Technical & Strategic Advisory Panel

Prof. Rajeev Jindal is a scientist, technology leader and innovation professional with more than two decades of experience spanning advanced R&D, technology commercialisation, clean energy, industrial innovation and strategic business leadership. He currently serves as Professor of Practice at IIT Kanpur, contributing to sustainability, clean energy transition and Net Zero pathways.

Professional Background & Contributions

Prof. Jindal has held senior technical and business leadership roles including Senior Vice President & Business/Technical Head — Lighting at C&S Electric, Head of R&D at NTL Electronics, Principal Research Engineer at IIT Kanpur, and General Manager — R&D at Moser Baer India, contributing to more than 200 commercialised products and 20 filed patents, with major roles in solar and LED lighting. At IIT Kanpur he established a new flexible-electronics research centre with Government of India funding, and his current work spans Net Zero pathways, energy transition modelling, renewable integration and low-carbon campus strategy.

Education

Ph.D. Physics — IIT Delhi; M.Sc. Physics — IIT Roorkee (Gold Medallist); post-doctoral research — Université de Nice, France & Mississippi State University, USA.

Dr. Gopal K. Sarangi is an energy economist and policy researcher with more than 20 years of research and consulting experience spanning energy markets, regulation, green finance, carbon markets, industrial decarbonisation and governance of energy transitions. His work integrates economic analysis, public policy, institutional governance and the evolving energy-transition landscape.

Professional Background & Contributions

Dr. Sarangi's research and consulting portfolio covers energy market and regulatory systems, green finance, carbon markets, industrial decarbonisation, ESG, energy and climate governance, and energy modelling and forecasting. He has served as Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator or advisor on projects backed by the World Bank, UNDP, DFID, EPSRC, the British Academy, ICIMOD and the Norwegian Research Council, and has contributed to India's Environmental Accounts Committee and BIS standards work, alongside an Independent Directorship at UGVCL, Gujarat, and research affiliations in Germany, the UK and Australia.

Dr. Piyali Das is a senior bioenergy and technology-development specialist with approximately two decades of research experience at TERI spanning pyrolysis, gasification, biofuels, biochar, green chemicals and alternative transport fuels, including sustainable aviation and marine fuel applications. Her work combines technology development, pilot-scale demonstration, research leadership and policy engagement.

Professional Background & Contributions

Dr. Das is Associate Director and Senior Fellow of the Advanced Biofuel Division and the National Centre of Excellence of Green Port and Shipping (NCoEGPS) at TERI, and adjunct faculty at TERI School of Advanced Studies. Her ~20-year research programme spans pyrolysis, gasification, biodiesel, biojet fuel, green methanol, green carbon pellets, carbon nanomaterials and hydrogen-storage technologies, including pilot-scale pyrolysis systems converting biomass, algae and waste feedstocks, and current work on catalytic upgrading of bio-oil for sustainable aviation and marine fuel applications. She has contributed to national biofuel and green-fuel standards through government and BIS task forces, with international research experience in the United States, Italy and Australia.

Education

Ph.D. Energy Systems Engineering — IIT Bombay; M.Tech. Energy Science & Technology — Jadavpur University; M.Sc. Chemistry — Jadavpur University.