Event Date
Speaker Bio
Samir Kumar Khanal is a Professor of Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong (HKUST) and Dept of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). Prior to joining HKUST, Prof. Khanal spent nearly 17.5 years at UHM. He was a Post-doctoral Research Associate for 2 years and then a Research Assistant Professor for 4 years in the Dept. of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University. He received MS in Environmental Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. His PhD degree is in Environmental Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong. Prof. Khanal is a globally recognized researcher in the field of anaerobic digestion, especially anaerobic digestion, nanobubble technology, aquaponics, waste-to-resources, and micro/macro-algal cultivation. Prof. Khanal is an internationally recognized researchers with a Scopus H-index of 65.0 (citations over1,6000) and a Google Scholar H-index of 75.0 (citations over 22,500). Prof. Khanal was awarded the highly prestigious Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (2018), Elsevier’s Impactful Research Award (2018), CTAHR Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (2016), and Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research & Creative Work (2024). Prof. Khanal is a highly cited researcher (web of science). He is an Editor-in-Chief of highly prestigious journal, Bioresource Technology.
Seminar Outline
Micro/nanobubbles are tiny bubbles that have wide ranging applications in environmental remediation and agriculture. Due to their several unique properties, such as their high gas solubility, high electrostatic interaction, and their potential formation of reactive oxygen species, micro/nanobubbles can provide opportunities in various environmental remediation applications and different microbial-mediated processes where poorly soluble gases are difficult to supply using conventional technology. The perpetual generation of reactive oxygen species could also offer new avenues in pathogen and biofilm control. With rising population growth and soaring food demand, there is growing demand to enhance food production. Due to the limitations of conventional aeration methods to increase the oxygen solubility threshold, applying an innovative Micro/nanobubbles technology could bring dissolved oxygen levels beyond normal saturation, thus bringing improvements in plant yields. This presentation will showcase some of his efforts in applying nanobubble technology in controlled environment agriculture systems, including aquaponic systems using air and oxygen nanobubbles to enhance plant yields and nutrient solubilization, as well as the use of carbon dioxide nanobubbles to improve macroalgae biomass production. Dr. Khanal will also share his experience as EiC of BITE and highlights some ethical considerations in in research and publication.