Welcome
I am Ritesh Kumar, an Eric & Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellow at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago. My research focuses on accelerating materials discovery for next-generation energy storage and conversion devices using artificial intelligence and computational simulations.
Research Interests
- AI-driven materials discovery: Developing machine learning techniques for materials discovery in batteries, (photo)electrocatalysts, and other energy technologies
- Computational modeling: Molecular dynamics and density functional theory for atomistic- and molecular-level investigation of materials and interfaces
- Energy storage: Molecular design of efficient electrolytes for next-generation batteries including lithium metal batteries
- Energy conversion: Rational design of efficient catalysts for key reactions of industrial importance
News & Highlights
- Named 2025 Rising Stars in Soft and Biologic Matter, co-sponsored by University of Chicago and University of California San Diego | December 10, 2025
- EurekAlert! news release: New AI model explores massive chemical space with minimal data | October 30, 2025
- Invited talk at University of Oxford (ZERO Institute Seminar): Accelerating liquid electrolyte discovery for next-generation batteries using data-driven techniques | September 18, 2025
- Science Daily blog: A Big Data approach for battery electrolytes | May 6, 2025
- Invited talk at University of Chicago (AI+Science Schmidt Fellow Speaker Series): Realizing next-generation batteries through AI and automation | April 23, 2024
- Data Science Institute (University of Chicago) blog post: Improving Batteries to Combat Climate Change | February 27, 2024
Contact
Email: riteshk@uchicago.edu Phone: +1 (773) 219-8231 Office: Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, 5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637