Prof. Sheena Kumari is a Full Professor at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa, specializing in water and wastewater research for over 17 years. Her expertise encompasses biological wastewater treatment, emerging contaminants in water and wastewater, microbial risk assessment, and wastewater-based epidemiology. Prof. Kumari leads numerous national and international research projects and is a member of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), the International Water Association (IWA), and the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA). She has published over 120 research articles in reputable journals (Google H-index 38) and presented extensively at national and international conferences. Her collaborative research extends across continents, and she has secured significant funding from national and international sources. Prof. Kumari holds a C rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, recognizing her as an established researcher. She contributes as a reviewer and panel member for the NRF, the Water Research Commission (South Africa), and international funding agencies as well as reviewer ad editor for international journals. Her achievements include the prestigious South African Young Woman in Science Award (2019) and several institutional awards.Prof Santhosh Pillai is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Durban University of Technology. Prof. Pillai’s research expertise spans multiple cutting-edge areas, including: Biomass valorization for bioenergy and value-added products (biohydrogen, bioethanol, biobutanol, biomethane, oligosaccharides), Bioactive proteins and peptides from microbial and marine sources for industrial applications, Microbial antagonists and their metabolites for food and feed preservation, Bioremediation of environmental pollutants and Microbiome studies of fermented foods. He is also involved in collaborations with researchers from the National [Agricultural Research Council (ARC), National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)] and International (Brazil, China, India, Russia, USA) institutions. Prof. Pillai’s research impact is evident in his 60+ publications in high-impact journals, 13 book chapters, and over 40 presentations at national and international conferences. He actively contributes to the scientific community as: A panel member for various National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa funding calls, An external examiner and reviewer for multiple universities, A reviewer for national and international funding agencies, A peer reviewer for over 50 ISI-listed journals, An editorial panel member for 3 Biotech and Frontiers in Microbiology Journals. Prof Pillai is also successful in acquiring research funds from various agencies and is a recipient of multiple Faculty and Institutional awards. In 2022, the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa recognized Prof. Pillai as an Established Researcher with a prestigious C2 rating, highlighting his exceptional research contributions.Dr. Kumar is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology (DUT), South Africa. His research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis, advanced oxidation processes, microplastic degradation and sustainable wastewater treatment technologies.Dr. Kumar earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in 2022. His doctoral research centered on developing catalytic processes for pollutant abatement and water purification. Since December 2022, he has been contributing to cutting-edge research on water treatment at DUT. With a strong research background, Dr. Kumar has authored 20 peer-reviewed publications, holds two Indian patents, and has additional research papers under review. His expertise spans heterogeneous catalysis, advanced oxidation processes, and environmental remediation, aiming to develop innovative and efficient solutions for water purification and pollution control.Dr. Vikash Singh is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Belgium. His current research focuses on the catalytic upcycling of plastic waste. He has been awarded the Excellence IN scholarship by Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI) for his current postdoctoral research. Dr. Singh earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in December 2021. His doctoral research focused on using industrial solid waste for environmental applications and resource recovery. During his PhD, he also received the Swachh Saarthi Fellowship from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India. He has over three years of postdoctoral experience, including a research tenure at Inha University, Incheon, South Korea, where he explored microplastic degradation by hybrid Fenton reactions and photocatalysis. With a strong research background, Dr. Singh has authored 13 peer-reviewed publications, holds 2 Indian patents, and has contributed to a book chapter. His expertise encompasses heterogeneous catalysis, plastic upcycling, microplastic degradation, and the valorization of waste materials, all aimed at developing transformative solutions for a more sustainable future.Ayodeji Amobonye holds a PhD degree in Biotechnology from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), Durban, South Africa with his thesis titled “Biochemical characterization of selected carbohydrases from Beauveria bassiana and their potential applications. Currently, his research interests are centred around the application of microbial enzymes and metabolites in bioenergy generation, food processing, drug processing and bioremediation. He has published 33 scientific articles which include 29 journal articles and 4 book chapters, with 18 of these publications as first author. He has also presented his research findings at various scientific fora all around the world. His research outputs have garnered 1063 citations, h-index of 11 and i-10 index of 13 (Google Scholar). Ayodeji is currently a Research Fellow at the Polymer Chemistry and Technology Department of Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania and he is currently working on three different projects which are all centred around the development of functional bio-based plastics from starch and cellulose. These projects are in collaboration with research groups within his University, Lublin University of Technology Riga, Latvia and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Dr Amobonye is very passionate about scientific writing.
