Manjusri Misra, PhD

Headshot of Professor Manju Misra
Professor & Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Sustainable Biocomposites, Fellow RSC(UK), Fellow AIChE, Fellow SPE
Email: 
mmisra@uoguelph.ca
Phone number: 
519-824-4120 ext: 58935
Office: 
Room 2511

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Brief Bio

Dr. Manju Misra is a professor in the School of Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph. She holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Sustainable Biocomposites from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Research Program Director of the Bioeconomy Panel for the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance a program between the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the University of Guelph. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE).

Dr. Misra’s current research focuses primarily on novel bio-based composites and nanocomposites from agricultural, forestry, and recycled resources for the sustainable bio-economy moving towards a Circular Economy. She has authored more than 850 publications, including 429 peer-reviewed journal papers, 25 book chapters, and 53 patents. Link to  Dr. Misra's Google Scholar.

She was an editor of the CRC Press volume, “Natural Fibers, Biopolymers and Biocomposites,” Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL (2005); American Scientific Publishers volume “Packaging Nanotechnology”, Valencia, California (2009); “Polymer Nanocomposites”, Springer (2014) and “Fiber Technology for Fiber-Reinforced Composites”, Woodhead Publishing (2017). She was the chief editor of “Biocomposites: Design and Mechanical Performance” Woodhead Publishing (2015). She was the President of the BioEnvironmental Polymer Society (BEPS) in 2009. She serves on the editorial boards of “Journal of Applied Polymer Science”, “Composites Part A: Science and Manufacturing”, “Polymer Testing”, “Macromolecular Materials and Engineering”, "ACS Omega", and “Composites Part C: Open Access”.

Awards, Honours, and Distinctions

  • 2021    Fellow, Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE), USA
  • 2021    Lifetime Achievement Award, BioEnvironmental Polymer Society (BEPS), USA 
  • 2020    Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner in the Manulife Science and Technology, Women's Executive Network (WXN), Canada
  • 2020    Featured Author, Publication chosen for the ACS OMEGA publication in the Open Access Virtual Issue “Celebrating 5 Years of Open Access with ACS Omega”
  • 2020    Tier 1 Canada Research Chair – Sustainable Biocomposites, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada
  • 2020    CEPS Undergraduate Supervision Award, University of Guelph, Canada
  • 2020    Fellow, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), USA
  • 2020    Featured Female Author, Publication chosen for the ACS OMEGA publication in the Open Access Virtual Issue “Women at the Forefront of Chemistry”
  • 2019    Featured Author – Open Access Week (Oct 21-27), Featuring authors who frequently publish in ACS OMEGA.
  • 2019    Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK    
  • 2019    Woman of Distinction on Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM): Guelph YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction, Canada
  • 2018    NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada
    • This award honours the most outstanding achievements of the collaboration between academia and industry in the natural sciences and engineering.
  • 2017    Andrew Chase Forest Products Division Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), USA
  • 2017  Featured Canadian Author, Two publications chosen for ACS Publications Open Access Virtual Issue “Hot Materials in a Cool Country” featuring articles authored by Canadians to celebrate the 100th meeting of the Canadian Chemistry Conference
  • 2016   Innovation of the Year Award, University of Guelph, Canada
    • This award is for the creation of the 100% Compostable Bio-composite Resin using coffee chaff (waste stream of coffee roasting industry) for single-serve coffee pods. More awards for this innovation found here: http://purpod100.com/awards/ 
  • 2014   Composites Part A Most Highly Cited Paper Award, "Characterization of natural fiber surfaces and natural fiber composites", selected for the award which highlights that the paper has truly generated interest and awareness within the composites community
  • 2012    Jim Hammar Memorial Service Award, BioEnvironmental Polymer Society (BEPS), USA

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

 

Research Interests

  • Bio-Based New Materials
  • Green Nanotechnology
  • Polymer Nanotechnology
  • Nanostructured Materials & Devices
  • Nano Particles & Applications
  • Pyrolysis of Biomass and Characterization of Biocarbon for Composite Applications
  • Surface Treatment of Micro and Nanofibers and Fiber-Matrix Adhesion
  • Nanobiocomposites from Carbon Nanotubes, Alumina Nanowhisker, Silver Nanoparticles, and Cellulose Nanofibers
  • Electrospinning Processing
  • 3D Printing of Biobased Materials
  • Nanobio Materials & Tissue Engineering
  • Bio-Based Polymers (Polylactides-PLA, Polyhydroxyalkanoates-PHAs, Cellulose Plastics, Soy Protein Plastics, Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles-DDGS Plastics, Lignin Plastics, Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)-Sorona™ Polymer), their Blends, Composites and Nanocomposites
  • Biocomposites from Flax, Hemp, Kenaf, Jute, Sisal, Henequen, Cellulose, Bamboo, Corn Stalk, Soy Stalk, Wheat Straw, Talc and Fly Ash
  • Functionalized Plant Oils
  • Biobased Polyesters and their Composites
  • Biobased Epoxies and their Composites
  • Reactive Extrusion Processing
  • Extrusion and Injection Molding of Biocomposites
  • Multilayer Injection Molding
  • Biocomposite Sheet Molding Compounds
  • Biocomposite Powder Processing (BioSMC)
  • Microwave Processing of Biocomposites
  • Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) of Biocomposites
  • Novel Materials Derived from Starch and Chitosan

Memberships

Teaching

Undergraduate Courses
  • ENGG*2120 Material Science
  • ENGG*2660 Biological Engineering
Graduate Courses
  • ENGG*6130 Physical Properties of Biomaterials

 

Selected Recent Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications

Complete List of Publications

  • Lewis, R., Weldekidan, H., Rodriguez, A.U., Mohanty, A.K., Mielewski, D.F., Misra, M. (2023). "Design and Engineering of Sustainable Biocomposites from Ocean-Recycled Polypropylene-based Polyolefins and Almond Shell and hull." Composites Part C: Open Access, 100373. (In Press).
  • Das, O., Mensah, R.A., Balasubramanian, K.B.N., Shanmugam, V., Försth, M., Hedenqvist, M.S., Rantuch, P., Martinka, J., Jiang, L., Xu, Q., Neisiany, R.E., Lin, C., Mohanty, A., Misra, M. (2023). "Functionalised biochar in biocomposites: The effect of fire retardants, bioplastics and processing methods". Composites Part C: Open Access11, 100368.
  • Vijaybabu, T.R., Ramesh, T., Pandipati, S., Mishra, S., Sridevi, G., Raja, C.P., Mensah, R.A., Das, O., Misra, M., Mohanty, A.K., NB, K.B. (2023). "High Thermal Conductivity Polymer Composites Fabrication through Conventional and 3D Printing Processes: State-of-the-Art and Future Trends". Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 2300001.
  • Root, K.P., Pal, A.K., Pesaranhajiabbas, E., Mohanty, A.K., Misra, M. (2023). "Injection Moulded Composites from High Biomass Filled Biodegradable Plastic: Properties and Performance Evaluation for Single-Use Applications". Composites Part C: Open Access, 100358.
  • Goodrum, R., Weldekidan, H., Li, H., Mohanty, A.K., Misra, M. (2023). "Graphene-based nanostructures from green processes and their applications in biomedical sensors". Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research (In Press).
  • Pal, A.K., Misra, M., Mohanty, A.K. (2023). "Silane treated starch dispersed PBAT/PHBV-based composites: Improved barrier performance for single-use plastic alternatives". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 229, 1009-1022.
  • Roy, P., Mohanty, A.K., Dick, P., Misra, M. (2023). "A review on challenges and choices for food waste valorization: Environmental and economic impacts". ACS Environmental Au.
  • Harder, N., Rodriguez-Uribe, A., Snowdon, M., Misra, M., Mohanty, A.K. (2023). "Hop natural fiber reinforced poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate)(PBSA) biodegradable plastic: effect of fiber length on performance of biocomposites". Materials Advances.
  • Zytner, P., Pal, A.K., Wu, F., Rodriguez-Uribe, A., Mohanty, A.K., Misra, M. (2023). "Morphology and Performance Relationship Studies on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)-Based Biodegradable Blends". ACS Omega, 8(2), 1946–1956.
  • Tripathi, N., Rodriguez-Uribe, A., Weldekidan, H., Misra, M., Mohanty, A. (2022). "Upcycling of waste jute biomass to advanced biocarbon materials: the effect of pyrolysis temperature on their physicochemical and electrical properties". Material Advances 24 (2022).

 

Announcements


Ph.D. and M.A.Sc. Student Openings in Biological Engineering with Funding

Funded Graduate Opportunities available in my research group - Ph.D. and M.A.Sc in Biological Engineering*

This graduate opportunity is for graduate students pursuing a degree in Biological Engineering for the following research areas in my team.

  • 3D Printing of Bioplastics and Biocomposites
  • Bioplastics and Biobased Polymers
  • Biocomposites (Natural Fibre Composites) and Polymer Blends
  • Green Composites including Recyclability, Durability and Biodegradability Studies
  • Biobased Nanocomposites and Nano blends
  • Biomedical Applications for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
  • Biomass and Biomaterials Sustainability
  • Value-added Biobased Materials from the Coproducts/Byproducts of Biofuel Industries
  • Biodegradability (Compostability)

For entry into the Ph.D. Biological Engineering program, candidates must hold a thesis-based Master’s degree in engineering.

For entry in the M.A.Sc. programs, candidates must hold an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Science.

If your first language is not English, you will be required to submit the results of a standardized language test. Please see the chart for acceptable tests and required scores. Please refer to the School of Engineering website for department requirements.

For more information on how to apply, please contact me by email:

bddcjobs@uoguelph.ca with a copy to mmisra@uoguelph.ca

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the positions are filled.

A preliminary selection will be made based on the interviews to qualify the prospective candidate to apply for graduate studies at the University of Guelph. Selection does not guarantee acceptance for graduate studies.

*Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.