Mohit Sharma

About

I am currently a Junior Researcher (Contract Researcher) at the Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainability research unit (CERES), University of Coimbra (UC), Portugal. I have held this position since July 2023 within the framework of the national PRR-FF2F project.

I began my scholar journey after receiving a prestigious scholarship from the MHRD, Government of India (GOI), to pursue a Master of Technology degree at one of India’s leading institutions, the Department of Paper and Packaging Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (2012–2014). During my masters' studies, I ranked among the top students and was selected for the highly competitive DAAD scholarship. This enabled me to complete my master thesis as a visiting scholar at the TU Darmstadt, Germany, where my research focused on the development of novel photoreactive polymers to improve the wet strength properties of paper.

I then transitioned to industry and was selected for a full-time public sector position as a Process Engineer at Nepa Limited, Asia’s oldest newsprint paper manufacturing company, operating under the Government of India. From 2014 to 2018, I gained extensive hands-on industrial experience across multiple departments, including paper machine operations, project engineering, and industrial safety.
Motivated by this industrial exposure and a strong interest in sustainability within the paper sector, I pursued doctoral studies in close collaboration with the Portuguese paper industry, particularly The Navigator Company. From 2018 to 2023, I completed my PhD at UC, focusing on the development of bio-based materials to enhance paper surface properties. Working in a multidisciplinary research environment, I developed a novel transesterification route for corn starch functionalization and formulated sustainable coating systems based on modified starch, nanocellulose, and rheology modifiers for paper-based applications.

During my PhD, I acquired strong research and professional skills, including scientific writing and intellectual property development. I authored five peer-reviewed research articles as first author and contributed to two patented technologies with national, European, and international patent filings. I also mentored visiting master and PhD students and actively contributed to collaborative research projects.
Towards the completion of my PhD, I became increasingly focused on sustainable paper-based packaging. This led me to join the PRR-FF2F project in July 2023, where I worked on strengthening packaging-grade papers using microfibrillated cellulose under industrially relevant conditions. I applied Six Sigma methodologies to industrial datasets, designed pilot-scale experiments that closely mimicked paper mill conditions, and identified key challenges in papermaking wet chemistry. I proposed and validated bio-based solutions that enabled the industrial use of microfibrillated cellulose for paper reinforcement. These findings were recently published as two first-author articles in the journal Cellulose.

From 2023 onward, I have continued my research career at CERES, mentoring international PhD students, collaborating with postdoctoral
researchers, and co-authoring four additional articles in high-impact journals. I have supervised a master’s thesis, served as a jury member for another master thesis, and contributed to teaching at UC in the areas of pulp and paper science and nanotechnology.
Throughout my career, I have actively disseminated my research through oral and poster presentations at 13 international conferences.
Most recently, I became a winning research team member of a competitive seed funding program awarded under the 7th Edition of the Seed Projects for Interdisciplinary Research, supported by Fundação Santander, Portugal. The €20,000 project, titled “Ligold” (2026–2027), involves a multidisciplinary team at UC focused on using lignin-based materials to recover gold from electronic waste.

Employment

• University of Coimbra Researcher
  2023 - Present
• Nepa Limited Process Engineer
  2014 - 2018
• Satia Industries Limited Post Graduate Trainee
  2014 - 2014

Education

Education history is unavailable.

Projects & Funding

• Ligold - Development of lignin-based activated carbon for sustainable recovery of gold from E-Waste Fundação Santander
  2026 - Present
• From Fossil to Forest Agendas mobilizadoras para a Inovação
  2022 - 2026
• Inpactus-innovative products and technologies from eucalyptus European Regional Development Fund
  2018 - 2022

Publications

Publications are unavailable.