Bio-Energy

Dr. Narendra Dutta Kaushika, PhD, formerly professor at the Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi and subsequently Director of reputed engineering institutions in Delhi and the National Capital Region, is a specialist in renewable energy and environment. His current research interests are solar photovoltaic and solar energy material devices and systems. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Technology, Malaysia, in 1997. He was also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Victorian Solar Energy Council, Melbourne, Australia, in 1983; the Australian National University, Canberra, in 1990; and Queensland University, Brisbane, Australia, in 1982. He is the author of more than 150 research publications. He has been a recipient of the S.S. Bhatnagar Research Endowment Award (Hariom Ashram Prerit) for research in energy conservation in 1987. He has promulgated the establishment of several research centers in engineering colleges, authored four books, and contributed to articles in several reputed journals, as well as authored chapters in books by international publishers. He has supervised 35 PhD thesis and has authored over 200 research papers. He has featured twice in the top 2% of scientists in the world, as per Standford University. He has been visiting research professor at Amity University, Noida, Ansal University, and Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar.

Prof. Renu Sharma is working as the Additional Dean, Student Affairs under the Faculty of Engineering & Technology at Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar. Prof. Sharma is a distinguished academic and research leader, globally recognized in the World's Top 2% Scientists Rankings in Energy by Stanford University (2023, 2024, 2025). Her accolades include the Women Researcher Award by Springer Nature (2024), Best Volunteering Award by IEEE Bhubaneswar Subsection (2024), INSc Research & Academic Excellence Awards (2022), Best Researcher Award (2020), and RULA Research Leadership Award. Prof. Sharma is also featured in Femina 2025 as a woman leader of Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (SOA) and listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World®? (2018-2020). Her research areas are Smart Grid, Soft Computing, Solar Photovoltaic Systems, Power System Scheduling, Evolutionary Algorithms, and Wireless Sensor Networks. She has been head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar, India for seven years and has mentored eight students for their PhD degrees. With 180+ SCI-indexed publications, she serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Power Electronics and has chaired IEEE ODICON, WIECON, PEDES conferences and several Springer conferences such as GTSCS, IEPCCT etc. She established Microgrid and Renewable Energy Labs and spearheading the 25,000+ sq. ft. AIC-SOA incubator. Internationally, Prof. Sharma represented SOA at EAIE Rotterdam, THE Asia Summit (Hong Kong), and many National/International prestigious events. Nationally, she led major events such as ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Centenary Celebrations, DST's National Children's Science Congress, INAE Annual Convention etc. Prof. Sharma's industry reach includes DRDO-recognized innovations and proposals for government energy projects. She is actively engaged in community outreach through NISE skill programs and IEEE initiatives, inspiring future women engineers.

Dr. Sonali Goel received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from Institute of Technical Education and Research, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department. Her research interests include solar photovoltaic systems, biomass and biogas systems, hybrid renewable energy systems, rural electrification, and electric vehicles. She has published two Indian patents and more than 48 international and national publications. She is currently the Review Editor of Solar Energy and the Review Editor of Smart Grids in Frontiers.