Dr Saurabh Ghosh joined SRM Research Institute and the Department of Physics and Nanotechnology as an Assistant Professor (Research) in June 2017. Before joining SRM, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the USA from April 2011 to May 2017 at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and Vanderbilt University / Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Nashville, TN). At SRM, he founded and currently leads the Functional Materials by Design (FMD) group.

Dr Ghosh was a Visiting Scientist on sabbatical leave (January 2023 – June 2024) in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA. He was hosted by Prof. Brian D. Wirth (Governor's Chair Professor, University of Tennessee Knoxville). The collaboration is on machine learning applications in nuclear materials.

The objective of the FMD group is to design functional materials using first-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and Machine Learning (ML), guided by group theoretical techniques and supported by phenomenological models. A deep understanding of structure–property relationships is central to designing new materials. The FMD group focuses on tailoring these relationships to advance research in oxide electronics, spintronics, and energy storage.

• Our aim is to combine quantum mechanics (QM) with machine learning (ML) to design next-generation materials for oxide electronics, spintronics, and energy storage.

• The FMD group maintains active collaborations with experimental and theoretical groups across the USA, Sweden, Italy, Singapore, and India.

• The group has a strong publication record in high-impact journals, including Physical Review Letters, Nature Communications, Physical Review B, Chemistry of Materials, Advanced Functional Materials and others.

• Dr Ghosh is also actively reviewing for Nature, Nature Communications. Phys. Rev. Lett,  JACS and other journals of high repute.

🎓 Alumni Highlights

• Dr Monirul Shaikh — First PhD graduate from the FMD group; currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, USA

• Dr Mukaddar Sk - Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan

• Dr M. Swamynathan — Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA.

• Dr Gayathri P — Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at Uppsala University, Sweden.

• Mr Darin Joseph, MS project student - Currently pursuing PhD at the University of Bologna, Italy. 

• Ms Reshma Rajeev, B.Tech project student- Currently pursuing PhD at the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), Germany.