Assistant Engineering

Hemtej Gullapalli

e-mail: ******@****.*** **** Main St., MS321

Ph: 281-***-**** Houston, Texas 77005

Education

PhD in Materials science engineering May 2014

Rice University, Houston, Texas, Advisor: Prof. Pulickel M Ajayan

Thesis: Development of integrated energy conversion and storage devices based on nanomaterials

Professional Masters in Nanoscale Physics May 2009

Rice University, Houston, Texas

BS in Electronics and Communication Engineering May 2007

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, India

Research Experience

Research Assistant - Rice University, Houston, TX May 2009 - Present

Contributed in developing Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors that can operate at high temperatures

Member of a team that formulated RTIL-Clay composite electrolytes for operating supercapacitors at

temperatures up to 200oC and Lithium-ion batteries at temperatures up to 150oC. Tested various

electrode-electrolyte combinations for optimum performance at high temperatures

Conceived synchronous Etch-Deposition process for synthesis of graphene covered 3D metal structures

The process involves etching of nano pores in metallic foils such as copper, nickel and stainless steel

while simultaneously forming graphene on the surface using a modified CVD technique. The porous

nature of the mesh like structures make them excellent current collectors for high power energy devices

Developed Graphene based electrode materials for energy storage applications

Discovered a unique growth process of graphene on stainless steel substrate and explored its applicability

in ultra-thin Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors. Worked on using these nanostructures as active

electrode materials, including doped CVD graphene and chemically exfoliated RGO

Synthesized nanomaterials through chemical, electrochemical and thermal processing routes

Fabricated graphene based electronic devices using lithography techniques

Performed electrochemical studies on various supercapacitor and Li -ion battery devices

Built and maintained experimental setups and lab instruments; trained users on operating them

Published four first author and eleven contributing author papers in leading journals; Filed three patents

Assisted in teaching undergraduate classes, supervised experiments and graded assignments

May 2008 – Apr 2009

Research Intern - Rice University, Houston, TX, Advisor: P. M. Ajayan

Developed flexible nanomaterial composites for energy harvesting applications

Fabricated flexible piezoelectric nano-composite paper using solgel and wet chemistry methods.

Designed, fabricated and tested devices to harvest energy from mechanical vibrations and thermal

fluctuations. Developed and built the experimental setup for electrical measurements using LabVIEW

Data Acquisition Modules.

Skills

Processing techniques: Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD and PECVD), Physical Vapor Deposition (RF

Magnetron Sputtering, Thermal Evaporation, Electron Beam Evaporation), Plasma Etching (RIE),

Photolithography, Electrodeposition, Lithium ion battery/Supercapacitor device fabrication and testing

Characterization techniques: Electrochemical Measurements (Cyclic Voltammetry, Charge/Discharge and

Impedance Analysis), Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron

Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA)

Design tools: LabVIEW, VHDL, SPICE

Programming languages: Matlab, C, C++, Java, HTML, PHP, PGSQL, FLASH

Patents

Composition for Energy Generator, Storage, and Strain Sensor and Methods of Use Thereof (201********)

Hemtej Gullapalli, Pulickel M Ajayan, Ashavani Kumar, Andres R Botello-Mendez, Mauricio Terrones

Graphene Covered Three-Dimensional Current Collectors and Methods of Making the Same (Filed, 2014)

Hemtej Gullapalli, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy and Pulickel M Ajayan

Clay Based Energy Storage Compositions for High Temperature Applications (Filed, 2014)

Raquel S. Borges, Kaushik Kalaga, Marco Tulio F Rodrigues, Hemtej Gullapalli, Leela M. R. Arava,

Kaushik Balakrishnan, Glaura G. Silva and Pulickel M Ajayan

Selective Publications

1) Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Films for Lithium Battery Application

Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Anchal Srivastava, Sanketh R Gowda, Hemtej Gullapalli, Madan Dubey, and

Pulickel M Ajayan, ACS Nano 4 (11), 2010, 6337

Flexible Piezoelectric ZnO–Paper Nanocomposite Strain Sensor

2)

Hemtej Gullapalli, Venkata S M Vemuru, Ashavani Kumar, Andres Botello-Mendez, Robert Vajtai,

Mauricio Terrones, Satish Nagarajaiah, and Pulickel M Ajayan, Small 6(15), 2010, 1641

3) Graphene Growth via Carburization of Stainless Steel and Application in Energy Storage

Hemtej Gullapalli, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Stephen Kilpatrick, Madan Dubey and Pulickel M Ajayan,

Small 7(12), 2011, 1697

4) Flexible Zno-Cellulose Nanocomposite for Multisource Energy Conversion

Hemtej Gullapalli, Ashavani Kumar, Kaushik Balakrishnan, Andres Botello-Mendez, Robert Vajtai,

Mauricio Terrones and Pulickel M Ajayan, Small 7(15), 2011, 2173

5) Wetting Transparency of Graphene

Javad Rafiee, Xi Mi, Hemtej Gullapalli, Abhay Thomas, Fazel Yavari, Yunfeng Shi, Pulickel M Ajayan, and

Nikhil Koratkar, Nature Materials, 2012, 3228

6) Creating Supersolvophobic Nanocomposite Materials

Akshay Mathkar, Clint Aichele, Imona Omole, Neelam Singh, Daniel Hashim, Hemtej Gullapalli,

Pulickel M Ajayan, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 4216

7) Supercapacitor Operating At 200 Degrees Celsius

Raquel S. Borges, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Marco-Tulio F. Rodrigues, Hemtej Gullapalli, Kaushik

Balakrishnan, Glaura G. Silva and Pulickel M. Ajayan, Nature Scientific Reports 3, 2013, 2572

8) Clay-RTIL composite electrolytes for operating Li-ion Batteries at high temperature

Kaushik Kalaga, Hemtej Gullapalli, Marco-Tulio F. Rodrigues, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Pulickel M

Ajayan (under preparation)

9) Direct Synthesis of grapheme covered, three dimensional porous metallic current collectors

Hemtej Gullapalli, Kaushik Kalaga, Marco-Tulio F. Rodrigues, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Pulickel M

Ajayan (under preparation)

Conference Presentations

1) Metal Oxide/Graphene Hybrid Nanostructured Electrodes for High Performance Lithium Batteries

Hemtej Gullapalli, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, Pulickel M Ajayan, Meeting Abstracts, The

electrochemical Society, 10, 2012, 884

2) Growth of Graphene on Steel for Electrochemical Devices

Hemtej Gullapalli, Arava Leela Mohana Reddy and Pulickel M Ajayan, Conference Preceding’s- Week of

Nano, Rice University, 2010

3) Exploring Transport Effects in Nanoscale Graphene Devices

Jeff Worne, Charudatta Galande, Hemtej Gullapalli, Pulickel M Ajayan, Douglas Natelson, American

Physical Society, 56, 2011

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