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Dr. Achintya Bezbaruah was awarded the 63rd Faculty Lectureship award, one of the oldest and most prestigious of the University’s awards, which recognizes sustained professional excellence in teaching, scholarly achievement, and service among current faculty at NDSU.  He has been an NDSU faculty member since 2005 and takes his passion for environmental engineering beyond campus boundaries, mentoring students locally and globally to become future leaders. As a Fulbright scholar and specialist, he has promoted environmental nanotechnology research and education internationally. Currently serving as interim department chair and director of the NDSU Grand Challenges Scholars Program, Dr. Bezbaruah advocates for collaborative research to address global challenges, believing in the power of collective efforts to alleviate them. This prestigious accolade recognizes Dr. Achintya's exceptional contributions to teaching, research and service in his career. Link for video lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHnMr3ZYfkk

At the recent 2023 Sustainable Nanotechnology (SNO) Conference held at Marina Del Rey on November 10-12, 2023, both undergraduate student Nicholas Verwey and doctoral students Shirsa Mazumdar and Saurabh Singh earned Student Awards for their cutting edge research. Undergraduate student Nicholas Verwey won the NanoPitch Award (Third Place) for his research on hydroxyapatite beads howing efficient removal of fluoride, while doctoral students Shirsa and Saurabh [resented their researh on nano modified phosphate fertilizers and green tea nanobiochar for phosphate and nitrate removal respectively. Their achievements not only highlight their individual talents but also reflect the group's commitment to fostering excellence in research across all levels of academia.

Doctoral student Umer has earned outstanding oral presentation award at the 2023 South Dakota Student Water Conference held at South Dakota State University on October 10, 2023. Umer's presentation, "Iron coated chitosan beads for the removal of phosphate from aqueous environment”, captivated the audience with its innovative solutions and comprehensive analysis. Meanwhile, Anand Gupta bagged an honorable mention for the oral presentation titled “Aqueous phosphate removal with Nanocellulose derived from agricultural waste”. Saurabh Singh also presented his research on “Machine learning approach for performance-optimization of constructed wetlands”.

In a notable achievement, doctoral student Shirsa Mazumdar has been named runner-up for the Best Poster Award at the 2023 Midwest Geobiology Symposium held at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities on September 23, 2023. Shirsa's poster, titled "Nano-based modification of Phosphorous platforms for improving Phosphorous use efficiency", impressed judges with its clarity, originality, and potential impact on the field. His work, which explores slow-release rock phosphate fertilizers, garnered widespread acclaim and highlights the rising talent in cutting-edge research. Saurabh Singh also presented his research on "Predicting pollutant removal in constructed wetlands by employing machine learning".

Each year, the ND EPSCoR State Office accepts competitive proposals for equipment that helps advance scientific inquiry and R&D. Preference is given to proposals that: 1) show collaborative use across multiple institutions/colleges/departments; 2) request equipment not currently available on the proposer’s campus; and 3) engage a large number of undergraduate and graduate students in research and learning. Congratulations to Dr. Achintya Bezbaruah on bagging the ND EPSCoR State Office STEM Equipment Award (December 2021).

Dr. Bezbaruah (PI) will collaborate with Dr. Robert Brueggeman (Co-PI) from NDSU Plant Pathology Department on a project to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying engineered nanomaterial induced physiological reprogramming of plant innate immunity that results in both enhanced and compromised resistance to microbial pathogens. The team will use this knowledge to engineer nanomaterial that retain beneficial attributes (i.e., fertilizer and fungicide delivery) while mitigating negative impacts.  Link: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1707093&HistoricalAwards=false    

The United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has awarded a Fulbright Specialist Award to Dr. Bezbaruah. He is visiting India in fall of 2018 to work on “Environmental Science and Nanotechnology Education, Research, and Outreach Capacity Building at DIT University, Dehradun, India”. Bezbaruah will be also visiting local educational and research institutions in an effort to create a consortium to carry out basic and applied research that will benefit DIT University and local people. He will also help DIT design outreach activities to entice K-12 students to STEM education and careers. Links: https://eca.state.gov/fulbright , https://www.dituniversity.edu.in/

Doctoral Candidate Ms. Priyanka Deka presented a poster titled “Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Induce Transcriptional Reprogramming That Compromises Resistance to Pyrenophora Teres f. Teres in Barley” in Plant & Animal Genome Conference XXVI in San Diego, CA. PAG Conference is the largest ag-genomics meeting in the world. Her poster was co-authored by Doctoral Student Roshan Sharma Poudel, Dr. Chrysafis Vogiatzis (North Caroline A&M University), Dr. Bezbaruah, and Dr. Robert Brueggeman. Link: http://www.intlpag.org/

Dr. Bezbaruah and Dr. Brueggeman participated in PANNANO-2017 (1st Pan American Congress of Nanotechnology) Fundamentals and Applications to Shape the Future​) held in Guarujá (São Paulo, November 27-30, 2017) and presented research done within their joint NSF project. Dr. Bezbaruah presented work done by former doctoral student Dr. Mohammad Enayet Hossain (Nanoscale Iron Triggers Iron Uptake in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) through LsHA2 Gene Regulation). Dr. Brueggeman presented work done by Doctoral Candidate Ms. Priyanka Deka (Barley-Engineered Nanoparticle-Phytopathogen Interactions: Induced Physiological Reprogramming of Innate Immunity). They travel was sponsored by NSF and NDSU Office of Research and Creative Activities. Link: https://www.panamericannano2017.com/

Dr. Bezbaruah was nominated as the Nation Secretary of SNO by Dr. Barbara Karn and Dr. Wunmi Sadik and approved by the Governing Body of the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) in its November 2017 meeting. In addition to overseeing Young Professional Activities (including Nano Pitch), he will now be involved in organizational matters of SNO. Link: www.susnano.org