Kailash Adhikari, Univeristy of Southern Mississippi
What drew you to study coatings or materials science specifically?
I was drawn to polymer science and coatings because of how they combine chemistry, physics, and engineering into real-world applications. I’ve always been fascinated by how thin films and coatings can completely change the performance of a material, whether it’s improving durability, enabling electronics, or making sustainable products possible. What excites me most is the way coatings research blends fundamental science with innovation that impacts industries like aerospace, energy, and healthcare. It feels like a field where I can be both creative and technical at the same time.
What was the moment you realized coatings might be your career path?
When I joined Dr. Xiaodan Gu’s lab and started working with thin film robotics and high-throughput polymer processing. After seeing how small changes in processing like solvent choice, blend ratio, or annealing process could completely shift morphology and performance opened my eyes to the complexity and opportunities in coatings. It wasn’t just like “paint on a surface” anymore; for me, it was precision engineering at the nanoscale with real industrial potential. That’s when I realized this was more than coursework and it could be a career path where I can push scientific boundaries.
What’s been the most interesting lab or project you’ve worked on so far?
One of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on is blending block copolymers with homopolymers to study how morphology and domain spacing evolve during thin film fabrication. I worked on a framework for a closed-loop experiment where a robot prepared the films, and Artificial Intelligence-assisted analysis optimized recipes based on AFM and GISAXS data. The combination of chemistry, robotics, and machine learning was eye-opening because it showed how modern coatings research is moving toward automation and intelligent design. Being part of that process made me realize how much potential there is for integrating advanced tools in coatings science.
What kind of impact do you hope to make through your work in coating?
I want to make coatings and thin films more sustainable, smarter, and scalable. I hope to contribute to developing materials that perform at a high level but are also environmentally responsible, whether it be through recyclable polymers, green processing methods, or longer-lasting coatings that reduce waste. At the same time, I want to push the field toward data-driven design, where automation and AI can speed up discovery and reduce trial-and-error. If I can help bridge advanced science with real-world impact, that would be a career worth building.
How do you see your generation shaping the future of the coatings industry?
I think my generation is going to bring a strong mix of sustainability and technology to coatings. We’ve grown up with climate change as a really pressing reality, so environmental responsibility is non-negotiable for us. At the same time, we’re also very comfortable with data, automation, and digital tools, which means we’ll integrate machine learning, robotics, and modeling into the industry more naturally. Together, I see us creating coatings that are not just functional but smarter, cleaner, and designed with the bigger picture of society in mind.
Kailash Adhikari is an undergraduate student majoring in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi. His research interests include polymer thin films, coatings, and data-driven materials discovery. He has worked in Dr. Xiaodan Gu’s lab on automation of thin film synthesis, high throughput characterization, and AI-driven analysis of polymer morphology.