News

Doctoral Student and ICAR Netaji Subhas Bose Fellow Mr. Tonoy Das presented findings from his doctoral research at the 6th Sustainable Nanotechnology Conference 2018 in Los Angeles, CA (November 5-7). His podium presentation on “Arsenic Removal by Graphene Oxide-Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron Hybrid” was very well received by those in attendance. He also presented his research in a poster which was co-authored by Dr. Bezbaruah. Link: http://susnano.org/SNO2017/pdf/4a%20das%20SNO_Tonoy_Oral_2017.pdf

Doctoral Student Ms. Priyanka Deka’s research findings (Transcriptomic Responses of Barley in Response to Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles) were presented by Dr. Bezbaruah at the 6th Sustainable Nanotechnology Conference 2018 in Los Angeles, CA. Link: www.susnano.org  

Dr. Bezbaruah has taken responsibility of the Vice Chairperson of EWRI Groundwater Quality Committee for a two-year term. Earlier he served as the Secretary of the committee (2015-2017). Link: http://www.asce.org/environmental-and-water-resources-engineering/environmental-and-water-resources-institute/ ​  

Dr. Bezbaruah has been awarded the 2017 Senior Faculty Teacher of the Year Award by Dean Dr. Gary Smith. In his nomination letter, Chair Dr. Dinesh Katti wrote, “Achintya is always a champion of issues related to education, advising, and training of our students. Achintya has been leaders in the college in promoting teaching and research scholarship. Most importantly he mentored three undergraduate students for prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSFGRFP) and two of them were awarded the fellowship and one got an honorable mention.” CEE senior Dylan Weber thought, “One of my favorite parts of Dr. Bezbaruah’s course was our class project. His courses are tailored to ensure proficiency by the entire class, while allowing individuals to excel.”

Dr. Bezbaruah has taken charge as the first Director of National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges Scholars Program at NDSU. Introduction in 2008, NAE identified 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century as being of utmost importance to humanity, and described as ‘call to action and serve as a focal point for society's attention to opportunities and challenges affecting our quality of life’. The NAE Grand Challenge Scholars Program is a combined curricular and extra-curricular program designed to prepare students to be the generation that solves the grand challenges facing society in this century. Many universities are participating in the program and NDSU has been selected as one of them and is offering this program to undergraduate engineering students. Link: https://www.ndsu.edu/coe/grand_challenges_gc/

NRG research featured on the cover of the July issue of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. TheAmerican Chemical Society journal published the pioneering work by Talal Almeelbi (now in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia) and Achintya Bezbaruah in the July issue and featured their green phosphate removal and reuse technology on the cover. In their work Almeelbi and Bezbaruah used nanoscale zero-valent iron (nzvi) to successfully remove phosphate from aqueous solution through sorption onto the metal surface. The sorbed phosphate was later used as a phosphate fertilizer for Spinacia oleracea (spinach) and Selenastrum capricornutum (algae). Phosphate fertilizer is typically produced from phosphate rocks mined in select countries, and it is feared that traditional phosphate production will not be able to meet the world phosphate demand in ~2033. The present research has proposed alternative “mines” (eutrophic lakes, wastewater, feedlot effluent) for phosphate mining! the researchers could also fortify the plants with iron. that nzvi can be used for the fortification iron in spinach has major ramifications for world nutrient (food) security as iron deficiency in human is very common across the world.  

Achintya Bezbaruah has been named the College of Engineering Researcher of the Year (2014) by Dean Gary Smith. This is the highest award in the college that recognizes exemplary research by a faculty member. The awardee is selected based on his/her scholarly work, research funding, outreach activities related to research, and research advising record. The award carries a citation and cash incentives.    

NRG recruits Cody Ritt as a summer research intern under Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program with a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cody will work on phosphate removal from aqueous solution using a novel biopolymer bead technology.      

Achintya Bezbaruah (NRG), Kim Owen, Daniel Erichsen, and Bruce Curtis (all three from Information Technology Services at NDSU) presented a join session on the WateRediscover International program. Bezbaruah and Owen attended the Internet2 Global summit in Denver, CO, and Erichsen joined from Fargo. Participants from West Fargo Liberty Middle School and Tezpur University Central School in India participated remotely to demonstrate how Internet2 can be used to promote STEM education. NRG’s WateRediscover Initiative provides a platform for K-12 students and teachers from across the globe to interact with resources persons from NDSU using online resources, such as Internet2, and learn about research methodologies. Bezbaruah coordinates the program designed to promote STEM education across the globe and guides student groups and their mentors on research projects. The program culminates each year in a live international virtual conference where students present their findings. Click here for more news...

The undergraduate researchers in NRG were featured by NDSU in a recent news coverage. With more than 1,600 products using nanotechnology on the market, the NRG team of undergraduate researchers at NDSU is examining how people perceive such products and how these products might ultimately affect the environment. Projects undertaken by undergraduate researchers Amanda Grosz, James Tibbles, Cody Ritt, Hannah Hoods, and Neal Dittrich were highlighted. Click here for more news...