Dr. PONNAPALLI
NAGESWARA SARMA
Scientist
G and Head
Bioengineering and Environmental Centre
Indian Institute of Chemical Technology
(IICT)-
Hyderabad - 500 607 India
Email:
kousik@iict.res.in;
sarma1950@yahoo.com
Education : Ph.D ( Environmental Chemistry), 1989 Osmania University
Research Experience at Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology (IICT): 34 years
Positions Held
2001-Continuing
Head,
Bioengineering
and Environmental Centre,
IICT
2000-2001
Project leader, Bioengineering and Environmental
Centre, IICT,
Hyderabad
1987-1999
Project leader, Analytical Chemistry and Environmental
Sciences
Division, IICT,
Hyderabad
1976-1986
Team member in execution of various consultancy
& In-house
projects at IICT
Notable contributions
to Science and Technology
1.
Development of laboratory
process for biohydrogen production by fermentation using industrial wastewater -
contribution to generation of renewable energy from waste
2.
Studies on generation
of electricity using biofuel cell from industrial wastewater - contribution to generation
of renewable energy from waste
3.
Development of high
rate of biomethanation process for
poultry litter – contribution to renewable energy generation
4.
Development of sequential
batch reactor in the laboratory for enhancing treatment efficiency of complex wastewater
- contribution to development of innovative methods in wastewater treatment
5.
Development of lab
scale two-phase partitioning bioreactor degradation of PAH compounds - Method development
for degradation of xenobiotics
6.
Development of laboratory
bio slurry reactor for degradation of pendimethalin and phthalates in soil- Application
for degradation of toxic pollutants
7.
Sustainable industrial
development of Visakhapatnam region
by carrying capacity based development planning process - Contribution to sustainable
development
8.
Installation of
pilot scale anaerobic biofilm reactor for treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater
at M/S NATCO Pharma, Kottur- -Technology development for complex wastewater treatment
9.
Development protocol
to enumerate microbial diversity of anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic
mixed culture from various bioreactors based on PCR-DGGE and FISH techniques.
10.
Established well equipped environmental
biotechnology laboratory for basic and applied research in environment and related
areas.
Honors and Awards
1.
Young Scientist Award – 1987, RRL
(H ) (Presently IICT)
2.
IICT technology
award in the year 2008 for the technology developed on “multistage high rate biomethanation of
poultry litter” in 2007
3.
Editorial Advisory
Board Member of the Open Fuel Cell Journal
published by Bentham Science Publishers (2008-)
4.
The Best performance
Award for the year 2000-2001 for the completion of maximum number of projects and
productivity - Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad.
5.
External examiner for M.Sc (Chemistry)
students of Sri Venkateswara University
and Andhra University
6.
Honorary Vice-president and Treasurer
Indian Society of Analytical Scientists (During 1994-2002)
7.
Elected as Fellow of Indian Association
of Biotechnology and Pharmacy
8.
Certificate of appreciation from
Director, IICT on practical demonstrations on GLC and HPLC in pesticide analysis
during the school on "Toxicology of Pesticides" 20th to 31st
October 1986 at IICT.
9.
Invited peer reviewer for the following Journals: Water Research,
Biotechnology Progress, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,
Journal of Hazardous Materials, Process
Biochemistry, Bioresearch Technology, International Journal of Environmental and
Pollution, Indian Journal of Biotechnology, Acta Chimica Slovenica, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology,
Water Science and Technology, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
(ACS), etc.
Professional Memberships
1.
Fellow,
Indian Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy
2.
Fellow, Indian Association
for Environmental Management
3.
Life member, Indian
Society of Analytical Scientists (Founder Member, Former Vice-President and Treasurer)
4.
Life member, Indian
Association of Chemical Engineers
5.
Member, All India
Biotech Association
6.
Life Member, Oil Technologists' Association of India (Life)
Research Guidance: 15
M.Phil Thesis Supervised: 02
MSc/MTech Dissertation supervised: 120
Recognized guide for Ph.D
- Osmania University, Hyderabad
- Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University, Hyderabad
- Acharya Nagarjuna University,
Guntur, A.P
- Vidyasagar University, Midnapur,
West Bengal
- Kakatiya University, Warangal,
A.P.
Areas of Research Interest
Environmental Biotechnology
- Renewable (biohydrogen and
bioelectricity) energy generation from wastes
- Chemical and pharmaceutical
wastewater treatment- novel reactors, process and reactor design (physicochemical/biological,
aerobic/anaerobic, continuous/cyclic)
- Environmental impact assessment
studies
- Soil remediation studies-
bioslurry reactor (cyclic, aerobic) and in situ solid phase remediation
- Sequential batch reactor
technology for complex chemical effluents treatment (aerobic/anaerobic/anoxic)
- Biological treatment using
specialized microorganism
- Enzymatic degradation of
xenobiotic compounds
- Microbial degradation (free/immobilized)
of inhibitory compounds
- Research on biofilm application
in wastewater treatment
- Biomethanation of industrial
wastewater and solid waste
- Membrane technology for wastewater
treatment
- Bioaugumentation strategy
to enhance biodegradation
- Adsorption using low cost
adsorbents and bio-sorbents
Industrial Biotechnology
- Production of enzymes
- Production of industrially
important products by using enzymes as biocatalysts.
Analytical Chemistry
-
Identification of degradation products of toxic materials using modern analytical
tools
-
Development of new analytical methods for the qualitative and quantative analysis
of industrially important compounds
- Application of modern analytical
techniques for environmental monitoring
- Application of chromatography
to environment, food, pesticides, drugs
and organic intermediates
Projects handled
in Analytical and Environmental areas: 33
Patents: 05
Chapters contributed in Books: 12
Papers presented at seminars/symposia:
107