Prof. Sudhakar Yedla, an Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur (1996/M.Tech/AG/2000/PhD CE) is appointed as the Director of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar. A Professor at IGIDR and a Former Vice-Chancellor of Dravidian University, Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, Prof Yedla is a Civil Engineering graduate from Andhra University who completed his Masters and PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in the area of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering.
Joined IGIDR in 1999, Prof. Yedla is a Civil Engineer with Masters and PhD in Environmental Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He is also trained in Environmental Economics and Development Policy from World Bank Institute, USA and International Environmental Law from UN Institute in Switzerland and has served international institutions & universities such as Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan as a Policy Researcher; New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, USA as a Visiting Scholar; University of Ulsan, South Korea as Professor; Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand as Visiting Associate Professor and Professor. He has been serving as international consultant (SDG, GEF and Sustainable Cities) to a number of international and development agencies such as UNDP, Egypt, UNESCAP, UNEP, UNEP-RRC, ADB, World Bank, Sida etc.
Prof. Sudhakar Yedla
Director
National Institute of Technology, Srinagar
For the past 20 years, he has been associated with a number of academic institutions as board member and some important academic bodies such as Academic Senate of NIT Warangal, Executive Council of IGIDR, Academic Council of IGIDR and NIT Warangal. He published extensively in international journals and books and is invited by the peers in India and abroad on more than 125 occasions and participated in another 120 national and international conferences.
Guided 20 graduate students and served in Editorial Boards of a number of International Journals, Prof. Yedla has served as Court Member as the MHRD Nominee for the Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi. As a Vice-Chancellor of a State University of Government of Andhra Pradesh, he is popularly known for his strict, dynamic and reformative administration with a great vision for the University. He works in the areas of Environmental Economics, Valuation of Environment and Pollution, Urban Environmental Policy, Climate Change Mitigation, Sustainable Mobility, Urban Waste Management, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sustainable Cities and Development of Eco-Industrial Parks.
In his first address, Prof. Yedla acknowledged the remarkable legacy of NIT Srinagar, “Throughout its history, this institution has been a beacon of knowledge, a haven for intellectual curiosity, and a catalyst for positive change. Today, as I step into this role, I am fully aware of this responsibility and the immense potential that lies within our NIT Srinagar’s walls. My vision for NIT Srinagar is to make it one of the leading Institutes in the entire country,” he said.
He was chosen twice to evaluate Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) of UNDP India for 2012-17 programme cycle. Prof. Yedla has been advising Department of Urban Development and Environment and Forest on SDGs, and Sustainable Cities and was appointed as Advisor (Head), Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization, Government of India.
Prof. Yedla said nothing can be achieved without the support of administrative staff, faculty, colleagues, and students. It is a collective effort and we all have to make NIT Srinagar one of the best institutes of this country. My focus will be on fostering an environment that supports the growth and well-being of the NIT Srinagar and not boosts the interests of individuals. When the organization thrives, individuals also get benefits under its shadow.
He has more than 24 years of teaching and research experience with research focus that includes Climate Studies, Urban Environmental Management, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Mobility, Waste Management, Provision of Urban Services, Valuation of Environmental Services and Assessment of Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Development Initiatives.
Prof. Yedla has done his post-doctoral studies (PDF) at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and has a diploma in International Environmental Law (DIEL) from UNITAR, Switzerland with a certification from the World Bank Institute in Environmental Economics and Development Policy (CEEDP).
He has worked at several national and international institutions such as the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), in Japan, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, USA and Korean Institute of International Economic Policy (KIEP), South Korea. Before coming to NIT Srinagar, Prof. Yedla served NCERT as the Chairperson for the National Focus Group on Environmental Education for the National Curriculum Framework.
Prof. Yedla was nominated twice by MHRD to the Asian Institute of Technology as the Government of India’s seconded faculty member. He served as Project Director for a major regional research program in climate change (ARRPEEC) funded by SIDA and another multinational research initiative by UN-FAO in the area of ‘Roles of Agriculture’.
He has been widely consulted by international development agencies and think tanks and has worked with UNDP-India, UNDP-Egypt, UNESCAP, UNEP-RRC, UNEP-Regional Office, World Bank, Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations University, DFID, Research Council of UK and IGES, Japan on various consulting assignments.
Prof. Yedla has won eleven prestigious national and international fellowships and also won awards such as Fast Track Young Scientist Research Grant of DST, Government of India; Fellowship for Best Paper from GEF of the World Bank, Alexandria, and Egypt.
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Pic : Inaugural session of the Indo-US SPARC Workshop (L-R) – Professor Warren D. Seider from the University of Pennsylvania was present online; Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. N. R. Jana, HOD, Department of Biotechnology and Prof. Ramkrishna Sen, Department of Biotechnology (Convener) were present physically for the inauguration ceremony.
“Vetiver grass was used as a boundary for the plantation to check migration of nutrients. This grass if grown over the slopes of the slag dumps will further check the fugitive emissions and thereby reducing air pollution and erosion of slag onto adjacent habitations,” he added.
Talking about the findings, she further added, “Our study shows that cellulose nanocrystals derived from cucumber peels possess modifiable properties due to the presence of abundant hydroxyl groups, which resulted in better biodegradability and biocompatibility. These nanocellulose materials emerged as strong, renewable and economic material of the near future, due to unique properties like a high surface area to volume ratio, light in weight, and excellent mechanical properties. Thereby, such nanocrystals, when reinforced as nano-fillers in bio-composites films, can produce effective food packaging materials with low oxygen permeabilities.”
Research scholar N. Sai Prasanna said, “The crystallinity percentage as high as 74.1 % along with thermal stability of more than 200 °C negative zeta potential values (< -30 mV), and acid hydrolysis yield of 65.55%, make the material a strong nano-filler reinforcement as bio-nano composite. This offers the much needed mechanical, barrier, optical, rheological properties, nontoxicity, etc. required for food packaging materials which has the strong market potential to replace plastic.”
Paper cups are usually lined by a thin layer of hydrophobic film which is made of mostly plastic (polyethylene) and sometimes co-polymers to hold the liquid in the paper cup. Within 15 minutes this microplastic layer degrades as a reaction to hot water, says the first of its kind study conducted in India by Dr. Sudha Goel, Associate Professor at the Dept. of Civil Engineering and research scholars Ved Prakash Ranjan and Anuja Joseph studying Environmental Engineering and Management. 
The researchers followed two different procedures – in the first process, hot ultrapure (MilliQ) water (85–90 ◦C; pH~6.9) was poured into the disposable paper cups, and it was allowed to sit for 15 mins. The homogeneously mixed water was then analyzed for the presence of microplastics as well as additional ions that may have leached into the liquid from the paper cups. In the second process, paper cups were initially dipped in lukewarm (30–40 °C) MilliQ water (pH~6.9). Thereafter the hydrophobic film was carefully separated from the paper layer and exposed to hot MilliQ water (85–90 °C; pH~6.9) for 15 mins. and Changes in the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the plastic films were examined before and after exposure to hot water.
Explaining the exposure of 15 minutes, Prof. Goel linked its basis to a survey wherein the respondents confirmed consuming their beverage within 15 mins of obtaining it. 
The samples of paper cups were collected from popular stores across Kharagpur, West Bengal. “Our study indicates most plastic layers lining the paper cups were of HDPE (High-density polyethylene) grade, whereas only very few paper cups were lined with a copolymer of cellulose. However, the release of microplastics into the hot water was consistent in all samples irrespective of their grades,” remarked researcher Ved Prakash Ranjan. 
“Our hypothesis on the degradation of the plastic layer after exposure to hot water was confirmed through images obtained from the atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. Also, another study on the mechanical properties of the plastic film proved its deformation upon exposure to heat,” explained researcher Anuja Joseph.
“The silica extracted on purification has the potential of commercial grade silica which can further be used for production of metallurgical and solar grade silicon, confirmed the researchers,” said lead researcher Prof. A K Datta.
Dr. Gautam is engaged in fundamental and application-oriented cross-disciplinary research. He focuses on the interfaces of clean air engineering/science, human health and smart/sustainable living in cities/megacities. His current research touch on broad multidisciplinary areas of air pollution monitoring/modeling, low-cost sensing, nature-based solutions, climate change mitigation and developing innovative technological and passive (e.g. green infrastructure) solutions for air pollution exposure control for both developing and developed world.