Sanjini Nanayakkara's research at NREL focuses on the synthesis and characterization of novel materials for applications in solar cells, photochemical processes, and neuromorphic computing.

She earned a doctorate in analytical chemistry from Pennsylvania State University (PSU) in 2006. While at PSU, she worked under the guidance of Professor Paul Weiss studying atomic-scale reaction mechanisms between organic molecules and electron transport characteristics using ultra-high vacuum and low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy.