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Education

  • Postdoctoral fellowship: International School of Photonics, India
  • Ph. D: Cochin University of Science and Technology, India
  • M.S/B.S: Mahatma Gandhi University, India

Positions

  • Research Scientist, College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona 2001-2005.
  • Assistant/Associate Research Professor, College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona 2005-2011

Affiliations

  • CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics
  • College of Engineering and Computer Science

Research

Research in my labs is focused on developing nanoarchitectured energy conversion and storage devices. Recently, we have developed a nanoarchitecturing technique using which polymer nanostructures can be printed efficiently at low cost. This technique is utilized to develop nanostructured polymer solar cells, nanoarchitectured electrodes for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors, and printed biomolecule based photonic devices. Our nanoimprinting technique offers a simple route to fabricate large area nanostructures in a very short time.

Another line of work is the development of photorefractive polymers with improved sensitivity. Photorefractive composites derived from conducting polymers offer the advantage of dynamically recorded holograms without the need of processing of any kind. Thus, they are the material of choice for many cutting edge applications, such as updatable three-dimensional (3D) displays and 3D telepresence. Further improvements in the polymer composites could bring applications in telemedicine, advertising, updatable 3D maps and entertainment. We are also working on the development of new photorefractive polymers sensitive at IR wavelengths.

We are also studying the optical limiting properties of core-shell plasmonic nanostructures.

Awards, Honors and Societies

  • Luminary award 2018
  • University Excellence in Research Award (one award per year), UCF
  • Excellence in Research Award (Institutes and Centers), UCF 2018
  • Research Incentive Award, UCF 2018
  • Reach for the stars (2016) award  
  • R&D100 (2015) Award
  • NSF CAREER award (2014)
  • Excellence in Research Award, University of Central Florida 2014
  • World Technology Awards ENERGY Finalist Award, 2014, sponsored by The World Technology Network, FORTUNE and TIME magazines (http://www.wtn.net/summit-2014/world-technology-award-finalists).
  • VEECO award for the best nanotechnology innovations 2010
  • Member, AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
  • Member, SPIE-The International Society for Optical Engineering
  • Member, MRS (Material Research Society)

Selected Recent Publications

  • B. Pradhan, S. Das, J. Li, F. Chowdhury, J. Cherusseri, D. Pandey, D. Dev, A. Krishnaprasad, E. Barrios, A. Towers, A. Gesquiere, L. Tetard, T. Roy, J. Thomas, Ultrasensitive and ultrathin phototransistors and photonic synapses using perovskite quantum dots grown from graphene lattice, Science Advances (Cover story) 6 (7): eaay5225 (2020). News and Views: Defects in graphene helps perovskite dots to grow, Nature Electronics 3, 132(2020); Highlighted in: Science Daily; Adv.Sci. News; EurekAlerts
  • K. S. Kumar, N. Choudhary, D. Pandey, Y. Ding, L. Hurtado, H-S Chung, L. Tetard, Y. Jung, J. Thomas, Investigating 2D WS2 supercapacitor electrode performance by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy, J. Mater. Chem. A, 8, 12699, (2020).
  • J. Cherusseri, S. J. Varma, B. Pradhan, J. Li, J. Kumar, E. Barrios, M. Z. Amin, A. Towers, A. Gesquiere, J. Thomas, Synthesis of air-stable two-dimensional nanoplatelets of Ruddlesden–Popper organic– inorganic hybrid perovskites, Nanoscale, 12, 10072 (2020).
  • J. Li, B. Pradhan, S. Gaur, J. Thomas, Predictions and strategies learned from machine learning to develop high-performing perovskite solar cells, Advanced Energy Materials (Cover story) 9, 1901891(2019) DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201901891 [IF: 24.8]. Highlighted in: Digital Trends, Science Daily, EurekAlerts, Phys.Org, NanoWerk, Solar Daily, Photonics Media, etc.
  • J. Cherusseri, K. S. Kumar*, D. Pandey, E. Barrios, J. Thomas, Vertically-Aligned Graphene-Carbon Fiber Hybrid Electrodes with Superlong Cycling Stability for Flexible Supercapacitors, Small, 15 (44), 1902606 (2019).
  • S. Das, D. Pandey, J. Thomas+ (Invited author), T. Roy+, The role of graphene and other 2D materials in solar photovoltaics (Invited review) Advanced Materials (Cover story), 31, 1802722 (2018)
  • K. Kumar, N. Choudhary, Y. Jung, J. Thomas, Recent Advances in Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications, ACS Energy Lett. 3, 482 (2018). Selected as one of the most five cited papers in 2017-2018 in ACS Energy Letters.
  • S. J. Varma, K. S. Kumar, S. Seal, S. Rajaraman, J. Thomas, Fibre-type Solar Cells, Nanogenerators, Batteries and Supercapacitors for Wearable Applications, Adv.Sci. 5, 1800340, (2018).
  • N. Choudhary, C. Li, J. Moore, N. Nagaiah, L. Zhai, Y. Jung, J. Thomas, Asymmetric supercapacitor electrodes and devices, Adv. Mater. (Cover story) 1605336, 29, (2017).
  • C. Li, M. M. Islam, J. Moore, J. Sleppy, C. Morrison, K. Konstantinov, S. X. Dou, C. Renduchintala, J. Thomas, “Wearable energy-smart ribbons for synchronous energy harvest and storage,” Nature Communications 7,13319 (2016). News coverage in: National Geography magazine, IEEE Spectrum, Times of India, etc.
  • N. Choudhary, C. Li, H-S. Chung, J. Moore, J. Thomas+, Y. Jung+, “High-Performance One-Body Core/Shell Nanowire Supercapacitor Enabled by Conformal Growth of Capacitive 2D WS2 Layers”, ACS Nano (Cover story), 10, 10726 (2016). Selected as one of the top ten papers published in ACS Nano in the past 10 years.
  • Z. Yu, L. Tetard, L. Zhai, J. Thomas, “Supercapacitor electrode materials: Nanostructures from 0 to 3 dimensions”, Energy Environ. Sci. (Cover story), 8, 702 (2015)
  • Z. Yu, J. Thomas, “Coaxial supercapacitor-electrical cables: Integrating energy storage device into electrical cables”, Adv. Mater. (Cover story) 26, 4279 (2014). News and Views: “Energy storage wrapped up”, Nature 509, 568-570 (2014). Media coverages: Reuters, Yahoo News, USA Today, Huffington Post, Popular Science, Motherboard, IEEE Spectrum and Science & Vie.
  • R. Philip, P. Chantharasupawong, H. Qian, R. Jin, J. Thomas, “Evolution of Nonlinear Optical Properties: From Gold Atomic Clusters to Plasmonic Nanocrystals”, Nano Lett., 12, 4661−4667 (2012). Media Coverage: Popular Mechanics, SPIE Newsroom, American Institute of Physics TV, Orlando Sentinel, IEEE Spectrum, Science Daily.