Professional Experiences

I am a Professor & Head at the School of Agro and Rural Technology (SART), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Assam. Before taking charge as Head at SART, I took the lead in establishing a new Centre for Disaster Management and Research (CDMR) with the active cooperation of other colleagues from various departments of IITG and led this Centre from its inception in Jan 2021 till Feb 2024. Prior to this, I served as regular faculty at various institutes/universities viz. Tezpur (Central) University, Assam; Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi; National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi. Post PhD, since 2000, I have been working in the fields of natural resources management, livelihood, climate change (Vulnerability & Adaptation) and greenhouse gases management in the agriculture sector. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is another field in which I have professional experience and continue pursuing that.

Earlier, I worked in various national and international organizations, viz. M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai; The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and TERI University; Division of Ecology and Natural Resources at the Centre for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany etc. I also worked as a team member in one special international project coordinated by the Inter Academy Council-Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This project studied the Science and Technology Strategies for Improving Agricultural Productivity, Food Security and Environment in Africa and was carried out at the request of then UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan. I have many years of experience in working with farmers and village communities and played a significant role in connecting science & technology with society.

As a Fulbright Scholar (2012), I have carried out a short study on greenhouse gas modeling for the Californian rice ecosystem at the University of California, Davis, USA, under the mentorship of Prof. Johan Six. My work in the field of agriculture and rural development has been recognized by Lead India, and I have been inducted as a Fellow of Lead India. I am also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).

Member of Task Forces/Technical committees:

• I served as a member of the experts' committee on Global Technology Watch Group (Sustainable Agriculture), DST-TIFAC, Government of India (2017-18).
• I served as the Task Force Member of MNREGA convergence of schemes under the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India (2008).

Education:

2001-2002:    Post Doc at Centre for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany Mentor: Prof Paul LG Vlek.

1996 - 2000:   Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India. First Class. [PhD thesis research carried out at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Manila, Philippines; Supervisor: Prof. Reiner Wassmann]

Administration

At IIT Guwahati:

•    Head, School of Agro & Rural Technology, IIT Guwahati (Since 01 May 2024 contd.)

•    Founding Head, Centre for Disaster Management & Research, IIT Guwahati (15 Jan 2021-13 Feb 2024)

•    Member, Centre Post-graduate Programme Committee (CPPC), School of Agro& Rural Technology (SART)- Since 31.03 2021
•    Secretary, CPPC, SART, IIT Guwahati (06.06.2020 – 30.03.2021)
•    Member Space Utilization and Future Planning Committee of SART, IIT Guwahati (since 2017-)
•    Library committee member from SART, IIT Guwahati (March 2017-March 2021)
•    Member, Disciplinary Action Committee of SART (since 06.06.2020-22.02.2022)
•    Member, Career Development Cell for SART (since 06.06.2020 -).
•    Member of the Institute Research and Development Committee (2020 -)
•    High Power Computing facility committee member (since 2020)

Outside IIT Guwahati:
•    Member of the Board of Studies at the University of Petroleum and Engineering Sciences (UPES), Dehradun.

Student supervision:

• 13 PhD students (continuing at IIT Guwahati)
• 1 M. Tech student (Continuing, IIT Guwahati)
• 2 PhD student (Degree awarded, IIT Guwahati)
• 1 MPhil student (degree awarded, JNU)
• 1 PhD student (degree awarded, JNU)
• 1 PhD student (Degree awarded, Tezpur University)
• 9 M. Tech student (Degree awarded, IIT Guwahati)
• 2 MSR student (Degree awarded, IIT Guwahati)
• 10 M.Sc. students (project, degree awarded, TU & JNU)

Membership in professional academies/societies

• Council member of the Society of Fertilizers and Environment, Kolkata, India (since 2022 - ).
• Member of the National Academy of Sciences India (MNASc).
• Life Member of National Environmental Science Academy (NESA).
• Life Member: Indian Science Congress
• Senior Member of Asia-Pacific Chemical, Biological& Environmental Engineering Society (APCBEES)
• Life member of Biotech Research Society, India (BRSI).

 

Journal Editorial Board Member:

• PLOS Climate

Journal Reviewer for:

• Journal of Hazardous Materials, Elsevier
• Science of the Total Environment, Elsevier
• Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Elsevier, the Netherlands.
• Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Springer, the Netherlands.
• Environmental Pollution, Elsevier
• African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
• Journal of Ecology and Natural Environment, Academic Journals.
• Annals of Applied Botany.
• Atmospheric Environment, Elsevier.
• International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Springer.
• Many others.....