Advancement in Polymer-Based Membranes for Water Remediation

Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay K. Nayak is currently the Vice Chancellor of Ravenshaw University, Odisha, India. He was the Former Director General of Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET), a Higher Technical Education Institute under Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt. of India. Prof. Nayak has more than 33 years of experience in Teaching, Research and Technical Consultancy. As a passionate educationist, Prof. Nayak holds dual Ph.D. Degree both in Science & Engineering, and also conferred with D.Sc. Degree on "Advanced Thermoplastic Composites & Nanocomposites". He has mentored more than 50 scholars for Ph.D. program and 75 students for their M.Tech./M.E. theses. He has around 500 publications in peer reviewed International Journals, more than 300 International Conference papers and several Patents and Designs to his credit. In addition, he has been the Author/Editor of 30 Books/Book Chapters with leading International Publishers. Moreover, he has been actively contributing towards indigenous technology development through funded Research Projects and Consultancy Services to the industries. He is also the recipient of many awards, like 'Distinguished Scientist Award' in appreciation to his contribution to Polymer Science & Technology by Asian Polymer Association (APA), 'Commendable Faculty Award' for Research in Material Science & High Citation Index (as per Scopus), National Awards for Technology Innovations in Petrochemicals and Downstream Plastics Processing Industry and Lifetime Achievement Award by FICCI / India Chem in 2018, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Govt. of India for Distinguished Contribution to Indian Plastics Industry. He has been awarded “Honoris Causa (Honorary Doctorate) from Utkal University & Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Odisha, India in 2017 and 2020, respectively. He has also been featured as one of the top 2% of the Global Scientists in the field of Polymers in a study by Prestigious Stanford University, U.S.A.

Dr. Kingshuk Dutta, FICS, is currently employed as a Scientist in the Advanced Polymer Design and Development Research Laboratory of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology, India. Prior to this appointment, he had worked as an Indo-U.S. Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cornell University, U.S.A. (2018-19) and as a National Postdoctoral Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur, India (2016-17), both funded by the Science and Engineering Research Board, Govt. of India. Earlier, as a Senior Research Fellow funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India., he had carried out his doctoral study at the University of Calcutta, India (2013-16). He possesses degrees in both technology (B. Tech. and M. Tech.) and science (B. Sc.), all from University of Calcutta. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and National Scholarship, both from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. His research interest lies in the fields of electrochemical, photoelectrochemical and bioelectrochemical devices, wastewater treatment, as well as polymer blends/composites and biodegradable polymers. Until date, he has contributed to 62 experimental and review papers in reputed international platforms, 35 book chapters, 1 patent application, and many national and international presentations. In addition, he has edited/co-edited four books published by Elsevier, two books published by the American Chemical Society, and one book published by Wiley. He is currently serving as a Review Editor for Frontiers in Nanotechnology and Frontiers in Fuels, and has also served as a guest associate handling editor for Frontiers in Chemistry and a peer-reviewer for over 190 journal articles, conference papers, book chapters and research project proposals. He is a life member and an elected fellow of the Indian Chemical Society, a life member of the International Exchange Alumni Network (U.S. Department of State) and a member of the Science Advisory Board (U.S.A.). Earlier, he had held memberships of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (U.S.A.), the International Association of Advanced Materials (Sweden), the Institute for Engineering Research and Publication (India) and the Wiley Advisors Group (U.S.A.).

Dr. Jaydevsinh M. Gohil, is currently employed as a Scientist in the Advanced Research School for Technology and Product Simulation of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET), India. Prior to this appointment, he had served as a Pool Scientist at the Laboratory for Advanced Research in Polymeric Materials, CIPET, Bhubaneswar (Oct. 2015 - Nov. 2016) and as an Assistant Professor at Sardar Patel University, Anand, India (Aug.-Oct. 2015); and also worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Western Ontario, Canada (2011-2014) and at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India (2009-2011), sponsored by the Ontario Centers for Excellence/the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council /the BioGenerator Energy Solution Inc., Canada, and IIT Bombay/DOW Chemicals Co., respectively. He has been awarded a B.Sc. degree in Applied Chemistry in 2000 and a M.Sc. degree in Plastics Technology in 2002 by Sardar Patel University; and subsequently in 2008, received a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Bhavnagar University, while working as a Senior Research Fellow (at CSIR-CSMCRI, during 2006-2008) awarded by the CSIR, Govt. of India. His research interest includes materials development for membranes used in water treatment, molecular separation and energy conversion devices. As of now he co-authored 32 research/review publications and 04 book chapters in reputed international platforms, and edited/co-edited three books, one book published by Elsevier, and two books published by the American Chemical Society.