Introduction to Emerging Fields in Materials Sustainability

This book provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the aspects of sustainability for both natural and synthetic materials. It takes on a unique and realistic approach by undertaking assessments of the sustainable use of materials within the context of the business practices associated with the target industries. Hence, other than providing information for researchers and students of sustainable management of materials, this book will also be useful to engineers, designers, end-users, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats and waste management stakeholders of different waste-producing streams. The overarching concept of circular economy for materials sustainability is stressed throughout the book, and a wide array of industries and material types are covered. The intent of this book is not to offer convenient responses for any socio-economic, environmental, or legal aspects on sustainable materials; rather, it will discuss challenges associated with material usage in everyday life and their possible techno-sustainable solutions.

Dr Pankaj Pathak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at SRM University Andhra Pradesh, India. She holds a PhD from IIT Bombay, India. Her research area includes sustainable waste management, green energy resources, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle assessment. She has acquired research experience in dealing with hazardous solid and liquid waste and its treatment technologies, along with the recovery of critical and rare earth metals from waste streams, their safe disposal, and remediation techniques.

Dr Susmita Sharma is an Assistant Professor in Department of Civil Engineering at National Institute of Technology Meghalaya, India. She obtained her PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Bombay, India. She received an opportunity to work as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, by the support of European Commission via the Marie Curie IRSES project GREAT. She specializes in Environmental Geotechnology, with particular emphasis on utilization of anthropogenic sediments of wastewater treatment plants. Currently, her primary areas of research include waste material characterization for contamination evaluation and possible methods of management.

Mr Ramadoss Tamil Selvan is a Research Engineer at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. Before this appointment, he was working as a Chief Technical Officer in startup companies. He has been actively involved in sustainability business development and prospects by working with startup companies. He is a keen entrepreneur, innovator, speaker, and developed sustainability/circularity software tools for industries and academics. He received an MSc from the University of Nottingham, UK, and a BEng from the Anna University, India. He also received a Nottingham Business School scholarship to pursue an MBA.

Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, FREng is the Chair of Circular Economy Taskforce at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Microsoft Academic ranked him among the top 36 salient authors out of three million materials researchers worldwide. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Springer NATURE Journal Materials Circular Economy — Sustainability. He is a member of Enterprise Singapore's and International Standards Organization's Committees on ISO/TC323 Circular Economy and Circularity. He teaches ME6501 Materials and Sustainability module, and also mentors Integrated Sustainable Design ISD5102 course projects on reimagining and enhancing circularity of Industrial Estates. He is an opinion contributor to the Springer Nature Sustainability Community. He is an advisor to the National Environmental Agency's CESS events. He is an Impact Speaker at University of Toronto, Canada's Low Carbon Renewable Materials Center. He is a judge for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for the Global Prosperity. He is an advisor to the Singapore company TRIA which specializes in zero waste packaging.

Professor Seeram, with a h-index of 161 as of May 2021, is named among the World's Most Influential Minds (Thomson Reuters), and the Top 1% Highly Cited Researchers (Clarivate Analytics). He is an elected Fellow of UK Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng); Singapore Academy of Engineering; Indian National Academy of Engineering; and ASEAN Academy of Engineering & Technology. He is appointed as the Honorary Everest Chair of MBUST, Nepal. His senior academic leadership roles include NUS University Vice-President (Research Strategy); Dean of NUS Faculty of Engineering; Director of NUS Enterprise; and Founding Chairman of Solar Energy Institute of Singapore. He received PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK; and TGMP from the Harvard University, USA.