About Me
Current Position
MURTI Faculty Fellow
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics, GITAM School of Sciences
Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) University
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Contact: dmahanta@gitam.edu
Previous Experiences
Research Associate
Department of Biochemistry
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Research Associate
Department of Physical Chemistry II
Ruhr University Bochum
Bochum, Germany
Research Scholar
S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
Salt Lake, Kolkata, India
Instrument knowledge
Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy – in pump-probe geometry (home-built) with amplified laser (Libra HE, Newport, pulse width ~100 fs, repetition rate ~1KHz) in The University of Texas at Austin, USA.
Time-Resolved Terahertz Spectroscopy – Optical pump terahertz (THz) probe spectroscopy (home-built) in Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Time-Domain Terahertz Spectroscopy (THz-TDS)–TERA K8, Menlo System.
Transient Absorption Spectroscopy–Develop optical pump-optical probe spectroscopy with amplified laser system (Libra HE, Newport, USA, Inc.).
Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy -Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) in gigahertz (GHz) frequency region.
Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy (Time correlated single photon counting, Edinburgh Instrument)
Raman Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
Cryostat (low temperature (-80°C) physics), UV-vis spectrophotometer, Circular Dichroism (CD), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Densimety and Sound analyzer (Anton per), Refractometer, Viscometer (Anton per).​
Computational Skills
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Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation.
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Enhance sampling technique (Meta-dynamics simulation).
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Principal component analysis, Network (Spectral) Graph Analysis.
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Software skills: Mathematica, MATLAB, Fortran, VMD, Pymol, Origin, Sigma plot, Igor-Pro, Delphi, Gauss view, Scientist, CDNN.
Education
2013 - 2018
Doctoral Degree
Integrated Ph.D. fellow
Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
Awarded by: The University of Calcutta
2011 - 2013
Master's Degree in Physics
Integrated Ph.D. fellow
Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
The University of Calcutta
First class first, 80.9%
2008 - 2011
Bachelor's Degree in Physics
Katwa College
The University of Burdwan
First class, 70%
Teaching
GITAM University
PHYS1001: Engineering Physics
PHYS1001P: Physics Laboratory
PHYS1021: Principles of Quantum Mechanics
Research Highlights
With a decade of experience, I have extensively studied solvation science utilizing both experimental and computer simulation techniques. My primary focus is on investigating the structure and dynamics of water around charged ions, hydrophobic cosolvents, and molecules with a unique combination of hydrophobicity and electrical charges.
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I have used the optical pump-THz-probe spectroscopy technique to examine photo-induced proton transfer mechanisms in aqueous environments. Our successful observations included real-time monitoring of solvent quakes that occur after proton transfer.
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I delved into studying the interactions between cryoprotectants and water aiming to achieve a molecular-level understanding of the specific terahertz fingerprints exhibited by wrap water (weakly interacting with the hydrophobic moieties) and bound water (strongly hydrogen bonded with the hydrophilic components).
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I am interested in investigating solvation mechanisms driven by excluded volume effect, preferential solvation, and preferential hydrophobic associations. Specifically, I am keen on exploring how those cosolvents perturb the structure, dynamics, and activity of proteins. By studying the intermolecular interactions that fundamentally govern the effectiveness of cryoprotectants and the outcomes of preservation I aim to understand the stabilization and preservation of biological materials.
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I possess extensive practical knowledge in employing diverse laser spectroscopic techniques, including cutting-edge methodologies such as terahertz spectroscopy, two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, pump-probe spectroscopy, dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, FTIR, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Additionally, I am skilled in the maintenance and troubleshooting of amplified laser systems.
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I have used a home-built optical pump-probe spectroscopy at SNBNCBS, India, and an optical-pump-THz-probe technique at RUB in Germany. These accomplishments have provided me with hands-on expertise in implementing advanced spectroscopic setups.
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Complementing my experimental proficiency, I possess significant experience in conducting molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. This computational approach enables me to comprehensively understand experimental observations at the microscopic level by studying hydrogen bond configurations.