Dr. Sudipa Mitra Kirtley is an expert in X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photo electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Throughout her faculty tenure, Dr. Kirtley has been analyzing sulfur chemical moieties at the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source, Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Advanced Light Source. She involves undergraduate and graduate students in her studies. Dr. Kirtley is a recipient of the Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award, and advises the Society of Women Engineers and the physics honor society student organizations.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, University of Kentucky, Physics, 1991
  • BA, Berea College, Physics, 1983

Awards & Honors

  • Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2009
  • Finalist, Leading Light Award, Women and Hi-Tech
  • Nominee, National U.S. Professor of the Year Competition
  • Excellence in Service Award, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Research Experiences

  • X-ray absorption spectroscopy
  • Micro x-ray absorption
  • X-ray diffraction
  • UV-visible fluorescence spectroscopy.

Select Publications & Presentations

1. Sj¨ovalla, P., Bake, K. D., Pomerantz, A. E., Luc, X., Mitra-Kirtley, S., Mullins, O. C., “Analysis of kerogens and model compounds by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS)”, Fuel, 286, 119373, 2020.

2. Bake, K. D., Craddock, P. R., Bolin, T. B., Abdallah, W., Mitra-Kirtley, S., Mullins, O. C., and Pomerantz, A. E., “Structure-Solubility Relationships in Coal-Derived, Petroleum, and Immature Source-Rock Asphaltenes”, submitted to Energy and Fuels, 34, 10825−10836, 2020.

3. Pomerantz, A.E., Le Doan, T. V., Craddock, P., Bake, K., Kleinberg, R., Burnham, A., Wu, Q., Zare, R., Brodnik**, G., Lo**, William C., Grayson**, M., Mitra-Kirtley, S., Bolin, T., Wu, T., “Impact of Laboratory-Induced Thermal Maturity on Asphaltene Molecular Structure”, Energy and Fuels, 30, 7025−7036, 2016.

4. Bolin, T. B., Birdwell, J. E., Lewan, M. D., Hill, R. J., Grayson**, M. B., Mitra-Kirtley, S., Bake, K. D., Craddock, P. R., Abdallah, W., Pomerantz, A. E., "Sulfur species in source rock bitumen before and after hydrous pyrolysis determined by XANES, Energy and Fuels, 30 (8), pp 6264–6270, 2016.

5. Greenfield, M. L., Byrne, M., Mitra-Kirtley, S., Kercher**, E. M., Bolin, T. B., Wu, T., Craddock, P. R., Bake, K. D., Pomerantz, A. E., “XANES measurements of sulfur chemistry during asphalt oxidation”, Fuel 162:179-185, 2015.

6. Pomerantz, A., Bake, K. D., Craddock, P. R., Kurzenhauser, K., Kodalen**, B.G., Mitra-Kirtley, S., and Bolin, T. B., “Sulfur Speciation in kerogen and bitumen from gas and oil shales”, Organic Geochemistry, 68, 5-12, 2014.

7. Mitra-Kirtley, S., Mullins, O. C., Pomerantz, A. E., “Sulfur and Nitrogen Chemical Speciation in Crude Oils and Related Carbonaceous Materials”, pp. 53-83, book chapter in Applying Nanotechnology to the Desulfurization Process in Petroleum Engineering, Saleh, T. ed., IGI Global Publishing, 2015.

8. Pomerantz, A. E., Seifert, D. J., Bake , K. D., Craddock, P. R., Mullins, O. C.,Kodalen**, B. G.,Mitra-Kirtley, S., and Bolin, T. B., “Sulfur Chemistry of Asphaltenes from a Highly Compositionally Graded Column”, Energy and Fuels, 27, 4604-4608, 2013.

9. “Utilizing Pen-Based Wireless Devices in Physics Classrooms”, Proceedings, ASEE Annual Conference, Vancouver, Canada, June 26-29, 2011.

10. S. Mitra-Kirtley, Oliver C. Mullins, “Sulfur Chemical Moieties in Carbonaceous Materials”, book chapter in Asphaltenes, Heavy Oils, and Petroleomics, Eds. O. C. Mullins, E. Sheu, A. Hammami, and A. Marshall, Springer, 2006.

11. M. Schneider++, A. B. Andrews, S. Mitra-Kirtley, O. C. Mullins, “Asphaltene Molecular Size by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy”, Energy and Fuels, 21 (5), 2875 -2882, 2007.

12. D. Mutchler, Z. Chambers, S. Mitra-Kirtley, S. Sexton, J. Williams, and M. Zoetewey, Tablet or Laptop? Does the Pen Matter, and if so, in what way? The Impact of Tablet PCs and pen-based technology on Education, D. A. Berque, J. Prey, and R. Reed, Eds., Purdue University Press, 2006.

13. “New Interactive Software is an A+ Instructional Tool”, By News Desk, Converge Online, a case-study on use of DyKnow by S. Mitra-Kirtley.

14. R. Wiltfong**, S. Mitra-Kirtley*, O. C. Mullins, B. Andrews, G. Fujisawa, and J. W. Larsen, Sulfur speciation in different kerogens by XANES spectroscopy, Energy and Fuels, 19 (5), 1971 -1976, 2005.

15. S. Mitra-Kirtley, O.C. Mullins, Sulfur Chemical Moieties in Carbonaceous Materials, in Asphaltenes, Heavy Oils and Petroleomics, O. C. Mullins, E. Sheu M. Hamami, and A. Marshall, eds., Springer Press.

16. S. Mitra-Kirtley, Thoughts on Studio Physics, Optics and Photonics News, Sept., 1998.

17. S. Mitra-Kirtley, O.C. Mullins, C.Y. Ralston, D. Sellis**, C. Pareis**, Determination of sulfur species in asphaltene, resin, and oil fractions of crude oils, Appl. Spec., 52(12), 1998.

18. C. Ralston, S. Mitra-Kirtley, and O.C. Mullins : A Small Population of 1 to 3 Fused-Aromatic Ring Moieties in Asphaltenes, Energy and Fuels, 10, (3), 623, 1996.

19. Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mullins, O.C.; Branthaver, J.F.; and Cramer, S.P.: Nitrogen chemistry of kerogens from XANES spectroscopy, Energy and Fuels, 7(6), 1128, 1993.

20. van Elp, J.; Pen, G.; Searle, B.G.; Mitra-Kirtley, S; Huang, Y.H.; Johnson, M.K.; Zhou, Z.H.; Adams, M.W.W.; Maroney, M.J.; and Cramer, S.P.; Structural aspects in nickel L-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy, J.Am. Chem. Soc., 116, 1918, 1994.

21. George, S. J.; van Elp, J.; Chen, J.; Peng, G.; Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mullins, O. C.; Cramer, S. P., Soft x-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in biology in Synchrotron Radiation in Biosciences; Chance, B., Ed.; Clarendon Press: Oxford, pp. 313-332, 1994,

22. Mullins, O.C; Mitra-Kirtley, S; van Elp, J; and Cramer, S.P.: Molecular structure of nitrogen in coal from XANES spectroscopy, Appl. Spec., 47(8), 1268, (1993).

23. Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mullins, O.C.; van Elp, J.; George, S.; Chen, J.; and Cramer, S.P.: Nitrogen chemical structure in petroleum asphaltenes using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, J.Am. Chem. Soc., 115, 252-258, (1993).

24. Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mullins, O.C..; van Elp, J.; and Cramer, S.P.; Nitrogen chemical structure in petroleum asphaltene and coal by x-ray absorption spectroscopy; Fuel, 72(1), 133-135, (1993).

25. Mullins, O.C.; Mitra-Kirtley, S.; and Zhu, Y.; The population distribution of chromophores in petroleum; Appl. Spec., 46 (9), 1405-1411, (1992).

26. Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mullins, O.C.; Chen, J.; van Elp, J.; George, S.; Chen, C.T.; O'Halloran, T.; and Cramer, S.P.; Nitrogen chemical structure in DNA and related molecules by x-ray absorption spectroscopy, Biochim et Biophys. Acta, 1132, 249-254, (1992).

27. Huffman, G.P.; Mitra, S.; Huggins, F.E.; Shah, N.; Vaidya, S.; and Lu, F.; Quantitative analysis of all major forms of sulfur in coal by x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, Energy & Fuels, 5, 574-581, (1991).

28. Huffman, G.P.; Huggins, F.E.; Mitra, S.; Shah, N.; Pugmire, R.J.; Davis, B.; Lytle, F.W.; and Greegor, R.B.; Investigation of the molecular structure of organic sulfur in coal by XAFS spectroscopy, Energy & Fuels, 3, 200-205, (1989).

29. Huffman, G.P.; Huggins, F.E.; Mitra, S.; Shah, N.; Lytle, F.W.; and Greegor, R.B.; Forms of occurrence of sulfur and chlorine in coal, Physica B. (XAFS V), 158, 225-226, (1989).

30. Huggins, F.E.; Huffman, F.P.; Mitra, S.; Shah, N.; Determination of sulfur forms in coal by XAFS spectroscopy, X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (ed.S.S. Hasnain), Ch.161, 610-612, (1991).

31. Huggins, F.E.; Mitra, S.; Vaidya, S.; Taghiei, M. M.; Lu, F.; Shah, N.; and Huffman, G.P.; The quantitative determination of all major inorganic and organic sulfur forms in coal from XAFS spectroscopy: method and applications, Coal Science and Tech., (ed. P.R. Dugan, Quigley, D.R. and Y.A. Attia),18, 13-42, (1991).

32. Huffman, G.P.; Huggins, F.E.; Francis, H.E.; Mitra, S.; Shah, N.; Structural characterization of sulfur in bioprocessed coal, Coal Science and Tech., (ed.R. Markuszewski and T.D. Wheelock), 16, 21-32, (1990).

Few sample conference proceedings:

33. Conference Proceeding, Annual Goldschmidt Conference 2019. Talk and poster in Barcelona, Spain.

34. Invited talk, ACS Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 2018.

35. Conference Proceedings, Annual Petrophase Conference 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. Talks given in the US, Le Havre (France), and Elsinore (Denmark).

36. Conference talk at Institut de Petrole, Lyon, France, 2007.

37. “Evaluating the Symbiosis of DyKnow Software and Pen-Based Computing in the Rose-Hulman Classroom”, Proceedings, Second Workshop on the Impact of Pen-based Technology on Education, 2007.

38. “Assessing the Impact of Pen-based Computing and Collaboration-facilitating Software in the Classroom” Proceedings, Frontiers of Education conference held in Milwaukee, October, 2007. Co-authors: A. Chidanandan, R. DeVasher, P. Ferro, D. Fisher, L. Merkle, M. Simoni, A. Watt, and J. Williams.

39. Chambers, Z.; Chidanandan, A.; DeVasher, R.; Merkle, L.; Minster, M.; Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mutchler, D.; Sexton, S.; Watt, A.; Williams, J.; Zoetewey, M.; What is beyond the laptop initiative? Perhaps: Tablet PCs and DyKnow Vision software, Frontiers in Education Conference, 36th Annual Conference, 8-13, 2006.

40. S. Mitra-Kirtley, “Bringing Physics Lectures Outside of Classroom”, Proceedings of International Conference on Physics Education, India, 2005.

41. Mitra-Kirtley, S.; Mullins, O.C.; Branthaver, J.F.; van Elp, J.; and Cramer, S.P.; Nitrogen XANES studies of fossil-fuels, ACS abstracts, Fuel, 38(3), 762, (1993).

42. Kirtley, S.M.; Mullins, O.C.; van Elp, J.; George, S.; Chen, J.; and Cramer, S.P.; Nitrogen chemical structure in petroleum asphaltenes using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, ACS abstracts, Fuel, 010, (1992).

43. Shah, N.; Huggins, F.E.; Mitra,S.; Taghiei, M.M. ; and Huffman, G.P.; 15th Annual Electric Power Research Inst. Conference on Fuel Science, 9.1-9.12, (1991).

44. Shah, N.; Keogh, R.A.; Huggins, F.E.; Huffman, G.P.; Shah, A.; Ganguly, G.; and Mitra, S.; Forms of sulfur and iron, and coal liquefaction properties for the Argonne premium coals and nine Kentucky coals, ACS abstracts, Fuel, 200, p8, (1990).

45. Mitra, S.; Shah, N.; Huggins, F.E.; and Huffman, G.P.; Investigation of organic sulfur structure as a function of coal rank, ACS abstracts, Fuel, 199, (1990).

46. Huffman, G.P.; Huggins, F.E.; Mitra, S.; and Shah, N.; Investigation of sulfur structures in coal by XAFS spectroscopy, 1989 Intl. Conf. Coal Science, 47-50, (1989).

47. Sudipa Mitra-Kirtley, and Oliver C. Mullins, Sulfur species in asphaltene, resin, and oil fractions of crude oils by XANES and IR spectroscopy methods, National APS meeting Proceedings, March, 2002, and 2001 ASTM Conference Proceedings, July, 2001.

48. S. Mitra-Kirtley and M. Syed, Studio Physics at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2000 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings, June, 2000.

49. Sudipa Mitra Kirtley, Oliver C. Mullins, Corie Y. Ralston, And Courtney Pareis, Sulfur characterization in asphaltene, resin, and oil fractions of two crude oils, ACS National Conference, New Orleans, August, 1999.

Teaching Interests

  • Introductory physics
  • Atomic, particle, and thermal physics
  • Synchrotron radiation and its applications
  • Theoretical mechanics
  • Statistical and quantum mechanics
  • Physical and paraxial optics
  • Mathematical methods in physics
  • Biophysics
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