Suvendu Manna

Dr Manna holds a PhD degree from IIT Kharagpur. Currently, he leads a team at UPES, focusing on waste management and green energy generation. His research group is actively involved in characterizing and utilizing various solid and liquid wastes for different applications. They repurpose solid wastes for composite preparation, construction materials, and nanomaterials synthesis. Dr Manna's team is also dedicated to developing affordable water filters for rural areas and exploring the Himalayan regions for new microbes with unique compounds and energy-producing abilities. In addition to his research endeavors, Dr Manna serves as a guest editor and reviewer for numerous international journals.

Dr Manna possesses 9 years of post- Ph.D. research and teaching experience in academia. Since 2020, he has been serving as an Assistant Professor at UPES. Before that, Dr Manna worked as a post-doctoral scholar at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, and Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He has successfully guided several master's students and is currently supervising 7 PhD students. Additionally, Dr Manna is actively involved in conducting consultancy projects for Oil India Limited and serves as the co-investigator for a SERB-DST-funded project.

Dr. Manna's research interests span various areas, including solid waste management with a focus on construction materials, nanomaterials, catalysts, and adsorbent preparation. He is also involved in the remediation of wastewater using nanomaterials and nanocomposites. Another major area of his interest is green energy, particularly biofuels and biohydrogen. In the field of environmental microbiology, Dr Manna specializes in the isolation and screening of medically important endophytic microbes.

Dr Manna adopts a research-oriented pedagogy in his teaching approach. He uses real-life problems to develop concepts in his students, challenging them to find solutions that minimize or remediate these issues. Collaborative learning is encouraged as students work in groups, enhancing their social networking abilities, leadership qualities, and time management skills. Dr Manna fosters open discussions among students to share viewpoints and build a clear understanding of the subjects, encouraging them to analyze unforeseen challenges and make decisions independently.

Prof. Manna's expertise is evident in the various courses he has taught in civil and other engineering domains. He has taught core courses such as Environmental Studies, Immunology, Food Microbiology, Pharmaceutical Microbiology, and Eukaryotic Microbiology.

Dr Manna's outstanding contributions have earned him prestigious awards and grants. He received the National Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award from SERB-DST, Government of India, in 2016, and the DS Kothari Post-Doctoral Fellowship funded by UGC, Government of India, in 2015. He has also secured research funds from external funding agencies like SERB-DST and Oil India Limited. Currently, Dr Manna is leading funded projects totaling approximately 50 lakhs.

Dr Manna's scholarly activities demonstrate his prolific contributions to the field. He has published 46 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, authored 15 book chapters, edited 5 books, and holds 5 patents (one granted and four filed). In addition, he serves as a guest editor for VSI in international journals and acts as a reviewer for numerous international journals.

smanna@ddn.upes.ac.in