Siddhartha Pathak - Keck Institute for Space Studies - Caltech

Siddhartha Pathak
Materials Science, California Institute of Technology (Caltech),
1200 E. California Blvd., MC 309-81, Pasadena, CA 91125-8100
Phone: +1 (626) 395-8165, Fax: +1 (626) 395-8868
sp324@drexel.edu, pathak@caltech.edu
Employment history
W.M. Keck Institute for Space Studies Prized Postdoctoral Fellow in Materials Science,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, PA Since Sep 2010
Post- doc., EMPA - a Research Institute of the ETH Domain (Swiss Federal Laboratories for
Materials Science and Technology), Thun, Switzerland 2009 – Sep 2010
Education
Ph.D. June 2009
Materials Science & Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia PA, USA,
Advisor: Prof. Surya R. Kalidindi
Awarded the 2009 Drexel Univ Research Award
Finalist for the ‘2009 doctoral student deemed to have the most promise in enhancing Drexel’s
reputation in the future in the Mathematical Sciences and Engineering’ award.
Bachelor of Technology, Metallurgical Engineering April 2003
National Institute of Technology (formerly Regional Engineering College), Warangal, A.P., India
GPA: 4.0/4.0.
(Awarded Best Outgoing Student 2003 amongst 500 graduates)
Review Articles
1) S Pathak, SR Kalidindi. Spherical nanoindentation stress-strain curves – development and
applications. Progress in Materials Science (review article, invited) – in preparation
2) S Pathak, Y Gogotsi, J. R. Greer. Mechanical Behavior of Carbon Nanotubes: from a Single Tube
towards Complex Networks. Carbon (review article, invited) – in preparation
Journal Publications
3) Siddhartha Pathak, Ee J. Lim, Parisa P.S.S. Abadi, S Graham, Baratunde A. Cola, Julia R. Greer.
Higher Recovery and Better Energy Dissipation at Faster Strain Rates in Carbon Nanotube
Bundles: an in-situ Study. ACS Nano, 2011 submitted
4) S Pathak, N Mohan, P PSS Abadi, S Graham, B A Cola, JR Greer. Compressive Response of
Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Films via In-Situ Flat Punch Indentations, Advanced
Functional Materials, 2012 – submitted
5) S Pathak , SJ Vachhani, KJ Jepsen, HM Goldman, SR Kalidindi. Assessment of lamellar level
properties in mouse bone utilizing a novel spherical indentation data analysis method – Journal of
Mechanical Behavior of Biological Materials – submitted 2012
6) A. Kunz , S Pathak, J. R. Greer. Size effects in Al nanopillars: single crystalline versus
bicrystalline. Acta Materialia (2011) 59(11): p. 4416-4424.
7) S Pathak, J Michler, K Wasmer and SR Kalidindi. Studying Grain Boundary Regions in
Polycrystalline Materials Using Spherical Nano-Indentation and Orientation Imaging Microscopy,
J. Materials Science Volume 47, Issue 2 (2012), Page 815-823
8) S Pathak, M Guinard, MGC Vernooij, B Cousin, Z Wang, J Michler, L Philippe. “Influence of lower
current densities on the residual stress and structure of thick nickel electrodeposits” – Surface &
Coatings Technology 205 (2011) 3651–3657
9) S Pathak, JG Swadener, SR Kalidindi, H-W Courtland, KJ Jepsen and HM Goldman. “Measuring
the dynamic mechanical response of hydrated mouse bone by nanoindentation” – Journal of
Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials – v 4, pg 34-43, (2011).
10) S Pathak, J Kuebler, EA Payzant, N Orlovskaya. “Mechanical behavior and electrical conductivity
of La 1-x Ca x CoO 3 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.55) perovskites” –Journal of Power Sources, 195, 3612 (2010).
11) S Pathak, D Stojakovic, SR Kalidindi. Measurement of the Local Mechanical Properties in
Polycrystalline Samples Using Spherical Nano-Indentation and Orientation Imaging Microscopy.
Acta Materialia. v 57, n 10, pg 3020-3028, (June 2009).
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Siddhartha Pathak - CV
12) S Pathak, J Shaffer and SR Kalidindi. Determination of an effective zero-point and extraction of
indentation stress-strain curves without the Continuous Stiffness Measurement signal. Scripta
Materialia, 60 (2009) 439-442.
13) S Pathak, D Stojakovic, R Doherty, SR Kalidindi. Importance of Surface Preparation on the Nano-
Indentation Stress-Strain Curves Measured in Metals. Journal of Materials Research, Focus
Issue on Nanoindentation, v 24, n 3, p 1142-1155, (March 2009).
14) S Pathak, ZG Cambaz, SR Kalidindi, JG Swadener, Y Gogotsi. Analyzing the buckling of carbon
nanotube (CNT) arrays under contact loading using spherical nanoindentation. Carbon, 47
(2009), pg 1969-76.
15) S Pathak, D Steinmetz, J Kuebler, EA Payzant, N Orlovskaya. “Mechanical behavior of
La 0.8 Sr 0.2 Ga 0.8 Mg 0.2 O 3 perovskites”, Ceramics International, 35 (2009), pp. 1235-1241.
16) N Orlovskaya, M Lugovy, C Carpenter, S Pathak, D Steinmetz, E Lara-Curzio, C Klemenz, M
Radovic. “On Thermal and Vibrational Properties of LaGaO 3 Single Crystals”, Acta Materialia 57,
10, p. 2984-2992, (2009).
17) S R. Kalidindi, S Pathak. “Determination of the effective zero-point and the extraction of spherical
nanoindentation stress-strain curves”; Acta Materialia, 56 (2008) 3533-3542.
18) S Pathak, SR Kalidindi, C Klemenz, N Orlovskaya. “Analyzing Indentation Stress-Strain
Response of LaGaO 3 Single Crystals using Spherical Indenters.”; Journal of the European
Ceramic Society, 28 (2008) 2213-2220.
19) S Pathak, SR Kalidindi, B Moser, C Klemenz, N Orlovskaya “Analyzing Indentation Behavior of
LaGaO 3 Single Crystals using Sharp Indenters.”; Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 28
(2008) 2039–2047.
20) N Orlovskaya, M Lugovy, S Pathak, D Steinmetz, J Lloyd, L Fegely, M Radovic, A Payzant, E
Lara-Curzio, L Allard, J Kuebler. “Thermal and mechanical properties of LaCoO 3 and
La 0.8 Ca 0.2 CoO 3 perovskites”, Journal of Power Sources, v 182, n 1, Jul 15, p 230-239, (2008).
21) M Chi, S Pathak, N Browning, N Orlovskaya. A TEM study on the doping behavior of calcium in
LaCoO3. Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006;12:728.
Papers in preparation
22) S Pathak, J R Raney, C Daraio. Effect of carbon nanotube morphology on strain recovery in CNT
arrays – in preparation
23) S Pathak, RD Doherty, J Michler, K Wasmer. Caught in the Act - Rare Observations of a
Quadrijunction in Annealed Aluminum - in preparation
24) S Pathak, J Riesterer, SR Kalidindi, J Michler. “On the sequence of events during pop-ins in
spherical nanoindentation”- in preparation.
Book Chapter
25) S Hutchens, S Pathak. Collective behavior of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes: viscoelasticity,
large deformation, and mechanical properties. Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology (Springer) 2012,
in print
26) S Pathak. A Novel Data Analysis Procedure for Spherical Nanoindentation. Publisher: LAP
Lambert Academic Publishing (February 7, 2010)
Reviewer Assignments
Reviewed a number of manuscripts for leading journals such as Advanced Functional Materials,
Carbon, Experimental Mechanics, Journal of Nanomaterials, Journal of Materials Science, Materials
Science and Technology.
Research Collaborations
2011 Nano-Mechanics Laboratory, ETH-EMPA (Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Testing &
Research, a Research Institute of the ETH Domain), Thun, Switzerland.
2011 ThinkSwiss Research Scholar
In situ EBSD during pillar compression across grain boundaries in gold
Oct 2008 – Nano-Mechanics Laboratory, ETH-EMPA, Thun, Switzerland
May 2009 Characterizing the mechanical behavior of grain boundaries– 2 publications (submitted)
Spring –
Summer
2008
User at Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LAB, NM
Examined the dynamic properties of bone at the lamellar level using nanoDMA
techniques on fresh (wet) mice bone samples – 1 publication (submitted)
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Siddhartha Pathak - CV
Summer
2005
June 2004 –
Jan 2005
Fall – Winter
2002
Summer
2002 and
2001
Analyzed the viscoelastic response during buckling of dense carbon nanotube forests
under contact loading using nanoindentation experiments – 1 journal publication
High Temperature Materials Lab, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LAB, Oak Ridge, TN.
Studied the mechanical properties of mixed conducting perovskites for use as
components of intermediate temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells using dynamic
mechanical testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) – 2 journal publications
Laboratory for Ceramics, ETH-EMPA (Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Testing &
Research, a Research Institute of the ETH Domain), Dübendorf, Switzerland
Studied the mechanical properties of mixed conducting perovskites for use as
components of intermediate temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells using room and high
temperature bending and compression tests, fracture toughness measurements and
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) – 5 journal publications
VISHAKHAPATNAM STEEL PLANT, India
Analyzed non-destructive testing methods for quality control during steel production -
senior design project.
SREE CHITRA TIRUNAL INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY,
Thiruvananthapuram , India
Designed high-performance low-cost ECG electrodes as part of summer projectThe
research was awarded First Prize (out of 60 speakers) by the India Congress of
Metallurgical Professionals, National Level Technical Symposium held at IIT Kharagpur
in January 2003
Research Fellowships and Scholarships
2011 ThinkSwiss Research Scholar – this scholarship provides funding for a research stay in
Switzerland
Recipient of the 2010 W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship at
Caltech. Only two Keck fellowships are awarded per year.
Two time (2007 and 2006) recipient of the Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR) grant
awarded through an international level selection process (less than 50% applicants get the award).
The GIAR program provides funding directly to the student for his research.
Recipient of the 2007 Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) user proposal grant at Los
Alamos National Lab (LANL). A CINT user grant is awarded through a national level selection
process. This grant allows free access to the state-of-the-art facilities at LANL in order to conduct
research on the structure-property relationship in bone at the micron level.
Recipient of the 2005 SURA-ORNL (The Southeastern Universities Research Association -
Oak Ridge National Lab) Summer Cooperative Research Program scholarship (an international
level scholarship with only 30% success rate). The grant money was used to fund the stay at
ORNL during study on the dynamic mechanical properties of solid oxide fuel cell components.
Awarded the 2004 EMPA (Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Testing and Research, a Research
Institute of the ETH Domain) thesis grant (an international scholarship program)which allowed a 6
month stay at the Ceramics Lab, EMPA Dübendorf, Switzerland working on the room/ high temp
mechanical properties of the components for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells.
Awards and Honors
Research Awards
Research work on nano-mechanics of carbon nanotubes Work featured as a slide show on
Discovery Channel news Nov 2011 http://news.discovery.com/tech/scientists-artists-nanoartexhibition-111109.html
Recipient of the 2009 Drexel University Research Award (amongst 5000 graduate students in
the university).
Finalist for the ‘doctoral student deemed to have the most promise in enhancing Drexel’s
reputation in the future in the Mathematical Sciences and Engineering’ award. (Only 3 finalists
out of 154 PhD graduates in 2009 were chosen for this annual university-level competition). Note:
generally the ‘Research award’ and the ‘enhancing Drexel’s reputation’ award are not given to the
same candidate.
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Siddhartha Pathak - CV
Nominated for Who's Who in America, 2009
Invited by Discovery Channel (www.discovery-news.com) to show my work on their website, 2008
Highly commended in the 2008 Drexel University Research Award.
Work on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells cited in “A Material World” Chemical and Engineering News,
Volume 85, Number 52, December 24, 2007
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/85/8552sci2web.html
Recipient of the Drexel University Office of Graduate Studies travel subsidy to attend the
Materials Research Society Meeting in Boston, MA November, 2007
Recipient of the 2007 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Young
Investigator Travel Grant to attend the ASBMR Annual Meeting at Hawaii, Sep 2007.
Dean Award in Drexel University Research Day poster competition, April 2004. Work presented:
mechanical properties of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell components.
1st Prize in the international student poster competition at the First International Conference on
Fuel Cell Development and Deployment, Connecticut Global Fuel Center, University of
Connecticut. Mar, 2004
Awarded the Best Outgoing Student 2003 – a university level competition (best amongst 500
students). It is the highest award given by my undergraduate university to any student.
Micrography Awards
First prize in the NanoArt 2011 International Online Competition http://www.nanotechnow.com/columns/article=550
Work on carbon nanotube (CNT) micropillars selected as the cover image for Sep 2010 for
Materials Today through an international level competition.
http://www.materialstoday.com/mt/cover-comp/2009
CNT work featured in Advanced Materials & Processes magazine, Feb 2011
Work selected as textbook cover art for the SI version of the 6th edition of the textbook ‘The
Science and Engineering of Materials’, by Askeland, Fulay, and Wright, Dec 2009.
Winner of the 2009 image competition (a university-level competition) for the Centralized
Research Facilities, Drexel University.
Invited to present my electron microscopy work at the 2nd International Festival for NanoArt in
Stuttgart, Germany, Oct 2008 http://nanoartfestival-stuttgart.blogspot.com
Second place winner at the international MRS "Science as Art" competition of the 2007 MRS Fall
Meeting, Boston MA.
Grand prize winner in the 2006 EIPBN Micrograph contest
3rd place in the 2006 International Metallographic Contest, Chicago, IL
Finalist for the 2005 international cover competition for Materials Today.
Business Awards
3 rd place winner (out of 40 teams) for the 2008 Drexel University Baiada Center Business Plan
contest (Phase III).
The business plan was based on my PhD research involving the mechanical characterization of
small material volumes in the sub-micron length scale. Combined with a software package
developed in our research group, this plan outlines the design process for processing optimal
material microstructures according to desired mechanical performance.
Two time winner (2007, 2008) of the Drexel University Baiada Center Business Plan contest
(Phase II) – only 3 teams awarded out of 40 contestants
Two time winner (2007, 2008) of the Drexel University Baiada Center Business Plan contest
(Phase I) – only 6 teams awarded out of 40 contestants.
Finalist for the 2007 Drexel University Baiada Center Business Plan contest (Phase III) – only 6
teams out of 40 make it to the final competition stage.
Leadership Awards
Recipient of the 2006 Arthur E. Focke LeaderShape Award - a national level leadership award
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Siddhartha Pathak - CV
Invited Presentations
1) S Pathak (presenter), ZG Cambaz, Y Gogotsi, W Mook, J Michler. Viscoelasticity and High
Buckling Stress of Dense Carbon Nanotube Brushes. MS&T Annual meeting, Columbus, Ohio,
Oct 2011
2) S Pathak (presenter), SR Kalidindi. Studying the Mechanical Response of Regions within Grains
and Near Grain Boundaries using Spherical Nanoindentation. TMS Annual meeting, San Diego,
Feb-March 2011
3) S Pathak (presenter). On the extraction of nanoindentation stress–strain curves for spherical
indenters, Agilent User Meeting 2009 in Waldbronn, Germany, Nov 11, 2009
4) S Pathak (presenter), K Wasmer, J Michler, RD Doherty, SR Kalidindi. “Exploring the Mechanical
Response of Grain Boundaries under Contact Loading”. Materials Science & Technology,
Pittsburgh, Oct 25-29 2009
5) S Pathak (presenter). “Establishing Local Structure-Property Relationships at Lower Length
Scales in Polycrystalline Materials”; August 14, 2009, Max-Planck Institut für Eisenforschung
GmbH (MPIE), Dusseldorf, Germany.
6) S Pathak (presenter) and SR Kalidindi. “Development and Validation of a Novel Data Analysis
Procedure for Spherical Nanoindentation”, Apr 23, 2009, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA
7) S Pathak (presenter). “Measurement of the Local Mechanical Properties in Polycrystalline
Samples Using Spherical Nano-Indentation and Orientation Imaging Microscopy”, Feb 17, 2009,
Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
8) S Pathak (presenter). “Development and Validation of a Novel Data Analysis Procedure for
Spherical Nanoindentation”, Oct 19, 2008, Nano-Mechanics Lab, ETH-EMPA (Swiss Federal Inst
for Materials Testing & Research, a Research Institute of the ETH Domain), Thun, Switzerland
9) SR Kalidindi (presenter) and S Pathak. “A Spherical Nano-indentation Approach to Characterize
the Mechanical Behavior of Constituents in a Material System”; October 16, 2008, Knolls Atomic
Power Laboratory, Schenectady, NY
10) N Orlovskaya (presenter), S Pathak. “Mixed Ionic Electronic Conducting (MIEC) Perovskites for
Advanced Energy Systems”; NATO ARW ‘Fuel Cell Technologies: State & Perspectives’ held in
Kyiv, Ukraine, June 06-10, 2004
Science Saturdays – Caltech Public Science lecture series
1) “Hyperspeed” – Discussion leader, Feb 12, 2011
Conference Presentations
1) S Pathak (presenter), SR Kalidindi. Studying the Mechanical Response of Regions within Grains
and Near Grain Boundaries using Spherical Nanoindentation. ICOTOM annual meeting, IIT
Bombay, India, Dec 2011
2) S Pathak (presenter), ZG Cambaz, Y Gogotsi, W Mook, J Michler. Viscoelasticity and High
Buckling Stress of Dense Carbon Nanotube Brushes. TMS Annual meeting, San Diego, Feb-
March 2011
3) S Pathak (presenter), SR Kalidindi, R Raghavan, J Michler. Stress-strain response from spherical
nano-indentation and micro-pillar compression experiments: A comparative study. TMS Annual
meeting, San Diego, Feb-March 2011
4) S Pathak (presenter), JL Riesterer, SJ Vachhani, K Wasmer, J Michler, SR Kalidindi. “On the
Sequence of Events during Pop-ins in Spherical Nanoindentation”; MRS Fall meeting, Boston,
Nov-Dec 2010
5) SJ Vachhani (presenter), S Pathak, JG Swadener, SR Kalidindi, KJ Jepsen and HM Goldman.
“Analyzing Structure-Property Linkages in Bone using Nanoindentation and Raman Spectroscopy”
MRS Fall meeting, Boston, Nov-Dec 2010
6) S Pathak (presenter), JG Swadener, H-W Courtland, KJ Jepsen, HM Goldman, SR Kalidindi.
"Measuring the dynamic mechanical response of hydrated mouse bone by nanoindentation".
Hysitron User Meeting, Saarbrücken, Germany. Feb 25, 2010.
7) S Pathak (presenter), RD Doherty, SR Kalidindi, J Michler. Investigations of Local Structure-
Property Relations at Grain Boundaries”; MRS Spring meeting, San Francisco, April 2009
8) WM Mook, S Pathak (presenter), R. Ghisleni, X. Maeder, M. Bechelany, J. Michler. “SEM In-situ
Compression of Metallic Nanostructures”; MRS Spring meeting, San Francisco, April 2009
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Siddhartha Pathak - CV
9) R Ghisleni, S Pathak (presenter), J. Liu, R. Raghavan, K. Wasmer, and J. Michler. “In-situ Raman
compression of semiconductor micropillars “; MRS Spring meeting, San Francisco, April 2009
10) S Pathak (presenter), D Stojakovic, RD Doherty, SR Kalidindi. “On Obtaining Local Mechanical
Properties at the Grain Scale in Metals by Spherical Nanoindentation”; MRS Spring meeting, San
Francisco, March 2008
11) S Pathak (presenter), M Patel, SR Kalidindi, H-W Courtland, K Jepsen, HM Goldman. “Analyzing
structure-property linkages in bone using spherical nanoindentation and Raman spectroscopy”;
MRS Fall meeting, Boston, Nov 2007
12) S Pathak (presenter), SR Kalidindi, ZG Cambaz, V Mochalin, G Yushin, Y Gogotsi. “Mechanical
behavior of carbon nanotubes under contact loading”; MRS Fall meeting, Boston, Nov 2007
13) S Pathak (presenter), SR Kalidindi, C Klemenz, N Orlovskaya. “Mechanical properties of LaGaO 3
single crystals by indentation”, 107th Annual Meeting & Exposition of The American Ceramic
Society, Baltimore, April 2005
14) S Pathak (presenter), SR Kalidindi, C Klemenz, N Orlovskaya. “Mechanical behavior of LaGaO 3
single crystals”, 29th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, ACers
Meeting, Cocoa Beach, Jan 2005
15) S Pathak (presenter), N Orlovskaya. “Introduction to Solid Oxide Fuel Cells – Materials and
Issues”; NATO ARW "Fuel Cell Technologies: State & Perspectives" Kyiv, Ukraine, June, 2004
16) S Pathak (presenter), ND Khambete “A Study on Factors Affecting Alternating Current
Impedance of Silver – Silver Chloride Pregelled Bioelectrodes”; 1st Prize, COMPOSIT, IIT
Kharagpur, India Congress of Metallurgical Professionals. January 2003
Poster Presentations
S Pathak, W Mook, ZG Cambaz, Y Gogotsi, J Michler. “In-situ SEM Micro-compression of Dense
Carbon Nanotube Brushes”; MRS Fall Meeting, Boston, 2010
S Pathak, SR Kalidindi, K Jepsen, H Courtland, HM Goldman. “Improved analysis of bone nanomechanical
properties using a novel nanoindentation technique”; 29 th Annual Meeting of the
American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), Hawaii, Sep 2007
S Pathak, D Steinmetz, J Kuebler, N Orlovskaya. “Mechanical behavior of
La 1-x Ca x CoO 3 perovskites as a function of Ca doping”, MRS Fall Meeting, Boston, Nov-Dec 2005
S Pathak, SR Kalidindi, N Orlovskaya, C Klemenz. “Mechanical properties of LaGaO3 single
crystals by indentation”; Dean Award in Drexel Univ Research Day poster competition, April 2004
A Coratolo, D Steinmetz, S Pathak, Nina Orlovskaya. “Raman diagnostics of La-Cr-O thin films”;
1st Prize in the student poster competition at the First International Conference on Fuel Cell
Development and Deployment, Connecticut Global Fuel Center, Univ of Connecticut (Mar, 2004)
Proposals
Was an active participant in NSF submitted proposal entitled “Mechanics and Materials Approach
to Quantitative Assessment of Bone Quality” for the Nano and Bio Mechanics (NBM) program in
the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation division of NSF, Fall 2006
Leadership
Recipient of the 2006 Arthur E. Focke LeaderShape Award
leader of the student business team that won the Drexel Business Plan contest for two years in a
row (2007 and 2008)
Super-user of the MTS nanoindentation machine at the Materials Characterization Facilities,
Drexel University ` Sep 2003-2008
Affiliations
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, nominated member
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), Materials Research Society (MRS),
American Ceramic Society (ACers), American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), The
Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), International Metallographic Society (IMS)
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