Satish Kumar joined Georgia Tech in 1989, where he is currently serving as Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

Prof. Kumar has been a member of the Division of Polymer Chemistry since 1981. He was recently selected as a 2018 POLY Fellow, for his sustained achievements in research involving the synthesis and manufacture of fibers, polymers, and polymeric nano composite materials with unique functionalities and attributes. The emerging fields involving the use of nanofibers, nanocomposites, and functional composites has greatly benefited from his contributions. He is a renowned researcher and scholar in the area of materials that are highly sought by industry in applications ranging from lightweighting to biomaterials.
 

1. What are you working on now?

I am currently working on making high strength and high modulus carbon fibers, hollow carbon fibers, as well as multifunctional carbon and textile fibers. We are also working on nano composite materials containing carbon nanotubes, cellulose nano crystals, and other nano materials. Work is also ongoing on lignin containing fibers. We are also working on making high surface area carbon material for energy storage and capacitive water desalination. We have established a unique fiber spinning and carbonization laboratory in class 1000 cleanroom.

2. What do you find most challenging about your work?

I enjoy my work very much. Both classroom teaching and working with students, postdocs, research scientists, and various collaborators on research is very rewarding and satisfying. These interactions provide opportunity to learn every day. I probably learn more from my students than what they learn from me. Advancing materials properties is very exciting. Ensuring laboratory safety is my key concern.

3. Tell us about someone who has influenced your work.

Many people have influenced my work. During early years, in primary school in rural India, during a class held under a "neem tree" (as there was no primary school building in the village at that time), I remember the teacher demonstrating the effect of atmospheric air pressure by turning upside down the glass full of water covered with a cardboard piece. There were number of dedicated teachers in high school and college that have had a huge influence on my mental make-up. I was introduced to the field of Polymers by my Ph.D. advisor Professor V. B. Gupta at Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. Some of the sketches he drew of polymer fiber structure in 1977 are still very fresh in my mind. Subsequently I got the world-wide perspective on Polymers during my postdoc days at University of Massachusetts (UMASS) at Amherst under the tutelage of Professor R. S. Stein. At UMASS, I had the fortune to meet Wade Adams, who was doing his Ph.D. at that time. A collaboration with Nobel Laureate Smalley shaped my research in carbon materials. I have also been fortunate to have many industrial collaborators that provided valuable perspectives. These include Drs. David Schiraldi (started when he was at Celanese Corp, now at Case Western Reserve University), Tom Tsotsis (Boeing Co.), and Nikhil Verghese (SABIC). My parents (both deceased), my wife (Renu), and my children (Atul, Anjli, and Asha) also have a huge influence on me.

3. What might someone be surprised to know about you?

When I first came to the United States in 1979, Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer, was the president. In my very first trip to the U.S. grocery store, I went shopping for a few essentials: bread, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, etc... Going through the grocery store aisles, I was in awe with the vast selection of food items. In an aisle, I saw something called "peanut butter". I had never seen or heard of peanut butter in my life before that time. I said to myself, ah, "peanut farmer" is the president, and they use peanut butter here as the "butter". So, I purchased peanut butter and other groceries, and returned to my dorm room, where I tried to cook an egg omelet using peanut butter!

4. What do you think will change about polymers over the next five years?

I do not know about five years. I take a longer range perspective. I am working on fibers. Strength of fibers has increased by a factor of ten over the last century, and yet we are only at less than 10% (and only 5% in some cases) of the theoretical strength. I expect significant progress in increasing the strength and toughness of polymeric and carbon materials over the coming decades, and these materials will have multiple functionalities.

5. What do you do when you aren't working?

Walking the dog, swimming, reading a book (often biographies)