Dr. Mihir Kumar Purkait is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Dean of Alumni and External Affairs, and former Head of the Centre for the Environment at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG). Prior to joining as faculty in IITG (2004), he received his PhD and MTech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP), after completing his BTech and BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta. He has received several awards, such as the Dr. A.V. Rama Rao Foundation's Best PhD Thesis and Research Award in Chemical Engineering from IIChE (2007), BOYSCAST Fellow Award (2009-10) from the DST, Young Engineers Award in the Field of Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Engineers (India, 2009), and Young Scientist Medal Award from the Indian National Science Academy (INSA, 2009). Prof.
Purkait is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) UK and Fellow of the Institute of Engineers (FIE) India. He is the director of two incubated companies (namely RD Grow Green India Pvt. Ltd. and Vixudha Bio Products Ltd.). He is also technical advisor of Gammon India Ltd. and Indian Oil Corporation, Bethkuchi, for their water treatment plants. His current research activities are focused on four distinct areas, namely advanced separation technologies, waste to energy, smart materials for various applications, and process intensification.
In each of the areas, his goal is to synthesize stimuli-responsive materials and to develop a more fundamental understanding of the factors governing the performance of chemical and biochemical processes. He has more than 20 years of experience in academics and research and has published more than 200 papers in different reputable journals (Citation: 10318, h-index = 58, 10 index = 132). He has eight patents and has completed 24 sponsored and consultancy projects from various funding agencies. Prof. Purkait has guided 20 PhD students. He is the author of six books and several book chapters published in reputed internal publications.