Sumit is a scientist in the Bioenergy group at the Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India. His research group focuses on three linked research areas:

  • Developing strategies for energy recovery from lignocellulosic biomass, primarily using agricultural residues to produce various biofuels like biohydrogen, bioethanol, and biomethane. The novel strategies utilize lignocellulolytic, fermentative, and methanogenic anaerobes instead of expensive and polluting chemicals.
  • Exploring the taxonomic and ecological diversity and metabolic interactions of diverse microbial groups from anaerobic environments using both cultivation and ‘omics based approaches.
  • Anaerobic fungal cultivation, characterization and taxonomy, and to date his research includes the discovery of nine anaerobic fungal genera.

Sumit is also an expert in the microscopy of anaerobic fungi and their morphology. Below is one of his many beautiful images, in this case showing an anaerobic fungal sporangium with an exogenous type of development.

Sumit photo

Sumit is a recipient of research fellowships from the ‘Indian Council of Agricultural Research’ India, and ‘The Stapledon Memorial Trust’ UK. He has also received research grants from both government and private funding agencies, including the Science & Engineering Research Board, Department of Biotechnology, KPIT Engineering Ltd, and ONGC Energy Centre Trust.

Learn more about Sumit and his research at Google Scholar | Research Gate | Loop | Twitter