Atanu Purkayastha has been an active badminton player since childhood. When he arrived at Rice University from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati as a Mehta Rice Engineering Scholar in December 2023, he sought opportunities to connect with the badminton community to help him acclimate to Houston.
One of the first things Purkayastha did after arriving in Houston was sign up for a membership at the Gibbs Recreation Center, where he joined a badminton group. “I met another player from Rice, whose name is Atanu Dahari, who is now my roommate,” said Purkayastha. “The other members and I organized a badminton tournament under the banner of the Indian Students at Rice that took place April 6–7, 2024…and my team finished as runners-up.”
Pukayastha and his roommate also participated in the Houston Badminton Championship May 17–19, 2024 at the Houston Badminton Center. They advanced to the quarterfinals at the most competitive level, playing with the top teams in Houston.
“Badminton is great exercise and helps me relieve stress,” said Purkayastha. “It improves my concentration at work and allows me to make many friends.”
As a Mehta Rice Engineering Scholar, Purkayastha is working with Aditya Mohite, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, materials science and nanoengineering, electrical and computer engineering, and chemistry, to research applications for tin perovskite solar cells. He chose to apply for this program to gain access to the lab facilities, equipment and instruments for film characterization that he doesn’t have in Guwahati.
“Atanu has an extremely positive and larger than life personality and is an excellent scientist, but also a natural leader, who can empower others around him to bring out their best,” said Mohite. “In a short period of six months, he has become an integral part of the lab. He established the solution-processed synthesis protocols for a lead-free solar cell using halide perovskites…achieving an almost record-performance 14% power conversion efficiency in a solar cell.”
The Mehta Rice Engineering Scholars program has accelerated Purkayastha’s research and equipped him to write publications, advancing him towards his goal of a career in academia. He believes his experience at Rice Engineering positions him well for a postdoctoral fellowship.
In addition to badminton, Purkayastha has found community in other cultural activities while at Rice—such as Rice University’s Moody X-Fest and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where he watched concerts by Major Lazer and Nick Campbell—and celebrated Holi with other Indian students and faculty at Rice. “You will feel at home,” Purkayastha advised anyone considering studying abroad at Rice. “You will not feel like you are away from your home country.”