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Lecturer in Nature-Inspired Chemical Engineering
Biography
Amita Ummadisingu holds a M.Sc. and a Dr.Sc. in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, where she worked with Prof. Michael Grätzel on unravelling the formation of three-dimensional hybrid perovskite materials for highly efficient solar cells. She presented her findings at the 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry 2017 and gained her doctorate in 2018. As a postdoctoral scientist at EPFL, she was an invited speaker at the Clariant Chemistry Day at the University of Basel and was awarded one of the Clariant CleanTech Awards Switzerland 2018 by the Swiss Chemical Society.
In 2019, she joined the University of Cambridge as a Swiss National Science Foundation Fellow, hosted by Prof. Henning Sirringhaus at the Cavendish Laboratory. She was looking into the charge transport physics of three-dimensional and new two-dimensional perovskites. In 2022, she joined UCL as a lecturer in Nature-Inspired Chemical Engineering.
Teaching Summary
In the past, I have taught courses in both Chemistry and Chemical Engineering including Equilibrium and Chemical Reactivity, Theory of Reactors, and Equilibrium Stage Seperation Processes. I am involved in developing and teaching modules for the M.Sc. programme in Nature-Inspired Solutions at UCL East.
Research Summary
My research aims to develop novel inorganic and hybrid materials and explore their untapped potential for the realization of transformative energy solutions. Our work is an interdisciplinary endeavour involving aspects of Chemical Engineering, Material Science and Chemistry. We focus on the design, synthesis, characterization, and assembly of new photo-active materials for use in optoelectronic devices, particularly solar cells.
Our approach involves understanding and harnessing natural processes and phenomena on the nanoscale for the engineering and design of efficient energy solutions which are compatible with scale-up for manufacturing. Major components of our research such as the self-assembly of nanomaterials and the design of new device architectures draw inspiration from nature.
Awards
2020
Postdoc.Mobility Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation
2019
Early Postdoc.Mobility Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation
Education
2018
Dr.Sc. Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
2014
M.Sc. Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Publications
- A. Ummadisingu, A. Mishra, D. J. Kubicki, T. LaGrange, A. Dučinskas, M. Siczek, W. Bury, J. V. Milić, M. Grätzel, L. Emsley. Multi-length scale structure of 2D/3D Dion-Jacobson hybrid perovskites based on an aromatic diammonium spacer. Small, 2022, 18(5), 2104287.
- A. Ummadisingu, S. Meloni, A. Mattoni, W. Tress, M. Grätzel. Crystal-size-induced band gap tuning in perovskite films. Angewandte Chemie, 2021, 133(39), 21538-21546.
- A. Ummadisingu, M. Grätzel. Revealing the detailed path of sequential deposition for metal halide perovskite formation. Science Advances, 2018, 4, e1701402.
- A. Ummadisingu, L. Steier, J.-Y. Seo, T. Matsui, A. Abate, W. Tress, M. Grätzel. The effect of illumination on the formation of metal halide perovskite films. Nature, 2017, 545, 208-212.