SP

Sukdeb Pal

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), University of Kalyani, Bureau Veritas (India) Private Limited

ORCID iD 0000-0001-7668-5745
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About

Prof. Sukdeb Pal is presently working as Scientist F (formerly Senior Principal Scientist) in the Waste Water Management Division at CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur. He is also serving as the Science Secretary of the institute. He also functions as Professor in Chemical Sciences with the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), an Indian institute of national importance, headquartered at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Human Resource Development Centre Campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. He serves as the Convener of AcSIR at the CSIR-NEERI academic center and leads the institute’s NABL-accredited Wastewater Laboratory as its Technical Manager.

Dr. Pal holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India and a PhD in Nanotechnology from College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, South Korea. With over two decades of experience in pharmaceutical and environmental chemistry and engineering, he has contributed to research at premier academic and industrial institutions in India and abroad. Dr. Pal served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Division, Seoul National University, and has worked across several renowned organizations, including Hindustan Unilever R&D Centre, Mumbai; the Nanobiosensor Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry, Chungnam National University, South Korea; the Biochip and Bioimaging Laboratory at Seoul National University, and the Nanomedicinal Lab at the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University. His work has been recognized with awards, including the CSIR-NEERI Foundation Day Award 2023 as "Best Senior Scientist", the ISSN International Research Award 2022 (IIRA 2022) in Material Science by International Society for Scientific Network (ISSN), the Excellent Performance Award (Research) from Hindustan Unilever Limited, Brain Korea 21 (BK21) Scholarships for Graduate Students, the Excellent Research Award by BK21, the BK21 Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Early Career Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust–DBT.

His current research spans wastewater treatment and reuse, RO reject management, resource recovery, development of multifunctional nanomaterials, and pollution abatement strategies and management plan for Mines, Lakes & Rivers. He has pioneered innovative processes based on adsorption-photocatalysis, hyphenated advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and has developed scalable solutions for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) including antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and bacteria (ARBs).

In recent years, Dr. Pal has expanded his research portfolio to include waste biomass processing with an emphasis on thermo-chemical conversion and valorization pathways. His team is exploring integrated systems for biochar production from agro-industrial residues and municipal organic waste, where biochar is characterized and optimized for use as an adsorbent or catalyst support. Additionally, he is actively working on electro-photocatalytic approaches for hydrogen generation from organic-rich waste streams, including sewage and biomass hydrolysates. These approaches aim to couple environmental cleanup with renewable energy recovery, aligning with circular economy principles.

In his earlier international research career, he developed biosensor platforms, fluorescence-based diagnostics, and nanomaterials for biomedical and environmental applications, including shape-dependent antimicrobial silver nanostructures and novel wound care materials. His innovations have led to high-impact publications and translational patents.

He has made substantial scientific contributions, including over 50+ peer-reviewed publications in high-impact international journals, 30+ book chapters and 80+ national/international presentations, 15+ granted patents.

Dr. Pal has served as PI/Co-PI in prestigious international collaborations such as Indo-EU Horizon 2020 Water Research Project (PANIWATER, Indian Coordinator), EPSRC-GCRF (UK), Indo-Norway, and Indo-French Network Programs. His work in PANIWATER contributed to the first extensive mapping of CECs in Indian STPs and informed pilot-scale AOP installations for municipal reuse.

In addition to research, Dr. Pal represents CSIR-NEERI on expert committees of Bureau of Indian Standards (Member of Chemical Division Council), Central Pollution Control Board, Ministries and judicial forums of India like Hon’ble National Green Tribunal and High Courts, offering scientific inputs on complex environmental issues and regulatory reforms.

Employment

  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Senior Principal Scientist
    2024 - Present
  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Principal Scientist
    2019 - 2024
  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Senior Scientist
    2015 - 2019
  • National Environmental Engineering Research Institute Scientist
    2011 - 2015
  • Bureau Veritas (India) Private Limited Technical Advisor -Laboratories
    2011 - 2011
  • Seoul National University College of Pharmacy BK21 Post-Doctoral Fellow
    2009 - 2011
  • Seoul National University College of Pharmacy Visiting Researcher
    2005 - 2006
  • Chungnam National University Department of Chemistry Researcher
    2005 - 2005
  • Unilever (India) Research Associate
    2002 - 2005
  • Electrosteel Castings Limited Chemist
    1999 - 2002
  • CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI)

Education

  • University of Kalyani M.Sc., Chemistry
    1999 - 2001
  • University of Kalyani B.Sc., Chemistry (Hons.)
    1996 - 1999

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (176)