The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) and FAFS jointly hosted Professor Virender Sharma, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, USA, Director of the Program of Environment and Sustainability, SPH, to present a lecture entitled “Ferrates: Emerging Advanced Materials in Biomedical, Environmental, Energy, and Industrial Applications” on May 22, 2018.
Iron in +6 oxidation states of iron, called ferrate (FeVIO42-), is emerging environmental-friendly material, which can play role in processes like oxygen generation from water, super iron battery, synthesis of organic molecules with selectivity, and treatment of water and wastewater, which are also sustainable. Dr. Sharma demonstrated the green nature of ferrate and its applications in various fields, and the ferrate technology in eliminating antibiotics (sulfonamides, trimethoprim, and fluoroquinolones) in water. He then provided examples of remarkable efficiency in removing toxic metals by the ferric oxide nanoparticles, generated from ferrate. His presentation included how ferrate detoxifies microcystin-LR in water, for instance, ferrate can inactivate a wide range of bacteria and virus present in hospital settings and in water. Finally, the demonstrated a role of ferrate in green battery.
About Dr. Sharma:
Dr. Virender K. Sharma received his Ph.D. from Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Florida, USA. His postdoctoral work was at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the State University of New York, Buffalo, New York. He is currently a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health (SPH), Texas A&M University. He is also serving as the Director of the Program of Environment and Sustainability of the SPH. Dr. Sharma has made seminal contributions in the areas of chemistry and environmental applications of ferrates. Dr. Sharma has also made key contributions in elucidating stabilization and toxicity of natural nanoparticles in an aquatic environment, resulting in an impact on human and ecological health. He is also working on understanding mechanism of the formation of disinfection byproducts in water. His research also includes studying environment fate of environmentally persistent free radicals and antibiotics resistant bacteria and genes. He has published more than 280 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Sharma has also published 54 book chapters, 36 proceedings, and authored/edited eight books. His distinguish awards include Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Faculty Excellence in Research by Florida Tech, Outstanding Chemist by the American Chemical Society (Orlando Section), Certificate of Merit Award by the Environmental Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society, Excellence in Review by Environmental Science & Technology, and International Fellowship awarded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
