2/10/2022 Claire Benjamin
Written by Claire Benjamin
Graduate student Saket Bhargava, advised by professor and department head Paul Kenis, received the 2021 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry from the Division of Environmental Chemistry (ENVR) of the American Chemical Society (ACS). He also received the 2021-2022 STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship and was selected through a competitive process to take part in the 2022 Global Young Scientists Summit.
2021 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry
The Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry recognizes up to 20 graduate students who are working in areas related to environmental chemistry. The award is based on student transcripts, research productivity, future goals, and a letter of recommendation from the faculty advisor. The awardees receive membership in the Environmental Division for one year and a monetary award.
2021-2022 STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship
The Chateaubriand Fellowship is a grant offered by the Embassy of France in the United States. The program aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the fields of science and technology. The fellowship supports outstanding PhD students from U.S. institutions who wish to conduct part of their doctoral research in France for a period ranging from 4 to 9 months. Chateaubriand fellows are selected through a merit-based competition, with expert evaluation in France and the U.S. Bhargava had planned to study CO2 electroreduction with molecular catalysts immobilized on heterogeneous surfaces in the laboratory of professor Marc Robert at the Laboratoire d’Electrochimie Moléculaire at the Université de Paris, but unfortunately, was not able to due to the ongoing pandemic.
2022 Global Young Scientists Summit
The Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS) is organized by Singapore’s National Research Foundation to bring together bright young researchers and top scientific minds from around the world to discuss science and technology trends, future game-changers, and how research could address major global challenges. Held virtually on January 17-21, GYSS 2022 featured plenary lectures, panel sessions, networking sessions, small group informal sessions, and a segment where selected participants present their research. As a participant, Bhargava also had the opportunity to chat with professor M. Stanley Whittingham, an eminent scientist and one of the awardees for the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on Li-ion batteries.
“I am really grateful for these honors and recognitions,” said Bhargava, who will defend his dissertation “System-Level Approaches for Intensifying the CO2 Electrolysis Process: From Reaction Chemistry to Process Development” on February 16.
After he graduates from Illinois with his PhD in chemical engineering, Bhargava plans to join The Dow Chemical Company as a Senior Research Specialist in the Reaction Engineering Department of the Engineering and Process Sciences Group.