Dr Shankar is currently a Ramanujan Fellow and AcSIR Assistant Professor (Chemical Sciences) at CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST, Government of India), Thiruvananthapuram. He is a chemist by education and completed his Masters with first rank in Chemistry from Mahatma Gandhi University, India in 2007. He holds a PhD in Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Dr Shankar was as a visiting Scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel and a Humboldt Research Fellow at the University of Kiel, Germany before accepting his current position at CSIR-NIIST.

Dr Shankar has been recognized by several awards including the 3rd BRICS Young Scientist Award representing India at the 3rd BRICS Young Scientists Forum at Durban, South Africa (2018), Ramanujan Fellowship (DST-SERB, Government of India, 2016) and DST- INSPIRE Faculty Award (DST, Government of India, 2016) to name a few.

His research interests include Anti-counterfeiting Technologies, Fluorescent Materials, Electrochromic Materials and Devices, Superhydrophobic Materials, Smart Coatings and Thin Films. He has more than 11 years of experience in R&D and has published more than 20 original research articles in high impact international journals. He is also a co-inventor in 5 patent applications in various stages of filing.