Profile Summary

Dr. Durga Madhab Mahapatra holds a Ph.D. in Bioprocess Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, where he received a Gold Medal from the Faculty of Engineering. He is a highly accomplished algal bioprocess engineer in India with over 16 years of research experience both in India and abroad. He has received awards at international and national platforms, including the GYTI National Award in 2014. From 2016 onwards, he has been associated with the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering (BEE), School of Engineering (SoE), Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis, OR, USA, as IUSSTF, SERB INDO-US Postdoctoral Fellow, OSU Research and Teaching Staff, Courtesy Faculty, and Research Affiliate. He is presently involved in two projects addressing challenges in the Food, Water, and Energy Nexus with a focus on Sustainability and has successfully executed five Research and Development Projects. Dr. Mahapatra has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, including Scientific Reports, Policy Documents, Book Chapters, Conference Proceedings/Abstracts, and Invited Communications. Additionally, he has edited eight books published by ACS, Elsevier, CRC, etc., with over 2570 citations, an h-index of 23, an i10 index of 37, and a cumulative impact factor >250.

Work Experience

After obtaining his Ph.D. with a Gold Medal from IISc in 2015, Dr. Mahapatra served for 5.5 years at the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering (BEE), School of Engineering (SoE), Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis, OR, USA. During this time, he held various positions, including IUSSTF, SERB INDO-US Postdoctoral Fellow, OSU Research and Teaching Staff, and Courtesy Faculty. His work involved Bioprocess Development for Variable strength municipal wastewaters, Dairy Wastewater, and Municipal Solid Waste Leachate Treatment Technologies. He played a key role in designing and developing the Novel Three Phase Cascading Plug-Flow Reactor (CAPFR), which is currently deployed in India and abroad.

Research Interests

Dr. Mahapatra's research interests lie in Bioprocess Development targeting Biomass Valorization and Bioenergy production, Bioresources Engineering involving Wastewater Treatment with an OMICS approach, and Nano-biotechnological Applications in Environmental Research.

Teaching Philosophy

Dr. Mahapatra perceives teaching as a transformative endeavour that distils facts and resources into concise reservoirs of knowledge, propelling societal progress. He contends that skilled educators not only deliver information and technical competencies but also instil their fervour for learning and inquiry, thereby cultivating ingenuity and analytical thinking in students. Driven by expertise, educational foundation, a fervent dedication to teaching, and effective communication abilities, he endeavours to fulfil the institute's aspirations in knowledge dissemination and the nurturing of science and technology.

Courses Taught

He teaches various courses like Molecular Modeling and Drug Design; Modern Physics; Unit Operation – I and Up Stream Processing; Bioreactor Design and Analysis; Environmental Management; Wastewater treatment; Ecological Engineering Design; Bioprocess Engineering, (B.Tech Level), Fermentation Technology, Biotechniques, Bioprocess Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology, Biochemistry; Instrumentation and Analytical techniques (M.Sc Level), Scale-up Methods, Wastewater Treatment (M. Tech Level), Teaching and Learning Pedagogy and Research Methodology (Research Scholars).

Awards and Grants

Dr. Durga has garnered a range of awards and grants that underscore his notable achievements. These include the ACS Best Oral Presentation Award from the Sustainability Fair at UPES in 2022, the Sahyadri Best Teachers Award in 2020 from the Lake Conference at IISc Bangalore, and the USDA-NIFA Grant for Sustainable Agriculture with algal biofertilizer. He has also been recognized with the ARF, USA-Research Grant Award in 2018, the Elsevier Mark of Excellence Award in 2017, and the SERB INDO-US Postdoctoral Research Award in 2016. Notably, his exceptional contributions were acknowledged with the Amulya and Vimala Reddy Gold Medal for Best Ph.D Thesis on Sustainable Technologies at IISc, Bangalore's Convocation in 2016, and the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award in 2014 for his pioneering work on a novel algal bioreactor for wastewater treatment and biofuel production.

Details (Link below)

https://sites.google.com/view/durgamadhabmahapatra/Awards?authuser=0

Scholarly Activities