Dr. Vineet Kumar is currently working as a Senior Project Associate at CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Before his joining, he worked as an Assistant Professor (Ad-hoc) in the Department of Botany at Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, India. He was an Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator at Vinayak Vidyapeeth, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He received his M.Sc. (2010) and M.Phil. degree (2011) in Microbiology from Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, India. Subsequently, he earned his Ph.D. (2018) in Environmental Microbiology from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar (A Central) University, Lucknow, India. Dr. Kumar’s research interest includes Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Bioremediation of hazardous and emerging pollutants, Phytoremediation of heavy metals, Metagenomics of Industrial waste, Wastewater Treatment, Environmental Monitoring, Waste Management; Bioenergy, and Biofuel Production. Presently, his research mainly focuses on the development of integrated and sustainable treatment techniques that can help in minimizing or eliminating hazardous waste in the environment. He has published 28 articles in reputed International Journals, written 4 Proceeding Papers, 40 book chapters, and authored/edited over 14 books on the different aspects of Phytoremediation, Bioremediation, Wastewater Treatment, Omics, Genomics, and Metagenomics, with more than citations 880 and h-index 17. He has presented several papers relevant to his research areas at national and international conferences. He is an active member of numerous scientific societies including the Microbiology Society, UK, and the Indian Science Congress Association, India. He serves as an editorial board member and reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals and has received awards for his work, including the Young Scientist Award, National fellowship, and best poster presentation awards. Dr. Kumar has been serving as a guest editor and reviewer in many prestigious International Journals. He is the founder of the Society for Green Environment, India (website: www.sgeindia.org). He can be reached at drvineet.micro@gmail.com.
Prof. (Dr.) Indu Sekhar Thakur is currently working as a Professor & Director at Amity School of Earth & Environment Science (ASEES) and Head Centre of Excellence in Bio-Energy at Amity University Haryana, Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana, India. He was a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. He has obtained his M.Sc. (1980) in Life Science, and M.Phil. (1981) in Environmental Science, from JNU, New Delhi, India. At the same institution, he earned his Ph.D. (1986) in Environmental Science. He has more than 35 years of teaching, research, and outreach/extension activities experiences in the field of Environmental Sciences. He and his research group are working on bioremediation, biovalorization, and detoxification of natural and organic compounds, developed bacterial consortium by genetic breeding, characterized genes, and proteins, proteomics, genomics analysis for CO2 sequestration for biomass, enzymes, biodiesel, bio-flocculant, bioplastic, and biomaterials developments. He has published more than 260 research papers, review article and technical reports in peer-reviewed journals of International and National journals of repute with more than citations 7262 and h-index 48. In addition, he has published 4 books and 35 book chapters and completed 22 sponsored research projects funded by various agencies and departments. He has four patents and technologies in his credit. He was Visiting Scientist and Visiting Professor in Germany and Japan, Switzerland, Canada, France etc., and members of several committees visited the USA, Italy, Austria, Netherland, Finland, Sweden etc. He is a member of the editorial board and reviewing committee of several journals and professional societies. He has completed more than 22 research projects as PI and 28 Ph.D., 2 M.Phil., and 14 Post Graduate thesis/dissertations are completed under his supervision. Based upon this outstanding contribution in the areas of environmental microbiology and environmental biotechnology, he has been awarded the Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FNAAS), Fellow of National Academy of Sciences India (FNAS), Fellow of International Bioprocessing Association (FIBA), Fellow of National Environmental Sciences Academy, and Fellow of Biotech Research Society of India (FBRSI). He is also a member of the American Society of Microbiology, USA, and the Association of Microbiologists of India
