Pillai obtained her PhD in physical chemistry from the Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India. She joined the CSIR in 2007 and was appointed as senior researcher in 2010.

Pillai has made substantial contributions to the research activities of the CSIR nanostructured materials team through her numerous research outputs, student supervision, mentoring, research collaborations and product development. She is currently leading projects that focus on the development of nanostructured hybrids for personal care applications as well as active polymer packaging for post-harvest disease control in collaboration with industry partners.

Expertise: Chemistry; Nanostructured materials