Ajit Behera is currently working as an Asst. Professor in the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering at National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. He completed his PhD from IIT-Kharagpur in 2016. He received the National "IEI Young Engineer Award" in 2022, "Yuva Rattan Award" in 2020, "C.V. Raman Award" in 2019 and "young faculty award" in 2017. He has published more than 202 publications including book, book chapter, and journals. 5 students have completed their PhD under his supervision.

More than 10 PhD students from his institute/outside the institute are working on different research projects with him. He has successfully completed 25 industrial/research projects and organized 12 industrial academia collaborating conferences. He is listed in top 2% scientist list in the world ranking. Manisha Priyadarshini received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India. With over 30 research papers published in various international refereed journals and conference proceedings, she has showcased her research at numerous national and international conferences. Collaborating on research projects with academicians, research scholars, professors, and industrialists, she has contributed significantly to the field.

She has also served as a peer reviewer for international journals.