Anjali Jayachandran, PhD student in Thomas Ebbesen and Cyriaque Genet’s group, successfully defended her thesis titled “Fundamental physical chemistry of vibrational strong coupling.” In it, she studies vibrational strong coupling, a technique based on quantum light-matter interaction that modifies chemical reactivity and material properties without the need for light illumination or real photons.
The challenge: understanding the processes that underlie this phenomenon.
To address it, Anjali investigated how vibrational strong coupling modifies molecular interactions, reaction pathways and chemical equilibria. She also focused on symmetry and vibronic coupling, as well as on collective phenomena such as cluster formation and phase transitions in strongly coupled liquids. To learn more, read one of the articles she published during her thesis: view the publication.
Her work was funded by the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation and the European Research Council (ERC). During her PhD, it was recognised several times by the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS), with a Best Poster Award (2024) and a Young Researcher Award (2026).
Anjali first joined CESQ / ISIS in 2018 during her master’s thesis at the University of Mumbai, Department of Atomic Energy – Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences. After working for a time in a non-profit organisation helping students gain better access to education, she rejoined the laboratory in September 2023 to begin her PhD research. She will remain in the same group as a postdoctoral researcher to continue her work, and we congratulate her once again on the excellent work achieved at CESQ.
