Dr. Abhay Soni graduated in Mining Engineering from Ravishankar University, Raipur, India. He completed his postgraduate degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani and Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Centre of Mining Environment, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad in 1998. He is working as the Chief Scientist at the CSIR-CIMFR Nagpur office and is engaged in research in mine environment and allied areas. His research area of interest is geo-hydrological problems related to mines. He has been associated with the development of eco-friendly techniques of mineral extraction and also engaged in research on environmental management in fragile/sensitive areas with particular reference to mining operations and hill type areas (Himalaya). He developed an Environmental Degradation Index (EDI) for application in mining in ecologically fragile areas and has special interest in policy issues on mining and environment. He is associated with largenumber of mining and tunnelling projects in India and invited by Indian universities to deliver lectures. He has more than 115 technical publications on environment related topics in national and international journals, conference proceedings, and workshops. He has handled over 100 R&D projects in the capacity of principal coordinator and investigator. To his credit, Dr Soni has authored a book on ' Mining in the Himalayas', published by CRC Press, Taylor & Francis (2017) and is an Academic Editor for an open access book titled "Mining Techniques: Past, Present and Future" published by Intech Open, London (2021).Dr. P. Nema obtained his BE and ME in Civil Engineering with specialization in Public Health Engineering degrees from Jabalpur University, Madhya Pradesh in 1971 and 1975 respectively. He was awarded the Netherlands Government Fellowship in 1979 and completed his post graduate Diploma in Sanitary Engineering from the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (IHE), Delft, The Netherlands in 1980. He obtained Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in 1998. He had a long association with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur as a scientist from 1975 to 2008 and continued post-superannuation as Project Advisor until 2013. He has over three decades experience in Research & Development in Water, Wastewater Treatment/ Management, Air Quality Management and Environmental Impact Assessment of Developmental Projects in different sectors. He has prepared more than sixty project reports and published more than 50 research papers in journals of both national and international repute, and conference proceedings. His academic interests included working as visiting faculty to PG programs in Environmental Engineering in Indian Universities. He has also been a reviewer for several prominent journals in the fields of bio-resource technology, environmental engineering and desalination and water treatment.
