About

Raghavendra Meena is a doctoral researcher in the Biobased Chemistry & Technology group at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. His PhD work began in October 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Harry J. Bitter, Prof. Han Zuilhof, and Dr. Guanna Li, under the project “Multiscale Modelling of Supported Metal Catalysts for Carbohydrate Upgrading.”

Meena’s research focuses on computational and theoretical approaches to sustainable catalysis. Key themes include:

• The design and characterization of transition metal carbides and oxy-carbides for biomass conversion, with special attention to hydrodeoxygenation reactions, where he has shown how surface oxy-domains affect catalytic activity and selectivity.

• Mechano-catalytic methods for converting plastic waste under ambient conditions, including work on radical intermediates generated via mechanical activation of catalyst surfaces.

• Electrochemical transformations of bio-derived molecules, such as the regioselective bromination of methyl levulinate, where solvent effects lead to distinct product distributions.

Prior to his PhD, Meena completed a BS-MS degree in Chemistry & Physics from IISER Pune, India, followed by a Master’s thesis (as a part of BS-MS degree) under the guidance of Prof. Michele Casula at Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Sorbonne Université), France, where he studied magnetic properties of narrow zigzag graphene nanoribbons using ab initio (including quantum Monte Carlo) methods.

Outside research, he has interests in using machine learning / AI to accelerate computational materials discovery, and enjoys football, chess, trading, photography, and learning musical instruments.