Indian-American professor turns chicken feathers into fuel

By Arun Kumar, Washington, March 11 : Manoranjan 'Mano' Misra, an Indian American professor known for turning coffee grounds and chicken feathers into fuel, been honoured as the 2010 Regents' Researcher by the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.

Misra, director of the University of Nevada, Reno's Renewable Energy Centre, has published 183 technical papers in the areas of materials, nanotechnology and environmental and mineral process engineering, according to Nevada News.

A faculty member since 1988, he has had 10 patents published and another 12 are pending. He has secured over USD 25 million dollars in grant funding.

Misra's work also includes applied nano-technology for solar hydrogen generation, hydrogen storage, biomaterials for prosthetic implantation and sensor technology.

Misra's work in the removal of arsenic from drinking water has earned him national recognition, as well as three patents. Several industries have taken licenses from the University to use his arsenic technology for water purification.

His patented process for mercury removal from the cyanide streams of gold mining operations is being used in Nevada and internationally. Misra's recent research in renewal energy, more specifically in using coffee grounds and chicken feathers to produce biodiesel fuel, has garnered media attention.

Misra's expertise is also recognised for his service as a reviewer for 12 different journals, including Science and Nature. He also is a panel reviewer for the Department of Energy- Alternative Energy, National Science Foundation and the Department of Defence, among others.

He has been a professor in the department of chemical and metallurgical engineering since 1993 and served for six years as the chair of the metallurgical and materials engineering department.

Currently he is the director of the Centre for Mineral Bioprocessing and Remediation and is on the faculty of the environmental science and engineering department and the biomedical engineering department.