About Us

KIRMANI GROUP

The Kirmani Group at the Rochester Institute of Technology investigates the reliability of emerging semiconductor materials and devices in space and other radiation-intensive environments. Our research program, Optoelectronic Reliability in Orbital Environments (ORION), seeks to understand how radiation-generated defects form, evolve, interact, and recover in semiconductors whose structures and bonding differ fundamentally from those of conventional radiation-hardened materials.

We work across materials physics, chemistry, device engineering, and radiation science. Particular emphasis is placed on metal-halide perovskites, organic semiconductors, and solution-processed metal oxides. These material systems offer exceptional opportunities for lightweight, flexible, and scalable optoelectronics, but their dynamic structures require new approaches to understanding reliability.

Our broader goal is to establish scientifically grounded design principles for semiconductors that can remain functional under radiation, thermal extremes, illumination, electrical bias, vacuum, and other coupled environmental stresses.

GROUP LEADER

Dr. Ahmad R. Kirmani is an Assistant Professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He joined RIT in 2023 and is also affiliated with the School of Physics and Astronomy and the NanoPower Research Laboratories (NPRL).

Dr. Kirmani’s research spans radiation-matter interactions, semiconductor defect physics, space photovoltaics, printed optoelectronics, and scalable semiconductor manufacturing. His work has examined metal-halide perovskites, colloidal quantum dots, metal oxides, and organic semiconductors, with particular emphasis on how interfaces, microstructure, and dynamic defect processes govern device performance and reliability.

Before joining RIT, Dr. Kirmani conducted postdoctoral research at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL), where he led studies of perovskite photovoltaics for space applications. This work established irradiation protocols relevant to the space environment, demonstrated lightweight protective barriers for perovskite solar cells, and provided evidence for competing radiation-damage and defect-recovery processes in soft-lattice semiconductors.

He previously conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he investigated scalable coating, microstructure, and charge transport in solution-processed metal-oxide and nanocrystal electronics.

His research has appeared in journals including Nature Energy, Nature Communications, Joule, Advanced Materials, and ACS Energy Letters. He serves as the Associate Editor of APL Energy.