Leading young scientists from 16 countries to meet Germany’s sustainability research elite on 17-26 October and visit green science’s hotspot
⦁ Official award ceremony takes place at largest Green Talents alumni meeting to date
⦁ A highly diversified programme of workshops and events awaits Green Talents alumni, German sustainability researchers, companies and government representatives.
Group Picture Green Talents
Picture_Chowdhury_Shamik
17 October 2016 New Delhi: The Green Talents Award held under the patronage of the German Research Minister Professor Johanna Wanka is recognizing young talented researchers for the eighth time and providing a platform to share their innovative and creative ideas which aim to answer pressing sustainability and environmental protection questions of our time. A high-ranking jury of experts selected 25 up-and-coming scientists out of 757 applications from over 104 countries. The award consists of the “Green Talents – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development” where the awardees travel through Germany for two weeks, to visit hotspots of green science and to meet the sustainability research elite. In the following year, the Green Talents have the possibility to conduct research in Germany for up to three months.
This year’s “Green Talents” can expect to interact with leading experts and some of the most renowned research institutions and companies, including the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Hamburg University of Technology, the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Siemens AG and the Southern African Service Center for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management.
India’s ‘Smart City‘project, and other recent initiatives established to form a sustainable region involving citizens, also focuses on aspects such as environmental and other green initiatives which has been a priority since the Urban Renewal Mission Plan.
The 25 awardees will be honoured during a festive award ceremony at the Green Talents Alumni Meeting 2016 attended by representatives of the participating institutions, their experts, jury members, politicians and other distinguished guests. Minister Professor Johanna Wanka will open the conference; Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, will hold a keynote speech on “Climate effects and vulnerability.”
Shamik Chowdhury (29), an Indian PhD student in Environmental Engineering from the National University of Singapore is also one of the Green Talents attending the awards ceremony. His specialisation area, ‘Green synthesis of Graphene Structures’, to provide innovative societal solutions for a sustainable development platform, really impressed the jury.
The conference’s highly diversified programme offers all of its participants countless networking possibilities. During the conference Green Talents can get connected to the science community and exchange ideas with key innovators and lay the foundations for future cooperation. Such efforts are supported by the invitation to return to Germany for a fully funded research stay at an institution of the Green Talent’s choice in the year after the award.
Both conference and festive award ceremony will be held on 27 October 2016 at Kosmos, Berlin.
Shamik CHOWDHURY, PhD Student in Environmental Engineering (29, India)
Shamik Chowdhury’s interdisciplinary research combines urban sustainability, resource efficiency, cleaner production and eco-innovation. His objective is to create green technologies based on renewable feedstocks in order to promote more sustainable city life.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
Research Focus: green synthesis of 2D graphene nanosheets and their self-assembly into advanced 3D macrostructures for sustainable urban development
As our earth becomes increasingly urban, cities and their inhabitants must foster more sustainable stewardship of the planet’s natural resources. In his doctoral research, Chowdhury focuses on the development and application of novel 3D graphene monoliths (GMs) to promote economically viable green technologies. His aim is to improve the quality of urban living through the application of 3D GMs in smart devices such as ultra-efficient solar panels, cost-effective batteries and energy-efficient lighting.
One of his major accomplishments is the production of high quality graphene in large quantities from sustainable precursors, i.e., empty fruit bunches (EFB) of oil palm. Utilizing EFB biomass as a feedstock to mass-produce graphene has the potential to solve the waste disposal crisis in oil palm growing countries with potential revenue benefits.
Chowdhury holds a BTech and MTech in biotechnology and is currently a PhD student in environmental engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). For his scientific achievements, he has received numerous awards including the Sustainable Technology Award from the Institution of Chemical Engineers (Singapore) in 2015 for his research on carbon capture using innovative absorbents. He was also granted the President’s Graduate Fellowship by NUS for his doctoral study and research. During his academic career, he has written and reviewed a number of manuscripts for several impactful journals and has presented papers at various international conferences. Working as a teaching assistant at NUS, he strives to motivate his students ‘to integrate newly acquired knowledge and skills into their lives while creating a positive impact on society and eventually, the planet as a whole.’
The jury was impressed by Chowdhury’s innovative, cross-disciplinary approach to advancing sustainability in urban cities. The jury valued how the 3D GMs can offer competent solutions to problems of societal concern.