Dr. E. V. Ramasamy

Dr. E V Ramasamy

Professor of Eminence

School of Environmental Sciences

evramasamy@mgu.ac.in

evramasamymgu@gmail.com  

+91 9447095935 (M)

Professor of Eminence, School of Environmental Sciences,

Former Dean, Faculty of Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences

Co-PI , RUSA II Project on Climate Smart Soil ,

School of Environmental Sciences

Mahatma Gandhi University, PD Hills (PO), Kottayam, Kerala-686 560, India

Phone(Mobile) : +919447095935 , Email       : evramasamy@mgu.ac.in

                                                        Alt. Email : evramasamymgu@gmail.com

Dr E.V. Ramasamy has retired recently as Professor from School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala , India. Currently he is serving as Professor of Eminence at School of Environmental Sciences, M.G. University. He has also served as Dean of Faculty of Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of School of Environmental Sciences , Mahatma Gandhi University. He is currently supervising as Co-Investigator of Two RUSA funded projects at the School of Environmental Sciences , MGU. In his 30 years of professional career, he has guided 16 PhD scholars, 30 MPhil scholars and 135 research publications including four books to his credit.

He works broadly on Environmental Biotechnology focusing on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management , Wastewater Treatment using Anaerobic Techniques and on  water pollution due to heavy metals and microplastics. His work on Earthworms and soil carbon dynamics has been published in Scientific Reports a journal from Nature publishing group.  His team also work on the contaminants of Vembanad lake – one of the three Ramsar sites in Kerala, India.

His paper on Microplastics in the sediments of Vembanad Lake was the First report on Microplastics from India.

He has also participated in Indian Arctic Expedition (IAE Summer batch 2019) and Indian Scientific Expedition to Southern Ocean (Antarctic Coast) ISESO 2020, in both these expeditions he has done research on Microplastics.  The findings of the Arctic Expedition have been published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin (Elsevier). His book titled ‘Microplastics in Human Consumption ‘has been published by CRC press , released in March 2023 – probably first book (Authored book – not edited book) on Microplastics from India. He has been awarded with DUO-India 2020  Professor Fellowship Award  by ASEM-DUO Fellowship Program (Seoul, Korea). 

Academic Profile :

Education         :   PhD        (Pondicherry University)

                              M Tech (IIT – Kharagpur)

Area of Specialization:   Environmental Pollution & Environmental Biotechnology 

Research  Contributions :  

1. i) Marine Debris :   Marine Plastics and Microplastics monitoring;
2. ii) Polar Research :   Microplastics monitoring at Ny-Alesund (Arctic) and

                                               Southern Ocean (Antarctic Waters)

iii) Wetland research :  Water Pollution Studies – Microplastics , Heavy metals

1. iv) Climate Change :     Vegetation Carbon Pool , Soil Carbon Dynamics                

                                                  GHG emission monitoring

1. v) Waste Management : Solid waste treatment , wastewater and landfill

                                                   leachate treatment with Anaerobic reactors,

                                                   composting & Vermicomposting

1. vi) Bioenergy :  Biomethanation, Microbial Fuel cells

           vii) Soil Pollution           :  Pesticide contaminated soil ; Bioremediation of oil contaminated

                                                      soil ; Phytoremediation

   Thesis supervision 

                              PhD    Awarded    :      16 

                             PhD    Ongoing     :      06

Post Doctoral Fellowship (PDF) Mentoring  completed : 02 (DST – NPDF ; UGC –DSK PDF)

MPhil     Projects                                   :     40

MSc dissertations                                   :     50

Technical Publications        Total      :    130

Books                                                :     04

Book chapters                                   :     08

International Peer reviewed Journals                                :       50 

(One paper published in  ‘Scientific Reports’  from nature publishing group)

                      Indian Journals                                  :      18

                      Conference Papers                            :      50

Citations   (as on 13 October 2022)

H- index                             :  28

i10 index                            :   47

Google Scholar Citations   :   2416

Research Projects 

Completed

1. MoEF – Earthworm species diversity studies at Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (Budget 5.78 Lakhs).
2.  UGC – Municipal Solid Waste Management with high-solid anaerobic digestion and vermitechnology (Budget 10.08 Lakhs).
3. WGDP-  A comparative assessment, mapping, and modeling of Soil erosion in the upland sub-water sheds of Meenachil and Manimala Rivers( Budget 3.86 Lakhs)
4. MoES – Chemical transformation and bioaccumulation of mercury in Vembanad wetland and Cochin near shore areas ( Budget- 64.93 Lakhs)
5. Department of space, GOI– National vegetation carbon pool assessment; a prestigious National project undertaken in collaboration with ISRO (Budget- 5.12 Lakhs).
6. MoES through National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) Chennai : Microplastics contamination in sediment and selected Benthic organisms of Arabian Sea Coast and a few estuaries of Kerala. (Budget 26.2Lakh)

Ongoing

    Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Thiruvananthapuram: Monitoring and assessment of microplastic pollution in water, Sediment and selected biota of Vembanad Lake, Kerala  (Budget 13.53Lakh)

RESEARCH PAPERS – Published in International Peer reviewed Journals (Selected- 10)

1. E.V. Ramasamy, Sruthy Shini, Ajay Kumar Harit, Mahesh Mohan, and Mechirackal Balan Binish (2021). Microplastic Pollution in surface sediment of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Arctic. Marine Pollution Bulletin (Elsevier), 173, 112986, 1-5. .(Imp Factor: 5.553)
2. Sruthi S N and E.V.Ramasamy (2018). Enrichment of soil organic carbon by native earthworms in a patch of tropical soil, Kerala, India : First report. Scientific Reports (nature publishing group) 8:5784. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24086-8.(Imp Factor: 4.379
3. S. Sruthy and E.V.Ramasamy (2016). Microplastic pollution in Vembanad Lake, Kerala, India: The first report of microplastics in lake and estuarine sediments in India, Environmental Pollution (Elsevier) 222, 315-322. .(Imp Factor: 8.071)
4. Shyleshchandran, M. N., Mohan, M., & E.V.Ramasamy (2018). Risk assessment of heavy metals in Vembanad Lake sediments (south-west coast of India), based on acid-volatile sulfide (AVS)-simultaneously extracted metal (SEM) approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research (Springer), 25(8), 7333-7345. .(Imp Factor: 4.443)
5. Arunbabu, V., Indu, K. S., & Ramasamy, E. V. (2017). Leachate pollution index as an effective tool in determining the phytotoxicity of municipal solid waste leachate. Waste Management (Elsevier), 68, 329-336. .(Imp Factor: 7.145)
6. Ramasamy EV, Jayasooryan KK, Shylesh Chandran MS, Mahesh Mohan (2017). Total and Methyl Mercury in the Water, Sediment and Fishes of Vembanad, a Tropical Backwater System, India, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. Vol 189 (130) .(Imp Factor: 2.513)
7. ShyleshChandran, M. S., Ramasamy, E. V., Mohan, M., Jayasooryan, K. K., Augustine, T., & Mohan, K. (2019). Distribution and risk assessment of trace metals in multifarious matrices of Vembanad Lake system, Peninsular India, Marine Pollution Bulletin (Elsevier), Vol 145 ,490-98. .(Imp Factor: 5.553)
8. ShyleshChandran, M.S., Mohan, M., Ramasamy, E.V., Sreelakshmi, U., Pandit, G.G., Tiwari, M., Sahu, S.K., Bhangare, R.C. and Kannan, V.M.(2019). The historical trend in trace metal enrichment in core sediments from Cochin Estuary, Southwest coast of India, Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management (Elsevier). Vol 11, 100203. .(Imp Factor: 6.1)
9. Arunbabu, V., S. Sruthy, Ignatius Antony and E.V.Ramasamy (2015). Sustainable greywater management with Axonopus compressus (broadleaf carpet grass) planted in sub surface flow constructed wetlands, Journal of Water Process Engineering (Elsevier), 7, 153-160. .(Imp Factor: 5.485)
10. Bindu,T., and E.V. Ramasamy (2008) . Recovery of energy from Taro ( Colocasia esculenta ) with solid-feed anaerobic digesters (SOFADs), Waste Management (Elsevier),28, 396-405.(Imp Factor: 7.145)

BOOKS : 04

1. E.V.Ramasamy and Ajay Kumar Harit (2023): Microplastics in Human Consumption, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742,129 pages, ISBN: 9781032063256 (hbk)
2. Tasneem Abbasi, Khan FI, E.V.Ramasamy ,Abbasi SA (2013). Regional EIA and Risk Assessment in a Fast Developing Country ,. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York, 437 pages. ISBN 978-1- 61942-234-6
3. S. A. Abbasi and E.V.Ramasamy (2001) Solid Waste Management with Earthworms, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi, 178 pages. ISBN 81- 7141-587-3
4. S. A. Abbasi and E.V.Ramasamy (1999) Biotechnological Methods of Pollution Control, 1999. Orient Longman (Universities Press India Ltd.) Hyderabad, 168 pages, ISBN 81 7371 098 8

BOOK CHAPTERS : 08 

1. K.J. Sajithkumar and E.V. Ramasamy (2021). Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) as proton exchange membrane (PEM) in single chambered microbial fuel cells (MFCs) In: D.A. Jadhav, S. Pandit, S. Gajalakshmi, M. P. Shah (Eds) Scaling Up of Microbial Electrochemical Systems From Reality to Scalability, Elsevier, , Netherlands, 117-135 pp.
2. E.V.Ramasamy, Sruthi S N, A.K.Harit, N.Babu (2019) Microplastics in Human Consumption: Table Salt Contaminated with Microplastics. In: S.Babel, A.Haarstrick, M.S.Babel, A.Sharp (Eds.) Microplastics in the Water Environment , Cuvillier Verlag, Gottingen, Germany, 74-80 pp.

3. E.V.Ramasamy and S.Sujatha (2014). Vermicomposting : A Potential Option for Weed Management. In : ‘Biology and Ecology of Tropical Earthworms’ – P.Chaudhuri and S.M. Singh (Ed.), ISBN 978-93-5056-509-4, Discovery Publishing House (P) Ltd, New Delhi , India , 209-222.

4. Bindu ,T and E.V.Ramasamy (2007).Utilization of the pernicious weed Taro (Colocasia esculenta) in wastewater treatment and as a source of Methane and Manure , In : ‘New frontiers of Environmental Biotechnological application ‘’ – S.C. Santra (Ed.), ENVIS centre on Biotechnology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India, 171 – 184.
5. Ramasamy E.V. and Abbasi, S.A. Emerging trends in biotechnological pollution control methods, in: Environmental pollution and its control, S.A.Abbasi (Ed.), Cogent International, Pondicherry, 1998.
6. Abbasi, S.A., Naseema Abbasi, Nipaney, P.C.and E.V.Ramasamy (1995) Energy forecasting – diagnosing failures and examining criteria for the future, in: Futurology – Techniques & Application (Ed.) – S.A.Abbasi, Discovery Publ. House, New Delhi, 144-151.
7. Ramasamy E.V. and Abbasi, S.A. (1995) Energy recovery with pollution control: breakthroughs in anaerobic fermentation, In : Renewable energy development and management, (Ed.) – S.A.Abbasi International Book Distributors, Dehradun.
8. Nipaney, P.C. and E.V.Ramasamy (2000) COBAS : Cost benefit analysis of anaerobic digester systems, In:  computer aided environmental management, Discovery publishing house, New Delhi.

Achievements/ Awards

1. DUO-India 2020 Professor Fellowship Award by ASEM-DUO Fellowship Program (Seoul, Korea) in 2019. 
2. Awarded CSIR Research Associateship, Pondicherry University , India (July 1995 – 1998)
3. Selection Committee Member :

           Selection of faculty members :  Pondicherry University; Mahatma Gandhi University                            Selection of Scientist and  scientific personnel :

1. i) Centre for   Water Resource Development and Management (CWRDM), Calicut

            ii) Institute for Land and Disaster Management (ILDM) , Thiruvananthapuram

            iii) Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekady. 

1. Participation in (International)  Expeditions  / Cruises:

1.      i)  Indian Arctic Expedition (Summer batch 2, 2019) to Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Arctic
2. ii) Indian Scientific Expedition to Southern Ocean (Antarctic waters) ISESO 2020,

                            (50 days cruise experience)

1. 1. Participant of (International)Flagship meetings :  Organised by Norwegian Polar Research Institute (NPI), Norway

22. i)   Nutrient Cycle in the Arctic workshop in Orvieto, Italy, 20-22. September 2022
23. ii) Ny-Ålesund Kongsfjorden Flagship  Meeting in Tromsø, Norway,

                     26-28.September 2022.

              iii) Ny-Ålesund Kongsfjorden Flagship  Meeting in Oslo, Norway,

                     29 – 30 October 2023.

5. Delivered oral presentation/ Plenary Lectures / Expert lectures at :
6. Svalbard Science Congress (SSC) , Nov 2019, Oslo, Norway
7. International workshop on Microplastics in the Environment , August 2019, Koh Samui, Thailand.

• Bilateral plastic workshop organised jointly by Norwegian Polar Research Institute (NPI) & National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), of India, Goa held at NCPOR, Goa, India, during 2-3 December 2019.

1. Plenary speaker in biennial LAKE symposium during 2020, 2022 and 2024, organised by Indian Institute of Science (IISc ), Bangalore.
2. Invited as expert speaker at National Workshop on Microplastics Research : Networking and Collaborations , IIT Madras, March 1-2, 2024, Chennai.
3. Plenary lecture delivered as a panellist in the European Union (EU)-India, Trade and Technology Council (TTC) online workshop on ‘Assessment and Monitoring Tools for Marine Plastic Litter’, 8 November 2024, organised jointly by EU and Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India.

• Plenary speaker in the mini symposium on ‘Microplastics: a chemical perspective’, an off-line symposium organised at RUDN University [Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia], RUDN University, Moscow , Russia during 18-20 November 2024.

7. 7.        Research Evaluation :
8. i) Research Projects                        :  10 ( UGC, DST, CSIR, KSCSTE, DoECC)
9.    ii) PhD Theses  evaluation             :  25 National ;     03 International theses

                  iii) Journal Paper peer reviewing   : 30

( Bioresource Technology, Journal of Cleaner Production; Environmental Pollution; Marine Pollution Bulletin; Ecological Engineering; Chemosphere; Waste Management; Environmental  Science and Pollution Research)   

8. Membership in Professional Bodies / Expert member in Government Committees /

       Academic bodies

1. International Level
2. Member Working Group II of India –Japan collaborative project initiated by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) GoI and Japan Government on Microplastics in Arctic Ocean. JAMSTEC in Japan and NCCR Chennai and MGU, Kottayam form the Indian side partners of the project.
3. Member, Working Group III of India –Japan collaborative project initiated by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) ,GoI and Japan Government on Plastics waste management – India project . NIES , Japan and MGU, Kottayam, IIM Calicut and Calicut municipal Corporation are Indian side partners.

1. National Level

 i) Member, Committee on Environmental Clearance for proposals related to Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPA) and Antarctic Specially Managed Areas (ASMA) , National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India, Goa.

                  ii) Life Member , Ocean Society of India (OSI) August 2021 – till date

                  iii) Life Member , Indian Science Congress Association (ICSA) , Kolkatta, India

                 iv) Life Member , National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI), Mumbai. 

1. State Level
2. i) Member, State Waste Management Policy Committee, Suchitwa Mission

                Local Self  Government Department (LSGD), Govt. of Kerala, India.  (October 2012 )

1. ii) Member, Technical Committee constituted for evaluation of Indigenous Technologies developed    at various parts of the state or outside the state, Suchitwa Mission, Local Self Government Department (LSGD), Govt. of Kerala, , India (October 2011 – 2021).

  iii)  Former Member , 12th Five Year Plan – Working Group on Environment (Sub-Committee) ,  State    Planning Board, Govt. of Kerala ( October, 2011).

1. iv) Former Member, Governing Body, Executive Committee, Scientific and Academic Council,

               Institute for Climate Change Studies (ICCS), Department of Environment, Govt. of Kerala.

Countries visited for Academic purposes: Norway, Italy, Thailand and Russia and  Marutius