Dr. Nirakar Pradhan is an early career researcher and currently working as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Hong Kong Baptist University, HKSAR. Dr. Pradhan received his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering from the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (India), followed by a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Management from the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and a doctoral degree in Environmental Technology from the University Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (France). In the past, he has been awarded Erasmus Mundus Fellowship and Asian Development Bank-Japanese Scholarship Program to pursue higher studies and has been adjudged as the best academic performance during his master's degree. Later he obtained postdoctoral experience from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Dr. Pradhan has extensive experience providing engineering and sustainable solution support for industries and non-governmental organizations. Dr. Pradhan's research interests focus on resource recovery from municipal organic waste, nutrient removal from wastewater, and advanced biomaterial development from organic waste.

• Microbial fermentation and resource recovery from biowaste
• Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production from food waste
• Biological nutrient removal and wastewater treatment
• Mathematical and kinetic modeling