About
I am Chaitanya Krishna Ande, currently working as a Post-doctoral Researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. I practice something called 'materials modeling'.
Materials modeling uses the powerful combination of quantum mechanics and computers to enhance understanding of materials. It adds significantly to what can be achieved by experiments alone. The word materials is used in the broadest sense possible, encompassing anything that is tangible. Of course, all materials cannot be modeled equally well, but that is the ultimate aim.
The broad aim of my work is to use materials modeling and achieve the following:
- Determine electrical, mechanical, optical and thermal properties of any material from a knowledge of its constitution and structure alone. For example, determing all the above properties for diamond, knowing that it is made entirely of carbon (constitution) arranged in a certain way (structure).
- Explain, understand and predict how materials transform from one form to another. For example, understand how water froms from hydrogen and oxygen on a platinum surface, but on not in the atmosphere. Also, any chemical reaction, or phase transformation is a valid example.
Materials modeling requires working at the interface of materials science, physics, chemistry and computer programming and therefore requires a good understanding of each of these subjects.
Currently, I am working on the chemistry happening at surfaces during the growth of a thin-film material. In particular, I am focusing on the chemistry of a deposition technique called Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). The entire semi-conductor industry is based upon thin-film technology. Other technological applications include solar cells, batteries, sensors, and so on. For more information, you can visit our group website.