Ajay Khanna

Ajay Khanna

Computational Chemist |

Bridging quantum mechanics and real-world impact through drug discovery, energy transfer, and sustainable technologies

7
Publications
50
Citations
4
Open Source Tools
2000
Articles Downloaded

Research Impact Areas

Computational chemistry at the intersection of molecular science and transformative applications

💊

Drug Discovery

Virtual Screening & Design

Key Capabilities:

  • Virtual screening pipelines
  • Protein-ligand binding
  • ADMET prediction (ML)
  • Binding affinity calculations

Energy Transfer

FRET & Excitonic Coupling

Key Capabilities:

  • FRET mechanisms
  • Excitonic coupling calculations
  • Light-harvesting systems
  • Charge transfer dynamics
🔋

Energy Storage

Battery Materials

Key Capabilities:

  • Electrode materials design
  • Electrolyte optimization
  • Li-ion migration pathways
  • Solid-state batteries
🌱

Green Energy

Sustainable Solutions

Key Capabilities:

  • Organic photovoltaics
  • Catalytic CO₂ reduction
  • Water splitting mechanisms
  • Sustainable materials

Projects

abs_fluorescence_spectrum.png

Computing Absorption and Fluorescence Spectra

Calculating absorption and fluroscence spectra of molecules in explicit environment using ensemble Franck-Condon methods

CV+ dimer in Water

Automate QM/MM Sims

A Python program designed automate MD trajectories containing dyes in solvents to hybrid QM/MM simulations.

MolVizMan

MolVizMan

An interactive Python GUI application allows you to visualize and manipulate molecules from an XYZ file.

nbd_nr_transition_densities

Excitonic Coupling

Computing Excitonic Coupling Between Molecules Using Various Excitonic Coupling Schemes

DOI2BibTex

DOI2BibTex

Convert Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) into BibTeX entries with a simple, user-friendly web app built using Streamlit!

Technical Expertise

Combining quantum mechanics, molecular simulations, and machine learning for real-world impact

Drug Discovery

Virtual screening, docking, and ADMET prediction for therapeutic design

RDKit AutoDock Schrödinger MOE

QM/MM & Spectroscopy

Hybrid quantum/classical methods for excited states and optical properties

TeraChem Gaussian Amber NAMD

Energy Materials

Periodic DFT for batteries, catalysts, and photovoltaic materials

SIESTA ORCA LAMMPS Quantum Espresso

Machine Learning

ML/DL models for property prediction, QSAR, and molecular generation

PyTorch TensorFlow Scikit-learn DeepChem

Programming & HPC

High-performance computing and GPU acceleration for large-scale simulations

Python C++ CUDA MPI

Cheminformatics

Large-scale compound screening, similarity search, and QSAR modeling

RDKit OpenBabel ChemAxon KNIME

Professional Experience

Research and development at the forefront of computational chemistry

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

Advisor: Dr. Sergei Tretiak

Nov 2024 - Present

Key Achievements:

  • Developing deep learning-based surrogate models for non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations
  • Established quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) in π-stacked molecular aggregates (perylene diimide, squaraine, and cyanine dyes)
  • Generated foundational insights into the structural origins of chiroptical signals in chiral molecular aggregates

Research Focus:

Deep Learning Non-adiabatic MD QM/MM Photophysics Chiroptical Spectroscopy

Graduate Researcher

University of California, Merced

Computational Chemistry & Physics

2018 - 2024

Key Achievements:

  • Extended ensemble Franck-Condon methods for accurate full stack UV-Vis spectroscopy predictions in solution (J. Chem. Phys. 2024)
  • Co-authored Nature Communications publication on molecular polariton electroabsorption (16+ citations)
  • Developed QM/MM automation tools reducing simulation setup time by 70%

Research Focus:

Resonance Energy Transfer Optical Spectroscopy QM/MM Methods GPU Computing

Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) Intern

Frontier Medicines

Computational Chemistry & Drug Discovery

May 2023 - Aug 2023

Key Achievements:

  • Developed Python pipelines to automate SMILES-to-desolvation energy calculations and conformational sampling for Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibitors, leveraging OpenMM and TeraChem (hybrid QM/MM interface) for significantly streamlined workflows
  • Gained proficiency in unbiased and biased ligand-based docking (MOE), successfully deploying these techniques to perform protein-ligand docking for BTK inhibitors
  • Built robust Protein-Ligand binding free energy calculation pipelines, utilizing hybrid QM/MM techniques, to enable accurate rank-ordering of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibitors

Technologies:

Python OpenMM TeraChem MOE QM/MM

Teaching & Mentorship

Graduate Mentoring

  • • GradEXCEL Program mentor (2019-2022)
  • • Supervised undergraduate researchers
  • • Graduate Excel Peer Mentor Award

Teaching Development

  • • Advanced Pedagogy certification
  • • GROW TA Training Fellowship
  • • Stanford Writing in Sciences course

🌟 Featured Publications

1. Covalent Control of Excitonic Interactions in Perylene Diimide Trimers: A Computational Study

Ajay Khanna, Jean-Huber Olivier, Sebastian Fernandez-Albertia, and Sergei Tretiak Peer-reviewed journal (2025 - Submitted) Under Review

|| Comprehensive study investigating structural disorder effects on electronic and optical properties in π-stacked perylene diimide aggregates, providing insights for organic photovoltaic design.

2. Deconstructing Chirality: Probing Local and Nonlocal Effects in Azobenzene Derivatives with X-ray Circular Dichroism

Ajay Khanna, Victor M. Freixas, Lei Xu, Jérémy R. Rouxel, Niranjan Govind, Marco Garavelli, Shaul Mukamel, and Sergei Tretiak J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 16 (2025) Journal Cover Top 15% Novelty

|| Delivered foundational insights into the structural origins of chiroptical signals, leading to a mechanistic understanding crucial for the rational design of functional molecular machines. Accepted without revision and selected for journal cover.

4. Calculating Absorption and Fluorescence Spectra for Chromophores in Solution with Ensemble Franck-Condon Methods

Ajay Khanna, Sapana V. Shedge, Tim J. Zuehlsdorff, Christine M. Isborn J. Chem. Phys. (2024)Citations: 6 Top 5-25% Novelty

|| Novel computational approach for accurate prediction of absorption and fluorescence spectra in solution, advancing spectroscopic analysis techniques.

5. Molecular Polariton Electroabsorption

Chiao-Yu Cheng, Nina Krainova, Alyssa Brigeman, Ajay Khanna, Sapana Shedge, Christine Isborn, Joel Yuen-Zhou, Noel C. Giebink Nature Comm. (2022) Citations: 22

|| Novel study on molecular polariton electroabsorption, opening new avenues in optoelectronics and quantum technology.

6. Explicit Environmental and Vibronic Effects in Simulations of Linear and Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy

Sapana V. Shedge, Tim J. Zuehlsdorff, Ajay Khanna, Stacey Conley, Christine M. Isborn J. Chem. Phys. (2021) Citations: 15

|| Comprehensive exploration of environmental and vibronic effects in optical spectroscopy simulations, enhancing accuracy in molecular property predictions.

6. Axial H-Bonding Solvent Controls Inhomogeneous Spectral Broadening, While Peripheral H-Bonding Solvent Controls Vibronic Broadening: Cresyl Violet in Methanol

Christopher A. Myers, Shao-Yu Lu, Sapana Shedge, Arthur Pyuskulyan, Katherine Donahoe, Ajay Khanna, Liang Shi, and Christine M. Isborn The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2024 Citations: 6

|| Systematic dissection of solvent effects on spectral line shapes, improving simulation accuracy by identifying the critical role of specific molecular interactions.

7. Ligand Driven Electron Counting Rule Selection: A Case Study for Ge5R Complex

Rakesh Parida, G. Naaresh Reddy, Ajay Khanna, Gourisankar Roymahapatra, Santanab Giri Int. J. HIT. TRANSC: ECCN. Vol (2018)

|| Theoretical investigation of ligand-driven electron counting rules in germanium cluster complexes, contributing to understanding of main-group element chemistry.

Global Research Collaboration

Working with leading researchers and institutions worldwide to advance computational chemistry

12
Institutions
4
Countries
15+
Collaborators
7
Joint Publications

Professional Certifications

Continuous learning and specialization in cutting-edge computational methods

Introduction to Cheminformatics and Medicinal Chemistry

Udemy

2024

Comprehensive training in computational methods for molecular representation, drug-target interactions, and structure-based drug design

Data Science with Python

Simplilearn

2022

Expertise in data analysis, visualization, and machine learning using Python ecosystem (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn)

Fundamental of Accelerated Computing with CUDA Python

NVIDIA

2023

GPU-accelerated computing and parallel programming for high-performance scientific simulations

Tutorials

classic_md_simulation

Running Classical MD Sims

Getting started with running classical molecular dynamics simulations using Amber24

aimd_simulation

Running AIMD Simulations

How to run ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations in gas, implicit and explicit Enviroments

everything_terachem

Everything TeraChem

TeraChem for electronic structure calculations: Gas, implicit and explicit environments

everything_gaussian

Everything Gaussian

Gaussian16 for electronic structure calculations: Gas, implicit and explicit environments

more_tutorials

More Tutorials

Click For More Tutorials on different types of MD and AIMD sims. Electronic structure, data analysis, quality images etc

Resume

Download Full Resume

Contact Me

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