Biographical note

Rajesh Roshan Dash is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the School of Infrastructure at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, India. He received his master’s degree in environmental engineering from Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College (MNNIT), Allahabad in 2001 and Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee in 2008. He teaches various courses in the environmental engineering discipline at undergraduate and graduate levels. His research expertise includes physico-chemical, biological, and natural treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater. Professor Dash has published more than 60 research papers in refereed journals and more than 70 articles in conference proceedings and as book chapters. He was granted a patent in 2022 for ‘Single unit fixed bed reactor for simultaneous hetero-trophic nitrification aerobic denitrification adsorptive coupled denitrifying phosphate removal from wastewater.’ He has successfully organized several conferences, and workshops and has carried out several research projects funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), DST Indo-EU and the Ministry of Human Resource Development – Swachhta Action Plan (MHRD-SAP). He has guided 4 Ph.D. theses, 23 M.Tech. theses and is the guide for 4 ongoing Ph.D. theses. He is an active member of many central and state government advisory bodies related to rural water supply, wastewater treatment, and solid waste management.

Sankarsan Mohapatro is Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering in the School of Electrical Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, India. He completed his B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Biju Pattnaik University of Technology, Odisha. He holds M.Sc. (Engineering) and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He is a professor and teaches electrical engineering courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Mohapatra has conducted an extensive study in Industrial Application of High Voltage for Air Pollution Control and Wastewater Treatment and Renewable Energy. Dr. Mohapatro has published 20 research papers in reputable publications and 27 articles in conference proceedings and as book chapters. He has led various research projects funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Odisha State Planning and Coordinating Council (P&C). He has supervised 19 master's theses and 1 doctoral dissertation and has additional 4 doctoral dissertations currently in progress. The Science and Technology Department of the Government of Odisha, India, has honored Dr. Sankarsan with the Odisha Young Scientist Award for his research contributions.

Dr. Manaswini Behera is Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the School of Infrastructure, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, India. She received her master’s degree in environmental engineering and management from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. She has an extensive experience in the areas of wastewater treatment and reuse, waste management and bioenergy recovery using microbial fuel cell and bio-electrochemical systems and developing cost-effective ceramic separators for fuel cells. She has published more than 45 refereed articles in journals of international repute. She has 39 conference presentations and proceedings contributions She also has published 2 books and 31 refereed book chapters. She has completed three sponsored research projects and is currently investigating the Indo-EU consortium project - SARASWATI-2.0 with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. She has guided 4 Ph.D. research scholars, 20 projects of Master students, and is currently guiding 4 Ph.D. scholars. She was granted a patent in 2022 for developing ceramic separator to be used in bio-electrochemical system for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. In recognition of her research work, Dr. Manaswini was awarded with the Odisha Young Scientist Award by the Science and Technology Department, Government of Odisha, in 2019 and the Best Young Scientist Award at the 11th International Conference in Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering, 2018 at Bangkok. Dr. Manaswini is a member of several professional organizations and serves as Associate Editor for the journals of repute.