Manisha was born and raised in North Bengal (at the foothills of Himalayas), India. After completing her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Chemistry from University of North Bengal, she pursued 3-years of research training in Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bangalore, India. She then moved to the U.S. to obtain her PhD in Physical Chemistry from Indiana University Bloomington. Her PhD work at Prof. Caroline Jarrold’s group involved spectroscopic and computational studies on catalytic properties of transition/lanthanide metal oxide cluster anions and their reactivities with small molecules in relation to alternative energy resources. After an internship at Eli Lilly Biotechnology company, Dr. Ray continued her interest in probing biological phenomena at molecular level by pursuing her postdoctoral research in a neurobiology group led by Prof. Jerold Chun at Sanford Burnham Prebys Institute, San Diego, CA. She developed binding assays to quantitatively measure the real-time interactions between challenging bioactive lipids and conformationally dynamic G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) using a cutting-edge technology called, Back Scattering Interferometry (BSI).

In her independent research group, Dr. Ray will investigate the elusive roles of lipids (membrane, signaling lipids) that are predominantly present in human brain but are poorly understood towards their contribution in possible neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, etc.). The research interests are highly interdisciplinary, integrating chemistry, optics, biophysics, chemical and structural biology. The group will heavily implement a range of different techniques from chemical synthesis (e.g., lipid nano discs) to instrumentation development, and molecular biology approaches based on specific requirement of the research. In collaboration with structural biology groups (X-Ray and computational biophysics), the research will cover a range of possibilities including identifying potential therapeutic agents. Additionally, through collaborative efforts the group is also interested to explore what this interferometry platform has to offer more in the world of biochemical interactions involving enzymes.

Mahapatra Mausumi 

Title/s:  Assistant Professor 

OFFICE #:   

Phone: 9345002514  

Email: mmahapatra1@luc.edu  / Mausumi.mahapatra4@gmail.com  

Degrees 

• Postdoctoral fellow, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 2020 -2022          

• Postdoctoral fellow, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 2017-2020                    

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, UW Milwaukee, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2009-2015               

Research Interests 

My research interest focuses on heterogeneous catalysis and chemical reactions on well-defined surfaces and interfaces (metals, oxides, and metal/oxide interface). We will study the atomic design and characterization of novel catalytic surfaces with tailored chemical properties for clean energy, sustainability, and environment-related applications. Ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy will be used to visualize the geometric and electronic properties of the catalyst surfaces at atomic level resolution. In addition, various spectroscopic techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry will be used to probe the oxide/metal interfacial chemistry and their interaction with chemical reactants. These studies will be complemented by theoretical density functional theory calculations. There are two separate research thrusts that my group will focus on: 

1. Carbon neutral strategies: C1 molecule (CO2, CH4) conversion chemistry on organometal modified single atom catalyst surfaces 

Global warming and climate change pose serious threats to our society. CO2 and CH4 are two major sources of atmospheric greenhouse gases, the primary source of global warming. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a threshold the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) suggests is safe, carbon neutrality is essential. My lab will focus on fundamental studies to develop catalytic surfaces and processes for the chemical conversion of such greenhouse gases to value-added chemicals such as methanol (CH3OH), thus maintaining a carbon neutral cycle. In addition, methanol is a primary feedstock in many important industrial processes and can also be mixed with gasoline as a clean fuel. We will study the morphology, electronic properties, reactivity, and structure-activity relationships of novel organometal modified single atom catalyst surfaces relevant to such catalytic reactions within this scope. 

2. Design of chiral oxide surfaces for enantioselective applications 

Chirality prevails in nature, and the molecules that make up life on earth (e.g. sugars, DNA, aminoacids, proteins) are homochiral and exist in only one of their two enantiomeric forms.  Therefore, it is critical to synthesize pharmaceuticals in enantiomerically pure form to avoid the undesired side effects of the other enantiomer on the human body. My lab will focus on designing novel 2-dimensional chiral surfaces that can be tuned to perform key chemical reactions with very high enantiospecificity. The chiral surfaces will be prepared by simple adsorption of chiral molecules (e.g. aminoacids) of a single enantiomer on oxide surfaces. These studies will provide fundamental and mechanistic insights into the molecular origins of chiral catalysis, which has potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry.   

Selected Publication:  

Link to google scholar: (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=kMQuUhEAAAAJ) 

1. Mahapatra, M.; Burkholder, L.; Bai, Y.; Garvey, M.; Boscoboinik, J. A.; Hirschmugl, C.; Tysoe, W. T., Formation of chiral self-assembled structures of amino acids on transition-metal surfaces: alanine on Pd (111). The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2014, 118 (13), 6856-6865. 

2. Mahapatra, M.; Burkholder, L.; Garvey, M.; Bai, Y.; Saldin, D. K.; Tysoe, W. T., Enhanced hydrogenation activity and diastereomeric interactions of methyl pyruvate co-adsorbed with R-1-(1-naphthyl) ethylamine on Pd(111). Nature communications 2016, 7, 12380. 

3. Hamlyn, R. C.; Mahapatra, M.; Grinter, D. C.; Xu, F.; Luo, S.; Palomino, R. M.; Kattel, S.; Waluyo, I.; Liu, P.; Stacchiola, D. J., Imaging the ordering of a weakly adsorbed two-dimensional condensate: ambient-pressure microscopy and spectroscopy of CO2 molecules on rutile TiO2(110). Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2018, 20 (19), 13122-13126. 

4. Mahapatra, M.; Kang, J.; Ramírez, P. J.; Hamlyn, R.; Rui, N.; Liu, Z.; Orozco, I.; Senanayake, S. D.; Rodriguez, J. A., Growth, structure, and catalytic properties of ZnOx Grown on CuOx/Cu(111) surfaces. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2018, 122 (46), 26554-26562. 

5. Liu, Z.; Huang, E.; Orozco, I.; Liao, W.; Palomino, R.M.; Rui, N.; Duchoň,T.; Nemšák,S.; Grinter,D.C.; Mahapatra, M.; Liu,P.; Rodriguez,J.A.; Senanayake, S.D., Water-promoted interfacial pathways in methane oxidation to methanol on a CeO2-Cu2O catalysts. Science 2020, 368  (6490) 513-517 

6. Huang, E.; Orozco, I.; Ramirez, P.; Liu, Z.; Zhang, F.; Mahapatra, M.; Nemsak, S.; Senanayake, S.; Rodriguez, J.; Liu, P., Selective methane oxidation to methanol on ZnO/Cu2O/Cu(111) Catalysts:  Multiple  site-dependent behaviors. JACS 2021