Virender Sharma
University of Copenhagen, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Denmark
Earth and Environmental Sciences | L25
Dr. Virender K. Sharma received his Ph.D. from Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), University of Miami in 1989. He is currently a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health (SPH), Texas A&M University. He is also serving as the Director of the Environment and Sustainability Program at SPH. Dr. Sharma has made exceptional contributions in the field concerning the occurrence and remediation of toxins, antibiotics, antibiotics resistance bacteria and genes, nanoparticles, and microplastics/nanoplastics to address real-world challenges of water, energy, food sustainability and public health The mission of Dr. Sharma is “Saving Lives even One Life”. Dr. Sharma has made seminal contributions in the areas of chemistry and environmental applications of ferrate. Ferrate is an earth-abundant iron-based molecule, in which iron is in the plus 6-oxidation state (FeVIO42-), i.e., it is depleted of its electrons, and hence can serve as an advanced material to perform as an efficient surface disinfectant in hospital settings and as a water treatment oxidant. Ferrate has demonstrated multiple roles in performing disinfection, coagulation, and oxidation in various applications. A wide range of recalcitrant pollutants in water can be degraded by “Activated Ferrate” (FeVO43- and (FeIVO44- or FeIVO32-)) in seconds, which would otherwise take several minutes to hours by ferrate without activation. Importantly, he has demonstrated techniques that work at high, and even enhanced, efficiency in water containing commonly occurring natural organic matter that often inhibits the effectiveness of oxidative processes in removing micropollutants. Dr. Sharma has published > 460 peer-reviewed journal publications. Dr. Sharma has been recognized as Highly Cited Researcher (Top 1 %) by Clarivate (Web of Science). Dr. Sharma’s research has high impact (Google Scholar citations: >43,500; H-Index 99). He is Fellow of AAAS, ACS, EurASc, and RSC and received many international awards.
More information on Dr. Sharma at https://public-health.tamu.edu/directory/sharma.html