Dr. Srinivas Dharavath, PhD
Energetic Materials Laboratory, Department of Chemistry,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
The EML Research Group
Team Leader
Dr. Srinivas Dharavath
Associate ProfessorDepartment of Chemistry,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Dr. Srinivas Dharavath joined IIT Kanpur as an Assistant Professor in 2019. His research focuses on organic chemistry, particularly energetic materials and medicinal chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Hyderabad and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Idaho (USA) and McMaster University (Canada).
His work includes synthesizing energetic materials for defense applications and bioactive compounds for antibiotics, anticancer, and anti-obesity studies. He has published several research papers and received the Dr. K. V. Rao Young Scientist Award. Recognized for his research excellence, he was awarded the P.K. Kelkar Class of 1979 Outstanding Young Faculty Award (2024-2027).
Education:
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Ph.D. in Chemistry (2010–2014), University of Hyderabad, India
Thesis: Design & Synthesis of Nitrogen-Rich Heterocyclic Compounds as Energetic Materials -
M.Sc. in Chemistry (2007–2009), Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Awards & Recognition:
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P.K. Kelkar Class of 1979 Outstanding Young Faculty Award, IIT Kanpur (2024–2027)
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Dr. K.V. Rao Young Scientist Award (2013–14)
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Research featured at McMaster University (2018)
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Editor of FirePhysChem. Journal
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Editor of Energetic Materials Frontiers Journal
Work Experience:
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2024–Present: Associate Professor, IIT Kanpur
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2019–2024: Assistant Professor, IIT Kanpur
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2017–2019: Postdoctoral Fellow, McMaster University, Canada
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2015–2017: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Idaho, USA
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2015: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Hyderabad, India
Research Areas
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Green high-energy materials & energetic oxidizers
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Green energetic ionic liquids
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Iodine-rich compounds for agent defeat weapons
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Heterocyclic small molecules for biological applications
Invited Talks
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Invite for plenary talk at 15th International Workshop on Combustion and Propulsion (IWCP-2025) in Italy,
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Delivered an invited talk at The International Conference on Frontiers of Polymers and Advanced Materials (ICFPAM-2024) held at IISER Berhampur, Odisha, India on 12th November, 2024
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Delivered an invited talk at Nanjing Institute of Technology on 11th July, 2024.
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Delivered an invited talk at the Chinese Materials Conference 2024 and the 2nd World Materials Conference held at Guangzhou, China on 9th July , 2024.
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Delivered an invited talk at the Beijing Institute of Technology on 7th July, 2024.
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Delivered an invited talk at 14th International High Energy Materials Conference & Exhibits 2024 (HEMCE'24) on 2nd February, 2024.
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Delivered an invited talk at EMEE 2023 on 4th March, 2023.
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Delivered an invited talk at IIIT Basara on 16th December 2022.
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Delivered an invited talk at FORCE IICS 2022 on 27th July 2022.
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Delivered an invited talk at 13th International High Energy Materials Conference & Exhibits 2022 (HEMCE'22) on 26th May 2022.
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Delivered an invited talk at OCS@2022 in the Department of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur on 3rd April 2022.
Graduate Students
Shreyasi Banik
2020-Present
Sagar E Nehe
2023-Present
Parasar Kumar
2021-Present
Riya Saha
2025-Present
J Manoj Kumar
2022-Present
Anshum Suhag
2025-Present
Sonali Kukreja
2023-Present
FARE Fellow
Dr. Abhishek Kr. Yadav
Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur (2020- 2024)
Joined as a FARE fellow in November, 2024
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Rishabh Gupta
Ph.D from IISER Pune
Joined the group in November, 2024
Intern students
M. Sai Prasad
M.Sc. from Central University of Tamil Nadu
Joined the group in April, 2025
Sangani Deepkumar
M.Sc. from IISc Bangalore
Joined the group in May, 2025
Past Researchers & Interns of EML
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Dr. Ramling S. Mathpati, Post Doc Fellow (Nov 2023 – Nov 2024) (Currently working in HEMRL, DRDO, India).
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Km Afshan, Intern (May – July 2024), University of Allahabad
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Akanksha Yadav, Intern (May – July 2024), Banaras Hindu University
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Mounika Dharavath, Intern (May – June 2024), Central University of Karnataka
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Dr. Navaneet Kumar, Post Doc Fellow (Jan 2022 – May 2024) (Currently working as post doc fellow in CMAP, India)
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Dr. Richa Rajak, Post Doc Fellow (July 2022 – April 2024) (Currently working as post doc fellow in IISER Bhopal, India)
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Chhavi Singh, Intern (June – July 2023), IISER Mohali
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Dr. Pradeep Kumar, Post Doc Fellow (Sep 2021 – July 2022)
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Gauri Tripathi, Intern (Dec 2021), IIT Jodhpur
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Somnath Patra, M.Sc Project Student (Sep 2021 – May 2022), IIT Kanpur
Opportunities
Doctoral Students
Highly motivated students with research interests in the area of organic chemistry, especially in the design and synthesis of high-energy density materials and making small molecules for biological screening are welcome to join our team. Candidates having valid CSIR-UGC JRF/GATE are encouraged to apply through IITK admission process or can directly email Dr. Srinivas Dharavath (srinivasd@iitk.ac.in).
Postdoctoral Fellows
Post-doctoral candidates with Ph.D. in synthetic chemistry who are interested in writing joint proposals for funding are invited to approach Dr. Srinivas Dharavath at srinivasd@iitk.ac.in. Such candidates are advised to send the CV along with a research statement describing research interests.