Biochar Ecotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment

About

Abhay Kumar is a Researcher at the University of Tuscia's Department of Innovation in Biological Agri-food and Forestry Systems (DIBAF) in Viterbo Italy. He earned his doctorate in Plant Sciences from the University of Hyderabad in India and spent more than five years as a visiting scientist at the Agricultural Research Organization The Volcani Center in Israel. In addition he was involved with two other science-led organizations in Norway Standard Bio AS and Capturebank AS. He conducts multifaceted and cross-disciplinary environmental and agricultural research on the interactions of Biochar-Soil-Plant-Environment as well as remediation and recovery of trace heavy metals from contaminated areas. His research efforts are focused on generating carbon-negative resource-circular biochar and biochar-containing products from diverse agricultural and environmental aspects. These include soil fertility soil organic matter carbon sequestration crop production key physiological biochemical and metabolic processes abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms in plants and pollutant cleanup from contaminated locations. His aptitude towards research have resulted in several articles in major journals and books. This honor is bolstered by his work with some journals as a review/guest editor as well as his extensive peer-reviewed record in high-impact journals. Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad is Emeritus Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hyderabad in India. He received his PhD in Botany from Lucknow University Lucknow. In past he worked as Lecturer at North Eastern Hill University Lecturer & Reader at University of Hyderabad. He is also serving as reviewer in many scientific journals. He is professional member of National Institute of Ecology New Delhi India Bioenergy Society of India New Delhi Indian Network for Soil Contamination Research New Delhi. He also completed 20 research projects. He has published 179 articles in peer review journals in which contributed as author/co-author. He supervised 17 PhD and 7 M.Phil students all students received award in his supervision. Pallavi Kumari is currently employed as a Researcher at the Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She earned her doctorate from the Central University of Jharkhand in India in 2017 and she began her scientific career in the field of Material Science and Nanotechnology. She moved to the Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi in India to pursue her postdoctoral research on the synthesis and nanotechnological characterization of bio-based materials for industrial and agricultural application and then to the Agricultural Research Organization Volcani Center in Israel. Pallavi has also worked as a researcher for the Norwegian firm Capturebank AS exploring nanotechnological application of developing biochar and biochar-based products for agricultural agro-industry and environmental applications. Dr. Kumari's research has given her independent thinking multidisciplinary research skills and a good profile in material chemistry nanotechnology and polymer science specifically the synthesis of bio-based nanocomposites materials and the current book proposal effectively integrates these cross-disciplinary aspects. Manoj Kumar Solanki is currently employed as a scientist in the Institute of Biology Biotechnology and Environment Protection of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Silesia in Katowice Poland. In 2006 he received his masters degree in microbiology from Barkatullah University and in 2013 he received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Rani Durgawati University in India. He also served as a research associate in a DBTfunded project at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India. He received a visiting scientist fellowship from the Guangxi Academy of Agriculture Sciences in China from 2013 to 2015 as well as a visiting scientist fellowship from the Volcani Center Agricultural Research Organization in Israel from 2016 to 2020. He has been involved in numerous research activities on plants-microbes interaction soil microbiology plant disease management enzymology and microbial genome analysis during his research career and has published a number of publications in prestigious peer-reviewed international journals and books. He is also expanding his knowledge of agriculturally significant microorganisms with a focus on soil and crop health management among other things as well as worked as associate/guest editor for various journals and has sound expertise in editing books and reviewing articles.