Bio

Alka hails from a beautiful small hilly town in Himachal Pradesh (State) in North India. She did her high school from her hometown and then went on to pursue her Bachelors and Masters in chemistry from Panjab University, Chandigarh (India). In December 2015, she received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire, working with Prof. Erik Berda. Her doctoral thesis was focused on the synthesis of polymeric nanomaterials utilizing transition metal catalyzed coupling reactions. She joined the You group as a postdoctoral research associate in February 2016. During her spare time, Alka enjoys the outdoors, exploring nature, dancing, cooking, reading and participating in science outreach activities.

 

Research Interests

Alka’s research interests involve utilization of controlled/living radical and cationic polymerization techniques for the development of complex macromolecular architectures. Currently, she is working on developing a new metal-free methanol mediated living cationic RAFT polymerization.

B.S.- Panjab University

M.S. - Panjab University

Ph.D. - University of New Hampshire

 

Joined Group in 2016