Ayushi Shukla

Postdoctoral Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory, USA with a proven record in scientific manuscript evaluation, peer review, and high-impact publishing. Author of 26 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 11; 524 citations), including a landmark first-author paper in Nature Materials (2025) reporting the first evidence of a Higgs mode in 2D semiconductor lattices. PhD-qualified researcher in physical sciences specializing in device-relevant materials including halide perovskites, quantum nanomaterials, device engineering, solar cells, ultrafast charge carrier dynamics, and spectroscopy-based device characterization. Certified peer reviewer for Nature, ACS and IOP Publishing journals. Experienced in manuscript assessment, critical scientific evaluation, cross-disciplinary communication, and mentoring junior researchers. Seeking to apply deep subject-matter expertise and editorial acumen to the Nature Portfolio Research Cross-Journal Editorial Team.

• Discussion Leader, Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) — Quantum Control of Light and Matter, USA, August 2025
• Best Oral Presentation
• Certified ACS Reviewer — American Chemical Society, USA
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship — Argonne National Laboratory, USA (competitive, merit-based)
• Qualified CSIR-UGC Lectureship (Physical Sciences) — 2017 (national eligibility for academic positions)
• Qualified GATE Physics — 2017 & 2018 (national competitive examination)

• Total: 26 peer-reviewed publications | h-index: 11 | Citations: 524 | Full list: scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZX-rY3UAAAAJ
• 1. Ayushi Shukla, Sraddha Agrawal, Shoshanna Peifer, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Pierre Darancet, Richard D. Schaller. A metastable tetragonal phase in two-dimensional halide perovskite lattices driven by a coherent Higgs mode. Nature Materials (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02433-1
• 2. Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Himanshu Bhatt, Vikas Kumar, Hirendra N. Ghosh. The Retarded Hot Carrier Relaxation and Augmented Photoconductivity in Eu3+-Doped CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals. ACS Photonics 2025, 12, 8, 4224–4233.
• 3. Ayushi Shukla#, Gurpreet Kaur#, K Justice Babu, Nandan Ghorai, Tanmay Goswami, Arshdeep Kaur, Hirendra N Ghosh. Effect of confinement on the exciton and biexciton dynamics in perovskite 2D-nanosheets and 3D-nanocrystals. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2020, 11, 15, 6344–6352. (#equal contribution)
• 4. Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Arshdeep Kaur, Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Defect-Interceded Cascading Energy Transfer and Underlying Charge Transfer in Europium-Doped CsPbCl3 Nanocrystals. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 1, 83–90.
• 5. Ayushi Shukla#, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu#, Gurpreet Kaur#, Ramchandra Saha, Arshdeep Kaur, Manvi Sachdeva, Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Fast Polarion Formation and Low Carrier Mobility in Defect-Free Polyhedral CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals. ACS Photonics 2022, 9, 3, 969–978. (#equal contribution)
• 6. Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Hirendra Ghosh. Spectroscopic Investigation of Structural Perturbations in CsPbCl3 Perovskite Nanocrystals: Temperature and Excitation Energy Dependent Study. ACS Photonics 2023, 10, 6, 1906–1915.
• 7. Ayushi Shukla#, Gurpreet Kaur#, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Himanshu Bhatt, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Probing the charge transfer mechanisms in type-II Cs2AgBiBr4–CdSe composite system: ultrafast insights. Nanotechnology 2022. (#equal contribution)
• 8. Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, K. Babu, Himanshu Bhatt, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Unraveling the cation dependent carrier cooling and transient mobility in lead-free Ag3Sb2I9 perovskites. The Journal of Chemical Physics 160 (2024), 24.
• 9. K. Justice Babu, Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Arshdeep Kaur, Himanshu Bhatt, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Temperature-driven charge transfer process in quantum confined two-dimensional Mn-doped CsPbBr3 perovskite nanoplatelets. Chemical Communications, 58(100), 13899–13902.
• 10. Akashdeep Nath, Vikas Kumar, Ayushi Shukla, Hirendra Nath Ghosh, Sukhendu Mandal. Influence of Molecular Separation on Through-Space Intermolecular Transient Charge Transfer in Metal-Organic Frameworks with Cofacially Arranged Redox Pair. Angewandte Chemie 2023, e202308304.
• 11. Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, Arijit Sinha, Koyendrila Debnath, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Himanshu Bhatt, Umesh V. Waghmare, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Ultrafast glimpses of the excitation energy-dependent exciton dynamics and charge carrier mobility in Cs2SnI6 nanocrystals. Nanoscale 15, no. 34 (2023): 14081–14092.
• 12. Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Mapping the Real-Time Vibrational Infrared Structures of Cs2SnI6 Nanocrystals through Coherent Phonon Dynamics. ACS Photonics 2022.
• 13. Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, K. Justice Babu, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Chemically Engineered Avenues: Opportunities for Attaining Desired Carrier Cooling Regimes. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, e20220106.
• 14. Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, Himanshu Bhatt, Nandan Ghorai, Gautam De, Hirendra N. Ghosh. In situ CsPbBr3 architecture engineered in electrosprun fibers for ultrafast charge-transfer dynamics. Mater. Adv. 2022, 3, 6566–6576.
• 15. Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, Arshdeep Kaur, Tanmay Goswami, Nandan Ghorai, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Concurrent Energy- and Electron-Transfer Dynamics in Photoexcited Mn-doped CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanoplatelet Architecture. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2021, 12, 1, 302–309.
• 16. Gurpreet Kaur, Ramchandra Saha, K. Justice Babu, Ayushi Shukla, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Unravelling the Underlying Hot Carrier Transfer and Relaxation Pathways in Type-I CsPbBr3–PbS System. J. Phys. Chem C 2021, 125, 15016–15025.
• 17. Himanshu Bhatt, Tanmay Goswami, Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, Nandan Ghorai, Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Arshdeep Kaur, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Ultrafast Hot Electron Transfer and Trap-State Mediated Charge Carrier Separation toward Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity in α-Cs2N4/ZnIn2S4 Heterostructure. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2021, 12(49), 11865–11872.
• 18. Arshdeep Kaur, Tanmay Goswami, Sachin R. Rondiya, Yogesh A. Jadhav, K. Justice Babu, Ayushi Shukla, Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Enhanced Charge Carrier Separation and Improved Biexciton Yield at the p–n Junction of SnSe/CdSe Heterostructures. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2021, 12, 10958–10968.
• 19. Tanmay Goswami, Dharmendra Kumar Yadav, Himanshu Bhatt, Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, K. Justice Babu, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Defect-Mediated Slow Carrier Recombination and Broad Photoluminescence in Non-Metal-Doped ZnIn2S4 Nanosheets for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2021, 12, 20, 5000–5008.
• 20. Arshdeep Kaur, Tanmay Goswami, K. Justice Babu, Nandan Ghorai, Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, Sachin R. Rondiya, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Probing Ultrafast Charge Separation in CZTS/CdS Heterojunctions through Femtosecond Transient Absorption Spectroscopy. J. Phys. Chem C 2020, 124, 36, 19476–19483.
• 21. Arshdeep Kaur, Tanmay Goswami, K. Justice Babu, Ayushi Shukla, Himanshu Bhatt, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Efficient Hot Electron Transfer and Extended Separation of Charge Carriers at the 1P Hot State in Sb2Se3/CdSe p–n Heterojunction. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 13, 2022, 11354–11362.
• 22. Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Anil Chazhoor Asokan, Ayushi Shukla, Arshdeep Kaur, Manvi Sachdeva, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Ultrafast Interfacial Charge Transfer in Anisotropic One-Dimensional CsPbBr3/Pr Epitaxial Heterostructure. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 15, 2024, 9677–9685.
• 23. Himanshu Bhatt, Ramchandra Saha, Tanmay Goswami, Sangeetha CK, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Gurpreet Kaur, Ayushi Shukla, Mahammed Suleman Patel, Sachin R. Rondiya, Nelson Y. Dzade, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Charge Transfer Modulation in the α-CsPbI3/WSe2 Heterojunction via Band-Tailoring with Elemental Ni Doping. ACS Photonics 12, 2024, 5367–5379.
• 24. Vikas Kumar, Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Nitika Kharbanda, Justice Babu Kaliyamoorthy, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Unraveling Defect-Mediated Enhancement of Transient Photoconductivity and Slower Carrier’s Mobility Decay in Cu-Doped Cs2AgBiBr6 Nanocrystals Using Ultrafast Pump-Probe Spectroscopy. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 15, 2024, 6575–6584.
• 25. Samaresh Samanta, Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Arshdeep Kaur, CsPbBr3/Au Heterostructure. ChemPhotoChem 8, 2024, e202302042.
• 26. Kaliyamoorthy Justice Babu, Ayushi Shukla, Gurpreet Kaur, Arshdeep Kaur, Ramchandra Saha, Himanshu Bhatt, Hirendra N. Ghosh. Ultrafast Charge Migration and Efficient Charge Separation in Dodecahedron CsPbBr3–Semiconductor Janus Heterostructures. ACS Photonics 2025, 12(4), 1900–1909.

• 1. Poster Presentation, Interplay of Excitons and Coherent Phonon Dynamics in Two-Dimensional Lead Halide Perovskites, Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Quantum Control of Light and Matter, USA, 2–4 August 2025.
• 2. Poster Presentation, Interplay of Excitons and Coherent Phonon Dynamics in Two-Dimensional Lead Halide Perovskites, Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Quantum Control of Light and Matter, USA, 4–8 August 2025.
• 3. Discussion Leader, Career Path in Quantum Sciences, Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Quantum Control of Light and Matter, USA, 2–4 August 2025.
• 4. Oral Presentation, Exciton and Coherent Phonon Dynamics in Two-Dimensional Lead Halide Perovskites, International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy (ISMS), USA, 23–28 June 2024.
• 5. Oral Presentation, Ultrafast Laser-Induced Phase Transitions in Halide Perovskites, CNM–NST Division Retreat, Argonne National Laboratory, USA, May 2024.
• 6. Poster Presentation, Controlling Phase Transitions in Halide Perovskites via Intense Laser Excitation, Postdoctoral Career Research Symposium, Argonne National Laboratory, USA, October 2023.
• 7. Attendee, Winter College on Optics: Terahertz Optics and Photonics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Online, 6–17 February 2023.
• 8. Poster Presentation, Elucidating the Cascading Energy and Charge Transfer Progressions in Europium-Doped Perovskite Nanocrystals, Winter College on Optics: Terahertz Optics and Photonics, ICTP, 6–17 February 2023.
• 9. Oral Presentation, Unraveling the Carrier Cooling Mechanisms in Perovskite Materials: A Spectroscopic Investigation, Research Scholar Day, 22–23 May 2023.
• 10. Oral Presentation, Exploring the Carrier Cooling Mechanisms in Perovskite Materials: A Spectroscopic Investigation, National Conference on Futuristic Materials (NCFS-2023), 4 March 2023.
• 11. Poster Presentation, Unravelling the Accelerated Exciton and Biexciton Cooling in Two-Dimensional Perovskite Nanosheets, 7th Theme Meeting on Ultrafast Sciences (UFS-2021), 12–14 November 2021.
• 12. Poster Presentation, Elucidating the Cascading Energy and Charge Transfer Progressions in Europium-Doped Perovskite Nanocrystals, Ultrafast Sciences (UFS-2022), 3–5 November 2022.
• 13. Poster Presentation, Unveiling the Temperature-Dependent Carrier Relaxation Processes in CsPbCl3 Perovskite Nanocrystals, Perovskite Society of India Meet (PSIM), 1–3 March 2023.
• 14. Poster Presentation, Electrical Properties of Representative Conducting Polymer, International Conference on Multifunctional Materials on Energy and Environments, Sharda University, India, 21–23 August 2013.
• 15. Poster Presentation, Frontier in Particle Physics, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi, March 2014.
• 16. Poster Presentation, Synthesis and Humidity Sensing Behavior of Zinc Oxide and Polypyrrole Layered Nanocomposite, International Conference on Materials Science & Technology, University of Delhi, India, 1–4 March 2016.
• 17. Oral Presentation, Efficient Resistive-Type Humidity Sensing over Zinc Oxide and Polypyrrole Nanocomposite, National Conference on Industrial Materials, Sharda University, India, 21–22 October 2016.