Agriculture-Bioenergy Nexus: Transforming Waste into Wealth

Dr. Shashi Kant Bhatia is an Associate professor in the Department of Biological Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea, and has more than ten years’ experience in biowastes valorization into bioenergy, biochemicals, and biomaterials. He holds an MSc and a PhD in biotechnology at Himachal Pradesh University (India). Dr. Bhatia has worked as a Brain Pool Post Doc Fellow at Konkuk University (2014–2016) and has contributed extensively to the industrial press and served as an editorial board member of Sustainability and Energies journal and associate editor of Frontier of Microbiology, Microbial Cell Factories, Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, Bioprocess and Biosystem Engineering, Carbohydrate Technology and Applications, 3 Biotech, and PLOS One journals. He is editor in Chief of Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials journal. He has published more than 200 research and review articles on industrial biotechnology, bioenergy production, biomaterial, biotransformation, microbial fermentation, and enzyme technology in international scientific peer-reviewed journals and holds 15 international patents. He has also edited 7 books on microbial biotechnology. With more than 12000 citations with an h-index of 60 and an i10 index of 195 (As per Google Scholar), he is included in the top 2% of the Scientist List at Stanford University. Dr. Bhatia has successfully supervised and completed three projects funded by NRF Korea ($ 600, 000).

Dr. Bikash Kumar is currently working as a National Post-Doctoral Fellow, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Indore. His work is focused on the development of biomass pretreatment technologies, and microbial enzyme production (cellulases, laccase, xylanases) for greener energy and environmental sustainability. He has worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Guwahati, Guwahati Assam. Dr. Kumar earned his PhD from the Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, India. The work has resulted in the publication of more than 21+ research/review papers, and 23+ book chapters. He has Edited a book on radiation-based technologies for biorefinery applications for Springer and has been acknowledged for Editorial assistance to Prof. Pradeep Verma in compiling 11 books for CRC Press, Elsevier, and Springer. His work has attracted significant impact which is evident from 2300+ citations with h-index – 23, & i-10-index-27. He is the recipient of several awards and Fellowships such as the AMI-Young Scientist Award, INSA-NASI-SRF, CSIR-SRF, JNMF scholarship, etc. He is a life member of the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI); the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI); the Mycological Society of India (MSI) and the Association of Carbohydrate Chemists and Technologists, India (ACCTI). He is a reviewer of 20+ peer-reviewed research journals for Elsevier, Wiley, MDPI, Springer, Taylor, and Francis. Dr. Bikash Kumar is working as Associate Editor in Frontiers in Energy Research, Guest Editor for a Special Issue in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (Green Synthesis of Catalyst for Sustainable Industrial Technologies), and Review Editor for Frontiers in Chemistry. Dr. Kumar is the recipient of DST-SERB NPDF project funding of 2.711 million INR. He is included in the top 2% of the Scientist List at Stanford University in the list for year 2023.

Dr. Sanjeet Mehariya (PhD) is working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biosciences, Manipal University Jaipur, India. He worked as a Post-Doc Researcher at the Algal Technology Program, Center for Sustainable Development, Qatar University, Qatar, and Umeå University, Sweden. Also, he worked as a visiting Researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, India. Dr. Mehariya earned his PhD from the European Project in Italy in 2020. Since 2023, he selected in Top 2% Scientist list of Stanford University, USA continuously and he has published 80+ publications including research, review articles, and book chapters with high citations and an h-index of 36. Also, he has edited 5 books and 1 special issue. He has 12+ years’ experience from i) Qatar University, Qatar; ii) Umeå University, Sweden; iii) Sapienza—University of Rome, Italy; iv) University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy; v) Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; vi) ENEA-Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Rome, Italy vii) Konkuk University, South Korea; and viii) CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, India. Dr. Mehariya serves as a reviewer for various funding agencies, including Horizon H2020-Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships-Europe, and a reviewer for high impact peer review journals including Nature Communication, Chemical Engineering Journal, and many others. He is a life member of various global scientific societies