Prashant Kamat, the Rev. John A. Zahm Professor of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has received the 2026 Nicholas J. Turro Award from the Inter-American Photochemical Society for sustained contributions to photochemical science that have transformed or developed the field.
Kamat’s research focuses on nanostructured materials for energy conversion and storage, photocatalysts and electrocatalysts for energy storage and solar fuels, and carbon nanostructures used in sensing, fuel cells and solar devices, according to a university news release.
His work has contributed to the development of hybrid solar cells and improved understanding of light-induced processes in quantum dot and perovskite solar cells. He has also investigated charge transfer at interfaces between materials, a central area of his research into energy conversion.
Kamat’s research interests include the synthesis and characterization of metal and semiconductor nanostructures, carbon nanotubes and graphene-based systems. His work also examines solar energy conversion, surface photochemical processes and the mechanisms governing reactions at semiconductor-electrolyte interfaces.
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Another area of his research involves solar fuels, including semiconductor-metal composites for photocatalytic hydrogen production and electrochemical and photoelectrochemical methods for reducing carbon dioxide.
Kamat has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers, which have received more than 75,000 citations, according the release. He has appeared on the Clarivate Analytics, formerly Thomson Reuters, highly cited researchers list since 2014.
In addition to his research, Kamat serves as editor-in-chief of ACS Energy Letters and is is a fellow of the Electrochemical Society, the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
His previous honors include the Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry from the American Chemical Society in 2024, the Porter Medal in 2022 and the Richard E. Smalley Research Award from the Electrochemical Society in 2022. In 2025, he was named an Energy & Fuels Pioneer in Energy Research.
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Kamat joined Notre Dame in 1983 as a professional specialist and became a professor in 2006. He has held the Rev. John A. Zahm Professorship of Science since 2010.
Before joining the university, he worked as a scientist at Hindustan Lever Research Center in Bombay, India, and held postdoctoral research positions at Boston University and the University of Texas at Austin.
He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Karnatak University and a doctorate in physical chemistry from Bombay University.
The Turro Award adds to Kamat’s recognition for research spanning photochemistry, nanomaterials and energy science.
His work examines the processes that govern interactions between light and materials and their relevance to solar energy conversion and related technologies.