Education

Research Summary

Research in the laboratory focuses on the topics in the area of environmental microbiology and biotechnology. The underlining aim of the research carried out in my laboratory is to develop simple and cost effective processes to treat environmental wastes and assess the impact of pollutants on microbial community in the soil.

Developing filtration device for decontamination of water One of the projects that are being carried out in the laboratory with industrial collaboration is focused on developing treatment processes for drinking water application. The process is aimed at removing microorganisms, heavy metals and aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated water in one step without the use of parasitic energy. The decontamination process involves the generation of free radicals via modified Fenton’s reaction.

Optimization of fermentation media and conditions for catalytic reactions Another major area of research in my lab is on developing a modified simplex-lattice design for conducting experiments in the field of biotechnology and environmental sciences. The work aims at optimizing and understanding a process and evaluating the influence of various environmental/physico-chemical parameters on the process output. The applications range from optimization of the fermentation medium for inoculum development and fermentation process, increasing the rate of enzyme catalyzed reactions, finding the toxicity range for environmental contaminants etc.

Influence of nanoparticles on soil microbial community While nanoparticles are finding their way into the environment, not much is known on the effect these nanoparticles may have on the biota. The research in my lab focuses on investigating the influence of gold, silver and iron nanoparticles on soil microbial community over short and long term.