Arjak Bhattacharjee is an Assistant Professor (from May 2026) in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at IIT Madras. Before joining IIT Madras, he served as an assistant professor of the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering department of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech), in Socorro, New Mexico, USA. His research focuses on three major interdisciplinary research thrusts: (a) 3D printed sustainable material development through the utilization of industrial waste and household plastic waste, including sustainable concrete systems, (b) Large Language Model, Generative AI, and Prompt Engineering guided in-house additive manufacturing for tissue engineering, and (c) validation of ancient Indian knowledge systems in lab scale with Ayurveda and natural drug delivery. Before joining New Mexico Tech, Arjak completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, Boston, where he worked in the laboratory of Prof. David L. Kaplan. Prof. Kaplan group is internationally recognized and consistently ranked among the top three research groups globally in the fields of tissue engineering, biomaterials, and regenerative medicine.

As a principal investigator (PI), Arjak has received research funding of over 750,000 USD from reputed funding agencies of the United States, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the INBRE program of the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA, industry-academia partnership grants through Sandia National Laboratories, USA, New Mexico Small Business Association Grants, etc. In terms of teaching, he has taught undergraduate and postgraduate level courses at New Mexico Tech as a sole instructor of Thermodynamics, Biomedical Materials, Additive Manufacturing, Engineering Design, Polymeric Materials, Materials Engineering II, etc. In all of his teaching activities, Arjak has carried out pedagogical experimentation with the use of Generative AI and innovative active learning strategies to improve student engagement. He designed the first-ever Additive Manufacturing course at New Mexico Tech from scratch, which reached a record student enrollment. Arjak received his highest overall quality of instruction as 4.33 out of 5 for teaching.

During his M. Tech at IIT Kanpur, Arjak was awarded the Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Medal for overall best academic and extracurricular performance among all PG students of IIT Kanpur. This medal was given to him by the then President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind. Arjak published one research-based textbook on Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) as a lead author, that has become a bestseller in September 2023. He has also served in several leadership roles, including President of the Tufts University Postdoctoral Scholars Association, Head of the Vivekananda Samiti at IIT Kanpur, etc. 

Beyond academia, Arjak is a professional documentary filmmaker. He directed the first ceramics documentary in the whole world, named Oneness with the Infinite, in collaboration with leading Indian academicians. This movie won two international awards in 2017. Arjak was felicitated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Science and Technology, Government of India at that time, for his contributions to scientific documentary filmmaking. Arjak is deeply committed to and passionate about student mentorship, community engagement, and socially relevant research with his students. He actively collaborates and mentors a large group of students in research projects with industrial and societal impact. Both Arjak and his students participate extensively in outreach and volunteering activities. During and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Arjak served as a United Nations Online Volunteer and taught mathematics and science to underprivileged students in rural India. As a new faculty member, Arjak looks forward to contributing to the research and academic development of IIT Madras in his full capacity.