Bio-waste-derived Carbon Materials and their Applications, especially as Sensors

Dr. Das received his PhD in biotechnology and served as a Scientist at the IBSD, DBT, Government of India. He is the Founder and CEO of Valnizen which deals with regulatory documents and healthcare compliances and support services to African and southeast Asian countries. He has served as a Joint Director of the Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission, DST, and Joint Director to Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, DST, both from the Government of Gujarat. He has served as a Director of the Savli Technology and Business Incubator, DST, Government of Gujarat, India. He was actively involved in the development and implementation of various policies and action plans like biotechnology policy, innovation policy, interpole disaster management policy, start-up policy for many universities and governments. His research team is involved in addressing societal challenges via cutting-edge research, namely, the development of molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases, the development of universal vaccine candidate for emerging diseases, the development of miRNA-based targeted therapeutics, and artificial intelligence in healthcare applications.

Mika Sillanpää is a professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research centers on chemical treatment in environmental engineering, environmental monitoring, and resource recovery from waste streams.

Sillanpää received his M.Sc. (Eng.) and D.Sc. (Eng.) degrees from the Aalto University where he also completed an MBA degree in 2013. Since 2000, he has been a full professor/adjunct professor at the University of Oulu, the University of Eastern Finland, the LUT University, the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Johannesburg.

He has received numerous awards for research and innovation. He is the first Laureate of Scientific Committee on the Problems of the Environment (SCOPE)’s Young Investigator Award, which was delivered at the UNESCO Conference in Shanghai 2010 for his “significant contributions, outstanding achievements and research leadership in Environmental Technological Innovations to address present water pollution problems worldwide, especially with regard to wastewater treatment and reuse”. In 2011, he was invited to act as a Principal Scientific Reviewer in the GEO-5 report of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In 2012, he received Tapani Järvinen Environmental Technology Award and Publication Award of the Lappeenranta University of Technology. In 2014, he received the Science Award of the Lappeenranta University of Technology and Pro Mikkeli Award. In 2018, he was invited as a Member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters and Technology Academy of Finland. He also received Literature award from the Water Association of Finland in 2018.