Biographical note

Dr. Mihir Kumar Purkait is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India. His current research activities are focused in four distinct areas viz. i) advanced separation technologies, ii) waste to energy, iii) smart materials for various applications, and iv) process intensification. In each of the area, his goal is to synthesis stimuli responsive materials and to develop a more fundamental understanding of the factors governing the performance of the chemical and biochemical processes. He has more than 20 years of experience in academics and research and published more than 300 papers in different reputed journals (Citation: >16,500, h-index = 75, i-10 index = 193). He has 12 patents and completed 43 sponsored and consultancy projects from various funding agencies. Piyal Mondal is a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. His research interests lie in green synthesis of metal nanoparticles for real life applications. Niladri Shekhar Samanta is a research scientist in the Centre for the Environment at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. His research is dedicated to the synthesis of zeolite from steel industry solid waste (slag) and its utilization in wastewater treatment and environmental remediation. Dr. Pranjal Pratim Das is a Technical Associate at the National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India. He has completed his PhD from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India. He received his M. Tech and B. Tech in Food Engineering and Technology from Tezpur (Central) University, Assam, India. His research work is purely dedicated to industrial wastewater treatment via electrochemical and advanced oxidation techniques. He has extensively worked on the application of hybrid ozone-electrocoagulation process to treat heavy metals and cyanide-contaminated effluents from different unit operations of steel industry. He has authored several scientific book publications, research/review articles and book chapters in various reputed international journals on water and wastewater treatment. He has fabricated and demonstrated many lab-scale modules for the green energy generation from sewage wastewaters. He has also worked on the treatment of ground and surface waters and has delivered many pilot plant set-ups to several water treatment facilities across the state of Assam (India) for the supply of safe drinking water