Kolkata-born scientist Subhabrata Sen becomes first Indian awarded Royal Society of Chemistry’s prestigious Perkin Prize

Shiv Nadar University Professor Sen and Team Honored for Groundbreaking ‘AEE’ Technology

Kolkata has long been a cradle of scientific innovation, nurturing some of India’s most brilliant minds. From pioneers like Jagadish Chandra Bose and Meghnad Saha to legends such as Satyendra Nath Bose and CV Raman, the City of Joy has earned its reputation as a hub of discovery and progress. Carrying forward this rich legacy is Subhabrata Sen, a native of Shyambazar, who has made history by becoming the first Indian to receive the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) prestigious Perkin Prize.

Announced on the RSC website on June 25, the Perkin Prize—also known as the Organic Chemistry Horizon Prize—is among the highest honors in contemporary chemistry. Established in 2020 and named after Sir William Henry Perkin, the inventor of the first synthetic dye, the award celebrates transformative contributions that shape the future of the field.

After completing his early education in Kolkata, Subhabrata Sen pursued a PhD at the University of Missouri-Columbia, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Colorado State University in the United States. He is currently a professor of chemistry at Shiv Nadar University and has previously worked with leading organizations such as Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and GVK Biosciences.

Sen earned the Perkin Prize for his groundbreaking work on the AEEon Collective, a research initiative that developed a pioneering technique known as Alternate Electrode Electrolysis (AEE). As the principal investigator, Sen led the development of this innovative method, which enables chemical reactions to be conducted with significantly greater precision and environmental sustainability.

His team of eight researchers includes five Bengalis, among them postdoctoral researcher Debajit Maiti, whom Sen credits as being “equally instrumental [as me] in developing the technology.” Maiti is currently in South Korea, pursuing his second postdoctoral fellowship.

The Perkin Prize stands as a testament to years of dedicated work by Subhabrata Sen and his collaborators. Their groundbreaking research has been featured in leading journals such as Chemical Science (RSC, 2023), Cell Press (2024), and the Journal of the American Chemical Society (2024). The multidisciplinary team, drawn from Shiv Nadar University (Institution of Eminence) and IIT Bombay, brought together expertise in reaction design, synthesis, and engineering to develop the innovative four-electrode setup central to the AEE process.

One of the major challenges was engineering a microcontroller capable of precisely regulating electrical currents across four electrodes within a compact electrochemical cell. Designing the cell and building custom electronics to support small-scale reactions proved to be the most technically demanding aspects of the project.

These obstacles were overcome through relentless experimentation, long hours in the lab, and the kind of collaborative focus that drives exceptional scientific breakthroughs.

Now that Sen and his team’s work has gained international recognition, what comes next? How soon can their research begin to make a tangible impact on everyday life?

“The immediate next step is to develop a user-friendly electrosynthesis instrument and cell specifically designed for performing AEE at both laboratory and industrial scales. One of the key challenges in electrosynthesis is the need to assemble the reaction cell and electrodes before each experiment, which can be time-consuming and inconsistent… With AEE, having a dedicated, plug-and-play setup would significantly lower the entry barrier. It would enable chemists — whether in academia or industry — to adopt the technology more quickly and confidently, accelerating its broader application and impact,” answered Sen.

In the long term, this breakthrough could pave the way for greener, more cost-effective methods to produce essential molecules. From manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients and sustainable agrochemicals to advancing CO₂-reduction technologies, the potential applications are wide-ranging. At the heart of these developments is Subhabrata Sen, carrying forward Kolkata’s legacy of scientific excellence on a global stage.

Credit : https://www.rsc.org/standards-and-recognition/prizes/winners/aeeon-collective