Pratim Biswas


Pratim Biswas is the Lucy and Stanley Lopata Professor of Environmental Engineering Science, Asst. Vice Chancellor for International Programs, and Chair of the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also Director of MAGEEP, the McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environmental Partnership. He received his doctoral degree from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena in 1985, and his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1980. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Engineering in 2019 "for advancing the science of aerosol dynamics and particle removal technologies."

Research

Dr. Biswas' expertise is in the area of Aerosol Science and Technology. Specifically, it is in the area of understanding particle formation and growth in high temperature environments. The understanding is then used to control emissions of particles from sources such as combustion devices; or to synthesize materials with controlled properties in the nanometer size regimes. He is one of the top aerosol research scientists in the world with one of the best and most well-equipped aerosol labs in the USA.
A key area of application of his work has been in the Energy and Environmental technology arena. His teaching and research interests include aerosol science and engineering; nanoparticle technology; energy and environmental nanotechnology, environmentally benign energy production, air quality engineering; combustion; materials processing for environmental technologies, environmentally benign processing, and the thermal sciences.

Career

Dr. Biswas began his career on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati, where he rose through the ranks to become a full professor and director of the university's Environmental Engineering Science Division and also spent a one-year sabbatical at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He moved to Washington University as the inaugural Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor in 2000.
At Washington University he has assembled a strong group of aerosol researchers who collectively work on a range of topics in aerosol science and engineering. These faculty work in areas of aerosol science and technology ranging from particle formation, growth, transport, measurement, control and applications. From 2006 to 2007 he was a President of the American Association for Aerosol Research.

Major awards