Yogi was born in Bangalore, India, a bustling city of almost 10 million residents located near the southern tip of the Deccan plateau. He immigrated to the US at age three along with his immediate family and grew up in Kent, OH. While his initial interests in chemistry were stimulated by frequent visits to his Father’s organic chemistry laboratory throughout his youth, he developed an even stronger affinity of experimental science while doing research in particle physics under the direction of Jon Secaur at Theodore Roosevelt High School. In the Fall of 2002, Yogi ventured south of the Mason-Dixon line to attend the University of Virginia as a Jefferson Scholar. After an initial foray into protein crystallography under the direction of Prof. Zygmunt Derewenda, Yogi decided to return to his roots and join the organometallic chemistry laboratory of Prof. Dean Harman. In the Harman Lab, Yogi investigated the dearomatization of diazine heterocycles by low valent tungsten coordination compounds. It was also during his time in the Harman Lab that he developed a deep interest in electrochemistry, which would shape his future in more ways than he imagined. In the Fall of 2006, Yogi returned to the North to pursue graduate work in Inorganic Chemistry at MIT as an NSF and NDSEG fellow. Under the direction of Prof. Daniel Nocera, he studied mechanistic aspects of oxygen evolution mediated by oxidic Co-based thin film electrocatalysts. Upon graduating in the summer of 2011, Yogi moved West to pursue postdoctoral studies as a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley. Under the direction of Prof. Paul Alivisatos, he investigated how molecules can be used to controllably dope nanocrystal thin films for next generation optoelectronic devices. Desiring greater seasonal variability in the weather, he moved back to Cambridge in the summer of 2013 to assume his current position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry. His research focuses on the chemistry of solid-liquid interfaces with a current emphasis on electrochemical energy conversion. In his spare time, Yogi enjoys hiking the White Mountains, blogging about south Asian gastronomy and perfecting his stunt kiting skills.
Education: Ph.D. in chemistry or related field
Research Interests: Electrochemistry! Interfaces! Materials! Catalysis!
Hobbies: Marginal
Social Life: let's not get carried away here
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