Dr Sanjukta Subudhi is a microbiologist and currently serves as Senior Fellow and Associate Director of the Microbial Biofuels & Biochemicals area in the Advanced Biofuels Division at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Her research focuses on the microbial production of a range of biofuels—such as biohydrogen, biomethane, biobutanol, bioethanol, and biojet fuel (via the A-to-J pathway)—including those suitable for maritime transportation using both first-generation and next-generation feedstocks. Her group also works on green biochemicals including 2,3-butanediol, lactic acid, volatile fatty acids, lipase, bioflocculants, carotenoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and pre- and probiotics. Her significant contributions are reflected in 68 high-impact peer-reviewed journal articles, 4 patents, 1 position paper, 1 white paper, 4 book chapters, and participation in over 100 international conferences. With more than 2,200 citations to her credit (h-index: 26; i10-index: 41), she has also served as Editor for two books and two international journals.
Dr Subudhi coordinates the Tata Chemicals Ltd–TERI Centre of Excellence, which demonstrates integrated bioprocesses for the cost-effective production of biofuels and biochemicals, guided by circular bioeconomy principles. She is a recognized expert on bioeconomy with memberships and responsibilities in several national and international forums. She is a task force expert in the domain of Environmental Biotechnology and Bioenergy under the DBT-BioCARe programme (Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India), a member of the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE), and serves on the international Research and Development 20 (RD20) framework under the G20 clean energy initiative. She is also a member of several professional bodies such as the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI) and the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI), and has served as guest editor for journals and books published by Springer and CRC Press.
In recent years, Dr Subudhi has represented India as a bioenergy expert at key international platforms, including the G20 RIIG Bioeconomy Conference (March 2023) organised by DST, DBT, and MoST, where she spoke on building a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. She also played a pivotal role as Convener of the prestigious G20 Research Leaders’ Meeting—6th RD20 International Conference on Clean Energy Technologies—jointly hosted by TERI and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), held for the first time outside Japan, in India (2–6 December 2024). She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Delhi and completed her postdoctoral research in Algal Biotechnology at the National Biotechnology Centre, a unit of NSTDA in Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to joining TERI in 2008, she worked as a scientist in the Algal Biotechnology Department at the Pilot Plant Development and Training Institute (PDTI), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok.
Email: ssubudhi@teri.res.in