–3062 |doi=10.1039/D4TC00039K |issn=2050-7526}}{{Cite journal |last1=Roy |first1=Soumyabrata |last2=Zhang |first2=Xiang |last3=Puthirath |first3=Anand B. |last4=Meiyazhagan |first4=Ashokkumar |last5=Bhattacharyya |first5=Sohini |last6=Rahman |first6=Muhammad M. |last7=Babu |first7=Ganguli |last8=Susarla |first8=Sandhya |last9=Saju |first9=Sreehari K. |last10=Tran |first10=Mai Kim |last11=Sassi |first11=Lucas M. |last12=Saadi |first12=M. a. S. R. |last13=Lai |first13=Jiawei |last14=Sahin |first14=Onur |last15=Sajadi |first15=Seyed Mohammad |date=2021 |title=Structure, Properties and Applications of Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Boron Nitride |url=https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202101589 |journal=Advanced Materials |language=en |volume=33 |issue=44 |pages=2101589 |doi=10.1002/adma.202101589 |pmid=34561916 |bibcode=2021AdM....3301589R |issn=1521-4095}} transition metal dichalcogenides and their hybrid constructs.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan Research Group_2D research. |url=https://ajayan.rice.edu/Graphene%20and%202D%20Materials.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=ajayan.rice.edu}} His group has also contributed to 3D printing of complex architected structures from different materials systems.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan_3D printing research |url=http://web.rice.edu/notfound.htm |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=web.rice.edu}} His group is now working on the synthesis of artificial diamonds and other ultra-wide bandgap materials such as boron nitride.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan Research Group_Diamond research |url=https://ajayan.rice.edu/Diamond.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=ajayan.rice.edu}} His recent interests also include plasma-based technologies{{Cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=Tia |last2=Zhang |first2=Xiang |last3=Biswas |first3=Abhijit |last4=Terlier |first4=Tanguy |last5=Oliveira |first5=Eliezer F. |last6=Puthirath |first6=Anand B. |last7=Li |first7=Chenxi |last8=Pieshkov |first8=Tymofii S. |last9=Garratt |first9=Elias J. |last10=Neupane |first10=Mahesh R. |last11=Pate |first11=Bradford B. |last12=Birdwell |first12=A. Glen |last13=Ivanov |first13=Tony G. |last14=Vajtai |first14=Robert |last15=Ajayan |first15=Pulickel M. |date=2024-09-01 |title=Benchmarking diamond surface preparation and fluorination via inductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etching |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0008622324005852 |journal=Carbon |volume=228 |pages=119366 |doi=10.1016/j.carbon.2024.119366 |bibcode=2024Carbo.22819366G |issn=0008-6223|url-access=subscription }} and bio-derived materials.{{Cite journal |last1=Roy |first1=Soumyabrata |last2=Philip |first2=Firuz Alam |last3=Oliveira |first3=Eliezer Fernando |last4=Singh |first4=Gurwinder |last5=Joseph |first5=Stalin |last6=Yadav |first6=Ram Manohar |last7=Adumbumkulath |first7=Aparna |last8=Hassan |first8=Sakib |last9=Khater |first9=Ali |last10=Wu |first10=Xiaowei |last11=Bollini |first11=Praveen |last12=Vinu |first12=Ajayan |last13=Shimizu |first13=George |last14=Ajayan |first14=Pulickel M. |last15=Kibria |first15=Md Golam |date=2023-02-15 |title=Functional wood for carbon dioxide capture |journal=Cell Reports Physical Science |language=English |volume=4 |issue=2 |doi=10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101269 |bibcode=2023CRPS....401269R |issn=2666-3864|doi-access=free }}

Ajayan's research over the years has focused on the design and creation of nano-engineered materials for many applications that include energy storage, structural, electronics, coatings and catalysis.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan Research Group |url=https://ajayan.rice.edu/index.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=ajayan.rice.edu}} Apart from leading a large research team, he also focuses on teaching and lecturing around the world on nanotechnology.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inLm0BeuYPw |title=Professor Pulickel Ajayan on Nanotechnology |date=2007-03-15 |last=Nano Technano |access-date=2025-03-13 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTEN8Ihw1UE |title=Hear Our Story ft. Prof P M Ajayan {{!}} Vistor in Campus {{!}} IITGN 2019 |date=2020-07-10 |last=IIT Gandhinagar |access-date=2025-03-13 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Z0Byj7g0A |title=Nanotechnology: Then & Now – Prof. Pulickel Ajayan {{!}} UDL#19 {{!}} SRM AP |date=2025-01-08 |last=SRM University - AP, Andhra Pradesh |access-date=2025-03-13 |via=YouTube}} He is the founding chair of the Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering at Rice and served as its chair for the first ten years.{{Cite web |title=Rice MSNE |url=https://msne.rice.edu/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Materials Science and NanoEngineering {{!}} Rice University |language=en}} He serves on the advisory board of several materials and nanotechnology journals, nanotechnology startups and international conferences. In his role as an academic at Rice and RPI, Ajayan has been a major promoter of nanotechnology,{{Cite web |title='Nanotech holds key to the future' |url=https://www.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/15inter.htm |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.rediff.com}} teaching various interdisciplinary courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Constantly travelling to disseminate knowledge, Ajayan has a large number of collaborators worldwide and several of his past group members presently hold faculty positions abroad and inside the United States.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan Research Group_Alumni |url=https://ajayan.rice.edu/alumni.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=ajayan.rice.edu}} He has had distinguished visiting professor positions at various prestigious Universities around the world, such as several of the IITs, and IISC in India, NTU Singapore, Shinshu University, Japan{{Cite web |title=P.M.Ajayan Research Group｜Researchers/Research Groups｜Shinshu-University Research Center for Exotic NanoCarbons(ENCs) |url=https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/project/encs/english/team/ajayan/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.shinshu-u.ac.jp}} and ISIS Strasbourg,{{Cite web |title=ISIS Strasbourg |url=https://isis.unistra.fr/en/}} France. As a Helmoltz-Humboldt prize winner, he was a frequent visitor at the Institute of Nanotechnology in KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany, during 2007–2010. He has been consistently listed among the most cited researchers and top materials scientists in the world.{{Cite web |date=2016-07-13 |title=The 2016 List of Most Cited Researchers in Materials Science and Engineering by Elsevier Scopus Data |url=https://www.msesupplies.com/blogs/news/2016-the-most-cited-researchers-in-materials-science-and-engineering-by-elsevier-scopus-data |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=MSE Supplies LLC}}

Ajayan is married to Poornima, who also works at Rice University as a program manager,{{Cite web |title=Poornima Ajayan {{!}} Staff {{!}} The People of Rice {{!}} Rice University |url=https://profiles.rice.edu/staff/poornima-ajayan |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241207182252/https://profiles.rice.edu/staff/poornima-ajayan |archive-date=2024-12-07 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=profiles.rice.edu |language=en}} and they have two daughters, Anakha and Ahi.{{Cite web |title=Ajayan_Bio |url=http://web.rice.edu/notfound.htm |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=web.rice.edu}}

• Materials Today Innovation Award (2024){{Cite web |title=Announcements - Materials Today {{!}} ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/materials-today/about/announcements/2024-materials-today-innovation-award-winner-announced |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.sciencedirect.com}}
• Elected to the Indian National Science Academy (2024){{Cite web |title=Foreign Fellows – Indian National Science Academy |url=https://insaindia.res.in/foreign-fellows-2/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |language=en-US}}
• Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Medal for International Collaboration and Public Understanding of Science and Technology (2019){{Cite web |title=Indian Institute of Science |url=https://iisc.ac.in/events/jawaharlal-nehru-birth-centenary-medal-lecture-by-pulickel-m-ajayan/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |language=en}}
• Alumnus of the Century in Making Award IIT-BHU (2019)
• Elected Fellow to the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI) (2019){{Cite web |title=US National Academy of Inventors |url=https://academyofinventors.org/search-fellows/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=NAI |language=en-US}}
• Lifetime Achievement Nanotechnology Award, Houston Technology Center, Houston, TX (2016)
• Elected MRS Fellow (2016){{Cite web |title=List of MRS Fellows |url=https://www.mrs.org/advancing-careers/award-central/spring-awards/mrs-fellows/list-of-mrs-fellows |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.mrs.org |language=en}}
• Nanosmat Prize (2016) – for outstanding contributions in the field of nanoscience{{Cite web |title=Profile |url=http://www.uq.edu.au/iceanconference/docs/Prof-Ajayan.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20160304051135/http://www.uq.edu.au/iceanconference/docs/Prof-Ajayan.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.uq.edu.au}}
• Spiers Memorial Award, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (2014)
• Docteur Honoris Causa Université Catholique de Louvain (2014)
• Distinguished Career Award for Alumni from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (2013)
• Helmoltz-Humboldt Senior Award (2008)
• Materials Research Society (MRS) medal, 2006
• Holder of two Guinness Book of World Records (2007, 2005)
• Helmoltz-Humboldt Prize (2007){{Cite web |title=Prof. Dr. Pulickel Ajayan |url=https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/connect/explore-the-humboldt-network/singleview/1000307/prof-dr-pulickel-ajayan |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.humboldt-foundation.de |language=en}}
• Elected Fellow of AAAS (2007)
• Microscopic Society of America Burton Award (1997)
• Hadfield Medal for Outstanding Metallurgist, India (1985)
• Gold Medal - IIT BHU Metallurgical Engineering (1985)  

{{Reflist|2}}

{{commons category|Pulickel Ajayan}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080129130522/http://cohesion.rice.edu/engineering/mems/people.cfm?doc_id=11343 Rice University – Faculty Page of Pulickel M. Ajayan]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4700495 Prof. Ajayan speaks on NPR about the extremely small brushes he and his team made]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inLm0BeuYPw Prof. Ajayan speaks at Oceanit about nanotechnology]

{{Scientific Research in Kerala |state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajayan, Pulickel M}}

Category:Loyola School, Thiruvananthapuram alumni

Category:Living people

Category:Indian nanotechnologists

Category:Banaras Hindu University alumni

Category:Scientists from Kerala

Category:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty

Category:Rice University faculty

Category:People from Thrissur district

Category:1962 births

Category:American people of Malayali descent

Category:American people of Indian descent

Category:Indian materials scientists

Category:20th-century Indian engineers

Category:Carbon scientists

Category:Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi alumni

Category:Indian emigrants to the United States