Hemakesh grew up In Bhubaneswar, India. In 2008, he received his BS and MSc degrees from Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur, majoring in industrial chemistry. He worked With Professor J. K. Ray to develop methodologies to synthesize oxygen containing heterocyclic compounds. He conducted his PhD research under the supervision of Professor Scott Phillips at Penn State. He worked on several projects involving the design and synthesis of small molecule reagents for clinical diagnostic assays, stimuli-responsive polymers, and self-immolative polymers. Hemakesh received his PhD in 2014.
Hemakesh's favorite quote is, "There is not a discovery in science, however revolutionary, however sparkling with insight, that does not arise out of what went before," from Isaac Asimov.
Hemakesh's research includes self-strengthening materials and smart polymers.
Mechanically controlled radical polymerization initiated by ultrasound
Hemakesh Mohapatra, Maya Kleiman & Aaron Palmer Esser-Kahn. Mechanically controlled radical polymerization initiated by ultrasound. Nature Chemistry. 2017. Vol. 9, Pg. 135-139.
Cooperative CO2 Absorption Isotherms from a Bifunctional Guanidine and Bifunctional Alcohol
Rachel Steinhardt, Stanley C. Hiew, Hemakesh Mohapatra, Du Nguyen, Zachary Oh, Richard Truong, and Aaron Esser-Kahn. Cooperative CO2 Absorption Isotherms from a Bifunctional Guanidine and Bifunctional Alcohol. ACS Central Science.