Climate Change Conference 2009: Main Speaker Announcement

Dr. Tapan Chakrabarti obtained Master’s degree and Doctorate in Biochemistry from Nagpur University. He also qualified the Associate Membership Examination of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (AMIIChE) in Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, followed by LLB from Nagpur University. Dr. Chakrabarti joined as a scientist at NEERI and rose to Director Grade Scientist holding the position of Scientist and Head of Environmental Biotechnology Division at the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur. He has worked in the areas of environmental monitoring and environmental management with special reference to toxic wastewater and hazardous sludges using biotechnological tools, bioremediation of contaminated sites, biotechnological production of value-added chemicals from wastes, genotoxicity of toxic wastewaters and leachates, and toxicogenomics and proteomics. He has successfully carried out the full scale projects on bioremediation of acrylonitrile contaminated site at Kandla, Gujarat, and stabilization and disposal of 250 cubic meter of ten percent arsenic bearing solution in the state of Goa. He has alssuccessfully handled various projects with national and international agencies / organizations during his tenure as a scientist at NEERI.

Dr. Chakrabarti has been nominated in various national committees. He is presently the Chairman of the Department of Biotechnology Task Force on Biodiversity Conservation and Environment. He has been regularly invited as a faculty member in various workshops organized by CII, FICCI, ICMA, Central and State Pollution Control Boards and other organizations to deliberate on various aspects of hazardous waste management and remediation of contaminated sites. He was also an alternate member of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee constituted for hazardous waste management in India. Presently, Dr. Chakrabarti is coordinating a CSIR Network Project, under 11th Five Year Plan, titled “Remediation / eco-restoration and clean–up of contaminated ground and surface water resources” involving ten CSIR laboratories.

Dr. Chakrabarti has published many research papers in national and international journals having high impact factor. He has been awarded national and international patents for his research. He is a recipient of many awards and honours. Among these, the noteworthy are: Pitamber Pant National Environment Fellowship Award conferred by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India; Fellow of the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences; selection as the Country Expert for the survey of hazardous waste management in India by Asian Productivity Council, Japan and Flora-Tech Award on Environment given by Flora-Tech Laboratory, Nagpur.

William Alan Rodgers has over 30 years of tropical field experience and project management and development experience in natural resource management, and biodiversity conservation, evaluation and capacity development. His most recent position was with UNDP GEF as Regional Technical Advisor for Biodiversity, Sustainable Land Management and Waters Projects, retiring in 2006. He is currently a free-lance consultant operating out of the UK and Eastern Africa.

He has held positions with the Wildlife Institute of India as an FAO specialist in Wildlife Conservation Planning and Habitat Management; with the University of Dar-es-Salaam as Wildlife Coordinator in the Department of Zoology; and as Senior Research Officer of the Wildlife Division with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Tanzania.

Dr. Rodgers received his M.Sc. from the University of Aberdeen, his Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi, and has over 100 publications.