Dr. Kumar is involved in the mandated research activities of the institute and also acts as quality manager of the institute related to the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Dr. Kumar has expertise on extraction and functional characterization of proteins and other bioactive compounds from plant-based matrices. Currently, he is working on a project funded by Science for Equity, Empowerment, and Development (SEED) Division of DST (Government of India). Dr. Kumar has been honored with several awards throughout his academic career including ICAR’s national talent scholarship and junior research fellowship during undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He is an active member of the International Cotton Researchers Association, Indian Society of Cotton Improvement, Indian Fibre Society, and many other professional societies. He has published more than 120 research and review articles in peer-reviewed international journals Dr. Sharma is working as a scientist in the Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division at ICAR—Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, in Mumbai-400019, India. She is involved in the mandated research activities of the institute and has expertise on extraction and functional characterization of bioactive compounds from plant-based matrices. Dr. Kanika has been honoured with CSIR junior research fellowship during her Ph.D. She is an active member of Indian Society of Cotton Improvement. Sneh Punia Bangar is an assistant professor in the Department of Packaging Science and Graphic Media at Rochester Institute of Technology, New York. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences at Clemson University, SC, USA. Her research focuses on the design and development of sustainable biopolymer-based films, coatings, and packaging materials derived from starch, cellulose, lignin, and other natural polymers. A key aspect of her research is adding value to agricultural and food industry waste by extracting functional biopolymers with applications in food and packaging. She has authored or coauthored more than 100 research/review articles, 15 authored/edited books, 35 book chapters, and 20 conference proceedings/seminars. She is also the associate editor of the Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization (Springer), an editorial board member of the International Journal of Food Science and Technology (Wiley), academic editor of the Journal of Food Quality (Hindawi), and a section editor of Current Food Science and Technology Reports (Springer). Her significant contributions to academia and research were acknowledged with the “Award of Honour in 2019 for her outstanding achievements. She is the recipient of the GSG Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant (2022) and CAFLS Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award (2023) at Clemson University, USA. Dr. Bangar received the “Professor Gurcharan Bains Award from the Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) in 2023 for her incredible contribution to Food Science and Technology. In addition, she has been listed (2023 and 2024) in “World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists, published by Stanford University, USA. Dr. Bangar was awarded Clemson University’s Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Award for 2024. She has an H-index of 72 with ~15000 citations, as per Google Scholar.
