Bio
Sai is a computational and experimental postdoc in the Geochemistry & Interfacial Sciences Group within the Chemical Sciences Division. His research focuses on understanding the structure and energetics of mineral–aqueous and mineral–vapor interfaces. He uses Monte Carlo methods and classical and quantum chemical molecular dynamics to study adsorption, dissolution, and precipitation in bulk phases, at interfaces, and under confinement, with the goal of advancing leaching and extraction strategies for critical minerals. His experimental work dedicated on tailoring the surface properties of oxide minerals and capturing transient phases of amorphous materials during crystallization.
Professional Experience
2023 - present: Postdoc, Geochemistry & Interfacial Sciences Group, ORNL, USA
2021-2023: Researcher, Product Development Group, Tata Steel R&D, India
2010-2013: Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Manipal University, India
2009-2010: Lecturer, Chemical Engineering, University of Baroda, India
Awards
Naik and Rastogi excellence in Ph. D. thesis award, 2022
Education
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
M.Tech in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India
B.Tech in Chemical Engineering, JNTU, Hyderabad, India
Professional Service
Reviewer for Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Colloid and Interface Science and Scientific Reports Journals
Professional Affiliations
Geochemistry division of the American Chemical Society
Specialized Equipment
TGA-MS, BET, SEM-EDS, XRD, 3D Surface Profiler, TR-XRD and XPDF Beamlines
Trademarks and Patents
A P Moon, S K Srikar, S Dwarapudi, G R Sinha, B M Pirjade, S Adapa, A method of coating iron powder particles with nano silica particles (WO2023187550A1)
L M Anovitz, S Adapa, A G Stack, J Weber, P Yang, Method to Reduce Energy Costs for CO2 Capture by Mineral Looping (F.No: 19/548,271)
Publications
Other Publications
S Adapa and A Malani, Cation hydration by confined water and framework‑atoms have crucial role on thermodynamics of clay swelling, Scientific Reports, 8(1), 17810, 2022.
I Shere, S Adapa and A Malani, Development of coarse‑grained potential of silica species, Molecular Simulation,1‑13, 2022.
S Adapa and A Malani, Role of cation size on swelling pressure and free energy of mica pores, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 599, 694‑705, 2021.
S Adapa and A Malani, Role of hydration energy and co‑ions association on monovalent and divalent cations adsorption at mica‑aqueous interface, Scientific Reports, 12198, 2018.
S Adapa, D R Swamy, S Kancharla, S Pradhan and A Malani, Role of mono‑ and divalent surface cations on structure and adsorption behavior of water on mica surface, Langmuir, 34 (48), 14472‑14488, 2018.
V Kumar and S Adapa, Why FCC riser is taller than model predictions?, AIChE journal, 57 (10), 2917‑2920, 2011.