Manjusri Misra – Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials Innovation

Professor, School of Engineering and Department of Plant Agriculture

Seeking Academic or Industry Partnerships in the Area of:

Development of bio-based nanocomposite formulations for packaging and 3D printing applications

Keywords

Nanomaterials, bioplastics, biocomposites, green technology, biomaterials

Education and Employment Background

Manjusri Misra received her PhD from Utkal University, India in 1988. After her PhD, she was a Senior Lecturer at Utkal University, and a Visiting Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University. She joined the University of Guelph in 2008 with a joint appointment between the School of Engineering and the Department of Plant Agriculture. She is currently serving as the Research Program Director of the Bioeconomy – Industrial Uses research theme within the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (formerly OMAFRA-UofG agreement).

Research Themes

Prof. Misra’s current research focuses primarily on novel bio-based composites and nanocomposites from agricultural, forestry and waste resources for the sustainable development of eco-friendly alternatives to the existing petroleum-based products. These bio-based materials and nanomaterials can be used in automotive, packaging, consumer products and biomedical applications. Prof. Misra leads the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre alongside engineering/plant science professor Amar Mohanty. Many of her on-going projects are multidisciplinary, bridging engineering with materials science, chemistry, physics, and the life sciences.

Her research focuses on the following major areas:

Developing biocomposite and nanocomposite materials for a wide range of applications in packaging, auto-parts, electronic components, civil structures, consumer goods, and biomedical implants. These materials have a lower carbon footprint and are more sustainable and supportive of energy security.
3D printing of bio-based materials for many sectors, including aerospace, automotive, concept modelling/prototyping, smart packaging and biomedical fields. 3D printing allows construction of highly complex designs and moving parts faster and without need for additional tooling and machinery.
Developing biodegradable polymeric materials to replace single-use plastics such as packaging, consumer goods, and hygiene products. This research can help reduce the world’s plastic pollution which threatens ecosystems and the environment.
Using a co-product of biomass pyrolysis, biocarbon, as a filler or reinforcing agent in composites to process a new generation of bio-based materials. This research can reduce the carbon footprint of bio-based materials to a further extent as biocarbon is sustainable and has many beneficial qualities.

Full List of Publications

Highlights

Lead PI on the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence Award of $3,800,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade to develop sustainable packaging solutions (2019-2023)
Appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry UK (2019)
2018 NSERC Synergy Award for “Partnership with Two or More Companies”, honouring outstanding team achievements of collaboration between academia and industry
Member of Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE), American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), Materials Research Society, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), Bio-Environmental Polymer Society (BEPS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Society of Plastics Engineers, American Chemical Society (ACS)
Received AIChE’s 2017 Andrew Chase Division Award in Chemical Engineering, recognizing an individual with significant chemical engineering contributions in the forest products and related industries.