Research Area:
The research interests in our group lie broadly in the field of Soft Matter/Statistical Physics. More specifically, we study the dynamical and structural properties of phase ordering in unstable far-from-equilibrium systems. We explore how their behavior is measured and characterized, which involve various phenomena such as nucleation, spinodal decomposition, late-stage growth, and coarsening. 
We use a combination of Analytical and Computational/Numerical tools (Coarse-grained field-theoretical models, Monte Carlo (MC), Molecular Dynamics (MD), Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) simulations, and Gel Lattice Spring Model (GLSM)) to explore the current challenging problems in this field, such as:

1. Computational design of Smart Materials
2. Phase separation kinetics in multi-component (i) Simple-fluids, (ii) Polymer melt & solution, (iii) Block copolymer melt & solutions
3. Nanostructure formation in nonequilibrium systems
4. Computational analysis of self-assembly involving the following polymerization processes: Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), Free radical polymerization (FRP), and Photo controlled radical polymerization (Photo-CRP)

 Publications
SCI Journal Articles

1. Growth kinetics in two-dimensional binary mixtures with bond-disorder: Monte Carlo simulation results; Samiksha Shrivastava, Awaneesh Singh; arXiv preprint arXiv:2111.07149 (submitted)
2. Dissipative particle dynamics simulation study on ATRP-brush modification of variably shaped surfaces and biopolymer adsorption, S. Shrivastava, S. Saha, A. Singh; Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Vol. 24 (30), 17986-18003 (2022). (PCCP Hot Articles-2022) IF: 3.945 (recommended for the Back Cover of the issue)
3. High Adsorption of α-Glucosidase on Polymer Brush-Modified Anisotropic Particles Acquired by Electrospraying—A Combined Experimental and Simulation Study; Ifra, Awaneesh Singh, Sampa Saha; ACS Applied Bio Materials 4 (10), 7431-7444 (2021). IF: 3.25
4. Photo-induced bond breaking during phase separation kinetics of block copolymer melts- A dissipative particle dynamics study; Ashish Kumar Singh, Avinash Chauhan, Sanjay Puri, Awaneesh Singh; Soft Matter, Vol. 17 (7), 1802-1813 (2021). IF: 4.046 (recommended for the Back Cover of the issue)
5. Kinetics of domain growth in Ising systems with the bond disorder at regularly selected sites; Awaneesh Singh; Bulletin of Materials Science, Vol. 43, 185 (2020). IF: 1.878
6. Shape-Shifting of Cup Shaped Particles on Growing poly (2‐hydroxy ethyl methacrylate) Brushes by “Grafting From” Approach and Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation; Ifra, Awaneesh Singh, and Sampa Saha; ChemistrySelect, Vol. 5, (15), 4685-4694 (2020). IF: 2.307
7. Kinetics of phase separation in ternary fluid mixtures: A dissipative particle dynamics simulation study; Amrita Singh, Anirban Chakraborti, and Awaneesh Singh; Soft Matter, Vol. 14, 4317-4326 (2018). IF: 4.046
8. Designing polymer gels and composites that undergo bio-inspired phototactic reconfiguration and motion; Olga Kuksenok, Awaneesh Singh, and Anna C. Balazs; Bioinspir. Biomim. Vol. 13, 035004 (2018). IF: 2.985
9. Effect of bond-disorder on the phase-separation kinetics of binary mixtures: A Monte Carlo simulation study; Awaneesh Singh, Amrita Singh, and Anirban Chakraborti; Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 147, (12) 124902 (2017). IF: 4.304
10. Combining ATRP and FRP gels: soft gluing of polymeric materials for the fabrication of stackable gels; Antoine Beziau, Rafael N. L. de Menezes, Santidan Biswas, Awaneesh Singh, J. Cuthbert, Anna C. Balazs, Tomasz Kowalewski, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski; Polymers (mdpi), Vol. 9, 186 (2017). (Featured article 2017) IF: 4.967
11. Photo-regeneration of Severed Gel with Iniferter-mediated Photo-growth; Awaneesh Singh, Olga Kuksenok, Jeremiah A. Johnson and Anna C. Balazs. Soft Matter, Vol. 13, 1978-1987 (2017). IF: 4.046
12. Living Additive Manufacturing: Transformation of Parent Gels into Diversely Functionalized Daughter Gels Made Possible by Visible Light Photo-redox Catalysis; Mao Chen, Yuwei Gu, Awaneesh Singh, Mingjiang Zhong, Alex Jordan, Santidan Biswas, LaShanda Korley, Anna C. Balazs, and Jeremiah A, Johnson. ACS Central Science, Vol. 3, 124-134 (2017). IF: 18.728  (Web highlight of the issue) 
    • Highlighted in the following news articles:
      • Technique enables adaptable 3-D printing written by Anne Trafton http://news.mit.edu/2017/technique-enables-adaptable-3-d-printing-0113; Appears in MIT News; 13 Jan 2017.
      • MIT creates adaptive 3D printing process using light written by Corey Clarke https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/mit-create-adaptive-3d-printing-process-using-light-103345/; Appears in 3dprintingindustry.com; 16 Jan 2017.
      • Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing Now Adapt Post-Production written by William Mckinney https://edgylabs.com/2017/01/26/additive-manufacturing-adaptable/; Appears in edgylabs.com; 26 Jan 2017
13. ​​Modeling the formation of layered, amphiphilic gels; Santidan Biswas, Awaneesh Singh, Antoine Beziau, Tomasz Kowalewski, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, and Anna C. Balazs; Polymer (Elsevier), Vol. 111, 214-221 (2017). IF: 4.436
14. Embedding Flexible Fibers into Responsive Gels to Create Composites with Controllable Dexterity; Awaneesh Singh, Olga Kuksenok, and Anna C. Balazs; Soft Matter, Vol. 12, 9170-9184 (2016). (Considered for the Cover of the issue) IF: 4.046
    • ​​Highlighted in the following article:
      • Handy gel grips chemists wrote by Tom Wilson for Chemistry world https://www.chemistryworld.com/1017615.article; Appears in the Soft Matter blog; 9 Nov 2016.
15. ​Miktoarm Star Copolymers as Interfacial Connectors for Stackable Amphiphilic Gels; Antoine Beziau, Awaneesh Singh, Rafael N. L. de Menezes, Hangjun Ding, Antonina Simakova, Olga Kuksenok, Anna C. Balazs, Tomasz Kowalewski, and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski; Polymer (Elsevier), Vol. 101, 406-414 (2016). IF: 4.436
16. Tailoring the Structure of Polymer Networks with Iniferter-Mediated Photo-Growth; Awaneesh Singh, Olga Kuksenok, Jeremiah A. Johnson, and Anna C. Balazs;  Polym. Chem. Vol. 7, 2955-2964 (2016). IF: 5.364
17. Ordering Dynamics in Neuron Activity Pattern Model: An Insight to Brain Functionality; Jasleen Gundh, Awaneesh Singh, and R. K. Brojen Singh;  PloS one, Vol. 10, Issue 10, e0141463 (2015). IF: 3.752
18. Phase Separation in Ternary Fluid Mixtures: A Molecular Dynamics Study; Awaneesh Singh, and Sanjay Puri; Soft Matter, Vol. 11, 2213-2219 (2015). (Soft Matter Hot Articles-2015) IF: 4.046
19. Kinetics of Microphase Separation in Block Copolymers: A Molecular Dynamics Study; Awaneesh Singh, Raishma Krishnan, and Sanjay Puri; Europhysics Letters, Vol. 109, 26006 (2015). IF: 1.947
20. Kinetics of Phase Separation in Polymer Mixtures: A Molecular Dynamics Study; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Chandan Dasgupta; Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 140, 244906 (2014). IF: 4.304
21. Kinetics of Phase Transitions in Quark Matter; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Hiranmaya Mishra; Europhysics Letters, Vol. 102, 52001 (2013). IF: 1.947
22. Domain Growth in Chiral Phase Transitions: Role of Inertial Dynamics; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Hiranmaya Mishra; Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 908, 12 (2013). IF: 1.916
23. Growth Kinetics of Nanoclusters in Solution; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Chandan Dasgupta; Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 116, 4519 (2012). IF: 3.466
24. Domain Growth in Chiral Phase Transitions; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Hiranmaya Mishra; Nuclear Physics A, Vol. 864, 176-202 (2011). IF: 1.916 
25. Control of Structure Formation in Phase-Separating Systems; Awaneesh Singh, A. Mukerjee, H. M. Vermeulen, G. Barkema, and Sanjay Puri; Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 134, 044910 (2011). IF: 4.304

Conference Proceedings

23. Tailoring the Structure of Polymer Networks with Photo-Controlled Radical Polymerization; Awaneesh Singh, Olga Kuksenok, Jeremiah A. Johnson, Anna C. Balazs; Bulletin of the American Physical Society (2016).
24. Photo-Regeneration of Severed Gel Using Photo-Controlled Radical Polymerization; Awaneesh Singh, Olga Kuksenok, Jeremiah A. Johnson, Anna C. Balazs; Bulletin of the American Physical Society (2016).
25. Covalent Fusion of layered Incompatible Gels in Immiscible Solvents; Santidan Biswas, Awaneesh Singh, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Anna C. Balazs; Bulletin of the American Physical Society (2016).
26. Kinetics of chiral transitions and domain growth in quark matter; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Hiranmaya Mishra; Proceedings of Science, (CPOD 2013) 022.
27. Domain Growth and Ordering Kinetics in Dense Quark Matter; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Hiranmaya Mishra; Presented in Critical Point and Onset of Deconfinement - CPOD 2010; Physics of Atomic Nuclei: Elementary Particles and Fields, Vol. 75, 6, 689 (2012).
28. Kinetics of Chiral Phase Transitions in Quark Matter; Awaneesh Singh, Sanjay Puri, and Hiranmaya Mishra; Gribov-80 Memorial Volume: Quantum Chromodynamics and Beyond; Edited by Yu L. Dokshitzer, P. Lèvai, and J. Nyìri; (World Scientific, pp. 527-540, 2011).
29. Control of Structure Formation in Phase Separation; Awaneesh Singh, Anupam Mukherjee, Sanjay Puri, and G. Barkema; American Institute of Physics Conference Series; 1091, 293 (2009).

Professional Experience:

(i) Assistant Professor: Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi (May 2018 – present)
(ii) Assistant Professor (UGC): Department of Physics, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai-400019 (March 2017-May 2018)
(iii) Postdoctoral Experience:

1. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA (Dec 2014 – Oct 2016). Group Leader: Prof. Anna C Balazs
2. School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India (Sep 2013 – Oct 2014). Group Leader: Prof. Sanjay Puri
3. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA (Dec 2011 – Aug 2013). Group Leader: Prof. Murugappan Muthukumar
4. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India (Oct 2010 – Nov 2011). Group Leader: Prof. Chandan Dasgupta

Funding Type

• Early Career Research Award: ECR/2017/002529 from Science and Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Total funding amount: Approx. INR 5000000.00
• Duration: 11-2018 to 05-2022

Ph.D. Students: (Ongoing)

1. Avinash Chauhan (Roll No.:  18171504); 
   • Topic: Phase Ordering in Soft Materials
2. Samiksha Shrivastav (Roll no.: 19171001);
   • Topic: Ordering Kinetics in Far-from-equilibrium Systems
3. ​​Ashish Kumar Singh (Roll no.: 19171023);
   • Topic: Self Assembly of Block Copolymers
4. Devendra Kumar Verma (Roll no.: 21171003);
   • ​​Topic: Regulation of Phase separating structures in soft materials

Publications: 

1. Photo-induced bond breaking during phase separation kinetics of block copolymer melts- A dissipative particle dynamics study; Ashish Kumar Singh, Avinash Chauhan, Sanjay Puri, Awaneesh Singh; Soft Matter, Vol. 17 (7), 1802-1813 (2021). IF: 4.046 (recommended for the Back Cover of the issue)
2. Dissipative particle dynamics simulation study on ATRP-brush modification of variably shaped surfaces and biopolymer adsorption, S. Shrivastava, S. Saha, A. Singh; Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Vol. 24 (30), 17986-18003 (2022). (PCCP Hot Articles-2022) IF: 3.945 (recommended for the Back Cover of the issue)
3. Growth kinetics in two-dimensional binary mixtures with bond-disorder: Monte Carlo simulation results; Samiksha Shrivastava, Awaneesh Singh; arXiv preprint arXiv:2111.07149 (submitted)
4. Oil and water emulsion with polymer grafted nanoparticles surfactant, S. Shrivastava, S. Saha, A. Singh (in preparation)
5. Phase separation kinetics of block copolymer melts confined under moving walls, Ashish Kumar Singh, Awaneesh Singh (in preparation)
6. Phase separation kinetics of polymeric system under photo-induced random bond-breaking, Ashish Kumar Singh, Avinash Chauhan, Sanjay Puri, Awaneesh Singh (in preparation)
7. Influence of amphiphilic polymer on phase separation simple binary fluids: a DPD simulation study, Avinash Chauhan, Dorothy Gogoi, Sanjay Puri, Awaneesh Singh (in preparation)
8. Influence of the polymeric component inhabiting domain interfaces on growth kinetics of phase separating fluids: simulation results, Dorothy Gogoi,  Avinash Chauhan, Sanjay Puri, Awaneesh Singh (in preparation)

​M. Tech. Thesis Students: (Ongoing)​ 

1. Kushagra Sachan (Roll No.: 18173009)
   • ​Topic: Reaction-induced phase ordering kinetics 

M.Sc. Thesis Student (Ongoing)

1. Ankita Gupta (Roll No.: 21177005);
   • Topic: Effect of periodic temperature quench on soft nanostructures

Completed:

1. MSc Thesis:
   • Anish Kumar (Roll No.: 20177003)
   • Sachin Verma (Roll No.: 20177020)
   • Kamlesh Mishra (Roll No.: 19177006)
2. MTech thesis:
   • Abhinash Daulaguphu (Roll No.: 17173001)
   • Aditya N Meshram (Roll No.: 16173003)
3. UG Project: Aman Jain (Roll No.: 17173004)
4. UG Project: Prabhat Kumar (Roll No.: 17173011)
5. Exploratory Project: Ajeya P. Krishna (Roll No.: 17173003)