Sai Kiran Mani

Sai Kiran Mani is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology Research, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

saikiranm1094@gmail.com, saik3@umbc.edu
Title: Post-Doctoral Research Associate, CAST 

Education

  • Ph.D., Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India, 2022.
  • M.Sc., Chemistry, Jiwaji University, India, 2017.
  • B.Sc. (Hons.), Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India, 2015.

Appointments

  • Post-Doctoral Research Associate, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 2023-present.
  • DST-INSPIRE Senior Research Fellow, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, 2020.
  • DST-INSPIRE Junior Research Fellow, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, 2018.

Research Activities

  • Synthesized polymer-based composites for defluoridation, dye remediation, and heavy metal adsorption.
  • Computational modeling to design a suitable adsorbent for fluoride binding using Gaussian 09, Gauss View, and Visual molecular dynamics software.
  • Analysis and interpretation of adsorbent binding mechanism using spectroscopic (FT-IR, Raman, XPS), thermal (TGA, DSC), microscopic (SEM, TEM), and analytical techniques (ICP-AES, MP-AES).
  • Development of fixed-bed column water filters for water purification.

Professional Memberships and Awards

  • Awarded ‘Best All Rounder Gold Medal’ for excellence in both academic and co-curricular activities in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India in 2014.
  • Awarded ‘Gold Medal for B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry’ at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India in 2015.
  • Awarded ‘Gold Medal for M.Sc. Chemistry’ at Jiwaji University, India in 2018.
  • Awarded ‘Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Fellowship’ by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government to a pursue doctoral research program at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, India.
  • Awarded First Prize for delivering the talk entitled “Self assembled PVA based Hydrogel Beads for Effective Defluoridation of Groundwater,” at the Science, Technology, and Innovation Talks (STIN 2021) by young research fellows, at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, India in 2021.

Selected Publications

  • Sai Kiran Mani, Rajni Bhandari, Efficient fluoride removal by fixed-bed column of self-assembled Zr(IV), Fe(III), Cu(II) complexed PVA hydrogel beads, ACS Omega, 7, 17 (2022) 15048–15063.
  • Sai Kiran Mani, Rajni Bhandari, Microwave-assisted synthesis of self-assembled network of Graphene oxide-Polyethylenimine-Polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel beads for removal of cationic and anionic dyes from wastewater, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 345 (2022) 117809.
  • Sai Kiran Mani, Prathyusha. V, Rajni Bhandari, Experimental and computational investigation of divalent, trivalent, and tetravalent metal ion complexes of polyvinyl alcohol as adsorbents for fluoride remediation, Journal of Molecular Structure, 1252 (2022) 132139.
  • Sai Kiran Mani, Rajni Bhandari, Anita Nehra, Self-assembled cylindrical Zr (IV), Fe (III) and Cu (II) impregnated polyvinyl alcohol-based hydrogel beads for real-time application in fluoride removal, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 610 (2021) 125751.
  • Sai Kiran M, Rajni Bhandari, Anita Nehra, Chelli Sai Manohar & Siva Kumar Belliraj, Zirconium–Cerium and Zirconium–Lanthanum complexed polyvinyl alcohol films for efficient fluoride removal from aqueous solution, Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 42, 10 (2021) 1550–1565.