Saptarsi Mondal Ultrafast & multidimensional IR spectroscopy
Menu

Academic journey

From noncovalent interactions to electrified interfaces

View full CV

  1. Panoramic view of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in Belur Math: a central domed building at the end of a long garden path lined with flower beds, flanked by two wings.

    2008–2011 BSc (Hons.), Chemistry

    Belur Math, West Bengal, India

    Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira

    I studied chemistry as an undergraduate at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira in Belur Math.

    vidyamandira.ac.in
  2. The main building of IIT Bombay, a long modernist facade with rows of vertical fins, behind trees and a lawn.

    2011–2013 MSc, Physical Chemistry

    Mumbai, India

    Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

    At IIT Bombay I specialised in physical chemistry, the field I have worked in since.

    iitb.ac.in
  3. The main building of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Kolkata, a white multi-storey building behind palms and flowering shrubs.

    2013–2018 PhD, Chemistry

    Kolkata, India

    Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science

    For my PhD with Prof. Prashant Chandra Singh, I combined infrared spectroscopy, molecular dynamics and quantum chemistry to study weak noncovalent interactions, from organic fluorine as a hydrogen-bond acceptor to the hydration of carbonyl sulfide.

    That work taught me to use complementary experimental and computational methods to test the same molecular picture.

    iacs.res.in
  4. A long white laboratory building at the RIKEN campus in Wako, seen across a lawn under a deep blue sky, with a large tree in the foreground.

    2018 Visiting Researcher

    Wako, Saitama, Japan

    RIKEN

    In the final year of my PhD I made a short visit to Prof. Tahei Tahara's laboratory, using heterodyne-detected vibrational sum-frequency generation to study water at lipid membranes. It was my first measurement at an interface.

    riken.jp
  5. The stone main hall of Korea University at the top of a wide lawn and stairway, framed by trees in red and gold autumn colours.

    2019–2023 Research Professor

    Seoul, South Korea

    Korea University

    As a research professor, working with Prof. Minhaeng Cho, I moved to ultrafast infrared and 2D IR spectroscopy and applied them to study confined and functional materials: water at biocompatible polymers, free-volume elements in amorphous polymers, and lithium electrolytes inside battery separators.

    I also developed a wavelet-based denoising method for ultrafast spectroscopy.

    korea.ac.kr
  6. A Gothic stone quadrangle at the University of Michigan in winter, with bare elm trees, a snow-covered lawn and a central archway tower.

    2023–2024 Postdoctoral Researcher

    Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

    University of Michigan

    With Prof. Kevin J. Kubarych, I used 2D IR to study enzyme catalysis under vibrational strong coupling in Fabry–Pérot microcavities, asking whether coupling a molecular vibration to a cavity mode alters how a reaction proceeds.

    I also used transient-grating IR spectroscopy to investigate how rapidly polaritons propagate.

    umich.edu
  7. Aerial view of the University of Texas at Austin campus: the Main Building tower rising above red-tiled roofs and the Littlefield Fountain, with the city beyond.

    2024–present Postdoctoral Researcher Current

    Austin, Texas, United States

    The University of Texas at Austin

    In Prof. Carlos R. Baiz's group I measure water at electrode surfaces with operando SEIRAS and surface-enhanced 2D IR, and study how plasmonic metasurfaces change molecular vibrations.

    The earlier threads meet here: hydrogen bonding, confinement and light–matter coupling, now measured at working interfaces.

    utexas.edu
View full CV Research themes