Sathvik A. Iyengar received his bachelor's degree in nanotechnology in 2018 from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India, and since 2020, he has been a PhD student in materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University. There, in 2024, he earned a graduate certificate in teaching and learning, the thesis of which emphasized making thermodynamics and quantum science approachable for students of all backgrounds. The focus of his doctoral studies is electronic interfaces between atomically-thin heterostructures, which led to his discovery of glaphene (patent pending) — a 2D hybrid of silica glass and graphene. Iyengar completed a 2024-25 fellowship with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, integrating into a multicultural research group at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology while pursuing fundamental physics in a technically demanding environment. In 2023 at the White House, he was named an inaugural Quad Fellow, gaining residential research experience in four countries — India, Japan, Australia, and the United States. In addition, he has served as a Rice-National Science Foundation Research Traineeship fellow in bioelectronics. His future research lab will move beyond the limits of 2D materials and explore previously inaccessible regimes of interlayer interaction, phase behavior, and strain-induced functionality. He will prioritize mentorship, recruit a wide range of students, and provide structured, scaffolded opportunities for growth.

Research Interests

Atomically-thin Nanomaterials