Research Scholars
Research Group of Dr. Punarbasu Chaudhuri
Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta
Present Research Team
Tanushree Gaine
Ph.D. Scholar | State Aided College Teacher, New Alipore College
Pursuing her Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Punarbasu Chaudhuri. Her research focuses on mangrove honey from the Indian Sundarbans, particularly melissopalynology and physicochemical characteristics of honey.
Research Area: Mangrove Honey, Melissopalynology, Honey Quality
Praveen Tudu
Senior Research Fellow | DST, Government of West Bengal
Currently working under a DST, Government of West Bengal-funded project. His research involves air pollution, source apportionment and the impact of air pollution on the population of Kolkata.
Research Area: Air Pollution, Source Apportionment, Environmental Health
Email: pc.tudu0411@gmail.com
Tania Chatterjee
Senior Research Fellow | Joint CSIR-UGC NET SRF Scheme
Her research focuses on insect flower visitors, plant–pollinator interactions and pollination ecology of mangrove species through long-term ecological observations.
Research Area: Pollination Ecology, Mangrove Ecology, Plant–Pollinator Interactions
Email: cjtania18@gmail.com | Institutional Email
Arpita Biswas
Ph.D. Scholar | Former DBT Junior Research Fellow
Previously worked as a Junior Research Fellow under the DBT NER-BPMC scheme, Government of India. Her Ph.D. research investigates anthropogenic impacts on the biodiversity of Rudrasagar Lake and associated water quality assessment.
Research Area: Aquatic Biodiversity, Water Quality, Anthropogenic Impacts
Email: arpita.gghs@gmail.com
Tarak Samanta
Ph.D. Scholar
He has a strong interest in biodiversity conservation and urban ecology. His doctoral research focuses on Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) diversity in changing urban landscapes, investigating how habitat transformation, water quality and anthropogenic pressures influence their diversity and distribution. His research aims to contribute to freshwater ecosystem conservation and biodiversity-friendly urban planning.
Research Areas: Odonata Diversity and Ecology, Freshwater Ecosystem Health, Water Quality Assessment, Urban Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation.
Email: taraksamanta995@gmail.com
Sampurna Mondal
Senior Research Fellow | UGC NET SRF Scheme
Her research focuses on river water quality, potentially toxic elements, hydrogeochemistry and geospatial assessment of aquatic ecosystems, with particular emphasis on seasonal variations, pollution source apportionment, ecological risk assessment and land-use/land-cover changes in riverine environments.
Research Area: River Pollution Assessment, Hydrogeochemistry, GIS and Remote Sensing, Ecological Risk Identification.
Kavya S Katnur
Ph.D. Scholar UGC-DAE CSR Collaborative Research Scheme
Her research focuses on environmental pollution assessment, microplastic characterization, radiation-induced pollutant biodegradation. She’s also interested in understanding pollutant fate, transport, and transformation, data-driven approaches to pollution monitoring and source apportionment, exploring microbial degradation mechanisms, and developing sustainable strategies for environmental remediation.
Research Area: Environmental Pollution Assessment, Radiation-Induced Degradation, Microbial Biodegradation, Microplastics, Environmental Microbiology, Emerging Contaminants
Email: kavyakatnur84@gmail.com
Add Google Scholar, ResearchGate or ORCID links here.
Atanu Panja
Ph.D. Scholar | Project Fellow (DST-SEED)
Add research biography and academic background here.
Research Area: Add research interests here.
Email: atanupanja1998@gmail.com
Add Google Scholar, ResearchGate or ORCID links here.
Former Group Members
Dr. Shidharth Sankar Ram
Former Ph.D. Scholar | Postdoctoral Researcher
Thesis: Characterization of air pollutants and their effects on physico-chemical and morphological properties of some selected urban avenue trees of Kolkata, India.
His research interests include environmental pollution, climate change and environmental monitoring strategies. During his Ph.D., he integrated plant science with nuclear analytical techniques including PIXE and EDXRF spectroscopy. Following his doctoral degree from the University of Calcutta, he joined the Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan, as a postdoctoral researcher, investigating PM2.5 signatures in biomass-burning aerosols as part of NASA's 7SEAS campaign.
Email: tracebio@gmail.com
Dr. Madhurima Bakshi
Former University Research Fellow | Faculty
Dr. Madhurima Bakshi completed her Ph.D. in the Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, as a University Research Fellow. Her research investigated Sundarbans mangrove chemodiversity, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, bioreduction potential, elemental bioaccumulation, geochemistry, sediment quality and ecotoxicological risk.
She received international travel grants from CSIR and the University of Calcutta, served as guest faculty at different institutions and is a NABET-accredited EIA Functional Area Expert. She currently serves as faculty at Seth Soorajmull Jalan Girls' College, Kolkata.
Email: bakshi.madhurima@gmail.com
Dr. Somdeep Ghosh
Former DST-SERB Project Fellow | Ph.D. Awarded 2020
Thesis: Effect of Environmental Changes on Riparian Vegetation with Special Reference to Mangroves in Tidal Regimes of River Hooghly.
He worked under Dr. Punarbasu Chaudhuri as a DST-SERB Project Fellow from August 2013 to November 2016. His research areas include trace metal geochemistry, sediment and water contamination, mangrove migration, remote sensing and GIS. He has published 22 research articles and received international travel grants to present research in Budapest, Hungary.
He currently works as a State Aided College Teacher-I at Maharaja Srischandra College, Kolkata, and as visiting faculty at the University of Kalyani.
Email: gsomdeep@gmail.com
Dr. Nabanita Naskar
Former Research Scholar | Environmental Radioactivity
Thesis: Quantitative Assessment of Natural Radioactivity with Special Reference to Mangrove Ecosystem of Indian Sundarban.
Her research investigated naturally occurring radioactive materials, including uranium and thorium radionuclides and potassium-40. The study addressed challenges in gamma-spectrometric measurement of ultra-low-level radioactivity in natural samples, including photopeak selection, relative standard deviation, counting-time optimization and quantitative calibration methods.
Email: g.nabanitanaskar94@gmail.com
Dr. Shouvik Mahanty
Former Research Scholar | Environmental Nanotechnology
Thesis: Mycosynthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Using Manglicolous Fungi Isolated from Indian Sundarbans and Their Application in Sequestration of Heavy Metals.
His research focuses on fungal synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles using manglicolous fungi from the Indian Sundarbans and their application in sequestration of heavy metals from contaminated water.
Keywords: Indian Sundarbans, Manglicolous Fungi, Iron Oxide Nanoparticles, Heavy Metals.
Email: shouvikmahanty@yahoo.com
Dr. Bindia Gupta
Ph.D. Thesis Submitted | State Aided College Teacher-I
A UGC-NET LS-qualified researcher at the University of Calcutta, with her Ph.D. thesis submitted. Her research interests include dry forest ecology, biodiversity conservation, traditional ecological knowledge, human–wildlife conflict, wildlife behaviour, wildlife trade and geographical indication of forest products.
She has over ten years of teaching experience, seven years of research experience, four research publications and experience reviewing scientific journals. She has been a member of IUCN commissions since 2017.
Email: bindidebi@gmail.com
Dr. Souparna Chakrabarty
Former Research Associate | Field Ecology and Biostatistics
Worked as a Research Associate with Dr. Punarbasu Chaudhuri. His expertise includes field ecology, biostatistical analysis, plant phenology and plant–pollinator interactions. His research focuses on understanding how climate change, abiotic cues and environmental constraints influence phenological dynamics, species fitness and ecological community composition.
Research Area: Plant Phenology, Climate Change, Plant–Insect Interactions
Dr. Sayantani Mitra
Former Senior Research Fellow | UGC-DAE CSR Collaborative Research Scheme
Her research interests include bioactive compounds, natural product isolation and characterization, radiochemical separation of PET/SPECT radioisotopes from charged-particle-irradiated target matrices, radiation chemistry and related scientific fields.
Research Area: Radiochemistry, Bioactive Compounds, Nuclear Analytical Applications.
Email: sayantanimitra020@gmail.com