Dr. Neelakshi Sharma (Pilani, ‘20) is a Senior Research Engineer and Manager at the Battery Innovation Centre at Ola Electric, India. Having completed her Ph.D. in Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, she now looks after the development of batteries for Electric Vehicles, working closely with Lithium-ion batteries. Read on as she maps out the road ahead for the Electric Vehicle. 

Looking back at your journey from being a PhD student at BITS Pilani to working at Ola Electric, how did your time at BITS shape your career path in this field?

I did my PhD in 2016 with Prof. Anshuman Dalvi on the electrolyte part of Lithium-ion batteries, which intrigued me. I had always wanted to do a Ph.D. in Experimental Physics as this was a very new and exciting field. Additionally, I got to organize and host several cultural events at BITS, giving me a platform to showcase my talents, including playing the guitar and debating. Despite being a Ph.D. student, I was involved in many extracurricular activities that usually undergraduates do. Earlier, I wanted to do a Post-Doc, but at BITS, I enjoyed making a difference in the product used by the end consumer. Here, I learnt to relate my academic knowledge to business and consumers.

What got you interested in the field of Lithium-ion batteries? Any advice for someone wanting to explore this field further?

Before 2016, I wanted to do a Ph.D. in solid state or plasma physics. My Professor told me about this project, where liquid Lithium batteries were replaced by solid-state batteries, offering superior properties. Attending international conventions and meeting researchers from this field further motivated me. In 2019, I got more passionate about this field when I learnt that three scientists had won the Nobel Prize for their research on Lithium-ion batteries. With the advent of EVs in the market, I recognized a lot of potential and decided, even after my study, to continue in the same field of work. I eat, sleep and just dream about Lithium-ion batteries now.