Alumni Highlight: Dr. Anubhav Sarmah

Current role and primary responsibilities: Dr. Sarmah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech. As a tenure-track faculty member, his responsibilities are split between research, teaching, and service in support of his department and the university.

Degree type and graduation year from Texas A&M: Dr. Sarmah earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2023 under the supervision of Dr. Micah J. Green.

Skills or values from time at Texas A&M that continue to shape his career: From a professional perspective, Dr. Sarmah valued the collaborative environment in JEB, where researchers were always willing to brainstorm and discuss ideas, even outside their immediate areas of expertise. He believes that presentation and communication skills are best strengthened by engaging with audiences from diverse scientific backgrounds. Additionally, the Aggie spirit instilled in him a strong culture of service and camaraderie, which he continues to carry forward in his career.

Student organization involvement: Dr. Sarmah was a member of ChEGSA for two consecutive years, serving as President for one of those years. This experience pushed him beyond his comfort zone and helped him develop skills in teamwork, leadership, and professional communication.

Advice for current graduate students: Dr. Sarmah emphasizes that a career in science and academia is inherently challenging, as it exists at the boundary between what is known and unknown. He encourages students to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process and to continue finding joy in the pursuit of new knowledge.

Sarmah Research Lab:

The Sarmah Group focuses on Sustainable Processing of Advanced Materials. Current research areas include: Dynamic polymers, Additive manufacturing of next-generation materials, Electro-rheology of nanocomposites, Structure–processing–property relationships

Check his research group website for more details: https://sarmah.che.vt.edu/ LinkedIn profile : https://www.linkedin.com/in/anubhav-sarmah-48452a145/

Research group website: https://sarmah.che.vt.edu/