Mokshin Suri is a materials science and engineering doctoral student from Dallas, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and now studies nano-bio hybrid photosynthetic systems under the guidance of Tobias Hanrath from the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell.
My research explores artificial photosynthetic systems involving nanomaterial light absorbers and biological catalysts. Tiny semiconductor crystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), are excellent at absorbing light and generating free electrons. Similarly, biological systems, like microbes, are excellent at performing complex chemical reactions. We can combine the “best of both worlds” to create nano-bio hybrid systems that can use light to power complex biological reactions such as CO2 conversion to bioplastics, nitrogen fixation to ammonia, and much more. The key to advancing nano-bio systems is understanding how light-activated charges transfer from the artificial QDs to biological cells or proteins. My work has focused on understanding this interfacial charge transfer so that we can better develop nano-bio systems for future applications.
Using light and biology to power complex reactions has compelling prospects in future of manufacturing, especially because there is a growing demand to increase sustainable practices in industry. So far, the field has largely focused on nano-bio systems that use light to enhance biological conversion on CO2 into valuable fuels. While this is a great approach for current times, I think there is scope to advance nano-bio hybrids towards manufacturing specialty products that are notoriously difficult or expensive to produce via traditional means.
I enjoy playing soccer, drinking coffee, and spending time outdoors. My favorite coffee spot in Ithaca is Ooy’s on the Ithaca Commons.
I chose Cornell because of the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary research and because I had never lived in a place where I could experience all four seasons.
After Cornell, I plan to pursue a career in industry where I can continue to work on complex scientific challenges that address our goals of building a more sustainable world for the future.
I recommend embracing the opportunities to learn from people around you. I’ve found that Cornell has a very collaborative research culture and learning from people outside of your day-to-day interactions can lead to exciting work.
Bashayer Aldakkan is a doctoral student in materials science and engineering from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She earned her B.Sc. from Penn State University, double majoring in chemical engineering and... Read more about Bashayer Aldakkan works towards controlling the material design at the nano-scale
Aileen Luo is a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering from Sunnyvale, California. She earned her B.S. in materials science and engineering from UC Berkeley and now characterizes the... Read more about Aileen Luo uses x-ray science to characterize materials
The Robinson Group recently discovered that nanocrystals can self-assemble into films that possess a highly aligned hierarchical structure spanning more than six orders of magnitude, from nanometer-scale NC filaments to centimeter-scale films. Read more about Using high-intensity X-rays to understand new materials
