Dr. Ritesh Kumar is an Assistant Professor at the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy (RISE), TCG CREST, where he leads the Intelligent Electrochemical Energy (IE²) Laboratory. His research lies at the intersection of electrochemistry, artificial intelligence (AI), computational modeling, and theory, with a focus on accelerating the discovery of materials for next-generation electrochemical energy devices. His group develops AI-driven frameworks integrated with multiscale computational approaches to understand and design advanced electrolyte and electrode materials, investigate electrified interfaces, and enable data-driven discovery of electrochemical systems for emerging energy technologies.
Dr. Kumar obtained his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, where he carried out research on computational and theoretical approaches to materials and energy systems. He subsequently joined the University of Chicago as an Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellow, where he worked at the interface of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and molecular simulations in close collaboration with experimental researchers. His postdoctoral research focused on developing AI-enabled computational tools to accelerate the discovery of electrolytes for lithium metal batteries and to understand electrochemical CO2/CO reduction processes.
Dr. Kumar has received several prestigious recognitions for his research, including the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellowship awarded by Schmidt Sciences, the 2025 Rising Stars in Soft and Biologic Matter Award jointly presented by the University of Chicago and the University of California, San Diego, and the 2025 CAS Future Leader Top 100 Award from the American Chemical Society.
Contact: ritesh.kumar@tcgcrest.org
Personal Website: https://ritesh001.github.io/ai4en/