Dr. Prashanth Suresh Kumar conducted his research as a water technologist in a very multidisciplinary environment. After his doctoral and postdoctoral research, he was involved in education programs that were aimed at inspiring high school students to step into science and technology careers. He is passionate about teaching and communicating science to a wide variety of audience including academicians, industrialists, policy makers, students, and the general public. He also has a penchant for endurance sports, and likes running marathons and cycling long distances.  

At Plaksha University, Dr. Kumar aims to collaborate and address the grand challenges involved in the water sector in our country. He is keen to conitnue pursuing research that can be translated into real world applications. He is also excited to interact with students and co-create a vibrant learning culture, both in terms of academics and beyond. 

Dr. Kumar conducted his PhD research on addressing the globally pressing issue of harmful algal blooms (HABs) formed in water bodies. To stop the formation of HABs, his research focused on reducing the phosphate discharge from wastewater effluents to ultra-low concentrations. This was done by designing adsorbents that could selectively bind and release phosphate. The research was performed in close collaboration with industries and academic institutes, and resulted in piloting the technology for surface water and wastewater remediation in Canada and Sweden, respectively. 

At Plaksha, Dr. Kumar currently works for the Centre for Water Security, tackling the various water problems in the Indian context. This includes working on energy efficient technologies for zero liquid discharge of industrial effluents. He is also interested in exploring new ways for water quality monitoring, optimizing resource recovery from wastewater and understanding net zero water systems.  

Dr. Kumar was a part of the winning teams in the George Barley Water Prize, and the Bonus Return Challenge, where adsorption technology was tested as a solution for HABs forming in the Everglades in Florida and in the Baltic Sea.  

Selected scientific journal articles: 

1. Kumar, Prashanth & Korving, Leon & Loosdrecht, Mark & Witkamp, Geert-Jan. (2019). Adsorption as a technology to achieve ultra-low concentrations of phosphate: Research gaps and economic analysis. Water Research X. 4. 100029. 10.1016/j.wroa.2019.100029. 

2. Kumar, Prashanth & Korving, Leon & Keesman, Karel & Loosdrecht, Mark & Witkamp, Geert-Jan. (2018). Effect of pore size distribution and particle size of porous metal oxides on phosphate adsorption capacity and kinetics. Chemical Engineering Journal. 358. 10.1016/j.cej.2018.09.202. 

3. Kumar, P & Quiroga Flores, Roxana & Önnby, Linda & Sjöstedt, Carin. (2016). Arsenic adsorption by iron-aluminium hydroxide coated onto macroporous supports: Insights from X-ray absorption spectroscopy and comparison with granular ferric hydroxides. 10.1201/b20466-222. 

4. Wilfert, Philipp & Kumar, Prashanth & Korving, Leon & Witkamp, Geert-Jan & Loosdrecht, Mark. (2015). The Relevance of Phosphorus and Iron Chemistry to the Recovery of Phosphorus from Wastewater: A Review. Environmental science & technology. 49. 10.1021/acs.est.5b00150. 

5. Kumar, Prashanth & Önnby, Linda & Kirsebom, Harald. (2013). Reversible in situ precipitation: A flow-through approach for coating macroporous supports with metal hydroxides. Journal of Materials Chemistry. 2. 1076-1084. 10.1039/C3TA13307A. 


Links to news articles:

https://www.firstpost.com/living/circular-economy-in-wastewater-what-is-wastewater-anyway-10477141.html 

https://www.financialexpress.com/life/science-net-zero-water-the-why-what-and-how-2949656/