Poornima Padmanabhan
Assistant Professor
Poornima Padmanabhan
Assistant Professor
Education
B.Tech., Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (India); Ph.D., Cornell University
Bio
Dr. Poornima Padmanabhan received her bachelor’s degree (B. Tech.) in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras located in India. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2016 working in the area of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics with a focus on modeling polymer self-assembly for various applications. Following her Ph.D., she worked as a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University to study colloidal gels with a view to understanding the underlying microstructural evolution leading to the macroscopic collapse of gels under gravity. She has presented her past work at American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and American Physical Society (APS) annual meetings.
Dr. Padmanabhan is also actively involved in increasing the presence of women in science by promoting professional development of the graduate student and postdoctoral community at Cornell and engaging high school girls and their families through outreach events in upstate NY. She received an Alice H. Cook and Constance E. Cook Recognition Award for efforts in improving climate for women at Cornell University.
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In the News
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May 8, 2023
Squishing the barriers of physics
Four RIT faculty members are opening up soft matter physics, sometimes known as “squishy physics,” to a new generation of diverse scholars.
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February 15, 2022
Rochester Prep High School students share their capstone experience
One highlight of the RIT-Rochester Prep High School Partnership is the annual capstone showcase that spotlights student-professor collaborations. Their diverse projects in photojournalism, antibiotic resistance, 3D printing and fabrication, and chemical engineering gave the students experience on a college campus and the confidence of completing undergraduate-level material.
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January 17, 2022
RIT professor Poornima Padmanabhan honored with NSF CAREER Award
Scientists look to space for origins of the solar system; chemical engineers like Poornima Padmanabhan are searching for the origins of life based on minute systems of molecules. Padmanabhan recently received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for “Chirality and polymer thermodynamics: frustration and amplification.”
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October 17, 2022
RIT hosts Upstate NY soft matter workshop
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March 16, 2021
Student presents at physics conference
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January 19, 2021
Padmanabhan presents at WELCOME seminar series