Ricinus Communis: A Climate Resilient Commercial Crop for Sustainable Environment

Dr. Kuldeep Bauddh is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD), Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh, India. He earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from B.B. Ambedkar University, Lucknow, India. Dr. Bauddh specializes in teaching core areas of environmental sciences, including Environmental Pollution and Management, Environmental Toxicology, and Environmental Impact Assessment. His research primarily focuses on phytoremediation and sustainable agriculture. Dr. Bauddh has edited nine books and published 65 research papers in national and international journals, along with 33 book chapters. He has been awarded three R&D projects sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India.

Dr. Rana Pratap Singh, a Senior Professor (Retired) from Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, India, currently serves as the Director (Honorary) of The Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, an R & D initiative of PHSS Foundation for Science and Society, Lucknow, India. He is fellow of National Academy of Sciences, India and 4 other scientific organizations. Professor Singh earned his Ph.D. in Life Sciences, specializing in Nitrogen Metabolism in Plants, from Devi Ahilya University, Indore, in 1985. He has held visiting scientist positions at AIIMS, New Delhi, the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and Yunnan Agriculture University, Kunming, China. Recipient of eight national and state awards for his research and academic contributions, Prof. Singh has co-edited 18 books and authored over 180 research publications, garnering more than 7,600 citations (H-index: 44; i10-index: 109). He is the Editor-in-Chief of Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants (PMBP, IF-3.4) and serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. Currently, his research focuses on Climate-Resilient Multifunctional Microbial Stimulants for sustainable agriculture, as well as designing integrated below-ground and above-ground agroecosystems to maximize ecological and economic benefits.