Avan KUMAR
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Walton Center Planetary Health Tempe, AZ 85821
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Mail code: 7904Campus: Tempe
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Dr. Avan Kumar is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, working on AI-enabled solutions for sustainable systems under the guidance of Prof. Bhavik R. Bakshi. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in May 2024. His Ph.D. research focused on developing advanced data-driven and AI-enabled frameworks integrating deep learning (DL), natural language processing (NLP), generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI), and multi-objective optimization for sustainable process and material design. He has significant expertise in building domain-specialized large language models (LLMs), including Recycle-BERT for plastic recycling and CCU-LLaMA for carbon capture and utilization (CCU), to extract and structure knowledge from scientific literature in support of circular economy and net-zero transitions.
His current research involves developing automated LLM-driven frameworks for life cycle inventory (LCI) and environmental impact data retrieval, as well as AI-enabled frameworks for sustainable-by-design materials screening. He also focuses on constructing AI-enabled reaction networks for chemical and polymer systems to enable circular and sustainable pathway discovery. He is also actively working on integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) with AI models to evaluate environmental impacts and guide decision-making for sustainable systems, including battery material recovery, direct air capture (DAC), and biomass gasification and management systems. Overall, his work aims to establish trustworthy, deployable, accessible, and interpretable AI-driven decision-making frameworks as a core enabler of a sustainable, circular, and net-zero transition in the chemical and materials industry (CMI).
2024 Ph.D. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi (IIT Delhi)
2019 M.Tech. Indian Institute of Technology BHU, Varanasi (IIT BHU)
2017 B.Tech. Delhi Technological University, Delhi (DTU, formerly DCE)
Sustainable Process Development, Circular Economy, Process and Product Design, Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Application of ML/DL
- Kundu, Kaushik, Avan Kumar, Hariprasad Kodamana, and Kamal K. Pant. "Data-driven optimization of catalyst composition and reaction temperature for hydrogen-rich syngas yield from biomass gasification: Experimental validation and characterization." Energy Conversion and Management 354 (2026): 121243. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121243
- Kumar, Avan, Sunghoon Kim, and Bhavik R. Bakshi. "Role of artificial intelligence in the chemical industry transition to a sustainable, circular, and net-zero future." Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 51 (2026): 101234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coche.2026.101234
- Kumar, Avan, Farshid Nazemi, Hariprasad Kodamana, Manojkumar Ramteke, and Bhavik R. Bakshi. "A Large Language Model-based Framework to Retrieve Life Cycle Inventory and Environmental Impact Data from Scientific Literature." Environmental Science & Technology 59, no. 42 (2025): 22533-22543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c05955
- Kumar, Avan, and Hariprasad Kodamana. “Process Modeling and Optimal Evaluation Analysis for Direct CO₂ Conversion to Methanol.” In Comprehensive Methanol Science, pp. 190-210, Elsevier, 2025. DOI:10.1016/B978-0-443-15740-0.00113-0
- Jami, Harshitha Chandra, Pushp Raj Singh, Avan Kumar, Bhavik R. Bakshi, Manojkumar Ramteke, and Hariprasad Kodamana. "CCU-Llama: A knowledge extraction LLM for carbon capture and utilization by mining scientific literature data." Industrial & engineering chemistry research 63, no. 41 (2024): 17585-17598. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c01656
- Kumar, Avan, and Hariprasad Kodamana. " Process Modeling and Optimal Evaluation Analysis for Direct CO₂ Conversion to Methanol." In Comprehensive Methanol Science, MTHL, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-15740-0.00113-0
- Kundu, Kaushik, Avan Kumar, Hariprasad Kodamana, and Kamal K. Pant. "Obtaining high H₂-rich syngas yield and carbon conversion efficiency from biomass gasification: From characterization to process optimization using machine learning with experimental validation." Fuel 378 (2024): 132931. DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2024.132931
- Kumar, Avan, Bhavik R. Bakshi, Manojkumar Ramteke, and Hariprasad Kodamana. "Recycle-BERT: extracting knowledge about plastic waste recycling by natural language processing." ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 11, no. 32 (2023): 12123-12134. DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c03162
- Kumar, Avan, Sreedevi Upadhyayula, and Hariprasad Kodamana. "A Convolutional Neural Network-based gradient boosting framework for prediction of the band gap of photo-active catalysts." Digital Chemical Engineering 8 (2023): 100109. DOI: 10.1016/j.dche.2023.100109
- Kumar, Avan, and Hariprasad Kodamana. "An NLP-based framework for extracting the catalysts involved in Hydrogen production from scientific literature." In Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, vol. 52, pp. 1457-1462. Elsevier, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-443-15274-0.50232-8
- Kumar, Avan, Kamal K. Pant, Sreedevi Upadhyayula, and Hariprasad Kodamana. "Multiobjective Bayesian optimization framework for the synthesis of methanol from syngas using interpretable Gaussian process models." ACS omega 8, no. 1 (2022): 410-421. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c04919
- Kumar, Avan, Swathi Ganesh, Divyanshi Gupta, and Hariprasad Kodamana. "A text mining framework for screening catalysts and critical process parameters from scientific literature—A study on hydrogen production from alcohol." Chemical Engineering Research and Design 184 (2022): 90-102. DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2022.05.018
- Singh, Juhi, Avan Kumar, Anubha Jaiswal, Swati Suman, and Ravi P. Jaiswal. "Luminescent down-shifting natural dyes to enhance photovoltaic efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar module." Solar Energy 206 (2020): 353-364. DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2020.05.067