Ajay Mallia

Dr. Ajay Mallia is an associate professor of chemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville. Before joining GGC, Mallia held faculty positions at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., University of Maryland, College Park, University of District of Columbia, Trinity Washington University and Montgomery College.

Mallia’s research interests include design and studies of soft materials (gels, liquid crystals and polymers), synthesis of pharmaceutically active molecules, green solvents and preparation of metal nanoparticles. Mallia’s research work has appeared as a cover feature in many flagship journals, including Journal of the American Chemical Society, Chemical Society Reviews and Langmuir. He has published 40 peer-reviewed publications and presented his research work at various national and international conferences.

Mallia is an active leader at national and local levels of American Chemical Society. He was 2018 chair and currently past-chair of American Chemical Society Georgia section. Mallia is secretary and a committee member of Project SEED national committee and a certified facilitator for ACS Leadership Development System. Before moving to Lawrenceville, Mallia has served Chemical Society of Washington as executive committee member, alternate councilor and chair of many of committees. For his volunteer service to American Chemical Society, Mallia was awarded E. Ann Nalley regional award and outstanding local section volunteer award in 2014.

Teaching philosophy: Teaching is a complex social responsibility that has great impact on the society, as one of the old saying, “teaching is a profession that teaches all other professions. As an educator Mallia hopes to inspire future scientists to meet any challenge with confidence and thus produce creative, competent problem solvers.

Visit Mallia’s web page for more details.

• Doctorate – chemistry – University of Kerala, India
• Master's – chemistry – Mahatma Gandhi University, India
• Bachelor's – chemistry – Mahatma Gandhi University, India

• Chemistry research: Mallia group investigates on the design and study of soft materials (gels, liquid crystals and polymers), pharmaceutically active molecules, green solvents/ionic liquids and in situ preparation and templating of metal nanoparticles.
• Chemical education: Course embedded undergraduate research, role of reflection on students learning skills in flipped class room.

• Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Structure-property comparison and self-assembly studies of molecular gels derived from (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid derivatives as low molecular mass gelators. ACS Symp. Ser. 2018, 1296, 227–243.
• Alvarez-Mitre F. M.; Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G.; Toro-Vazquez, J. F. Self-assembly in vegetable oils of ionic gelators derived from (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid. Food Structure 2017, 13, 56-69.
• Mallia, V. A.; Samai, S.; Weiss, R. G.; Cholesterol and dihydrocholesterol are simple steroidal molecular gelators: How one double bond controls the structure and mechanotropic properties of their gels. ChemistrySelect 2016, 1, 4965-4972.
• Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Correlations between thixotropic and structural propertis of molecular gels with crystalline networks. Soft Matter 2016, 12, 3665-3676.
• Mallia, V. A.; Blair, D. L; Weiss, R. G. Oscillatory rheology and surface water wave effects on crude oil and corn oil gels with (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid as gelator. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2016, 55, 954-960.
• Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Molecular gels of (R)-12-hydroxy-N-(ω-hydroxyalkyl)octadecanamides. Structural bases for rates of formation and very fast response to destructive strain. Soft Matter 2015, 11, 5010-5022.
• M. Rogers, X. Liu, Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Dissecting kinetic pathways to formation of the fibrillar objects in molecular gels using synchrotron FT-IR. Cryst. Eng. Commun, 2015, 17, 8085-8092.
• Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Self-assembled fibrillar networks and molecular gels employing 12-hydroxystearic acid and its isomers and derivatives. J. Phys. Org. Chem. 2014, 27, 310-315.
• Mallia, V. A.; Seo, H.; Weiss, R. G. Influence of anions and alkyl chain lengths of N-alkyl-n-(R)-12-hydroxy octadecyl ammonium salts on their hydrogels and organogels. Langmuir, 2013, 29, 6476-6484.
• Bag, B. G.; Majumdar, R.; Dinda, S. K.; Dey, P. P.; Maity, G. C.; Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Self-assembly of ketals of arjunolic acid into vesicles and fibers yielding gel-like dispersions. Langmuir 2013, 29, 1766-1778.
• Toro-Vazquez, J. F.; Morales-Rueda, J.; Martinez, A. T.; Alonso, M. A. C.; Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Cooling rate effects on the microstructure, solid content and rheological properties of organogels of amides derived from stearic acid and (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid in vegetable oil. Langmuir, 2013, 29, 7642-7654.
• Mallia, V. A.; Butler, P. D.; Sarkar, B.; Holman, K. T.; Weiss, R. G. Reversible phase transitions within self-assembled fibrillar networks of (R)-18-(n-alkylamino)octadecan-7-ols in their carbon tetrachloride gels J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 15045-15054.
• Mallia, V. A.; Terech, P.; Weiss R. G. Correlations of properties and structures at different length scales of hydro- and organogels based on N-alkyl-(R)-12-hydroxyoctadecylammonium chlorides. J. Phys. Chem. B 2011, 115, 12401-12414.
• Toro-Vazquez, J. F.; Morales-Rueda, J.; Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Relation between molecular structure and thermo mechanical properties of candelilla wax and amides derived from (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid as gelators for safflower oil. Food Biophys. 2010, 5, 193-202.
• Mallia, V. A.; George, M.; Blair, D.; Weiss, R. G. Robust organogels from nitrogen-containing derivatives of (R)-12-hydroxystearic acid as gelators: comparisons with gels from stearic acid derivatives. Langmuir 2009, 25, 8615-8625. 
• Bag, B. G.; Dinda, S. K.; Dey, P. P.; Mallia, V. A.; Weiss, R. G. Self-assembly of esters of arjunolic acid into fibrous networks and the properties of their organogels. Langmuir 2009, 25, 8663-8671.
• Mallia V. A.; Vemula, P. K.; John, G.; Kumar, A.; Ajayan, P. M. In situ synthesis and assembly of gold nanoparticles embedded in glass forming liquid crystals. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 3269-3274.
• Mallia, V. A.; Funahashi, M.; Tamaoki, N. Study of unsymmetrical dimesogens containing 4-heptylazobenzene. J. Phys. Org. Chem. 2007, 20, 878-883.
• Vemula, P. K.; Mallia V. A.; Bizati, K.; John, G. Cholesterol phenoxy hexanoate mesogens: effect of lateral substituents on their liquid crystalline behavior and in situ metal nanoparticle synthesis. Chem. Mater. 2007, 19, 5203-5206.
• Vemula, P. K.; Mallia V. A.; Aslam, U..; John, G. “In situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles using molecular gels and liquid crystals from vitamin-C amphiphiles. Chem. Mater. 2007, 19, 138-140.
• Abraham, S.; Mallia, V. A.; Rateesh, K. V.; Tamaoki, N.; Das, S. Reversible thermal and photochemical switching of liquid crystalline phases and luminescence in diphenyl butadiene-based mesogenic dimers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 7692-7698.
• Akiyama, H.; Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Novel photoresponsive oligomeric mesogens: synthesis, liquid crystalline properties and photo optical studies as a dopant in a chiral glassy liquid crystal. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2006, 16, 477-484. 
• Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Study of chiral dimesogens: liquid crystalline properties, effect of smectic cybotactic domains in controlling the chiral reflections and glassy liquid crystal forming properties. Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 2006, 454, 81-90. 
• Kumaresan, S.; Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Thermal and photooptical properties of azoxybenzene/alkyloxy azobenzene–cholesterol with alkyl diacetylene linker containing dimesogens. J. Mater. Res. 2005, 20, 3431-3438. 
• Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Photoactive dimesogen having different pathways of light driven phase transitions at different temperatures. Chem. Commun. 2004, 2538-2539.
• Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Design of chiral dimesogens forming new molecular organizations and their application to molecular photonics. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2004, 33, 76-84.
• Matsumoto, M.; Nakazawa, T.; Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N.; Azumi, R.; Sakai, H.; Abe, M. Hysteresis in photoresponsivity of langmuir film of amphiphilic spiropyran. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 1006-1007.
• Davis, R.; Mallia, V. A.; Das, S.; Tamaoki, N. Butadienes as novel photochromes for color tuning of cholesteric glasses: influence of microscopic molecular reorganization within the helical super structure. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2004, 14, 743-748.
• Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Photo-thermal effects of some cholesterol azobenzene containing dimesogens. Trans. Mater. Res. Soc. Jpn. 2004, 29, 3123-3125.
• Antharjanam, P. K. S.; Mallia, V. A.; Das, S. Synthesis and study of novel azopyridine containing hexacatenar silver mesogens. Liq. Cryst. 2004, 31, 713-717.
• Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Photochemically driven smectic-cholesteric phase transition in an inherently photoactive dimesogen. Chem. Mater. 2003, 15, 3237-3239.
• Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Photoresponsive vitrifiable chiral dimesogens: photo-thermal modulation of microscopic disordering in helical superstructure and glass-forming properties. J. Mater. Chem. 2003, 13, 219-224.
• Davis, R.; Mallia, V. A.; Das, S. Reversible photochemical phase transition behaviour of alkoxy-cyano-substituted diphenylbutadiene liquid crystals. Chem. Mater. 2003, 15, 1057-1063.
• Takahashi, A.; Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Novel supramolecular hydrogen-bonded cholesteric mesogens: liquid crystalline, thermoptical and glass-forming properties. J. Mater. Chem. 2003, 13, 1582-1587.
• Mallia, V. A.; Antharjanam, P. K. S.; Das, S. Synthesis and studies of some substituted 4-phenyl, 4'-azopyridine containing hydrogen bonded supramolecular mesogens. Liq. Cryst. 2003, 30, 135-141.
• Antharjanam, P. K. S.; Mallia, V. A.; Das, S. Novel azopyridine-containing silver mesogens; synthesis, liquid crystalline and photophysical properties. Chem. Mater. 2002, 14, 2687-2692.
• Mallia, V. A.; Antharjanam, P. K. S.; Das, S. Chiral nematic glasses from novel hydrogen bonded mesogens. Chem. Lett. 2001, 752-753.
• Mallia, V. A.; Das, S. Synthesis and studies of some cholest-5-en-3-ol-(3)[4-phenyl- pyridyl-azo]carbonate containing supra-molecular hydrogen bonded mesogens. Liq. Cryst. 2001, 28, 259-264.
• George, M.; Mallia, V. A.; Antharjanam, P. K. S.; Saminathan, M.; Das, S. Synthesis and studies of some cholesterol containing liquid crystals. Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 2000, 350, 125-139.
• Mallia, V. A.; George, M.; Das, S. Photochemical phase transition in hydrogen-bonded liquid crystals. Chem. Mater. 1999, 11, 207-208.

Patents

• Weiss, R. G.; Mallia V. A.; He, Y.; Yu, T. Amino-substituted polysiloxanes combined with polymerizable and unpolymerizable organic acids. US Patent Application No. 2014012000. 
• Weiss, R. G.; Mallia V. A. Systems and methods employing low molecular weight gelators for crude oil, petrolium product for chemical spill containment and remediation. US Patent Application No. 20120136074. 
• Das, S.; Abraham, S.; Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Novel cholesteric liquid crystal containing photoresponsive butadiene chromophore and a process for the preparation thereof. Indian Patent No. 254577.
• Weiss, R. G.; Mallia V. A. Fast recovery of thixotropy by organogels with low molecular weight gelators. US Patent No. 9,109,150 (issued Aug 2015).
• Das, S.; Abraham, S.; Mallia, V. A.; Tamaoki, N. Butadiene linked cholesterol based liquid crystalline materials in which colour images can be recorded and erased using temperature or light. Japanese Patent Application No. TOKUGAN 2006-310051.

Selected 2018 Presentations

• Mallia, A. “Effect of Lerner logs on student’s motivation, learning strategies and self-regulation skills in partially flipped organic chemistry classroom at a 4-year public college” The 70th southeast regional meeting of American Chemical Society, October 29-November 3, 2018, Augusta, GA.
• Mallia, A. “Establishing an effective ACS Project SEED program” The 70th southeast regional meeting of American Chemical Society, October 29-November 3, 2018, Augusta, GA.
• Mallia, A. “Structural correlations, self -assembly and mechanotropic properties of molecular gels prepared from simply structured gelators” Invited talk, October 11, 2018, School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Suwanee, GA.
• Mallia, A. “Effectiveness of the self-regulation skills in a partially flipped organic chemistry classroom-using learner logs at a 4-year public college” 256th American Chemical Society national meeting and exposition, August 19-23, 2018, Boston, MA.
• Mallia, A.; Galinat, K.; Dill, C. “Comparison of structure-property relationship of molecular gels prepared from simply structured alkanoic acid derivatives as efficient ambidextrous gelators” 256th American Chemical Society national meeting and exposition August 19-23, 2018, Boston, MA.
• Mallia, V. A; Matei, B.; Sultan, F. “Gelation studies and thixotropic properties of molecular gels based on ammonium alkanoates as low molecular mass gelators” 255th American Chemical Society national meeting and exposition March 18 - 22, 2018, New Orleans, LA.

Selected Recent Distinctions

• 2018: Organizer of ACS Georgia Section Research Symposium at Kennesaw State University
• 2018: Organizer of Project SEED symposium at southeast regional meeting of American Chemical Society
• 2018: Chemists Celebrates Earth Day (CCEW) coordinator
• 2018: Chair of Herty Medal Undergraduate Research Symposium (HMURS) organizing committee
• 2017: Georgia Gwinnett College outstanding teaching award nominee
• 2017: Organizer of American Chemical Society Georgia Section Research Symposium at Mercer University
• 2014: E. Ann Nalley award for the volunteer service to American Chemical Society
• 2014: American Chemical Society volunteer of the year award