2020-2021 Graduate Student Fellow
Previous Faculty Advisor: Professor Ting Xu
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington
Nikita's work focused on addressing the global water shortage crisis through the development of next-generation sorbents and their device-level implementation. His primary research goal was to synthesize and study new metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) suitable for atmospheric water harvesting in arid climates. In this context, he studied water cluster formation within these crystalline frameworks using various crystallographic methods. This research helped him understand the interactions between water and the framework, allowing him to tune the material's water sorption properties. In collaboration with Professor Ting Xu, Nikita explored alternative approaches to freshwater generation and purification by employing MOF–polymer nanocomposites.