Dr. Sandeep Kumar Panda has been trained in ICAR, CSIR, and IIT laboratories and the University of Johannesburg during his Doctoral and Post-Doctoral research career. His current research focuses on microbial technology for underutilized fruits and vegetables for the development of functional foods and beverages. Dr. Panda's research work is directed towards food security challenges and poverty amongst communities of Southeast Asia and Africa. His team works in interlinking social engineering to fermentation technology so that the knowledge and technology can be harnessed at the community level for the preservation and bioprocessing of perishable fruits and vegetables. Effective planning and training on fermentation technology at the community level for generating revenue in different tribal pockets of India as well as the globe, has been one of Dr. Panda's important research agendas.
Dr. Ursula Gonzales-Barron is a Food Engineer with expertise in food quality and microbiological safety, including mathematical modelling, predictive microbiology, risk assessment of foodborne pathogens, shelf-life determination, and sensory analysis. Dr. Gonzales-Barron has received 10 grants from competitive European calls and has published 130 peer-reviewed articles in 106 proceedings; presented at 55 international conferences; written 11 book chapters; and has lectured at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has organized and taught at several international dissemination and training events (symposia and workshops) in Europe and America, and currently serves as Editor in the LWT - Food Science and Technology Journal. She is also on the journal editorial boards of Microbial Risk Analysis, and open-access MDPI Foods. She has been appointed Secretary of the International Committee of Predictive Modelling in Food (ICPMF, ICFMH).
Surekha Routray is a certified sustainability assessor and valuator, with an MBA in finance and marketing. She has worked with four main sectors of the startup ecosystem: agriculture, climate and environment, livelihood, diversity & inclusion. She brings to the board an interesting amalgamation of 10+ years of corporate exposure (from India and the US), five years academic interfacing, and six years of understanding of the start-up ecosystem. She has extensively worked in many national and international projects (US and European Union) for promoting sustainable solutions through social entrepreneurship and diversity & inclusion. She works with innovators on finding, refining, and promoting sustainable solutions in the agriculture and allied sectors with a special focus on food and nutrition. Having worked with more than 100 startups, she is an ardent promoter of solutions that can be adapted and adopted at the grassroots level to create an exponential and inclusive growth in rural ecosystems.
