Saptarshi Datta wins NAWA Ulam scholarship

26 11 2025

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Saptarshi Datta has been awarded the prestigious NAWA Ulam scholarship, which he will pursue at the Organic Electronics Laboratory headed by Dr. Przemysław Gaweł. As part of his internship, Dr. Datta will join a team working on innovative organic materials for applications in photonics and quantum technologies.

Dr. Saptarshi Datta is an expert in supramolecular chemistry, photophysics, and functional organic materials. He earned his doctorate at IISER Kolkata, where he studied the interactions that lead to the formation of intelligent, stimulus-responsive structures. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Missouri (USA), working on photoactive crystals, phosphorescent materials, and molecular motors. He is the author of numerous publications in prestigious journals and an experienced user of advanced spectroscopic techniques.

As part of the project, Dr. Datta will design and fabricate new “molecular antennas” consisting of multiple coupled chromophores. These complex structures allow light to be converted into long-lived spin states that can act as ultra-small quantum elements, known as qudits. The aim of the research is to understand how the geometry and organization of molecules influence their quantum behavior and how such systems can be used in future optical technologies, sensors, and spintronic devices.

The project combines organic synthesis, ultrafast spectroscopy, and spin research, paving the way for the creation of a new generation of materials for molecular quantum technologies.