Dr. Jithin John Varghese
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
EDUCATION
2012 - 2016
Nanyang Technological University Singapore
PhD (Chemical Engineering)
2004 - 2008
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, India
B.Tech (Chemical Engineering)
WORK EXPERIENCE
January 2024 - present
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Associate Professor
October 2018 - January 2024
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Assistant Professor
The Team
Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. N. Nagarjun (Dec 2023 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. P. Selvam)
IPDF
Research: CO2 cycloaddition reaction using MOFs
Dr. Tamilmani Selvaraj (Dec 2024 - )
WISE-PDF
Research: Mechanistic investigation of formic acid decomposition over supported alloy catalysts for hydrogen production
Dr. Ajin R (Jan 2025 - )
Research: Computational investigation of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol using In2O3/ZrO2
Dr. Heera T Nair (Dec 2025 - )
IPDF
Research: Theoretical investigation of selective CO2 hydrogenation to ethanol
Dr. Devendra Reddy (Jun 2026 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Sagar Sourav)
Research: Development of computational methods for solvent-phase characterization of WOx-based catalysts
Dr. Meema Bhati (Aug 2026 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Sagar Sourav)
Research: Ethylene oligomerization to SAFs
PhD Students
Ms. Athira K K (Aug 2020 - )
Prime Minister's Research Fellow
(Co-advised with Dr. P Selvam)
PhD topic: CO2 cycloaddition with epoxides on metal organic (MOF) framework based catalysts
Mr. Ashok Yacham (July 2021 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Tarak Patra)
PhD topic: Selective CO2 capture using metal organic framework (MOF) based sorbents
Mrs. Parvathy S Chandran (Jul 2022 - ) Prime Minister's Research Fellow
PhD topic: Design of transition-metal based catalysts for redox reactions
Ms. Aaradhana Vishnu Thombre (July 2024 - )
PhD topic: Valorization of Polyols in terminal diols
MS Student (External)
Ms. Sinduri Esunathan (July 2025 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Niket S. Kaisare)
Research:
M.Tech Students
Ms. Sampurna Saha (Oct 2025 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Niket S. Kaisare)
M.Tech Project topic: Kinetic modelling assessment for methanol synthesis from CO2
Mr. Manav (Oct 2025 - )
M.Tech Project topic: Kinetic modelling for tandem conversion of CO2 to olefins
Project Associates
Ms. Ansiya (October 2024 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Niket S. Kaisare)
Topic: Integrated experimental and multiscale modelling to develop multifunctional and tandem catalyst for direct conversion of CO2
Ms. Nikita (August 2026 - )
(Co-advised with Dr. Sagar Sourav)
Topic: Ethylene oligomerization to SAFs
Alumni
Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. Prabodh Ranjan
Faculty at Presidency University
Dr. Ramesh Gurram
IOCL R&D Centre
Dr. Tamilmani Selvaraj
WISE Post-doc, IIT Madras
PhD Students
Anoop Pushkar
Post-doc, IISc/Ola Electric
C D Balaji
Post-doc, NTU Singapore
Ajin Rajan
Post-doc, IIT Madras
Sathya Sai Rengam
MS Students
Ashwajeet Gajbhiye
Afcons Infrastructure Ltd.
Soham Roy
PharmaACE
M.Tech/DD Students
Sahithi Yamala
Faculty at Presidency University
Akshay R Nath
Mercedez Benz RDI
Jose Peter
Navin Flourine International Ltd.
Harishankar A R
Micron Technologies, Taiwan
Balaji Sriram
Chevron, Bangalore
Jamsheer K T
PhD Scholar, IIT Madras
Vaibhav Patil
Walmart Centre, IIT Madras
Deep Pravinbhai Kotadia
Jubilant Pharmova, Mysuru
B.Tech Students
Jugal Anil
Hindustan Unilever
Sundar Ram
PhD Student, Caltech
Sahil Halarnkar
PhD Student, Michigan Ann Arbor
Shashank Swaminathan
MS student, Carnegie Mellon
Rohit Kumar
Technip Energies
Jatin Pratap Singh
Phd student, IIT Delhi
Sukriti Choudhury
Wipro Enterprises Ltd.
Bharath Sajeev
SLB Technologies
Project Staff
Sai Teja Nekkanti
PhD Scholar, Clemson University
Anju Patel
PhD Scholar, IIT Bombay
Gouri Nayanar
PhD Scholar, IIT Madras
Prerna
PhD Scholar, University of Bayreuth & Melbourne
Gopika Nair
PhD Scholar, Leibniz Institute of Catalysis