Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences UC Berkeley
Materials Science Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
PhD, Materials Science and NanoEngineering Rice University
Quantum interfaces, memory, logic, and interconnects
Sathvik Ajay Iyengar
I am a 2026 Schmidt Science Fellow at UC Berkeley co-advised by Profs. Asir Khan and Sayeef Salahuddin studying how charge, spin, polarization, and heat interact across ultrathin interfaces in electronic materials for energy-efficient computing and AI hardware.
At Rice University, where I completed my PhD in 2025, I studied hybridization in atomically thin materials at two distinct levels. I discovered Glaphene™, an interlayer hybrid of graphene and 2D silica glass, and I demonstrated quantum flexoelectricity arising from curvature-driven intralayer hybridization in graphene.
I now build on that foundation to design device-relevant heterostructures that connect atomic-scale interfacial structure to switching energy, scaling limits, and functional behavior in integrated stacks. You can explore more in research, browse selected and full publications, or get in touch.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences UC Berkeley
Materials Science Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
PhD, Materials Science and NanoEngineering Rice University
Quantum interfacesLogic & MemoryInterconnects
I am a 2026 Schmidt Science Fellow at UC Berkeley co-advised by Profs. Asir Khan and Sayeef Salahuddin. I study how charge, spin, polarization, and heat interact across ultrathin interfaces in electronic materials for energy-efficient computing and AI hardware.
My work sits at the intersection of materials science, electrical engineering, and emerging bioelectronic systems, with a central focus on how interfaces control physical behavior in modern technologies. My early research focused on atomically thin materials and hybrid structures, where I studied how electronic structure and polarization can be modified through intra- and interlayer hybridization. This included work on hybrid 2D systems and curvature-driven effects in graphene, which showed that electronic and electromechanical properties can be engineered through structure at the nanometer and sub-nanometer scale.
During my postdoctoral work as a Schmidt Science Fellow at UC Berkeley, my research has shifted toward device and system contexts, particularly logic, memory, and interconnect technologies for energy-efficient computing. In collaboration with industry partners including TSMC and Intel, I study how interface properties such as screening, dipoles, polarization coupling, and thermal boundary transport influence switching energy, signal propagation, and reliability in vertically integrated and heterogeneous device stacks. The goal is to translate interface physics into practical design strategies for next-generation computing hardware.
Looking ahead, my research is developing along two parallel directions connected by a common scientific theme. The first is the continued development of advanced solid-state electronic and photonic hardware, where interface engineering can enable new device concepts and improved energy efficiency. The second is the study of interfaces between electronic materials and soft matter, including polymers and biological environments, where charge, ion, and mechanical interactions at interfaces govern sensing, actuation, and bioelectronic function. Across both areas, my work is driven by the idea that interfaces are active regions that can be engineered to control performance, rather than passive boundaries between materials.
Several fellowships and formative programs have shaped how I think about this work and where I want to take it next:
Global fellowship founded by Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, through Schmidt Sciences in partnership with the Rhodes Trust. Supports early-career scientists to pursue bold interdisciplinary research across fields, with full funding, leadership training, and an international cohort advancing science at disciplinary boundaries.
Cross-domain training that shaped how I structure problems across materials, devices, and applications.
Outside the lab, I enjoy playing Carnatic violin, improving my Japanese, working out, and gaming. I’m always happy to connect about research, collaboration, and new directions in electronic interfaces and energy-efficient computing.
Research
My research centers on interfaces as active design elements rather than passive boundaries. I study how atomic-scale structure, chemistry, and fields reshape electronic behavior, then translate those mechanisms into stacks that matter for low-power devices.
Interface-driven electronic structure
Bonding, symmetry, charge redistribution
I connect atomic-scale interface chemistry and geometry to electronic structure and transport, with an emphasis on mechanisms that remain meaningful under device integration.
Coupled degrees of freedom
Charge • spin • polarization • heat
I study how multiple channels couple at ultrathin interfaces, including electrostatics, polarization fields, proximity effects, and thermal boundary transport.
Device-relevant stacks
Logic, memory, interconnect scaling
I translate interface mechanisms into heterostructures that matter for switching energy, variability, and scaling constraints in energy-efficient computing.
Methods
Vapor-phase growth • spectroscopy • transport
I combine synthesis and integration with spectroscopy and electrical and magnetic transport measurements to close the loop from structure to function.
Publications
Selected work spans ultrathin interfaces, 2D materials synthesis, quantum phenomena, device integration, and broader perspectives on translation from materials discovery to technology.
Featured publications
Sub-nm Curvature Unlocks Quantum Flexoelectricity in Graphene
S. A. Iyengar, J. G. McHugh, J. P. Salvage, R. Vajtai, A. B. Dalton*, M. Tripathi*, P. M. Ajayan*, V. Meunier* (2025, arXiv preprint; under review, Advanced Materials)
Glaphene: a 2D hybrid of silica glass and graphene
S. A. Iyengar, M. Tripathi, A. Srivastava, A. Biswas, T. Gray, M. Terrones, A. Dalton, M. A. Pimenta, R. Vajtai, V. Meunier, P. M. Ajayan, Advanced Materials, 2419136 (2025)
Sub-nm Curvature Unlocks Quantum Flexoelectricity in Graphene; S. A. Iyengar, J. G. McHugh, J. P. Salvage, R. Vajtai, A. B. Dalton*, M. Tripathi*, P. M. Ajayan*, V. Meunier*;
(2025, arXiv preprint; under review, Advanced Materials)
Investing in the Indo-Pacific Promise: Early-Career STEM Diplomacy Across the Quad and ASEAN; S. A. Iyengar*, J. D. Ingram, R. Araki;
AAAS Science & Diplomacy (2025) (invited, early view)
Glaphene: a 2D hybrid of silica glass and graphene; S. A. Iyengar, M. Tripathi, A. Srivastava, A. Biswas, T. Gray, M. Terrones, A. Dalton, M. A. Pimenta, R. Vajtai, V. Meunier, P. M. Ajayan;
Advanced Materials, 2419136 (2025)
Spatially-controlled polymorph growth of MoO₂ by physical vapor deposition;
J. Elkins*, S. A. Iyengar*, O. Verma, K. Khodabandehloo, A. Krishnamoorthy, J. Zhou, T. Pieshkov, J. Murukeshan, T. Gray, P. Nordlander, S. Link, A. B. Puthirath, P. M. Ajayan;
Nano Letters, 25(6), 2283–2289 (2025)
Mechanistic Understanding and Demonstration of Direct Chemical Vapor Deposition of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Across Metal Contacts;
L. M. Sassi*, S. A. Iyengar*, A. B. Puthirath, Y. Huang, X. Li, T. Terlier, A. Moujibpour, A. P. C. Teixeira, P. Bharadwaj, C. S. Tiwary, R. Vajtai, S. Talapatra, B. I. Yakobson, P. M. Ajayan;
ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 7(14), 6499–6510 (2025)
The Rise of Xene Hybrids;
P. Kumar*, G. Singh, X. Guan, S. Roy, J. Lee, I. Y. Kim, X. Li, F. Bu, R. Bahadur, S. A. Iyengar, J. Yi, D. Zhao, P. M. Ajayan, A. Vinu;
Advanced Materials, 2403881 (2024)
Frictional Characteristics of Graphene on Textured Surfaces;
M. Tripathi, S. A. Iyengar, M. H. Rahman, V. Gadhamshetty, P. M. Ajayan, A. B. Dalton;
Fundamentals of Friction and Wear on the Nanoscale, 241–264 (2024)
Go Fast Alone, or Go Far Together: the Power of International Education and Collaboration; S. A. Iyengar*, X. Hernández-Cruz*, E. Hibbert*, S. Suzuki*;
Institute of International Education (2024)
Vertical heterostructure of graphite–MoS₂ for gas sensing;
M. Tripathi, G. Deokar, J. Casanova-Chafer, J. Jin, A. Sierra-Castillo, S. P. Ogilvie, F. Lee, S. A. Iyengar, A. Biswas, E. Haye, A. Genovese, E. Llobet, J. F. Colomer, I. Jurewicz, V. Gadhamshetty, P. M. Ajayan, U. Schwingenschlogl, P. MFJ Costa, A. B. Dalton;
Nanoscale Horizons (2024)
Solutions Are the Problem: Ordered Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Framework Films by Chemical Vapor Deposition;
J. P. Daum*, A. Ajnsztajn*, S. A. Iyengar, J. Lowenstein, S. Roy, G. Gao, E. H. R. Tsai, P. M. Ajayan, R. Verduzco;
ACS Nano, 17(21), 21411–21419 (2023)
A Researcher’s Perspective on Unconventional Lab-to-Fab for 2D Semiconductor Devices; S. A. Iyengar*, S. Bhattacharyya*, S. Roy, N. R. Glavin, A. K. Roy, P. M. Ajayan;
ACS Nano, 17(14), 12955–12970 (2023)
Non-Linear Optics at Twist Interfaces in h-BN/SiC Heterostructures;
A. Biswas, R. Xu, G. A. Alvarez, J. Zhang, J. Christiansen-Salameh, A. B. Puthirath, K. Burns, J. A. Hachtel, T. Li, S. A. Iyengar, T. Gray, C. Li, X. Zhang, H. Kannan, J. Elkins, T. S. Pieshkov, R. Vajtai, A. G. Birdwell, M. R. Neupane, E. J. Garratt, T. G. Ivanov, B. B. Pate, Y. Zhao, H. Zhu, Z. Tian, A. Rubio, P. M. Ajayan;
Advanced Materials, 35(47), 2304624 (2023)
Structural, Optical, and Thermal Properties of BN Thin Films Grown on Diamond via Pulsed Laser Deposition;
A. Biswas, G. A. Alvarez, T. Li, J. Christiansen-Salameh, E. Jeong, A. B. Puthirath, S. A. Iyengar, C. Li, T. Gray, X. Zhang, T. S. Pieshkov, H. Kannan, J. Elkins, R. Vajtai, A. G. Birdwell, M. R. Neupane, E. J. Garratt, B. B. Pate, T. G. Ivanov, Y. Zhao, Z. Tian, P. M. Ajayan;
Physical Review Materials, 7(9), 094602 (2023)
Unravelling the Room Temperature Growth of Two-Dimensional h-BN Nanosheets for Multifunctional Applications;
A. Biswas, R. Maiti, F. Lee, C. Y. Chen, T. Li, A. B. Puthirath, S. A. Iyengar, C. Li, X. Zhang, H. Kannan, T. Gray, M. A. S. R. Saadi, J. Elkins, A. G. Birdwell, M. R. Neupane, P. B. Shah, D. A. Ruzmetov, T. G. Ivanov, R. Vajtai, Y. Zhao, A. L. Gaeta, M. Tripathi, A. Dalton, P. M. Ajayan;
Nanoscale Horizons, 8(5), 641–651 (2023)
Unidirectional Domain Growth of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Thin Films;
A. Biswas, Q. Ruan, F. Lee, C. Li, S. A. Iyengar, F. Lee, A. B. Puthirath, X. Zhang, H. Kannan, T. Gray, A. G. Birdwell, M. R. Neupane, P. B. Shah, D. A. Ruzmetov, T. G. Ivanov, R. Vajtai, M. Tripathi, A. Dalton, B. I. Yakobson, P. M. Ajayan;
Applied Materials Today, 30, 101734 (2023)
Properties and device performance of BN thin films grown on GaN by pulsed laser deposition;
A. Biswas, M. Xu, K. Fu, J. Zhou, R. Xu, A. B. Puthirath, J. A. Hachtel, C. Li, S. A. Iyengar, H. Kannan, X. Zhang, T. Gray, R. Vajtai, A. G. Birdwell, M. R. Neupane, D. A. Ruzmetov, P. B. Shah, T. Ivanov, H. Zhu, Y. Zhao*, P. M. Ajayan;
Applied Physics Letters, 121, 092105 (2022)
Non-van der Waals quasi-2D materials: Recent Advances in Synthesis, Emergent Properties and Applications;
A. P. Balan, A. B. Puthirath, S. Roy, G. Costin, E. F. Oliveira, M. A. S. R. Saadi, V. Sreepal, R. Friedrich, P. Serles, A. Biswas, S. A. Iyengar, N. Chakingal, S. Bhattacharyya, S. K. Saju, S. C. Pardo, L. M. Sassi, T. Filleter, A. Krasheninnikov, D. S. Galvao, R. Vajtai, R. R. Nair, P. M. Ajayan;
Materials Today, 58, 164–200 (2022)
Molecular size-dependent subcontinuum solvent permeation and ultrafast nanofiltration across nanoporous graphene membranes;
C. Cheng, S. A. Iyengar, R. Karnik;
Nature Nanotechnology, 16, 989–995 (2021)
Structure, properties, and applications of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride;
S. Roy, X. Zhang, A. B. Puthirath, A. Meiyazhagan, S. Bhattacharyya, M. M. Rahman, G. Babu, S. Susarla, S. K. Saju, M. K. Tran, L. M. Sassi, M. A. S. R. Saadi, J. Lai, O. Sahin, S. M. Sajadi, B. Dharmarajan, D. Salpekar, N. Chakingal, A. Baburaj, X. Shuai, K. A. Miller, J. M. Gayle, A. Ajnsztajn, T. Prasankumar, V. V. J. Harikrishnan, V. Ojha, H. Kannan, A. Z. Khater, Z. Zhu, S. A. Iyengar, P. A. S. Autreto, E. F. Oliveira, G. Gao, A. G. Birdwell, M. R. Neupane, T. G. Ivanov, J. T.-Tijerina, R. M. Yadav, S. Arepalli, R. Vajtai, P. M. Ajayan;
Advanced Materials, 2101589 (2021)
Surface treated nanofibers as high current yielding breath humidity sensors for wearable electronics; S. A. Iyengar*, S. Pillalamarri*, S. K. Jana, M. R. Islam, T. Ahuja, J. S. Mohanty, T. Pradeep;
ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 1, 951–960 (2019)
Emerging Electronic Material Interfaces as a Platform for Energy-Efficient Computing; S. A. Iyengar, P. M. Ajayan, V. Meunier, T. Ghani, S. Salahuddin, A. I. Khan;
(invited perspective for Nature Reviews Materials)
Controlled engineering of straintronics and twistronics in 2D materials;
M. Tripathi*, S. A. Iyengar*, M. H. U. Rahman, S. Slathia, H. J. Wood, A. Sredenschek, X. Shuai, C. S. Tiwary, A. Mohite, M. Terrones, P. M. Ajayan, V. Meunier, A. B. Dalton;
(under review, Small)
In-situ Control of vdW Twist via Fe Diffusion in Bilayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenide MoS₂; S. A. Iyengar*, J. Elkins*, S. Agrawal*, I. Chukwunyere, Y. Wang, T. Terlier, S. Kar, S. Suwas, V. Meunier, P. M. Ajayan;
(in preparation)
Formation, modulation, and Ostwald ripening of nanowrinkles in 2D heterostructures; S. A. Iyengar, J. G. McHugh, F. Lee, A. A. Graf, H. Wood, S. Ogilvie, P. Lynch, C. Wei, C. Boland, J. Parthenios, K. Papagelis, S. Roy, A. Biswas, M. M. Rahman, G. Venkataramana, C. S. Tiwary, P. M. Ajayan, A. B. Dalton, M. Tripathi;
(in preparation)
Patents
Patents and applicationsIP
Hybridized Two-Dimensional Heterostructures;
Pulickel M. Ajayan, Sathvik Ajay Iyengar, Anchal Srivastava, Vincent Meunier; Patent pending (2025)
Co-evaporation of monomer pairs for covalent organic framework film growth;
Jeremy Daum, Alec Ajnsztajn, Sathvik Ajay Iyengar, Rafael Verduzco, Pulickel M. Ajayan; US Patent Application 18/817,919 (2025)
Teaching, education development, and invited talks
Selected talks, teaching, and service
2025 Invited Talk: Pennsylvania State University, School of Engineeirng Sciences and Mechanics, “Electronic Interfaces between Atomically-thin Heterostructures and Hybrids”
2025 Invited Talk: Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, “Electronic Interfaces between Atomically-thin Heterostructures and Hybrids”
2025 Invited Talk: Georgia State University, Department of Chemistry, “Atomically-thin Interfaces: From Nanoscale Physics to Membranes and Biophysics”
2025 Fall Materials Research Society: Best talk in NM01 (Scalable 2D Materials: Synthesis, Processing, Metrology, and Device Implementation)
2022 Rice NSF Research Traineeship Representative: Poster presentation and press release, NRT Annual Meeting, Blacksburg, VA
Fall 2021, 2022 Graduate Teaching Assistant, MSNE503: Thermodynamics in Materials Science; Instructor: Prof. Ming Tang; Level: Graduate & Undergraduate
2021–present Graduate Advisory Board Liaison for Teaching, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Center for Teaching Excellence, Rice University
Addendum: Certificate in Teaching Excellence (2022–2024)
This two-year graduate-level certification through Rice University’s Center for Teaching Excellence centered on evidence-based pedagogy and reflective practice. It included applied training in de-jargonizing technical material, scaffolding, peer feedback, instructional design, and inclusive teaching, and it concluded with a synthesis capstone mini-thesis grounded in both education literature and classroom implementation.