Mr Sanjith Udayakumar

Sanjith Udayakumar is a metallurgist and materials engineer with over seven years of research experience, seamlessly bridging fundamental materials science and applied sustainability in ferrous, non-ferrous, polymeric, and ceramic materials, and secondary resource streams. His expertise lies in advanced characterization and allied techniques, linking microstructure, phase transformations, and functional performance, which is underpinned by a diverse project history including enhancing tribological and corrosion properties of materials, and sophisticated pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes for recovering rare earth elements (REEs) from minerals like monazite and xenotime, as well as extracting critical elements (Li, Co, Ni, Mn) from various Li-ion battery chemistries. His Ph.D. research focused on utilising plastic and glass wastes to improve the microstructural behavior, wear, and corrosion properties of high-carbon steel for mining applications, aligning with his active engagement in strategic waste management, techno-economic evaluation, and circular-economy outcomes.

With an interdisciplinary background across mechanical, materials science, and metallurgical engineering, and previous roles as a Physical and Chemical Sciences Editor, and Copyrights and Third Party Content Permissions Expert at John Wiley & Sons and a Research Lead in a battery recycling company.Complementing his core materials work, he is actively engaged in strategic waste management and resource recovery, designing pathways for recycling secondary (and tertiary) materials, evaluating techno-economic feasibility and promoting circular-economy outcomes. His work supports more resource-efficient industrial systems and sustainable material lifecycles.