As a child growing up in India, Sachin Handa, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Missouri, remembers his persistent interest in the path of various types of waste from its manufacturing to its destination. That passion eventually led him to pursue a career as an organic chemist focused on developing sustainable chemistry solutions to help “change the world.”

These days, Handa, who joined MU’s faculty in July 2023, is focused on advancing various aspects of sustainability, including organic synthesis, energy and nation security. He said all of his research projects will benefit from the world-class resources at MU, including the Electron Microscopy Core (EMC) and the MU Research Reactor (MURR).