Dr. Santosh Kumar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Engineering and Technology at the Central Institute of Technology Kokrajhar, India, working since 2011. He also served as Head of Department during 2021-2024 for 3 years, and Assistant Dean of Research and Development during 2023-2025 for about 2 years. Dr. Kumar has strong academic background and the capacity to work on new and challenging projects with dedication, planning, managing, and a problem-solving attitude for more than 15 years. Dr. Santosh Kumar earned his M.Tech and PhD from the Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering (FTBE) at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in 2009 and 2016, respectively. Following his doctoral studies, he completed 1-year Post-Doctoral Research (2018-19) as a Research Fellow at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, funded by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Dr. Kumar is working in the areas of active and intelligent food packaging systems, agro-food waste utilization, and functional nanocomposites. He has made an outstanding contribution to the development of active films and coatings for shelf-life extension of perishable foods like fruits & vegetables, and meats. He has published his research outcomes through many publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles (65), extended peer-reviewed abstracts in international conferences (25), edited books (06), book chapters (24), several other conference abstracts, posters, and oral presentations/talk. He has also received several awards for his performances in chemical and food sciences, including "Overseas Associateship Award" by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India in July 2017. He is professional member of many scientific societies including Member of Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) since 2023, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), USA and Royal Society of Biology (RSB), London since 2025. He was also listed among the World's Top 2% Scientists in 2025 & 2024, recognized by Stanford University & Elsevier.
Dr. Ram Prasad is an Associate Professor at the Department of Botany, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, India. His research interests include applied & environmental microbiology, plant-microbe interactions, sustainable agriculture, and nanobiotechnology. Dr. Prasad has more than three hundred fifty publications, including research papers, review articles & book chapters, and seven patents issued or pending, and edited or authored more than fifty books. He has guided one international postdoc, two M. Phil, ten Ph.D., and several master's dissertation students. Dr. Prasad has sixteen years of teaching/research experience and has been awarded the Sir CV Raman Scientist Award, Global Best Scientist Award, Young Scientist Award & Prof. J.S. Datta Munshi Gold Medal by the International Society for Ecological Communications; Fellow of the Academy of Microbial Sciences (FAMSc); Fellow of the World Academy of Productive Science (FWAPS); Fellow of Agricultural Technology Development Society (FATDS); Fellow of Biotechnology Research Society of India (FBRS); Fellow of the Society for Applied Biotechnology (FSAB); Fellowship of the Association of Fungal Biologists (FAFB); the American Cancer Society UICC International Fellowship for Beginning Investigators, USA; Outstanding Scientist Award in the field of Microbiology; BRICPL Science Investigator Award, Research Excellence Award etc. He was also listed among the World's Top 2% Scientists in 2021 to till date, recognized by Stanford University & Elsevier. He has been serving as an editorial board member: Nanotechnology Reviews; BMC Microbiology; BMC Biotechnology; International Journal of Microbiology; Annals of Microbiology; IET Nanobiotechnology; Discover Nano, Discover Applied Sciences; Discover Molecules; Journal of Agriculture and Food Research etc. including Series editor of Nanotechnology in the Life Sciences, Springer Nature, USA. Previously, Dr. Prasad served as an Assistant Professor at Amity University Uttar Pradesh, India; Visiting Assistant Professor at Whiting School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States, and as a Research Associate Professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
