Dr. Kalai Saravanamuttu

Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu is Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and an Associate Member of the Department of Engineering Physics at McMaster University. In September, 2022, she was appointed as the inaugural Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity in the Faculty of Science at McMaster University. (Information about the Office of ADEDII can be found here).

Kalai received the B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Chemistry at McGill University, completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford funded by the Government of Québec and joined McMaster University in 2003 with a NSERC University Faculty Award. The Saravanamuttu Research Group carries out richly interdisciplinary work that combines chemistry, optical physics and applied engineering to study unusual (nonlinear) forms of light-matter interactions and harnessing these diverse behaviours to develop bio-inspired optics, new forms of 3-D printing technology and materials that compute – a nascent and powerful research field that aims to mimic natural stimuli-responsive systems.

Kalai has been actively engaged in mentorship, outreach and equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout her academic career. As the Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity, Kalai combines strong connections with students and colleagues, with a deep dedication to serving the community of Faculty of Science and McMaster University.