Dr. Milind V. Kulkarni presently working as Senior Scientist and Group Head at Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites, Battery Laboratory, Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C- MET), Pune, under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India. He obtained his M.Sc. in Polymer Chemistry from Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India, in 1996, with first rank. He completed his Ph.
D. on "Conducting Polymer Based Sensors", in 2002 from University of Pune, India. In 2001, he started his career as 'Scientist-B' at C-MET, Pune. He is actively working for the development of active materials (cathode and anode) for Li -ion & Na-ion batteries with fabrication of prototype cell and battery and all solid state, flexible, thin batteries. Recently, he is developing 'Li - S' batteries and 'Li- air' batteries for automobile applications in hybrid electrical vehicles. He has developed and demonstrated polyaniline-based thin, flexible, light weight, and ultra-low-cost batteries. His primary area of interest includes nanomaterials and polymer nanocomposites for multifunctional applications, development of conducting and electroactive polymers and their nanocomposites, flexible and wearable electronic devices, nanomaterials for inkjet printed, flexible electronics devices. He has developed polyaniline-CNTs nanocomposite-coated 'E-fabric/smart fabric'.
He is also actively working for the development of nanomaterials and glass/polymer nanocomposites for lead free, X-ray absorption/attenuation application and successfully developed a prototype light weight, lead free apron for biomedical applications. Presently, he is also engaged in the development of polymer nanocomposites for biological applications and development of 'Electronic Nose' (E-Nose) and 'Electronic Tongue' (E-Tongue) for chemical and biomedical applications. Dr. Kulkarni has published more than 110 research papers in international journals of high repute and filed more than 25 patents. He has presented more than 130 papers in National and International conferences and delivered ~ 50 invited lectures. He has guided 5 Ph.D students and 6 M.Phil and 25 B.
E/M.Sc./M.Tech students. Dr Kulkarni was admitted as 'Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry' (FRSC), London (UK) in 2022. Also, He is recipient of the 'Researcher of the Year -2021: Energy Storage' award by India Energy Storage Alliances (IESA). He is also a member, life member, and fellow of several societies of repute. Dr.
Kulkarni has designed and developed the first indigenous and low-cost polymer swab for sample collection and testing of COVID-19 and other viral diseases in India.