Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Soil

Rahul Datta is a soil microbiologist and enzymologist. Dr. Datta holds an MSc and PhD from the Department of Geology and Pedology at Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic, where he is currently a researcher. He has acquired global experience in soil science research by working with a number of prominent experts, including as a visiting scientist with both Dr. Richard Dick (President of the SSSA) at OSU, Ohio, USA, and Prof. Paolo Nannipieri at the University of Florence, Italy. Dr. Datta has published numerous research articles and review papers in peer-reviewed journals and is currently a reviewer for thirty major scientific journals. Dr. Datta is at present a member of Soil Science Society of America.

Ram Swaroop Meena Ph.D.  is an agronomist and has completed his postdoctoral research on soil carbon sequestration under Prof. Rattan Lal, Distinguished Scientist and Director, CMASC, OSU, USA. With 9 years of research and teaching experience, he is currently working on three ongoing, externally funded projects, including one for the DST (GOI). His current research interests are in soil sustainability, crop productivity and resource-use efficiency.

Dr. Meena has published more than 100 research and review papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as 25 book chapters. He has worked as an expert at the NCERT, MHRD, GOI, to develop two books for school education for standards XI and XII. A member of various national and international societies, he has also been honoured with several awards, including an RGNF award from the UGC, GOI, and a Raman Fellowship from the MHRD, GOI.

Shamina Imran Pathan is a soil microbial ecologist and is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florence, Italy. Previously, she worked at the Mediterranean University of Raggio Calabria, Italy, where she studied how different management practices such as tillage systems and digestate amendment affect soil microbial communities. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florence, Italy. Her doctorate dissertation was conducted in consultation with Prof. Paolo Nannipieri. She has published seven peer-reviewed papers in high impact journals (e.g. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Plant and Soil), including four as lead author. She has been a reviewer for the journals BFOS, Plant and Soil, Scientific Reports, etc.

Maria Teresa Ceccherini, Ph.D. , is an Assistant Professor at the DISPAA - Department of Agrifood and Environmental Science, University of Florence, Italy. She holds a Ph.D. in Soil Science and Climatology and completed her postdoctoral research on environmental metagenomics under Prof. Paolo Nannipieri, Distinguished Scientist and Director of the DISPAA, University of Florence. She is currently researching soil sustainability, soil plant pathogens, the use of industrial biomass as fertilizers, and metagenomic approaches. She has been the project manager and coordinator of several research projects, and has published more than 60 papers and book chapters. She is member of the editorial advisory board of Applied Soil Ecology and serves as a reviewer for various other international journals.