Roshni Lilly Thankamony
Associate Research Scientist
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: PhD Incheon National University
Research Websites: Water Research Center
Research Areas: Nanofiltration (NF); Ultrafiltration (UF); Reverse osmosis (RO); Membrane distillation (MD); Biomedical membranes; Porous membrane engineering; Stimuli-responsive membranes; Membrane surface functionalization; Thin-film composite membranes
Roshni Lilly Thankamony is a membrane scientist specializing in advanced membrane materials, polymer chemistry, and sustainable separation technologies for water, environmental, and energy applications. She earned her PhD in Chemistry from Incheon National University, South Korea, in 2012, where her research focused on the development of polymer electrolytes for fuel cell and lithium-ion battery applications.
With over a decade of research experience, Thankamony has developed extensive expertise in the design, synthesis, characterization, and scale-up of advanced membrane materials and processes. Prior to joining the Water Research Center at NYUAD, she served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at KAUST from 2015 to 2018 and as a Research Scientist from 2019 to 2024. During her tenure, she contributed significantly to the development of innovative high-porosity membrane fabrication technologies and led projects focused on translating laboratory discoveries into scalable and commercially viable membrane solutions. She also played a key role in the design and commissioning of a pilot-scale membrane fabrication facility in collaboration with industrial partners.
Thankamony has extensive experience in the development of organic and inorganic membrane systems, including hollow-fiber, flat-sheet, thin-film, and ceramic membranes. Her research spans desalination, wastewater treatment, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and biomedical separations. Her current research focuses on the development of next-generation membrane technologies based on stimuli-responsive polymers, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and advanced functional materials. Through her work, she aims to develop innovative, scalable, and energy-efficient separation technologies that address critical global challenges related to water sustainability, environmental protection, resource recovery, and clean energy.