Ambarish Kulkarni

Assistant Professor

College/School/Department: College of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering

What made you choose Davis? 

Choosing a university to start an independent research group is a not a trivial decision for any young researcher. Beyond just being an institute with a highly acclaimed research program, the sense of community and support within the chemical engineering department and the College of Engineering was a major factor that contributed to my decision. For instance, as a postdoc at Stanford while I was deliberating on the UC Davis offer, Dean (Jennifer) Curtis drove all the way from Davis to meet with me in person to address my concerns. At Davis, this level of commitment and support is evident not just in hiring new faculty members, but also in working with students, interacting with staff and other outreach activities. At the end of the day, Davis was an easy choice to make!

What inspires you?

Working with undergraduate and graduate students and contributing toward making the future more green and sustainable. 

What research are you currently working on? What makes it unique?

My group’s research is focused on developing and using a suite of computational methods to accelerate the design and discovery of novel, functional materials. We work in close collaboration with a number of experimental groups with applications including catalysis, separations, sensing and electronics. On a more technical note, by employing a combination of methods including ab initio calculations, classical force fields and machine learning, we have a unique opportunity of addressing hard problems such as aqueous phase reactions, catalyst deactivation and materials syntheses. 

When not in the classroom or conducting research, what do you like to do?
With my wife, I like to travel and eat my way through as many countries as possible.