JOIN US

We are kids at heart, blending work and play as we explore our passion for molecules and electricity. 

We are building an interdisciplinary team of engineers and scientists who are interested in using fundamental molecular-level understanding of electrocatalysts to develop practical solutions to pressing societal problems associated with chemical synthesis. We seek to work with our group members to help them develop the scientific and communication skills they need to become leaders in academia and industry. We believe that how we do our science is just as important as the science we do – to this end, we have developed a set of Core Values which sets forth our commonly held ideals.

 Our lab logo (and website) reflects our love of whiteboarding – to learn through sketching and discussion. The “m-lab” logo reflects the interdisciplinarity of our lab as it melds a cursive “m” and print “m” together, changing mid-stroke. We are motivated by the fact that combining different areas of study is tough, but the product is often beautiful.  

Get in Touch

• Graduate Students: Students who have been admitted to Caltech are encouraged to reach out to our lab members, whose contact information is on the Team page (just click on any student’s profile to learn more about them and find their contact information). Spending time with our group members to hear their open reflections on their experience in the group is critical and encouraged, whether that is casually chatting with them in the office (Spalding B125), over coffee, or lunch. Students interested in rotating with the lab should refer to the Rotations section below. 

• Postdocs: Please send Karthish an e-mail with your resume, three journal articles you have published, and what you propose to work on in the Manthiram Lab. Please include [Postdoc_Applicant] in the subject line of your e-mail. Karthish will generally review applications once a month, at the beginning of the month.  
• Undergraduates: For Caltech undergraduates, we recommend applying to the SURF program. For undergraduates from other institutions, please reach out to Karthish well in advance of the deadlines for the WAVE and Amgen programs, for which applications are due in January/February.

Applicants with backgrounds in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Bioengineering, Biology, Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and related subjects are encouraged to apply.

Rotations

 If you are interested in rotating in our group, feel free to stop by our office and say hi – you can also meet with our group members. See our Team page for the full roster (it is important to interact with a wide range of our group members to hear about their experiences in the group and understand the research problems they are tackling).

1. Email Karthish to mention your preliminary interest in rotating with the group – please reach out as early as possible, ideally a month in advance of when you would like to rotate. On this message, CC Jen (jen@caltech.edu) who will help schedule a first 1 hour 1:1 with Karthish (meeting to take place before the quarter starts)  to discuss your prior research undertakings (research from before coming to Caltech) as well as preliminary thoughts on areas of interest in the Manthiram Lab. This goal of this meeting is to see if rotating is a good mutual fit – after this meeting, please email Karthish indicating if you are still interested in rotating in the group.  
2. If interests align, Karthish will assign a mentor in the lab based on an agreed upon research area as well as a subgroup.Karthish will message the subgroup to introduce you and have you integrated into the subgroup presentation schedule (month long rotators will present once at subgroup at end of rotation; quarter-long rotators will present twice, once in the middle of the rotation and once at the end). For the subgroup presentation, rotators will prepare a report on Notion and share with the group via Slack prior to the meeting. 
3. Then, follow up with Clara Seo (cseo@caltech.edu) and Emma Cosner (ecosner@caltech.edu)  who are the rotation and onboarding leads, respectively. Clara will provide you with an orientation on rotating in the group. A lab orientation meeting will be scheduled to take place in late September – we will communicate  the timing of this meeting by email. 
4. Develop an idea for a possible research question to tackle in our group, with input from group members. It is helpful to chat about the ideas you are developing with as many people in the group as you can to integrate their feedback and thoughts. Near term steps related to this long-term idea may provide a basis for experiments you might conduct in lab during the rotation (see next item). During this process, you can also informally chat with Karthish during his office hours, labelled as OH in the calendar at the bottom of this page.
5. Take initiative in engaging in the laboratory research done in our group. We suggest starting by shadowing students and postdocs within the chosen subgroup(s) of interest in the lab. We encourage conducting experiments with your own two hands on a question you define of narrow scope, as this is a great way to better understand the day-to-day experience of working in our lab.
6. Schedule a second 1:1 meeting with Karthish by emailing him with CC to Matt Buga (mbuga@caltech.edu) to schedule a 1 hour 1:1. Come prepared to share an idea you have for a direction you would like to go in for research.  For students rotating in the month of October, the last day for this second 1:1 meeting is October 31. For students rotating during the Fall Quarter or the month of November, the last day for this 1:1 meeting is November 21. For students rotating during the Winter Quarter, the last day for this 1:1 meeting is March 1. For students rotating in Fall Quarter, if you are interested in joining the Manthiram Lab, please inform Karthish by email of your interest in joining by November 25. After conferring with the group, Karthish will provide decisions by December 1.  For students rotating in Winter Quarter, please inform Karthish of your interest by March 5, with decisions communicated by Karthish by March 9th. 

We also expect all rotators to:   

• Attend weekly group meetings and participate in the discussions.
• Attend at least one subgroup meeting every week, prioritizing the subgroup(s) that align best with the rotator’s research interests, and participate in the discussions.
• Prepare a subgroup report on Notion and lead a discussion of the report at the subgroup meeting (once for month long rotators and twice for quarter long rotators). Coordinate with the subgroup members to fit this into the current subgroup schedule.
• Continue to explore and engage with other groups on campus that you might be interested in possibly joining, even while rotating in our group – always good to keep more than one option open.

Meetings

If you are on campus, you are welcome to attend our Group Meetings to see our group in action (please note the timezone shown at the bottom of the calendar): 

The meetings on the calendar are labeled as follows:

• Manthiram Group Meeting: Weekly all-hands meeting
• Sub-B: Biological electron transfer subgroup
• Sub-C: Carbon dioxide utilization subgroup
• Sub-N: Nitrogen cycle subgroup
• Sub-O: Oxygen-transfer subgroup
• OH: Office hours when Karthish will be available in the lab (Spalding B125) for discussion. The times do change, so please do double check the calendar on the day-of. 
• Fundamentals Fridays: Student and postdoc led discussions of fundamentals related to research in our group.