Davidson School of Chemical Engineering graduate student Akriti was recently named 2020 recipient of the Arvind and Karen Varma Fellowship.

Created in 2019, the Varma Fellowship supports Purdue Chemical Engineering graduate students with outstanding academic and research performance.

“I am truly honored to receive the prestigious Arvind and Karen Varma Fellowship. Professor Varma was a visionary leader in the field of chemical engineering,” said Akriti. “I hope that through my work I can pay tribute to his legacy.”

Akriti is advised by Dr. Letian Dou, Charles Davidson Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, and is conducting research on developing a fundamental understanding of anionic inter-diffusion in halide perovskites with the goal to improve their stability for solid state devices.

“Akriti is an extremely talented, hard-working, and responsible researcher with a bright future,” said Dr. Dou.

Dr. Arvind Varma was the R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University and 10^th Head of the School. Dr. Varma passed away on July 14, 2019, and will be remembered as a ground-breaking chemical engineering researcher who made significant impacts in the areas of hydrogen and other energy sources, chemical and catalytic reaction engineering, and in the synthesis of advanced materials.

Learn more about the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE.

Learn more about Dr. Varma at https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/news/2019/dr-arvind-varma-a-legacy-of-leadership.

Source: Akriti Akriti, akriti@purdue.edu

Writer: Makenna Fitzgerald, fitzge39@purdue.edu