Nishith Verma

Nishith Verma is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. His research focuses on environmental pollution control, particularly using carbon-based nanomaterials for air and water purification applications. He has established himself as a leading researcher in the synthesis and application of carbon nanofibers and nanoparticles for adsorption and catalytic processes.

Dr. Verma received his PhD from the University of Arizona, USA (1991-95) with a thesis on "Transport and Distribution of Gaseous Impurities in Ultra-High Purity Gas Distribution Systems" under Prof. Farhang Shadman. He completed his B.Tech (Hons) from IIT Kharagpur (1982-86).

His primary research interests include Adsorption, Environmental Pollution Control, Synthesis and Application of Carbon Nanofibres and Nanoparticles, and Lattice Boltzmann Modelling and Simulation. His work centers around developing carbon-based adsorbents for removing atmospheric pollutants like CO₂, NO_x, and SO_x, as well as water contaminants such as arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metals. He has pioneered novel liquid-solid contactors for wastewater treatment and developed mathematical models based on lattice Boltzmann methods to predict breakthrough curves in adsorption processes.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong interdisciplinary focus spanning environmental engineering, materials science, and computational modeling. His work demonstrates consistent innovation in carbon nanomaterial synthesis, with applications ranging from air pollution control to water disinfection and energy devices. The integration of experimental work with theoretical modeling is a hallmark of his research approach.

Dr. Verma has received several prestigious awards including:

• Raj and Neera Singh Chair at IIT Kanpur (2012-2014)
• Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship
• AICTE career award for young teachers (1998)
• University of Arizona Graduate Fellowship (1991-92)
• Best Poster award in Fuel Cells 2014 Science & Technology Conference
• INSA-DFG Visiting Fellowship

He has successfully completed 18 major research projects funded by agencies including CSIR, DST, DBT, Shell, Samsung, Unilever, Chevron, DMSRDE, and DRDO, with total funding exceeding several crores of rupees. His research has resulted in multiple patents related to carbon nanofiber-based materials for environmental applications and energy devices.

Dr. Verma maintains active research facilities at IIT Kanpur including FB-452 office, CL-201D laboratory, and CESE-Lab-10, where his team works on advanced synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials, environmental remediation technologies, and computational modeling of transport phenomena in complex systems.