Dr. Santanu Das is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ceramic Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi. Prior to this, he served as an Assistant Professor in the same department from 2016 to 2024. Before joining IIT (BHU), Dr. Das worked as a Scientist at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, USA. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Florida International University, USA, and completed his Master’s degree in Ceramic Engineering from IIT (BHU), Varanasi (formerly IT-BHU).During his tenure at IIT (BHU), Dr. Das played a key role in developing various academic and laboratory courses, and he established a state-of-the-art research laboratory focused on Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, and Thin Films for electronic and energy devices. His research centers on the synthesis, characterization, and engineering of functional nanostructures and thin films, including 2D materials like graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), nanocomposites, quantum dots, nano-hybrids, and nano-scale heterostructures. Dr. Das's research addresses various applications such as energy storage, electrochemical sensors, energy harvesting, electrocatalysis, transistors, photo-sensors, photodetectors, and other thin-film-based photonics, electronics, and optoelectronic devices. He has been the Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI for more than 15 national and international research projects. Notably, he is one of the lead PIs for an international hydrogen consortium project funded by the Research Council of Norway. His work has earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the “Best Innovation 2022” at the 11th National Petrochemicals Awards from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, and the “Best Teacher Award 2022” at IIT (BHU). Other accolades include the “Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award” from Florida International University, the “Gold Medal” from IT (BHU), the “McCARE Award” from the American Ceramic Society, and the “MRS Award” from the Materials Research Society, USA. Dr. Das has also received the Early Career Award from SERB and the MoE-STARs Award from the Ministry of Education, among others. Dr. Das is a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Ceramics (2024), the Indian Chemical Society (2022), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (2021). He became a Senior Member of IEEE in 2017, recognizing his significant research contributions over the past decade. He has published more than 128 peer-reviewed high-impact research articles, authored one book, contributed to seven book chapters, and holds 12 patents, including two granted in the U.S. and ten in India. His research has garnered more than ~4,800 citations, with an h-index of 37 and an i10-index of 91. In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Das has successfully transferred several technologies from the laboratory to start-up industrial scales, contributing to the development of indigenous products in India. He remains actively involved in national and international scientific communities, serving on editorial boards, award committees, and as a member of various scientific societies.