Alok Kumar Thakur, Ph.d. Candidate in Earth and Environmental Engineering, Seeking a Postdoctoral/Research Associate/Scientist Position

ALOK KUMAR THAKUR, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

     Abstract Number: 313
     Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers

Abstract
I am Alok Kumar Thakur, a final-year PhD student at the Energy, Environmental, and Exposure Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, India. Over my PhD journey, I have worked in the research area of aerosols, indoor air quality, working and deployability of low-cost monitors, physics-informed deep learning, mitigation devices, computational fluid dynamics for indoor environments, and chemical assay-based toxicity. To explain each in brief, I understood aerosol science in detail while working on my first chapter, where I estimated the size-resolved scattering intensity of aerosols while trying to assess the performance of low-cost monitors. As our lab was new, we also developed in-house multi-pollutant monitors, which we deployed in multiple indoor settings to briefly characterize indoor air pollution by looking at the source and fate of pollutants. Later, we used physics-informed deep learning to predict Spatio-temporal concentrations. We also used OpenFOAM to do CFD for the indoor environments. Lastly, we devised a passive mitigation device to reduce exposure from fine particles. Apart from the thesis, I also worked on the toxicity of PM using chemical-based assays, which I got trained for two months at UIUC, USA. I have three peer-reviewed published research papers, with four more papers currently under review and preparation.

I will submit my thesis around September’2025. I am seeking postdoctoral, research associate, and scientist positions in the US and Europe to extend my research and explore new research domains. I would be interested in the research area of CFD of indoor spaces, online and offline aerosol characterization and modeling, deployment of low-cost monitors, toxicity of PM and bioaerosols, and building automation. These areas are not in order of preference, and I would love to explore any of these areas if given the right opportunity. I do not have any geographical preferences.