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Shylesh Pillai has a diverse and extensive work experience in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering. Shylesh started their career as a Ph.D student at the National Chemical Laboratory, where they developed porous catalysts and studied their reaction mechanisms. Shylesh then went on to work as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Bayreuth, where they focused on the development of functional colloids and their applications in emulsions.

Later, Pillai joined the University of Kaiserslautern as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, where they synthesized and characterized various organometallic complexes and magnetic nanoparticles. Shylesh also designed heterogeneous catalyst systems for cascade type reactions.

After their research fellowships, Pillai worked as a BP-EBI Senior Research Specialist at Chemical Engineering, UC Berkeley, where they developed new processes and catalysts for the upgrading of renewable chemical feedstocks into fuels and lubricants. Shylesh also explored new pathways for the production of bio-derived platform molecules and value-added chemical feedstocks.

Currently, Pillai is serving as the Director of Catalysis/Downstream Processing at Visolis, Inc. Shylesh manages a team and is responsible for innovating reaction chemistry and chemical processes to scale up microbial fermentation molecules into industrially relevant compounds. Shylesh also oversees critical separations, purifications, method development, and technology transfers.

Overall, Pillai's work experience showcases their expertise in catalysis, chemical processes, and the development of novel materials for various applications.

Shylesh Pillai completed their education in a chronological order. Shylesh started by earning a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Calicut, which they completed between 1998 and 2000. After that, they pursued a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree in Organic Chemistry and Catalysis from Cochin University of Science and Technology, which they completed between 2000 and 2002. Following their M.Phil., they went on to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Materials Science, with a focus on Heterogeneous Catalysis and Homogeneous Catalysis, from the National Chemical Laboratory. Shylesh earned their Ph.D. between 2002 and 2006.